Finding a Great Sounding FM Tuner

Yea streaming fm stations beats traditional broadcast FM in many cases assuming stream is good quality with decent resolution.  Broadcast radio is fraught with inherent noise and distortion even in the best  circumstances.  

Having said that,  vintage Hitachi in general was always very  good.   I owned a Hitachi sr803 receiver for many years.   Chose it over comparable peak vintage Pioneer. Marantz and Sansui receivers. I am familiar with them all from my old Tech HIfi days.  Tandberg  tuners were the best of the lot and a Tandberg receiver replaced the Hitachi after a few years.  The Hitachi, Sansui Tandberg and Pioneer vintage standalone tuners also similarly compared well to the others back during their prime years. 

Nikko was another lesser known brand in that day that I recall compared well with other tuners of the day.

I replaced the Tandberg back in the 90s with a Carver tx11a which I still use.   Not quite Tandberg quality but still very good.   Those can be had used these days for not much last I checked, a very good bargain if in good working order as mine still is.

Of course it is now many years later  and the vintage gear is quite old in the tooth.  Current condition is a big factor in determining actual performance.  

I used to think I wanted to add a tuner to my rig. It's mostly vintage anyways so, why not? I even came across one of these not too long ago:

https://hometheaterreview.com/sequerra-model-1-fm-tuner-reviewed/

And if not that, you can usually find classic Marantz 10B now and then:

https://classic-audio.com/marantz/0010b.html

Arguably, both are among the best FM stereo tuners ever made!

But then I asked myself, why? When there's so much commercial free music available for streaming? And as was pointed out earlier, most radio stations now have an internet presence so you can stream OTA programming and not worry about static, the weather, or even an antenna, just an internet connection. 

No, the FM tuner has become a relic of bygone days. The buggy whip, the coal scuttle, the gas light... The FM tuner. All surpassed due to obsolescence, lack of market or by being supplanted by better, more efficient technology.

Happy listening.

I live in metro-Detroit where there are still some high quality FM broadcasters. I am using a vintage, Luxman (Alpine era) T-450 Tuner that was gifted to me. It's a mid-tier, 100% analog unit from 1982. I have it connected to an equally vintage Radio Shack amplified TV antenna (Indoors). I find the sound of a good FM broadcast through a good analog FM tuner to be a more laid back sounding stream than their 256K AAC stream, fewer db;s but better bass response.

Always like an excuse to post the 1954 REL Precedent. Inspiration for the Marantz 10B and others. For those of us who appreciate Art Deco/Industrial aesthetic and SOTA FM tuners

Until one of these rare birds magically show up in the rack, 65 Macintosh MR71 continues to remind me just how good FM can sound.

Here on the west coast, we have fantastic Classical/Jazz broadcast. R&R-not so much. 

Get a vintage McIntosh MR67 and let the tubes call it a day.