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A tuner, in this day and age?

jdurbin1 said:
Exactly...

Apps like Shazam actually enhance the FM experience, in that you can often retrieve the name of a piece of music you're hearing w/o having to wait for the DJ to mention it, which seems to never happen when you actually want it to.

John
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My favorite FM station has a running playlist of what is on the air. So I can get the sound quality benefit of FM, but use the "smart" aspect of my phone to get song info. I did it yesterday, actually. Best of both worlds around here.:thmbsp:
 
To get back to the original post...I think there is an ideological issue at play here. Just because I can get more books that I will ever be able to read downloaded on my eReader doesn't mean I should get rid of my Public Library card. Whether or not one gets one's television signal from a cable provider, it is important that there continues to be good viewing free over the air. And even if you can get any "radio" signals over the internet that you want, in my view there is still something important about signals being free over the air. I'm no political scientist, but there is something about democracy at work here.

A bunch of other good reasons have already been mentioned (I am particularly fond of the glow of the tuner dial late at night). But let me add this: I get a daily newspaper, but I also read news websites - including the website for the newspaper I subscribe to. The truth of the matter is that I read the physical paper differently than I read the website. There is a good deal of overlap, but there are also articles that I would never be attracted to on the web that my eyes take me to in the hard copy, and visa versa. For me, they compliment each other. They don't compete. More choice is always good. And finally, tuners are about the only quality pieces of hifi equipment that show up at my local thrift stores any more.

My two cents.
 
It's a fair question to ask on AK "Why in this day and age a Tuner".

The same question, however, could be asked of just about any of the audio components and speakers that many of us opine for.

I suspect if you showed most 18 year olds a vintage system, many would say, "Equipment like THAT in This day and age?" Actually they would say, "Get real Grandpa. Get an iPhone and some decent ear buds."

I'm not sure actually getting most of them to "listen" to a vintage system would change their mind either. You would have to change their paradigm.
 
BillyBatts said:
It's a fair question to ask on AK "Why in this day and age a Tuner".

The same question, however, could be asked of just about any of the audio components and speakers that many of us opine for.
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You mean something like "Why in this day and age records made of vinyl?". :D
 
Personally speaking, it can be plain fun pickin' stuff out of the air. You tweak - fiddle around with tuner controls like selectivity and what not, play around with that old antenna trying to pick up that elusive station - in search for that perfect signal etc etc,.

I guess what I'm trying to say is radio is more of a hobbyist oriented activity. Internet streaming, iPods etc is all very well & good but there's really nothing else to do - it's basically passive. What's the fun in that? :D

Pretty much the same applies to vinyl for all it's "faults".

And of course, some excellent quality sonics can be had from vinyl, FM and yes, digitally transmitted sources.
 
Tinnkindling said:
Put me down as one who has had a lifetime of enjoying turning the tuning knob and watching the pointer glide down the scale, and seeing the meters come to life with each station. Not only that, there's an element of mystery to the process, something that's not there with streaming, where you go to a specific station. Going across the analog dial is more of an adventure.

Just an opinion...
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An opinion I totally agree with.

And 62Caddy's comment is right with this too.

Doug
 
Listing "nostalgia" as a response to my original question would have been perfectly acceptable in my opinion, although it may not have convinced me to join the club. I'm a guy who listens predominantly to vinyl, partly because I feel that "dropping the needle" and all that goes with the process is a much more engaging experience than pressing "Play". But even though I'm no spring chicken, my main experience with tuners - especially in the last couple of decades - has been with cheap ones in cars and on clock radios. I've never heard a tuner in a car that could approach the quality of a CD in the same car, and I've never heard a tuner being used in a hi-fi system. My "nostalgic" memory of listening to the radio in the old days consists of lots of hiss and drift. So I just didn't know if it would be superior to a decent stream.
 
I hated to do it, but I threw away my Kenwood kt-7500 and Akai at-2600 tuners a few weeks back. No one wanted to buy them, or even take them for free. Nothing on the radio for me anymore.
 
zenith2134 said:
I hated to do it, but I threw away my Kenwood kt-7500 and Akai at-2600 tuners a few weeks back. No one wanted to buy them, or even take them for free. Nothing on the radio for me anymore.
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Wow...both nice enough tuners for the average Joe, and nice lookers too.
 
Valveglow said:
How true. Neither can I. However, what I REALLY cannot imagine is turning on a tuner and finding some tolerable music to listen to.
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It really depends on two things.
1. Where you live and the available stations.
2. The kind of music you want to hear.

I'm primarily interested in Jazz. Fortunately for me there is a world class Jazz station in Philadelphia (WRTI).
 
JoeESP9 said:
It really depends on two things.
1. Where you live and the available stations.
2. The kind of music you want to hear.

I'm primarily interested in Jazz. Fortunately for me there is a world class Jazz station in Philadelphia (WRTI).
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Nice to know you have fine jazz station in Philly. :thmbsp:
 
mhardy6647 said:
Did you see/hear this on NPR? :-)
I was a big Joy Boys fan in their early 1970s incarnation on WWDC...
http://www.npr.org/2014/03/06/283115394/a-lifelong-radio-man-wins-new-fans-with-big-broadcast
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Absolutely - I was a big fan of the Joyboys a bit earlier ... used to fall asleep with the transistor radio under the pillow-
back in the 60s on WRC-am - I was QUITE YOUNG then! A bit later in life it was sometimes Felix Grant ...

Check this out: http://www.thejoyboys.com/
 
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zenith2134 said:
I hated to do it, but I threw away my Kenwood kt-7500 and Akai at-2600 tuners a few weeks back. No one wanted to buy them, or even take them for free. Nothing on the radio for me anymore.
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Threw them away? Wow! Those sell for pretty good coin here on Barter Town.
 
Somehow, I find it hard to imagine younger people showing much if any interest in tuners. Even if they are into FM radio. They may be OK with newer "digital" tuners but I would imagine them viewing old analog tuners as quaint antiques. Even after experiencing the beautiful feel of the functions and glow/motion of the meters/pointer, etc.
Now how to separate that vision from that of young folks who've taken to vinyl and even some fairly elaborate turntables I'm at a loss...
 
truetone36 said:
I can't imagine ever not having a tuner.
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I can, and in fact don't! In the 60's and early 70's, FM radio's golden age, I had a quality tuner and listened a lot. But today, commercial terrestrial radio has degenerated into a wasteland of mostly junk music and endless commercials aimed at the bottom of the scocial/education spectrum. Very few public radio stations play music anymore. Perhaps there are a few areas in the country that still have college or listener supported radio that is worthwhile, but not in my vicinity. I will listen to XM/Sirius (classical channels) in the car, but that's it. An extensive vinyl and digital library takes care of my need for quality music and sound in my home, nicely.
 
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