Tuner - FM over the air - suggestions

The truth is that the stream of most radio stations is very lossy mp3 quality. So even if the stream has less processing than OTA, the sound suffers. Same with so-called "HD" radio. It's not high definition at all, but lossy digital. And that's why FM still has some appeal.

@cleeds You'll have no argument from me regarding HD radio. 

>>>The truth is that the stream of most radio stations is very lossy mp3 quality.<<<

With all due respect, in some (not all) cases, you are correct, but in many cases, you are not. One of the bigger problems plaguing radio reception these days (AM more than FM) is electrical interference. If you want an extremely clean FM signal, you now have to jump though hoops to capture it. Most LED lighting these days emits RFI that extends into the FM band. Now, for us audiophiles, begin to weigh that factor into the equation. I know I have, when critically listening to the stations I engineer (or have engineered). FM reception these days can be very noisy. That's another reason why OTA audio processing is kept aggressive, to mask that noise. Another factor is FM stereo performance, which at best has a S/N ratio of -65 dB. If the same station has a decent high bandwidth stream, that S/N can be closer to -80 dB, or even -90 dB (if the audio signal path is kept clean). FM stereo reception and performance is not really as "high quality" as it is sometimes portrayed. It may be convenient, but it is rarely a high quality medium these days. 

dpop

FM reception these days can be very noisy. That's another reason why OTA audio processing is kept aggressive, to mask that noise. Another factor is FM stereo performance, which at best has a S/N ratio of -65 dB. If the same station has a decent high bandwidth stream, that S/N can be closer to -80 dB, or even -90 dB ...

Yes, digital has the s/n advantage, but it's of little value when the signal is lo-res lossy digital, which most radio streams are. (Yes, there are some exceptions, as you note. For example, Radio Paradise has great SQ, although it has no OTA signal.))

FM stereo reception and performance is not really as "high quality" as it is sometimes portrayed. It may be convenient, but it is rarely a high quality medium these days. 

That's true - most FM audio is w-a-y over processed, and the HD signal can create noise in the analog signal. But there are notable exceptions.

I live in Los Angeles & enjoy listening to two FM public radio stations: KCRW 89.9 and KLON Jazz 88.1. The tuners I currently use are the Grundig Fine Arts T-903 and Parasound Ztuner V.2. They are both hooked up via coaxial cable split to a mini digital television antenna that I  installed in my basement and the signal is perfect.  They’re both great tuners and can be purchased at a low price in the used gear market. Hope this info helps.

@phish_tacos What do you think of the quality of the KCRW on air signal? I love it. Have you compared it to the KCRW stream, I dislike it. The KCRW HD stream is awful.

Mind you I am getting the signal from a re-transmitter from Santa Barbara and we have the ocean on 1 side and mountains on the other. Not too many LEDs in these parts.