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Get new FM receiver or better antenna?

For FM radio I am using the tuner in my Onkyo 805 avr with a $30 Radio Shack powered antenna. Most of the time the reception is awful, even from nearby stations.

I suspect I need an outdoor antenna, but can't do that 'cause I live in a rented house and can't put any holes through the wall.

Would a better antenna, like the Terk Q or Terk Pro, do the trick or do I need a seperate FM tuner?
mmarvin19
larryi
1,972 posts
 
Even if you upgrade to a better tuner, you will need a decent antenna, so I would start there first. Check out the following website for guidance on indoor antenna selection:

http://www.gcaudio.com/resources/howtos/antenna.html

There is a link on that page to Magnum Dynalab, the Canadian company that specializes in FM tuners. They make pretty good indoor antennae. I have the cheaper ribbon one myself, but the long whip one is better. I get poor results myself from cheap, amplifying antennae which just increase both the signal and noise level and do a poor job of noise rejection.
geared4me's avatar
geared4me
206 posts
 
I agree with Rar1 and would also suggest the sony xdrf1hd. I am using this tuner and it is surprisingly good. It is also very small and gets hd radio,just a bonus,as the fm reception is great.
kotta's avatar
kotta
638 posts
 
The CC Crane "Reflex" antenna for around $25 will work for you. These have a 30-day trial period I believe. Great indoor antenna. (IMO, better than the Magnum Dynalab "whip" (Model ST-2 I believe) which I also own.)
mapman's avatar
mapman
15,679 posts
 
Try a simple dipole wire antenna from Radio Shack.

If you do not do better with that, then check FM reception in that location using a portable radio or other device that picks up FM and see how that does.

The tuner with a dipole should do at least as well as the portable or better.

Also use the portable to check reception in alternate locations you might be able to position an antenna at.

Those powered antennas can be hit or miss regarding if they work properly or better or not.

If none of this works, then you are just in a bad reception area. Consider going to internet radio to meet your radio listening needs.
roc_doc
55 posts
 
I have a powered indoor Terk antenna, found at radioshack for about 65 bucks or so a while ago. Picks up good signal into my budget NAD tuner, in the basement of a town house in the DC area. The antenna is likely to be a bigger improvement than the receiver at this time. Why not consider a budget tuner (I paid ~250 on mine about 4 years back) that you then plug into your existing receiver?
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