Tuner Advice. Help a lost soul.


There seems to be a lack of good information on the web and elsewhere when it comes to tuners. Which is too bad because I'm looking to get a good tuner for my system, and I'm lost. I listen to a lot of radio and I would like a tuner that sounds good...no that sounds GREAT!! Unfortunatly I don't have $5000 for a Magnum Dynalab MD 108 or even $1500 for a Fanfare FT-1. I'm looking in the $200-500 range I guess. I've considered the NAD C440 and a used Magnum FT-11. Other than these two and the Onkyo line (which is confusing) I'm lost. Can anyone recommend a few quality tuners and/or a good place to purchase them. Any help, advice, recommendations, etc. would be great.
mailman199

Showing 2 responses by sugarbrie

A used Onkyo "Integra" T9090 or T9090MkII tuner will cost you around $350 to $600 used depending on condition. Great tuner. All Onkyo "Integra" Tuners sound very good. Other than those two the others can be found for between $75 and $150 used. The newest model is the T4711, then the T407. I have three Integra Tuners. A T4500, T4017 and T4057. NAD are pretty good sounding also for a budget audiophile piece. The current Creek model has gotten good reviews. Cambridge Audio makes the same Creek model without the all the fancy options which sells new for around $250. The Cambridge (Creek) can be purchased from Northampton Audio /Spearit Sound online. My Onkyo Integra T4057 is is the closet. Want it?? Good Luck.
Both the Creek T43 mentioned and the Cambridge Audio clone (Yes, Mike Creek did design both) interestingly use a high end car stereo chipset. Mike discovered they had better reception and sounded better than most digital tuner stuff. Go to http://www.hifichoice.co.uk/ for reviews on both.