New MR89 Tuner

[mcintoshmagic]

Why is everyone so down on HD Radio? When it kicks in the difference is obvious. Is this just a purist thing? Plus many of my local stations have changed formats but kept broadcasting their original formats on subchannels. I've had it in all my cars as well as in my MA6600.

[ken]

yeah, I was hoping for XM to be included as well and an analog dial. Guess they are trying to boost the value of the MR 88 lol

[mcintoshmagic]

Originally Posted by ken

yeah, I was hoping for XM to be included as well and an analog dial. Guess they are trying to boost the value of the MR 88 lol

I think the writing was on the wall when they replaced the MR88 with the MR87 which lacked both XM and HD Radio support. The meters are kind of silly. If you're going to include them why not have them have something to do with the tuner's performance? I was (and still am) hoping for a mini tuner to go with their smaller components like the headphone amp, sacd transport, streamer and phono preamp. It's the only thing missing at this point I think.

[ken]

I heard the company that made the XM module perished in the Tsunami that happened a few years ago, but can't believe there was no one else who could produce it for them.

[Formerly YB-2]

Originally Posted by Thebenz

I am shocked that am/fm still exists and that they think there is enough demand for this.

As pointed out, about 200million radios-on-wheels everyday and 90% of them either do not have or do not want to pay for XM.
As for streaming, I've never heard a radio stream that can stand up to a good OTA feed (good broadcast, good antenna & good tuner). About 50% of my listening is OTA FM, 40% vinyl and 10% digital (when I can't find something on a proper analog format). You would seem to be a good candidate for the new MR89. Of course, I've no idea if the DFW has any decent broadcast stations like we have where I live.

Originally Posted by Masterlu

My Accuphase and Magnum Dynalab tuners sound amazing!

Yep. As do my refurbished TOTL tuners from the '70's/'80's.
Some day I hope to own an Accuphase 1100 or 1200. As good as my current tuners are the Accuphase 1100 I spent some time with was eerily better. Can imagine the 1200 is a step up.

[cleeds]

Originally Posted by mcintoshmagic

Why is everyone so down on HD Radio? When it kicks in the difference is obvious ...

The biggest problem with HD radio is that not only isn't it "high definition" but it's not even standard definition. It's lossy digital. So like an MP3 file, it can offer digital s/n ratio, but suffers from limited HF (compared to FM, which typically doesn't get much above 15kHz) as well as lower dynamic range. But yes, it can be quiet. In the US at least, the HD signal is well below the analog signal, so HD only works if you're close to the transmitter. And then there are the problems where it switches between analog and digital. But yes, HD offers that digital silence that can be so appealing. Given those problems, I think streaming audio has more promise, and probably your favorite HD channels are available from a stream.

Of course, HD radio has its fans. But the technology - at least as implemented in the US - seems obsolete to me. Many broadcasters apparently agree, because so many stations have switched off their HD channels.

[Vintage Pete]

Originally Posted by cleeds

Really? You're shocked?
Radio reaches more than 85 percent of US adults each week - that's more than 200 million listeners in the US alone. Of course, much of that listening is in the car. But I'd wager that for those who listen at home, most are also able to stream as well. So it's not an either/or proposition.

The fidelity from OTA FM is often better than is available on the same station's stream. Have you ever heard a live FM broadcast? It's amazing how good some of them can sound.

I won't argue with you that the future is streaming. But I'm in no rush to ditch my FM. Or tape. Or LPs. And I keep that gear properly serviced so that I always have a choice when I sit down to listen.

If Dan were here, I know he'd chime in.

If Dan were here he would say the same thing I've always said-that no system is complete without a tuner.

As to the new MR89, it looks nice-as do all their products. But I personally feel they've overdone the meters thing. They do look nice, and they have their place on power amplifiers. You just don't need them on tuners, turntables or even preamps.
The exception of course on tuners would be the signal strength/tuning meters. But the big output level meters on a tuner? No...

I would have much preferred a tuner that looks like a tuner. YMMV....

[Maks]

A few thoughts from me....Mc discontinued the MR88 because the chip they were using with HD was NLA from the vendor, that's why the 87 came out. I use the HD/analog blend on my MR88 and it seems to help on the high end plus I'm still getting the full uncompressed analog signal. To my ears it is better that way, but I haven't done any serious A/B testing. Seeing what's on the sub-channels is fun too, but if HD disappeared tomorrow I wouldn't be upset.

One thing I don't like on the MR88 is that everything is automatic in terms of noise reduction, I have control over mono or stereo, but that's it. On my MR74, and on some other Mc tuners, I can choose selectivity as well as 3 levels of stereo filtering. Knobs right there on the front panel to dial in the sound of those distant stations. Mc has introduced some new stereo blending methods on the MR89 as well as some high cut filters. Problem is they're located in menus. I get that that is how modern Mc products look vs having a bunch of knobs, but having to go into a menu each time seems like it could be annoying.

The meters should be multipath and signal strength, or switchable between multipath and noise instead of having those one again in software menus. Aesthetically I think the 87/88 hit it out of the park, perfect blend of classic Mc analog look that fits right in with the modern gear. Not that my MR74 doesn't also fit in as most Mc gear is timeless.

[prepress]

Well, one thing I'll say is that if I got one (not likely), I'd have AM radio, which my MD102 lacks. There are a couple of AM stations I miss a bit.

[njcardave]

I have a vintage Kenwood tuner in my system. The local NPR station plays jazz from 8-9. It opens me up to artists that I’m not familiar with.