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FM Radio, anyone?

I was a kid in the 70s. I remember listening to Detroit Tiger baseball on WJR AM 760 on summer evenings - the voice was Ernie Harwell. And I remember listening to music on our local FM stations, and FM sounded so much better than AM (well, of course it did!). 
I remember the glow of the dial on higher end FM tuners, or on receivers. We had a Pioneer that was nice. But a neighbor had a beautiful Marantz with the heavy horizontal tuning dial. Today I own a Model 19 and a 2215b.

So, today I also own a McIntosh MR87 and I plan to showcase it in a whole house audio rack, with a rooftop antenna for the best possible reception. I also have a Magnum Dynalab MD-108 and I’m not sure where to put it, but it sure is pretty! 
Yeah, I know, the SQ is crap compared to just about anything else these days. And radio stations just aren’t as good as they used to be, or as I choose to remember them (the exception being WXRT in Chicago). But I cannot let go! Anyone else?

mattsca
jimbennet
199 posts
 

FM today is close to 1960s and 1970s sound quality on most stations. What you were hearing was vinyl vs CD and tube audio vs solid state now. Plus you used tube tuners that sound great. The problem is the solid state FM tuner. fmtunrtinfo.com performed shootouts on 84 tunes. The top 14 are good and higher rated introduce too high distortion  A top 5 tuner that is inexpensive is the Hitachi FT-8000.

yyzsantabarbara
5,564 posts
 

@pdspiegel 

The tuner with my main system is a little Sony XDR-F1HD which is OK.  The additional HD channels offer some interesting programming which is often commercial free.

Use the best RCA cables you can afford on the Sony. It made a big difference to my ears. I had a modded unit from the

Repairs, upgrades, and sales of Sony XDR-F1HD HD Tuner

zavato's avatar
zavato
1,496 posts
 

I regularly listen to FM. I have 2 tuners- A Rich Modaferri modded McIntosh MR78 and a Marantz 20B. 

zavato's avatar
zavato
1,496 posts
 

I regularly listen to FM at home and have 2 tuners- a Marantz Model 20 and a McIntosh MR78. I a sucker for vintage tuners. I’ve also owned a few Dynaco FM3’s, an Onkyo 9090II, and a Magnum Dynalab MD105. I stupidly passed on an opportunity to buy a Marantz 10b for $600, and there’s an SAE tuner that I would not mind at all owning. Aside from the fact that FM broadcasting is pathetic, I do love FM and FM tuners! And until recently I owned a Zenith Transoceanic. Yeah, I like radios 

limomangus's avatar
limomangus
2,028 posts
 

Yes I'm still old school and like FM radio...have a few vintage tube ones Harmon Kardon, Fisher, Marantz.Plus Sherwood,Pioneer,,sorry im down stairs and to tired to get the model numbers. 

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