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FM Tuners - Who still builds these?

69.156.200.77
Posted on October 8, 2014 at 12:06:30
samurai7595
Audiophile

Posts: 348
Location: Canada
Joined: November 1, 2007
 Besides Magnum Dynalab, McIntosh, Bel Canto and 47Labs (that I'm aware of), who else still builds & sells new FM tuners to connect to an audio system?

 

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RE: FM Tuners - Who still builds these?, posted on October 8, 2014 at 17:33:06
centaurfm
Audiophile

Posts: 20
Location: Pacific Northwet
Joined: May 6, 2010
 The question might be: who sells good, affordable tuners? If my Sony XDR-F1HD dies, I doubt I'll find affordable new HD tuners.

It'll come down to what I could afford on eBay. There's gold there, if you know what to look for and are willing to do some refurbishment and get it properly aligned.

 

RE: FM Tuners - Who still builds these?, posted on October 8, 2014 at 17:54:08
HoosierAudio
Audiophile

Posts: 377
Location: MidWest, USA
Joined: November 28, 2005
 Hi samurai,

Accuphase is still manufacturing FM Tuners, and its a very,very good one, and the price reflects it.
McIntosh I believe is also still in production.
DaySequerra is also still out there

HA

 

Well, Hybrid Digital isn't FM, doesn't sound all that good, and , posted on October 8, 2014 at 17:54:15
Timbo in Oz
Audiophile

Posts: 23221
Location: Canberra - in the ACT - SE Australia
Joined: January 30, 2002
 I am told, lots of stations are dropping it. I don't live in the USA.




Warmest

Tim Bailey

Skeptical Measurer & Audio Scrounger


 

RE: Well, Hybrid Digital isn't FM, doesn't sound all that good, and , posted on October 8, 2014 at 20:12:31
centaurfm
Audiophile

Posts: 20
Location: Pacific Northwet
Joined: May 6, 2010
 I can tell you that where I live, there are very few analog-only FM stations and no apparent rush to abandon the HD Radio technology. Most cars are now shipping with HD-capable receivers.

FM HD Radio has worked very well for me and the audio quality is better; no multipath, extended frequency response, more programming. We do have a couple or three local stations that actually care about the sound quality.

AM stations locally running HD Radio are just as scarce as analog-only FM stations. Not a great loss for me as there's little music programming on the AM band that I want to listen to. But I have to admit that the AM market has mostly dropped HD Radio in all but very large markets.

Although, last weekend KKXA 1520 was running full digital AM HD Radio in several test broadcasts. Far stronger signal and I was able to get HD lock. Alas, it was country music, in mono and not stereo. The audio quality was essentially equal to analog mono FM.

Given the high performance of DSP-based receiver chipsets, there's no reason even analog-only AM/FM tuners couldn't be cheaply produced. I don't think HD Radio is mandated on new equipment, but any new tuner I buy in the future will have to support digital broadcast.

 

The digitaisation might help with noise, but the bit rates are way too low for high quality sound, posted on October 8, 2014 at 20:35:09
Timbo in Oz
Audiophile

Posts: 23221
Location: Canberra - in the ACT - SE Australia
Joined: January 30, 2002
 I cannot see how any codec can ever compensate for the low bit rates HD uses. Otherwise high-res recordings and downloads would be a waste of money, no?!

I live in a very hilly city, and multipath would be an issue where I live, but for an old but good long-boom and wide-band yagi with a tight enough pattern.

IME FM sounds fine so long as the signal arriving at / driving the tuner has not been futzed with (it too often is), is strong enough is fully limiting the front end of the radio, and has low multipath. That is what antennas are for.

Noise is a big issue for me, as my listening diet is mostly classical music. IME live direct broadcasts of the same can be very good, esp. when minimally miked. And I use a rebuilt valve front-end receiver. I have sufficient gain from the old antenna and a good SS kit MPX decoder, built in.

I record such concerts for a local community FM station, using their gear for simple stereo technique and SS recorders to digital wav 16/44.1 files.











Warmest

Tim Bailey

Skeptical Measurer & Audio Scrounger


 

RE: FM Tuners - Who still builds these?, posted on October 9, 2014 at 17:13:01
6bq5
Audiophile

Posts: 4392
Location: SF Bay
Joined: August 16, 2001
 Magnum Dynalab, Fanfare, McIntosh, Most of the receivers still have an analog tuner, Linn, Project, Accuphase,-
and there are lots of used units that can be had for a song -

FM is not what it was, but in rural areas there are still great stations, and a few metro areas still have decent offerings.
I know that So. Cal and Nor Cal have lots to choose from.
I have also found there to be lots of choices in the Greater Boston east to Albany corridor. It may even extend south to NYC and beyond - I just don't get there much anymore....
Happy Tuning
Happy Listening

 

Are you really interested?, posted on October 10, 2014 at 15:31:29
1973shovel
Audiophile

Posts: 10117
Location: Greenville SC
Joined: February 25, 2007
 Or simply looking to start a topic of converation?

I'm OK with either one. The reason I ask it that way, is because if I were looking for a few guesses, I'd do what you did, and post here.

However, if I was in the market for a tuner, and only wanted to purchase something new, I'd take a different approach.

I believe Stereophile still publishes an annual equipment guide, which, while (maybe) not listing all currently manufactured tuners, certainly may give you more information than you got here. Absolute Sound may still publish one as well, although I'm not sure, since I don't subscribe to either. But that's where I'd start.



 

RE: FM Tuners - Who still builds these?, posted on October 11, 2014 at 08:58:05
Brian Levy
Audiophile

Posts: 2438
Location: Toronto
Joined: June 5, 2000
 Might be beyond the scope of consideration but a few of today's portables have stereo line outputs and the FM tuner has a mpx output through them and in some cases even the headphone jack.

I have a pair of Grundig D350SL portables with these provisions and for awhile they were so inexpensive and the FM Section is pretty good that I would suggest to persons looking for an inexpensive tuner get one if a bit nervous about vintage. The tuner is analog.

ETON has a few portables with these provisions and the going prices are quite inexpensive considering the quality of the FM.
Don Brian Levy, J.D.
Toronto ON Canada

 

RE: FM Tuners - Who still builds these?, posted on October 11, 2014 at 14:05:21
unclestu
Dealer

Posts: 5851
Joined: April 13, 2010
 Uou do know that most tuner circuits are based on a chip. IIRC Magnum Dynalab produces those....

 

I found one of those ETON/Grundig analog portables (digital display), posted on October 12, 2014 at 15:52:50
mhardy6647
Audiophile

Posts: 16018
Location: New England
Joined: October 12, 1999
Contributor
  Since: October 23, 2016
 some years back at my erstwhile favorite local emporium (Harvard, MA town dump) -- the AM radio is quite "hot", too.

I like the "Grundig" D350SL quite a bit (but, as in the case of Brian's post, the price was right)!
all the best,
mrh

 

RE: Are you really interested?, posted on October 13, 2014 at 11:04:51
openmind
Audiophile

Posts: 183
Location: Phoenix
Joined: November 8, 2008
 NAD still makes tuners; also Sangean makes HD tuners.

Stereophile only lists products they have reviewed in their directory; I think that is true of The Absolute Sound as well. Audio Magazine used to do a comprehensive directory but is long out of print :-(.

 

RE: "Stereophile only lists products they have reviewed in their directory", posted on October 16, 2014 at 05:21:01
1973shovel
Audiophile

Posts: 10117
Location: Greenville SC
Joined: February 25, 2007
 I was not aware of that. I assumed (yes, yes, I know!) that Stereophile was trying to pick up where Audio's "Bible" left off. I knew their recommended components contained only what they've reviewed, which obviously makes sense.

Thanks for the clarification.



 

Audiolab 8000T, posted on October 20, 2014 at 14:45:20
jedrider
Audiophile

Posts: 15168
Location: No. California
Joined: December 26, 2003
 I have one of these. I just posted how I got back on-line. It is practically my best source I have in many ways. As clean as digital may sound (and I've haven't heard HD Radio yet -- and if anyone tells me that I should, where and which one, I would ask?).

Anyway, the Bay Area seems to have a thriving FM community still, as I've recently found out. It is clearly evident which stations compress the audio and which don't. If all that was available was compressed audio, I would WELCOME HD Radio ;-)

 

RE: Audiolab 8000T, posted on October 24, 2014 at 18:07:16
tesla
Audiophile

Posts: 3180
Location: San Diego County, California
Joined: October 25, 2000
 When it comes to FM, HD doesn't mean High Definition.


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