FM tuners - Are they OBSOLETE ?

I listen to my college radio station and Bob Parlocha (NPR)all the time on my vintage Sansui tuner.

terrific sound and great music

My brother in law used to rib me about having an XM radio. He's a radio station D.J., among other duties. I got rid of XM since I only listened to a few stations. Bought an old Kenwood tuner, used it for a bit, and it now sits on a shelf in the basement, unused. Can't find a station that fits my wants in this area. I don't use the computer for any music playback. Don't want to start down a new path, new debt. Never downloaded one song. Happy with vinyl and cd's.

I bought one and never used it. NT

Here in Eugene, OR, we're blessed with 4! public radio stations, all of which use minimal or no compression, so it's definitely worth having an FM tuner here. Rock, jazz, blues, classical, old country, swing, just about every genre is represented and two of the stations are training grounds for student DJs.

While I'm certain there are places with no listenable FM stations, I've been able to find great stuff everywhere I've lived, even if sometimes it took a really great antenna to get it. :-)

I listen to Internet radio too, and like it very much, but it's a different listening experience. Other than Pandora, I've yet to find a station where the loop isn't short enough to notice that they're repeating songs periodically. It's great for concentrated listening in one genre though. Sometimes I just want an hour of 70's funk or 80's synth.

I say the more sources the better. FM, vinyl, CDs, streaming, downloaded hi-rez, it's all good. Just have to make sure I always have a preamp with at least 4 inputs!

David

I'm plugged in to Sirius/Xm through Dish Network to my big rig preamp. Listen to the blues channel plus other formats. Surprising audio quality perhaps a touch less than the best tuner [Marantz 10B?] but no commercials or other interruptions. Who needs a tuner?