Radio Road

Which tuner to get and getting the most from it. Thank God, for the radio!

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Re: Good sounding tuners?

Posted by milag on February 25, 2006 at 21:18:35:
Interesting thread, and I thought all had been said on ''fmtunerinfo.com'' what are good tuners. Then again, this is most subjective at best.
I have been using a variety of vintage tuners, the usual suspects from Kenwood and Sansui, well-aligned but not modded except for one KT-7500 that still sounds very nice to this day. You could say that I am into ''vintage'' tuners. HOWEVER, I have been looking to get a tuner with remote control. I also did not want to spend a lot of money on a ''digital'' tuner. I ended up purchasing what I consider to be a little gem, the Cayin 220Ti . I had no real ''audiophile'' expectations other than the slim and clean good looks as seen in photos, and of course remote operation, my main reason for buying one. I also admit to wanting to match the looks of my Cayin A 88-T amp in my audio rack. I could always use my vintage tuner for ''serious'' listening.
Well, let me tell you, this tuner is absolutely wonderfull, and is fully the equal of my Cayin A 88-T in terms of performance and value, which says a lot in my opinion. Cayin has long been established in Europe (Germany) and I remember reading a lot about Cayin products in audio mags from France from 10 years ago, where they have enjoyed much success. (their website is still in German only - go figure). As they are made in China, I suppose the brand suffers from being put in the same batch with all the other Chinese brands out there, but for me, it's top-notch quality for the price.
This tuner has a nice thick faceplate, has very solid ''feet'' to it, and has impressive build quality. Removing the cover, and checking all-around this unit will confirm this. I wish it came with the same metal remote (or a system remote) as the Cayin amp, instead of the plastic one, but at this price, who can ask for more. By the way, this tuner has 99 (count 'em) presets. ALSO, the presets on the remote are lightning fast, and stations change as fast as you can punch the up-down button. What a change in convenience, a real boost to FM station surfing...
Now for the most important part, this thing makes MUSIC. Nice warmth, holographic soundstage (to my surprise), and the top end is really sweet. And I had given up on digital tuners, at least the ones below the megabuck variety.
Now, this smooth sound is maybe a function of the tube amplifier I am using, but I am not getting any of the harsh sounds of your typical under 1K digital tuner. Compared to my Kenwood KT-7500, this Cayin has a LOT more detail with no harshness whatsoever. And it's good looking too, what's not to like here for the price of your typical NAD tuner? Not that NAD is not a fine tuner for the price -it is - but this Cayin has the ''high end audio'' touches, build quality and sound that make this unit involving and special. Comments and critics are welcomed.