FM radio: does anyone still use it?

Richard Dane posted:

A very nice FM2 there, Mr Tibbs.  I do love the look of the FM2 & FM3.  I have a couple of FM3s but no FM2. How do you find they compare?  

I did have a rare AM3 but didn't use it and eventually it was sold to a HK collector for a fairly tidy sum.  I still have some photos though...

Richard, some fine looking kit there

I find FM3 is a tad more 'solid' sounding than the FM2, but the latter has the edge at making the human voice sound palpably real. 

They both need a fairly strong and clean signal to get good RF results and ideally a preamp load of 100k Ohms. A simple mod is therefore needed to get them working properly into the 47k load of Naim (and most other) preamps. I think this is why they are often overlooked as a high quality source outside of a Quad system. 

Mr Tibbs

I listen to Radio 3 FM everyday on my NAT 02. The presentation can sound esquisite, placing you in front of the musicians in the concert hall. I have previously owned a NAT 01, Quad FM4 and Meridian 104 over the years.  

I've yet to hear a streamer that presents radio in such a s musical way although the BBC’s Proms experiments with streaming ‘concert sound’ in 2017 was excellent. Hoping to be proved wrong as the long term future of FM is not guaranteed!