ls FM radio even listenable any more?

I am lucky enough to live in an area with a dedicated classical music station, WQXR, FM 105.9 out of NYC. I probably would not give FM a second glance if not for WQXR. Recently, I emailed them to find out if they were 100% digital recordings, and they confirmed that they are. WQXR is on probably 5-6 hours a day in my house, so I guess you could say FM is alive for me.

Interesting side note: Almost all of my listening equipment is tube based, both restored Sherwood and Fisher Receivers. I sent them out for their annual check-up to my repair guy, Dave451 on AudioKarma. While at the tube hospital I substituted my old SS gear, Pioneer SX-626, Sansui 8010, and HK3490. I knew I preferred the old tube gear but never realized how much the tube gear augmented listening to FM. The digital recordings broadcast on FM sound so much more musical on my tube receivers.

BTW, there was a time when there were actually two classical stations broadcast out of New York City, the second one being WNCN, FM 104.3. WNCN is now WAXQ, otherwise known as Q104, a Q station for progressive rock/classical rock. They took over from the classical format in 1995.

FM radio is largely a wasteland, like AM, unless you are lucky enough to have 1 or 2 station worth listening to.

@ yyzsantabarbara

CFNY-FM out of Toronto kept me musically au courant all through the 80’s. Phenomenal station at the time, since trashed. I still have about four dozen 2-hour cassette tapes of the station that I made at the time. They’re still playable and I listen to them occasionally for auld lang syne.

Also CJRT (classical) and CBC out of T. O. were wonderful as well. And the women of T. O. kept me VERY happy. Just hung up from talking to one who still calls me and I haven’t been to the town in nearly 30 years. Wonderful burg.

SE PA, where I am now, is close to an FM desert by comparison. Once upon a time I had a 240" [sic] custom-built FM antenna cut specifically for 88 - 92 mHz pointed at Philadelphia. That’s gone, (WXPN now has a local repeater; it's NOT "hi-fi") and my Technics ST-9030 tuner has been put up for sale. And I’ve really not found the equal on the internet. So sad...

FM radio, like all broadcast radio, is geared to morning and afternoon drive time as people go to work and back home. In some markets, off rush hour programming has added syndicated shows to attract listeners but the ad rates are much lower, reflecting the lower number of them.

What you’re missing completely is that 1- many stations subscribe to programming services that tell them which songs to play and when to play them. Here in Tidewater & Central Virginia, there are 4 Classic Rock stations that play basically the same songs daily but in a different orders. If you don’t like the majority of those songs, you won’t like those stations. 2-Satellite radio has siphoned off listeners that spend a lot of time driving and wish to control their programming by using the stations on it dedicated to specific artists and genres. 3-Most people don’t even own an FM receiver anymore. They listen to music on their laptops, tablets, smart phones, etc. 4-When I was on the road for work I used my cd player far more than I listened to any radio stations.

To your other point about FM signal compression - that is going to be constant whether the sound source is digital or analog, and most major radio stations stopped using turntables decades ago.

FM here in west NC is basically 'not to my tastes'.  I have a receiver that can supply it, but generally not worth the trouble.

I will thank all for their suggestions; having been listening to streamcasters for nearly a decade now, the world is at ones' fingertips. *S*

There's some Euro 'casters that have eclectic formats that make for a fun listen.  And the fact that the limited amount of commercials are in a language I don't speak makes bathroom breaks a non-issue. *L*

'Hip-ed' the spouse to streamcasting on her 'puter, so there's no conflicts in that department...😁👍

....on a related aspect....not necessarily 'apt', but ..

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