FM Tuner for audiophiles-is it a bad idea today?

A worthy FM tuner thread you replied to late October with 60+ replies, fyi.
https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/can-anyone-recommend-an-fm-receiver-that-would-play-into-a-re...

FWIW, vinyl is still spun sometimes over FM.

As long as you don’t listen to R&R, you’re good. There is still public broadcast stations playing Classial & Jazz. Other than that, it’s a novelty. If you’re looking for sound quality in a tuner-it’s arguably done with a tubed  tuner.

Take your pic-Marantz 10B Rel Precedent. Then the rest of other tube tuners.
Invest in a real antennae setup to hear what it’s all about.

The station I listen to spins vinyl, KCRW. They also play auto-tune digital stuff. Can't have it all. However, music discovery is great with this local station.

I have 2 tuners and use both regularly. A Magnum Dynalab MD102 for FM and the following, https://www.xdrguy.com/ for the HD and FM band. HD is awful sonically compared to FM but I need the HD band occasionally.

The Sony HD tuner is pretty amazing at picking up stations. It does not sound as good as the MD 102 but it has a better signal grabber. I say the Sony is 95% of the MD 102 sonically on the FM band.

I’ve been very happy listening to the NPR Jazz radio here in the north west on an updated (refreshed, recapped etc) Sansui Tuner from the late 70’s (TU 717). all in I’ve got $600 into it and the sound is very good top to bottom, very enjoyable toe tappingly good sound, and it receives very well (I’m 80km from the antenna and get a full strength signal, using a Dynalab wip antenna).

These older high end tuners are very well made, right in the height of FM radio, there are many too choose from as well that would fit the bill.

Sansui, Kenwood, Marantz, MAC etc. all made some supper tuners that are better then almost anything made today. check out the Sansui TU-X1 for example of one of the best tuners ever made, IMO of course.

Tuner information center. Tuner Information Center - Vintage Stereo Tuners (fmtunerinfo.com) is a wealth of information.

I’d put my Sansui up against any Dynalab tuner sub $2000. they are that good after, refresh and alignment of course they are 35+ years old now.

Glen

+1 @yyzsantabarbara

Nice! I have a Magnum Dynalab MD-102 FM Tuner as well.

Added bypass caps and OCC interconnects. Super nice.  Listen to it often.

Only if you don't also get a decent antenna. 

I use FM tuner (Carver tx-11a) still for content not available elsewhere.  Special or hosted programming on public radio, etc.  Stuff you can't get with good quality streaming which does not include most published music anymore.

Had it on all Saturday afternoon.   My wife wanted Christmas music on the local station.

Bad for me. I purged mine years ago.
May be good for you.
There are NO stations here that are not available streamed, breakfast, lunch AND supper.

It's true most stations are streamed and will be a better option if fm signals are not strong and reception is noisy but resolution of many streamed local stations is not great and can vary so it still depends.

A good FM tuner will definitely help pull in the weaker stations clearly. The Carver is very good at that.

"The station I listen to spins vinyl, KCRW."

yyzsantabarbara-
I wasn't aware. Being in SoCal, I typically toggle between KJZZ & KUSD. Now and then I'll catch KCRW playing something cool, but since it's not a dedicated music station, it's a random pick when turning the dial on the Mac MR71.  

Radio is very different than 40 years ago. You have to dial in the public stations which require a good directional to get many of them.The public stations are the only way to hear "new",obscure,"deep cuts" or anything different than the commercial junk, and it's not full time. My 2 go-to's are pretty much all that's left dedicated to music full time.

The only drag with PBS is the guilt you develop during pledge week, if you're not a contributor.

@tablejockey KCRW broadcasts on 2 bands, FM and HD radio. The HD radio broadcast is 24 hours of music a day but it is not as good as the FM band selections. On the FM band you hear the DJ’s select and play whatever they feel like that day. I love that. Sometimes the DJ’s bring in vinyl because they think it sounds better (mostly the male DJ’s). It a bit of Deja vu listening to KCRW since growing up  in Toronto, back in the 70’s and 80’s, stations allowed the DJ’s to have more say in what got played.

My favorite music these days seems to come out of Africa. There was a French DJ playing at midnight on Fridays I think and he had the amazing music from Africa. With Covid all the DJ’s and programming is messed up. They seem to not have the auto-tune crap. Almost all my new Tidal album additions are from music I heard on KCRW. This station is my last lifeline to radio.

I have a Magnum Dynalab Signal Sleuth and the MD indoor antenna for the MD102. I don’t think the Sleuth helps me since I am around mountains.

Is adding a high-end FM Tuner pointless- Yes, IMO.

Instead, download the streaming app, there are several to choose from. You do pay a monthly fee but you get a much better SQ and you’re also in a driving seat as far as what you like to listen.

I have been listening to Qobuz at home or on the go. 

Thanks all, very informative. I haven’t researched yet, but there’s probably a good chance there are good FM stations where I live in the San Francisco Bay Area. I like the idea of a DJ picking what he/she feels like rather than a pre made playlist.

I guess that once I get my Tidal+Qobuz+vinyl up and running, then if I have a strong enough curiosity itch and/or find FM station(s) that I’ll like, I’ll probably get an FM Tuner + antenna. Still on the fence between the top rated Accuphase or a tube tuner like a Sansui though. Perhaps it’s a tube vs SS preference. Since I have a SS preamp+amp (Constellation Inspiration) I need not worry about too much tube midrange warmth.  Also, if I get a used FM tuner and later decide I don’t like/want it, I could resell - I’d expect to recoup most of what I paid for it - seems like I’m talking myself into getting an FM tuner.

@kennyc I bought my MD 102 when I lived in Los Altos Hills. That is your area and there were a few worth while stations up there. I loved the station that played Latin Jazz on Sunday (Jessie "Chewie" Vera sp?) was the DJ. That was a decade ago. The MD102 sounded like CD quality on the Bay Area FM stations.

I'm fortunate to get good reception of KUSC (91.5 FM) classical music 24/7 with no commercials on a Magnum Dynalab FT-101A tuner. Rivals the sound quality of CD playback.

I have about 4 good public/community music stations in my area and 2 NPR news stations.  I loved my Mac mr74,mr67, mr71.  But it was a pain getting them in top shape, finding someone to work on them  and shipping them across the country.
So I went to streaming, first with a macbook via usb/spdif  and now using a Chromecast Audio into a MHDT Dac.  Mush easier, more choices ( love WWOZ) and sounds great.  Do I miss twiddling the knobs. oh yes!

@turnbowm
..."Rivals the sound quality of CD playback."

+1
It sure can. While HD streaming is fun, the predictable playlists are nice, sometimes i prefer good FM vs compressed sounding streamed radio. Some who've never heard a really good FM tuner are not aware.

it’s a great idea...few seem to know how good a good FM station can sound on a good tuner...lucky to have Don Scott modified McIntosh MR-74 and Luxman L-110...though many very good vintage tuners can now be had fairly inexpensively

I'm a long way from FM these days, mostly listen to Sirius XM in the car. If I do decide to get back into FM, I'll look for a McIntosh MR 78 or that Magnum Dynalab tuner with the gold faceplate. 

Roon and tunein.com both allow you to stream radio stations, that's what I use.  I used tunein.com every morning while I'm exercising, while in Western NC, I can enjoy classical from DC, jazz from Chicago, etc.

I listen to the NPR jazz/news station all day while I'm working.  I stream a lot, but it's nice to listen to live radio with a real DJ talking about the music they're playing.  The sound quality is better than almost anything you can stream on Sirius, TuneIn, etc.  The only online "radio" I listen to (and support with donations) is Radio Paradise.

I had my Magnum Dynalab MD102 repaired and then I got tired of the 
commercials taking over, I live in the bay area (San Francisco) and the music SUCKS on over the air stations, we had a nice station that played Jazz Fusion and then they ( i Heart radio) turned it into a soft rock station.
and then I found TIDAL with MQA  and I Bought a LG V20 cell phone with a built in DAC and I never turned back, NOW I'm looking for a LG V30 with MQA built in and I won't need a Dragon Fly.