I was thinking of the my favorite tuners this morning. For many years I listened to a Marantz Model 120 (with the silly display). I also enjoyed a Magnum Dynalab and the last tuner I owned was the PS Audio ST1, based on the same Magnum Dynalab circuitry. That was back when local FM radio was worth listening to. Today it's no longer a viable medium unless you're in a major metropolitan area like Boston or New York City.
Today's version of the FM tuner is the internet streamer. Whether you use an app like Tune In on your mobile device, or stream into the PS Audio Bridge from a controller app, internet radio allows you to tune in practically any station from anywhere in the world.
And I swear a most wonderful idea for a new product is an all-in-one internet radio, complete with tuning dial. I've looked. They do not exist. I want one.
If only we had more time, more engineering resources, it'd be high on my list of new products I'd love to see. Sure, I know you can go to Tune In on your iPhone or Android, stream directly to Sprout (have you gotten yours yet?) or use your Sonos via the iPad app or any number of ways to get connected. But it's not the same. Just imagine with me for a moment a tuner, modeled after the old Marantz 120 or 150, or perhaps something else. A dial you actually turn, breeze past stations finding what you want. Perhaps a series of buttons for genre to help narrow the field. And some preselect favorites buttons.
Yup, just dreaming about the new tuner. Too bad we don't have the bandwidth to pull it off.
I hope someone does. I'd be first in line to buy.
