willemjI
am all in favour of Internet Radio, so my old Quad FM3 now sits unused.
FM radio is an old technology with serious limitations with regard to
frequency response, distortion and channel separation ...
Of course, Internet radio is not perfect either. Many
streams are at low bit rates, degrading the sound quality to a varying
extent. So the question is the balance ...
my conclusion is that certainly with higher bitrate streams like 192 or
256 kbs internet radio’s imperfections are far less than those of FM
radio. There are a lot of variables in assessing the SQ of FM vs. Internet radio. But given a good FM tuner, a good signal and a good FM station, the results will walk all over most Internet streams. Of course, optimum FM reception conditions may be more the exception than the rule, so it's easy to embrace Internet radio. For me, it's not an either/or question - I listen to both.
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yogiboy
The only problem is
good outdoor FM directional antennas are not made anymore!
It is very difficult to find good outdoor FM antennas and @jl35 is correct that many TV antennas have traps for FM. They are sometimes removable, but I think the best FM antennas are dedicated to that purpose.
There are some directional FM antennas still available. One is here (India-based, but they have a US distributor) and Kathrein is another source. I think both of these are oriented towards the pro market (for translator use), but there are also DIY options, if you are so inclined.
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erik_squiresIn
my mind, the FM tuner has by and large been replaced by Internet radio.
While we can argue sound quality, issues of reception are more or less
fixed given a stable Internet connection. Given good reception conditions (a reasonable distance from the transmitter, and a proper antenna and installation) FM offers a v-e-r-y stable connection. In fact, the signal from many radio stations is sent over-the-air using an STL (or two) before it ever reaches the transmitter.
As for sound quality: Let's face it, the SQ of many radio stations is nowhere near audiophile standards. But on those stations that do care about SQ, I think the best FM - using a good antenna and high-end tuner - walks all over any Internet stream that I've ever heard.
To be fair, many people have never heard high-quality FM. They use a receiver or cheap tuner and the little free folded dipole that was packaged with it. In those instances, streaming probably is the better solution.
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yogiboyTuner technology has not changed. Oh no, this is quite mistaken. While at the low-end of the market things may be the same, there has been tremendous change at the upper-end by using DSP. There are a few tuners that take advantage of this, not the least of which is the McIntosh MR-88 which - oddly - has recently been discontinued. Crown and DIVA also make DSP-based tuners.
Whether these represent worthy audible improvements is a matter of debate, of course. But to say the technology has not changed is just not accurate.
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billbartuskaI have a Yamaha CR-1020
(1977 - 1980) that has an excellent tuner. You can even tune out
multipath distortion (from signals bouncing off buildings).. That's interesting. Will you please explain how it "tunes out" multipath distortion? |
