Internet radio.. is it the same as the tune in radio app..

another_casualty

..or something much better?

I have apple products / hi fi budget seperates / Bluetooth speakers/ Bluetooth soundstage even.
I've seen various all in one systems offering ' internet radio' .
Is it worth buying one of these,or a mini hi fi that has internet radio?

Please advise

Thanks

Dave_Donaldson

I too have bluetooth speakers, and just use bluetooth to pipe internet radio to them via a tablet using a similar app.
I also have a Pure Evoke which costs almost £200 yet the sound is not as good as from the bluetooth system, as I can take advantage of the deep bass from the sub-woofer, and it's much more convenient to use.

SouthUKMan

An all in one device with built in internet radio strikes me as a little more appealing. HOWEVER if you already have a decent Bluetooth speaker setup then using a radio app on a smartphone or tablet would be a genuine money saving alternative.

another_casualty

Thanks chaps
It's amazing how much technology has moved so fast in a short time.
You may have seen one of my previous posts on the in my home thread.
I was gonna by a ruark radiogram , but couldn't justify the cost .
There are others, which are similar that say ' internet radio'.
However, nobody seems to explain it fully .
Even a google search doesn't seem to explain it well.

I haven't a tuner . I used to have one many moons ago.
Most of those internet radios look like kitchen radios .
Regarding the all in one systems like marantz/ demon etc ; it's nice that they chuck it in for free, but it could be explained better.

Just for informations sake : I'm moving into new flat. I have a fairly good seperates system from the '80s for the living room.
I bought a sound bar , which will now be used with the tv in the bedroom.
The bookshelf speakers I have, will be used in the living room. Etc.
I won't get too anorakey, so I'll leave it there for now

DCFC79

I have a radio that has DAB plus the option to listen to internet radio, can store 10 presets and looks like a kitchen radio.

Its easily portable, it will also play music stored on the PC but obviously it needs to be on.

Norman_Castle

another_casualty wrote: »

There are others, which are similar that say ' internet radio'.
However, nobody seems to explain it fully .
Even a google search doesn't seem to explain it well.

Internet radios gives you access to 30,000+ radio stations. Many radio stations are available on FM, DAB and the internet. FM and DAB signals only travel a limited distance but the internet is global. There are also radio stations which are only available online. The bit rate can also be higher than DAB giving better quality.
Using an internet radio through your hi fi is an option. I suspect a pc or similar could be connected to a hi fi to be used as an internet tuner.

SouthUKMan

Another quick thought, after a couple of years or so (roughly speaking!) hardware manufacturers tend to drop support for their products. In the case of internet hifi, this could mean no longer updating the firmware which could in future limit you to accessing newer streaming formats, etc. Where as software is constantly being updated and is easy (and in most cases) free to update. If money is a consideration, I really would go the 'app' route. Use your smart phone or tablet (or you could buy a dedicated iPod for this purpose and install a radio app) and use it to connect to your speaker system via Bluetooth.

[Deleted User]

Norman_Castle wrote: »

Internet radios gives you access to 30,000+ radio stations.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Paradox-Choice-More-Less-P-S/dp/0060005696/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1495183307&sr=8-1&keywords=paradox+of+choice

DavidP24

I think it IS worth considering Internet Radio, look at Roberts and Pure for sure.

What you can't beat them for is portability, although I imagine they have been hit by App players a bit.

Still I always found the Pure Evoke Flow had a punchy sound, I think it is like Beats headphones; you either love or hate the sound, batteries were a rip off £40 and they did a second speaker.

They did DAB, could grab podcasts and of course radio over wifi as well as FM, so if radio is your thing and you want to take it with you then hard to beat for flexibility where there is no wifi or bluetooth you still have FM & DAB.

They had an online application for your PC, I could never get on with it, dumped it on first use.

You can pick them up on eBay and they hold their value so you can always sell them back on eBay for similar money.

DavidP24

Norman_Castle wrote: »

Internet radios gives you access to 30,000+ radio stations. Many radio stations are available on FM, DAB and the internet. FM and DAB signals only travel a limited distance but the internet is global. There are also radio stations which are only available online. The bit rate can also be higher than DAB giving better quality.
Using an internet radio through your hi fi is an option. I suspect a pc or similar could be connected to a hi fi to be used as an internet tuner.

That is true, while in LA I heard a great radio channel, always seemed to have great music playing.

Sure enough it was there and I was able to add it to presets and listen once in a while.

You can also hear the crazy US talk radio shows that shock

DavidP24

SouthUKMan wrote: »

Another quick thought, after a couple of years or so (roughly speaking!) hardware manufacturers tend to drop support for their products. In the case of internet hifi, this could mean no longer updating the firmware which could in future limit you to accessing newer streaming formats, etc. Where as software is constantly being updated and is easy (and in most cases) free to update. If money is a consideration, I really would go the 'app' route. Use your smart phone or tablet (or you could buy a dedicated iPod for this purpose and install a radio app) and use it to connect to your speaker system via Bluetooth.

I would not worry about the firmware as such, reading the AV Forums site they seem to be based on open source so in theory you could demand source under licensing terms.

My concern were the posts that said every Pure Radio was dependent on Pure Servers, so when the servers went down the radio became a brick. We have seen so many companies come and go, this would be a concern for me.

I would look at Roberts Radio and see if they have same issue and buy them in future.

I also did not like the huge prices Pure charged when their screens died or other parts failed.

Always being happy to open up any device I was shocked at how sloppy the manufacture is, stuff is glued into place so not easy for component swapout.