2. analog
  3. 129530-1660

FM alive and well here...curious question

SoCal listener here. 

Last night, the Classical station finished their listeners  top 100 with Ludwig B's 9th.
I got sucked in listening to the end of the 4th movement.  I can't remember what conductor/orchestra, but fantastic performance.

My Mac 71 with a $20 indoor antennae is able to get a  signal strength reading just over "8" with dead center tuning according the meter.

Ludwig B was sounding clear,quite and simply fabulous. 
 
Im aware a "real" roof antennae is the way to go. Wondering if the effort to get a "10" reading on the tuning meter will actually be heard as even better sonics?

Just for kicks, I spun a few minutes of a minty 59' Living Stereo to compare. 
WOW! The record naturally wins, but my beloved Mac isn't far off. Considering the broadcast was a CD, it was reasonably convincing. It certainly was just as good as my generic CD deck(no fancy outboard DAC)

My 71 is stock, tuned with NOS glass. I'd love to hand over $ 1K for the RM mod, but ain't gonna happen.

LONG LIVE FM! Hopefully?


tablejockey

Showing 3 responses by cleeds

cleeds
6,226 posts
 
schubert
Seems OK to me, WI public radio puts out an uncompressed signal
There’s no such thing as a real radio station that transmits an uncompressed signal. They all have signal processors in the audio chain, either before the STL, or before the transmitter, or both. They have to; they’re not allowed to overmodulate.

Of course, if you're happy with listening to the digitized signal online, that's fine. But typically, it's hardly the audio equivalent of a good FM signal ... even when the source is digital.
cleeds
6,226 posts
 
tablejockey
is the sound quality of playing an  online statin equal to a nice tuner?

In a word: No. It's not even close.
cleeds
6,226 posts
 
The advantage to using a "real" antenna - by which I assume you mean a directional antenna - isn't just the added gain, but the potential for reduced multipath and the distortion that goes along with it. Whether that would  be noticeable on your system hinges on many variables including the terrain where you live. The only real way to know is to try it. Based on your description, it sounds like it may not be worth the effort.
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