Which is best - FM, DAB or satellite

I've just plumped for FM and Arcam FMJ T21 is awaited -I was looking for an s/h TAG tuner but no luck. See link:http://blogs.warwick.ac.uk/michaelwalford/entry/arcam_fmj_t21/

A good link in my comments box confirmed my doubts about DAB:http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/12/29/grant_goddard_drwg_analysis/

hope this helps

cheers

I have to say that I can't stand the sound of FM or DAB, which at it's best is slightly better IMO. We made the very best we could of both types and they were killed by the dealers. They weren't interested and wouldn't stock them, didn't have an aerial and so on, despite the fact that there was interest from customers then. Regardless, I don't like the sound of either compared to Internet radio, which is so much better that I wouldn't go back.

A friend made a direct digital recording of Murray Perahia playing Mozart at the Proms and I thought it barely good enough as background music. It is MP2 and nothing like as good as a 128K MP3 stream from say WGBH Boston, or the Prague or Budapest stations who sometimes use higher bitrates still.

Ash

Despite a few internet radio stations sounding pretty good (Radio Paradise at 192mbps MP3 through iTunes for instance) the good ones are an exception.

The point of internet radio is choice and not (generally) quality. It sounds quite tolerably good through our 'Pure Evoke Flow' kitchen radio but there are only a few internet streams that I would listen to through my DAC and hifi. I am quite 'Catholic' in my tastes of internet radio stations and have tried out hundreds before settling on some regular favourites.

IF the content of any local/national FM stations is to your taste (I enjoy BBC R2, R3 and R4 and Classic FM) and IF you have a good FM roof aerial - with at least reasonable reception in your area - then the quality is extraordinary, assuming you have a competent tuner. DAB comes nowhere near it especially through a hifi. (Even with a decent DAB roof aerial) generally the bit rates for DAB are lousy.

Bitrates and quality for Freeview/Cable radio are higher and sit between FM and DAB (or the best Internet radio stations) for quality.

So...

Internet radio:- Acceptable through a good tabletop radio like the Pure Evoke Flow. A few stations good enough to listen to through a good DAC & Hifi. Excellent choice. Good fun.

DAB Radio:- Barely tolerable even with a roof aerial. Not hifi. Variable choice depending on the area and the reception conditions. OK through table top radios.

FM:- Limited station choice (again depending on your area and reception). Good roof aerial vital even where reception is OK. Stunning quality possible through hifi with competent tuner.

Freeview/cable radio:- Higher bitrates than DAB (and most internet stations). Station choice limited. Sounds better through hifi than DAB. Not capable of that last little bit of 'magic' that a good live FM stereo performance can convey.

chebby:

I am quite 'Catholic' in my tastes of internet radio stations and have tried out hundreds before settling on some regular favourites.

JohnDuncan:

chebby:

I am quite 'Catholic' in my tastes of internet radio stations and have tried out hundreds before settling on some regular favourites.

Here's another one for you then. Video and podcasts also available.

Yah, I listen to it religiously.

Xanderzdad:

Hi

Thanks for all the advice.  I am intrigued about the use of a DAC though.  Is this to bypass the DAC in my Denon 2808?  Would it be that much better?

Thanks

chebby:

Despite a few internet radio stations sounding pretty good (Radio Paradise at 192mbps MP3 through iTunes for instance) the good ones are an exception.

The point of internet radio is choice and not (generally) quality. It sounds quite tolerably good through our 'Pure Evoke Flow' kitchen radio but there are only a few internet streams that I would listen to through my DAC and hifi. I am quite 'Catholic' in my tastes of internet radio stations and have tried out hundreds before settling on some regular favourites.

IF the content of any local/national FM stations is to your taste (I enjoy BBC R2, R3 and R4 and Classic FM) and IF you have a good FM roof aerial - with at least reasonable reception in your area - then the quality is extraordinary, assuming you have a competent tuner. DAB comes nowhere near it especially through a hifi. (Even with a decent DAB roof aerial) generally the bit rates for DAB are lousy.

Bitrates and quality for Freeview/Cable radio are higher and sit between FM and DAB (or the best Internet radio stations) for quality.

So...

Internet radio:- Acceptable through a good tabletop radio like the Pure Evoke Flow. A few stations good enough to listen to through a good DAC & Hifi. Excellent choice. Good fun.

DAB Radio:- Barely tolerable even with a roof aerial. Not hifi. Variable choice depending on the area and the reception conditions. OK through table top radios.

FM:- Limited station choice (again depending on your area and reception). Good roof aerial vital even where reception is OK. Stunning quality possible through hifi with competent tuner.

Freeview/cable radio:- Higher bitrates than DAB (and most internet stations). Station choice limited. Sounds better through hifi than DAB. Not capable of that last little bit of 'magic' that a good live FM stereo performance can convey.

If you have Sky or Freeview connected to your AV amp (assuming you're running one) then that's the way to go. Convenient and good quality sound into the bargain. 

Just caught U2 "with or without you" on XFM, a song I used to listen to all the time.

I flicked from DAB to FM and the difference was night and day.

I'll be leaving my Pure 2-XT on FM for the foreseeable future.

I'd done this before, but not with a track I knew really well. 

DAB was like hearing it in another room, FM much better 

I bought an optical lead yesterday and listened to Radio 3's World Music alternating between my old Musical Fidelity Electra analogue tuner )good external roof ariel) and cable box routed through my Dacmagic 2 (1995)

 The results are fascinating.  The quality if the digital source is outstanding, as is that from the analogue tuner.  The difference reflects the different characters of the Dacmagic (detailed, precise but a tad bright/harsh) and the tuner (nice and rounded but a little too laid back and lacking in clarity.

From this I'll make sure that my forthcomming CD replacement (probably a Quad 99 CDP-2) will have an optical input for radio from the cable box, the tuner will be disposed of.

 My only DAB source is my alarm clock radio, which plays Planet Rock just long enough for me to hit the snooze button

Kevin Stephens:

The results are fascinating.  The quality if the digital source is outstanding, as is that from the analogue tuner.  The difference reflects the different characters of the Dacmagic (detailed, precise but a tad bright/harsh) and the tuner (nice and rounded but a little too laid back and lacking in clarity.

Indeed. Also digital sources (optical to your DAC from cable or Freeview) give a far wider choice than FM and saves you having to buy an expensive tuner (or frees up your old one for sale).

Plus you have internet radio for BBC iPlayer to listen to stuff you missed (in AAC at decent bitrates) and quite a few thousand other internet stations, many of which have excellent quality too.

I regret to say it (because I have been heavily into good quality stereo radio for well over 30 years and I get a bit nostalgic about it) but FM is dead.  DAB has no future (for people who appreciate quality) unless they change it from MP2 and give us decent bitrates. (Even then you still need a DAB roof aerial and DAB tuner to make the best of a bad job.)

Freeview/Cable/Satellite radio is available to everyone with no extra expenditure on aerials or boxes (just use what you have already for TV). Good quality is there even without the DAC because every telly or DVD recorder or cable satellite box has the means to connect with RCA phono connections as well as optical digital.

Kevin Stephens:

 The results are fascinating.  The quality if the digital source is outstanding, as is that from the analogue tuner.  The difference reflects the different characters of the Dacmagic (detailed, precise but a tad bright/harsh) and the tuner (nice and rounded but a little too laid back and lacking in clarity.

Actually now that I've replaced my amp and speakers the digital source sounds the same, but the analogue tuner has come alive, far better than before and far better than the digital source

My 2-penneth...I've tried FM from my CA540r receiver into my CA840a amp - sounds fantastic but only for really 'strong' signals...and I don't listen to radio 1!! when I tried to tune in to Classic FM the signal is hissy and wanders all over the place, XFM is non-existant via my TV aerial and I'm only 15m from Manchester!

6music via my Humax PVR is a much better bet and sounds enjoyable but no Classic or XFM! think I will have to invest in a Freesat box...I've tried DAB from a Pure Evoke 1 through stereo amp but just sounds a bit like AM used to, not great.