Best AM tuner?
- Thread starter rcspkramp
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G'day mate, at least as far as commercially made AM radio's go, I recommend the Tivoli Model One. Basic but very senstitive and nice sound quality with excellent general performance on both AM and FM (mono).
I love mine and our whole family does too. :thmbsp: Regards, Felix aka catman.
I love mine and our whole family does too. :thmbsp: Regards, Felix aka catman.
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Quadrocker
Active Member
I've never heard one....or even seen one in the flesh...but reputedly McKay Dymek made the best AM tuners (..not sure which models)...they weren't solely designed for AM and were multi-band units which covered many other frequencies as well.
McKay Dymek DR22C - Mid/Late 1970's
...after that, I'd say the early 1960's tube receivers (..especially those designed for AM/FM simulcasting) have got a reputation for having excellent AM sections as well.
...my favorite AM tuner is in my Sansui QRX-6500 Quadraphonic Receiver and the one in my Marantz 4400 Receiver is pretty reasonable as well. The only solo tuner AM I like (..of the stuff I have) is the one on my Hitachi FT-920.
McKay Dymek DR22C - Mid/Late 1970's
...after that, I'd say the early 1960's tube receivers (..especially those designed for AM/FM simulcasting) have got a reputation for having excellent AM sections as well.
...my favorite AM tuner is in my Sansui QRX-6500 Quadraphonic Receiver and the one in my Marantz 4400 Receiver is pretty reasonable as well. The only solo tuner AM I like (..of the stuff I have) is the one on my Hitachi FT-920.
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moinau
Je me Souviens
I've never heard one....or even seen one in the flesh...but reputedly McKay Dymek made the best AM tuners (..not sure which models)...they weren't solely designed for AM and were multi-band units which covered many other frequencies as well.
McKay Dymek DR22C - Mid/Late 1970's
+1:thmbsp: The McKay-Dymek DR-22 was and is the best of the AM tuner, but hard to find.
mhardy6647
Lunatic Member
Yes, the best is/was the McKay-Dymek, in terms of consumer/hifi AM tuners.
As was also noted, the vintage AM-FM vacuum tube tuners deliver more performance than today's analog AM stations can muster (due to bandwidth restrictions). The "AM-FM stereo" simulcast-capable tuners were deliberately designed to provide AM audio performance as close to FM-quality as possible - since one channel of the simulcast was on AM, the other on FM.
That said, the AM on the old (i.e., pre-simulcast stereo) Sherwood monos (e.g., the S-2000) is pretty good. These won't break the bank (paid $50 for mine).
Plenty of good sounding AM table radios and consoles from the '50s and before, as well.
The aforementioned Tivioli AUdio Model One is pretty respectable, too.
HTH, as they say.
As was also noted, the vintage AM-FM vacuum tube tuners deliver more performance than today's analog AM stations can muster (due to bandwidth restrictions). The "AM-FM stereo" simulcast-capable tuners were deliberately designed to provide AM audio performance as close to FM-quality as possible - since one channel of the simulcast was on AM, the other on FM.
That said, the AM on the old (i.e., pre-simulcast stereo) Sherwood monos (e.g., the S-2000) is pretty good. These won't break the bank (paid $50 for mine).
Plenty of good sounding AM table radios and consoles from the '50s and before, as well.
The aforementioned Tivioli AUdio Model One is pretty respectable, too.
HTH, as they say.
rcspkramp
Super Member
Sorry if I was ambiguous, I'm looking for something state of the art for am that is made now.
mhardy6647
Lunatic Member
We gave our daugher a Tivioli PAL (basically the same radio, with a built-in battery pack and oriented "portrait" for portability) when she matriculated into college in 2002; it still serves her (and her husband!) very well.
Sandy G
Retired Member
Collins R-389/URR. 15 KC to 1500KC, it was designed in 1949-51 as a "No Expense Spared" Receiver. Bandwidths from .1 to 16KC. 32 tubes, motor assisted tuning, it also makes a dandy space heater. There were approx 700 made 1954-55, 1 or 2 change hands on You-Know-Where every year, for usually silly big money. W/a proper antenna, capable of incredible performance, commensurate w/its $ 3500-4500 pricetag to the Signal Corps in 1955.
eb2jim
Super Member
I mentioned it in the other thread here, but I held out and waited for a Fisher R-200-B just so I could get a lot of bands in a nice unit. I listen to FM of course, but I find myself just wanting to hear the ball game, or pull in a far-away station at night. I have a Sony Walkman-sized AM Stereo unit that is fun, but I don't know who is broadcasting AM stereo anymore.
Another wrinkle is my car has HD radio, and our local sports station broadcasts in HD. It is truly a kick in the pants to hear your typical flat AM tone suddenly switch to fuller fidelity stereo. I will probably pick up one of those eventually as well. They aren't too pricey, but I have no idea of any quality performance. I find the digital overtone of garble annoying.
But I have a C Crane radio that I use as a clock radio, and I am used to dialing in Cincinatti, Boston, New Orleans, Toronto, Nashville etc at night. You can hook that up to a stereo.
Another wrinkle is my car has HD radio, and our local sports station broadcasts in HD. It is truly a kick in the pants to hear your typical flat AM tone suddenly switch to fuller fidelity stereo. I will probably pick up one of those eventually as well. They aren't too pricey, but I have no idea of any quality performance. I find the digital overtone of garble annoying.
But I have a C Crane radio that I use as a clock radio, and I am used to dialing in Cincinatti, Boston, New Orleans, Toronto, Nashville etc at night. You can hook that up to a stereo.
RxDx
Speaker collector
I see no one's mentioned the Sony XDR-F1HD. Starts cheap enough you can invest in audio mods if you want w/o overbuilding. Beyond that, I've got a Drake R8... The Sony has a remote, line-outs, bonus FM band, and HD on both bands if it matters.
59volvo
Super Member
HD is the best thing that ever happened to AM radio. (It may suck for FM, but it makes AM a whole lot more listenable)
G'day mate, now that's a provocative statement.
In reality there's nothing wrong with AM if you know what you're using. It's become a bit of a specialty of mine http://sound.westhost.com/articles/am-radio.htm and there is a short audio file in here toward the bottom of the page. http://www.mds975.co.uk/Content/crystalsets5.html Regards, Felix (vk4fuq) aka catman.
In reality there's nothing wrong with AM if you know what you're using. It's become a bit of a specialty of mine http://sound.westhost.com/articles/am-radio.htm and there is a short audio file in here toward the bottom of the page. http://www.mds975.co.uk/Content/crystalsets5.html Regards, Felix (vk4fuq) aka catman.
Ed in Tx
Super Member
As long as you aren't trying to listen to that atation on a conventional AM tuner that has decent bandwidth. Our local 1080 KRLD-AM went "HD" and now sounds like a noisy FM station with a constant background hiss or hash noise. I've never been able to get good reliable reception with HD AM either. Two different tuners and different antennas did not resolve it. The one HD-AM station I care to listen to here can be received in my part of town in mono HD, not enough signal to make the tuner go into stereo. FCC shows I am in the prime signal area for that station too. I've given up on HD AM. FM's OK because of the sub-channels, but lose sub-channel reception and you may suddenly be getting blasted out with whatever is playing on the analog side when the tuner gives up and reverts back to analog. To me the IBOC "HD" system just barely seems to work and reception is too critical.
guiller
Toscaninichus Australis
There is a recommended list of AM tuners at the Tuner Information Center: http://www.fmtunerinfo.com/amtuners.html
The best AM tuner is your computer, IMO. Streaming a station via the Internet makes static non-existent and the distance from the station irrelevant.
