Very easy to install, no need for maintenance, decent reception.

None

I've used this antenna for several years, and i want to express that i'm completely satisfief with this antenna. It's my first antenna, and it'll be my last. But, there are a couple of things that you have to bear in mind when you are going to use it:
1, It might be possible that you are not satisfied when you use it indoors, next to walls and down to the floor etc. You won't receive many stations and the quality is maybe not so good.
2, Install it outside, on on the top of your roof, as high as possible, free of obstructions, and you won't believe your ears. Hight is indeed the key, and together with a decent tuner and sound system, you'll be very happy with this antenna.

Mine is installed already for 4 years on top of my roof. Whether it is snowing or raining, of when there is a storm blowing, this antenna keeps giving decent signals to feed my tuner.

I can recommend thiis omni antenna very much to anyone involved with quality FM reception.

Customer Service

I bought this antenna direct from Fanfare, and i want to add that it has been a real pleasure to work with Marv. This person does everything he can to satisfy his customers and gets easily 5 stars for service!

Similar Products Used:

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For the FM-2G..none. If you want the BEST omnidirectional results, buy a #15-2164 antenna from Radio Shack for $14.99. You may have to search, since it was in the 2003 catalog, but not the 2004. Put it in the attic, or better yet, up on a roof. A cheap way to go without getting involved with the more expensive Yagi setup and the needed rotor.(since a Yagi is directional) I have to say that the guys at Audio Dimensions at Woodward & 13.5 Mile took back the Fanfare without a problem and gave me a refund.

When a simple dipole antenna, stretched properly, can outperform a $95. 'state of the art'antenna, something is wrong!! I am sorry that the FM-2G doesn't work like some magazine reviewers would like you to believe. If you're into music, you know there are a lot of ways to waste money out there. Be careful.(especially on wire! Read the speaker wire story on www.roger-russell.com AMAZING!!!)

After reading all the info on the Fanfare website, and reviewing the literature they sent me a few years ago, I decided to get one and "hear" for myself how good this thing really is. I compared it to a Radio Shack "Omnidirectional" antenna, #15-2164, mounted in the attic of a 2 story house. Same exact location. Same coax. I took meter reading on my Modafarri modified McIntosh MR71 tuner for various stations, up & down the dial....some strong, some not, some local and some distant. ("distant" for me is about 70 miles to Lansing from my north of Detroit area) I then substituted the Fanfare and took the readings again. Across the dial, they were lower. I was amazed!! A $95. antenna getting whipped by a $14.99 crossed dipole!! I ran the test again. Same results.... Some of the strongest stations went from a 7.5 to a 7. Weaker ones went down from a 5.5 to a 4.4. Still further, weaker stations simply fell off my dial.(like Lansing) In NO CASE, did the FM-2G do better than The Shack antenna. I also compared a simple dipole hooked up to a McIntosh MAC1500 receiver. Same results, unfortunately, for the Fanfare.

Similar Products Used:

Simple dipole, mounted, and here is the key: CORRECTLY. Radio Shack #15-2164 antenna, omnidirectional for attic or roof mount.

1) Strength, what strength? Are you talking about the absent strength LED indication while using the ST-2 ? 2) My wife is happy

Only mine is to blame, because I believed that a smart guy could defy the physics laws ! Only outdoor directional antenna can provide strong and clean signal, period.

This review is for fanfare FM-2G, Magnum Dynalab ST-2 and Metz OEM model: Living in a flat in the nearby of Paris, I was looking for a better indoor performer than the given dipole antenna which is usually supplied in every tuner’s package. A friend of mind warmly recommended the equivalent (original making?) Metz AM/FM model which IMHO is actually the same reference as the Magnum Dynalab ST-2 and Fanfare FM2-G versions (have a look at Metz website), but at a cheaper price. I found myself rather sceptical while opening the packaging; it looks like a CB or Marine antenna that has been tailored (tweaked?) for FM reception, and the ugly/ utilitarian style combined with the rather bulky design (whip length) don’t integrate very well with a nice looking living room. OK, OK, you can hide it behind a curtain or furniture but at the expense of reception quality: in ST-2/ FM-2G manual it is clearly recommended to keep the antenna away from walls (a big challenge for an indoor antenna !), TV mast and any reflective vertical surface (so what is the mounting bracket for?) to avoid the ST-2/ FM-2G becoming directional. So here we start the painstaking process to find out the right antenna location which would combine the best FM reception with the famous Woman Acceptance Factor. But let’s start with the reception quality first; as my tuner provides two FM antenna inputs, I could plug the ST-2/ FM-2G in direct comparison with the cheapo dipole antenna which hangs along the wall. After scanning across the FM band and searching the best ST-2/ FM-2G locations & positions everywhere in the room (my wife was outside for shopping ) during a whole afternoon, I came up to the bitter conclusion; my dipole is better and not only by a small margin! Not only the strength meter indicated 3 more LED’s with the dipole than with the ST-2, but it also provided a far cleaner sound with less hiss and noise. Even worse, with the ST-2/ FM-2G some radio stations (usually strong and good )could’nt tune in stereo, or simply kept muted ! I couldn’t believe my dirty $2 dipole could beat the 60 $ “state of the art” passive FM antenna, so I double-checked again and again all connectors, coaxial cable, locations etc…. with no success . The ST-2/ FM-2G simply doesn’t make it.

Similar Products Used:

cheapo dipole and various indoor active antennas

Relatively cheaper than the comparable products. Good reception

Not that fancy looking

In Hong Kong, we have all the high buildings and have the same reception problems as in other metropolitans. I bought this antenna through the Web and it costs around HK$800, which is good value compared to other brand name. The similar product of Dynalab sells for HKD1,200 and as I hear, the reception ability is poorer than the Fanfare antenna I bought. With the Fanfare, not only do you get clearer music, you get more texture as well as much better higher frequencies, as well.

As I always said in these reviews, the invention of the Internet is a great thing in Millennium as we can source for the best product worldwide, and at a much lower price too, as the middel distributor layer is removed. Guys in Hong Kong, try this one and save yourself money from spending on the more expensive Dynalab antenna sold in 18/F., the building I forgot (but I remember they sell ARC as well as CJ valve amplifiers too, other than the Dynalab FM receivers) in Mongkok!

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Magnum Dynalab of Canada antenna

Makes reception maximum, Signal level allways max.

background noise, terrible background sound

I like radio very much. When I read this miracle antenna, it got me very excited. Because after I purchased it my radio problem should have been solved. But when I connect the cable to the antenna week stations disappeared. When
I disconnect the cable from antenna and hold the end of cable up week stations appeared. It was interesting.
Some strong channels were sounding with very noisy background. The firm technicians were very kind. And they said to me to buy expensive tuner.
So this antenna maybe works very good in rural or far from the city areas.
Because of the radio wawes are horisontal you must use horisontal antennas.
Someone told "antenna attenuator" someone told "RFI filter"
but all thing which I purchased stay with FM-2G in wardrobe.

My radios
Onkyo T-4511
Nakamichi ST-3s
NAD C440 etc.

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ordinary transvers 2 aluminium rots (no name, 75 ohm, 5$)
perfect reception

construction, good looks

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Upon opening the package, I was inpressed at the excellent workmanship tha went into the final product. The FM-2G was then tested by connecting it to a Fanfare FT1A tuner, a Nachimichi TA1A reciever (quartz synthesized tuner - digital), and a Marantz 2238B reciever (all analog unit circa 1978. The antenna was tested on the 1st floor of a 2 floor wooden house. There were no sources of RF interferance nearby (such as transmiter towers, electric motors, cellular phone, etc.)

Taken by itself, the FM2G worked fine with all the tuners. Unfortunately, it did not work any better than the simple loose wire dipole I had been using previously. Byram CT has a fairly busy radio spectrum, with a good selection of stations across the dial. When I compared signal strength readings on strong and faint stations across the band, I noticed that the FM2G had slightly stronger reception in the lower frequencies, and weaker in the higher, compared to the dipole I was using. Not all stations showed a difference. The signal strength meter was calibrated 0 to 5, the difference in reading was .125 higher for the lower frequencies, .2 to .1 low on the higher.

The antennas under test were tested for recetion for both vertical and horizontal polarization. didn't notice any significant difference.

I was not able to test the antenna in a bad multipath situation, where other reviews had. I believe that, because of the type of antenna, the FM-2G might outperform a simple dipole. I would be curious to find out if the people who have this reception problem tried mounting the dipole vertically.

Similar Products Used:

variety of dipoles (radio shack and others), roof mounted mutli-element dipole, long wire asymetrical

Simply the best indoor antenna

Living in a rural area I have tried over 20 room antennas from various manufacturers (including amplified ones and AudioPrism’s phase array model), and Fanfare’s antenna was the best. The only antenna that works better is a 12-feet Yagi on the roof.

Of course for some ears nothing is as good as RCA indoor 'rabbit ear'...

Similar Products Used:

See review

Relatively small size, gain

What a great, essential product!

This "whip" antenna with integrated coil has excellent gain, and in the Multipath Hills of San Francisco provides oftentimes a better all-around signal than my rooftop antenna.

If you listen to FM at all, you've gotta try this. Beats a length of 300ohm cable as your antenna by a mile, and can be installed indoors with the gain of an outdoor dipole!

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Rooftop dipoles

Used with: Fanfare FM FT-1; Creek T43; Parasound T/DQ-1600
Drawbacks:
1.) You might not be able to mount this thing properly, due to your walls, furniture, windows, humidity, etc.
2.) After you mount the antenna, you might find that another location would have been better for some, but not all, stations. That's the way it is with radio reception, I'm afraid.

If you are unable to use a rooftop antenna, the FM-2G might work for you. It is not amplified, so you don't have to plug it in. In my area, stations' signals are strong enough, so I don't need a signal amplifier, and all its attendant problems.

Since this thing is a whip antenna, it doesn't take up precious space. On the other hand, it can look dorky, hanging on your wall.

Still, this thing works. It simply allows my tuner(s) to work more effectively. Yep, that means my tuner sounds better, also. When reception is bad, you know it. You can pick out what the static sounds like, and what part of the soundstage it's affecting. But hey, don't go blaming the antenna!

Yes, I have tried different F-type cables. I didn't hear much, if any, difference. So the good news is, you don't have to spend gazillion dollars on a coax cable. Cool!

In audio, $85 doesn't get you much. $85 won't even get you those Black Diamond Racing The Pits Mk. 4 I raved about. Hell, I can't take my little cousins to a ballgame on an $85 budget. But in the case of the FM-2G, $85 dollars gets you better reception and better sound. Folks, I can't think of many other ways to get so much out of $85. Way recommended.

Convienent Size

Sensitive to location

I got this antenna with a Fanfare FT-1A tuner. The construction of the unit is nice, quite sturdy. Its also very compact. When it was indoors I wasn't really impressed witht he quality of my FM. When it went outdoors things weren't much better until I mounted it above the eaves. Its seem that to get this thing working its best you really have to mount it high, in an area free from obstructions so it can receive from all sides. Its not what most of us want to hear, but some laws just are. If you want good clean distortion-free deep bass the loudspeaker has to move a lot of air and this entails a large driver and and an enclosure of a corresponding size. And if you want the system to play loud and clean, you need alot of power (go away SET/horn aficiandos). And if you want the best FM reception possible the antenna has to be mounted high and outside. No way around it. Which leaves me only to recommend this antenna for apartments. If you have a house I would go yagi style. If your going to go through all the trouble of running shielded cable and mounting outside and atop a mast you might was well put one of those spidery things out there instead. And this little unit costs almost as much as a yagi style.


Its an ok antenna I guess, but I'm not too thrilled with it, yet.

System
Van Alstine electronics (pre, pwr, dac)
Parasound CD transport
Fanfare Tuner
stock cables
good rack and stand
good acoustic treatment

Similar Products Used:

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