FM tuners - Are they OBSOLETE ?


As much as I a have liked tuners in the past - and probably kidded myself that older ''vintage'' tuners sound better (after owning quite a few), I really don't see much use for them except maybe a nostalgic bridge to days past, or bragging rights to pride of ownership with McIntosh gear or whatever.

With the newer technologies giving access to hundreds of stations around the globe, it just seems like THE proposition to discover new music.

I of course know that some high-end tuners sound very good - but let me tell you - a clean 128 digital feed into a DAC (from a digital transport like the Wadia or Cambridge Audio's new ID-100), is pretty impressive...

Sort of make kilo-buck tuners seem futile and very expensive by comparison.

What do you think ?
soniqmike

Showing 1 response by onemug

I have a small collection of tuners. I'm fortunate to have several local stations that makes owning them worthwhile but I also future proofed myself should FM ever go south.

I have an FM transmitter in house. Whatever I hook up to it will be broadcast throughout the house to any of my tuners. Right now I have a Polk XM/Sirius tuner feeding it and listening to the Jazz station on a vintage Marantz tuner.

I also have a "vintage" room where I use either a Marantz 7c/8b/10b combo or a vintage receiver (talk about extremes) to drive a pair of Altec/JBL speakers. I enjoy the jazz there but sometimes I change the station to "Classic Vinyl" or "The 60's" and go full nostalgia.

Other options: I can hook up a CD player or changer and be my own DJ. My wife (and now me) enjoy Praire Home Companion which we take off the Internet and "broadcast" it to either a table radio or the big system (talk about extremes again).

So "obsolete?", not for me. It's a lot of fun which is what I think a hobby should be.

BTW, FM Transmitters vary in quality. I started with the C Crane one which is ok (around $70), but with my investment in tuners, I soon got a Ramsey (around $300) which was a big improvement.