At least in one case the inverse is true... The Sony ICF-2010 portable Shortwave receiver, which is noted for its high quality sync detection, uses nothing more sophisticated than a Motorola C-QUAM chip for sync detection. For several years my 2010 had a couple of shielded cables sticking out through the side of the battery cover for AM stereo reception (I did *not* drill holes in the fairly collectable piece ! )... Worked great!
http://users.hfx.eastlink.ca/~amstereo/sony2010.htm
jr