Snoflo
Active Member
Yeah, the one I heard was the Tandberg TR-2080. Your TR-2055 is great gear!
Tuners
- Thread starter BJP
- Start date
Yeah, the one I heard was the Tandberg TR-2080. Your TR-2055 is great gear!
Mike Reed
pfm Member
Agreed, Jez. I had the Stereo 70/Stereofetic in teak case whilst a student, and FM recorded onto Revox (John Peel etc.) was superb. Have only had two Troughlines in my system, one fairly recently, and haven't been impressed. However, they were possibly not exemplars of their models.
Nick_G
pfm Member
A couple of the best I've heard is the Yamaha T-2 and the Kenwood L-1000T tuners. The Yammy was a bit richer and warmer sounding but the Kenny just sounded wonderfully neutral and involving.
Since the spring I have been using a BW Broadcast RBRX Encore which is a professional re-broadcasting receiver. Basically it uses software and DSP technology to make the most of very difficult signal situations and this makes it extremely flexible and versatile. Using the 'monitor' preset settings all the processing can be bypassed and on a good BBC broadcast it really can sound fantastic.
Different to your usual tuner set-up but it is ideal for my DXing interests too.
Since the spring I have been using a BW Broadcast RBRX Encore which is a professional re-broadcasting receiver. Basically it uses software and DSP technology to make the most of very difficult signal situations and this makes it extremely flexible and versatile. Using the 'monitor' preset settings all the processing can be bypassed and on a good BBC broadcast it really can sound fantastic.
Different to your usual tuner set-up but it is ideal for my DXing interests too.
I’m not convinced DSP is the way to go for FM sound quality when you can get internet radio at 16/44.1 with a full frequency response but accept it can have uses in DXing.
I’ve owned:
McIntosh MR78
Marantz 10B (a 5b is a pencil, I think)
Marantz 2130
Revox 760
Revox 261
Revox 260S (not up to previous pair)
Sony 5950SD
Sony STA 6B
Pioneer TX 9100
Pioneer 9500II
Yamaha CT7000 (think your kit is well-built? - then don’t look inside this)
Sansui 9900
Naim 01 (junk - buy a NAD and get your roof reinforced for a giant aerial ‘cause your gonna need it)
Naim 02 (ditto)
Leak Troughline - probably better than a Naim, which accounts for its reputation, but otherwise stay away)
Other Trio/Kenwood, Yamaha, Technics, UK made junk, mostly forgettable.
Which of the top ten or so are preferred depends on the system, the condition of the tuner and personal preference, IME. I like the MR78 at the moment, somewhat to my surprise.
Can they beat top quality Internet radio? That would be a no. Is it worth spending a lot on a tuner today? I don’t think so. FM in the UK is being undermined by crap quality and Internet radio is where it’s at - although it’s role in the age of full-fat streaming is in turn open to doubt, I think.
However, nice analogue tuners, which can still occasionally be had for peanuts, are lovely things to own and a great reminder of a bygone era when audio was special and the airwaves could bring magic.
I’ve owned:
McIntosh MR78
Marantz 10B (a 5b is a pencil, I think)
Marantz 2130
Revox 760
Revox 261
Revox 260S (not up to previous pair)
Sony 5950SD
Sony STA 6B
Pioneer TX 9100
Pioneer 9500II
Yamaha CT7000 (think your kit is well-built? - then don’t look inside this)
Sansui 9900
Naim 01 (junk - buy a NAD and get your roof reinforced for a giant aerial ‘cause your gonna need it)
Naim 02 (ditto)
Leak Troughline - probably better than a Naim, which accounts for its reputation, but otherwise stay away)
Other Trio/Kenwood, Yamaha, Technics, UK made junk, mostly forgettable.
Which of the top ten or so are preferred depends on the system, the condition of the tuner and personal preference, IME. I like the MR78 at the moment, somewhat to my surprise.
Can they beat top quality Internet radio? That would be a no. Is it worth spending a lot on a tuner today? I don’t think so. FM in the UK is being undermined by crap quality and Internet radio is where it’s at - although it’s role in the age of full-fat streaming is in turn open to doubt, I think.
However, nice analogue tuners, which can still occasionally be had for peanuts, are lovely things to own and a great reminder of a bygone era when audio was special and the airwaves could bring magic.
Nick_G
pfm Member
Well the Accuphase T-1100 uses DSP technology and all the reviews I've seen suggest the audio quality is up there with the best tuners ever made. The best sound apparently is via the digital out through a top DAC.
The RBRX Encore also has digital outs but I haven't got the spare inputs available to set mine up like this.
I agree that the best internet radio streams can also sound very very good.
Jim Audiomisc
pfm Member
I have a CT7000 and used it for many years. I'd agree that what's inside looks pretty impressive, and it gives good results. However the snag for me was that there are so many push-contact connectors from board to board. These tend to go a bit intermittent after some years or use so can cause MPX dropouts, etc, in use. Apart from this, I'd rate it as the best tuner I've ever used. Sadly, since my main interest is BBC R3 it doesn't get used much nowdays as I prefer the iplayer files fetched using get_iplayer.
lordsummit
Moderator
I stream everything, So I have an Airport Express under my hi-fi. I use the BBC radio iPlayer app mostly. My phone or iPad selects the stream, then the Airport Express sends it to a DAC. Sound quality is better on the app now than FM, which is sad, because it means that beautiful kit like the Sansui 519 I used to use is redundant. Other people will have different methods.
Nick_G
pfm Member
I use a Logitech Squeezebox Touch and a Raspberry Pi running Logitech Media Server to listen to internet radio through the hi-fi system. This small device has RCA/coaxial/optical outputs for connecting to your amp or DAC of choice. It can be connected to your network via Wi-fi or ethernet cable.
Del monaco
Del Monaco
What about a Chromecast Audio device? You can play Internet Radio through this.
Julf
Facts are our friends
Internet radio is streaming.
BJP
pfm Member
Yes but it would be nice if there was a full size (435mm) unit with station , resolution display on the front and ethernet socket , aerial for wi-fi , RCA outputs and SPDIF outputs on the back.
In black or silver
Jim Audiomisc
pfm Member
In the past I tested a couple of commercial 'internet radio' devices that try to present to the user as a radio. The snag is that they are closed black boxes. The consequence being that as the streaming protocols and codecs evolved they eventually became bricks because the makers would/could not update them to cope. By using an open device you can at least hope to keep up.