Magnum Dynalab FT-101
A twelve-pound analog FM tuner from a Canadian specialist, priced at $629, with no digital readout anywhere on it.
Overview
Twelve pounds is a lot of tuner. Pick up the FT-101 and the weight tells you there is a real power supply and a real front end inside, not a chip and a display. Magnum Dynalab built it in Brampton, Ontario, and set the price at $629 when it arrived in the mid-1980s. HiFi-Stereo (May 1987, p.46) put the unit on the bench and confirmed the 12-pound figure alongside the price.
The tuning is analog. A digital tuner gives you preset buttons and a frequency readout. The FT-101 gives you a dial you can set to any frequency in the tuning range, with a vernier adjustment that a synthesized tuner cannot offer. HiFi-Stereo (May 1987, p.48) noted this distinction - an analog tuner can be parked between the standard channel spacings, which helps when a station sits somewhere awkward on the dial. The center-tuning meter was accurate in that review, with correct tuning always landing on the center pointer position.
The interesting part is a circuit borrowed from car radios. Audio (June 1986, p.116) reported that this was the first home tuner the reviewer had tested that used the car-stereo technique of blending channels as the signal weakens. In practice the tuner gradually collapses stereo separation toward mono when the signal gets marginal. That trades soundstage for a quieter, less hissy background. The effect is much more pronounced in wide-band mode, because wide-band separation starts out greater. Owners far from their favorite transmitter tend to appreciate it more than owners in a city.
The measured performance was honest but not spectacular. Audio (June 1986, p.114) put it plainly: the FT-101's performance was respectable even though it did not meet all its published specifications. Alternate-channel selectivity came in below the 70 dB claimed, while image rejection measured close to 80 dB against a 75 dB claim. Capture ratio hit 1.5 dB, exactly as specified, and held substantially the same in both narrow and wide i.f. modes.
The FT-101 is a conventional 120 V a.c. component drawing 75 watts. It takes up a full-width 19-inch rack footprint at 3¾ inches tall and 13 inches deep. The metal case houses engineering that was clearly meant to be serviced rather than sealed. Collectors note that the FT-101 shows up regularly on the used market. Audio classified pages from the late 1980s and early 1990s list demo FT-101 units at $599 against a $698 list, and the later FT-101A at $995, which suggests the model held its value in the dealer channel. A private seller in a 1990s classified listing asked $325 for a mint example, well below the original price.
Magnum Dynalab also sold an FT-101 Elite variant, advertised by dealers as a new model alongside the standard FT-101 in 1989. Check which version you are looking at, since the Elite carried its own designation and pricing. The FT-101 is a heavy, analog FM tuner from a company that specialized in tuners, with a car-radio blending circuit you will not find on most home gear of the period. It is not the last word in selectivity, and the bench numbers fell short of the marketing in a couple of places.
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