A tuner, in this day and age?

[audiodummy]

Kind of funny, yes I prefer digitally synthesized (quartz) tuners. Mostly because I hate trying to carefully tune into the right frequency. It's not really the "good" tuners' fault, it's mostly all those crappy clock radios whose frequency scales tend to be really off from reality, making it tough to choose the right station. With a PLL-synthesized electronic tuner, you get the right frequency right away, for that particular station you want to listen to.

I rarely see people selling tuners nowadays, are they mostly trashed now instead of being attempted for sale, even for cheap? I do wonder if a tuner is worth more than, say, a tape deck, VCR, or CD player?

 

[mhardy6647]

I think that the market for tuners in general is pretty soft.

 

[JoeESP9]

Kind of funny, yes I prefer digitally synthesized (quartz) tuners. Mostly because I hate trying to carefully tune into the right frequency. It's not really the "good" tuners' fault, it's mostly all those crappy clock radios whose frequency scales tend to be really off from reality, making it tough to choose the right station. With a PLL-synthesized electronic tuner, you get the right frequency right away, for that particular station you want to listen to.

I rarely see people selling tuners nowadays, are they mostly trashed now instead of being attempted for sale, even for cheap? I do wonder if a tuner is worth more than, say, a tape deck, VCR, or CD player?

I don't quite understand what a cheap clock radio has to do with a "good" tuner.

Although a PLL type digital tuner may zero in on the exact frequency IME many of them don't sound that good. That's why I'll stick with my analog Accuphase T-101. Besides producing superb sound it has three meters (tuning, signal strength, multipath). The meters allow me to orient my antenna for the strongest signal and least amount of multipath. In addition, being analog it allows me to slightly detune some stations for better sound.

 

[guest122]

Kind of funny, yes I prefer digitally synthesized (quartz) tuners. Mostly because I hate trying to carefully tune into the right frequency. It's not really the "good" tuners' fault, it's mostly all those crappy clock radios whose frequency scales tend to be really off from reality, making it tough to choose the right station. With a PLL-synthesized electronic tuner, you get the right frequency right away, for that particular station you want to listen to.

I rarely see people selling tuners nowadays, are they mostly trashed now instead of being attempted for sale, even for cheap? I do wonder if a tuner is worth more than, say, a tape deck, VCR, or CD player?

I have a yamaha TX-950 and a T-85 I highly doubt anyone is throwing those in the trash.

 

[audiodummy]

I'm just biased because old analog tuners also have stringed indicators just like clock radios. Also the fact that the possible offset is in both clock radios and analog tuners - again I don't know how often this offset happens. While trying to tune clock radios sometimes there's some hysteresis in the indicator, making it tough to tune into a particular frequency you want. However with the size of these tuners, it should be a lot easier to make things a bit more accurate and precise.

I still would like to get a decent analog tuner to see how much of this tuning hysteresis exists... Also I wonder how much thermal sensitivity occurs in these tuners (especially tube, then again some tuners generate a lot of heat too)... one would hope the circuit is designed so that it's thermally balanced.

 

[kevzep]

I have two McIntosh tuners that get used daily.
The MR80 never drifts as it has digital lock.....

The MR78 never drifts because it is arguably the best FM tuner ever made....

My favourite is the MR78 for sound quality, even after nearly a year owning it, I am still amazed at the sound.

We have some great sounding analogue stations in New Zealand.....Long live analouge FM!!!

 

[Pio1980]

I'm just biased because old analog tuners also have stringed indicators just like clock radios. Also the fact that the possible offset is in both clock radios and analog tuners - again I don't know how often this offset happens. While trying to tune clock radios sometimes there's some hysteresis in the indicator, making it tough to tune into a particular frequency you want. However with the size of these tuners, it should be a lot easier to make things a bit more accurate and precise.

I still would like to get a decent analog tuner to see how much of this tuning hysteresis exists... Also I wonder how much thermal sensitivity occurs in these tuners (especially tube, then again some tuners generate a lot of heat too)... one would hope the circuit is designed so that it's thermally balanced.

The string drive hysteresis is essentially non-existent in a good quality tuner or receiver. I like a nice stick-shift radio section as much as a fine digital/synthesized example, my two in-use tuners are examples of both approaches.

 

[Yamaki]

For me, it's because I have a diverse source of quality FM stations available in my area that are fun to listen to.

 

[plazmaplanna]

I listen to AM and FM on tuner/recievers and old transistor radios...I enjoy the simplicity of it all and if the internet isn't working the radio will still be working. I like turning the dial around to find something nice to listen to. Though radio has gone down hill on FM there is always a few stations that pop up here and there that are good. There are even some stations that only come in late at night, and play some unique stuff. I'll always be a radio listener, everything about it interests me. I don't have any that are super fancy but the old ones I like the fact that I can fix it if it breaks pretty darn easily. Growing up I used to make tapes off the radio all day, spending countless hours scanning the air ways.

 

[Rob41]

I love using my Heathkit AJ-1600 analog SS tuner. I like listening to recently released rock music. The only aspect of radio I really don't like are the DJ's. They all seem to call it a radio show and are constantly flapping their lips about news or politics. I can't stand that part and as soon as they aren't playing music I have to get up and change the station.

 

[repair_guy]

There's still alot relavence to having a tuner. To me it still sounds better than the average streaming radio, and you can just turn it on. To me, when it comes to music, things should be simple, just turn it on and you hear good to excellent quality music. Some of you will probably say that streaming stations can be simple too. This is my experience with them, they sound bad (not all, and some I like), they have a tendency to quit or my computer goes into standby, the program crashes and they're not portable.

My fm tuner has never let me down. I remember being so drunk and knew where the knobs were, and had music playing in seconds. If I was to try to use a streaming radio on the computer in that condition, I'm sure the computer would be out the window in drunken frustration. Well, maybe not out the window, but you get my point.


FM fills the demand for casual listening, and with a decent tuner you get better sound and alot more stations. But I don't see the point on spending alot on a tuner.

I do love my tube sherwood receiver, and especially after the FM was calibrated, now it sounds nice, real nice.

 

[Valveglow]

I love using my Heathkit AJ-1600 analog SS tuner. I like listening to recently released rock music. The only aspect of radio I really don't like are the DJ's. They all seem to call it a radio show and are constantly flapping their lips about news or politics. I can't stand that part and as soon as they aren't playing music I have to get up and change the station.

In that case, you need a tuner with a remote!