my digital RANT !!!

[ahardb0dy]

I think at the time the digital tuner was like the "new" thing, wasn't the 880 one of the first to feature it?

 

[Johnny]

I think my GE 6035 was pretty close to cutting edge technology with it back then too, I was amazed first time I saw one!!

 

[BoomBoxDeluxe]

This thread is not all analog, baby.



I have only one portable with the Up/Down LCD tuner type. ( Aiwa NSX-S3 )

The rest of them have to be tuned in the old fashioned way.....with a piece of string on pulleys.

 

[ahardb0dy]

I guess people like digital because it is more accurate, was thinking a digital display (or readout) with analog tuning would be cool, if you look at the multi thousand dollar ham radios ( no, I'm not comparing boomboxes to them) all you see is digital, they must use it for a reason.

 

[redbenjoe]

perhaps digital tuners are more accurate with the 'proper' FM stereo range ??

we live in a fringe area --about 60 miles from the cool miami stations --
and all my digital tuners seem to get confused--
:'-(

 

[bill]

wheels and string all the way.

 

[jaetee]

It has been my experience that a good analog tuner will typically outperform just about any digital tuner, even if you switch the digital tuner over to manual tuning and disable the quartz-lock and seek at the lowest possible incriments. I've done extensive testing comparing a Yamaha T-1020 TOTL component tuner vs. Sansui TU-9990 and TU-717 analog tuners. Both of those Sansui analog tuners brought in stations from further away, and reproduced a cleaner sound with less signal than the Yamaha did.

IMHO, the only advantages of the digital tuner are the storing of presets and the mindlessness ease of operation. I find that Analog tuners tend to reproduce the broadcast sound with inherently more warmth, too.

So, I'll take a nice old Sansui analog tuner over ANY digital tuner in my home stereo any day of the week. And I think the same goes for boomboxes. I like that big old display with all the numbers. All the SW and AM numbers on there too!!! And for the record, I have a GE here with a digital tuner in it that is possessed, it does all kinds of weird $hit.

Rembember Geometry class in high school? There are an infinite number of points between any two points on a line...

As such, with an analog tuner, there is an infinite number of tuning areas between the two ends of the tuning scale. I have found that quartz locking, auto-seeking digital tuners tend to skip past lots and lots of distant stations that analog tuners can often dial in relatively cleanly. Quartz PLL is fine for FM, when you want to hear the local cheeze.... but if you like to listen to AM radio, or shortwave, I find the ability to delicately scan the airwaves with an analog tuner enjoyable and exciting. With a digital tuner, this is boring and ofen unfruitful.

I've sat out on my patio in the middle of the night with my M-70 listening to shortwave radio being broadcast from Germany!!!! That took lots of tweaking of the dials and fine tuning. But, to be fair, I don't have a digital tuner with SW, so I can use that as a comparison.

Anyway, that's my 24 cents.

 

[skippy1969]

I like digital and analog both the same,however I LOVE digital tuners that have a memory function. It is very handy.

 

[redbenjoe]

thanks alot for that underpriced 24 cents!!

the ONLY value to me --of a digital boombox tuner --
is that - outside at night --we can press the up/down buttons-
and tune stations in the dark --

there are so many good analogue boxes--
-that have no tuning dial lights --

but --all my analogue tuner boxes are more accurate than the 5 big, serious
and $$ expensive digitals that i have

 

[monchito]

guys remember that the term digital back then on those boxes was basicly the lcd or led dial as the tuner itself still used analog components newer generation tuner have done away with tuning capasitor now it uses integrated circuits ,, so to me the older tuner were better built with the hybrid tuner

 

[redbenjoe]

ramon --are you saying that the aiwa 880 and the early 1985 bose ,
and the first kabooms were not digital tuners ??

 

[Radio raheem]

I think he is basically saying the early ones used analoge ciricuitry but used digital readout

 

[monchito]

no ira the 880 and most of the boxes that have buttons for up and down they are digital synthesized but there are boxes like the philips that had a tuner wheel but had an lcd display those were still analog

 

[monchito]

thanks rim yea ira those boxes were not that many basicly the move was quick those philips were basicly hybrids

 

[MasterBlaster84]

no ira the 880 and most of the boxes that have buttons for up and down they are digital synthesized but there are boxes like the philips that had a tuner wheel but had an lcd display those were still analog

My Sony CFS-D7 has one of these Analog/Digital Hybrid tuners.

 

[Radio raheem]

Ahh so it dosen't apply to the 880 thanks ramon

 

[redbenjoe]

ok -- i get it
and that hybrid was a nifty feature--
the sanyo 820 that i got from jaetee at the last meet -
is also one of those = analogue tuners with the LCD readout

 

[Eric]

Guys what boxes had both digital readout and an analog readout? I know I have seen them.........maybe the best of both worlds if they have some type of presets

 

[monchito]

they are not that bad you still can tune anywhere i guess it was more feasible to just go ahead and do everything with buttons instead of turning a knob i belive so to it has the dial readout right and the lcd

 

[redbenjoe]

Guys what boxes had both digital readout and an analog readout? I know I have seen them.........maybe the best of both worlds if they have some type of presets

eric - i know of none that have both ??
but analogue with presets would be a grat box feature -- i think