For what they're worth, key specs for many top tuners may be compared on the Specs Database page. Also, a tuner that is out of alignment will not function properly Stereophile's reviewers even used to receive brand-new misaligned review samples occasionally. Manufacturers' own specifications for sensitivity and selectivity are sometimes imprecise or exaggerated, and even two examples of the same model tuner may be very different in performance (especially when they're 20 or 30 years old!).
Many tuners with good sensitivity can be modified to be more selective, but poor sensitivity cannot easily be improved upon. Listeners in more remote or rural areas, however, will generally be more concerned with sensitivity, which is the tuner's ability to clearly receive weak stations' signals. Adjacent channel selectivity, rarely quoted in manufacturers' specs, refers to rejection of a station only 200 kHz, or 0.2 MHz, away from the one you're tuned to.) Overload rejection and image rejection are other important considerations for listeners who live close to stations' transmitters. 4 MHz, away from the station you're trying to hear. (Alternate channel selectivity is the measurement of a tuner's ability to reject an interfering signal 400 kHz, or. For example, a listener in a metropolitan area where strong local stations crowd the FM band will need a tuner with excellent selectivity if he or she wishes to receive any of the more distant stations between the locals. Your own experience with a particular tuner will depend, to some extent, on reception conditions in your local area.
We will review tuners of more recent vintage, but do not seek them out as fervently as we do the older stuff. Our primary emphasis is on tuners that were manufactured between the early 1970s and the early '90s, before home theater receivers largely replaced separate stereo components. We focus on tuners, rather than receivers, because (a) very few receivers come close to matching the performance of that manufacturer's top tuners, and (b) we stick to what we know best. We're also requesting input from readers on about 175 tuners listed in the On-Deck Circle, some of which will be added to the review pages once first-hand information is obtained and as our Editor's time permits. TIC's panel of experts (including audiophiles, FM DXers, engineers and tuner collectors) and an elite team of trusted contributors have personally used and reviewed hundreds of different FM tuners.
Hitachi FT-5500 MKII shootout to Shootouts 2.0 page (thanks Radu!) revised Leak Trough Line writeup on Tube Tuners page.ġ2/30/21: Added JohnC's mods for the Sansui TU-719 to the DIY Mods page.ġ2/29/21: Added JohnC's mods for the Sony ST-4950 to the DIY Mods page.ġ2/28/21: Added Denon TU-530 writeup revised Denon TU-630 and TU-767 and Kenwood KT-6040 writeups revised Sherwood S3000III writeup on Tube Tuners page.ġ2/27/21: Added JohnC's mods for the Sony ST-A6B to the DIY Mods page.ġ2/26/21: Added JohnC's mods for the Yamaha T-85 to the DIY Mods page.ġ2/25/21: Added Akai AT-52 writeup revised Linn Kudos, Mitsubishi DA-F30, NAD 4300, Naim NAT-01, Nakamichi ST-7, Proton 440, Sony ST-5000 and XDR-F1HD, and Technics ST-S505 writeups.ġ2/24/21: Added Sony ST-S333ESG writeup revised Linn Kremlin, Kudos and Pekin writeups. Sony ST-730ES shootout to Shootouts 2.0 page (thanks Tim and Ann!) revised Kenwood KT-815 writeup.ġ2/31/21: Added Pioneer F-90 vs. TU-X1 shootout, on the Ricochets page.Ġ1/02/22: Added Pioneer F-91 vs. eBay listings that quote us incorrectly or without credit may be terminated without notice.Ġ1/09/22: Revised Burmester 978, Linn Pekin and Yamaha CT-7000 writeups.Ġ1/04/22: Revised Onkyo T-4711 writeup added David "Anonymous"'s tuner comparison spreadsheet to the Files section of our FMtuners group.Ġ1/03/22: Revised writeups for the Kenwood L-01T and L-02T and the ridiculously rare Technics ST-9700 posted new paragraph on the October 2002 L-02T vs. Permission is hereby granted to quote our text so long as proper credit is given.