Radio Russ describes one of the great apex performers, the Accuphase T-100, which commonly sells for $850 or so on eBay:
The Accuphase T-100 is just awesome. It's a hand-wired work of art that not only had the best FM reception ever seen in its day, it also had a killer AM section. I pull the T-100 out of its storage box once a year just to bask in its radiance. I don't want to put too many hours on it because repairing it is beyond my current capabilities. Also, some of the FETs it uses are no longer available. My location doesn't present much of a challenge as far as adjacent channel rejection which the T-100 excels at.
The Sangean WR-3 may fall short in several other categories in an urban environment so my comment was based on its ability to pull in weak stations with very little noise using a non-directional, unamplified antenna. Sangean is making some of the best performing tuners available today and the WR-3 is their flagship model as far as I know. And why is it that jazz stations always seem to be the ones that don't come in clear?
This remeinds me of the legendary Marantz 10-B FM tuner. Although about 40 years aold, it still sells for thousands of dollars. It boasts an oscilloscope display for precise tuning.
Posted by: Ed | January 31, 2010 at 04:11 PM
There is no jazz outlet in the Okla. City area. The closest one is KOCD in Okemah, OK. KOCD 103.7 is a 72kw class C1 that is 70 miles away. Not only is it difficult to get in due to distance, but the urban KVSP 103.5 is closer to me, and is a full 100kw class C at 1969 feet above ground level. On most of my radios, urban KVSP bleeds through on my smooth jazz music. It definitely harshes my smooth.
Brian
Posted by: Scooby214 | January 31, 2010 at 04:19 PM
E-Bay 320480169762
Interesting piece. Since it's made by Raytheon---maybe top secret defense plans are hidden in the cabinet.
Posted by: Angelo | January 31, 2010 at 06:57 PM
I wonder how the Sony XDR-F1HD would stack up against the T-100?
As for the Raytheon direction finder that Angelo found on eBay, I notice it's got AM broadcast band and (naturally, because it's meant for finding direction) a rotatable MW antenna...I bet it would be a real AM DXer if it's in good condition...
Posted by: Mike W | January 31, 2010 at 07:29 PM
The Sony XDR-F1HD may be about the best modern "tuner" available when it comes to sensitivity and selectivity. This would be an interesting contest.
I have wanted to get an XDR-F1HD, but I would prefer to get one from a brick and mortar location, and Best Buy no longer sells them.
Brian
Posted by: Scooby214 | February 01, 2010 at 05:10 AM
E-Bay 180461638942
They spelled Grudig, Grundic.
Bidding is quite reasonsable so far, and not a lot of time left.
Posted by: Angelo | February 01, 2010 at 05:58 AM
E-Bay 300393137961
This is probably a good performer.
Posted by: Angelo | February 02, 2010 at 08:12 PM