NetNews Usenet Archive 1992 #30/NN_1992_30.iso/spool/rec/audio/16686

Internet Message Format | 1992-12-14 | 7.8 KB

Path: sparky!uunet!dtix!mimsy!sdd.comsat.com!ctd.comsat.com!news.ctd.comsat.com!sumant
From: [e-mail] (Sumant Hattikudur)
Newsgroups: rec.audio
Subject: tuners - summary (long)
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Date: 15 Dec 92 04:44:07 GMT
Distribution: rec
Organization: COMSAT Labs
Lines: 181
NNTP-Posting-Host: spica.ntd.comsat.com


I posted the following request for tuner recommendations, and received
a few responses which I have included below.  Thanks to everyone who replied.

-Sumant.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>Hi fellow-audiophiles,
>
>I am interested in buying a tuner to go with an ADCOM GFP 555 II pre-amp
>and an ADCOM 545 II amplifier.  I will be glad to hear from anyone who
>has recommendations for an excellent tuner that would match the above set, and
>which costs between $300.00 - $400.00 or less.
>
>Does anyone recommend the ADCOM tuner?
>
>Please mail me.  I will post a summary on the net. Thanks,
>
>-Sumant.
>
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From [e-mail] Thu Dec  3 11:21:29 1992

I recently picked up a Onyko T407 tuner for about $275 (list $350).
I'm not tuner expert, but I did look at Denon, Sansui, Carver and
Adcom.  I admit that I did not do a very good job of evaluating one
against the other.  However, the Onyko seemed to win me over.  It's
a very descrete unit that, in many ways, sounds better than my
eight year old CD player.  Definetly worth consideration.  They
have a full line, if the T407 isn't right for you.  Most of the
other ones seemed ok as well (except the Sansui).  I've heard
that Rotel makes a good tuner.  I've not played with one myself
and have no idea how much they go for.

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From [e-mail] Thu Dec  3 19:38:21 1992

Check out the Onkyo T4700 tuner.  It's on the Stereophile recommended
equipment list, and has excellent performance.  It also has AM and a
remote control.  It lists for $450, but can be purchased
mail-order from Reference Audio in California (310-517-1700) for about $324.
My girlfriend recently bought one from Reference Audio and is
very pleased with the quality of the sound and its convenience features.

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From: [e-mail] (Scott Fisher)

The ROTEL RT930AX ($299 RRP) can be had for around $220-250 with haggling
and is a fairly good unit with 20 station memories shared between AM and FM
in any combination.  No remote or AM stereo tho.

The RT970BX and RT950BX are $499 RRP and $399 RRP and are more up market
although in my listening tests did not prove to be noticeably supirior,
however my FM usage is fairly non-critical.  The 5 year warranty is always
nice to get with Rotel gear.

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From [e-mail] Fri Dec  4 10:28:07 1992

    Look in the back of stereo review, a mail order place
    had Proton Tuners with Schott's noise reduction circuitry
    for $169.00   I paid $325 for a NAD with the Schott circutry.
    I think $169 is a great deal, assuming you don't require
    a lot of presets or remote control.

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From [e-mail] Fri Dec  4 11:58:44 1992

Here's the recommendations I got when I asked about tuners recently.
I was looking for analog FM tuners around $450 so these might not be
what you're looking for.

Recommendations for tuners:

Digital tuners (not what I asked about, but):

Onyko 4700
Onkyo T407    $350

Analog tuners:

a shortwave receiver

Quad FM4    $800
Proton AT-670    $400
NAD 4300    $499
Naim ?        $3000 (out of the range, but sussposed to be nice)
Denon ?        (just a general recommendation)

and the big winner is:
Magnum Dynalab FT11    $425 (I got more recommendations about this
                  model than anything else and it's what
                  I'm thinking about buying.)

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From [e-mail] Fri Dec  4 16:21:37 1992

I spent last evening looking through 'buyers guide' issues of
'Stereo' and 'Audio' magazines, comparing tuners.
I'm probably buying a Marantz ST-50, like in about an hour
from now - the store highly recommends it as having superb
audio quality, as well as good reception, etc.  List price $350,
my store = $247.  (yes, 100 below list).   They say the only
thing wrong with it is the bronze color (it doesn't come in black,
and some people don't buy it just for that).

They also carry the Adcom (are strong advocates of all Adcom stuff)
and say it sounds great as well (in terms of sound quality).
They charge $297 for the Adcom.

The two are very similar in specs, build quality, etc.
I don't like Adcom's controls (look/feel) on their pre-amps/tuners,
so that's a bias.   (I own a 535 amp, though, and love it).

Also high on my list:
Sony ST-S550ES - $300 list.  Superb specs, features - on paper, looks
      like an incredible tuner - it's on top of my list, actually, but none
     available for demoing in my small city of Rochester MN...
Denon TU-660 $350 - competent, again, great specs
Proton AT-670 $400 - variable level control for strength of output signal,
      and rotary tuning dial (digital tuner) - I like rotary - more 'feel'. :-)
Rotel RT970Bx  $400 - superb specs - and Rotel is great stuff - I own
      a 855 CD player, and love it.

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From [e-mail] Fri Dec  4 17:13:58 1992

I studied the Onkyo tuner brochure before deciding
on the T400 over the T407.
The T407 would also be a good choice.
It is slightly less expensive than the T4700, and
is similar to the T4700 in design.
The major differences are:

T4700:
    more sophisticated front-end circuitry for slightly lower
    distortion and noise.
    Remote control included.
    Can have up to 40 preset stations, which you can
    group into six classes (classical, jazz, rock, country, talk, other).
    Class names are fixed.
    8-segment signal level display.
    Fine tuning by .25- or .50-Mhz steps

T407:
    Front end not quite as sophisticated as T4700,
    but still very good noise and distortion performance.
    Remote control compatible, but remote not included.
    40 preset stations, which can be grouped into 8 classes.
    You can assign your own names to the classes.
    10-segment signal level display.
    Fine tuning by .50-Mhz steps (I think).
    Direct-frequency tuning: you can bring up a station
    by keying in its frequency on the keypad.

Both the T4700 and the T407 allow you to assign names to the preset
stations, so you can display the call letters of the stations
instead of the frequency if you want.
Presets can be a mix of AM or FM stations.
Both allow you to scan preset stations by class.
Tuning parameters (Wide/narrow front-end bandwidth, high-filter on/off,
stereo/mono, etc) are stored with each preset station as well as
the station name you assign.  Both have power-holdover capability
to preserve memory during a power outage.

The T407 is a newer model; perhaps Onkyo will phase out the T4700
since it is so similar to the T407.
Reference Audio had the T407 in stock, but had to order the T4700
from Onkyo.  They first told me the T4700 had been discontinued,
but when they checked with Onkyo, they found out it was still
available.  Both models appear in the current Onkyo tuner brochure.

--------------------------THE END --------------------------------------------
--
===========================================================================
Sumant M. Hattikudur                Phone:     [phone] (O)
NTD, Room 3143
COMSAT Labs                    E-mail: [e-mail]
22300 Comsat Drive                UUnet : comlabs!sumant
Clarksburg, MD 20871.
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