Q: The tuner section of my 10-year-old Onkyo TX-SR602 receiver is fizzling out. It just can't seem to grasp FM stations. I love the old thing, and it still pumps out great movie sound. What are your thoughts on adding an AM-FM tuner?
Rotels are available on eBay usually for about $150 to $200, but I don't know if this is the way to go. In all my years of enjoying audio, I have never used a separate tuner.
Could I run an inexpensive stereo receiver into my Onkyo and use that as a tuner? It seems as if makers of newer receivers don't put a lot of money into the tuner sections.
A: You could get an inexpensive receiver and run the tape monitor outputs to an input of your receiver, but I don't think that's the way to go.
You're correct that most modern receivers don't have good tuner sections. Despite inflation, over the past 25 years, prices for receivers have remained the same or even gone down — yet they have moved from stereo to surround sound, adding multiple surround modes and automatic setup, among many other features.
Adding features while holding the price usually means that the money has to come from somewhere. The two biggest places are the amplifier section and the tuner section. Ironically, it is these two parts that make up most of a classic stereo receiver.
Look on eBay for a used, working tuner. Your best bet would be models from the 1980s. Onkyo has always made great tuners, and they probably will match the appearance of your receiver. You can probably find one for $30 to $50, and the performance will likely be much better than you have experienced even when your receiver's tuner was at its best.
If FM is important to you, try to find an Onkyo T-9090. It was one of the best tuners ever made.
