DAB vs Internet Radio

copout7

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I'm looking for a new radio / iPod dock for my kitchen.

Until very recently, I was pretty much committed to a DAB system along the lines of the YAMAHA TSX120.

Am now having second thoughts and thinking maybe I should be looking at Internet radio instead. Or could I even use my iPhone/iPod Touch to stream internet radio??

I'm pretty new to this technology and don't really know which option is best. Have had a Pure Siesta as an alarm clock for a year or so and am fairly happy with it, but having read a few posts here, it seems DAB is viewed as a bit of a dying/dead technology.

I have up to £130 to spend and am looking for a system with good sound quality on which I can play my own music (preferably via iPod adapter) and listen to the radio (mainly 6 Music and Radio 2). In an ideal world, I'd also be able to connect to last fm and similar, but this isn't a deal breaker.

Any advice gratefully received!

Cheers
 
There are quite a few radios with both DAB and internet radio for under £130, if you look on Amazon etc.

I have the Roberts Stream 83i which I think very highly of. No Ipod dock as such, though it has an aux in which you can plug an Ipod dock into, or you can play MP3's from a USB stick/drive. Has FM radio too, and a last FM feature, though sadly you have to pay a subscription for that.

I use it mostly for DAB and MP3 playback, and with my portable Minidisc dock (!), though it does the wi-fi music and internet radio streaming thing very well too.
 
Thanks for the advice, Barock.

I think getting a unit with both DAB and Internet is probably the best option, albeit it seems I'm sacrificing a dedicated iPod dock at the price. Guess that's no great issue, though provided I have USB input and/or can access music from my laptop.

Am I right in thinking the laptop has to be switched on before I can access the music on it? This seems a bit of a limitation. Not sure how most people get round this? I assume you can access internet radio while the laptop's off??

The Roberts Stream 83i you recommend is a bit of an ugly beast, but seems like a quality system. The only big disadvantage I can see is the lack of pause/rewind for listen again playback.

Does anyone have any thoughts on how the Roberts compares to the Pure Evoke Flow or other similar systems?
 
Hi copout - yes, the laptop/PC from which you're streaming has to be on to access the music on it. You can get internet radio without the PC being on though, as long as your wireless router is on.

Maybe people don't mind having their computers on when streaming or have a dedicated NAS server or something. I just use the Roberts really as mini amp/radio with a few extra bells and whistles.
 
Hi Barock - thanks again.

I think you've sold me on internet radio! Not sure I'll go down the dedicated music server route just yet, though.

It's a shame you have to pay for Last FM. Do you know if you can stream Spotify on internet radio? I have a free Spotify account but am not sure if this is possible?
 
Glad you like the idea of internet radio. I was listening to a Canadian classical music station yesterday with the computer off, just to make sure!

The Last FM subscription thing is a specific 'feature' of the Roberts Stream 83i. Not sure what it is even really, but I can happily ignore it.

It seems there might be ways of streaming Spotify (eg. see here), but that stuff is way out of my league.

Good luck!
 
Squeezebox radio at costco for £105;

Features include - Internet radio, Last.FM (for free), Napster (same thing as Spotify really - £5 per month, no PC required), Spotify Plug-in available (PC running required), App for BBC iPlayer, Fantastic streaming abilities for the music on your PC and multi-room capabilities (can sync with other SB devices). Also some great iPhone apps to control it.

Best internet radio on the market by a considerable margin, mono but sound great. Other SB's might be worth looking at too. SB classic for example is in some store right now for £50 (i paid £300 3 years ago) and will be good with some small powered speakers.

As for DAB Vs Internet radio in general - simply no contest. Most internet radio is better quality (higher bitrates) and 1,000,000 times more choice. Plus on-demand services etc. Just does not work in the car. Dab has its place still in certain situations, but if you have the option then net radio all the way.
 
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Hey Autopilot,

Could you say that the Revo and Pure Sensia beat the Logitech given they both have DAB +, Inbuilt FM radio and an iphone dock (optional in the Sensia's case)? Not to mention a bigger LCD display? The logitech Squeezebox is also mono...

I really like the Logitech but i'm currently leaning to wards the Revo or Pure.

Happy for you to try swing me back though?
 
Captaint – I'm not sure that it's a fair comparison, given the Revo and Pure systems you mention all cost about £200 or more versus the Logitech for £100. For me, £200 seems a bit excessive for a kitchen radio!

The Squeezebox looks good. I'm not sure if I should be concerned that it doesn't have an FM (not to mention DAB) tuner? I'm interested in what makes this so much better than the Roberts Stream 83i or other similar systems, Autopilot?

Also, re the Costco deal, do you know if I can view it online anywhere or is it an in in-store only deal?
 
If you need one with FM and DAB then obviously the SB radio is not for you. But don't forget that any station on FM and DAB is available via the internet and usually better audio quality. I have DAB and FM radios too, all of which have been gathering dust for the past few years. I simply have no need for them and would never buy another, it would be like getting a Sky+ box and then buying a freeview box to go with it.

Of course if you have an unreliable broadband connection and a very limited download allowance I can see a terrestrial radio reciever could be useful as a backup. But half a meg broadband is enough for Internet radio and it does not use a huge amount of data.

FM and DAB aside though, the SB Radio wipes the floor with any other Internet radio - last.fm, napster, spotify, BBC iPlayer, best streaming and file support, multiroom, radiotime, the list goes on. Of course it's mono, but it sounds incredible and better than many stereos I have heard.

Need to try a few really.
 
I've been looking at the Squeezebox radio but was wondering how long it takes to turn on and connect. I tend to stick the radio on even if I'm going into the kitchen for a couple of minutes. Does it take 30 seconds or so to connect to your network, buffer the stream, etc. or is it just like switching on a DAB radio?
 
From standby it takes a couple of seconds. Of you pull the plug completely it takes about 30 seconds. But keep it in standby.
 
OK, the more I read about the Squeezebox, the more I'm veering towards it!

The only real nagging problem I have is the fact that you have to have a NAS server or switch your laptop on to play your own music collection.

Without getting really complicated, is there any way you can either:

1) Access you music collection via an iPhone/iPod Touch instead of going via your computer?

2) Save your music collection somewhere in 'the cloud' and set your SB up to access it over the internet rather than on your computer?

Both seem fairly obvious work-arounds but not sure how possible they might be...?
 
Hmmmm...

Have just been on the Logitech Squeezebox forum and read some of the huge number of angry customer's complaints about it being really buggy and unreliable. There seems to be a real split between people who love it and (lots of) people who've had no end of issues with it.

Perhaps I need to keep on searching...
 
OK, the more I read about the Squeezebox, the more I'm veering towards it!

The only real nagging problem I have is the fact that you have to have a NAS server or switch your laptop on to play your own music collection.

Without getting really complicated, is there any way you can either:

1) Access you music collection via an iPhone/iPod Touch instead of going via your computer?

2) Save your music collection somewhere in 'the cloud' and set your SB up to access it over the internet rather than on your computer?

Both seem fairly obvious work-arounds but not sure how possible they might be...?

Re point 2: my radio has iPod dock and I use the Reciva iRadio app for Internet radio. Works a treat! (see my signature for links)
 
Hmmmm...

Have just been on the Logitech Squeezebox forum and read some of the huge number of angry customer's complaints about it being really buggy and unreliable. There seems to be a real split between people who love it and (lots of) people who've had no end of issues with it.

Perhaps I need to keep on searching...

Look an just about any official product's forum and you will see lots of people with issues. Most people only join if they have a problem, otherwise why would they. The ratio of people with problems to people with none is always that way on a support site, unlike AVforums where people join for fun and lots of reasons. From spending time in the streaming forum i know many people have them but i have not seen that many problems. No problems with mine. Also, bear in mind that most peoples problems often are due to there crappy wifi setup.

As for listening to your own music, you could plug an iPod into the SB radio AUX in, but at £5 a month Napster is well worth it (plus a free album each month). If you want top listen to X by Y, then use Napster rather than your own collection.

Anyway, good luck :)
 
I'm looking for a decent internet radio too, but need a decent alarm as it's for bedside. (DAB & FM would be desirable too!)

The Squeezebox specs say "Alarm clock with 7 days of settings". Does that mean I can set a different time for each day of the week?
 
Thanks, Autopilot.
If you can set more than one alarm a day, that may be a clincher ... I have a wierd tendency to set the alarm to wake me (to radio) about 20 or 30 minutes before I actually need to get out of bed, so if I could set a later alarm (tone) too that would be ideal. It doesn't say that in the specs!
 
There are a number dedicated IR radio's out there that use/link to dedicated back-end internet radio databases (Frontier, Reciva etc).

Initially about a year ago I set out looking for dedicated internet radio - Tangent Quatro was the one I was targeting (uses Reciva). In the end I choose to use my iTouch (3rd gen) with IR Apps installed. I connect that to my current iPod Dock/radio (see my signature).

Good IR Apps include Reciva (huge range of features, listen again, podcasts etc - but a bit buggy), TuneIn which uses RadioTime IR database. OOTunes is another I hear is quite good.

If going down the iTouch route you need wireless router only, if iPhone then watch out for your provider charges if you have [traffic] download limits. Most IR streams use 48-128k bit rates.
 

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