DAB Radios now available at Argos (in store) for under £20, but be quick!

Robin_T_Cox

Another problem is that many of these cheap DAB sets are only mono. What's the point of buying a mono DAB set to replace a stereo FM one?

Simple. If you plug your cheap DAB set into your hi-fi via the AUX ports, as in the case of the Alba DAB radio, you can get really excellent stereo radio on your hi-fi system.

And, your DAB radio doubles as a portable FM stereo.

What more do you want?

bluebridge_2

Robin_T_Cox wrote: »

Simple. If you plug your cheap DAB set into your hi-fi via the AUX ports, as in the case of the Alba DAB radio, you can get really excellent stereo radio on your hi-fi system.

And, your DAB radio doubles as a portable FM stereo.

I'm not clear what you're saying. Do you mean you play the unit's FM radio back through your Hi-fi or its DAB radio?

Because... DAB as a portable radio - fine.
But DAB as a Hi-fi tuner - most definitely not fine.

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?p=6466783&posted=1#post6466783

And anyway, Radio 7 (to name but one station), despite a mass of stereo content, is transmitted in mono only on DAB (though not on satellite and Freeview).

L.S.D.

But DAB as a Hi-fi tuner - most definitely not fine.

Definitely fine. If people want Top notch Hi Fi they will spend £2000-00 plus on it, but for the vast majority the sound is fine & clear. I also remember the argument many years ago that FM was NOT hi fi quality, & to my knowledge it hasn't improved since.

Also why just come on these forums against DAB. Come on when people post about ANY sound system, as 99.9 % will not be full frequency Hi Fi.

I don't see you coming on when an am/fm radio etc, etc, is posted cheap, as they also won't be able to produce top notch sound.

Give us a break & leave DAB alone. It may not be perfect (what is) but it's damn good for what it does.

King_Drax_I

Remember that to most people, a radio is just something in the background to break up the silence. They're not really listening to it; only proper musicians, Radio 4 listeners, or hi-fi afficionados *really* listen to radios.

So for the majority, I doubt sound quality will be an issue. You'd be surprised at the rubbishy signals tolerated by the people I work with.

bluebridge_2

L.S.D. wrote: »

Also why just come on these forums against DAB.

Why not? Is that immoral or something?
Actually, the reason is pretty mundane - I've only just joined MSE. Who knows what contribution I may be able to make in the future.
Nevertheless, this is a topic I feel passionately about. And as I said in my first post, it was Martin's unfortunate statement that DAB received 'stations with arguably higher quality' that has fuelled this thread.

Definitely fine. If people want Top notch Hi Fi they will spend £2000-00 plus on it, but for the vast majority the sound is fine & clear.

You don't need top-notch hi-fi to hear the difference between FM and DAB. My amplifier is over 30 years old, and I built it myself for under £30.

I also remember the argument many years ago that FM was NOT hi fi quality, & to my knowledge it hasn't improved since.

By today's CD quality standards (not to mention DVD-audio standards), you're right. FM has a high frequency cut-off at 15kHz. It is still, nevertheless, better than DAB as currently implemented.
Had they chosen to broadcast DAB with a bit rate of 256 kbits/s (as the BBC does for the sound track of its digital TV programmes), I would have had no complaints. Using a lower bit rate is like using a higher compression rate (to reduce file space) when saving your jpeg photographs. And the effect is very similar, a sort of pixellation of the sound.

Give us a break & leave DAB alone. It may not be perfect (what is) but it's damn good for what it does.

Again as I said in my original post, I'm not against the DAB standard for portable radio. What I have been against since I bought my first DAB set was the 'talking up' of DAB quality by some broadcasters and marketing people. (When the tag 'CD-quality' was banned by the ASA we got 'near CD-quality', and then when that was banned we got 'crystal clear sound', which was also then banned at the end of 2005.)

If you're happy with your DAB radio(s), then great. There's nothing I could say, or would want to say, to spoil your happiness.
But what I want - and the reason why I spend time writing submissions like this - is to try to ensure that when the analogue FM transmissions are switched off they are replaced with something that is as good or better, not worse, than FM.

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?p=6466783&posted=1#post6466783

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/mbradio3/F2989795?thread=1784619

roddydogs

Daisy_Bell wrote: »

Also, if you listen to radio on your TV, you're going to be putting a lot of unnecessary wear and tear on your telly screen as well! :think:

A lot of freeview boxes have audio output you can feed a hi fi with Aux input, dont need the telly on.

L.S.D.

If anyone finds the Sony XDRS 50 at a good price please let me know. It is mostly at £49-99. I have seen it at a few pounds less but postage put's it back up again. It is DAB only. I want a small set with hard presets, & sleep timer, I don't mind if 'Hissy' fm is on it as well. (just joking )

Gordon861

hander wrote: »

Apologies if that has already been said (this is a long thread) but since I bought my wifi radios, I barely use Dab any longer - and Curry's are currently selling a Logik IR100 Wifi radio for 40 of your eeeeenglish pounds!

I bought one of these from PCWorrld after seeing them mentioned here. It took ages to find it in the store, it was in the speakers section in the end.

I took it home, switched it on and was up and running in 5mins.

Sound quality is actually very good, better than my existing clock radio.

Daisy_Bell

roddydogs wrote: »

A lot of freeview boxes have audio output you can feed a hi fi with Aux input, dont need the telly on.

Haven't got a Freeview Box - just an old-type NTL (Virgin) box for cable TV. No audio output I don't think. I once tried taping a serial I was following on DAB radio because it was on One Word, which doesn't have a 'Listen Again' facility like BBC7. I recorded it on a video tape! There was an almost black screen all the way through when I listened to the recording. Is this putting wear on the telly screen or not?

DJLarcombe

Hi all,

Was just wondering if anyone has tried a DAB car radio, as my AM reception in the car is awful! Wondering if a DAB radio is worth investing in as a friend said they were not worth the money.

Particularly interested in Radio 5 Live reception.

Regards,

Dave.