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Old 07-18-2020, 01:40 PM
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prepress prepress is offline
Semi-audiophile
 
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Brooklyn, by way of Nashville
Posts: 2,913
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I owned the MD90 (not the SE) for a while. I upgraded to a MD102 not because I was disappointed in the sound, but because it allowed me to pull in an additional station or two. Living in NYC (Brooklyn), that's no small plus.

The MD90 was as smooth-sounding as I could have wanted. I liked it. I also like the 102, though I admit the tuner hasn't ben a regularly-used source for a while. But last weekend I turned it on for a while and was listening to WKCR (Columbia University) broadcast an old interview with Willie Nelson, and it sounded smooth as I remember, with the distinct impression that I was in on the conversation, not just listening to it in an abstract sense.

The usual suggestion is to buy the best you can afford and then live with it. Ask yourself how much you'll actually use the tuner, as part of the purchasing process. Also consider that MD uses JJ tubes in their tube tuners, and they match them in-house. I had JJ Hi-Performance Gold Pin tubes in my C2300 for a while, and I was impressed with their smoother sound over everything else I tried. The midrange was rich and the bottom was strong. JJs tend to be on the warm side.

If you go for a MD tuner, I can also say I found the folks at MD to be very helpful and very friendly. No complaints on that. Some prefer their sound over Mac tuners, and I can't speak to that. Finally, you don't get an AM option with MD tuners, if that matters.

The best on your journey.
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