Small Cars
12-10-2002, 04:27 PM
I received yesterday and connected to my system (Cary P7 preamp, McIntosh 240 power amp, Magnapan 1.5 speakers, Hsu 10 subwoofer, etc.) my Magnum Dynalab MD90 tuner. Initial impressions are overwhelmingly positive.
First, the tuner is quiet. Even the hard to capture, generally noisy public station comes in clearly with sufficient signal strength and low noise. The combination of center tuning, signal strength, and multipath meters makes tuning fairly easy.
The tuner images well, providing a good soundstage, not at all far from that provided by the Scott 350B tube tuner I'd been using. I've been generally disappointed with more modern FM tuners, finding them flat, uninvolving, and downright dull. The MD90 appears to provide the listening experience of a good, vintage FM tuner without the maintenance and alignment headaches.
The manual is clear, contributing to an already easy user experience.
Yes, this is an analog tuner. One turns a dial. It has no presets (there is an optional remote, though I did not buy it). The frequency counter reflects the tuned frequency, not a preset. Tuning is smooth, with plenty of fine movement for critical adjustment.
In the end, I think this tuner provides the most satisfaction I've experienced from a tuner in a long time. These impressions, of course, reflect initial experience. So far, though, the Magnum Dynalab is a winner.
(Addendum: Antenna - Magnum Dynalab ST2; Tuner to preamp cables - Audioquest Ruby; preamp to power amp cables - Kimber PBJ; power line filtering - Tripplite isolation transformer.)
First, the tuner is quiet. Even the hard to capture, generally noisy public station comes in clearly with sufficient signal strength and low noise. The combination of center tuning, signal strength, and multipath meters makes tuning fairly easy.
The tuner images well, providing a good soundstage, not at all far from that provided by the Scott 350B tube tuner I'd been using. I've been generally disappointed with more modern FM tuners, finding them flat, uninvolving, and downright dull. The MD90 appears to provide the listening experience of a good, vintage FM tuner without the maintenance and alignment headaches.
The manual is clear, contributing to an already easy user experience.
Yes, this is an analog tuner. One turns a dial. It has no presets (there is an optional remote, though I did not buy it). The frequency counter reflects the tuned frequency, not a preset. Tuning is smooth, with plenty of fine movement for critical adjustment.
In the end, I think this tuner provides the most satisfaction I've experienced from a tuner in a long time. These impressions, of course, reflect initial experience. So far, though, the Magnum Dynalab is a winner.
(Addendum: Antenna - Magnum Dynalab ST2; Tuner to preamp cables - Audioquest Ruby; preamp to power amp cables - Kimber PBJ; power line filtering - Tripplite isolation transformer.)