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Old FM Tuners....O.K., Great or Folklore...

You can name most of them, Like the Sansui 719 and more. Has anyone actually had the chance to compare an older well thought of tuner to the better current manufactured units..like Magnum Dynalab..etc.? The high end Audio hobby/passion is filled with nostalga. As an example, I put much money into a 1960 Corvette..when done my Dad said, "you know what you have there.....an old car". When I got some newer cars I learned he was right. So is older audio gear more than a trip down memory lane? And I know there are some classic models from ARC, CJ and more..... so ie: are some old classics simply old classics compared to more current high end technology and components within those units? Just asking.
whatjd
belyin
61 posts
 
In the heydey of FM radio (60's and 70's) it was a very important source in hifi-landia, and many manufacturers (especially the Japanese mass market companies) went all out to build state of the art tuners. Today, very little effort is directed at FM tuner design. There are so many vintage top flight tuners available at very reasonable prices that I have had never any interest in exploring brand new "hi end" tuners.

I am lucky to live in an area with 5 non-commercial stations (commercial stations have become unlistenable.) I have three vintage SS tuners (McIntosh MR-78, Marantz 20b, Pioneer TX-9500II) and one digitally synthesized (Sanyo Plus T55.) Right now the last one might be my favorite, and it cost me $55. It may well could be bettered by a Magnum Dynalab or vintage super tuner, but it (and the other three as well) sound like music to me so I am happy. (The hobby being what it is, I would like to get my hands on a good tube tuner, however.) 
frankm1
58 posts
 
Vintage FM tuners can be great additions to your system. 
I had a Marantz 10B for years and it was awesome. After moving on from my tube gear a Luxman provided some good FM. Currently using a Marantz Model 20 which was just refreshed by the folks at Audio Classics. I've got to say, it sounds great! Probably not the equal of the 10B, but iwonderful vintage sound nevertheless. 
normansizemore
601 posts
 
Sansui made amazing tuners.  The one in my 9090DB is outstanding.  So is the one in my marantz 24 tuner/preamp, which I believe was built to compete with the excellent tuner sections of the McIntosh MX112 and 113 tuner/preamps.

N
belyin
61 posts
 
As I said above, I would like to try a tube tuner. As a teenager I inherited my father's Sherwood, and it was great. In general, do tube tuners suffer from HD interference or is it very much case by case?
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cleeds
5,642 posts
 
belyin
... In general, do tube tuners suffer from HD interference or is it very much case by case?
Pretty much all FM tuners are vulnerable to sideband noise caused by so-called "HD Radio." The more selective the tuner, the more resistant to the noise it will be.

I refer to HD Radio as "so-called" because - as we know - HD radio isn’t "high definition." Not even close. It’s digital, though, so it’s quiet.
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