FM tuners - Are they OBSOLETE ?

I bought one and never used it. NT

Here in Eugene, OR, we're blessed with 4! public radio stations, all of which use minimal or no compression, so it's definitely worth having an FM tuner here. Rock, jazz, blues, classical, old country, swing, just about every genre is represented and two of the stations are training grounds for student DJs.

While I'm certain there are places with no listenable FM stations, I've been able to find great stuff everywhere I've lived, even if sometimes it took a really great antenna to get it. :-)

I listen to Internet radio too, and like it very much, but it's a different listening experience. Other than Pandora, I've yet to find a station where the loop isn't short enough to notice that they're repeating songs periodically. It's great for concentrated listening in one genre though. Sometimes I just want an hour of 70's funk or 80's synth.

I say the more sources the better. FM, vinyl, CDs, streaming, downloaded hi-rez, it's all good. Just have to make sure I always have a preamp with at least 4 inputs!

David

I'm plugged in to Sirius/Xm through Dish Network to my big rig preamp. Listen to the blues channel plus other formats. Surprising audio quality perhaps a touch less than the best tuner [Marantz 10B?] but no commercials or other interruptions. Who needs a tuner?

I have a McIntosh MR85 on the rack but not plugged in.

Also have a Sony HD Radio that I recently upgraded again ---- not plugged in.

I'm actually getting a lot of pleasure from my Squeezebox Touch Internet Radio Channels. Sound quality is pretty decent running through my Playback Designs MPS-5.

Absolutely! I bought a good tuner, and they took the only good FM station off, or changed it to "crappy" music; I forgot which, but my tuner is gathering dust.