Enjoying the Original Music Streaming Format - Analog FM Stereo

Sounds like some nice nostalgia.  enjoy.

Same here.

I live in the Chicago suburbs. We have here WFMT - Classical, and WDCB - Jazz.

Enjoying the reception with a Sony 730ES, Yamaha T-85, and a Sansui TU 710.

Listening to my tuner right now.  I just pulled my Fanfare FT1a out of the closet.  Forgot what a great tuner this is. 

MOST people have never heard great FM, I put a dedicated antenna in my attic, just above my MX110z’s renowned tuner, aimed at WBGO’s antenna which I learned here is not with the offices in Newark, NJ, it’s at 4 Times Square, Manhattan, 42nd Street and Broadway.

I’ve got to check the connections for my other antenna which captures OTA Digital TV and FM for my Garage/Shop system’s Yamaha CR-1040 Receiver. Many don’t know, OTA Digital TV is as good as your cable quality, amazing compared to tin foil wrapped rabbit ears. 

OTA TVfrom my roof antenna is superior to streaming the same local channels. I have a Luxman T110 tuner in mothballs. DC has one jazz and one classical FM station; I listen while driving.

I also have a MD 102 which is also a great tuner.   Unfortunately some local stations are being moved to HD or AM in favor of talk / news radio.  

Yep it's amazing how great FM can be!

elliottbnewcombjr

MOST people have never heard great FM ...

I think that's true. Even among audiophiles, many who buy a pricey tuner won't go to the trouble of adding a proper antenna for their location. With FM, the antenna can be as critical as the tuner itself.

I'm still using my McIntosh MR-80 that I bought back in the late '70s. There are still some bright spots on the FM dial, and a good tuner can make a big difference.

Old audio urban legend:

A modest turner with good antenna system will outperform a quality tuner with a crappy antenna.  ;^)

After so much digital streaming, much of it HD Flac, there is nothing like a well dialed in analog broadcast!

@motown-l How is stereo FM better than streaming? Aren’t FM stations nowadays broadcasting digital sources anyway? You’re not claiming they still spin analog vinyl records in the station booth, are you? I’ll bet those are all long gone.

I’m probably closer to the nostalgia of true analog FM from source to sink. I just bypass the broadcast spectrum and play the analog LPs in my own listening room.

The DJ's on some of the local stations still spin some vinyl, pops. clicks and all.

I went to college in the late 70s (University of Chicago). We basicly had 2 choices then, LPs or FM. (One kid had reel to reel, and cassete tapes were just happening).

I lived in a dorm that was a converted hotel overlooking lake Michigan (The Shoreland).  The hotel had been converted to apartments decades earlier so most dorm rooms had a living room. Pretty much every one of them had an FM antenna taped to the wall above the stereo system.

BTW, almost every living area had a stereo system, almost none of them had a TV. I don’t remember a single one.

Jerry

I sometimes listen to WFMT in analog but it just doesn’t compare with the digital feed at 320 bps.  The analog feels like it has a hole in the motor the soundstage, even with the Magnum Dynalab tuner.

  I go to Detroit frequently and agree that WDET sounds great on my non digital car tuner 

When working from home, I normally listen to jazz all day on KNKX through a Magnum Dynalab Etude. It's close to CD quality and better than most digital streams. Radio Paradise is about the only digital "radio" station that I've found that is worth listening to.

Streaming, with its customization and convenience is great but, the beauty of listening to a GOOD FM tuner is that you can just turn it on-no relying on an internet signal.

My 1967 Macintosh MR 71 will only be replaced if I get my hands on a Marantz 10B or the elusive REL Precedent.

Tube FM is still relevant!

Once your favorite Internet station goes to a decent bit rate it’s a lot more reliable than the analog FM signal which even with the best tuner and antenna can be kayoed by weather and interference from other sources in a large urban area.  And one can’t beat the range of Internet radio.  I am currently listening to Radio Venice, which no FM Tuner in Chicago is going to pull in

My favorite FM station also has a 256 kbps WAV stream that sounds awful. Whereas their OTA FM broadcast quality is first rate. I too listen to international streaming stations from Europe, the UK and Africa. That doesn't minimize my enjoyment of local OTA FM broadcasts.