General Asylum: REVIEW: Accuphase T-100 Tuner by RogWA3FLE

The Accuphase T-100; I was semi-aware of the T-100 (and T-101) until one evening while browsing r.a.m., I stumbled across an ad for a T-100 and a matching E-202 integrated amp. Emails with the owner followed, and as the day to make a decision approached, I had to get some information on this thing.

After looking around, I learned some things I didn't know but thought I did:

The T-100 and the T-101 were produced in the same time frame (1974-1979); i.e., the T-101 is not a successor to the T-100.

The T-100 is an AM and FM tuner, while the T-101 is FM only.

The T-100, contrary to the (false) assumption that something was de-engineered in the FM section in order to add AM, actually has a better FM tuner in it than does the T-101 (5-gang tuning as opposed to 4-gang tuning, for example).

The AM section in the T-100 is not a useless add-on tacked on for marketing purposes.

That said, I went ahead and bought both units, thinking that the E-202 would be a nice matching amp, but not expecting too much of it--more on that at another time (suffice to say it may be more impressive in its own way than the T-100).

Now a few weeks after living with the T-100, I have to say that my seemingly endless search for a tuner of merit is now over. I mean, I've sought out, rebuilt, aligned and lived with the following:

1. Dynaco FM-3 with Frank VanAlstine's mods and Sheldon Stokes' replacement PEC boards;

2. Harman-Kardon F-500 Award Series (I have two complete ones and a third parts unit, and each one has a different MPX decoder module!);

3. EICO ST-96 AM/FM tuner with MX-99 stereo decoder (late model with the SCA filter);

4. EICO ST-97 FM stereo tuner (all Mullard tubes);

5. Heathkit AJ-12 FM Stereo tuner;

5. Fisher 800C AM/FM stereo receiver (rebuilt and corrected for 75ms. de-emphasis);

6. Fisher Model 80 with MPX-100 stereo decoder;

7. Nikko Gamma I FM stereo tuner (nice);

8. Dynaco AF-6 AM/FM stereo tuner.

And a few others, like a NAD 7020, an Advent 300, etc. A motley crew, no question, but all serviceable, and some, like the F-500's, very pleasant. A friend's HK Citation IIIx, however, tromped them all (with the exception of the Nikko Gamma I), and that bothered me.

So, unable to compete with eBay's dot-com nouveau-riche and grab a Scott 4310 or 310E, not to mention a Marantz 10B or Macintosh MR-71 or 78, it was getting bleak--what to get?

Accuphase to the rescue. For under $500 you too can have the penultimate in FM stereo and AM performance using but a single IC--the stereo decoder chip--and all discrete circuitry everywhere else, not to mention analog tuning with no attendant synthesizer noise or locked-in tuning steps.

And the sound on FM is as Frank W. reports--quiet, effortless, non-fatiguing, lush, sensitive, selective, accurate (there's a SMALL bit of warm-up drift during the first half-hour), and just plain truthful. And AM performance, which I value, is without fault--wide bandwidth, no 10kHz whistles due to a notch filter, clean highs, sound bass, and sensitivity not common in the AM sections one usually finds in AM/FM tuners.

This thing plays music. You know in your head that they're playing CD's at the FM stations, but your heart cannot tell. You CAN tell when they're playing records, though--the pops, hiss, and cracks are all there, but so is the immediacy you look for in an album. Then again, who knows what kind of direct-drive turntable they're using--probably some Technics that could see double-duty with a scratching rap DJ at night.

There is a solidity and a build-up-to-spec rather than build-down-to-price approach that seeps from this piece. You know that corners could have been cut, but for whatever reason--national pride, a payback mentality towards Kenwood from whence the Accuphase founders emerged, or a do it once and do it right mentality--none are discernable. If anything, extra effort was expended to make sure nothing was missed. If I thought it needed them (which it doesn't), I could say they should have included selectable selectivity control for both the AM and FM sections, but in my experience so far they are absolutely unnecessary. And that is that.

What more can I say? Be a tissue and organ donor and tell your family you mean it.

Have fun. Live healthy.

REVIEW: Accuphase T-100 Tuner Review by RogWA3FLE at Audio Asylum