Denon TU-920 (1981–1983)
The Denon TU-920 is a digital synthesizer FM/AM tuner built by Nippon Columbia in the early 1980s. Production ran from 1981 to 1983. The Japanese list price was 560,000 yen, which put it in the upper tier of Denon's tuner lineup of the period. It had an LCD display and quartz-synthesized tuning, part of the move away from analog dials that was sweeping through Japanese hi-fi at the time.
The specs are solid. It covers both FM and AM. FM sensitivity is rated at 0.9 µV/75 Ω mono (one source lists 1.0 µV) and 38 µV stereo. Signal-to-noise is 73 dB mono and 70 dB stereo, with THD of 0.1% mono and 0.3% stereo. Frequency response is 30-15,000 Hz, stereo separation exceeds 45 dB at 1 kHz, and selectivity is rated at 60 dB (±400 kHz). A single source also lists IF rejection of 95 dB, image rejection of 90 dB, and AM suppression of 65 dB. Power consumption is given as either 9 W or 12 W depending on the source, which suggests different measurement conditions.
HiFI-Stereo (1990, p.87) listed the TU-920 in a tuner roundup. It noted the manual step tuning, last-channel memory, and FL display, and gave a stereo signal-to-noise figure of 82 dB, slightly better than the 70 dB in the Japanese spec sheets. The magazine also recorded a stereo THD of 0.15% and mono 0.08%, along with a frequency response of 20-15,000 Hz ±0.5/-1.0 dB, and listed the tuner at $699 in the US market.
- FM tuning range: 87.5–108 MHz
- AM tuning range: 522–1611 kHz
- Dimensions: 434 × 99 × 321 mm
- Weight: 5.2 kg
No user reviews, service documentation, or circuit-level descriptions have surfaced in the available record. Collectibility data is likewise absent. The TU-920 appears to have been a serious, well-built tuner from Denon's early digital era — but beyond the specifications above, little else is documented.
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