Since variety is the spice of life, I opted for a tuner for the times when I didn't want to listen to my CD collection. After some research, I finally settled on a NAD 412 for S$230 (US$145). This tuner has proved to be a sensible and good buy for me.
My two basic requirements for the new purchase are that the tuner has to sound moderately good, and that it has to be affordable. Well, S$230 certainly is cheap enough but what about the sound? In two words: Typical NAD. NAD's are known for their warmth and musicality, if not so much for definition and accuracy. This 412 is no different; it offers a very well rounded and smooth sound that can be enjoyed for many hours at a time. Imaging could be better but there is a distinct lack of brightness that I find irritating after listening to for more than a few minutes; this is important to me since the tuner will be used more or less as a "background music source with occasional interesting bits".

Other noteworthy features of the 412 include the grey color scheme and simplistic design (which all NADs share), the coaxial signal input (i.e. 75 ohm plug), the 12 station (per band) presets, and the general good quality of parts used (I took a peek under the hood). "Features" I'd rather not have include the tuner being made in PRC (build quality isn't the best), the lack of a remote (understandable at this price range), and the LCD backlight (whose illumination is not at all uniform). Since Singapore is a small country and thus reception is generally good everywhere, I did not have the opportunity to test the tuner to its maximum capability; but we do have storms here and the 412 seems unperturbed by these at all.

Equipment tested with: Musical Fidelity A2 int amp, TDL RTL-3 SE speakers, and high quality cables I put together myself (DIY cables sound the best!)

After carefull shopping, and reading several "Audio Reviews", I too opted for the NAD 412. Generally used for casual listening, and occasional NPR programming, I find the 412 to be a very functional tuner. True it lacks detail and imaging, but I believe that is more a function of the format rather than the product.
The "no bells and whistles" approach by NAD should appeal to those who truly enjoy music not gimmicks. With 12 presets on the am band, and 12 on the fm band, most should not have a problem quickly accessing their favorite stations. I also find the fm blend/mono selectivity a better option than the either/or type tuners. At $239 (US) I found the 412 to be the best tuner in its price range.

Other Equipment:

Acurus A-100 amp
Acurus RL-11 preamp
Marantz CD-63se cd player
NAD 6050C tapedeck
Tara Labs Prism 22 cables
Monster Cable Powerline 2 speaker cables

The 412 is a very good, simple tuner for my purposes. For its price here in the Philippines, it is excellent. I am a broadcast excecutive (FM stations) and rely on this tuner heavily for monitoring purposes. I only wish it had a signal strength meter.
The only problem I encounter is the use of the NAD Link. I have other NAD components, such as a 504 CD player, which is supposedly capable of relaying remote control functions to the 412. The instructions for this is quite vague, so anyone with information on how to properly set this up, please mail me back.

good stuff, quiet tuner, excellent blend switch, works wonderswith my rabbit ears, although they recommentd the T wires.
dirt cheap too.... good deal

a great way to get good sound for cheap

This short review concerns the NAD 412 tuner, and thesmaller-width-yet-identical 402.

This is a simple BBC-designed stereo tuner, with little
in gimmicks: only a few presets (12, I think) and
a selectable high-blend for distant, noisy stations.

I used it in my system when it comprised Cyrus One amp
and Magnepan and Quad speakers. The Antenne was a
normal wire dipole, nothing fancy...

The NAD's reception of strong signals is excellent,
and sound quality is good, quite natural, and overall
probably more limited by the quality of the broadcast
itself or perhaps your CATV-supplier.

At $200 this tuner is a steal, and it deserves 5 stars.
Currently it costs $350 in Europe,which is too much.

Please note that the bigger NAD 414 is a re-badged
Onkyo, and as such it has nothing to do with the
412/402's qualities.

Sound quality, reception

Poor user interface, no extra features.

I had gone to an "all separates" system and I picked up this used NAD 412 just to get rid of my A/V receiver that I was now only using as a tuner, the A/V receiver took up a lot of space and ran very hot.

The sound quality and reception of the 412 is surprisingly good! Bass is full, mids/highs are clean and open, I’m now having second thoughts about spending a pile of money on a mid-to-high end tuner that “may” only be “ever-so-slightly” better. Honestly I haven’t had a chance to A/B it against any of the other models I was planning on ultimately buying but the 412 is indeed a very satisfying sound. If you’re ever looking for a component tuner, don’t want to spend a lot of money, and have a chance at a 412, go for it!

On the down side the user interface is VERY simple. No antenna switching, no signal strength, no remote, just basic up/down tuning and presets. About the only sizzle is a “blend” button that gives a compromise between stereo and mono modes.

I you can live with the simple user interface the sound quality and reception are indeed there. For what I paid (and even at it’s list price new) the value is a 5. Because of the poor users interface and lack of options overall a 4.

CD: Meridian 508.24
Pre: Bryston BP-25
Speakers: Canton Ergo 122DC
Amps: SunFire Signature, Cinepro 600x2 SE
Power: PS Audio P300, Furman IT-1230

Similar Products Used:

Various A/V recivers

Very good staging for a tuner. Nice treble and bass. It outperformed my Quad easily.

I decided not to spend too much on a tuner, so I bought the humble NAD 412 and an amplifier to replace the Rotel receiver I bought 5 years ago (speakers also replaced). I did not attempt to compare the tuner portion of the Rotel to the NAD; but in the new system, music coming from CBC stereo (the wonderful Canada's government sponsored FM radio station, probably the only good-sounding station in Vancouver) sounds open, warm, smooth and natural. It may be less detailed than my CD player, but I can listen to it all day and thoroughly enjoy the music.
Other components in my system:

CD: Rotel RCD-955AX
Amp: Arcam Alpha 9
Speakers: B&W 805