FM tuners - Are they OBSOLETE ?

I sincerely feel that many are just not very informed !

The proposition that the FM tuner is good for ''exploring'' new music makes me smile. The FM band has strong geographical limitations of course. It's no shortwave radio in reach (and if it was it would sound much worse of course. With FM, you are bound to regional and ''nationwide network'' regional stations.

To Ack who asks how else he can listen to live broadcasts without a tuner. Just TUNE IN to your live station via the TuneIn app ! MOST main stations are available worldwide, INCLUDING local stations. Just hit the local button on the TuneIn interface and find your station - LIVE.

For classical stations - a digital feed is a blessing - there are so many quiet passages in classical music that, with an FM tuner, unlike you have a GREAT antenna, hearing a frying pan in the background takes away from the experience anyway.

And, with digital, if you like what you hear, press ''record'' and presto, you can go back anytime - try this with an FM tuner.

About Sirius and XM - I used to be a subsriber, using a portable device for both car and home reception. Useless now with (again)the TuneIn app at a ridiculous one-time .99 cents fee versus that Sirius monthly bill and contract. Plus with TuneIn, you get the album artwork for hundreds of stations plus the Sky network of specialized music FREE. Piano Solo stations, Bossa Nova, Jazz light, Jazz-Hell, hell, whatever you want ! Beatle stations, Sprinsteen Stations, Nasa Apollo 11 communication station, endless really. Every shade of the BBC's 4 or 5 different stations, radio Antartica (really). If you are the exploring kind, no contest here - the FM tuner is not in the race.

Sound? Again, the digital feed from TunIn through my DAC is great. It provides a very, very silent background, the kind I could never experience with even expensive tuners I used to own, and fully comparable to CD. I have done so much A/B comparisons it's not even funny.

I think FM tuners have really 2 purposes, and that's ok with me.

1. It is still great in the car for local stations, although Sirius/ XM beats it with specialized channels and news overall - but for local stations no good.

2. an FM tuner is still a nice thing to own in a sound system, but let's call it anything from nostalgia to eye candy (for the expensive ones). I for one enjoy the looks and light show of a vintage Marantz, Pioneer or Yamaha tuner. Anything more expensive though, from Magnum Dynalab on up is just not with the money. It looks like a lab instrument and sounds barely better than a good'ol '70s tuner that has been properly aligned - and that's with a half-decent FM station - but the backgound noise even on the better ones cannot approach a digital feed.

But for both ''discovering'' music, or sound quality, no way.

Just my subjective opinion of course!

Think of Web-based radio stations like your digital camera after you have taken 1,000 photos.

Many of them are just not worth keeping so you delete them.

But, there are many that are crystal-clear and are real gems, so you save them for good and enjoy them.

Internet radio is like this. So many, some bad, but by the sheer number of stations out there, you are bound to hit probably 100 times more good ones than any standard FM market. And tons without the blabber and the ''Toyota Red Dot specials'' ads. Think about it.

Web radio done right is open, worldwide territory, with both music content and sound quality. This weekend they have a 2-day music special in honor of Bob Dyland's 70th birthday. It promises to be great. And it's on BBC 4 Scotland, a finger tap away in 128kps-through-Dac stream, and the sound is fabulous. Of course this is only science-fiction with even any mega-dollar analog tuners.

Truman, just a comment. You say ''What? They are just as relevant as they ever were with your choice of free classic rock, jazz, you remember jazz....Open yourself to music beyond your library's borders''

Hum, how ironic, that's basically THE POINT concerning FM tuners, those borders you are referring to are rather small !

There are basically NO borders with web-based stations...

Unsound - completely missing the point again - who cares that some stations broadcast in low rez - there are a zillion out there that broadcast with great quality - and with those zillions of great stations compared with the relatively F-E-W fm stations (some of those have music content that you wouldn't listen to anyway) that come in clear, again, it's no contest and a no-brainer to go digital with the right gear, of course. On top of this if I remember doesn't FM have limited frequencies up to around 13,000 or 15,000hz? I am less sure about this latest thing, but one thing I'm convinced of after using both ''technologies'', there's no going back to FM tuner sound for me. But that doesn't mean FM tuners have no attributes - some like their sound and the way the gear looks - matter of personal taste of course. But for sheer performance and convenience - and the ''exploring the world'' factor, Web wins.

One last time, here's my ''recipe'':

TuneIn app (.99cents) + Ipod Touch + Cambridge Audio ID-100 digital transport + DacMagic + integrated amp (or amp/pramp combo).

I can certainly understand where the Sony unit wouldn't come close, and it is actually unfair to compare it.

And as far as going to the trouble of installing an antenna on the roof to listen to 1 or 2 favorite stations, I'm ok with that if it brings you enjoyment - that's the whole point right?

Unsound you say ''I'm simply suggesting that for some, an FM tuner might be a sound investment'', I am totally in agreement with this! For some, it's OK as I said numerous times before, it is all very subjective. As far as saying that ''There is very little musical information above 15 KHZ'' right again, but why are speaker manufacturers using diamond and beryllium tweeters that go way up there if we cannot hear it? BECAUSE SOMEHOW it makes the whole come together as a whole (does that make sense?) even if we cannot isolate those higher frequencies. And of course because IT SELLS!. Sorry, but I'd rather have those ''hard-to-hear'' higher frequencies on my side rather than be deprived of them.

What can I say, I use to own a very nice (and expensive) Accuphase T-109 tuner along with a rooftop arial. As good as it was (and it WAS good), I could never get a black and silent background as with a digital feed. For me, that's key, but maybe not for you and it's ok.

Finally, for me at least, Performance equals Enjoyment, and I was no longer enjoying the sonic limitations of my Fm tuner compared to a quality digital feed through a DAC.

But, for some, I can fully understand how an FM tuner may make ''a good investment''. But take out the nostalgia factor and looks (of some nice FM tuner gems out there) and it is still a quite limiting proposition.

Has2be: Cheap shot you are taking here. I have posted countless comments where I always mention that this whole audio circus is ALWAYS subjective. I am JUST providing information to support my opinion, nothing else. Whatever reason you have to turn left or right is your own and I respect it. Why don't you be a good sport and keep on topic instead of shooting flames? And you are not obligated to participate if you don't want to! Got it this time?

Has2be - I do not ''critisize peoples intelligence'', just voicing my opinion respectfully - unlike you may I add. No hard feelings, with a bit of experience you might get the hang of it...

Has2be - no need for insults please, this is supposed to be fun! Got it ?