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Are Receivers still relevant?

With the state of FM these days I say they aren't relevant.
Mr Boochie said:
I don’t even listen to my JRC SWR anymore. And I had a lot of optional daughter boards in it. Those days are over... :(

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I used to have various shortwave receivers. Mostly tube like Lafayette, Eico, Heathkit, etc. But then shortwave isn't what it used to be either. I have a big inverted V antenna and a couple long wires. The long wires oriented N/S and E/W.
 
Lavane said:
With the state of FM these days I say they aren't relevant.
I used to have various shortwave receivers. Mostly tube like Lafayette, Eico, Heathkit, etc. But then shortwave isn't what it used to be either. I have a big inverted V antenna and a couple long wires. The long wires oriented N/S and E/W.
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My Alpha Delta Sloper wire antenna is still on the roof. Just sadly sitting there.

I also have a nice portable Sangean 909. I don’t even take it on camping trips anymore.
 
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Lavane said:
There used to be so many foreign stations. I really liked listening to news programs from other countries. They tended to have a different slant on things.
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Yeah. I have a pretty good SWL QSL card collection. That’s in a box in the storage unit.

I loved picking up those South Pacific islands that had news in Pidgin English.
 
Mr Boochie said:
My Alpha Delta Sloper wire antenna is still on the roof. Just sadly sitting there.

I also have a nice portable Sangean 909. I don’t even take it on camping trips anymore.
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My life interests have cycled many times for sure. I'm back into things today that have had no place for years and no place for interests that I couldn't put down years ago. I was a pretty successful artist and haven't picked up a brush in 15 years. Life is strange and no truer words ever spoken- The only thing constant is change. I wouldn't take down the antennas.
 
I just ordered one of those ten year old Sangean HDT-20 HD Radio tuners. Looked at the infamous Sony on eBay, but got scared away by reports of how hot they run.

I have a couple of good stations around me that I think would benefit from a good standalone tuner. My car has an HD Radio and I have a small battery powered Sangean portable unit that sounds good on headphones at least. Really looking forward to HD2 jazz during the day when I’m working from home.

losthorizon said:
It seems that it's just in the UK that the radio stations have disappeared. There used to be a wide range of musical tastes, but over time the stations have only been catering to younger listeners .
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That’s so sad. The UK still seems like very much a cultural leader in music. Every time my wife brings home a pop record that’s good, it’s from a British artist.
 
If you listen to OTA broadcasts, yes. Otherwise mostly it just looks cool. I use one at work since I want background music without having to be near it with my phone or any of that. Right now I'm running my Fisher TA-600 since I was having some issues with reception and wanted to see if its the antenna or the reciever. Its mostly the antenna, the Fisher is more sensitive but its still getting far less signal than it ought to. I'll give the Allied a quick check-up since its in my truck but I guess the next thing to mess with is the cable. I replaced the antenna last time I had a lift here that let me get to it, and it made no improvement. Cable is really the only thing left.
 
"Radio" says "radio listenership" is up. Way up.

Higher than streaming.

If you believe them.

I have receivers in four locations and in three cars (and hopefully soon a motorcycle).

...and a stockpile of reserve receivers in case I lose one to Florida power or lightning "events".
 
I live in an area where reception is pretty good, but the station I  want to listen to most is susceptible to multipath interference, most probably from nearby "hills." Can mostly listen in mono OK though.

Use an Echo Dot at night to listen to CBC and BBC...also, when its broadcast, "Radio Caroline." I think in the UK its broadcast on AM. Pretty good playlists and DJ's...still on a boat, but anchored in a harbor somewhere.
 
Receivers are relevant because they can be an amazing bargain, especially the old ones. I bought a Luxman R-1050 when I arrived in Canada, am completely happy with it, Good phono stage.

I never use the radio though. And in the car I hate the radio. CIUT from Toronto University can be good but as you get out of the city it quickly turns to country, religion and the rock stations that play the same 8 songs over and over, also way too many advertisements.
 
aeberbach said:
Receivers are relevant because they can be an amazing bargain, especially the old ones. I bought a Luxman R-1050 when I arrived in Canada, am completely happy with it, Good phono stage.

I never use the radio though. And in the car I hate the radio. CIUT from Toronto University can be good but as you get out of the city it quickly turns to country, religion and the rock stations that play the same 8 songs over and over, also way too many advertisements.
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So, the same eight rock songs isn’t just limited to here…

What is also annoying to me are the female broadcasters, ad voiceovers, etc., that affect that trashy Kim Kardashian vocal fry. Sometimes, I have just turned the radio off. I know perfectly well 20 - 30 years ago that women did not speak like that. Why is this happening? Is it now considered a qualification?

Also a bit frustrating were the lengthy bumper music breaks on Coast to Coast AM. Geez, you could practically play the entire “2112” title track. :)
 
If you'e looking for something with a lot of functionality: inputs, eq, radio, etc, that fits into a small space and might have some nice aesthetics, a receiver could be the way to go. Granted, the best amps aren't going to be these all-in-one designs, but that doesn't mean that some very good ones don't come in the form of a receiver and the sound quality can be quite good. I'm pretty happy with the sound I get with my vintage receiver and more than that, if I were to swap it for separates, I would have to pretty radically rearrange my room and I'd end up with less space overall...
 
RunOutGroove said:
If you'e looking for something with a lot of functionality: inputs, eq, radio, etc, that fits into a small space and might have some nice aesthetics, a receiver could be the way to go. Granted, the best amps aren't going to be these all-in-one designs, but that doesn't mean that some very good ones don't come in the form of a receiver and the sound quality can be quite good. I'm pretty happy with the sound I get with my vintage receiver and more than that, if I were to swap it for separates, I would have to pretty radically rearrange my room and I'd end up with less space overall...
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That makes a lot of sense, and of course, you can't beat the look of a vintage receiver.
 
I haven't listened to radio on my primary system, through a receiver, in a couple decades. Most radio stations have been streamable for at least that long and given the near ubiquity of streaming devices, they're hardly relevant anymore and streaming amps are beginning to fill the space that receivers once held. I'd rather have an AV Integrated amp for my AV setup, but such things hardly exist.
 
Hello, I made some post earlier in this thread. Experimented a bit with indoor Dipole antennas home-made and purchased. Partly brick facade here.
But I got best results in a totally impossible corner behind a brick wall some 2-3m in (from outer wall measured). Even better than hanging the dipole by the window or outside even. Crazy.

Got 14 channels, 6-7 were very good to excellent, the others 50-60% signal level and mostly noise free.

Since then I made some radical changes. Purchased a Nedis omni FM-antenna. Took down the TV-antenna that was on the mast before and put this up instead. Not interested in the Swedish ground network anyway.

I have tried with the old cable that was from the previous owner of the house, to the tv antenna etc. And with a never used cable with pressed on f-connector. And the old cable is best (however I did redo the connector since the shield braid was not much connected properly at all).

Anyway, the results are completely sick, once I hit the sweet spot with turning the antenna.

There is more, but I have only tuned in the ones with good noise free quality, so I left out the ones with 30-40% signal level and some static in the background.

I now pick up 31 stations, some ca 20 of these are with excellent signal level 70 - 100% and instant rds decoding on the ones that transmit that data. Perfect quality.

The others are around 60-70% with instant rds decoding (same as above) and perfect crystal clear stereo.

Of the 31 are now also 7 Danish channels! I live in Sweden, in the north eastern part of Skåne (southest part of Sweden).
5 of these are from Sjaelland and 2 from Bornholm (Rø station) which is some 140km away from me, these 2 are coming in the strongest of the Danish with steady 80% signal level, crystal clear of course.
The signals from this transmitter travels a long way over the water before they come in over Sweden. The other 5 of the Danish, some are steady but lower signal around 50-60% but noise free and perfect rds and stereo etc. But some may come and go depending on weather conditions.

I find the results simply mindblowing and I like listening to radio, so I am very happy now :)

I will now put the cable in its proper place, so I will lose some 2-3 meters of it, which may further improve signal to noise ratio, giving those low signal stations that are barely within reach, an extra push.

The antenna cost around eqv of 23 usd on amazon
Then it was some cable channels and connectors etc for some other eqv 25-30 usd

So a cheap upgrade that added a huge amount of value. Can totally recommend.
Sorry for long post, but wanted to give details.

Some pics also.

The antenna. I have the coolest antenna in the neighbourhood now :) None of the neighbours has an antenna like this.
https://imgur.com/a/aGD4fhq

One of the Danish channels from Bornholm (some 140km away) coming in super strong and crystal clear
https://imgur.com/a/E8uyZck

The other Bornholm station coming in with a blazing full signal
https://imgur.com/a/SylC4bF

I'll be sure to give this antenna the best review.
 
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