It was in 1895 that Marconi got the ball rolling and introducing broadcasting that took the signal a few kilometres it wasn’t until 1939 that the “FM” started commercial broadcast (despite FM having been patented in 1933). We owe this historic evolution to General Electric at Schenectady, NY. Long story….

Now most abundant source of music that you can feed your cherished audio kit with is FM radio. Some countries are more blessed than others in this regard; top of the list is France in my view; Governments (left and right) that still sets culture high on the agenda maintain radio stations funded by tax payers. These have no “commercial” agenda, no annoying commercials, compressed sound signatures or music selection skewed towards the record industry. Intend to enjoy it as it lasts…

My love with FM started in the 80’s when I managed to “save” enough to get a Mission Cyrus One tuner.

This was an ear opener even if at the time my “antenna” was taped to the wall…no fancy long reach, high gain technology here….blasting sound via a naim and heybrook one setup….thinking that this was it; it was, well at least until the next step…

So I climbed a long ladder of tuners and consider that the Rohde & Schwarz BN 1508/2 FM tube receiver 82 -108 MHz being  a pinnacle…albeit vintage with 18 tubes!!!! etc and etc…Use it in mono and it will fill your room and ears with an abundance of music void of any commercial pressure if you are lucky! Okay tuners do not compete with vinyl that we favor at this place or even digital but when it comes to content? Live repersentations coming from the other sode of the planet…considering that a good, great or even exceptional tuner will set you back less than a tonearm and good cartridge!

I have heard the Rohde & Schwarz vs the all time loved Marantz 10b  and Magnum Dynalab 108t….that for the ears of some critics are close enough to the top of the scale: http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue20/marantz10b.htm

BTW: If you ever hear a Rohde & Schwarz BN 1508/2 in a high efficiency system you will perhaps recall this post…