Kenny tuner on AG

[sancho22]

http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?misctunr&1249107146&/Kenwood-L-02-T-Good-Condition

No affiliation.

 

[JohnVF]

Yikes, for that price I'll happily stick with my Fisher FM200. Is one tuner really THAT much better than the more sensibly priced, but still great, performers? I guess one could pose that question about a lot of what we buy, though.

 

[redcoates7]

Well, it's one of the best ever built...something to be said for that if one has the $$ and some GREAT FM stations nearby

 

[sancho22]

Good point. I am wondering sometimes myself. Some pieces are more collectible, have sentimental value (to some), etc. My leasy expensive tuner is the Sansui 717 and the most expensive is the Kenwood 600T. I do hear difference, but both are really great.

 

[lha1992]

The L-02T is one of the best tuners ever built.

Not many were made at all.

 

[bastek]

The L-02T is one of the best tuners ever built.

Not many were made at all.

To listen to the worst broadcast quality ever transmitted in FM.
Today even the Sony XDR-F1HD is excessive considering what FM has become.
I would buy the best ever preamp or amp, but not the best ever tuner.

 

[JohnVF]

To listen to the worst broadcast quality ever transmitted in FM.
Today even the Sony XDR-F1HD is excessive considering what FM has become.
I would buy the best ever preamp or amp, but not the best ever tuner.

That's kind of where I am coming from. I really love the couple of fine tuners that I have, especially the tube FM-200. It sounds exceptional. But I only ever have it on one station, the local classical station. I can't stand any of the other local stations, and they sound terrible (the classical station is uncompressed, as far as I can tell...great sound). The best FM tuner is still an FM tuner, and limited simply by what's become of the format. I'm just saying that I've bought a few things I've expected to be blown away by, given the word of mouth they get or one really really glowing review, only to think "well, I guess it sounds a little better. Maybe?". There's a lot of hype that goes into pricing in this hobby.

 

[redcoates7]

To listen to the worst broadcast quality ever transmitted in FM.
Today even the Sony XDR-F1HD is excessive considering what FM has become.
I would buy the best ever preamp or amp, but not the best ever tuner.

The issue with this logic is that there will never be another great tuner, while new (and in many cases much better) amplifiers and preamps are being introduced yearly!

Back to the tuner though, I find that the hours of enjoyment I get from my local (and not-so-local) "left of the dial" stations make a good tuner a fantastic investment. Sure the frequency response is a bit reduced compared to CD and most big-company stations sound like crap, but I wouldn't want to miss the time I've gotten to spend with my better FM tuners.

The Sony HD job is cool, and I love the access to alternate content that the HD Radio provides, but just can't hold a candle to the performance I get from my better analog tuners.

If you've got the dough, love radio, and have some great stations to listen to, the L-02T is the best I've ever heard.

 

[bastek]

The issue with this logic is that there will never be another great tuner, while new (and in many cases much better) amplifiers and preamps are being introduced yearly!

If you've got the dough, love radio, and have some great stations to listen to, the L-02T is the best I've ever heard.

This new (2009) McIntosh MR88 is a better tuner, for not much more than the old Kenny. Which one would you rather have?
http://www.mcintoshlabs.com/products/1333.asp

 

[EchoWars]

The Kenwood.

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