Tuner
bphilpott -- Fri, 02/03/2006 - 12:42
I am interested in purchasing a high end tuner. I have read numerous reviews on the MD90-T, however I am unable to find any on the Vincent Audio ... Hybrid-Tuner RDS STU-2. I recently moved to Anchorage., Alaska and therefore I am limited to the availibilty of high end audio equipment. It seems that the STU-2 is more user friendly, AM as well as FM, and is more attractive in appearance. However, I am unsure about the sound clarity of the STU-2, I know from all the reviews that Magnum Dynalab produces an exceptional tuner.
Can you please advise, and tell me how the STU-2 matches up to the MD90T in sound quality.
You can tell quite a bit about tuner performance from the specifications. The specs of most concern to you are probably sensitivity and signal-t-to-noise ratio rather than alternate-channel selectivity or adjacent-channel selectivity. Also, a tuner with selectable IF bandwidth is an advantage.
Robert Harley
Go to fmtunerinfo.com. You can get outstanding sound easily rivaling the best tuners for much less money. I'm using a modded Kenwood KT 7500 and with a good quality broadcast and antenna like I have the sound quality rivals many cd's!
There's also a FM tuner group on Yahoo. Tons of info and very nice knowledgeable people to help you.
Whatever you decide a rooftop antenna is very important. You can get ones from 25 bucks at Radio Shack to more expensive ones by Antenna performance Specialties and Delhi. Worth every penny so please put the antenna into your budget. Hope this helps.
I've had some experience with the Magnum Dynalab tuners and they have invariably been positive ones. True they are FM only-however I believe they have an RDS AM/FM available now in the new $1k DT-5. Also they have a great selection of rooftop antennas. And, if you're a real FM perfectionist don't forget the motorized rotator to really get an accurate bead for fine tuning the weaker stations.
BTW-Generally speaking a fine analog tuner will be more flexible capturing hard to tune stations than digitial tuners.
Neil Gader
Associate Editor/TAS-TPV
Neil Gader Associate Editor The Absolute Sound
Hi all,
I purchased the MD 90T. It is a great piece of equipment, I presently listen to FM Radio all the time.
I really enjoyed the MD-90 that I reviewed in TAS. A couple years later I reviewed the MD-106 and found that it combined all the properties that I considered so engaging in the 90 and added a richness and depth that brought the sonics ever closer to analog/LP source material. It was also supernaturally quiet. Loved that tuning eye also!
I think one of the things that I really enjoy about analog tuners is the level of involvement they inspire. I feel disconnected operating CD players. Analog tuners on the other hand, encourage you to be part of the action, like a turntable. It's the ritual of the high end and I like that.
Neil Gader
Associate Editor, TAS
Neil Gader Associate Editor The Absolute Sound
Does anyone have any experience or thoughts on the Marantz ST-17 or Parasound Halo T3? Thanks.
...it is easy to find a type of machine to correspond to each society, not because machines are determinant, but because they express social forms capable of engendering and using them.--Gilles Deleuze
I won a Parasound Halo A-23 Amplifier, a Parasound Halo P3 Pre-amplifier and a Parasound Halo T3 tuner which I had bought in 2003. I did a good amount of research and read a number of reviews and of course spent a good deal of time going to different high end audio stores listening to different components. At the time, the Parasound Halo units were being given excellent reviews from a few different magazines I had read and from listening to the components I found them to have as good as or better sound than more expensive components from other high end audio companies. I purchased the Halo components and upon setting everything up I noticed some extremely loud static sounds coming from my Paradigm speakers. I had at first thought that the speakers were blown but after hooking up Polk speakers that I also had I heard the same noises. I then hooked the Paradigm speakers to my Yamaha system and they sounded fine. I took the amplifier back to the authorized Parasound dealer at which time after the salesperson calling Parasound to ask if they would allow the store to give me another unit (which was completely ridiculous because if they thought that I would accept not being given another amp or my money back the day after I purchased the item broken they were sadly mistaken) I left with another Halo A-23 amplifier. I have since not had any problems with the A-23 amp or the P-3 pre-amp. I am actually very happy with the sound and the two components. The one thing I am not happy with is my T-3 tuner. The tuner has good sound when it is working and actually receiving a station but approximately two months after I had purchased the tuner it began to not respond to the Power button. I can press the button on the unit or on the remote and receive no response from the tuner. I called the authorized dealer about it and was told since it was two months old I would have to call Parasound. I called Parasound and they would do nothing for me at all. I decided it was not worth taking anywhere to be fixed being that I had been disappointed with the reception of the radio stations to begin with. I have an old Panasonic receiver from the 1970s in my garage which is behind the wall where the Parasound sits and I receive around thirty FM stations with no static on them and on the Parasound I received four FM stations with no static on them. I live in the suburbs of NYC and receive all of the NYC stations on the Panasonic and none of the NYC stations with the Parasound. Due to my very real experience with Parasound and the T-3 tuner I would advise going with another company for a tuner. Although I am happy with the sound of the amplifier and pre-amplifier, if I had to do it over again I would not buy another product from Parasound due to what I consider poor customer relations; not just because they did not do anything about the broken tuner but also because the people I had spoken to from Parasound about this problem were not only not very helpful but also quite rude. I hope my experience with Parasound helps you on your quest for a new tuner. Good luck and take care.
The paragraph above is supposed to start as "I own" not "I won"-sorry for the typing error.
Thanks a lot for the info on the Parasound. I'm leaning toward the Magnum Dynalab now.
...it is easy to find a type of machine to correspond to each society, not because machines are determinant, but because they express social forms capable of engendering and using them.--Gilles Deleuze
Quote: I would like to agree strongly with and expand upon the earlier comment about vintage tuners. My first good tuner was a Denon TU-800 which I bought new in 1988. As I upgraded my system over time I tried to upgrade the tuner along with it. After three failed attempts - two returned purchases and a demo - I finally succeeded in improving on the sound of the TU-800 sometime around 2000 with a Magnum Dynalab MD-102. Then I discovered fmtunerinfo.com. The material about tuners on that home page is incredibly informative; much of it is not available anywhere else to my knowledge and I cannot recommend the site highly enough. To make a long story short, their info led me to my current tuner, which is an APS calibrated and modified 1980 vintage Sansui TU-919. I would characterize the improvement in FM sound quality as a revelation and far better than anything I would have thought possible given the limitations of the FM medium.
arahl
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