Recommended Components

2014 Recommended Components Fall Edition FM Tuners & Antennas

FM Tuners

A

47 Laboratory Model 4730 Midnight Blue: $1500 $$$
From Japan's reliably unconventional 47 Laboratory comes the Model 4730 Midnight Blue stereo FM tuner, surely the only tuner in current production that allows the user to dial in stations with an actual dial. Its modest size (4.8" W by 3.75" H by 8" D) and attractive dark-blue casework set it apart, as does its use of an old-style rotary variable capacitor—made in a small batch to designer Junji Kimura's order—instead of a crappy digital receiver circuit. According to AD, "Decent-quality broadcasts sounded better through the 47 Laboratory Midnight Blue than MP3-quality Internet radio does through any USB digital-to-analog converter of my experience. The 4730 was clear and believably crisp without undue brightness, and while it didn't have the sweetness of, say, a McIntosh MR-65, it performed admirably with weak signals, ultimately pulling usably clean sound from a greater number of stations than the Tivoli Model One I normally use. And the 4730 looks a lot better, and was more fun to use." (Vol.37 No.9 WWW)

DaySequerra FM Reference Signature Modification: $2800 (+ cost of tuner) ★
David Day's Signature Mod effectively addresses this ultimate FM tuner's cathode-ray tube's tendency to burn out. Switching circuitry has been added to allow the CRT to turn off when not needed. The Signature Mod also replaces the tuner's incandescent bulbs with longer-lasting LEDs, and uses hand-matched, low-group-delay filters for lower distortion and better channel separation. LG noted punchy, quick bass response, a deeper soundstage, and a more transparent midrange. "The new CRT's greater range of brightness and longer life expectancy makes the Signature Modification essential for owners of the DaySequerra FM tuner." The FMR25 upgrade replaces older models' cathode-ray tube display circuitry with a much brighter and more reliable thin-film-transistor liquid-crystal display, and adds a post-FM demodulation filter to remove noise at 99kHz and above. "A run-don't-walk upgrade for owners of FM References," decided LG. Price is for upgrade only; does not include cost of tuner. (Vol.12 No.6, Vol.14 No.12, Vol.21 No.6, FM Reference; Vol.29 No.9, Signature Modification; Vol.36 No.11 25th Anniversary Edition WWW)

Editor's Note: There are currently no Class B FM tuners listed.

C

Outlaw RR2150: $699 $$$ ★
One of the few low-cost, high-performance, two-channel receivers still available. See "Integrated Amplifiers." (Vol.29 No.3, Vol.31 No.1 WWW)

D

Tivoli Audio Model One table radio: $149.99 ★
The Tivoli Model One is a radio stripped to its essentials: no stereo, no station memories, no remote control, no tone controls," said ST. This design from the late Henry Kloss didn't like being played very loud, ST discovered, but was "plenty loud for a typical office, and, ultimately, loud enough for me." He heard "a richness, a warmth, a generosity of tone, and a clarity that made for enjoyable listening. I was never fatigued." "A bit boomy," says JA, "but pleasantly so." AD connected the Model One's record-out jack to his preamp inputs, then muted its speaker. Matching the Tivoli with a RadioShack 15-2163 FM antenna, he found that "the combination has been nothing short of wonderful in my system: a flexible, great-sounding monophonic source for a combined price of only $124." (Vol.24 No.3, Vol.27 No.7 WWW)

K

Bel Canto FM-1.

Deletions
Fanfare FM-2G FM antenna no longer available.

COMMENTS
j22928's picture
Submitted by j22928 on September 19, 2014 - 2:26am

Why is Stereophile afraid to test a fully tricked out current model Linn LP12? The mush in Recommended Components just doesn't cut it.

John Atkinson's picture
Submitted by John Atkinson on September 19, 2014 - 4:57am
Quote:
Why is Stereophile afraid to test a fully tricked out current model Linn LP12?

www.stereophile.com/tonearms/1007linn/index.html.

John Atkinson
Editor, Stereophile

daveyf's picture
Submitted by daveyf on August 31, 2015 - 12:15am

Actually the top end LP12 Klimax is as follows: LP12, Cirkus. Keel, Radikal D, Tramp 2, Ekos SE-1. Also a Urika phono stage and a Kandid cartridge. If you are still using a Lingo and a Ekos, you simply have no idea as to what the table can bring. A 2007 model LP12 compared to a 2015 Linn LP12 Klimax is like comparing a Prius to a Tesla, they are both electric based, but that's where the similarity ends.

winefix's picture
Submitted by winefix on September 19, 2014 - 9:48am

Where does this speaker place?

John Atkinson's picture
Submitted by John Atkinson on September 19, 2014 - 1:24pm
Quote:
Where does this speaker place?

It hasn't been reviewed yet. (Our review is provisionally scheduled to appear in the January 2015 issue of Stereophile.)

John Atkinson
Editor, Stereophile

chrisstu's picture
Submitted by chrisstu on September 19, 2014 - 10:47am

Greetings. I could not find an indication of what the star means when it appears next to a component. Thanks

John Atkinson's picture
Submitted by John Atkinson on September 19, 2014 - 1:27pm
Quote:
I could not find an indication of what the star means when it appears next to a component.

A ★ indicates a product that has been on this list in one incarnation or another since the "Recommended Components" listing in Vol.34 No.10 (October 2011).

John Atkinson
Editor, Stereophile

tonykaz's picture
Submitted by tonykaz on September 19, 2014 - 11:18am

It's easy to see who JA Caters to .
Gentlemen , this is the 21st Century , Edison Players are a bit long of tooth , aren't they ?
Is there enough customer base there to support a Main Industry Mag. ? , I see the snaps of the Shows where the Product Rooms have a few old geezers like me sitting around on folding chairs .
I wonder if Motor Trend will now be giving 4 Barrel Carburetors from Holly a nice A+ recommendation ? or the 1957 Chevy Convertible ?

to JA ; even Ivor at LINN has gone over to 16/44.1
Are you lads starting a new Chapter of "Flat Earth Society" ?

Tony in Michigan

Allen Fant's picture
Submitted by Allen Fant on September 19, 2014 - 12:43pm

I concur gentleman, this particular issue, appears to get weaker every year?

j22928's picture
Submitted by j22928 on September 20, 2014 - 4:37am

2007 was pre-Radikal, pre-Urika and pre-Kandid.

jimtavegia's picture
Submitted by jimtavegia on September 20, 2014 - 6:38am

Vinyl and turntable sales, USB DACs and Streamers, and download sales all increasing. I can think of no better reason than all the turntables showing up. CD sales down and will continue to do so, but I do believe that the used CD market is strong. It is for me.

handler's picture
Submitted by handler on September 20, 2014 - 5:54pm

May I suggest the placement of the KEF LS50 in "Class A" be revisited. Having owned both it and the Revel M106, and having made my own recordings, the Revel is more "true to the recording" throughout the audio band. In fairness to all manufactures, I believe either some competing designs to the LS50 deserve to be moved up a class, or the Kef be moved down.

Ajani's picture
Submitted by Ajani on September 20, 2014 - 10:15pm

Being a Revel fan, I was a bit disappointed that the M106 wasn't rated Class A like the LS50. I would love to read a comparison between the LS50 and the M106 in Stereophile. It would be interesting to see whether the respective class ratings would remain the same after a direct comparison.

John Atkinson's picture
Submitted by John Atkinson on September 22, 2014 - 7:20am
Quote:
I would love to read a comparison between the LS50 and the M106 in Stereophile.

I am planning on publishing this comparison in the January 2015 issue.

John Atkinson
Editor, Stereophile

corrective_unconscious's picture
Submitted by corrective_unco... on September 22, 2014 - 10:05am

I don't know your lead times or, obviously, who that other poster is, but did you already plan to do this comparison or did you decide to take a suggestion here? (I'll be interested in the comparison either way.)

John Atkinson's picture
Submitted by John Atkinson on September 22, 2014 - 10:09am
Quote:
I don't know your lead times or, obviously, who that other poster is, but did you already plan to do this comparison or did you decide to take a suggestion here?

I set-up the Revel M106es in my listening room last week, so I could write a follow-up. Yes, it was the suggestion in this thread that triggered the idea of my also obtaining samples of the KEF LS50.

John Atkinson
Editor, Stereophile

handler's picture
Submitted by handler on September 22, 2014 - 6:16pm

Thank you, Mr. Atkinson. It's nice to hear the readership has a voice here on Stereophile.com

It'll be interesting to read your thoughts. I ended up keeping the Revel in lieu of the Kef. I did not expect to like the Revel as much as I do.

Dr.Kamiya's picture
Submitted by Dr.Kamiya on September 22, 2014 - 12:54am

Any idea what will happen to Pioneer and TAD speakers as Pioneer merges its HiFi business with Onkyo? Some of what I've read suggests that only the AV Receiver business will be sold, and I fervently hope that is true.

John Atkinson's picture
Submitted by John Atkinson on September 22, 2014 - 7:18am
Quote:
Any idea what will happen to Pioneer and TAD speakers as Pioneer merges its HiFi business with Onkyo?

We don't know what will happen to Pioneer-branded products, but TAD's Andrew Jones tells us that the TAD brand will stay in Pioneer's portfolio of brands.

John Atkinson
Editor, Stereophile

Anon2's picture
Submitted by Anon2 on September 25, 2014 - 5:08pm

Dynaudio has come out with a new active speaker, the Focus XD. The gist of the very limited initial product information is that the speaker also has some sort of DAC capability.

On the subject of Dynaudio, does anyone want to posit any observations on what the differences might be between the Excite X14 and the Focus 160, which both received accolades in this latest edition of Stereophile?

What electronics would warrant, or would require, the Focus 160 for the additional outlay? Yes, I could go to a dealer, but this entails parking, expressways, gas, and a forgone weekend. Any thoughts before one takes the plunge to take up a dealer's time and effort?

Something's good (not fishy) in Denmark!

lo fi's picture
Submitted by lo fi on September 30, 2014 - 5:36am

Hi,

Will John Atkinson be providing objective measurements to accompany John Marks's praiseful review of the ATC SCM19 speaker?

John Atkinson's picture
Submitted by John Atkinson on September 30, 2014 - 1:13pm
lo fi wrote:
Will John Atkinson be providing objective measurements to accompany John Marks's praiseful review of the ATC SCM19 speaker?

No plans to, I am afraid.

John Atkinson
Editor, Stereophile

lo fi's picture
Submitted by lo fi on October 1, 2014 - 5:16am

Damn! ;)

Lago's picture
Submitted by Lago on October 29, 2014 - 4:40pm

Why is the Sophia 3 in A Class Restricted Extreme LF, if they numbers for Frequency Response are: +/-3 dB 20 Hz - 22.5 kHz?

Thanks

MBL-Russia's picture
Submitted by MBL-Russia on November 19, 2014 - 3:34am

Es ist fantastisch!

Dushyant's picture
Submitted by Dushyant on November 8, 2014 - 5:55pm

From your introductory comments, I understand that full-range class A products have LF extension down to 20Hz. It is confirmed by reviews and specs. What about the full-range class B and class C? Just scanning through the list shows that most, if not all, products in these categories do not have LF extension to 20Hz. My question then is what are your criteria for full-range in class B and class C? The restricted LF makes sense for all classes.

Thanks
Dushyant

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