Cat here,
I have 30 years of experience in audio, since it's passion.
Let me tell you a story
:
25 years ago I bought the best BOSE receiver there was in the market, cost me around USD$1000 aprox.
Later, while roaming in a flea market, I found a german Grundig receiver, which was deteriorated. I bought it and spend some time reconstructing it. I started testing the Grundig receiver and was surprised to find out that it had an FM sensitivity from 1.2-1.5 microVolts, while my so-great BOSE receiver, with struggles only managed 1.8 microVolts, even with connecting it with a good FM antenna that I had. This means, that the lower the micro volt sensitivity in FM, you will obtain a more clearer, better quality Hi-Fi sound, in other words, without distortion. I wasn't convinced, since I had paid a lot of money on that BOSE receiver, and I couldn't understand how a German Grundig receiver, which was
10 years older than the BOSE receiver, was smoother in receiving FM signal, and it received it in Hi-Fi Stereo with more than 90dB of separation in each channel.
So, I grabbed my screwdriver and unscrewed the lid off the BOSE receiver, and to my dismay, I discovered that the BOSE receiver was made of japanese and taiwanese components, which were of pretty poor quality (no offense to anyone of them since they do some really cool stuff), and I also discovered that the BOSE receiver doesn't use as much coils as it should, and instead replaced them, especially for the FM intermediate frequency, with ceramic filters, which are not as good as a coil. Why? because the damn ceramic is way unstable due to temperature shifts (which are a pain in the ass), and its unadjustable (unlike the coil). Its just a simple resonator.
Conclusion, my experience tells me that if you want a good Hi-Fi sound system, with great quality and all, I'd recommend you buy either a Grundig, or Telefunken, or similar, or a Phillips (built in Holland).
You wanna buy that BOSE, fair enough, no problem, but if you're looking for sound quality and long life, then I suggest those above, but make sure that they're manufactured in Germany or Holland, or in England.
Best of luck,
Cheers,
Cat Revilla