Finding a Great Sounding FM Tuner

Love my vintage Marantz 10b. That oscilloscope is just too cool! Yet I feel I don't use it enough, and will probably sell to someone who will appreciate it more. And yes, a decent or better yet, a good and well-placed antenna is helpful.

@mapman it's awesome when Hitachi gets some love. Use my Hitachi tuner every day, listen to the morning show, have it on when I'm working. For me the tuner sounds so much better over streaming the same stations. They sound compressed and lifeless on my system. 

Tuners have been going down in price as demand is going down. Really search local FBM and Craigslist. There are a ton on there, most are in your budget. Around me there are some Mac and Luxman tuners that people want over $1000 for, they have been there for quite some time. 

I have a KLH model 18 tuner that I bought at a garage sale for $3.00. I sorted it out and used it for years. I modified it to use crystals for the Intermediate Frequency amplifiers so they wouldn’t go out of tune. I liked the mid century style of it, so much I bought a KLH model 21 FM radio. I refurbished it and it gets played in the kitchen every day.

In my bike shop in the basement I have an RCA 8R71 which was made about 1949. It uses a single-ended ultra linear output section. I found it in a junk shop up north about 20 years ago and refurbished it. It looks right at home in my shop since I tend to have really old bikes. 

The radios get more use than the tuners.

In my bedroom system, again due to its mid century appearance, I have a refurbished Realistic TM175 (FM only version). I guess I like rotary dials. I found that the Realistic stuff can easily out perform its specs if you spend a little time doing a complete alignment. I have a theory (having worked in the Allied Radio Shack service department decades ago) that Tandy kept their prices a bit lower by not having as much technician time spent on their products. 

My main system has a Dynaco FM-5, completely refurbished. It mostly gets played on Saturdays about once a month or less. 

There are two stations in town that are hard to pick up because they are low power college stations. I’m far more likely to hear something new and interesting listening to them. One of them does not stream.  As long as I can pick them up I’m not too concerned what tuner does it and all of my radios and tuners can. 

Like Guy I am in the UK where were are blessed to enjoy high quality public service FM broadcasting in the shape of the BBC.

Radio 3 is their flagship classical music channel which I switch onto when I get up in the morning and it it usually stays on all day

I have had an FM tuner for many years now starting with Naim and going all the way up to the NAT O1. Later I changed my affiliation to Vitus amplification and Magnum Dynalab ending up with my current MD109,the stock valves of which I have replaced with Phillips 6922 NOS valves from the Tube Depot. Very significant improvement in sound quality.

I have an external roof mounted Ron Smith Galaxie 17 aerial which again has been a great buy. AFAIK it's still in business though now run by his son. I don't need a bigger one but they do some seriously large models.

I don't stream as my FM meets my needs very well but they are available on the net and I can wholeheartedly recommend BBC Radio 3 if you can get it. 

The BBC has forged strong links with other European public service broadcasters and they have an extensive partnership with them to exchange recorded live broadcasts from all over Europe and which are excellent.The presenters are very knowledgeable and professional. Most i think are former musicians in concert orchestras who chose to become broadcasters

As I say I opted for MD but there a a number of other good manufacturers as mentioned above. I did consider Day

Sequerra but there are only a handful of people around the world who know how to service them properly and the Marantz 10B struck me as a dust trap notwithstanding its sound quality.

If you have access to good quality FM broadcasts it really is a no brainer and an external FM aerial really makes a big difference if that option is open to you

I love me an FM tuner. Those who say they are obsoleted by Internet miss the point.

Incidentally, the same people also say that vinyl has been obsoleted by Internet, alongside reel-to-reel and cassette tapes and basically anything that doesn’t stream in via an Aurender / Lumin appliance. Doesn’t that strike you as an ASR type of argument?

But I digress. Back to these lovely beasts that FM tuners are, most Kenwood units punch above their weight and many are found under @jimbennet ’s $250 threshold. It makes sense that the considerable RF expertise Kenwood / Trio accumulated over decades making world-class ham radio rigs would shine upon their tuner’s designs.

As for me, my bucket list includes an FM tuner with integrated oscilloscope. If you happen to know someone who owns a broken one which no one can fix, I am interested :)