General Asylum: REVIEW: Accuphase T-100 Tuner by Frank W

Guess I have a soft spot for good ol'... tuners. The humble tuner, these days, most-times under-rated and maligned, almost a forgotten budget black box accessory, if at-all.

Yea, have to admit, I'm a feckless, tuner-geek - for my sins. To me, tuners' sound like... 'freedom', just as that memorable line from the immortal, mortal film goes "I love the smell of napalm in the morning; smells like... victory".

The T-100 dates back to around 1975/77, an ol' soldier, a silver-adorned veteran, approaching a quarter of a century... (perhaps older than a good number of the posters to this forum) when it cost in the region of £600 pounds stirling (ie US$600-1000 then) incidentally, that's approximatley the equivalent of US$2.5k now. Whilst this tuner does not better the build quality and internal construction integrity of the simply crushing Yamaha CT7000, it is of the same ol' school and few others compare - certainly nothing from this decade.

The T-100 is substantially built, weighing in excess of 30 pounds and proudly bares the name "Kensonic Laboratory Inc" upon it's now anachranistic face-plate, which is nonetheless solid, quality, and functional, carrying a large, long, deep blue back-lit FM/AM tuning scale with illuminated red pointer and piano key-style four push button band selection. Two small meters show signal strength and centre tune. The signal strength meter is accurate and meaningful. The tuning knob is disappointing, being undersized (female readers' gasp & woefully moan now; size does'nt matter? hmmmmmmmm), underweighted and tragically under-geared (fond memories of the classic Pioneer TX7800 with it's oh, so smoooooth and tactile tuning kob, roll back with the ease of the perpetual motion-like passage of the past decade and a slurp of Rosemount Estate 1998 Shiraz Cabernet, over my pallet, quaffing good value...). But, er, I digress.

The lower quarter of the face plate accomodates a full width, magnetic push/held flip down black panel revealing: illuminated multipath meter (essential for accurate orientation of rotating aeriel arrays - a modern day tuner rarity), muting, filter, output level and panel light controls.

The rear of the millitary field-style, modular, utilitarian multi phillips screw fixed black panel aluminium casework holds the built-in AM loopstick antenna and various output phono-connectors.

I've compared the sound of this tuner to (some of) it's contemporaries and peer group (not to mention current competition) which I've had the pleasure of owning or using in my system over the years: Marantz 10B, 112B & 120B, McIntosh MR78 & 74, Pioneer TX 9100 & 7800, Yamaha CT7000 & T2, amongst others...

Personally, I prefer the sound of the T-100 in my current system - 'nuff said.

The sonics are perhaps best described as revealing, open and even-handed. Wide-band extended frequency response with immediacy and dynamics. Nostalgic, analogue, (perhaps overly so) mid-band warmth is combined with top end extension and lean bottom end resolution, presented from an extremely quiet background. The tonal quality is incisive yet, as neutral as you will come across. Superlative sound-stage depth, width and clarity is almost taken for granted. The tuner is FM sensitive and selective by modern day standards and out-classes most modern digital stuff, I've experienced.

Do modern tuners compare? You best be the judge of that.

I let my (digital) Accuphase T-109 go, although I have held on to a T-108. Why Accuphase dropped analogue I'll never know. Perhaps as George T said, "The old one was good, until the new one came along... and now I'm happy dancing to the new tune".

Have fun on your journey to audiotruth.

22/04/99

REVIEW: Accuphase T-100 Tuner Review by Frank W at Audio Asylum