Denon TU-1500 (1998)

The Denon TU-1500 is really two tuners under one name. The domestic Japanese TU-1500 arrived in 1998 and tunes the 76-90 MHz Japanese FM band. The export TU-1500AE followed around 2006 as part of Denon's AE (Advanced Evolution) series and covers 76-108 MHz. There's also a TU-1500RD, which appears to be a black color variant of the same chassis rather than a separate model. The spec sheets differ quite a bit between the domestic and export versions, so check which one you have.

The TU-1500AE is the better documented of the two. As Tech Digest noted, it replaced the long-running classic TU-260II, adding better sound, greater sensitivity, a better display, and a full remote control without raising the price. The front panel has an aluminum faceplate with a large dot-matrix display. Tuning is a single rotary knob rather than push buttons, a layout Denon used to keep tuning and preset recall quick. It has RDS and 100 FM/AM presets with auto-preset memory, and you can label stations with up to eight alphanumeric characters. The included RC-1027 remote handles frequency up/down, preset up/down, and band changes from about seven meters.

The AE model has a practical sensitivity of 1.2 µV/75 Ω (12.8 dBf), frequency response of 20 Hz to 15 kHz ±0.5 dB, stereo S/N of 70 dB, and THD of 0.2% at both 90% and 100% modulation. The domestic TU-1500 looks a little better on paper, with 10.3 dBf sensitivity, 78 dB stereo S/N and 0.12% THD. It held fewer presets (40) and weighed much less, 2.5 kg versus the AE's 3.6 kg. The Japanese version also supported AM stereo broadcasts, a feature not listed for the export model.

The domestic TU-1500's Japanese FM band (76-90 MHz) is a known hurdle for collectors outside Japan. A repair forum thread documents converting it to the European band by replacing specific parts listed in the service manual. The job is apparently feasible but not trivial.

Known specs for the TU-1500AE: