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Tuners?

I just bought a Yamaha RX-900U receiver. I read some fairly glowing things about its sound quality (supposed to have substantially the same amp as the M-80, I don't know if that is true), and they were right- this receiver makes Jenny Hval's "Black Morning/Viscera" float holographically whereas my B&K, while quite good, seemed less 3-D by comparison. The selling point was the tuner, which has IF mode settings. I have owned and loved Yamaha T-80s and Yamaha T-85s (gear trading, it's a sickness) and hoped this all-in-one unit, second to the top of its line, would be a nice inexpensive heart of a small room system I'm building. So I hooked it up to a standard issue dipole and I must say I am impressed by the reception quality. It's quite sharp in narrow, not as sharp as the aformentioned tuners in super-narrow, but definitely a suitable filter. So I was curious and have been looking at manuals online. Its tuner is as good as a T-80, and betters it in sensitivity. It's about equivalent in selectivity. The T-85 blows them both out of the water, spec-wise, but in quieting sensitivity the RX-900U is in striking range of the T-85. The only foible is the frequency response of the FM section. It seemed just a tad muffled, and darned if it doesn't top out at 13khz. There is no way these 50-something ears can detect 2khz difference at the top end! Maybe the filter is a shade tighter- I might have to look for a service manual. Anyway it's about as quiet as my Proton 440, which means it's darn good. I took a really bad pic of the tuner display- listening to a low power local station with no antenna whatsoever, and sound quality was actually listenable.
rx900.JPG
 
If roll-off begins at 13kHz, you might be able to improve the high end by making sure the filter after the audio detection is actually calculated for the US standard of 75micro seconds. Many tuners were manufactured with less than ideal filtering for the high end.

Joe
 
My main tuner is a Magnum Dynalab MD-90. I also have a Magnum Dynalab FT-101, circa 1987 which is currently being tuned by the factory. The FT-101 has a defeatable AFC control which the factory removed from the MD-90. It also has a slightly warmer sound which is nice for stations that EQ on the bright side.
 
I have a Sansui TU-717 and a Sansui TU-70... but lately I have been listening to the tuner in an old Clairtone console from 1964/65 that I recently acquired.

The sound of the console reminds me of listening to music when I was just young, and even when compared to my other setups, I find the sound of this old console surprising to say the least.

52kKj9Z.jpg
 
I've put the NAD 4300 into retirement. I'm now using a Dynaco FM3, Eico ST 97 and a Scott 350B in different systems.
Have also managed to pick up a Eico HFT 90, a MX 99 multiplex adapter and a Lafayette LT-250A which I suspect was made by Kenwood.
I guess I have a thing for tube tuners.
 
I recently acquired a Kenwood KT-9900 tuner which is identical with a Kenwood KT-8300 except for the power supply which will work from 120VAC or 240VAC and having a gray-tone front panel. It is even more selective and quieter than my KT-7500 models. It has double-tuned coupling in its RF amplifier stages to provide part of the improved selectivity. It has even more quieting than any other tuner I have tried. There is a Deviation/Multipth meter. The sound stage is very good. It has become my every day tuner.

Joe
KT-9900 Operating 01 web.jpg
 
A couple more additions.
Was given a Dynaco FM1 and grabbed a Harman Kardon Madrigal .

NAD 4300
Sansui TU 666
Dynaco FM1
Dynaco FM3
Dynaco FM5
Eico ST97
Eico HFT90
Eico MX 99 multiplex adapter
Scott 350B
Harman Kardon ST350 Madrigal
Lafayette LT-250A
Calbest 9150
 
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DSC_0789.jpg

Carver TX-11b
This is a good tuner with impressive capabilities. It delivers nice full sounding hi-fi SQ as well as some very strong stereo imaging. However, Like all tuners, the most important component is the quality of FM Radio Signal and to receive that, really, an even more important component is the antenna.

I'm currently in a fringe area where some stations that I'd really like only come in faintly. Residing in an apartment. Restricted to indoor type antennae. After many trials I came up with a folded dipole diy antenna as best available compromise.
https://www.theanalogdept.com/fm_reception.htm
Above link to a page on my site where I try different types of antennae as well as traps and boosters to less than optimal result.
There are some local stations that do come in strong enough. None of those play music I can live with. However if one looks for Mexican language talk radio, there is at least one of those coming in strong. A couple of Christian talk radio stations on FM come in loud and clear. Pop music for the millennial generation is available strong and clear. One country station comes in clean, and I tune in to that occasionally, but the jazz station I'm trying to get (KNKX FM 90.7) comes in off and on noisy/fuzzy and with the occasional moment when it plays clean.

After some brief experimenting, I know now that internet radio via a laptop (or desk top PC) does not produce the quality level suitable for my listening room, but is ok for a PC based sound system in an office environment.

I guess internet streaming, or satellite broadcast is the solution, and those don't require an FM tuner. Analog radio --- the days of FM radio --appear to be fading away. At least out here in the boonies, it seems like that. Progress. Time does not stand still. etc.

-Steve
 
steve, i'd suggest hanging a yagi from your ceiling, pointed at the station you are having most difficulty receiving/want to hear most. you can find 4-element yagi's new, and if you look, you can find used yagi's. as well. but even a 4-element yagi should offer you a decent improvement. here's one, <$40, shipped:
https://www.amazon.com/OUTDOOR-ANTENNA-FOUR-ELEMENT-DIRECTIONAL/dp/B00NRHAV2K

and, while i'd strongly recommend against purchasing one new, the older magnum dynalab signal sleuth's are sometimes useful for receiving difficult stations in fringe environs. i picked up one of these (basically same as the new models) for ~$50:
lightest

they can increase or reduce signal strength, and are tuned to a specific station, just like your tuna.

re: internet fm, i've gone to the dark side, and use a grace gdi-irdt200 with its digital out into a nice dac, in my main rig. the sound is actually quite good, and i can sit in the "sweet spot" and listen to phenomenal programming, not just use it for background music. the graces are nla new, but typically can be found used for $150 or less. and there's a unit called the ocean digital wr10, which is pretty-much the exact model, but w/different software interface to load stations. i've seen 'em as low as $120 new.

a place to find internet stations:
http://radiobit.50webs.com/

i find myself listening to fip-france a lot - its non-genre-specific programming feed defines the term "eclectic".

doug s.
 
I got one of those signal sleuths as well but in silverface at a garage sale in Northbrook, Ontario, Canada for $4. You have 4 poles of tuning plus a gain control so if you have an FM set with limited RF performance, this should be the answer.
 
doug s. said:
steve, i'd suggest hanging a yagi from your ceiling, pointed at the station you are having most difficulty receiving/want to hear most. you can find 4-element yagi's new, and if you look, you can find used yagi's. as well. but even a 4-element yagi should offer you a decent improvement. here's one, <$40, shipped:
https://www.amazon.com/OUTDOOR-ANTENNA-FOUR-ELEMENT-DIRECTIONAL/dp/B00NRHAV2K

and, while i'd strongly recommend against purchasing one new, the older magnum dynalab signal sleuth's are sometimes useful for receiving difficult stations in fringe environs. i picked up one of these (basically same as the new models) for ~$50:
lightest

they can increase or reduce signal strength, and are tuned to a specific station, just like your tuna.

re: internet fm, i've gone to the dark side, and use a grace gdi-irdt200 with its digital out into a nice dac, in my main rig. the sound is actually quite good, and i can sit in the "sweet spot" and listen to phenomenal programming, not just use it for background music. the graces are nla new, but typically can be found used for $150 or less. and there's a unit called the ocean digital wr10, which is pretty-much the exact model, but w/different software interface to load stations. i've seen 'em as low as $120 new.

a place to find internet stations:
http://radiobit.50webs.com/

i find myself listening to fip-france a lot - its non-genre-specific programming feed defines the term "eclectic".

doug s.
Click to expand...

If you want good sound via internet radio then I can highly recommend the 320 k AAC unprocessed stream of KFJC. Levels vary depending on the DJ, track etc but the best broadcasts sound absolutely fantastic through the DAC into my amp.
 
thanks; i will check it out. but fip-france has such unbelievable programming... maybe it's possible there's other stations as good.

doug s.
Nick_G said:
If you want good sound via internet radio then I can highly recommend the 320 k AAC unprocessed stream of KFJC. Levels vary depending on the DJ, track etc but the best broadcasts sound absolutely fantastic through the DAC into my amp.
Click to expand...
 
I bought the Ocean Digital WR-10 last week to replace a 30 year old Yamaha tuner and have really enjoyed it. The FM section is decent. But you buy a tuner like that so you can listen to Internet stations. I’ve been listening mostly our internet radio station (Fort Dodge Radio) with Sennheiser HD-580’s, and to my ears, it sounds pretty good.
 
interesting; i have never tried the analog fm of my grace...

if you're not using the wr10's didital out into a good dac, you really need to check it out.

doug s.
ProBlogger said:
I bought the Ocean Digital WR-10 last week to replace a 30 year old Yamaha tuner and have really enjoyed it. The FM section is decent. But you buy a tuner like that so you can listen to Internet stations. I’ve been listening mostly our internet radio station (Fort Dodge Radio) with Sennheiser HD-580’s, and to my ears, it sounds pretty good.
Click to expand...
 
doug s. said:
interesting; i have never tried the analog fm of my grace...

if you're not using the wr10's didital out into a good dac, you really need to check it out.

doug s.
Click to expand...

Thanks Doug...will do. A new DAC is on the upgrade list for later this year.
 
I recently bought a Naim SuperUniti with the thot of trying streaming, but also to simplify my overall system.
It's been an excellent purchase for a whack of reasons, but I won't get into that;.I'll stick to the tuner info.

The Internet radio section of the tuner bas been great, and I wasn't thinking about iradio at all when I bot it. The hundreds of world-wide stations available are very interesting to sample, and the sound is really quite good now that I've got a decent ethernet cable. I couldn't believe the difference that a simple $20 usd, Tera Grand double shielded cable made.
My Linn Unidisk 1.1 still sounds better than the iradio or streaming, but not by much. And now, I'm actually running the Linn thru the Dac in the SuperUniti, and it sounds great as well.
Anyway, overall I'm very impressed with the iradio, and even the FM signal sounds great when the reception is good. Even Tidal sounds better than it ever has.
Enjoy the music.
Cheers.

Dave
 
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