How is it ? that a tuner smokes the table ???

Its probably just that you happen to prefer the sound of the tuner.

It depends.

I like FM but Fm has limited high frequency extension I think?

That might result in lower fatigue and more relaxation listening to good quality stations at least compared to other sources that extend to higher frequencies depending, at least in some cases.

I think it would be hard to make a general case that FM is better than good vinyl or digital though.

Well, surely no tuner can sound better than the table or CD used at the station to playback whatever is being broadcast, can it?

Kirkus,

Thanks for that!

I think you hit it. Talented engineers on the back end that care make all the difference in radio.

But, if one's radio sound BETTER than ones's phono or digital, then that is probably a good indicator that a few tweaks to the system might be made to better the sound from your local sources in your system.

"It could be the tubes in the MD."

That could do it if the other sources are tube deprived.

Radios were raised on tubes. Tubes were on the decline as vinyl became more popular. They were largely forgotten by the time CDs came around.

Now they are on the upswing again it seems at least with the audio obsessed crowd.

Maybe those good FM stations tossed out their CD and record players and are using all reel to reel as their source or perhaps even miking their own all live performances? How do they fit the symphony orchestra into that studio though?

Another possibility is that maybe the table setup isn't that good or set up properly or that the recordings being played aren't recorded very well either?

"lots of analog enthusiasts think, that analog reproduction is automatically better than everything else. That's a mistake, I listened to countless analog set ups which were simply nothing special"

That is a fact. The vast percentage of playback systems back in the golden age of vinyl were quite poor. Many more were mediocre. Only a few were really good. And a large % of records produced over the years aren't all that hot either!

That's why it gets my goat a bit when someone argues that a particular format is categorically better than another. There are too many things that go into good sound otherwise that matters to even consider making such statements realistically.

There are a couple over the air classical stations out of NYC that sound very good broadcast over the internet for sure on a decent properly equipped stereo system. One is WNYC I think off the top of my head.

I don't think its unusual for a tuner to sound "intimate" as you describe. With good source material at the station, dynamics can be pretty good as well. I could relate similar experiences using Tandberg, Carver, and other tuners with a good source station and source program material (particularly live broadcasts as someone above mentioned) as well.

However, the frequency response is rolled off at the top end due to format limitations, right? For some who find a hot top end annoying, this can actually be deemed a good thing.

So I don't necessarily find it to be that surprising. A tuner as costly as that Magnum Dynalab should blow away most anything else as well I would expect at that price.

"What is also surprising to me is the signal on vynal is probably more direct , than a signal passing thru the air
with all the interferences, not to mention all the processing, and reprocessing to analogy and ranes as the
highest quality source I know of or experienced."

I think you can assert it sounds really good, intimate, dynamic or whatever, but these are subjective judgements so that is OK.

Not sure how you establish the source as "highest quality" though. That would be difficult to prove or establish using any meaningful specs or measurements, I would think.

Personally, I do not believe that the best specs always wins in regards to enjoyment of sound, nor do I believe that price is a reliable indicator of resulting sound quality or enjoyment potential.