FM

mark funk · « **on:** 17 Dec 2007, 10:34 pm »

Hay Frank, I like to listen to FM I am using a Dyna FM-3 and it sounds nice. Just wounding what kind of FM tuner you con cockted for your self?

Charles Calkins · « **Reply #1 on:** 17 Dec 2007, 10:45 pm »

I listen KKSF 103.7 San Francisco CA. through the SB3 Radio Guide-RadioTime network. Better than any FM tuner I've ever had.

Cheers
Charlie

avahifi · « **Reply #2 on:** 23 Dec 2007, 02:31 am »

My main tuner is a Philips FT-920 with a "one off" Ultra line board and power supply built in. Running 12AT7 tubes instead of 6N1Ps because there is not enough chassis ventilation to support the hotter 6N1P tubes.

Right now I have lent it to my preamp tech, Bob Cook, so he duplicate our circuits into a perfectly working FT-920 he found at a second hand shop for $7.00.

In the mean time I am using the headphone outputs from my Trivoli Koss Model One tuner patched into the system with much better musical results than expected.

Merry Christmas

Frank Van Alstine

Toka · « **Reply #3 on:** 24 Dec 2007, 01:05 am »

Man, I really gotta get my hands on one of these Philips tuners...never see them for sale in the US, though. Would a Euro model be able to be converted? Also...did they ever come with a remote?

rkeir · « **Reply #4 on:** 24 Dec 2007, 05:30 am »

I don't know how rare this Philips tuner is but it is not mentioned at the "Tuner Information Center", and they have info on many, many models including some pretty obscure ones. I was lucky to find one used but in good working condition back in the 90's which I then sent to AVA for conversion to an Omega III tuner. I'm still using it and it sounds very good.

I'm fortunate in that I can get clean signals from three different NPR stations where I live. Two of them carry classical programing and the other has mostly blues and some jazz. Many people are not so lucky as that sort of programming is rapidly going by the wayside. For instance, in Chicago (where I used to live) there used to be two classical stations and a public station (WBEZ) which carried jazz every night. Now one of the classical stations is gone and WBEZ has dropped jazz. The remaining classical station, WFMT, is a far cry from what it once was. And Chicago is a major market. The point is that there is less of a reason for investing alot in a FM tuner now than there was thirty years ago. I suppose one could drop a bundle in a tuner for listening to rock, but given the kind of signal one gets from typical rock stations, what the point?

Brett Buck · « **Reply #5 on:** 24 Dec 2007, 08:07 am »

Quote from: avahifi on 23 Dec 2007, 02:31 am

In the mean time I am using the headphone outputs from my Trivoli Koss Model One tuner patched into the system with much better musical results than expected.

I tried that, too, and was similarly surprised at how well it worked. There was some good thinking put into those Tivoli radios. Makes the Bose Wave sound broken, for 1/4th the price (or 1/2 the price if you get the model two).

Brett

BrianM · « **Reply #6 on:** 24 Dec 2007, 01:02 pm »

Quote from: rkeir on 24 Dec 2007, 05:30 am

For instance, in Chicago (where I used to live) there used to be two classical stations and a public station (WBEZ) which carried jazz every night. Now one of the classical stations is gone and WBEZ has dropped jazz. The remaining classical station, WFMT, is a far cry from what it once was. And Chicago is a major market. The point is that there is less of a reason for investing alot in a FM tuner now than there was thirty years ago. I suppose one could drop a bundle in a tuner for listening to rock, but given the kind of signal one gets from typical rock stations, what the point?

Yeah. I know one of the long-time DJs at WFMT and have heard all the horror stories (which were manifest well over a decade ago of course). It's ironic that the other classical station (97.1) didn't last when it was the one to sell its soul first (commercials, corporate programming, etc.), in the name of being market savvy. Anyway it's all exactly what you would predict: advertising executives who don't care at all about music calling the shots. And the drive to turn a serious classical station with serious programming into just another "let us relax you on your commute" Vivaldi fest.

hvlee · « **Reply #7 on:** 24 Dec 2007, 01:57 pm »

Your post prompted me to check WFMT again and now they have a free 128KBPS free stream, providing the same programming as their FM outlet. At least I can listen to Carl Grapentine again. Years ago, I listened to their stream all day at work, but when they went pay-only I let them go. They were providing a lower quality stream for a lot of money compared to others.

Harry Vaught
Maryville, Tennessee

hvlee · « **Reply #8 on:** 24 Dec 2007, 01:58 pm »

It was their lead-in announcement that was 128K. The stream is 40k. It still sounds ok for casual listening I guess.

Harry

geezer · « **Reply #9 on:** 24 Dec 2007, 04:19 pm »

There are two fm stations here that I listen to; one classical and the other jazz. They both play a good variety of music but they each have the same problem: over-emphasizing the low bass, especially the jazz. I wonder if many other stations do the same. What are your experiences?

Wayner · « **Reply #10 on:** 24 Dec 2007, 04:47 pm »

I think what you are hearing is over-modulated signal. Stations like to really red line the VU meters which increase signal level and increasing their coverage area abit. Everyone does it. Of course they are closely guarded by the FCC for wattage output and frequency drift. Unlike NPR that has thousands of radio stations blanketing the US, of course with state of the art equipment (on the tax payers do-ray-me), they can put out pure pristine signal, because they have the entire state blanketed, and no like market competition. A non-profit organization.....ha, ha, ha.

I do listen to classical music on MPR, I just laugh at their ridiculous political posture. It also comes in wonderful on my old Dynaco FM-5.

Wayner

martyo · « **Reply #11 on:** 24 Dec 2007, 06:08 pm »

I subscribe to 2 public radio stations here in the small Chicago market. One for the music, mostly jazz, the other because I prefer news and commentary without a corporate spin and need to make a profit on news. Equipment at both is far from state of the art and lags behind the huge corporate media outlets as do the wages of the employees.

Quote

I do listen to classical music on MPR, I just laugh at their ridiculous political posture.

Since a thread on FM has been hi-jacked to promote an individuals own political and social beliefs I feel the need to express my own but I won't, it's not for here.

Wayner · « **Reply #12 on:** 24 Dec 2007, 07:06 pm »

Sorry you feel that way. I'm very concerned about FM and it's future. NPR right now is a government sponsored corporation in a disguise of a "non-profit" organization. It's sole purpose is take over market share and to promote its own agenda concerning musical content and other unmentionables, putting an unfair burden (by financial resources) on the "evil private radio stations" that receive zero money other than from advertisement.

In China, it's called state sponsored radio. Here in Minnesota, we have everything. At last count it was 10 channels of digital (mostly high def) TV station channels. 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4 2.5, 17.1, 17.2, 17.3, 17.4 and 17.5. All have separate running programs. There is no private station that could possibly offer such programming. The same with FM in Minnesota. I think at last count, there were 23 NPR stations. And the numbers are growing.

Would you like to have federally funded corporations build Hi-fi equipment, or fund a non-profit that directly competes with the company you work for? I don't. That's my take on it, anyway. I have a very watchful eye on NPR as everyone should.

Have a nice Christmas.

rajacat · « **Reply #13 on:** 24 Dec 2007, 07:25 pm »

Wayner,

The FCC rules are being changed and soon just a handful of big corporations will control the bulk of radio station, newspaper and TV. That is not far from government controlling the media but without any control from the voters. Doesn't this increasing centralization of media control bother you?

Is this what you call "free enterprise"? It seems more like monopoly capitalism to me with control of the public airways in the hands of giant corporations that are quite often multi-nationals that are only beholden to their shareholders. These companies have multitudes of lobbyists that pump money and influence into Congress and the administration for their private interest.

--Roy

rkeir · « **Reply #14 on:** 24 Dec 2007, 07:26 pm »

Guys,
In bringing up radio stations and npr, I was only trying to make the point that an FM tuner does not have the importance it once did. I used to want to own a McIntosh tuner but now I don't care and can't justify the expense. I'm quite happy with the Philips/ Omega III and plan to use it until it dies or I do, whichever comes first!

Brett Buck · « **Reply #15 on:** 24 Dec 2007, 07:50 pm »

Quote from: rkeir on 24 Dec 2007, 07:26 pm

In bringing up radio stations and npr, I was only trying to make the point that an FM tuner does not have the importance it once did. I used to want to own a McIntosh tuner but now I don't care and can't justify the expense.

There are working Dyna FM-3s on eBay all the time for around $125. Given the (sad) reality of the future of FM radio, that's about all I would pay for a tuner.

Brett

Wayner · « **Reply #16 on:** 24 Dec 2007, 10:39 pm »

rajacat,

My point was that privetly owned stations aren't tax supported. If you don't like the station then you can find a different one. NPR is spending my tax dollar on crap I don't have a call on. If I change channels, the dollars still go there. That is why I can't support NPR, at all.

Wayner

weirdo · « **Reply #17 on:** 24 Dec 2007, 10:54 pm »

Quote from: rkeir on 24 Dec 2007, 07:26 pm

Guys,
In bringing up radio stations and npr, I was only trying to make the point that an FM tuner does not have the importance it once did. I used to want to own a McIntosh tuner but now I don't care and can't justify the expense. I'm quite happy with the Philips/ Omega III and plan to use it until it dies or I do, whichever comes first!

Maybe it doesn't seem that way to you but there is a plethera of good programming on the public stations from symphonycast to jazz in the night to beale street caravan to sacred classics. I use my FM tuner more than ever. Some of it is superbly engineered for live radio ( mountain stage) . I am quite happy with my Yammy CT 1010 powered with the AVA solid state gear and I am open to suggestions on better tuners.

( News without a slant it darn hard to find but Mcneil Leher comes the closest I think.)

rkeir · « **Reply #18 on:** 24 Dec 2007, 11:17 pm »

Quote

Maybe it doesn't seem that way to you but there is a plethera of good programming on the public stations from symphonycast to jazz in the night to beale street caravan to sacred classics. I use my FM tuner more than ever. Some of it is superbly engineered for live radio ( mountain stage) . I am quite happy with my Yammy CT 1010 powered with the AVA solid state gear and I am open to suggestions on better tuners.

Perhaps you're right. I do still listen to the good stations available to me once in a while. I think I'm spoiled because I used to listen to WFMT back in the 1970's. They had great commercial free programming, an incredibly good signal, knowledgeable announcers, and a wonderful library of records. The other factor for me is that back then there were always new releases of classical music coming out from major artists and orchestras on major labels. WFMT had a new releases program which, as I recall, aired every night. This no longer matters. Ah, the good ol' days.

weirdo · « **Reply #19 on:** 25 Dec 2007, 02:21 am »

Perhaps you're right. I do still listen to the good stations available to me once in a while. I think I'm spoiled because I used to listen to WFMT back in the 1970's. They had great commercial free programming, an incredibly good signal, knowledgeable announcers, and a wonderful library of records. The other factor for me is that back then there were always new releases of classical music coming out from major artists and orchestras on major labels. WFMT had a new releases program which, as I recall, aired every night. This no longer matters. Ah, the good ol' days.
[/quote]
Wow, they certainly were the good old days. Not only WFMT but The NPR station ( I forget... WBEZ maybe) they had a tremendous jazz show called Jazz Forum with Tony Cristopher and Norm Spulding. Sorry to hear about WFMT. I grew up in Chicago but now live in Pittsburgh where we still maintain a comercial free classical station and a couple of other public stations as well. I get a lot from the West Virginia public radio system. 5 or 6 good shows there with a bunch of transmitters within reach of me in western Pa. Maybe I should count my blessings.
I sure would like to see a resurgance of good FM nationally.