Radio Days..............and you?


Not the Woody Allen film, but my start in my music addiction was with radio. I started with a good AM radio my parents gave me for Christmas. Spent days listening to a local rock station and nights listening to WLS and KAAY. After these years with some very good high end audio systems I still find radio a valued source. Currently I am mainly Jazz and Classical on a couple of college/public radio stations with a Nakamichi TM-1and TM-2.

Do you still use radio as a frequent source? If so, what are you using for a radio, tuner, receiver...etc.?

I should also meniton, I do have a decent stereo system with a Magnum Dynalab tuner...but find myself listening to the Nak set more....part of OFS....Old Fart Syndrom. 


whatjd
Hi whatjd,

My tuner and turntable are still my main sources, and I too listen mostly to public radio jazz. So, KUVO in Denver.

My tuner is a 1964 McIntosh MR 71, but tucked away is my later date Sansui TU 717. For me, these are two of the most aesthetically pleasing models, thus reenforcing that old fart syndrome.

Kenny
Radio is now pretty much only in the car and from the bedside alarm clock by the bed.
Edcyn,

I could not agree more, as that’s where it’s at today for the technology. But, I have to say, I really don’t like my car radio or use an alarm clock.

Kenny
My pickup has a radio, it has door speakers and l n r panel speakers.
only the panel ones work, at my left shoulder and passenger right shoulder.

 Only these work 90% of the time.
it sounds like a 2” speaker, weak, no bass, just terrible.
whoch is why I love comin home to my stereo 

 gmc 2008 vehicles were a very poor year.

our Acadia dropped the trans exactly 186 miles after warranty expired.

bought a Korean Hyundai’s 
 All bells n whistles, great vehicle, 4wheel drive, heated everything, reliable, great warranty.
  Will may be buy another.  USA warranties and the dealers are a total rip off and scam you when possible.
hundaiys is a nice Infinity system w satellite radio, amazing sound from a cd.

 Pickup is standard ac delco tripe.

 
I listen to a Magnum Dynalabs Etude all day while I'm at work.  News in the morning and afternoon, jazz during the day.  NPR
I also started with an AM radio - a "kit" that my parents bought me back in the mid ’60s. You had to tinker with it, piece it together, slap a battery in it and it was ready to go. I loved listening to it, and have been a fan of radio ever since. The last tuner I bought was a simple analog Rotel, purchased it new almost 30 years ago and it still works and sounds fine. Tuning with a tuning knob always appealed to me, and it was one of the reasons I picked this particular component. I can get a couple of decent college radio stations, a good classical station, a couple of good alternative, NPR and a smattering of the usual, unlistenable fare. I like having a tuner, and on stations with a good signal, the sound quality is impressive. The radio stations I listen to are not saturated with commercials, so that helps a lot. Radio used to rule the world, but most people don’t give a damn about that and are only attracted to what’s trendy. My tuner isn’t going anywhere as long as it’s serviceable and if it bites the dust, I’ll get another one. I’m old, just like my tuner but I’m also still cool.... just like my tuner.
Something I learned, embraced some years ago.  A twenty year old Ferrari is not a bad car, just like many old FM tuners are not bad radios. Most technology builds on what has come before, as are many things in culture, technology. 


Wow KAAY Little Rock? As a kid I was a proud radio nerd. WLS, WABC and WLAC were all able to be picked up(at night) in the Detroit area, KAAY was hit or miss. We were spoiled to have CKLW across the river. Now listen to WRCJ 90.9 on a Tivoli Model One during dinner when I dont want to play the big rig!
dayglow,  Yes, KAAY in Little Rock.  WLS had the top 3 phone requests every night at 10....and I am old enough to remember that for what seemed like months, the number one phone request was "Shut Down" by the Beach Boys.  The Beach Boys, Del Shannon and others.....then came the British Invasion.  Unfortunately there were many American artists that were tossed aside during the British Invasion.....all impacted by a funny looking man with a show on Sunday evenings. 

From my audio memory/the past, I feel my radio listening peaked with a Magnum MD-108 I had through various Classe and Conrad-Johnson amplification and some very good interconnects into Maggie 20 speakers.  The public radio station in Madison, Wi. had an active drummer of many years as the host and he played much vinyl. His Saturday night program ran until midnight and I rarely got to bed before that. 

My McIntosh MR71 is not original. I first sent it to Audio Classics to have it restored to original spec. It sounded very good after that. A couple of years after that, I sent it to a guy up in Montreal, who designed and built tube amplifiers back in the Fifties, but who’s claim to fame was his work in the wireless communications industry. After retirement, his true love became rebuilding classic tuners and reworking key circuits for better sound. It’s the best sound from a tuner that I have ever heard. So much, that I had custom replicated, the classic cabinet for it, but done in Birdseye Maple.

Okay, I guess I really love my tuner.
Kenny