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What makes a good tuner?

Carbsandcaps

Carbsandcaps

Super Member
This is a specifically tube question but I’m looking through some fisher tube tuners and prices range from $60-$2999. So obviously there’s more tubes so better signal amplification but what else could possibly make that big a difference between a FM90b and an FM1000? This would go for all makes as well.
 
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Are you sure that you mean just tuners and not receivers? $60-$2999 is a large range.
Anyway, over the last decade or so, I have sold a Fisher FM-100 and FM-90x while keeping a FM-200. I think that's Fisher's best tuner.
On my wishlist is a nice working Fisher MPX-100 or -200 to go with it, but that is feeling unlikely.
As for the what makes a good tuner question, do FM stations even broadcast a good signal anymore?
 
Rejection of HD radio self-noise can be important. See- http://ham-radio.com/k6sti/hdrsn.htm
In these days of poor FM programming and signals, it probably doesn't matter much what you use. The price is set by rarity and desirability more than anything. Good old fashioned supply and demand. For a tube tuner I'd hope it's stable and uses tubes that aren't terribly hard to find.
 
Jalousie said:
Are you sure that you mean just tuners and not receivers? $60-$2999 is a large range.
Anyway, over the last decade or so, I have sold a Fisher FM-100 and FM-90x while keeping a FM-200. I think that's Fisher's best tuner.
On my wishlist is a nice working Fisher MPX-100 or -200 to go with it, but that is feeling unlikely.
As for the what makes a good tuner question, do FM stations even broadcast a good signal anymore?
Click to expand...

Yes those are real prices on eBay right now. Obviously nobody is going to pay $3k for a tuner but that’s what they are asking for an fm-1000 new in box. I have a couple MPX 100’s and wouldn’t mind doing a standard fm with the adapter if I could find a decent non MPX fisher tuner.

Basically I’m wondering what makes the 1000 better than the 100.
 
Jalousie said:
Are you sure that you mean just tuners and not receivers? $60-$2999 is a large range.
Anyway, over the last decade or so, I have sold a Fisher FM-100 and FM-90x while keeping a FM-200. I think that's Fisher's best tuner.
On my wishlist is a nice working Fisher MPX-100 or -200 to go with it, but that is feeling unlikely.
As for the what makes a good tuner question, do FM stations even broadcast a good signal anymore?
Click to expand...

How did you like the 90x? I was looking at them too.
 
I'm biased about the 90x since I grew up with one in the '70s (after graduating from transistor radios in the '60s. Lol.) I seem to remember we had a roof antenna and it easily pulled in stations all around the Los Angeles/Long Beach/Orange County area in SoCal.
My FM radio daily driver back then.
 
Here is my guess on the FM-1000. Fisher's attempt at the ultimate FM tuner. Maybe competing with Marantz 10b and McIntosh MR 71 for bragging rights back then? Not sure you can find a FM-1000 today that sounds any better than a FM-100 or FM-200.
There are no time capsules when it comes to vintage tube gear. Any new-in-box listing especially if it looks written by eBay's description AI bot is a warning flag.
 
Imo tube technology does not complete with semiconductor technology as used in a FM tuner. Lots of reasons why.
Not to say you can’t have a good listening experience with tube tech, but performance wise it’s a compromise.
 
rcs16 said:
Imo tube technology does not complete with semiconductor technology as used in a FM tuner. Lots of reasons why.
Not to say you can’t have a good listening experience with tube tech, but performance wise it’s a compromise.
Click to expand...

I certainly agree with that. I’ve got cheap solid state tuners that my tube stuff can’t hold a candle to but for aesthetics and to match the rest of my system I’m looking into tube. I don’t even listen to that much radio.
 
Carbsandcaps said:
I certainly agree with that. I’ve got cheap solid state tuners that my tube stuff can’t hold a candle to but for aesthetics and to match the rest of my system I’m looking into tube. I don’t even listen to that much radio.
Click to expand...

Not tube but.........

The McIntosh MR78 is quite nice looking, considered one of the top five tuners ever made. With an uncompressed signal like that coming out of Berkeley absolutely holographic 3D imaging. The look and feel of the exposed polished weighted tuning knob when turned let's you know this is something special.

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there is tube and there is tube. My idea of a tube tuner involves no silicon except maybe a few diodes. I expect those expensive ones are digital tuner front ends with a vacuum tube audio chain.
 
For performance, the main difference in a top-end tuner seems to lie in an elaborate IF section, including extra stages and limiters. The tuner will have more controls, giving it an impressive appearance. There is also perceived “build quality”.
 
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