Best FM tuner for about £300, new or vintage?

[admin_exported]

I am looking to get a better FM tuner for about £300. Don't want a DAB radio, as the quality is not upto scratch.

I do not mind vintacge gear, as to my ears they do sound better.

I have gone through the range of denon tuners from a student and loved them, but am after a good step up in quality now.

Your thoughts would be appreciated.....

 

[Anonymous]

the older pioneer TX tuner's get very good reviews on the vintage forums ... here is one of the better ones ... a TX 9800 with a buy it now of £229 ...

not sure of what they are worth, or how they sound so best do some research first ... you may find one cheaper

 

[Anonymous]

I will have a look at that one, and see what they come up like.

Anyother suggestions anyone?

 

[mikegtar]

The Creek EVO tuner has a nice clear hifi sound. RRP £360 but Superfi have it for £315 at the moment and Audio Affair £284.95.

 

[Anonymous]

I was hoping for something that would blow the creek and my denon out of the water, so was thinking a few years old, not really new though.

What about the audiolab 8000t? If I can find one that is......

 

[Anonymous]

or is the creek evo tuner very good for that money?

It has had good write up's inanother hifi mag a year and a half ago....

 

[mikegtar]

Yes, the sound quality is excellent from the Evo tuner. It has that open, hifi sound about it.

If you want a good value, good quality FM tuner at this price point then I would recommend this one, especially at £285

 

[Anonymous]

Would it beat the denon 1500 hands down for sound?

The creek got a very good review in another mag in latter 08, but can't find the review, or link etc

 

[mikegtar]

I haven't heard the Denon tuners. Reviews certainly appear to be a bit thin on the ground, although the Creek Evo tuner won an award from Hi-fi Choice magazine in July 2008.

The only concrete comparison I can give from my own experience is between the Evo tuner and my Technics ST-GT650 tuner. The Creek is more detailed and open, whereas the Technics sound is smoother and warmer.

 

[Anonymous]

I will have a look at the creek, as no one has come up with anything else. Thanks for your assistance mikegtar

 

[Anonymous]

I can't help acting the Devil's Advocate here:

Why spend even that much on an FM radio so near the end of FM broadcasting?

At least where I live, almost all music that's broadcasted on FM are heavily compressed, at a bitrate that's not better than what you get on DAB (actually, chances are it's the same files). Besides, FM has a very limited frequency response and dynamic range anyway.