| Choosing a tuner for your system is of little difference | | | | sensitivity, the better it can pick up weak or distant |
| from choosing other components. When auditioning | | | | stations. |
| other components, people are primarily concerned with | | | | This aspect is more important in suburban or rural |
| their sound quality, not their technical performance. | | | | areas that are far from radio transmitters. |
| For example, if a preamplifier under audition sounds | | | | On the other hand, a tuner characteristic of greater |
| good, you do not need to worry much about its | | | | importance to the city dweller is adjacent-channel |
| technical performance. Because .if it sounds good, then | | | | selectivity or the ability to pick up one station without |
| it is working well. | | | | interference from the station next to it on the dial. |
| Tuners, on the other hand, exhibit great variability in | | | | This specification defines a tuner?s ability to reject a |
| their technical performance. It will not only concern the | | | | strong station two channels away from the desired |
| tuner?s sound; tonal balance, sound staging, portrayal | | | | channel. When stations are packed closely together, |
| of timbre, etc., but also basic characteristics such as | | | | as they are in cities, adjacent-channel and |
| the ability to pick up weak or distant stations, reject | | | | alternate-channel selectivity are more important than |
| adjacent stations, provide a noise-free audio signal, and | | | | sensitivity. |
| stay tuned to a station without drifting. | | | | Equally important to all listeners is the tuner?s |
| A tuner?s performance in these areas can be | | | | signal-to-noise ratio, a measure of the difference in dB |
| accurately characterized by measurement; this makes | | | | between background noise and the maximum signal |
| tuner specifications much more significant than those | | | | strength. A tuner with a poor signal-to-noise ratio will |
| of other audio components. | | | | overlay the music with an annoying background hiss. |
| There is a direct correlation between a tuner?s | | | | A poor tuner will have trouble receiving weak stations, |
| specifications and its sonic performance. You still have | | | | may lack the ability to select one station when that |
| to listen to the tuner before you buy, but you can often | | | | station is adjacent to another station, have high |
| separate poor performing models from better units by | | | | background noise, and be overloaded by nearby FM |
| looking at the specification sheets. | | | | transmitters or other radio signal sources. |
| Unlike most audio products, the best high-end tuners | | | | Many tuners have a high-blend circuit that automatically |
| have more features, front-panel controls, and displays | | | | switches the signal to mono when the signal strength |
| than the lower-end products. | | | | falls below a certain level. |
| The price range for a good tuner from a mass-market | | | | The difference between high-blend and the mono |
| manufacturer is between $400 and $1000. Some of | | | | stereo switch just described is that the high-blend |
| the higher-end models from mass-market companies | | | | circuit puts only the treble into mono, leaving the rest of |
| offer excellent performance. | | | | the spectrum in stereo. This gets rid of most of the |
| The price range from $750 to $1200 is very | | | | noise, but maintains stereo separation through most of |
| competitive, with many superb units to choose from. | | | | the midrange and bass. |
| The very best tuners cost as much as $12,000. | | | | Lastly, all good tuners have a 75-ohm coaxial antenna |
| The differences between mediocre and excellent | | | | input as well as the more commonly used 300-ohm |
| tuners. | | | | flat-lead input. The coaxial input should be used for |
| Good tuners are characterized by their sensitivity or | | | | best signal transmission between the antenna and |
| the ability to pull in weak stations. The greater its | | | | tuner. |