DAB radio under £15. DAB Alarm clock under £20
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I use an INTERNET wireless radio which is the future in home solution in my op.
I can always get excellent reception and a good sound plus thousands of stations to choose from worldwide.We are the change we wish to see.0 -
There are some other pros that come with these cons.MSE_Lawrence wrote: »Cons- Sound quality.
If you have a good reception FM tends to offer higher quality sound than DAB as most UK DAB stations broadcast a low (128kbps) bitrate signal. FM transmitters broadcast 'transparently', meaning that if you were to get perfect reception (which is nigh on impossible), you'd hear exactly what was coming out of the studio.
Yet if the station you listen to is usually on Medium Wave (e.g. BBC Radio 5) the reception should be much improved.
- FM's healthy.
Unlike analogue TV, FM radio signals aren't on their way out just yet; in fact, FM broadcasts aren't even up for review until 2012, and it'll be a fair few years after that before they'll be stopped. Some sets support both FM and DAB to give you the best of both.
- New DAB?
There's a new DAB+ format in the pipeline, which isn't backwards compatible with the current one, meaning it may become obsolete.
Devout optimists claim it'll come out in three years time, but judging by DAB's slow ascendancy and take-up, it'll probably take a whole lot longer.
- Station closures.
GCap, the commercial radio operator, has just pulled two of its DAB stations, stating that DAB 'was not an economically viable growth platform' for it.
However, this doesn't really spell the end of the format as a whole as some doom-mongerers have decided. The BBC and Channel 4 amongst others are strongly investing in the DAB format.
- The sets are much cheaper, owing in part to the recent bad press that the format has been getting.
- Reception can be a little better in some lower signal areas (It can be worse too however. It's just luck I suppose).
- It should survive for a couple more years yet. By then you'll be looking to buy a new one anyway.
- With a few stations going, there is room for a couple more to come on board.
0 - Sound quality.
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Niftythrifty wrote: »Don't digital radios use more electricity?
YES!!! I can't believe no-one has mentioned this already - apparently i read it's up to TWELVE TIMES the amount of electricity....Can anyone confirm this -I read it in the guardian a few months ago ?...if true, you can imagine the amount of batteries they go through, let alone mains power - not very good for the environment let alone your pocket!!
Anyone have more information? We have a digital radio but I feel pretty reluctant to use it since reading the Guardian article.....0 -
MSE_Lawrence wrote: »FM tends to offer higher quality sound than DAB as most UK DAB stations broadcast a low (128kbps) bitrate signal. FM transmitters broadcast 'transparently', meaning that if you were to get perfect reception (which is nigh on impossible), you'd hear exactly what was coming out of the studio.
Speaking as an ex-BBC audio engineer, I'm always puzzled by the assertion that analogue FM inherently 'sounds better' than DAB.
The analogue FM system requires that all high frequencies above 15kHz are removed (so you lose the subtlety of cymbals, glockenspiels, etc.) and certainly when I used to work for Auntie, the signal-to-noise ratio of the FM signal was a stunning 15dB (that is, the signal is only 15dB louder than the unwanted noise, such as hiss).
By comparison, the MP2 signal sent via DAB has no high-frequency filtering, and the signal-to-noise ratio can easily be 60dB or more (that's nine times better, not four times, for any non-techies
). Sure, the 128kbps streaming rate may not result in exactly as good a sound as from CD, but the vast majority of people simply can't hear any difference, despite what MP3 'snobs' claim.
Secondly, whilst FM exciters (correct name for transmitters) are 'transparent' in the sense that they neither add nor subtract anything from the signal presented to them, that signal invariably goes through one or more audio enhancement processors on its journey from studio to exciter, otherwise the signal would sound very weedy and MUCH noisier. So it it not correct to say that it is possible to hear 'exactly what was coming out of the studio' unless you mean the enhanced/rocessed version after it has travelled through the widgets post-studio.
Also remember that nowadays, many radio stations use 128kbps MP3 files to store music on their studio playout systems, so logically you'll never hear better than that 128kbps MP3 quality regardless of the transmission medium (DAB or FM)!
My personal opinion is that DAB—whenever I've heard it, anyway—delivers much better sound quality than analogue FM transmissions. Obviously, the internal amplifier and speaker in a £15 unit is unlikely to sound wonderful; but equally, I've always wondered why 'Pure' brand DAB radios have such a good reputation when their built-in speakers and amps don't exactly fall into the 'audiophile' category either (in my personal opinion).
Just my two-penn'orth.
No need to call out a lynch mob!
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BFN
CAD0 -
martynelmy wrote: »Well said, it has to be better than trying to listen to football on Radio 5Live or Talksport after dark. Out in the semi-sticks reception on MW is dreadful. Virgin on 1215 AM is pathetic so DAB has got to be worth a try.
There is a way around this on more expensive radios but the manufacturers choose not to implement it on cheaper sets - it's called synchronous detection. You can still obtain Sony sets that have this built in. SW-100 and ICF-SW7600GR should still be available.
Virgin have local relays in some places that require a re-tune, for example Nottingham uses 1197 and Sheffield 1242.
Anyone remember Radio Luxembourg? Just broke, even.0 -
I've just bought the OH an Acoustic Solutions stereo FM/DAB set from Argos for £30 (got £5 off with Nectar pts) and it's lovely! Really attractive in wooden casing, with alarm function and the sound quality is fantastic. It's obviously a design rip off of the old Pure (Evoke?) wooden sets that first came out but they cost about 3 times as much back then! The only slight drawback is the huge amount of light pollution it emits from its screen when I'm trying to sleep...'In penguins and pearls we'll drink and we'll dance, 'til the end of our days, 'cause it ain't left to chance that we win...'0
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There is a way around this on more expensive radios but the manufacturers choose not to implement it on cheaper sets - it's called synchronous detection. You can still obtain Sony sets that have this built in. SW-100 and ICF-SW7600GR should still be available.
Virgin have local relays in some places that require a re-tune, for example Nottingham uses 1197 and Sheffield 1242.
Anyone remember Radio Luxembourg?
Aye Radio lux was one of my favs
I finally got around to but one today, and agree tha tuning conrols and setup are confusing so I grabbed the manual and that aint much better either. I got there in the end anyhow :rolleyes:
If there's a headphone socket, will it be mono output only?
The sound was pretty good I thought for £15. It's not gonna be cutting edge, and if it's gonna be phased out there ain't much point in getter a better one.0 -
Well I for one am a happy bunny! I went to Tesco and bought one this afternoon and for the first time in years, I can listen to Radio 4. FM reception in my area is dire - anyone who has found themselves waving the end of an FM aeriel around in a vain attempt to hear the end of an interview/news item or whatever will know exactly what I mean.
Thanks, Martin, for the tip. This remains my favourite website on the net!My message to that greedy wunch of bankers:
Debts another fine mess you got us into!
If you see somone who hasn't got a smile, give them one of yours.0 -
Niftythrifty wrote: »Don't digital radios use more electricity?
I think some of the posts already give a general feeling that DAB requires a little more sophisticated hardware than an FM radio, basically because the broadcast is digital rather than analog but there's a lot more to it than that. Thus most of the time it requires more electricity to process.
However, take a look at this page on the Pure website that gives you some info on what they're doing to change all that.
As for the Pure Siesta DAB radio, I have one in my office and use the headphones connection to my amplifier and speakers. Not an 'audiophile' approach; works quite cleanly but not noiseless, certainly very good for every day use with the added bonus of a clock/alarm with auto-dimming display (excellent at night). Stand alone radio from the built-in speaker is mind blowingly good - it's not ever going to compete with my amp/speakers, but for what it is, it's amazing! At £50 it's going to be beyond most people's budgets, but it's a premium brand with innovate features. I personally think if you can stretch to it, it's worth it.0 -
I was about to get annoyed that a thread about where to buy a cheap radio had degenerated into the tired DAB v FM debate, but Cad has contributed something new and interesting to the topic so thanks for that.
I bought a Pure DAB clock radio last year and quickly realised that it was pointless. The speakers are nothing special and unless there's analogue interference or digital drop-out I often forget whether it's switched to FM or DAB. Frankly it sounds no better than the Asda special clock radio that it replaced. It also cost about four times as much. Admittedly it has a line-in and plays MP3s from a CD, which are features that its predecessor lacked.
I listen mostly to Radio 4, but wanted a DAB radio because I thought there were programmes on BBC7 that I was missing out on. In practice, I found that there was rarely anything of interest when I happened to be listening.
I later bought an internet radio, which has turned out to be a much better buy. Sound quality is merely adequate as most of the BBC streams are 64kbps RealPlayer. However, it can be used for the 'listen again' stuff on the BBC web site. One nice feature is the ability to choose favourite stations or podcasts on the Reciva web site which then magically appear as a 'My Stuff' menu on the radio. I listen to a lot of BBC7 now but get to choose the programmes when I want them.
If anyone's interested in getting an internet radio, Reciva.com will give you a good indication of what's available.
One final point for insomniac listeners to Radio 4, which switches to the BBC World Service after closedown. Radio 4 on DAB is often used for schools programmes in the early hours of the morning. You have to retune to FM or the World Service proper (which is available separately on DAB) to avoid this.0
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