FM tuners - Are they OBSOLETE ?

I use my Magnum Dynalab FT 101A tuner more than my turntable or cd player. I am lucky to have 2 excellent in the Boston/Providence area and I listen to them all the time. I have heard a lot of great "new to me" music I wouldn't know about otherwise. My tuner was one of the best investments I have made in my audio system.

Bob

I think it depends on whether or not you have local FM stations you like. It's hard to imagine there isn't at least one or two, and IMHO that's enough to warrant further consideration. Now it comes down to whether or not those preferred stations sound better via FM or internet. Without actually trying, it's really hard to know. Good used FM tuners are available for less cost than most here spend on interconnects. For about $100 not including interconnects or antenna (a whole nother important consideration, which can vary from place to place considerably) one can buy a decent used tuner. I have two stations in my locale that I listen to so often, that it makes my tuner my most often used source.

I,m with Bob. My Magnum Dynalab MD 108 is used everyday. I also listen to FM exclusively in the car. Found a lot of "new to me" music to as well as programs dedicated to playing the history of bands and played on vynil. Randy Bachman had a show on CBC 1 where he played his guitar explaining differant styles in between playing the bands music and the sound quality was wonderfull. Psychedelic Sundays is great for a lazy sunday when its raining or snowy out or while making the housework less of a drag.
Cheers

Isochronism
Rgs92, FM in Metro NY area is great! We all had a crush on Alison Steele:)

No kidding!

Rgs92
I'm nostalgic about listening to WNEW-FM and the like back in the 70s

WNEW was the station all the "heads" listened to at my first job washing dishes in a neighborhood Italian restaurant at 14 years old! I remember the first night hearing Tull, Benefit and the Dead, Uncle John! Went out and bought those albums the next day! My first exposure to real rock n' roll.

What about WPLJ and WLIR? Great stations in their own right also. Out on the island we had WBAB which back in those days was great!

Truman,
your pointing out of the vast amount of material available is right on! I listen a lot to the local college stations. Don't know about compression and all but they sound vastly superior to the larger commercial stations, especially the classic rock ones.

I've always loved FM and would love to see a revamping of this alternative. It would be great if it somehow recaptured the magic of it's heyday.

Best,

Dave

Depends on what local FM stations are available and also if they broadcast over the internet as an option and what the sound quality is there. Good internet radio sound quality these days is generally quite affordable and capable of trumping what I have heard on FM in terms of sound quality over the years in most regards, especially background noise and overall distortion.

FM tuners in the car still rule.