I've owned a Denon DRA-75VR reciever as the heart of my stereo system for over 30 years now, and the damn thing just won't quit. It sounds just as great today as the day I bought it.
Well, I'm amazed by the AM stereo sound. In fact I did not even know there was something like stereo on AM band. Also the quality in the US seems to be much better than in Europe (particularly Slovakia, Czech Republic, Hungary or Austria - as I can only receive stations from these countries), mainly the freq response is much wider. Oh, and also the station seems to broadcast much better music than any FM or AM station I can receive over the air. Also I love the lower compression than on FM.
TU-680NAB is by far an excellent AM Stereo tuner! I own 2 of them and they have been at the top of my selection, sited side to Carver TX11A's !!! These two are both the "how to" example for anyone that wanted to make real good AM receivers with the Stereo quality at MAXIMUM!!!
The first time I heard AM stereo, i was impressed. The seperation seemed better. The audio seemed to come alive when you tune to and AM station. Switching from fm to fm stereo didn't make much differnce but switching from am mono to am stereo had more "wow" factor. We had 3 AM stereo stations during late 80's . WJDX 620 contemporary, WKKE 1180 Contemporary christian, WZRX 1590 which was Album Rock and later Z-rock heavy metal (if you can believe that) none are still stereo now.
Thanks for uploading this. I'm not sure I've ever heard AM stereo before. I once lived in a market with a station that used this format, but I don't think I knew anyone with an AM stereo receiver. Also, I had read that HD radio had somehow replaced AM stereo, but that evidentally is not the case.
@raymondleeleggs No. Despite the aesthetics of having a matching set of components, I don't really need such a large and powerful amplifier as the Denon would be.
@vwestlife Oh ok. I was jus wondering, seince I am trying to build a matching system of my own, thats a good tuner though no plastic except the buttons and feet.
You lucky. We have no am stereo stations in the state I live in and most of the big ones are sports talk or old worn out ones that are owned by churches that have no budget for maintaining them. I have seven am stereo radios and nothing to light up the stereo light.
Very good sound quality. It's a shame C-QUAM isn't the widely used standard for AM, I think it would be a better choice over FM when you factor in the static you get while driving down the road..
That is really decent quality C-Quam AM stereo. Of course AM HD can do stereo as well, but it's full of digital artifacts. Doesn't measure up to the great quality that analog AM stereo can offer. BTW be sure to check out this guy's posting of the Harris V-CPM stereo demo. Sweet!
I worked at a Denon dealer when this tuner was available new, and I remember trying to convince the other people working there that this tuner had something special.
Unfortunately HD radio has all but killed off AM stereo. AM-HD sounds great, but it's only in mono. HD has also had a very bad effect on the sound quality of the non-HD signal.
Interesting. My 1990 Nissan Maxima actually came with an AM stereo capable tuner (made by Clarion). The only stereo station I could find at the time (98-99ish) that I was 660 WFAN. I think they ceased stereo when HD Radio came out.
None over here, all mono and mainly talk/news or country music. Someone told me they tried to push AM stereo a long time ago but it failed horribly as everyone just went to FM.
@TehMG You're in Canada? There are still some AM Stereo stations up there. Not that many anymore, as many Canadian stations have moved to FM and gone off the air on AM completely. At night here in NJ I can pick up 740 from Toronto, 860 from Montreal, and 900 from Hamilton, Ontario (although none use AM Stereo).
@vwestlife I get 740 in upstate NY, they sound great even though they don't do stereo. So many AM stations have ruined their analog signals by using IBOC, being the victims of IBOC, or compressing the signals too much before they are microwaved to the tower.
That sounds exceptionally good! I'm guessing that tuner was marketed all over the world, it's a rare unit in the US that indicates "MW" instead of AM.
The only time I have heard AM stereo broadcasting was when I bought a Sherwood car radio for a project. It was able to decode C-Quam broadcasts until it died. I now have a Sony FM/AM stereo car radio with cassette that I should test.
@uxwbill The same display board was likely used for different models around the world. I used to have a Sanyo bookshelf stereo system whose display said "MW" instead of "AM", and it also had indicators for "LW", "SW1", and "SW2" even though the American version had none of those bands available.
@vwestlife Yeah...wouldn't it have been nice to have at least the shortwave bands, though? So far as I know, there is not much of anything in the US that uses longwave broadcasting.
Somewhere around here there is a big Sanyo boombox with analog tuning for AM, FM and two or three short wave bands.
Damn I need a radio like that. I knew AM Stereo existed. But never realized it was still used. I figured like US RBDS it would be used only to 30% of it's full use.
@xmaddict Actually, RDS is used now a lot more than it was a decade ago. Most major market FM stations use RDS to display scrolling text and title/artist info.
That's pretty cool! I'm lucky to pick up any AM stations around here at all, haha. I don't get anything except on the car radio. On my Watchman I can hear a good dozen AM stations across the dial (including WINS 1010!), but none that come in clear enough to be worth listening to.
Here we have CFBC 930, which is oldies, as well as news.
AM Stereo--now THERE's something I haven't heard in close to thirty years. I think we had one station that used to transmit in it, but it shuttled itself into a talk format ages ago.
@wildbilltexas The Denon's "Narrow" bandwidth mode filters out the 10 kHz carrier whistle, but also reduces the treble response, so I left it in "Wide" mode for the best quality.
@WargMX I think its because the FCC couldn't decide on a Format. By the time a format for AM stereo was approved most music stations were long gone from AM and talk came along.
Is AM Stereo used still in America today? If so how many new radios can you buy that support AM stereo? I don't know if AM Stereo was ever used in Australia where I live, if it was it was before I was born.
@Lachlant1984 Not many new radios today support AM Stereo, but some do. AM Stereo was introduced in Australia in 1985 and was used widely until the late '90s. There are probably still some AM Stereo stations "Down Under."
@Lachlant1984 its still used in the US but not as much as it used to be. And yes AM stereo was available in Australia under the Motorola system only but I am not sure how many stations are using it still.
@Lachlant1984 Have a look at my video of 3MP Melbourne I recorded in 2004. It was fab to hear FM quality on AM. I think there are few AM STEREO stations still around down under
I've owned a Denon DRA-75VR reciever as the heart of my stereo system for over 30 years now, and the damn thing just won't quit. It sounds just as great today as the day I bought it.
musicmixerism1 1 month ago
Well, I'm amazed by the AM stereo sound. In fact I did not even know there was something like stereo on AM band. Also the quality in the US seems to be much better than in Europe (particularly Slovakia, Czech Republic, Hungary or Austria - as I can only receive stations from these countries), mainly the freq response is much wider. Oh, and also the station seems to broadcast much better music than any FM or AM station I can receive over the air. Also I love the lower compression than on FM.
AttilaSVK 2 months ago
TU-680NAB is by far an excellent AM Stereo tuner! I own 2 of them and they have been at the top of my selection, sited side to Carver TX11A's !!! These two are both the "how to" example for anyone that wanted to make real good AM receivers with the Stereo quality at MAXIMUM!!!
Thanks for uploading this video and recording!
Keep up the good job!!!
Sotiris...
am1098cquam 3 months ago
I like the seperation!!!
superarticulation 4 months ago
This has been flagged as spam show
AM Stereo.... Yeah,....it could be effectively possible in Brazil..but not.
vkplus100 4 months ago
Comment removed
vkplus100 4 months ago
The first time I heard AM stereo, i was impressed. The seperation seemed better. The audio seemed to come alive when you tune to and AM station. Switching from fm to fm stereo didn't make much differnce but switching from am mono to am stereo had more "wow" factor. We had 3 AM stereo stations during late 80's . WJDX 620 contemporary, WKKE 1180 Contemporary christian, WZRX 1590 which was Album Rock and later Z-rock heavy metal (if you can believe that) none are still stereo now.
patrick9648 7 months ago
That's interesting -- the station is in New Brunswick but has a US call?
Madness832 7 months ago
@Madness832 In this case, New Brunswick is a city in the state of New Jersey, USA... not to be confused with the Canadian province of New Brunswick!
vwestlife 7 months ago
Well it sounds a lot better than I expected.
Psythik 8 months ago
Thanks for uploading this. I'm not sure I've ever heard AM stereo before. I once lived in a market with a station that used this format, but I don't think I knew anyone with an AM stereo receiver. Also, I had read that HD radio had somehow replaced AM stereo, but that evidentally is not the case.
Teflon65 10 months ago
Do you have the matching amp?
raymondleeleggs 11 months ago
@raymondleeleggs No. Despite the aesthetics of having a matching set of components, I don't really need such a large and powerful amplifier as the Denon would be.
vwestlife 11 months ago
@vwestlife Oh ok. I was jus wondering, seince I am trying to build a matching system of my own, thats a good tuner though no plastic except the buttons and feet.
raymondleeleggs 11 months ago
The transition from mono to stereo around 3:45 is kinda awesome when listening over headphones
TheMattGosselin 1 year ago
You lucky. We have no am stereo stations in the state I live in and most of the big ones are sports talk or old worn out ones that are owned by churches that have no budget for maintaining them. I have seven am stereo radios and nothing to light up the stereo light.
midsouthexpress 1 year ago
This really doesn't sound that good
.
Maybe it's distortion from your recording method
.
harleykman 1 year ago
@harleykman It was recorded through the camcorder's microphone input. In real life, the stereo separation is better.
vwestlife 1 year ago
3:07 what song?
altonishibussuzu558 1 year ago
@altonishibussuzu558 Hitchin' A Ride -Vanity Faire
bratina501 1 year ago
@bratina501 Thank you!!!
altonishibussuzu558 1 year ago
Absolutely supurb! I hope that digital AM becomes history. Anolog AM is superior all the way and C-QUAM is the best.
ve7hlo 1 year ago
Very good sound quality. It's a shame C-QUAM isn't the widely used standard for AM, I think it would be a better choice over FM when you factor in the static you get while driving down the road..
layziebone2152 1 year ago
super cool !!
zero123rus 1 year ago
you want to swap for this tuner? i have tape decks cd players turntables receivers. I can send you a list.
lineartechbd1600 1 year ago
@lineartechbd1600 Sorry, I'm keeping this one. :-)
vwestlife 1 year ago
That is really decent quality C-Quam AM stereo. Of course AM HD can do stereo as well, but it's full of digital artifacts. Doesn't measure up to the great quality that analog AM stereo can offer. BTW be sure to check out this guy's posting of the Harris V-CPM stereo demo. Sweet!
century3horizons 1 year ago
I worked at a Denon dealer when this tuner was available new, and I remember trying to convince the other people working there that this tuner had something special.
Unfortunately HD radio has all but killed off AM stereo. AM-HD sounds great, but it's only in mono. HD has also had a very bad effect on the sound quality of the non-HD signal.
gotham61 1 year ago
They could stand to use a little less compression in my opinion.
MichaelJGrant 1 year ago
Interesting. My 1990 Nissan Maxima actually came with an AM stereo capable tuner (made by Clarion). The only stereo station I could find at the time (98-99ish) that I was 660 WFAN. I think they ceased stereo when HD Radio came out.
NJRoadfan 1 year ago
AM Stereo........not bad!
FeCr3 1 year ago
how much did you pay for that amp?
Yarach 1 year ago
@Yarach It's a tuner, not an amp.
vwestlife 1 year ago
@vwestlife woops, my fault. I have a Denon amplifier which looks almost the same XD
Yarach 1 year ago
You actually have AM stereo radio stations?
None over here, all mono and mainly talk/news or country music. Someone told me they tried to push AM stereo a long time ago but it failed horribly as everyone just went to FM.
TehMG 1 year ago
@TehMG You're in Canada? There are still some AM Stereo stations up there. Not that many anymore, as many Canadian stations have moved to FM and gone off the air on AM completely. At night here in NJ I can pick up 740 from Toronto, 860 from Montreal, and 900 from Hamilton, Ontario (although none use AM Stereo).
vwestlife 1 year ago
@vwestlife I get 740 in upstate NY, they sound great even though they don't do stereo. So many AM stations have ruined their analog signals by using IBOC, being the victims of IBOC, or compressing the signals too much before they are microwaved to the tower.
spunker88 1 year ago
That sounds exceptionally good! I'm guessing that tuner was marketed all over the world, it's a rare unit in the US that indicates "MW" instead of AM.
The only time I have heard AM stereo broadcasting was when I bought a Sherwood car radio for a project. It was able to decode C-Quam broadcasts until it died. I now have a Sony FM/AM stereo car radio with cassette that I should test.
uxwbill 1 year ago
@uxwbill The same display board was likely used for different models around the world. I used to have a Sanyo bookshelf stereo system whose display said "MW" instead of "AM", and it also had indicators for "LW", "SW1", and "SW2" even though the American version had none of those bands available.
vwestlife 1 year ago
@vwestlife Yeah...wouldn't it have been nice to have at least the shortwave bands, though? So far as I know, there is not much of anything in the US that uses longwave broadcasting.
Somewhere around here there is a big Sanyo boombox with analog tuning for AM, FM and two or three short wave bands.
uxwbill 1 year ago
this is great
brett54545 1 year ago
very impressive!
AccordionManiac 1 year ago
Damn I need a radio like that. I knew AM Stereo existed. But never realized it was still used. I figured like US RBDS it would be used only to 30% of it's full use.
xmaddict 1 year ago
@xmaddict Actually, RDS is used now a lot more than it was a decade ago. Most major market FM stations use RDS to display scrolling text and title/artist info.
vwestlife 1 year ago
@CSquire82 I know quite a few stations in Brazil broadcasted in AM Stereo at one time, but I don't know about the current status of it.
vwestlife 1 year ago
The radio in my dodge truck gets AM stereo. I remember AM 770 had it.
Fred924 1 year ago
I always wanted one of those Denun tuners... Awesome sound. :) JC
BadEditPro 1 year ago
That's pretty cool! I'm lucky to pick up any AM stations around here at all, haha. I don't get anything except on the car radio. On my Watchman I can hear a good dozen AM stations across the dial (including WINS 1010!), but none that come in clear enough to be worth listening to.
Here we have CFBC 930, which is oldies, as well as news.
themaritimeman 1 year ago
I need one of those lol, we have some AM stereo stations.
wilkes85 1 year ago
Wow! The sound quality is fantastic!
Mrtechguy94 1 year ago
nice song
MasterSnowstorm 1 year ago
nice find !!!!!
daewooparts 1 year ago
AM Stereo sounds awesome!!!!
thecooldude9999 1 year ago
AM Stereo--now THERE's something I haven't heard in close to thirty years. I think we had one station that used to transmit in it, but it shuttled itself into a talk format ages ago.
batterymaker 1 year ago
Very nice sound quality btw is there a way to filter out the AM ringing?
wildbilltexas 1 year ago
@wildbilltexas The Denon's "Narrow" bandwidth mode filters out the 10 kHz carrier whistle, but also reduces the treble response, so I left it in "Wide" mode for the best quality.
vwestlife 1 year ago
@wildbilltexas notch filter I would think, there are some to filter out 10 KHz only
bratina501 1 year ago
I wonder why AM stereo is so rare....
WargMX 1 year ago
@WargMX I think its because the FCC couldn't decide on a Format. By the time a format for AM stereo was approved most music stations were long gone from AM and talk came along.
robkb1fjr 1 year ago
Is AM Stereo used still in America today? If so how many new radios can you buy that support AM stereo? I don't know if AM Stereo was ever used in Australia where I live, if it was it was before I was born.
Lachlant1984 1 year ago
@Lachlant1984 Not many new radios today support AM Stereo, but some do. AM Stereo was introduced in Australia in 1985 and was used widely until the late '90s. There are probably still some AM Stereo stations "Down Under."
vwestlife 1 year ago
@Lachlant1984 its still used in the US but not as much as it used to be. And yes AM stereo was available in Australia under the Motorola system only but I am not sure how many stations are using it still.
bratina501 1 year ago
@Lachlant1984 Have a look at my video of 3MP Melbourne I recorded in 2004. It was fab to hear FM quality on AM. I think there are few AM STEREO stations still around down under
digitalmediafan 1 year ago
I've never experienced AM in stereo. Yours sounds really good. I'll post a video of mine sometime today or tomorrow.
badbob1983 1 year ago