TUNERS..anyone?


Hey all,Im getting back into the FM thing since I was given a Adcom GFT-1A
The antenna is a $15 Radio Shack cat.# 15-1843 it is about 4"x4" and 1/2" thick.It seems to pull in stations really good and lights up the signal strength meter on the tuner to 5 out of 5.
I love the sound of this tuner and it's my first adventure with good FM.I can't believe how transparent,warm and smooth this thing sounds.My only complaint is the drums(rock music/metal) coming through with lack of slam.The drums seem like they are far away,distant like.If I crank the volume that helps some but they still just don't have the slam Im use to with vinyl and CD.
1) whats up with that?
2) WHY does FM sound so DAMN good??
3) Whats a KILLER tuner (used) for <$1K?
david99
I can answer on all your questions.
There are a few reasons:
You should realize that different radio stations don't have the great reproducing quality wich depends on broadcast source, amp, transmitter. There is a great deal on power loss during the broadcast. It's a matter of compatibility between other stations and assets of the broadcast station to take wider freequency bandwidth, having a higher power signal. That's where I think the slam is getting lost due to a compressed signal that can be transfered onto the air.

FM signal can sound DAMN good because:

1. The FM signal (Freequency Modulated) has a high carying freequency. That gives a possibility to place wider bandwidth for the audiable signals per one channel without mutual channel interferance.
2. The FM signal has only one fixed amplitude and therefore doesn't require to have a powerful transmitter and have the best transfer ratio throughout the atmosphere.
3. The only negative part of FM signal that it needs to be fired directly from transmitting to receiving antenna and if your antenna is directional, you should direct it to the main town/city antenna.

Your Adcom is the KILLER tuner for <1k.
thank you Marakanetz for the kind words about my tuner.I would'nt really call it killer but it sounds nice.so,maybe Im confused,but even if I get a "true killer" tuna,I mean tuner, I may still have poor slam d/t FM in general? I need my slam man,can't head bang the bald head without SLAM can ya??Are there any tuners known for slam out there or does a real high-end tuna,I mean tuner offer this already?I really have the FM dud,I mean bug and I could see myself listening to FM 80-90% of the time if I found the right tuna/antenna.Thanks again!
David99, I don't know if I want to answer you on this one, your scaring me dude, but go to http://www.geocities.com/tunerinfo if you want to learn more about tuners that actually have lowend. The Adcom is a decent tuner under 200, I had one over 8 years, but it does lack in the lowend, and a lot of digitals do. The site will help you with analog tuners, whose sonic performance tend to be better than most digitals, but be prepared to spend a little.
Also, Marakanetz, is telling you straight. I will tell you a little more, from a marketing standpoint,IMHO, some of the stations you might be tuning in to hear your particular type of classical music, probably has less concern about the quality of signal they are send out when compared to the local true classical station, where the listeners will call up and complain, or a college station where students are learning the fundamentals and a lot of the time actually have a cleaner and broader signal that the big boys in area where you live.