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Has anyone got one? I've heard that reception can be patchy. I'd love to be able to get Planet Rock and Kerrang! Radio on the move as well as Radio 4.
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Read these links. You may change your mind...:-)
tinyurl.com/ctygk
tinyurl.com/c75bb
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Yes don't buy DAB for the sound quality, unless interference annoys you. I've heard a friend's expensive DAB system with top of the range amp and speakers, and really it is rather disappointing when listening to the best stations such as R3 which use 128kbps. Put simply that is not a high enough data rate to get an acceptable sound quality, and distortion will be obvious. I would not consider playing 128kbps songs on my iPod. They sound awful. Only 192 or higher is good IMO. Some stations transmit at LOWER rates and the sound quality is as per a phone conversation.
It seems to me that in principle DAB is good, but the band width is so small that in going from analogue to DAB we are going backwards. I suspect that DAB requires less of the radio spectrum, so more stations can fit in.
Leif
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The radio stations broadcast on Freeview are of much superior quality to DAB...:-)
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Thanks for those links, which exlain the DAB dilemma in layman's terms.
I've been mulling over a DAB systems at home for a while, having had one false start already. But one of the cheaper DAB systems having heard it perform pretty well at a friend's, only to find a persistent background hiss when I bought the same. Took it back, same problem again. Found an independent review on a website that said this particular system was prone to the problem because of the way its DAB receiver was put together (which affected its signal-to-noise ratio??). Yet even though it's a known problem the thing is still on sale here, there and everywhere!!
Anyway, having read those threads I might head back to trusty old FM. Unless someone knows if all the DAB channels are likely to increase their bit rates?
But what's DAB reception likely to be like in a car?
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Ok Its known and accepted that DAB Radio at home is carp quality wise compared to FM , but lets get back to the original question.
Whats DAB like in car radios? Reception? any black spots etc,,,
I have someone who has the typical VW/Blaupunkt (no comments about your bora please) problem of rubbish MW reception. So as the required AM stations are on DAB, I have someone itching to buy...................
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"Ok Its known and accepted that DAB Radio at home is carp quality wise compared to FM"
I wish the Beeb would accept it - I'm fed up of hearing their 'crystal clear reception' promotions, when I know perfectly well that my old Technics receiver sounds better. Barry Fox was on the radio recently, discussing this very thing, but the BBC man (PR rather than engineer, I imagine) seemed unable to believe what he was being told.
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Without wanting to turn this into a geek thread, have you considered Internet Radio at home? If you have a wireless router you can get an Internet Radio receiver for about 100 Euros which plugs into your HiFi and allows you to stream Internet Radio sites worldwide.
Returning to motoring, here in the USA they have Satellite Radio in the cars. This is a brilliant system with excellent sound quality and a choice of 150 stations - including BBC. Shame we don't have this in Europe.
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Windows Media Player has a wide range of Internet radio stations from all over the world, whilst MediaUK has dozens of UK stations on its home page link:
www.mediauk.com/
This is one of the key topics in a number of DAB forums with regard to car reception:
www.revo.co.uk/
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I have been distinctly unimpressed by DAB, and would never buy another receiver of any type. My in-car unit is a £60 Sony CD. The FM tuner (with RDS) is excellent: very sensitive with good selectivity, and with very little hiss on weaker stations. I have found it to be a much better tuner than those on Blaupunkts. The audio quality is much better than DAB, and the signal much more reliable -- unlike DAB's constant 'bubble and squeak' and dropouts.
The quality of the UK's DAB system has been unacceptably degraded by the cramming in of more stations than it was designed for. FM has never sounded so good after experiencing DAB.
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I use DAB in my car and am very pleased with it.There are areas of no reception or poor(burbling as if under wat er).It is a portable device which I can use while walking about also,worth the £100 it cost IMO.
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Looks like I'll stick with FM in the car then. My only experience is with Freeview which sounds pretty good. I was thinking of getting a DAB set for the home as well but I think I'll leave it for now. Thanks for all your comments.
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>>My only experience is with Freeview which sounds pretty good. >>
I've mentioned earlier that Freeview radio stations are generally transmitted at much higher quality levels than DAB i.e. without the compression levels needed to get as many stations as possible on air.
Incidentally, Freeview channels are being completely revamped on October 18th, so a retune will be required if your set top box doesn't do it automatically or you have a PCI Freeview TV card.
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