Hitachi FT-340 AM/FM Tuner, Brief Review

There is a tendency out there to write reviews of high priced or exceedingly rare items, something I've been guilty of myself. However, for most of us, we'd just like to enjoy reading about something we might be able to obtain, cheap and common, even if it's less than perfect.

To this end, I've decided to write a very brief review for the Hitachi FT-340 AM/FM Tuner. This particular unit was produced from 1978 to 1982, listed at the MSRP of $200, and was intended to be paired with it's sister integrated amp, the Hitachi HA-340. Thanks to this low price, many units were sold separately rather than only in combos making this unit fairly easy to still find at the local thrift or eBay for between $15 and $50 depending upon the condition.

The performance of the FT-340 is surprisingly good for such a bare-bones budget tuner. The ability of this unit to pull in weak stations is remarkable thus demonstrating far greater sensitivity than any of the tuners in my receivers. Stations that would otherwise barely budge the needle of signal strength meter on my Pioneer SX-727 or SX-838 come in over half-way up the FT-340's meter with no hash and a good stereo lock. Unfortunately, this sensitivity comes at a cost with the fairly simple circuit design making for issues with overload when several strong stations are positioned near one another on the dial. So, this tuner performs its best in rural radio conditions s and will suffer in urban areas.

The front panel is very basic with controls kept to a minimum at five, the quick throw power lever, the tuning knob, and three switches. The tuning knob has a reasonable weight attached to it making for relatively quick and smooth tuning across the band. The displays are kept to a minimum also with just a single slide rule dial and two meters, one for signal strength and the other a tuning indicator. The dial and meters are lit with a green glow and stereo lock is indicated with a basic red LED.

As to the sound, there are no glaring deficits and it seems to be relatively smooth. Of course, with tuners, it's exceedingly difficult to determine the sound of the unit past the compression artifacts both of FM transmission and the highly compressed digital stream most stations use as their music source (hence why a tuner review is in Sources: Digital). Then there's also the major bass boost all the local stations add to their signal. However, as this is typical of must radio stations, I can say that it would be very difficult to tell if there is less sound quality in this tuner compared to a kilobuck new unit.

The fairly plain faceplate:


The equally simple back:


The even simpler insides:


Overall, this little Hitachi would make a great choice for someone out in the country who wants a cheap tuner that can pick up the weak stations.

The review system was my typical main setup with a twin-lead dipole antenna.

- JP

Great review, as usual, but why post it in "Digital" sources?

Jorge

So, Jorge, when are you going to start posting reviews of your own?

- JP

After reading yours, I realize the stakes are very high, besides, I´m afraid I lack the eloquence, JP.

Anyway, I´m sure I´ll give it a try sooner rather than later.

Jorge

P.S. - On the subject of analogue tuners being discussed in "Digital", I still have my doubts, despite your argument about "highly compressed digital streams" being a decent one. In the end the digital stream is converted into an FM signal for broadcasting, which is analogue through and through, right?

The way I see it, we are not talking about DAB here, which is true "Digital Audio Broadcasting". It´s like discussing an LP, whose original recording was made digitally - like the "Brother in Arms" album by Dire Straits - as if we were discussing a CD.

I'm far from eloquent, but I do understand what you mean. After the response I've received with the last two reviews (before this one), I've become a bit nervous about keeping up the standard and writing more. I've finally decided the heck with it and just label sub par reviews as "brief." If more people write their own reviews, then the pressure will be off, I hope.

Your Brothers in Arms argument is a good one. The corollary would be that a needledrop played through a Squeezebox would still be considered digital. Maybe we should create a third category, "Source: Other".

- JP