[Dave]

On Wednesday, April 15, 2015 at 9:27:12 AM UTC-4, Shaun wrote:
"Dave" wrote in message ...
=20
For the last couple months I have been attempting to find an FM tuner to=
=20
bypass the one in a Pioneer SC-37 AVR. The AVR built-in tuner has a lot =
of=20
background noise and birdies; its basic sound is not bad, but the extrane=
ous=20
noises make listening difficult. I have tried a variety of tuners, from=
=20
Ebay and other sources with costs ranging from free to $60. My total cos=
t=20
so far is well under $200. The AVR has B&O class D amplifiers that I lik=
e=20
and I am very happy its pairing with Spendor S5e speakers.
=20
So far the best sounding one listened to is a Harman Kardon TU-910 analog=
=20
tuner that needed new dial lights. Others tried in descending sound orde=
r=20
a Luxman T-111 (Alpine digital one, not the analog one), Sansui T-707=
=20
analog with mechanical autoseek, Marantz ST-59 digital and Yamaha T-30=20
digital. The Yamaha is probably the most sensitive of the batch, but sou=
nds=20
a bit harsh, still a lot better than the AVR tuner. The Luxman was the=
=20
biggest surprise, expected that the Alpine Luxman digital would not be ve=
ry=20
good, but it is almost as good as the HK; HK seems more real on good=20
broadcasts, allows me to sink into the music and forget the tuner itself.
=20
Does anyone have any other recommendations that I should try, or have I h=
it=20
the best performance/price with the HK, ideally less than a couple hundre=
d=20
dollars? I do not need DXing, listen to just 2 FM stations in the Boston=
,=20
MA area, WHRB and WCRB. I would like AM for occasional listening to a ne=
w=20
station. The HK is OK on AM, good enough for informational listening.
=20
_______________________________________________
=20
I really doubt that your AVR is using class D for the main speakers, that=
is=20
pulse width modulation and requires a filter to remove the carrier freque=
ncy=20
(PWM frequency), it would be a difficult design - if not impossible for a=
=20
full range amp. For subwoofers it is fine since they have a limited=20
frequency range. Usually class D is only used for subs.
=20
Sansui was well known for making very good analog tuners - they would=20
probably be the best selectivity and sound quality.
=20
Shaun

Glad to have an expert correct me, as my pitiful experience in designing el=
ectronics for space applications for 40 years has left me ignorant of desig=
n subtleties. Also seem to have left Pioneer and B&O ignorant, as they des=
cribe the amplifiers as Class D.

As far as tuners go, I finally settled in on a Denon TU-1500, was slightly =
better than a TU-800 in my area. I did not try every tuner ever made, alth=
ough my wife suspects I did from the number of boxes that came and went.