Tuners

[knucklehead]

For a tuner to be good it needs at least 4 gangs in the FM side IMO, and 5 is better, 3 in the am if you care about am radio. Denon used to make a great tuner, the tu-1500rd. It can still be found on the bay for $100 or so. I had one for a few years and really liked the sound quality.

I've owned many tuners over the years and the Denon was as good as any of them. I've also owned a Yamaha T-80, the much vaunted all analog Technics T-8600, and a little known cheapie Onkyo T-4120 that I still have. It is quite good for a cheap tuner. While it can't pull in stations like the 3 I mentioned above, it just works, and it sounds good. I still have the 4120, and a Carver TX-8. Nothing special about the Carver, but it was bought cheap as part of a bundle. My Kenwood KR-7400 receiver with a 4 gang FM section outperforms the stand-alone Carver tuner handily. There were a few receivers that had 5 gangs but off the top of my head ATM all I can recall with 5 gangs is the Kenwood KR-9600, a TOTL receiver.

For an all analog tuner that has 5 FM gangs the Kenwood KT-7500 is a great choice. It's old school with a silver face (KT-7550 is the dark faced European version of the 7500) and pure analog. Expect to pay up to $200 shipped for a decent 7500. Many will need to be realigned to perform their best, but if you just have to have great FM reception it's worth the cost. Most tuners found in modern (since 2000 IMO) leave much to be desired. Find a good tech that knows how to perform the FM alignment.

Modern AVR's and AVP's these days have tuners that are an after-thought. As long as you are close to the transmitting station they work pretty decent. I haven't had that luxury in 10 years. The great jazz station that had a repeater near me for 10 years or so finally got tired of pumping a signal 90 miles to that repeater for the few who bothered to listen to it. Tuners became much less important to me when that happened. I don't care for country and Latino music, and those are the choices that are close to me. And one NPR that on occasion plays some great classical music, but not often enough for me.

[selind40]

Feb 22, 2022 22:07:08 GMT -5 knucklehead said:

For a tuner to be good it needs at least 4 gangs in the FM side IMO, and 5 is better, 3 in the am if you care about am radio. Denon used to make a great tuner, the tu-1500rd. It can still be found on the bay for $100 or so. I had one for a few years and really liked the sound quality.

I've owned many tuners over the years and the Denon was as good as any of them. I've also owned a Yamaha T-80, the much vaunted all analog Technics T-8600, and a little known cheapie Onkyo T-4120 that I still have. It is quite good for a cheap tuner. While it can't pull in stations like the 3 I mentioned above, it just works, and it sounds good. I still have the 4120, and a Carver TX-8. Nothing special about the Carver, but it was bought cheap as part of a bundle. My Kenwood KR-7400 receiver with a 4 gang FM section outperforms the stand-alone Carver tuner handily. There were a few receivers that had 5 gangs but off the top of my head ATM all I can recall with 5 gangs is the Kenwood KR-9600, a TOTL receiver.

For an all analog tuner that has 5 FM gangs the Kenwood KT-7500 is a great choice. It's old school with a silver face (KT-7550 is the dark faced European version of the 7500) and pure analog. Expect to pay up to $200 shipped for a decent 7500. Many will need to be realigned to perform their best, but if you just have to have great FM reception it's worth the cost. Most tuners found in modern (since 2000 IMO) leave much to be desired. Find a good tech that knows how to perform the FM alignment.

Modern AVR's and AVP's these days have tuners that are an after-thought. As long as you are close to the transmitting station they work pretty decent. I haven't had that luxury in 10 years. The great jazz station that had a repeater near me for 10 years or so finally got tired of pumping a signal 90 miles to that repeater for the few who bothered to listen to it. Tuners became much less important to me when that happened. I don't care for country and Latino music, and those are the choices that are close to me. And one NPR that on occasion plays some great classical music, but not often enough for me.

I use a Carver TX-11a every single day for about 12 hours......been 20 years or so.  Pulls in everything I've ever needed.  I also have the Denon TU-1500rd I bought years ago on the Bay for 40 bucks ( no remote ). but it for a backup.  It works flawlessly as well, just pulled it out of storage 3 days ago after my Sunfire Theater Grand locked up and wouldn't produce sound.....it's in a small home office I use for a few hours a day. I'll have to look up the stats on the Carver, no idea about how many gangs it is.....although the local big city has many gangs, allegedly.  I see that on the local news every night.

[donh50]

Note each ganged stage must be properly tuned to benefit, and the optimum number depends upon the radio architecture and frequency band(s) covered. I would expect most tuners today use one of the single-chip radio solutions so all the IF stages are on-chip active filters. Not something I follow, though. A few years ago when I was looking around several used a custom input (LNA) stage before the chip but virtually all the pretty long IF strips inside older radios were gone. Some used direct conversion, though that puts a bit of burden on the pre-filters and ADC.

[knucklehead]

Feb 23, 2022 16:07:33 GMT -5 selind40 said:

Feb 22, 2022 22:07:08 GMT -5 knucklehead said:

For a tuner to be good it needs at least 4 gangs in the FM side IMO, and 5 is better, 3 in the am if you care about am radio. Denon used to make a great tuner, the tu-1500rd. It can still be found on the bay for $100 or so. I had one for a few years and really liked the sound quality.

I've owned many tuners over the years and the Denon was as good as any of them. I've also owned a Yamaha T-80, the much vaunted all analog Technics T-8600, and a little known cheapie Onkyo T-4120 that I still have. It is quite good for a cheap tuner. While it can't pull in stations like the 3 I mentioned above, it just works, and it sounds good. I still have the 4120, and a Carver TX-8. Nothing special about the Carver, but it was bought cheap as part of a bundle. My Kenwood KR-7400 receiver with a 4 gang FM section outperforms the stand-alone Carver tuner handily. There were a few receivers that had 5 gangs but off the top of my head ATM all I can recall with 5 gangs is the Kenwood KR-9600, a TOTL receiver.

For an all analog tuner that has 5 FM gangs the Kenwood KT-7500 is a great choice. It's old school with a silver face (KT-7550 is the dark faced European version of the 7500) and pure analog. Expect to pay up to $200 shipped for a decent 7500. Many will need to be realigned to perform their best, but if you just have to have great FM reception it's worth the cost. Most tuners found in modern (since 2000 IMO) leave much to be desired. Find a good tech that knows how to perform the FM alignment.

Modern AVR's and AVP's these days have tuners that are an after-thought. As long as you are close to the transmitting station they work pretty decent. I haven't had that luxury in 10 years. The great jazz station that had a repeater near me for 10 years or so finally got tired of pumping a signal 90 miles to that repeater for the few who bothered to listen to it. Tuners became much less important to me when that happened. I don't care for country and Latino music, and those are the choices that are close to me. And one NPR that on occasion plays some great classical music, but not often enough for me.

I use a Carver TX-11a every single day for about 12 hours......been 20 years or so.  Pulls in everything I've ever needed.  I also have the Denon TU-1500rd I bought years ago on the Bay for 40 bucks ( no remote ). but it for a backup.  It works flawlessly as well, just pulled it out of storage 3 days ago after my Sunfire Theater Grand locked up and wouldn't produce sound.....it's in a small home office I use for a few hours a day. I'll have to look up the stats on the Carver, no idea about how many gangs it is.....although the local big city has many gangs, allegedly.  I see that on the local news every night.

The TX-11 has 6 gangs and is quite good. The TX-8 has little onfo available. All I know is what I hear from it. It's ok, but it isn't anywhere near the quality of my 4 gang Kenwood.

fmtunerinfo.com/reviewsA-C.html#carver

[quattroll]

My take, if you have internet, then that is the way to go. I have a Amazon Echo in my family room and it can play a local station for me, i.e. KEXP or KING in Seattle. But it can't play 95bFFM New Zealand which is a super fun station. For that I have Tune In on a Blusound Node 2i, but that is in another location. I have noticed over the years a degradation of FM receptivity, albeit on my second storey bedroom. I used to get a clear signal, but now the weather and perhaps other factors seem to make it worse. If you really want to listen to a station, your best bet is usb from a laptop or other computer, and I do that if I am intent on listening in that location. I use a MSFT Surface, and it is great. Yes, it's a hassle to move that around but if you want it, a minute or too to connect is not that big a deal, just about every good station will play from their website, and it is always clear.

I bought a cool Denon FM tuner a year ago, and that's when I discovered that a good tuner can not reliably bring in a station, but that is with an indoor accessory antenna. I fiddled with the positioning, but by that time I realized I could just hook up my Surface and it was perfectly clear, so why bother I thought. Bummer, because I grew up listening to stations and recording on tape my favorite songs at the time. That is something this generation will not know or understand, but it was cool.

[405x5]

Feb 24, 2022 0:25:24 GMT -5 quattroll said:

My take, if you have internet, then that is the way to go. I have a Amazon Echo in my family room and it can play a local station for me, i.e. KEXP or KING in Seattle. But it can't play 95bFFM New Zealand which is a super fun station. For that I have Tune In on a Blusound Node 2i, but that is in another location. I have noticed over the years a degradation of FM receptivity, albeit on my second storey bedroom. I used to get a clear signal, but now the weather and perhaps other factors seem to make it worse. If you really want to listen to a station, your best bet is usb from a laptop or other computer, and I do that if I am intent on listening in that location. I use a MSFT Surface, and it is great. Yes, it's a hassle to move that around but if you want it, a minute or too to connect is not that big a deal, just about every good station will play from their website, and it is always clear.

I bought a cool Denon FM tuner a year ago, and that's when I discovered that a good tuner can not reliably bring in a station, but that is with an indoor accessory antenna. I fiddled with the positioning, but by that time I realized I could just hook up my Surface and it was perfectly clear, so why bother I thought. Bummer, because I grew up listening to stations and recording on tape my favorite songs at the time. That is something this generation will not know or understand, but it was cool.

You are right!
FM 📻 used to be characterized as “FM”…ie the “thing” to listen to if you were “hip” to it.
In the digital age you can hear it all without the fuzz if you’re out on the fringe.
The tuner has earned it’s place in the museum, right next to the 🦖 dinosaur.

[leonski]

Besides traditional FM.....a goner, nearly, to be sure, and Internet is DBS...Direct Broadcast Satellite.. The TV guys have this nailed BUT you also can get Sirius. Receivers come in many cars AND you can get CAR or HOME kits for many receivers bought at Best or online.

Problem? the HOUR or so it takes online to CANCEL and the variety of levels of feed.

Personally? If it were simple, I'd be doing it. But the stuff I read about and trying to navigate the site is off-putting and a Red Flag....

[405x5]

Feb 26, 2022 17:46:13 GMT -5 leonski said:

Besides traditional FM.....a goner, nearly, to be sure, and Internet is DBS...Direct Broadcast Satellite.. The TV guys have this nailed BUT you also can get Sirius. Receivers come in many cars AND you can get CAR or HOME kits for many receivers bought at Best or online.

Problem? the HOUR or so it takes online to CANCEL and the variety of levels of feed.

Personally? If it were simple, I'd be doing it. But the stuff I read about and trying to navigate the site is off-putting and a Red Flag....

Two of my vehicles are satellite radio equipped. They are DEAD (so far as that feature is concerned) and they will stay Dead ☠️.

The first car came with a congratulatory letter from Satellite radio, for a free introductory subscription, along with an activation code for it.
No money of mine will go into Howard Sterns pocket, but since it was free, I took it to use for other programming for as long as it’s free.
I input the code and nothing happened. Tried again….nothing. Next I get on the phone and a trip to the dealership also.
The answer I get….” Oh that’s a “pre-owned” vehicle, therefore we don’t honor that subscription…..
Second vehicle was brand new. Apple Car Play is great…navigation great and YAY the satellite radio will be activated over my DEAD body.

[leonski]

I had the free 3 month-er when I bought my '08 Element, New........
And never renewed.
My SMALL DISH TV feed had some channels and I LOVED listening to the Jazz feed hosted by (I think) Wynton Marsallis.
It was a Master Class in the nuances of modern jazz.
Now gone.......as are all the good music feeds which are now formula nonsense.

[marcl]

Feb 27, 2022 14:52:25 GMT -5 leonski said:

I had the free 3 month-er when I bought my '08 Element, New........
And never renewed.
My SMALL DISH TV feed had some channels and I LOVED listening to the Jazz feed hosted by (I think) Wynton Marsallis.
It was a Master Class in the nuances of modern jazz.
Now gone.......as are all the good music feeds which are now formula nonsense.

Yes exactly!  They pitch those services as having so many channels ... something for everybody.  Yeah, 87 ways to slice pop and rock + a jazz station and a classical station.  When Sirius/XM merged I felt like I got more variety especially in one of the stations that played some jazz fusion.  So they consolidated and eliminated that station.

The only jazz FM station in Philadelphia - and it was really good - sold out years ago by merging with the only classical FM station.  But oh they said they would be fair about it ... play classical 6am to 6pm, and jazz 6pm to 6am ... 50/50, that's fair, right?

[405x5]

Feb 27, 2022 15:03:25 GMT -5 marcl said:

Feb 27, 2022 14:52:25 GMT -5 leonski said:

I had the free 3 month-er when I bought my '08 Element, New........
And never renewed.
My SMALL DISH TV feed had some channels and I LOVED listening to the Jazz feed hosted by (I think) Wynton Marsallis.
It was a Master Class in the nuances of modern jazz.
Now gone.......as are all the good music feeds which are now formula nonsense.

Yes exactly!  They pitch those services as having so many channels ... something for everybody.  Yeah, 87 ways to slice pop and rock + a jazz station and a classical station.  When Sirius/XM merged I felt like I got more variety especially in one of the stations that played some jazz fusion.  So they consolidated and eliminated that station.

The only jazz FM station in Philadelphia - and it was really good - sold out years ago by merging with the only classical FM station.  But oh they said they would be fair about it ... play classical 6am to 6pm, and jazz 6pm to 6am ... 50/50, that's fair, right?

One of the few remaining jazz stations left in the NY area did similar……only with OLDIES.
Mattered not to me. It was the END anyway.

These days I dumped a sports package from my cable and instead, give 4.99 a month to PANDORA Premium. that renders higher audio quality, commercial free and the ability to download multiple “stations” for offline listening. So, I just plug my phone into any car and I’m in and all set.

[leonski]

AND to top it off? I just got a PRICE BUMP from Direct......the 2nd in 3 or 4 months. Up over 20% which certainly covers ANY conceiveable inflation AND a healthy BONUS for management.....

[knucklehead]

Feb 27, 2022 21:05:57 GMT -5 leonski said:

AND to top it off? I just got a PRICE BUMP from Direct......the 2nd in 3 or 4 months. Up over 20% which certainly covers ANY conceiveable inflation AND a healthy BONUS for management.....

Dish has done the same to me. After March Madness (college basketball) is done I'm done with Dish. I don't watch TV very often anyway, and won't miss it till next basketball season. Wasn't too long ago I was paying somewhere around $92 per month. It's up to $125 and change now.

And I just got my bill for homeowners insurance. Thanks to the State of Washington and their insistence that insurance companies cannot use credit scores (mine is 801 currently) as a factor in setting rates, I pay the same rate as someone with a 600 credit score, everything else being equal. A 'win' for the insurance companies. Gee, I wonder who pushed that bill thru the legislature?

[leonski]

I'm within a few $$ of you Vis-A-Vis Direct. Ridiculous, but I KNOW it is our job to make certain that the Management Bonus Program is Well Funded.
things started going seriously downhill when they were acquired by ATT.
I may go to NETFLIX only model....Screw 'em.....

If I could buy JUST the 15 to 20 channels I wish to view? No shopping. No NEWS (except BBC America) No Religion. NO Guy Fiere or Rick Steves, either.
I want movies and NOTHING to do with Simon Ccowell.....in ANY guise. Travel is good, but NO cruise ships. Unless they dock in Katmandu....

As for legislation? What was the REASON given? I'll bet soemthing to do with 'equality' or 'equity'. Has it been shown that a better credit score makes you
a better insurance risk?

Here in California, we are about to put the screws to SOLAR owners with new fees and less return from the power company.

www.kpbs.org/news/local/2022/01/20/big-decision-rooftop-solar-california-off-table-for-now

the strategy is NOW to wait out the uproar than DO IT ANYWAY. Thisll make Newsome Unelectable but who cares? He'll step into a secure job working
for a group he once 'regulated' as governor....

Definition of a good politician? ONE WHO STAYS BOUGHT......