Aerial for DAB

[mgiazzi]

Can anyone tell me if i can use my current fm aerial to recieve dab when i upgrade my tuner to a digital one.My aerial is a ron smith galaxy 14.
Thanks

 

[digitalradiotec]

Getting DAB is actually downgrading, not upgrading. The audio quality is far worse on DAB than on FM.

 

[Rezillo]

You might be able to but impossible to say for sure. The DAB signal is vertically polarised rather than horizontallly and the band is a little way off the standard fm frequencies that the Galaxy will be optimised for, even if you turn it 90 degrees. However, in a strong enough area you might be ok.

The Galaxy is quite a complex aerial (well the 17 is - I haven't seen a 14). Why not keep it for fm, which sounds better, and combine the downlead with one from a separate DAB aerial? You can split them at the outlet with one of these:
http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/pro.jsp?id=79228&ts=69182

John

 

[simon100]

I couldn't receive dab through my FM ariel despite being in an area where there is a decent signal. I use the freebe ariel that came with the set, pulls in a decent signal with low error. A neighbour had to resort to an external one from B&Q or Maplin.

 

[mgiazzi]

Thanks very much for all this advice.I was going to replace my cyrus fm7 tuner with a cyrus dab tuner when it is released.My aerial (galaxy 14) is situated in the loft as it is a bit on the ugly side and very large to fix on to the outside,hence the signal i recieve can sound a bit hissy on some stations but fine on others.This is why i thought on going digital as it suppose to be clearer.I think ther are different views on this.If i was in an area with a strong signal and the aerial was place outside i think fm will be hard to fault.
Do the dab aerials need to be placed outside or can they situated in the loft aswell?

 

[digitalradiotec]

hence the signal i recieve can sound a bit hissy on some stations but fine on others.This is why i thought on going digital as it suppose to be clearer.I think ther are different views on this.If i was in an area with a strong signal and the aerial was place outside i think fm will be hard to fault.
Do the dab aerials need to be placed outside or can they situated in the loft aswell?

If you buy Cyrus equipment then you obviously care about audio quality, so I would strongly urge you not to get DAB. You say there's differing views. There's no differing views on the fact that you don't get hiss on DAB - that's a given, but there's also no differing views about the audio quality level on DAB from people that understand the technology, and it is undoubtedly very poor, and no matter how good your tuner is it is impossible to improve it. Think about how much you're spending on your Cyrus tuner, and then think that getting a Sony or Pioneer Freeview box with a digital output for £70 will sound miles better because the bit rates are higher than on DAB. The highest bit rates are on satellite, and you get 85 stations rather than the 20 - 50 you get on DAB depending where you live.

DAB is a bad option.

 

[mgiazzi]

Thank for the extra knowledge on bit rates on dab.It sounds like it is better to stick with fm.When i went to the bristol hifi show earlier this year,i spoke to a cyrus agent and he did quote it will be hard to sell a tuner for the £500.00 mark when fm is still superior.People wouldn't justify it and cyrus can not produce a tuner for less than that, using the quality components it currently uses.I wonder when dab will produce a better quality signal with a better quality bit rate.

 

[digitalradiotec]

It's extremely unlikely that the bit rates will ever go up on DAB. The BBC say they would like to provide higher bit rates, but the commercial radio groups will simply block them from doing so, and the commercial radio groups have absolutely no intention of increasing their bit rates.

The bit rates of all the BBC stations are higher on Freeview, satellite and cable than on DAB apart from Radio 3, and even Radio 3's bit rate is reduced whenever Radio 5 Sports Extra is on-air in the daytime.

There's also the issue that BBC7 is mono on DAB but stereo on Freeview, satellite and cable, and Radio 4 is reduced to mono on DAB in the evening if Radio 5 Sports Extra is on-air.

So, yeah, if you're not interested in the digital-only stations then definitely stick with FM, because it does sound far better than DAB. But if you want the BBC's digital-only stations or some of the commercial radio stations then satellite is the best, followed by Freeview then cable.

In the next, say, 1-4 years, if the BBC gets its act together, then we should get live streaming radio that's got a higher audio quality than anything that's currently available, even better than FM. Have a read of this to give you an idea of where we're headed:

http://support.bbc.co.uk/multicast/why.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/broadband/info/multicast.shtml

Basically, internet bandwidth for live streaming will no longer be a problem once all ISPs support multicasting, so they should provide very high bit rate streams with modern audio codecs, so the audio quality will be CD-quality.

 

[mgiazzi]

Thanks once again for all that advice.

 

[Gti Jazz Blue]

Makes you wonder if there isn't the case for a Freeview box aimed at digital radio so its primary role is to receive digital radio from the Freeview Muxes, it would need a display but I'm sure it could be done.

 

[GeeDoubleU]

What about the new device from sky called the SkyGnome. It's a little box with built in speakers. Has the same LCD display details and cost's £70.

http://www1.sky.com/skygnome/

Looks like the future to me, if freeview bring a similar device out then from what you guys on here are saying DAB is doomed.

 

[pasty]

Makes you wonder if there isn't the case for a Freeview box aimed at digital radio so its primary role is to receive digital radio from the Freeview Muxes, it would need a display but I'm sure it could be done.

I have had the Goodmans GDB5 Set Top Box with DAB for over a year. It is a Freeview box with DAB. (Available from Argos - http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/5320187.htm).
I have found it to be good Display works well.

 

[Radio_Daze]

Forget about DAB unless you have a serious hearing problem.
I have now tried 3 different DAB Radios, the sound from them all is nothing short of diabolical for music, and far worse than any FM Radio I have ever heard at any price!

As far as I am concerned DAB should be Dead And Buried. A complete waste of time and money!

 

[crosslandav]

If you buy Cyrus equipment then you obviously care about audio quality, so I would strongly urge you not to get DAB. You say there's differing views. There's no differing views on the fact that you don't get hiss on DAB - that's a given, but there's also no differing views about the audio quality level on DAB from people that understand the technology, and it is undoubtedly very poor, and no matter how good your tuner is it is impossible to improve it. Think about how much you're spending on your Cyrus tuner, and then think that getting a Sony or Pioneer Freeview box with a digital output for £70 will sound miles better because the bit rates are higher than on DAB. The highest bit rates are on satellite, and you get 85 stations rather than the 20 - 50 you get on DAB depending where you live.

DAB is a bad option.

Are there any good Freeview boxes from a hi-fi (i.e. sound quality) perspective? Personally, I'm more interested in sound quality rather than functions ... although PVR would be good.

Tim
Guitar Store

 

[andrewb150]

As far as I am concerned DAB should be Dead And Buried. A complete waste of time and money!

I have a Pure DAB radio and a Sony FM tuner (few years now old but the best tuner I've ever heard).

I agree the sound quality on FM Stereo through a GOOD quality tuner with a STRONG Clear Signal is MUCH Better than DAB. However for someone who can recieve DAB but has poor FM signal then there is no comparison. Id rather have DAB anyday over a poor FM Signal.

 

[MWP1985]

I have a Pure DAB radio and a Sony FM tuner (few years now old but the best tuner I've ever heard).

I agree the sound quality on FM Stereo through a GOOD quality tuner with a STRONG Clear Signal is MUCH Better than DAB. However for someone who can recieve DAB but has poor FM signal then there is no comparison. Id rather have DAB anyday over a poor FM Signal.

Agreed. I find it virtually impossible to get a perfect signal on all FM channels but on DAB it is much easier. I'd rather have a clean signal with an acceptable MP3-level bit-rate than a hiss-ridden mess. The fact there are more stations available is the icing on the cake as far as I'm concerned.

 

[crowncd]

I really don't understand why people have such a 'downer' on DAB. Maybe too many promises were made for it in the past.
I have the Denon TU1800DAB tuner with an outside DAB antenna feeding a decent amp and power amp. I have to say I've always been delighted with the reception here in Staffordshire and it enables me to listen to BBC Radio 7 which isn't available on FM.

 

[nedmundo]

I think its only the few, who have such a downer on DAB. Unfortunately, they tend to shout (or they shouted the loudest prior to being banned!) the loudest. It depends on your own expectations. Most are perfectly happy with the sound for their but most also admit it could be further improved.

Have a gander at:

www.avforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=383483&highlight=dab+sound+quality

That will give you an idea of the spread of satisfaction.

 

[jaydog]

I have always bought my Aerials from DAS, here is a link to the DAB Aerials http://www.dastv.co.uk/aerials.php?&stnm=10 I purchased the Triax 5 Element DAB Aerial Triax 5 Element DAB Aerial :: DAS0012 This has proved to be an amazing bit of kit.

We have it loft mounted and running 2 DAB radios at the same time which are often on together no problems.

Good products and quick delivery.