Re: Internet radio - first impressions

DAB sounds worse than FM wrote:
Scott wrote:
I treated myself to an Internet radio last week.


There is a choice of about 7,700 stations worldwide. Bitrate seems
to vary from about 30 kbps to 128 kbps. This is not MP2 - either
Real or WMA so not numerically comparable with DAB. Sound quality
is pretty good and the good stations sound better than DAB. A
feature I did not expect is that were a station offers a 'listen
again' option you can access these directly on the radio.


Care to comment on the audio quality of listen-again features, particularly
BBC output ?



I would certainly recommend Internet radio for anyone interested in
listening to obscure and distant statiions.


Or for people that want higher audio quality, ....

I would qualify that statement quite carefully as "potentially higher audio
quality, depending on the quality of the source transmission".



I've been contemplating getting an Internet Radio myself. But, its main use
would be convinient access to BBC Listen-Again feeds.
I've been trying them with the home computers feeding into my HiFi systems
and haven't been particularly impressed; on listen-again music is muffled
and lacking in dynamics and precision (eg. Radio 2 Fairport Convention
concert).

I've been listening using both a 1 year old Toshiba laptop via WiFi, and a
Shuttle SB51 (2.4Mhz Pentium 4). My broadband is a solid 4Mbits. The Hifi
systems are either AudioLab A8000 + Monitor Audio speakers, or Creek 4040 +
Gale Gold speakers (ie. decent mid-range from some time back). The sound is
pretty much the same, indifferently poor quality, through any combination.


I'd need some convincing to spend over £100 on a radio to get that
indifferent quality of sound.
A similarly priced alternative, for me, would be a DTT hard disc recording
box, and set it to record any BBC radio output that I might possibly want to
listen to in the next few weeks. The disc capacity for recording audio
should be many hundreds of hours on any DTT box.



- Nigel


--
Nigel Cliffe,
Webmaster at http://www.2mm.org.uk/


.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: From The Guardian today - DAB quality - discuss!
    ... though I do know the difference in the sound). ... The sound quality is not marketed much. ... Digital Radio Development Bureau? ... That may actually be true, though I suspect is self-fulfilling, in that DAB ...
    (uk.tech.broadcast)
  • Re: Undecided
    ... interested to see the split in opinion on sound quality. ... I have a cheap DAB radio in the kitchen, and to be honest think the quality ...
    (alt.radio.digital)
  • Re: "Appeal to popularity"
    ... quality which it justifies by saying that most people surveyed say ... CDs to compare the sound quality. ... HD Radio can live up to its promise of improved sound. ...
    (alt.radio.digital)
  • Re: DAB sounds pretty good
    ... on Radio 3. ... provides a clarity and stereo effect not usually heard on my DAB ... significant improvement on some of the other stations whose sound ... quality is so bad it sounds like an LP played with a worn out stylus. ...
    (uk.tech.digital-tv)
  • Re: Why I Love Satellite Radio -- Anecdote #3943839
    ... transmitting rage. ... all the ones that use an FM transmitter sound like ... Does it sound better wired into the radio? ... The songs you hear on satellite radio are comparable to low quality ...
    (rec.sport.football.college)