Which radio separate ?
Discussion
One of the cheapest options has to be a Amazon Echo plugged into the amp using a 3.5mm jack to phono cable. That will connect to the internet via your WiFi and you just speak to it to play whatever radio station you want as long as it is on tunein: https://tunein.com/radio/UK-National-c459441/
The quality is ok, not as good as a high end FM radio separate hooked up to a roof FM antenna or similar when listening to Radio 3 but most people won't be able to tell the difference with your average DAB stream.
If you want something a bit more HiFi then any of the big boy streamers should support tunein: https://www.cambridgeaudio.com/gbr/en/products/cx/...
but they are a lot more money. Unless you are going to subscribe to a lossless music streaming service or stream a local lossless collection that you have ripped from vinyl/cds I think they are a bit of waste for internet radio use only.
The quality is ok, not as good as a high end FM radio separate hooked up to a roof FM antenna or similar when listening to Radio 3 but most people won't be able to tell the difference with your average DAB stream.
If you want something a bit more HiFi then any of the big boy streamers should support tunein: https://www.cambridgeaudio.com/gbr/en/products/cx/...
but they are a lot more money. Unless you are going to subscribe to a lossless music streaming service or stream a local lossless collection that you have ripped from vinyl/cds I think they are a bit of waste for internet radio use only.
I would buy something from the Pure range and use it's audio outputs or other connectivity to connect to the hifi. Once you need to peel yourself away from it, take the digital radio with you - as long as there's mains power, you've got music. No dependency on an internet connection, wifi, docking station, etc etc.
In my opinion, radio never was or will be a 'premium' quality sound and digital is the same - limited by bandwidth, compression artifacts, etc etc, so spending a lot on a radio separate is, IMHO, a bit of a waste seeing as it needs to be permanently hooked up to the rest of the system.
In my opinion, radio never was or will be a 'premium' quality sound and digital is the same - limited by bandwidth, compression artifacts, etc etc, so spending a lot on a radio separate is, IMHO, a bit of a waste seeing as it needs to be permanently hooked up to the rest of the system.
Sparkov said:
Google Chromecast Audio is even cheaper.
I'd take a digital stream over FM any day.
Needs controlling via a smart phone though unless I am missing something? Once the echo is setup you can do everything via voice without the need for a phone.I'd take a digital stream over FM any day.
I hate DAB with a passion, most radio stations including the BBC are broadcast at a pathetic bitrate to save cost/increase the number of stations: https://www.astra2sat.com/radio/uk-digital-radio-b...
A high end FM separate with a proper aerial (in other words a good quality signal via a good quality system) should always sound better than DAB, particularly for something like Radio 3 that used to be broadcast at its best in the evening.
The Cambridge Audio SM6 comes up on eBay for around £200 and offers way more than ‘just’ internet radio.
Connect wirelessly to your router and choose from thousands of stations including everything available on FM and DAB.
Comes with an excellent DAC that could very well improve cd sound too.
Connect wirelessly to your router and choose from thousands of stations including everything available on FM and DAB.
Comes with an excellent DAC that could very well improve cd sound too.
Sparkov said:
Google Chromecast Audio is even cheaper.
I'd take a digital stream over FM any day.
Chromecast is a great product but is there a reason why do you prefer digital streams over FM ? Is it just the convenience? The majority of digital streams sound poor at best, even for background listening, certainly way behind any half reasonable FM tuner. This of course depends on whether the user can be bothered to sort out a decent signal for the FM tuner though. The best FM tuners approach master tape levels of fidelity. imho of course.I'd take a digital stream over FM any day.
Crackie said:
Chromecast is a great product but is there a reason why do you prefer digital streams over FM ? Is it just the convenience? The majority of digital streams sound poor at best, even for background listening, certainly way behind any half reasonable FM tuner. This of course depends on whether the user can be bothered to sort out a decent signal for the FM tuner though. The best FM tuners approach master tape levels of fidelity. imho of course.
Crackie, I beg to differ with you on the streams - Radio Paradise do a high quality "Naim Exclusive" (but it isn't) 320kbps stream.The BBC also do 'HLS' streams which are really high quality, however not all software players support HLS streams yet.
It's DAB that's so awful - I performed some very basic measurements on a DAB stream in this thread which demonstrates why DAB sounds so bad...
Oh, and Radio Paradise already have a FLAC stream for mobile devices, and will soon be introducing it for internet streams as well.
As for FM - well, it's ok if the broadcast is good to begin with, and then of course you need a good antenna, but the BBC2 HLS stream beats Radio 2 on FM hands down....
I definitely go for an amazon echo , just get a 3.5mm to phono cable and you’re done , and with the advantage of voice control , just say “Alexa play radio3” and it’s done , plus it’s a fun little gadget , mine controls my lighting the tv and my Sonos setup ! And you can ask it silly question like “how long is my commute now” and “whats the football scores”
I’ve change my wake word to “computer” so I pretend I’m Scottie for Star Trek , worth the £40 for that alone
I’ve change my wake word to “computer” so I pretend I’m Scottie for Star Trek , worth the £40 for that alone
TonyRPH said:
Crackie said:
Chromecast is a great product but is there a reason why do you prefer digital streams over FM ? Is it just the convenience? The majority of digital streams sound poor at best, even for background listening, certainly way behind any half reasonable FM tuner. This of course depends on whether the user can be bothered to sort out a decent signal for the FM tuner though. The best FM tuners approach master tape levels of fidelity. imho of course.
Crackie, I beg to differ with you on the streams - Radio Paradise do a high quality "Naim Exclusive" (but it isn't) 320kbps stream.The BBC also do 'HLS' streams which are really high quality, however not all software players support HLS streams yet.
It's DAB that's so awful - I performed some very basic measurements on a DAB stream in this thread which demonstrates why DAB sounds so bad...
Oh, and Radio Paradise already have a FLAC stream for mobile devices, and will soon be introducing it for internet streams as well.
As for FM - well, it's ok if the broadcast is good to begin with, and then of course you need a good antenna, but the BBC2 HLS stream beats Radio 2 on FM hands down....
I will give the BBC2 HLS stream a try because if it beats decent FM hands down it will be well ahead of master tape in terms of fidelity.......... a Magnum Dynalab tuner receiving a live broadcast via one of their aerials is stunningly good.
Edited by Crackie on Friday 9th February 13:51
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