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DAB tuner recommendation?
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Posted by: AMc

My birthday is coming up and my partner has asked me what I want.
I've been thinking about adding an FM tuner in the lounge but then it occured to me that DAB might be better.

I'm looking for a recommendation for a full size separate - ideally with FM as well but I'm not 100% sure that's necessary?

The latest Argos catalogue has a Goodmans DAB/Freeview box for Ł99 arriving in Feb '04 but it doesn't show up if you search their web site so I'm guessing it's been delayed - anyone know?

Budget is Ł100-Ł200 but I'd prefer the bottom end - Ł100 seems like a lot for a tuner. I've got a roof FM aerial diplexed with the TV aerial and I'm in Zone 2 London so I assume signal will be adequate.

Any thoughts or opinions welcome - thanks!

Posted by: George

Have you tried here?

http://www.digitalone.co.uk/home/default.asp

Posted by: AMc

Yup - I'm really hoping that someone with a DAB tuner will make a recommendation or warn me off one.
Thanks for the link it'll help the next person doing a search.

Posted by: guydewdney

the bods at richer sounds reccomend the 130 ish quid one (new - / recently released) (cambridge audio) over the 110 quid one.

sorry - dont know / can be botehred to find part numbers...

Posted by: AMc

Kind of baffled by that comment too as none of those price points match on their website - I'm currently erring on the Acoustic Solutions SP111 as it has an FM tuner as well as DAB and doesn't cost an arm + leg.

Acoustic Solutions SP110 SILVER (DAB Tuner) Ł79.95
Acoustic Solutions SP111 SILVER (DAB/FM Tuner) Ł99.95
Cambridge Audio DAB300 SILVER (DAB Tuner) Ł119.95
Cambridge Audio DAB500 SILVER (DAB Tuner) Ł149.95

Posted by: AMc

I have now plumped for the SP111 which I'm allowed to unwrap next weekend.

I have a roof top 'digital' wideband TV aerial and a circular omni-directional FM aerial on the roof. They're diplexed together at the mast and connected to a diplex socket in the lounge.
Now I have a TV flylead running around the lounge to the back of the TV so I will be replacing the diplex sockets with a single socket and splitting the signal behind the TV.

Does anyone know if there is an advantage to diplexing the TV and DAB feeds or will the DAB frequencies get filtered out?

I need to buy the necessary normal co-ax to F-type connectors now so I need to know if there is any point in using a more expensive diplex splitter.

Ta for your help!

Posted by: Fred Smith

Being as TV, DAB and FM are all broadcast on different frequencies, and sometimes different direction transmitters, and DAB is vertical polarisation (TV could be either depending on transmitter, FM horizontal) would not a separate DAB aerial be in order?

Posted by: AMc

The downleads are buried in the wall and I can't see any way of di(tri?)plexing in a DAB aerial unless anyone here has some information?

Frankly, I'm done clambering around on the roof with the drill anyway as it's 3 storeys up and scares the heck out of me.

I'm not anticipating poor signal problems on either DAB or FM - if a UHF/VHF diplexer is going to discard the DAB signals from the VHF then I won't bother with one.
I'm coming to the conclusion that I'll try a regular splitter first and see what happens ;)

Posted by: scoopuk

To be honest if you're in London zone 2 you should get a pretty decent DAB signal from the T-shaped wire DAB aerial which comes with most hifi DAB tuners anyway.

Plenty of good advice at http://www.bbc.co.uk/digitalradio/
here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/reception/digi...dio/index.shtml
and here: http://www.digitalradionow.com/

If you're wanting something a bit cheaper, go for a table top model. There are loads of them around these days. I can recommend the Bush DABTR2003 and the Roberts Radio RD-3 Gemini 3. They both have DAB and FM bands (in case you're a fan of non-DAB FM stations like many very local ones).

Or if you're on the move try the DAB only Ministry of Sound MOSDR011, which I also have. It picks up stations very easily.

This site has links to the latest DAB deals:

http://www.dab-digital-radio.com/

Posted by: Automan

As I have now found DAB reception is now availble in my area (a whole seven channels) I thought I would try this clock radio offering http://www.bushdigital.co.uk/bushdigital/DABCR2003.htm

First of all you would expect time auto setting via radio clock - wrong, 12hr clock has to be manually set and has 9volt back up battery.

Unit has a display dimmer switch on side - Would you expect this to dim the whole display? It does not. only the clock.

Unit has audio out on back (mini stereo jack) to feed your hifi.
Works okay but output level varys with volume level of unit.

It also mutes the internal speakers but during quiet parts of music you can hear mains buzz from the speakers and also if you turn your external amp down you can still hear some audio from the device.

Aerial - this is just a 1m piece of wire with no extra aerial socket.

Control layout - poor, buttons along way apart and crude slow / fast set for the clock.

Alarm - 24hr twin alarms only - no concept of days of week.

Sound quality - pretty good

Automan.

Posted by: iankb

quote:
Originally posted by Automan
Unit has audio out on back (mini stereo jack) to feed your hifi.
Works okay but output level varys with volume level of unit.

It also mutes the internal speakers ...

To be fair, the specification does say that it is a headphone socket.

Posted by: Automan

quote:
Originally posted by iankb
To be fair, the specification does say that it is a headphone socket.

It has a "Line Output Socket" on the back (which is what I connected too) as well as a "Headphones Socket" on the right hand side.

Automan.

Posted by: scoopuk

I bought a Bush DABCR2003 last Autumn but sent it back straight away as it didn't seem to have the option of battery power. It looks cool though, a bit like Bush's DABTR2003, which looks fab. The TR2003's sound is fine but it eats batteries.

Posted by: guydewdney

bought my mum the PURE tempus 1 radio - admidedly not a 'stack' type radio - more of a bedside version - but i was amazed at the sound quality - from a poxy 3" or so mono speaker ( I have a set of floorstanding Elac speakers, and a RXV1200 amp etc etc as a comparison)

smooth, clear, bassy (!) silky sound. presumably the same dab section is used throughout the system...

easy to use (my technophobe mum is v happy)

Posted by: AMc

Well I've now been allowed to unwrap and install my Acoustic Solutions SP111 FM/DAB tuner from Argos.

It's connected optically to my Yamaha amp and it's driven from a roof top feed attached to diplexed FM and TV aerials - but not a DAB specific aerial. The output is passively split into my Tivo>VCR>TV and the tuner.

It found lots of channels including XFM and Radio2 which are all I really listen to. Sound quality is excellent.

Comparing XFM on FM vs. DAB there is a perceivable change in sound quality - FM seems slightly richer but there is also a fair amount of sibilence. DAB is crystal clear but feels a little 'flatter' at the top end but the bass feels richer (running through a sub/sat speaker set up). The output is louder on FM over optical so it's still quite hard to make blind comparisons.

On balance if I walked into the room I doubt I would be able to tell you that it was tuned to FM or DAB without checking the display. Given the plentiful warnings I got about sound quality on DAB I am pleased to say it is good enough for me.
I'm also very pleased with the quality of the unit and the DAB text features and easy tuning are very nice. Also nice that you get a remote included (unlike some of the Cambridge Audio units). The interface for the FM and DAB portions is ver yeasy to use but the display is a bit too small to read across the room.

If you already have a good FM tuner and you aren't looking for any new stations then I would stick with what you have until they improve the bandwidth on DAB stations. If you were looking for a HiFi tuner then you get good quality FM and DAB so you have both bases covered for a reasonable cost.

Manual linked to here if you're interested
http://www.acousticsolutions.net/PRODUCTS/IMS/SP111.pdf

Posted by: Automan

quote:
Originally posted by guydewdney
bought my mum the PURE tempus 1 radio - admidedly not a 'stack' type radio - more of a bedside version - but i was amazed at the sound quality - from a poxy 3" or so mono speaker ( I have a set of floorstanding Elac speakers, and a RXV1200 amp etc etc as a comparison)

smooth, clear, bassy (!) silky sound. presumably the same dab section is used throughout the system...

easy to use (my technophobe mum is v happy)

Yes I also got one today in exchange for the Bush.

The Tempus 1 does sound good and the clock is set by the DAB signal.
The unit seems to have a good build quality and a more comprehensive range of alarm times / days of week.
Software updates are also possible by its built in USB2 connection.

An additional speaker can be ordered ST-1 for stereo sound.

Web site http://www.pure-digital.com
Manual http://www.pure-digital.com/support...-_389KB_PDF.pdf

Automan.

Posted by: Automan

Gadget works okay and with this unit the AUX stereo output is at a fixed level and does not mute the internal speaker.

Plus Points
1. 24hr clock set by dab radio signal
2. All settings are retained (including alarms) during a power cut
3. If set for a radio wakeup and that channel is offline you get the audible alarm instead.
4. Optical output with ability to control some minidisc recorders via nine event timer (not tested yet) .
5. Daily/weekday/weekend options for two alarms with buzzer or radio channel of choice.
6. External aerial can be connected if required.

Bad Points
1. Style - It does not look like an alarm clock or anything else I would normally purchase.
2. Wake up to music - okay but like sat tv audio levels from station to station are not the same. Thus if you go to sleep by one station and wake to another you make have quite a shock!
3. Headphone output - signal to noise ratio (hiss) is terrible and is even present from headphone jack when radio is in standby mode (all other outputs seem okay btw).
4. Two hands are required to change channel! - Yes the channel selector is rotary and then push. However the unit tends to slide (as its feet are not non slip). Thus you have to hold the cabinet with one hand and push the button with the other.
5. Sleep button does not turn the unit on. So first you have to power it up and then press sleep to select 15-30-45 etc minutes.

Automan.

Posted by: iankb

The styling is the thing that puts me off. It must lose a lot of sales and, IMHO, is going to gain very few. Maybe if you have a minimalist chrome and glass dockland's penthouse - but how many of us have one of those?

Posted by: acacia

Nice review. Quick question, I was playing with one of these instore but decided not to buy one as I couldn't find a way to make the the clock display stay visible when the radio was on - is this possible? OK it shows the time when in standby but when waking up I want to be able to look at the unit without having to press buttons to find out what time it is. Otherwise in my book it fails a basic requirement of a clock/radio replacement. I still really want to get one though - I'm fed up with evening FM interference - but having a visible permanent clock display is quite important to me.

Jono

Posted by: Automan

quote:
Originally posted by acacia
Nice review. Quick question, I was playing with one of these instore but decided not to buy one as I couldn't find a way to make the the clock display stay visible when the radio was on - is this possible? OK it shows the time when in standby but when waking up I want to be able to look at the unit without having to press buttons to find out what time it is. Otherwise in my book it fails a basic requirement of a clock/radio replacement. I still really want to get one though - I'm fed up with evening FM interference - but having a visible permanent clock display is quite important to me.

Jono

Yes, in the setup / display option you can set the display to always be illuminated rather than having to touch the handle.

Also two brightness levels

See http://www.pure-digital.com/support...-_389KB_PDF.pdf page 13.

Automan.