Do any still use an older high end tuner from the past?....

I'm still using my McIntosh MR-80 and it still sounds terrific, given a clean signal.

dherring

Since fm is no longer analog through, what sense does it make?

FM is still analog, even though most stations rely on digital sources. But there are exceptions, including live broadcasts.

... I do enjoy cousin Brucie on Sirius XM. Anyone heard a magnum dynalab XM?

If you enjoy XM, you'll get a much higher bitrate and higher fidelity from its online stream than is available from "the birds."

midareff168 posts04-01-2020 11:01am

I have and still use a Sansui TU-9900 ... Even with a Magnum Dynalab Signal Sleuth and 1/2 wave mast I can't get 125+ mile away west coast stations with any degree of Fidelity and consistency ...

FM is VHF, so reception is arguably confined to line-of-sight, which is limited by the curvature of the earth and the height of a radio station's antenna. As a practical matter, even with the best equipment, it is usually difficult to get reliable reception beyond 65-70 miles.

stereo5

FM HD radio is sounding very good.

Really?
An FM station using just one HD sub-channel has a maximum of 96 kbps. It’s worse if it uses multiple HD sub-channels. So HD radio is kinda like mp3 files; good s/n, but that’s about it. In other words, it’s anything but "high definition," as iBiquity/Xpiri acknowledge.