digital radio

[guydarryl]

I listen to BBC radio 4 extra on my DAB alarm clock before dropping off to sleep, I have also heard that BBC radio 6 does some good stuff.

Any recommendations for a DAB tuner for my main system? or would one of those Raspberry pi things (that keep on getting mentioned) do the job?

[wallace]

I had a Denon TU1800 for a couple of years,worked very well i thought.I only sold it when i got a squeezebox touch.Wish i had kept it now as the beeb keeps mucking about with what it puts on windows media at the moment.....i have to keep finding stuff all the time

[Dr Bunsen Honeydew]

For hifi it has to be FM, digital is just not up to it. FM tuners go for peanuts at eBay.

[wallace]

For hifi it has to be FM

Aw,c'mon Doc he is listening to radio 4 and 6,not 3 !!Dab is plenty good enough for woman's hour...

[_D_S_J_R_]

The current FM transmissions from the Beeb are apparently the same sonically compressed and mangled DAB feeds, just put through an FM encoder. The days of world-class FM broadcasts in the UK are long over I fear and FM adds loads of midrange harmonic distortion anyway (a sort of 'bloom' to the lower midrange) that is nice to listen to but a side-effect of the FM system (a good article in HFN explained it all at the time, as well as lamenting the under-streamed DAB service we've been inflicted with).

You know, internet radio is apparently far better and I remember catching up on a Radio 2 show last year (Brian Johnson rock show) via the internet and thought the sound was superb.

Sorry to knock FM, but in the UK it's awful now and nothing like it was in the 70's, when even radio 1 was good sounding on occasion The powers that be can't improve DAB to the apparently far superior DAB+ because it would render all current digital radios obsolete...

[Dr Bunsen Honeydew]

Hmm! yep suppose so, it just FM tuners can be bought for a couple of squids at the moment, best musical value on eBay.

I just wish I had the room or could put up with the faff (which I haven't / can't with either at the moment) as the #2 best value is reel to reel tape recorders, they can be musically epic!!!!!! Though cassette always has been, and remains, crap

[_D_S_J_R_]

Rotel 930AX tuner in local Cash Converters for TWELVE QUID!!!

[slinger]

The simple answer is to get a combined DAB/FM tuner, like I did. I'm assuming that as you listen to DAB on your alarm clock you're getting a very good signal. If so a simple ribbon aerial would suffice for the DAB side of things and hopefully the same would apply for FM.

I've got a little TEAC TH300 in the living room and a Sony ST-SDB900 in my main system. Both work perfectly. One thing I would advise - If it's supposed to have a remote make sure it COMES with a remote. Some of them can be really fiddly to set up and operate without one.

[guydarryl]

Hmm! yep suppose so, it just FM tuners can be bought for a couple of squids at the moment, best musical value on eBay.

I just wish I had the room or could put with the faff (which I haven't / can't with either at the moment) as the #2 best value is reel to reel tape recorders, they can be musically epic!!!!!! Though cassette always has been, and remains, crap

I have a couple of Denon TU 260L tuners - one for kitchen/dining room system (Rega Kytes and Nait 3) sounds great while cooking,
other with main system in living room (Rega Ela, NVA P50/A40's etc).

Both bought from ebay quite a few years ago (£15 and £10 approx. )

However, it is the range of service on digital that appeals and future proofing - its been in the news again recently that the government feels that we are close enough to target "take up" of digital radio to go ahead with turning off FM (a bit of a fix because most of the Digital radios sold are either alarm clocks or as part of car systems!).

[jammy395]

I listen to BBC radio 4 extra on my DAB alarm clock before dropping off to sleep..........Better than a big mug of Horlicks.
I have also heard that BBC radio 6 does some good stuff..........Better than 6 Nytol.

FM and a good ariel Guy.......