Anyone listen to an FM tuner?

[jpm]

Just curious.

[robster]

Hiya,I do,I'm lucky to have 2 very good Public Radio stations that play all the types of music I listen to. So we mainly listen to the radio. Anybody tried one of those FM transmitters that you hook to ur' computer and broadcast radio web streams over any stereo in the house? Crane sells one for $69. Thinking about getting one.

Cheers,

Robert

[tommy499]

I listen to a Fisher 500C hooked up to a pair of Heresy II's in my computer room. Hardly ever listen to anything but the local jazz station.

[artto]

I listen to music via the tuner quite frequently. It saves me a lot time deciding what to play (LOL) and consequently often exposes me to new material.

Fortunately for me, one of the worlds highest quality superstations (WFMT) is here in nearby Chicago. I love their live symphony broadcasts, especially the ones from the new Walt Disney Concert Hall.

[m00n]

Sadly the TV dominates our living room. Don't get much chance to listen to music. But, I listen to FM more than anything else.

[kev313]

Agreed Artto. We have it good here with WFMT. I also enjoy Dick Buckley's Sunday afternoon jazz show on NPR.

Forthe record, I'm listening with my Magnum Dynalab MD102.

[Vavoline]

Yeah, but mostly in the bedroom, where I have a late 70s Yamaha CR-2020 receiver hooked up to a pair of JBL L-56s.

I've had several component tuners in and out of my main system through the years, but NONE of them are even in the same league as the tuner on my Yammy. It is no BS, hands down, the most powerful tuner I have ever seen in my life. Hell, without even using an external anetnna, it will pull in stations near and far with the utmost clarity.

[thebes]

FM is for sissies. What you need is everything on the dial including shortwave. check out my new $30 toy. A made in Germany Grundig 8040, all original Telefunken and Valvo tubes. Now this is a boom box with attitude!

Got a DJ in Bucharest calling the tunes at a local nightclub right now-hey who are those girls talking to him on the air, sounds like The Twins. Can't be they left to go to the 7-11 for coffee, but hmm, that was a while ago.

[WMcD]

Let me put another letter on the pile about WFMT.

I listen every day at the office in the background. Often I shut the door and crank it.

I understand that some cable operators have dropped it. You can get streaming audio for a fee. If I move out of the coverage area, I'll certainly subscribe.

Gil

[drefrank]

I listen to FM regularly - probably 75% of my total listening time. I use a Marantz 10B tuner with my Cornwalls. Alot depends on where you happen to live - with a rotor antenna on a mast on my roof, I can pick up broadcasts from one moderate and one large city. There's plenty of variety and pretty much something for everybody. The FM sound is great with the Cornwalls - very 'CD-like'.

[DRBILL]

The short answer is "no." Here in the Fort Worth/Dallas area the "public" station, KERA, is all talk, talk, talk. PBS, which they carry, is more talk. Our classical music station, WRR, is owned by the city of Dallas (that's an interesting story*) and has leased so many sub-channels that the main channel is NBFM as far as I can tell. It has limited dynamics and there is always a "whispering" in the background. The local universities have low watt stations with pot luck programming. You never know unless you try the band. Almost every thing else is "boom-thump."

*Years ago, the tinkerer son of the Episcopal Bishop of Dallas built an AM transmitter to communicate with the fire and police departments (which explains the "WRR" West of the Mississippi). He played phonograph records between official business. In modern times the AM frequency was traded for an FM slot. There is perinnial talk about selling it or trading it for a less important frequency. Nothing ever happens because the Dallas city council cannot make even simple decisions.

Thank God for Fort Worth.

DR BILL

[scott0527]

Damn Thebes that baby demands some respect doesn't it!

I listen to FM on a Marantz 10b in my den. Love it. I've got a nice sounding Dynaco FM3 in the bedroom that I listen to in the morning while getting ready for work.

[76scalas]

The Dynaco FM1 has been going for 10 hours. Now it's time to spin some vinyl

[ben.]

Dang, Marty! It's unusaul (as far as I can tell) to find an intact shortwave set., especially considering it was German. My Italian grand-inlaws have an old Stromberg (made in Rochacha, NY), but the Feds came round during the second war and pulled the SW. He's a cool old guy, BTW. I asked him about the old radio, and he said it works, but that the filter caps probably need to be changed, becuase it hums. He's the antithesis of a packrat. He curbed his AR gear for Sony soiledstate years ago. His son (my wife's uncle) was admiring the AR TT when he was over...

ramble ramble ramble.... sorry...

[ben.]

Oh, my LT-110 sounds really good, though not as clean (and lean), maybe, as the SS Marantz it replaced. It's fed by the aerial (I live about 20 miles from the boon-docks), so selectivity is more a priority than sensitivity. It could use some attention, but the few stations I care to hear when around the house sound great, so I'm back-burnering any work on it.

[Audio Flynn]

In Detroit we have one saxaphone inundated current issue Jazz station.

Sometimes they loosen up a bit but not often enough.

Rock and classical stations are weak in content.

The Yamaha I have is just using an unpowered indoor Terk atttenna. Ptetty nice sound on 2-4 stations but at 30 years old it needs to be aligned and tweaked like some of the www.fmtunerinfo.com recommendations.

When I retire to the boonies a tall mast attenna is a must.

My wife would like XM for the car and house for the chance to be exposed to different music.

[Woodog]

Our local NPR station here in Bowling Green, KY has an excellent mix.

Jazz after Hours

American Routes

Barren River Breakdown (local roots music program.. EXCELLENT)

Prarie Home Companion

From the Top

Marian McParlan (sp?) Piano Jazz

and other excellent programs. A good mix (wish they carried Pipe Dreams though)

another local station that has avoided the Clear Channel Crap is D93. They play a great mix of local talent/electric and acoustic blues/jam band mixes/classic rock.

My Scott 355 does an admirable job pulling in the signals with just an indoor antennae. I do enjoy the radio enough to consider an outdoor antennae though, as the NPR station is sometimes on the weak side.

Forrest

[jheis]

I've mentioned this before, but here in the SF Bay area we are very luck to have a local PBS station that plays REAL jazz (none of that "smooth" crap, i.e. Kenny G) commercial free 24 hours a day. The frequency is 91.1 (here in Sonoma County the translater is at 90.7).

If you have a broadband connection it's available on the internet at www.kcsm.org. Highly recommended.

I turn it on in the a.m. and it stays on until lights out - sometimes longer. One of the best DJ's does the 2 - 6 a.m. shift. Good stuff.

James

[khorn58]

I listen a lot with my old trusty Scott 310-E really pulls in the stations. There is still a lot of good radio in the Boston berbs. sound better thean xm to me and it's free.

[jpm]

Here in the Seattle area, I have my tuner plugged into cable. Stations come in loud and clear. I like some smooth jazz, although most of it is Kenny G crapola. Our NPR channel does the blue and jazz. This is very cool, although for some reason it only comes in monophonic. Then there's King's Classical station which is great. We also have "the Mountain" which plays a lot of the new, more adult stuff. I usually use the tuner when I'm busy moving around the house. I use the CDP when I want to sit down and really listen.