Teac TR-670 AM/FM Stereo Tuner with Remote (Discontinued by Manufacturer)

My old tuner recently gave up the ghost, so I got the Teac R670. Can't argue with the price, and it works pretty well. AM and FM reception are both pretty decent, although FM is not nearly as good as my Tivoli Model Two radio. AM is much better than the Tivoli. All the modern conveniences are here - digital tuning, auto presets, etc. These all function, although the "seek" tuning is kind of irritating. I'd be fine with a good, old-fashioned knob. Hooking it up is simple as could be - one line output, and some antenna connectors. It comes with an AM loop antenna and a typical 300-ohm "T" antenna and a convertor to 75-ohm coax. This seems to me more than adequate if it's in a good spot. Near as I can tell, the tuner sounds fine. There's really not much chance that the limitiation in the system is the equipment - FM radio transmission is a weak point, and as long as you can accurately tune the station, it's probably going to sound the same no matter what tuner you get. For AM, of course, there's nothing to say, fidelity-wise. There's a reason they only play oldies and conservative talk. The unit looks very nice with blackened brushed aluminum faceplate, and an electroluminescent display. The one thing that really surprised me was the *size*. This thing, while standard width, is HUGE. It's a good 3" high. Given that more features get stuffed into car radios, I simply can't fathom the need for the super-giant box. My dad's Heathkit was smaller, and at least they had an excuse - because 12ax7 tubes were 2" tall! I fit it in my rack OK, but I was taken aback by the size, as the tuner it replaced was about 1" high. i guess the idea of a separate component tuner has become a little passe' (when I went to Circuit City they had NO IDEA what I was talking about "no, not a receiver, a TUNER. And yes, I know you can get a tuner AND amplifier in the same box"), but that's what I needed, and it works. For $117 it's pretty hard to argue with.

I live in a hilly area, where FM stations are numerous but the ones we like are distant. That means both sensitivity and selectivity are important to me. This tuner seems to score well on both counts, without sacrificing clarity as can happen in car radios. Also, the AM section is considerably better than usually found on moderately-priced tuners. The preset tuning setup and direct entry tuning could be a bit easier to handle, though. One caveat - if you need to connect an external FM antenna, be aware that the connector on this tuner is not a North American standard threaded coax "F" connector. Although not obvious in the pictures, it is a European style (Belling & Lee) male. You will need a female B&L connector for your cable end, or a female B&L to female F adapter. Fortunately, those are available on line. I got mine from FM DX Antennas for $4.00.

The TR-670 replaces a tired Denon analog AM/FM tuner in use since 1983. The programming of the Teac tuner is not quite intuitive and, sadly, the manual lacks important details. Nevertheless, the sound quality is just fine, and some users will find the tuner's clock feature useful. The audio output level from the Teac tuner is considerably greater than the Denon's, and the digital tuning protocol eliminates the issue of frequency drift. There is clearly one aspect concerning the Teac tuner I like least: In my application, power to the tuner and associated electronics in my recording studio control room is shut down at night. If power is removed from the tuner, it does not come back on when power is returned; it must be manually switched on. This is a quibble, I agree, and those who need to purchase a component AM/FM tuner will be more than satisfied with the TR-670's performance.

the 75 ohm connector for the FM antenna on the back is specific to teac and will not take a regular coaxial cable. Also the tuner developed problems in the display, it goes dark and the audio cuts in and out. To top it off it has very poor reception. In other words, a piece of garbage.

Oddly enough I still like to tape certain shows off FM radio. Just got this tuner. Very simple setup. Very clear sound - but not harsh. Beats the tar out of my (admittely low priced) Pioneer receiver's tuner. I have owned nice equipment before (ex: Cambridge Audio). I decided I wanted a * good * (dammit) but affordable tuner. This exactly fits my needs.Storing channels is a piece of cake. The remote is sort of a frill and a bonus at this point. It may be that I come to rely on it. Tuner has a sleep mode, hmmm could be useful for some. While there's no tuning strength meter, once you are on the exact frequency two different red indicators appear: Stereo, Tuned.P.P.S. If you want to rack mount it, I think there's rack mount ears available separately for it. Either that or you can buy one of those Middle Atlantic rack trays and take the feet off the unit, velcro the bottom of it to the tray - it works.

I recently had to have a minor repair on my NAD 4155ST which I bought for about $400 at least 15 years ago. Figuring it would give up the ghost sooner or later I went looking for a replacement....what a shock....tuners are few and far between now, so when I spotted the TEAC at less than $200 I figured at the very least it would serve as a stopgap until I could find something more appropriate. I've stopped looking. This unit is the functional equivalent of my NAD, has great reception, and appears to be built like a tank. I'm actually shocked about some of the "audiophile" features included without fanfare (gold plated RCA jacks for example) along with extensive programing and preset options THAT YOU DON'T HAVE TO USE IF YOU DON'T WANT TO. The tuner has a clock and built in timer system and can store 30 AM and 30 FM stations to memory if you want to get real geeky about it. It also incudes a functional remote. An excellent tuner...highly recommended.

the receiver arrived at a time of earthquakes and hurricanes and I blamed atmospheric anomalies for poor reception, until all was calm and by then reception was nil. It is presently at an authorized service center for repairs. The Amazon thirty day return policy is useless in this case as it only applies to unopenend cartons!