Sony ST-SDB900

The overall construction quality of the Sony ST-SDB900 seems to be good, no wobbly plastic nobs or external parts. Mine has UK-sound tuned red plastic badge. Not sure what that implies. I couldn't test digital reception as it is not available yet but the specs seem quite impressive with extremely low noise and THD. AM reception is OK, not bad but not stellar. It is sensitive enough but a bit noisy. Soundwise, my old Technics ST-G5 beats Sony easily in both FM and AM departments.

Conventional FM quality in stereo on a good strong signal is very mediocre: it has quite noticeable noise (the specs confirms that, so it is not just my particular tuner), the sound in general though is great, the highs are not overly harsh or bright as is common with other Hi-Fi Sony tuners I tried before, the bass is not bloated/upped artificially and voices sound very natural without unpleasant sibilance.

I definitely would not recommend this tuner for listening to conventional FM broadcasts. However, if you are in DAB, it may be worth an audition.

The Sony ST-SDB900 is so easy to use, superb design will never look out dated. Again I love this tuner, it does exactly what it was designed for with no frills!

I was looking for a nice DAB tuner, and I went to my hi-fi dealer and tried the Sony STSDB900, the new Denon TU1800DAB and the Pure Digital DRX702ES.

For my taste the Sony was really the best because the music and voices sounded natural, smooth, detailed and with great musicality in the DAB and FM. It was a good buy, and it makes me happy every day.