Affordable on ebay right now. Try this some time.
Top choice right now.
Affordable on ebay
Posted by Todd Krieger (A) on October 25, 2009 at 23:19:45
In Reply to: Receiver with a good tuner posted by Mayflower on October 25, 2009 at 14:51:47:
If you can drop about 4 dB (40 wpc), I’d recommend the vintage Harman/Kardon HK-930…….. One of the best FM tuners I’ve heard, receiver or separate.
If you must have 100 wpc, I’d recommend either a used Onkyo TX-8500 (not Mk II) or Sansui G-901 DB (not G-9000 DB).
The Kenwood KT-880D is an inexpensive AM/FM tuner with remarkable performance. It is sensitive. It is one of the few tuners immune to HD Radio self-noise without modification. Distortion is extremely low, and unlike many tuners, doesn’t rise for weak signals. Finally, resistance to front-end overload rivals that of tuners with balanced mixers. The KT-880D uses simple, straightforward circuitry that works so well you wonder why designers ever bother with fancier circuits.
RE: Portable radio with line out?
Posted by Brian Levy (A) on August 20, 2009 at 16:47:12
In Reply to: Portable radio with line out? posted by dean_martin on August 20, 2009 at 14:32:35:
Grundig S350DL has line outputs. When using them the FM output is in stereo. Also, the radio allows a double set of batteries to be installed so if one set dies, just flip the switch and you are good to go though the D cell battery life is excellent. It is decent enough that it makes for a good system tuner on a budget. I liked them enough to buy a pair.
Don Brian Levy, J.D. Toronto ON Canada
Rotel RT-990BX (1993, $750) search eBay The FM-only RT-990BX is almost as good as the very similar RHT10 at a much lower price, according to our panelist Bob (see Bob’s review of the RHT10 above). It is not as rare as the RHT10 and usually sells for $175-340 on eBay. It has a remote control, which is required to access the 16 presets, but Bob says the RT-990BX sounds so good that it is worth buying even without the remote. Other front-panel controls are stereo/mono switch, RF attenuator, wide/narrow bandwidth selector and signal-strength indicator. Our contributor David Rich notes that the RT-990BX has a double-tuned filter at the antenna and is double-tuned after the RF amp. Here’s Bob’s comparison of the RHT10 and RT-990BX: “The RHT10 and RT-990BX are essentially the same tuner, with major cosmetic and minor parts and circuit differences. They use the same remote control codes, although again, the remotes are different in appearance. They also use the same circuit board and parts designations on the board, although the boards are different in color. The RT-990BX is missing parts in one area, where the stereo blend circuit is implemented. They have the same RF front end and sine wave type stereo MPX circuit. Alignment procedure is the same for both. Here is a list of functional differences I’ve compiled:
The “sleeper” for me has been the
Posted by DKL (A) on April 23, 2009 at 13:23:36
In Reply to: Why expensive vintage tuners and ultra expensive modern ones? posted by Mercury Boy on April 14, 2009 at 00:21:23:
Luxman T-117 - this is a fabulous tuner for the money (available only used of course as it was produced in the 80’s). I’ve owned a couple of MD-102s from Magnum Dynalab and the Luxman comes very close to the sound quality of these units, which retail for over 2k. I even prefer the Luxman to the Classe Tuner-1 (but did love having the remote control) except in the bass department, where the Classe seemed to excel even over the more expensive MD-102…
Kenwood KT-990D or Sansui TU-D99X
RE: Help with Selection of Appropriate Tuner?
Posted by Neff on November 17, 2008 at 18:44:16
In Reply to: Help with Selection of Appropriate Tuner? posted by Jim Hodgson on November 17, 2008 at 12:11:28:
Many FM stations are also transmitting HD FM in NYC that interfers with analog FM. You also need good selectivity. I recommend Kenwood KT-990D or Sansui TU-D99X that will reject the HD part of the signal due to the Multiplexer design. Both tuners are quite sensitive & rated high for good sonics.
RE: Suggestions for selective portable FM radios?
Posted by Jim in Blacksburg (A) on November 9, 2008 at 21:13:16
In Reply to: Suggestions for selective portable FM radios? posted by triamp on November 9, 2008 at 18:11:55:
Maybe a vintage tuner like a Kenwood KT-7500, when modified can provide some amazing selectivity. But of course, it’s the antenna that really brings home the bacon…if he doesn’t have a Yagi on a rotator, that’d be something to look in to. A big Yagi like an APS-14 does wonders for rejecting unwanted signals if the receiver’s front end is capable of dealing with the increased signal strength without overloading :)
Grundig Satillit 800 - Eton/Grundig S350DL
RE: Suggestions for selective portable FM radios?
Posted by Brian Levy (A) on November 11, 2008 at 13:25:33
In Reply to: Suggestions for selective portable FM radios? posted by triamp on November 9, 2008 at 18:11:55:
I know this will get some hoots but if you want selectivity try a car radio. They are not the most senstive but excel in selectivity. Other than that possilby the Grundig Satillit 800. Also, I have a Eton/Grundig S350DL that seem quite decent and I’ve not experienced any issues with adjacent channel selectivity. The 800 has been discontinued but they are available used for reasonable dollars and the S350DL seems to be withdrawn quite recently but new ones should be around.
Larry Van Horn, New Products Editor
While it may seem strange that we would be reviewing anything as plebian as an AM/FM portable radio, there is a method to our madness. For several years, GE offered their “Superadio” to the consumer market; it had good sound, sharp AM selectivity, and external antenna connections. The radio sold in the $50-$60 range, and was very popular with domestic AM broadcast DX- ers. When it was discontinued, we had a surge of inquiries for a replacement, but none was to be found. Will the new CCRadio-EP be the answer?
The radio has decent sound, good AM selec- tivity, wide/narrow FM selectivity, and external antenna connectors. It has the traditional, analog, slide-rule tuning dial which may be backlit for night viewing.
Its 4-inch, self-contained speaker delivers room-filling sound with notable bass and clean highs with minimal distortion. Separate bass and treble controls invite custom high/low roll-offs to suit the listener’s preference. If you have a set of stereo headphones, a stereo output jack provides that listening mode as well. There is also a line-in jack in case you have a personal MP3 or other player that you’d like to hear through a larger speaker.
The radio runs on either four D cells (not included) or a 120 VAC/6 VDC wall adapter (included). A snap-up/snap-down carrying handle facilitates transport.
The CCRadio-EP is simple to operate and should appeal to techie types with its unique “Twin Coil Ferrite” AM fine tuning knob. This is an RF peaking adjustment for the antenna input, depending on the frequency being received. It works with both the internal and external antenna.
It appears that the choice of external an- tenna is rather critical, and experimenting with optimum length and placement may be necessary to avoid “swamping” that tuning circuit, as well as avoiding common mode (ground loop) hum. I suspect that a shorter outdoor wire antenna would be better than a long one.
The internal ferrite loop antenna remains in service with the external antenna attached. If you were experiencing electrical noise interfer- ence, it will still be there, hopefully attenuated somewhat by stronger signal strengths brought in by the outdoor wire. It is advisable to attach a ground wire to that respective terminal as well to avoid AC hum and other electrical line noise. If such interference persists, battery operation and/ or relocation of the radio are recommended.
An FM internal/external switch allows selection of an outdoor antenna via a TV-style F connector. The benefits and disadvantages of high sensitivity become immediately apparent when switching between antennas. With the radio’s telescoping whip, distances of up to 100 miles are readily received at my location; switching to an external beam, strong signal overload clouds reception of weaker signals.
The AM wide/narrow IF filter selection is appropriately labeled “Music” and”Voice.” The wide bandpass allows more highs for in- creased music fidelity, while the low bandpass restricts the bandwidth to reject the frequencies not required for speech reception. Additionally, the independent bass and treble controls have a profound effect on emphasizing or attenuating the high and low audio frequencies.
The accuracy of the printed frequency dial on our particular sample was excellent for FM, but rather arbitrary for AM. Of course with any analog-dial AM/FM radio, you tune for best reception, not for what the print on the dial says.
The CCrane Radio-EP has good sensitivity and the 4-inch speaker delivers credible sound, enhanced by the separate treble and bass controls. Its AM selectivity switch is very effective for reducing adjacent channel interference. FM sen- sitivity is excellent, providing distant reception through its telescoping antenna.
With so many off-the-shelf AM/FM radios now readily available from chain stores and at widely disparate prices, it’s hard to compare them fairly. Taking the radio at its face value – an AM/ FM portable with good sound and sensitivity – the CCrane Radio-EP does its job well.
| CCrane Radio-EP lists for $69.95 from |
| C. Crane Company, Inc., |
| 1001 Main Street, Fortuna |
| CA 95540, (800) 522-8863 |
| http://www.ccrane.com/radios/am-fm-radios/ccradio-ep.aspx |
merrylander - 04-01-2005, 04:39 PM
If there is a Michael’s craft store in your area pick up some #6 bead stringing cord it makes a perfect dial cord replacement.
Rob
oldhifiguy - 04-02-2005, 11:59 AM
when I get the stringing diagram and get it all together I’ll let ywall know the results. It’s not just ‘hobbyshop’ string. It’s used for stringing beads and is VERY strong and I’m sure will work great. I may beezwax it first to be sure it’s ‘stiky’ around the tunning shaft and pullys just so’s it won’t slip..
oldhifiguy - 04-07-2005, 10:40 AM
the 1st bead string didn’t work out too well so got some more, waxed and abit thicker from a craft store, after hitting an old electronics parts store that no longer gets dial cord, the GC brand. The waxed stuff was easier to work with and I got it all strung and it works fine.