Good digital tuners

I have a shortlist of tuners I'm after and the ST-J75 one of them.

I'm also trying to find out about the Grundig Fine Arts T-9000 and T-9009 (includes remote) as they could be good. From 1988/89 and the first hi-fi tuners with RDS apparently.

Actually, the Grundig Fine Arts T-9000 was released in 1987.

I own one from more than three years, now. A terrific tuner. The sound in stereo is astoundingly clean and free from noise, and the bass response is impressive.

The build quality is top notch and the technical engineering, though now old and dated, is quite impressive. The Germans even designed a completely separate amplifier path solely for the signal meter, which can show the signal level in fine 2 dB steps on dot matrix display in addition to the more rough bar-graph that is displayed permanently.

This one is a keeper !
 
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I've had two digital Sonys recently that I thought had top-notch sound. One was the ST-S3000 which is in a smaller case that is quite cute.
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The other was the TOTL ST-SA5ES.
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Frankly, I couldn't tell them apart based on sound quality or functionality but I never needed a remote control.

I had a earlier ST-S730ES that never did it for me, even after alignment.
 
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I had an Akai AT-V04 for some time - its a very good tuner, but it got bumped from the system for its cosmetic mismatch (not black) and I liked the ergonomics of its successor (ADS T2) better.

I was going to recommend the Proton 300, having used it as a tuner, but it's digital is only the readout. I opened mine up the other day to Deoxit the volume pot, and saw the string, then the air cap.
 
Actually, the Grundig Fine Arts T-9000 was launch in 1987.

I own one from more than two years, now. A terrific tuner. The sound in stereo is astoundingly clean and free from noise, and the bass response is impressive.

The build quality is top notch and the technical engineering, though now old and dated, is quite impressive. The Germans even designed a completely separate amplifier path solely for the signal meter, which could show the signal level in fine 2 dB steps on dot matrix display in addition to the more rough bar-graph that is displayed permanently.

This one is a keeper !

Thanks Scytales. I've never got round to trying a Grundig T-9000 but your post confirms what I thought - it appears to be a top-notch tuner.

I've had two digital Sonys recently that I thought had top-notch sound. One was the ST-S3000 which is in a smaller case that is quite cute.
View attachment 1340187

The other was the TOTL ST-SA5ES.
View attachment 1340188
Frankly, I couldn't tell them apart based on sound quality or functionality but I never needed a remote control.

I had a earlier ST-S730ES that never did it for me, even after alignment.

I also had a Sony ST-SA5ES, and it was a Euro version like yours with RDS. The sound quality was superb on a good BBC broadcast with better-than-average bass response. However, there was one slight problem with it in that it wouldn't go to mono completely on weak signals which added extra hiss. Not a concern if you listen to locals but for a DXer like me it was annoying. It sounds like the same issue that is reported in the TIC for the ST-S730ES model. Does yours do this @FauxHall, or is it working correctly?
 
Well my Kenwood Kt-3300D came from Radio X tuner, so far is the best tuner I have, it should have best numbers

http://repairmemo.my.coocan.jp/audio_topics_2.html


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However for the money the SONY ST-S333ESG is a hidden masterpiece, mine is going to get some work done, best tuner when it comes to ergonomics and well made too, ultra rare in the states. Also it has control remote
http://nice.kaze.com/av/st-s333esg.html

st-s333esg08.jpg


 
Kenwood L-1000T. It’s so flexible, and is a dx champ. Quite rare, and the super cap memory is short lived, even after a new cap is fitted. Also, beware of three faulty caps on the PS board. They’ll take the display and remote sensor out. I replaced all of these things in mine and it’s a real star. Definitely up to the standards of the best Kenwood tuners, except the L-02T.
 
Could you name the digital tuners which have impressed you. Thanks.
My “flock” of tuners is listed at https://cgi.audioasylum.com/systems/6137.html

The digital tuners that have impressed me include (1) Hitachi FT-5500 Mk. II - Has a really useful tuning meter; (2) Marantz ST-17U - A very good sounding tuner; (3) Rotel RT-2100 - Am going to have it aligned & updated by Punker X; (4) Sony XDR-F1HD - Given the royal treatment by Punker X when he was working on them; (5) Sony ST-333ESXII ,- Best ergonomics of any tuner I have used; (6) Sony ST-J75 - Best bang for the buck, IMHO; and (7) Yamaha T-85 extensively modded by Punker X - Currently my best sounding tuner and the one I listen to most often.

As always, YMMV.
 
My “flock” of tuners is listed at https://cgi.audioasylum.com/systems/6137.html

The digital tuners that have impressed me include (1) Hitachi FT-5500 Mk. II - Has a really useful tuning meter; (2) Marantz ST-17U - A very good sounding tuner; (3) Rotel RT-2100 - Am going to have it aligned & updated by Punker X; (4) Sony XDR-F1HD - Given the royal treatment by Punker X when he was working on them; (5) Sony ST-333ESXII ,- Best ergonomics of any tuner I have used; (6) Sony ST-J75 - Best bang for the buck, IMHO; and (7) Yamaha T-85 extensively modded by Punker X - Currently my best sounding tuner and the one I listen to most often.

As always, YMMV.


How do you rank your Sony ST-333ESXII ?

I have the next generation which is the SONY ST-S333ESG, I love the sound and ergonomics, but is not a DX tuner, that the only thing I dont like.

Japanese review http://nice.kaze.com/av/st-s333esx2.html
 
How do you rank your Sony ST-333ESXII ?

I have the next generation which is the SONY ST-S333ESG, I love the sound and ergonomics, but is not a DX tuner, that the only thing I dont like.

Japanese review http://nice.kaze.com/av/st-s333esx2.html
I like it. As noted on TIC, “the ST-S333ESXII was the European version of the ST-S730ES. Our contributors Tim and Ann report: "We have an ST-S333ESXII and an ST-S730ES and they are virtually identical on the outside, and the user manual that came with the ST-S333ESXII is an international one labeled as the manual for the 'ST-S333ESXII/ST-S730ES.' What's even more interesting is that the performance specs in this manual for this dual-labeled tuner are slightly better than the specs for our American market ST-S730ES. In our system, the ST-S333ESXII is actually a better tuner than our ST-S730ES - the ST-S333ESXII is a really close second to the Macs in sound quality, and just as good as the McIntosh MX 117 and Hitachi FT-5500MKII for DXing. This leaves us wondering if Sony somehow cheapened the ST-S730ES for the U.S. market. We've not done an A/B of the ST-S333ESXII vs. one of our ST-J75s. Sony also made an ST-S333ESG [mostly $75-150 on eBay - Editor] and an ST-S333ESGII in their ES series line of tuners (we have seen several of each on eBay), but they have a different external design than the ST-S333ESXII and the ST-S730ES and poorer performance specs." Tim compares a stock ST-S333ESXII to three top modded tuners on our Shootouts 2.0 page. The ST-S333ESXII usually sells for $125-210 on eBay.”
 
Another vote for the Pioneer F-93 Elite. They've done some kind of hit job on the 93. I read somewhere it was because an "Iconic" American Tuner Designer was offended when it mowed down his tuner in an Underground Magazine review and thereafter missed no opportunity to trash it. Audio-wise, it's indistinguishably excellent from the also quite good F-91, it has an even more highly evolved Front End. You get control over the IF Bandwidth, the lack of which is my only beef against the F-91.
 
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@Ricktpman
An hit job.

That one gave me a good chuckle.

Now awaiting: Confessions Of A Tuner Hit Man.
 
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Gotta give a +1 for the Denon TU-660. After careful recapping just upstream from the LA3401 MPX chip and down through to output coupling caps, along with power supply and using ultra fast rectifiers, and an OPA2134PA output buffer...pretty much the same as what was mentioned in TIC. I have to say there isn't much more you could ask for sonically. Clean and detailed without going over the top and becoming dry and harsh..excellent separation..fairly natural presentation..maybe a touch on the forward side. Very easy to work on as you can pull the whole board. Good value, even after dropping a few bucks for the parts. And nice touch on the non-volatile memory.
 
SAE MK VI. I listened to mine for quite awhile yesterday. I have several 'tier 1' tuners. The 10b stands alone in sonics but the SAE would be the next closest.

I was the 10th post 10 yrs ago. I'll repeat and add a picture.

photo.JPG
 
SAE MK VI. I listened to mine for quite awhile yesterday. I have several 'tier 1' tuners. The 10b stands alone in sonics but the SAE would be the next closest.

I was the 10th post 10 yrs ago. I'll repeat and add a picture.

View attachment 1674156

I also have great love for the MK6 and is one tuner that I would like to own for myself one day. However it is really an analog tuner with a digital read out.
 
definitely retro with a scope and nixie display. that display board must be interesting to look at.
 
So recently got an SAE MK6B tuner. The tuner receives however the digital display doesn't work. the Nixis light but come up on a random frequency with each power on. It seems to be getting the local oscillator signal so it appears the ferquency counter is the problem. I have a schematic for the overall tuner but it just shows a box for the frequency display---no service info. Also the scope is out, I think it's a voltage doubler problem. diodes or caps. any thoughts on the frequency display?--Thanks- Roger
 
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