What is a GOOD FM Receiver?
 

I would like to find a receiver that is a great FM receiver. It would
be great if it was stereo, too.

I have difficulty picking up some classical stations and need
something with more receiving power.

Thanks for any help,
Dan

On Tue, 20 Apr 2004 22:09:50 -0500, Dan Graves wrote
(in message ):

I would like to find a receiver that is a great FM receiver. It would
be great if it was stereo, too.

I have difficulty picking up some classical stations and need
something with more receiving power.

Thanks for any help,
Dan



If I were interested in buying one /right now/, I'd spend a buncha time
looking at and reading about the Kloss Model Two.

http://www.tivoliaudio.com/pM2TPE.htm

I'd, in all liklihood, invest in a thirty-dollar antenna if I were not using
an outside antenna:

http://www.ccrane.com/fm_reflect.asp



Gray Shockley
--------------------------------------------------------
Who uses a CCradio w/a ten dollar Terq
(the little square jobbie) I got at OfficeMax

"Dan Graves" wrote in message
...

I have difficulty picking up some classical stations and need
something with more receiving power.
Dan

More receiving power will be obtained mostly through a better antenna.
Before you purchase a new receiver, get an outdoor antenna if possible. That
will most likely solve your reception problems.

Al KA5JGV
San Antonio, Tx.

Dear Mr. Graves,

I find that my Grundig Satellit 800, in addition to all its other
features, is a fine and sensitive FM receiver. Stereo through
headphones and the line outputs too. (I am not an FM DXer, however. I
use it for local FM stations.) I have it connected through my stereo
receiver (an NAD 7030) and it picks up FM better than that receiver
does. (I get more stations on the Grundig than the NAD and they come
in clearer.) I have a TV antenna (mounted in my attic, amplified
splitter) hooked to the receiver and just use the whip antenna on the
Grundig. As a matter of fact, most of the time while listening to the
local classical station (transmitter about 30 miles from my house) I
do not even need to extend the whip! If you decide to buy a Grundig,
be careful. Have your particular unit tested before purchase to make
sure there are no "gremlins" inside. I bought mine from Universal and
I would recommend them. (Do NOT buy a Grundig Classic 960. It's a
terrible receiver.)


Lawrence

Dan Graves wrote in message . ..
I would like to find a receiver that is a great FM receiver. It would
be great if it was stereo, too.

I have difficulty picking up some classical stations and need
something with more receiving power.

Thanks for any help,
Dan

The Tivoli Model One is the best cheapo FM radio out there. Get one
with return privileges, they're Chinese.

On Tue, 20 Apr 2004 23:09:50 -0400, Dan Graves
wrote:

I would like to find a receiver that is a great FM receiver. It would
be great if it was stereo, too.

I have difficulty picking up some classical stations and need
something with more receiving power.

Thanks for any help,
Dan

Sangean's 909 does a good job with f.m. reception, and has a convenient tape
output jack so you can run it through your stereo system. Vintage Marantz,
Pioneer, Sherwood, & Sony receivers have excellent f.m. sections, also.

I would agree on the Tivoli Model Two. FM reception had been
problematic for me too, until I got one. (Tall buildings, topography,
and nearby high-voltage power lines all conspired against me.) Armed
with only its included single-wire antenna, my M2 managed to
outperform my separate FM tuners and receivers that cost a _lot_ more
than its $160.00 price. (And they were connected to amplified
antennae.) The retro-looking analog tuner is a lot of fun, and the
little thing sounds really good, too.

If you can live without stereo, Tivoli's monaural Model One ($100.00)
has a very similar overall sound character, an equally excellent
tuner, and requires less space and cash. It might even change your
mind about needing stereo. Check out both the Models One and Two at
http:/www.tivoliaudio.com.

Boston Acoustics' Recepter[tm] radio is mono too, but adds the
convenience of digital tuning presets, along with a clock and
sleep/alarm functions. For $160.00, it offers most of the convenience
features of the Bose Wave, but with better FM reception in my
experience, and at a price that is less than half that of the Wave.
http:/www.bostonacoustics.com has details.

Of these three, I don't think you'd be at all disappointed in any of
them.

JM


Dan Graves wrote in message . ..
I would like to find a receiver that is a great FM receiver. It would
be great if it was stereo, too.

I have difficulty picking up some classical stations and need
something with more receiving power.

Thanks for any help,
Dan

"Dan Graves" wrote in message
...
I would like to find a receiver that is a great FM receiver. It would
be great if it was stereo, too.

I have difficulty picking up some classical stations and need
something with more receiving power.

Thanks for any help,
Dan
First, consider a better antenna...
And for radios the term is 'sensitivity' which is the ability to pickup weak
signals and there's also 'selectivity'... the ability to pick one signal
over another adjacent signal. Important for FM radios as they tend to 'lock'
onto a signal to keep up with possible drift.
When looking on the web for say, reviews, look for those two terms.
But as for radios:
I have one of those Grundig crank/battery/wallwart radios that radio shack
sells, which does a fine job. I also have an older Ratshack SW radio
(DX-440? think it was made by Sangean originally) that is very very good.
Where I'm at there are two 'monster' stations, in separate cities in
opposite directions about oh.. 70 miles away each, and they are .2mhz apart
(xxx.3, xxx.5) Depending on where I'm at, with most radios I hear one or the
other, but they splatter over each other's signals. With the Grundig (got it
on sale for $25, think book is $40) I can usually get both. With the DX-440
I can choose either almost anywhere. I can even get the station 1 in station
2's city, though it is weak, with an external antenna.

If I wanted a nice sensitive FM radio, I'd look for a good Shortwave radio
with FM, because even though it's pretty much an entirely separate section
of the radio, most medium to high quality sw radio companies are not going
to make themselves look bad by tacking on a $1 FM radio.

If you have an existing stereo system with a Cassette of FM radio in it,
most of the SW radios with FM can put out stereo on a headphone jack, and
you can use one of the various 'in car' cd adapter rigs (I have two, one is
a 1/4 watt broadcast FM transmitter, the other is a cassette you pop in your
cassette player) to get it into your 'real' stereo.

But I'd still look at getting an outdoor antenna first, or even a better
indoor one. Not one of those amplified pieces of junk. (usually a little
pyramid looking thing). Those are about worthless.

Now if I could just figure out how to receive 99.9 on an inside antenna in a
cinderblock building with 25 computers all running a 100mhz internal bus.
(though I can pick out 101.1 with the DX-440... sweet radio, worth every
penny of the $3 I gave for it).

On Tue, 20 Apr 2004 22:31:35 -0500, Gray Shockley
wrote:

On Tue, 20 Apr 2004 22:09:50 -0500, Dan Graves wrote
(in message ):

I would like to find a receiver that is a great FM receiver. It would
be great if it was stereo, too.

I have difficulty picking up some classical stations and need
something with more receiving power.

If I were interested in buying one /right now/, I'd spend a buncha time
looking at and reading about the Kloss Model Two.

http://www.tivoliaudio.com/pM2TPE.htm
......
Gray Shockley

I myself am also intersted about good quality FM stereo tuner or
receiver sutable for DX-ing.

Tivoli model One seems interesting, but it may be sort of overated
design brand radio, don't know.

But Sangean's WR-1 FM receiver seems interesting too. Claimed to be
very sensitive.
http://www.sangean.com/product_news.html

There is a review in the Radiolabs:
http://www.radiolabs.com/Articles/woodradio.html
but it is not very convincing :)

and in Universal Radio:
http://www.universal-radio.com/catal...alty/4394.html

Does anybody have personnal experience with these two or can suggest
some other model?
Tr

"Dan Graves" wrote in message
...
I would like to find a receiver that is a great FM receiver. It would
be great if it was stereo, too.

I have difficulty picking up some classical stations and need
something with more receiving power.

Thanks for any help,
Dan



Dan

To get the right answer, you might want to better define 'difficulty'.

The nature of your reception problems will lead to getting a response that
addresses your specific issue.

For example, you problem could be

1) The signal is really weak and little can be heard.

2) There is a strong station on an adjacent frequency interfering with the
one I want to listen to.

3) I am hearing two other strong stations on the same frequency I am
listening to.

4) The station is too distorted.

5) Something is causing interference to the station.

6) One local station appears at multiple places on the dial and interferes
with the one I want to listen to.


My preference is a Grundig Sat 800 with an external antenna. It receives
distant stations well even though I have many strong local stations.

It is also a shortwave receiver.

craigm

check out www.fmtunerinfo.com


"Dan Graves" wrote in message
...
I would like to find a receiver that is a great FM receiver. It would
be great if it was stereo, too.

I have difficulty picking up some classical stations and need
something with more receiving power.

Thanks for any help,
Dan

A good FM receiver?

It's much easier to buy a good FM receiver than it is a good AM (MW)
receiver. Most consumer receivers are geared for FM reception, with MW
getting a place on the dial, but no real attention.

Go to your local Circuit City or Best Buy, borrow a pair of headphones, and
hook a cheapo dipole antenna (all the receivers come with them -- ask the
salesman to let you see an open box) to it and see which one gets the best
signal inside the store. THAT's your radio.

-- Stinger

"Al" wrote in message
...

"Dan Graves" wrote in message
...

I have difficulty picking up some classical stations and need
something with more receiving power.
Dan

More receiving power will be obtained mostly through a better antenna.
Before you purchase a new receiver, get an outdoor antenna if possible.
That
will most likely solve your reception problems.

Al KA5JGV
San Antonio, Tx.

On 21 Apr 2004 16:37:07 GMT, (elg110254) wrote:

Sangean's 909 does a good job with f.m. reception, and has a convenient tape
output jack so you can run it through your stereo system. Vintage Marantz,
Pioneer, Sherwood, & Sony receivers have excellent f.m. sections, also.

= = = Dan Graves wrote in message
= = = . ..

I would like to find a receiver that is a great FM receiver.
It would be great if it was stereo, too.

I have difficulty picking up some classical stations
and need something with more receiving power.

Thanks for any help,
Dan

DG,

The FM Receiver is only half of the FM Broadcast Reception equation.

The other half is the FM Antenna. A quality multi-element FM
Antenna will be Directional and have greater Gain when pointed
at the FM Transmitter location. Adding and 'external' FM Antenna
to an existing radio will do more to improve FM Reception then
buying a newer / better radio - IMHO.

If you are interested in a FM Tuner that will bring in those
distant FM Stations and give outstanding audio results; consider
the Sansui TU-919.
- Annalog Tuning plus Digital Read-Out
- Five Gang Tuner
- Wide and Narrow FM "IF" Band Widths
[ Plus Wide and Narrow AM/MW "IF" Band Widths ]
- Multi-Stage Ceramic Filters

NOTE: The Sansui TU-919 is available 'used' on eBay and usually
sells for about $600.

SANSUI-TU-919= http://www.amfmdx.net/fmdx/TU919.html
http://www.antennaperformance.com/pr...8&CategoryID=3
http://www.fmtunerinfo.com/sansui.html

INFO - FM DX Tuner Overviews
http://www.amfmdx.net/fmdx/tuners.html
Your Guide to FM Tuners with DX Potential

FM Tuners · High End FM Tuners eGroup at YAHOO!
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FMtuners/

jm2cw ~ RHF

..

In article ,
Mojo wrote:
I would agree on the Tivoli Model Two. FM reception had been
problematic for me too, until I got one. (Tall buildings, topography,
and nearby high-voltage power lines all conspired against me.) Armed
with only its included single-wire antenna, my M2 managed to
outperform my separate FM tuners and receivers that cost a _lot_ more
than its $160.00 price. (And they were connected to amplified
antennae.) The retro-looking analog tuner is a lot of fun, and the
little thing sounds really good, too.

If you can live without stereo, Tivoli's monaural Model One ($100.00)
has a very similar overall sound character, an equally excellent
tuner, and requires less space and cash. It might even change your
mind about needing stereo. Check out both the Models One and Two at
http:/www.tivoliaudio.com.

Boston Acoustics' Recepter[tm] radio is mono too, but adds the
convenience of digital tuning presets, along with a clock and
sleep/alarm functions. For $160.00, it offers most of the convenience
features of the Bose Wave, but with better FM reception in my
experience, and at a price that is less than half that of the Wave.
http:/www.bostonacoustics.com has details.

Of these three, I don't think you'd be at all disappointed in any of
them.

JM


Dan Graves wrote in message news
...
I would like to find a receiver that is a great FM receiver. It would
be great if it was stereo, too.

I have difficulty picking up some classical stations and need
something with more receiving power.

Thanks for any help,
Dan


Has Anyone tried a Tivoli with interferance from a strong adjacent
channel signal ?

Are all the Tivoli models equivilant as far as receiver specs go ?



--
Al Dykes
-----------
adykes at p a n i x . c o m

On 22 Apr 2004 07:51:49 -0400, (Al Dykes) wrote:

I wouldn't live in a strong RF environment.

The Tivoli Henry Kloss series all have the same basic tuner section.

Has Anyone tried a Tivoli with interferance from a strong adjacent
channel signal ?

Are all the Tivoli models equivilant as far as receiver specs go ?

Do the current Marantz receivers have good FM receivers?




On 21 Apr 2004 16:37:07 GMT, (elg110254) wrote:

Sangean's 909 does a good job with f.m. reception, and has a convenient tape
output jack so you can run it through your stereo system. Vintage Marantz,
Pioneer, Sherwood, & Sony receivers have excellent f.m. sections, also.

I forgot - I actually have an old Pioneer SX-790. Do those have good
FM receivers in them?

Thanks,
Dan





On Wed, 21 Apr 2004 23:48:00 -0400, Dan wrote:

On 21 Apr 2004 16:37:07 GMT, (elg110254) wrote:

Sangean's 909 does a good job with f.m. reception, and has a convenient tape
output jack so you can run it through your stereo system. Vintage Marantz,
Pioneer, Sherwood, & Sony receivers have excellent f.m. sections, also.

I can second the vintage Pioneer receiver recommendation. I have
several here (SX-850, SX-1010, SX-1280) and they are all outstanding.
The 1280, in particular, is extremely good.

For something portable, I'm finding that my newly acquired Grundig
Satellit 700 has an excellent FM section. As good as my 650, and
better than my 800.

In all other respects, the 800 beats the 700 however. Better AM
sensitivity, much better sync detector (the 700's sync barely works,
the 800's is incredible), better audio (on AM; FM sounds better on the
700), better bandwidths, better tuning knob, easier to use memories,
etc.

Dan

Drake R8, Radio Shack DX-440,
Grundig S650, S700, S800, YB400, YB550PE
Degen DE1102, Kaito KA1102
Hallicrafters S-120 (1962)
Zenith black dial 5 tube Tombstone (1937)
E. H. Scott 23 tube Imperial Allwave in Tasman cabinet (1936)

There are lots of great FM tuners out there at bargain prices if you
look around. Go to the FM Tuner Info site, and do some reading. I picked
a Technics ST-S505 digital tuner on EBAY for $60. This unit has .05
stepped tuning, IF offset, good sensitivity and image rejection, and has
4 ceramic filters in the narrow mode. It also has a numerical digital
signal strength readout. I have this coupled to an Antennacraft (same as
Radio Shack) 6 element beam and TV rotor. Total cost of setup not much
more than $100. I routinely get stations from 200-250 miles. Much better
than you're going to find in a lot of the SW portables if you want to FM
DX. Of the portables, the Grundig Satellit 700 has the best reputation
for FM. The Sat 800 is "ok", but I think it only has 2 filters
(selectivity), a useless signal meter (goes to max on most signals), and
poor construction. I know, I went through 3 of them before giving up.
Good luck...

Chris VE6RDC

RHF wrote:
= = = Dan Graves wrote in message
= = = . ..

I would like to find a receiver that is a great FM receiver.
It would be great if it was stereo, too.

I have difficulty picking up some classical stations
and need something with more receiving power.

Thanks for any help,
Dan


DG,

The FM Receiver is only half of the FM Broadcast Reception equation.

The other half is the FM Antenna. A quality multi-element FM
Antenna will be Directional and have greater Gain when pointed
at the FM Transmitter location. Adding and 'external' FM Antenna
to an existing radio will do more to improve FM Reception then
buying a newer / better radio - IMHO.

If you are interested in a FM Tuner that will bring in those
distant FM Stations and give outstanding audio results; consider
the Sansui TU-919.
- Annalog Tuning plus Digital Read-Out
- Five Gang Tuner
- Wide and Narrow FM "IF" Band Widths
[ Plus Wide and Narrow AM/MW "IF" Band Widths ]
- Multi-Stage Ceramic Filters

NOTE: The Sansui TU-919 is available 'used' on eBay and usually
sells for about $600.

SANSUI-TU-919= http://www.amfmdx.net/fmdx/TU919.html
http://www.antennaperformance.com/pr...8&CategoryID=3
http://www.fmtunerinfo.com/sansui.html

INFO - FM DX Tuner Overviews
http://www.amfmdx.net/fmdx/tuners.html
Your Guide to FM Tuners with DX Potential

FM Tuners · High End FM Tuners eGroup at YAHOO!
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FMtuners/

jm2cw ~ RHF

.

Are you near Mexico?

On 22 Apr 2004 13:11:40 -0700, (Mojo) wrote:

(Al Dykes) wrote in message ...

Has Anyone tried a Tivoli with interferance from a strong adjacent
channel signal ?

Are all the Tivoli models equivilant as far as receiver specs go ?

My Tivoli radios do a very good job of rejecting adjacent and
alternate channels. As one example, there is a low-powered college
stations about thirty miles from me that broadcasts on 91.7MHz. On
most radios, it gets totally thrashed by a 100 KW (and really
terrible) commercial station that is just 4 miles distant,
broadcasting on 91.9. With the Tivoli radios, I manage to get it
cleanly. In a similar vein, there are two other non-commercial
stations, one on 88.7 from some 50 miles away, and one at 88.5 that is
82 miles away, that I listen to on a regular basis.

I have both the Model Two (stereo) and a Model One (mono) radios.
Tivoli doesn't publish the specs for either, so I have no idea how
much circuitry they share. All I can say is that their performance
seems uniformly good. The mono Model One does seem to have a slightly
lower noise floor occasionally, most likely due to its mono design
that would tend to cancel out-of-phase noise.


JM