No AM sync... I mean NO AM sync is ANY help with very weak signals.
AM sync comes in handy for program listneing on signals with moderate
fade.
Not with "real" DX'ing.

I'd agree with this if it weren't for the R8B. Its sync detector can
lock onto signals that I can barely hear and, once locked on, the
signal is sometimes more intelligible. I'm not saying that the R8B's
sync detector always has this effect or that it is in general better
than the other more standard DXing techniques. However, the R8B's sync
detection is sometimes--once in a great while--EXACTLY what you need.
In other words, it's one more useful arrow in the DXers quiver.

Steve