Magnum Dynalab FT-11 Tuners
Magnum Dynalab FT-11 Tuners
USER REVIEWS
[Jan 11, 2009]
trehane
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
Sound.
Weakness:
For me, none - but I was a bit surprised when I first got it to find it wandered all over the dial. Never seen that problem before. Found this in a thrift shop and wasn't familiar with the name. Did a net search and realized it had great potential. Mine sounded great but drifted off station very badly. Sent it to MD for a $75 refurbishing and it's now as new.
Customer Service Great. First class. Similar Products Used: Nothing similar. Vintage tube tuners. |
[Jun 18, 2002]
beken
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
Good sound, backed by a company who stands behind their products.
Weakness:
Analog tuner and switches (buttons) need to be serviced after years of service. How good this tuner sounds has already been stated by others (excellent) but I would like to mention the service from Magnum Dynalab. The tuner has been sounding rather fuzzy the last while and I felt either there was something wrong with the opamps or the tuner section was going off alignment. The tuner section and switches being the more obvious because they are the only actual moving parts in the unit. I emailed Magnum Dynalab for a schematic as my unit is out of warranty and they sent back that for $75 + shipping, they will fix it to good as new including re-aligning the tuner. I find this to be a very reasonable price. I found out that MD has a lifetime service policy on all their tuners. Good show, MD. Similar Products Used: Akai KT-11 tuner. |
[Feb 04, 2000]
Bill
Audiophile
Strength:
Excellent FM for the buck
Weakness:
Not the last word in detail and clarity, but close enough I've lived with this tuner for a few years, and I'm was starting to take this level of performance for granted until recently. I picked up an Denon AVR-3300 for a home theater rig and thought, what the heck, let's do an A/B between the built-in tuner and the FT-11. |
[Feb 07, 2000]
Joe
Audiophile
Strength:
Simple design, good sound, good construction
Weakness:
Not many presets(3), no remote, not the quietest, mediocre RF performance A very nice simple tuner, but not nearly as good as it's bigger sister, the 101. To disagree with Dixon, not a tuner for a $5000 system. Great for a 1K to 2K system however. A great tuner for areas with a few nearby clear stations, so that weak atations or interference is not a problem. Similar Products Used: Audiolabs 8000T |
[Nov 01, 1999]
Irv
Audio Enthusiast
This is a wonderful tuner. It is not the last word in sensitivity, nor the last word in sweetness, but what it does give you is the sense of listening to music or voice, and not to "radio" with all the limitations that implies. I listen to it on Mission speakers and reasonably good Cambridge integrated amp, and when I listen to the radio I never think immediately that I'm listening to a poorer grade source. Even though obviously it does not sound like CD or LP, its sound is alive, clear and immediate. A wonderful buy for its price. |
[Jul 31, 1999]
Dixon
an Audiophile
I just picked up this tuner. Although recently discontinued (still available in stores though), this ten year design is still an amazing piece of technology. This was the entry level tuner from Magnum Dynalab. Their bigger brother FT-101A or Etude were just way out of my price range. I did notice that the other two tuners were better but not that much. You had better have a system that takes advantage of the imporved dynamics of the better tuners. From a stereophile review in the early 90's, the reviewer mentioned that the FT-11 is about equivilant to the first FT-101 that won incredible praise in the 80's. |
[May 17, 2001]
John
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
natural sound
Weakness:
compressed soundstage? I am total suprised that the FM stations I've been listening to for so many years could sound this good. It wasn't unti tilI got some new Dunlavy speakers that I noticed how great this tuner sounds. The soundstage is pretty good depth-wise, but my speakers are placed about 10' apart and the side-to-side soundstage of the tuner is maybe 5' - but I bet this is an artifact of the stations I listen to (or the rather cheap interconnects I'm using) - not a problem caused by the tuner. Similar Products Used: $200 Sony (don't remember model number) |
[Jun 09, 2000]
Eduard
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
sound is realistic, soft and not fatiguing
Weakness:
need a good antena with strong enough interference free signal I own this tuner for four years now and I am very hapy with it. I did not want to buy MD FT-101 for financial reasons for I listen to CD's and LP's as major source. However, after purchasing this tuner I found myself quite often listening to live jazz broadcasting. Even it is not as sensitive as old Onkyo Integra tuner, it definitely sounds more realistic. Very pleasant product. Well done Magnum Dynalab! Similar Products Used: Onkyo Integra |
[Apr 27, 2000]
Bob
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
Build Quality. Has some presets. Have had the pleasure of using the 11 for a while. Also had a 101 and a 101a in the house at the same time. I have to admit that MD makes some great tuners and I have enjoyed the 3 I had. IMO of the MD tuners the 101 101a and 11 are all pretty close in performance. Subsequently I have sold my 101 and 101a. Sound quality and features for the buck this is the best of the lot. Wow ... do not complain about not too many presets on this thing!!!!. For twice the price you can get a 101 or a 101a and get NONE. At least the 11 has 3 for your favorite stations. Alas to the contrary of a previous reviewer the 11 cannot be found for $200.00 anymore. Too many people have evidently found out what a great value this little MD is and they are usually around $300.00. Still a super tuner for the $$. Built to last also. Similar Products Used: FT-101 |