kzone Posted December 30, 2006 Posted December 30, 2006 No, not FM acoustic but a regular FM radio setup. I've been reading overseas hifi forum where they say theirs sound almost like CD. I'm currently using Harmon Kardon TU930 tuner direct to SCV's FM wall socket. Have also used Sherwood & denon digital tuner (cant remember models) in the past but sq was similarly disappointing especially for 98.7.. Can anyone here who has a good FM setup share ur eq and tricks to get gd sound?
Tyer Posted December 30, 2006 Posted December 30, 2006 I think probably wat is good in the market now is the digital tuner. Those DAB that promise good radio quality.
civicguy Posted December 30, 2006 Posted December 30, 2006 HD radio ? ;D ;D ;D http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volume_13_4/boston-acoustics-recepter-hd-radio-12-2006.html
kzone Posted December 31, 2006 Author Posted December 31, 2006 I think probably wat is good in the market now is the digital tuner. Those DAB that promise good radio quality. Tried a low cost one, while the dedicated DAB channels has decent sq, the FM channels leave much to be desired.
Ong Hai Peng Posted December 31, 2006 Posted December 31, 2006 I'm also using the HK930. Funnily it sounded better with the indoor antenna over the SCV socket. FM reception for my SCV socket is really bad..
dethangel Posted January 1, 2007 Posted January 1, 2007 Hmm ... bro .. think you should start looking at Magnum Dynalabs antennas (don't be poisoned by their tuners when you're @ the shop! ;D) ... my friend's dad runs the shop - he's in NS at the moment. And yes, the as the only chinese saying goes - yi fen qian yi fen huo. The MD tuners are damn great and sound like what you described. Problem - Price tag. It ain't cheap. Of course interconnects are a concern as well. 98.7 i'm not sure why but they got this watery sound at times on normal FM. On DAB because their sampling @ 128kbps stereo makes things even worse. On Class 95/Gold90 FM/92.4 the situation improves as its running @ 160kbps. Currently i'm using 2 indoor antennas: Magnum Dynalabs ST-2 - Denon TU1800DAB PX IA300 ($25) from Sim Lim Tower - Marantz SR4300 The PX IA300 is seriously a stunning perfomer and a great FM antenna. Value for money and brings in channels pretty well.
kzone Posted January 1, 2007 Author Posted January 1, 2007 how much is dat Magnum Dynalabs ST-2 & where's the shop? U seem to be familiar wit both FM & DAB.. with a budget of let's say abt $500, wud I get better sound with FM tuner or DAB? comparing FM station of cos..
dethangel Posted January 1, 2007 Posted January 1, 2007 The ST-2 ranges from $200-$180. I can't remember the exact price i paid. Distributor: Hi End Research 317 Outram Rd. # 01-46/47 Concorde Shopping Center 0316 Singapore phone: (65) 735-1718 fax: (65) 732-1684 Source : http://www.magnumdynalab.com/ FM there will definitely be interference. Many factors too ranging from the quality of the tuner, line of sight to the transmitting stations. Some stations might be weaker than the rest.. and the list goes on. DAB - Definitely good. Enjoying every last minute of it. Thanks to a forumer who invited me over to learn how to calibrate a BFD .. end up auditioning his TU1800DAB (kenna poison! See la!! ) ... Channels mainly Mediacorp. CD quality sound. I'll give you a run down on DAB channels and quality sampling rates: Yes 933 - Stereo 160kbps 938 Live - Mono 96kbps Bloomberg - Mono 96kbps 987FM - Stereo 128kbps Chinese Evergreen - Stereo 128kbps Class 95 - Stereo 160kbps Club Play - Stereo 128kbps Cruise - Stereo 128kbps Gold 90 - Stereo 160kbps JK-Pop - Stereo 128kbps Love 972 - Stereo 128kbps Lush 995 - Stereo 128kbps Symphony - Stereo 192kbps But seriously. The PX IA300 is a great antenna for $25. Its active. With a small footprint and its FM/AM not like those table antennas ala bao ga liao. It might give your HK tuner a new lease of life. Read that you have owned Sherwood / Denon tuners in the past and now a HK tuner. I've got a Pioneer F401 (Digital Direct Decoder) - its quite a dated tuner but its a great tuner. Sound quality is great. Can't get it now already sadly. This is a signal grabber. For $500 you can lay your hands on the revered Denon TU1800DAB (its about $380-$400) price is controlled. You can check out the offerings from Marantz (features and finish not as good as the denon) & NAD. A little bit up the notch would be the PURE / Cambridge Audio offerings.
kzone Posted January 2, 2007 Author Posted January 2, 2007 Thanks Deth... Looks like I've to delay the purchase once more as the buyer for my bookshelf backed out again.. The magnum tuners really look cool on the website.. too bad they dont have DABs huh...
ministryofMP3 Posted January 2, 2007 Posted January 2, 2007 Thanks Deth... Looks like I've to delay the purchase once more as the buyer for my bookshelf backed out again.. The magnum tuners really look cool on the website.. too bad they dont have DABs huh... fyi... Antenna qn on Echoloft ...http://www.echoloft.com/cgi-bin/YaBB/YaBB.cgi?board=tell&action=display&num=1167064036 Looks like the SR100 also from Magnum D. is a good contenter as well at $50-60.
kuryakin Posted January 2, 2007 Posted January 2, 2007 I prefer FM anyday! ;D More often than not I leave Sym924 or Lite94.6 on my stereo most of the time. My antenna is optimised for 924 - some other channels therefore not as good. I use Denon TU255 tuner - pretty analogue sounding to me. Hows the FM on the Denon TU1800?
dethangel Posted January 2, 2007 Posted January 2, 2007 Thanks Deth... Looks like I've to delay the purchase once more as the buyer for my bookshelf backed out again.. The magnum tuners really look cool on the website.. too bad they dont have DABs huh... Erh .. after you take a listen ... i don't think you'll want DAB. ;D but the price tag will turn most people off. ::)
dethangel Posted January 2, 2007 Posted January 2, 2007 I prefer FM anyday! ;D More often than not I leave Sym924 or Lite94.6 on my stereo most of the time. My antenna is optimised for 924 - some other channels therefore not as good. I use Denon TU255 tuner - pretty analogue sounding to me. Hows the FM on the Denon TU1800? Mine's optimised more for: All DAB channels (Using stock antenna with the TU1800) FM - Magnum Dynalabs ST-2 FM - 91.3 / 94.6 / Power 98 / Lush 995 (yes the FM sounds more fuller compared to the DAB cos of the bitrate of 128kbps) FM on the TU1800 sounds better than my integrated tuner on my preamp - i'm using a pretty dated Adcom GTP-400.
dethangel Posted January 2, 2007 Posted January 2, 2007 fyi... Antenna qn on Echoloft ...http://www.echoloft.com/cgi-bin/YaBB/YaBB.cgi?board=tell&action=display&num=1167064036 Looks like the SR100 also from Magnum D. is a good contenter as well at $50-60. Not sure why, i love all their antennas. But once my friend psychoed me to take a listen to their tuners ... :o ... especially with their sonus faber setups. ::) a whole new world i swear. But have my budget and i prefer DAB when it comes to classical music, sounds great with the 192kbps bitrate encoding, every single detail can be heard.
kzone Posted January 3, 2007 Author Posted January 3, 2007 Mine's optimised more for: All DAB channels (Using stock antenna with the TU1800) FM - Magnum Dynalabs ST-2 FM - 91.3 / 94.6 / Power 98 / Lush 995 (yes the FM sounds more fuller compared to the DAB cos of the bitrate of 128kbps) FM on the TU1800 sounds better than my integrated tuner on my preamp - i'm using a pretty dated Adcom GTP-400. Any shop I can go that has the TU1800 or cambridge audio setup for audition? U cant use the ST2 for DAB as well? Is it becos it has only one output or that u cant receive DAB on it? Btw, magnum website says SR100 "receives local HDTV signal with ease due to its UHF design" really ah??
dethangel Posted January 3, 2007 Posted January 3, 2007 Any shop I can go that has the TU1800 or cambridge audio setup for audition? U cant use the ST2 for DAB as well? Is it becos it has only one output or that u cant receive DAB on it? Btw, magnum website says SR100 "receives local HDTV signal with ease due to its UHF design" really ah?? Most shops will not have the TU1800 for audition as they claim "no DAB reception" I'm not sure how true this is but its seriously disappointing and its one of the reason why I held back my purchase of a DAB tuner for quite a while until going to another forumer's place to experience it. You can take your chances with Alpha Audio @ Sim Lim Square as their place is quite near the entrance, thus the likelihood of getting a signal perhaps? I didn't try with the ST-2 sadly due to the jack being different (TU1800 has a dedicated FM and DAB antenna socket), and also the stock DAB antenna supplied with the tuner was doing the job well, so didn't bother to toy around with the idea. Only use it for FM. I don't use any splitters of any sort as they degrade the signal. As for HDTV ... I don't really trust that kind of antenna to do the job unless u live @ some open space / country side, Singapore being a concrete/urban jungle. You won't get much reception with such a setup comparing to roof top mounted HDTV antennas.
cmk Posted January 11, 2007 Posted January 11, 2007 U cant use the ST2 for DAB as well? Is it becos it has only one output or that u cant receive DAB on it? Btw, magnum website says SR100 "receives local HDTV signal with ease due to its UHF design" really ah?? You can use the ST2 and/or the SR100 for DAB, done it before. Sounds excellent for DAB.
kzone Posted January 12, 2007 Author Posted January 12, 2007 Been offered $640 for the Cambridge Audio 640T DAB at adelphi ground floor. Is dat a gd buy? Who else sells this? Anyone manage to compare the Cambridge Audio to the PURED RX-701ES?
dethangel Posted January 14, 2007 Posted January 14, 2007 Sadly DAB sets are "price controlled" and there are only a few who are allowed to retail DAB as to not "spoil the market". I got my Denon from Merdeka ... abit of bargaining.. the sales guy relented. ::) Doubt you can get it any cheaper at Alpha Audio as they're pretty strict with their prices (i tried bargaining - but since merdeka offered me a lower price and i bought an MD deck from them before - same salesman - he relented)
kzone Posted January 16, 2007 Author Posted January 16, 2007 if price is controlled then i guess no need to look around so much... btw, any DAB users in Punggol? How ur reception?
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