SNAG Posted May 22, 2007 Posted May 22, 2007 Hi all, I'm tempted to try out SmartRADIO, but however, it seems from previous postings that its something that leaves to be desired. However, in the site, it seems that they have done some upgrades in Apr07: http://www.smartradio.sg/enews/April2007/index.htm After more than six months of grueling tests and evaluations conducted on several potential DAB multiplexing (MUX) systems, we are pleased to announce that we have completed the upgrading of our DAB MUX system to serve you better. With the new MUX system and its advanced audio encoding capabilities, our SmartRadio listeners will be able to experience even more superior audio quality of SmartRadio services. Has anyone tried the updated service? Hopefully they are broadcasting at a better rate.. Radio wise, I'm looking at portable radios (not those hifi decks). I'm looking at the following models: Tivoli Audio iPal (should I not into DAB - the DAB versions cost a arm and a leg!) Creative Soundworks DAB 500 (seems at an affordable price - seems to have pretty decent reviews too) PURE Digital Range (any recommendations and pricing for this?) Anyone has any suggestions pertaining to the selection? Thanks all..
mikeang88 Posted May 24, 2007 Posted May 24, 2007 one word : NO! I have DAB in my car for the last 6 mths and I am not impressed with it at all... Poor signal, indifferent sound quality, limited Data eg news etc.
Nstarone Posted May 24, 2007 Posted May 24, 2007 Hi all, I'm tempted to try out SmartRADIO, but however, it seems from previous postings that its something that leaves to be desired. However, in the site, it seems that they have done some upgrades in Apr07: http://www.smartradio.sg/enews/April2007/index.htm Has anyone tried the updated service? Hopefully they are broadcasting at a better rate.. Radio wise, I'm looking at portable radios (not those hifi decks). I'm looking at the following models: Tivoli Audio iPal (should I not into DAB - the DAB versions cost a arm and a leg!) Creative Soundworks DAB 500 (seems at an affordable price - seems to have pretty decent reviews too) PURE Digital Range (any recommendations and pricing for this?) Anyone has any suggestions pertaining to the selection? Thanks all.. They have not increased the bit rates as far as I know but the signal does seem stronger. Think you should try and audition the radios you suggested. think the 4th floor of CK Tangs has a pretty good range. They all have their sonic differences. Personally, I think Trivoli's overpriced for what they offer.
kzone Posted May 25, 2007 Posted May 25, 2007 had a short experince with DAB awhile ago & dont really like it. not sure how much an improved bitrate gonna do to the sq but since its target audience is the masses & lifestyle crowd, dont think they will raise it to level where its realy close to CD quality but since u're looking at portable solutions, u shouldnt be expecting much anyway..
Bernie7 Posted May 25, 2007 Posted May 25, 2007 I for one would recommend you to go for it. I listen mostly to the oldies on Cruise channel and record many songs to MP3. Played back on my main stereo system the quality is pretty darn impressive even though it is MP2 music converted to MP3. The songs are vibrant and clear even though transmitted in MP2 at only 128kb/s. My Pure Bug radio allows me to record to a built-in SD Card slot in the radio and this means the recording process is digital throughout. My beef is with the lack of content in the Cruise channel. After 1 week of avid listening and recording, I find there is nothing new left to listen to. It seems like the playlist of oldies is only limited to 1000 songs that are endlessly repeated week after week. This is equal to the number of songs that can fit in a 3GB MP3 player. MediaCorpse should show more committment to DAB than that!
Bernie7 Posted May 25, 2007 Posted May 25, 2007 I should add that I began listening to DAB only 3 weeks ago. So I can't say how much of quality I report hearing from the broadcast actually comes from the improvement to their services in April.
SNAG Posted May 26, 2007 Author Posted May 26, 2007 Hi all, Thanks for your comments. I popped by CK Tang yesterday, and here's a short review: The PURE Digital One wasn't available, and I tested the Tivoli DAB and PURE EVOKE1. It seems that the bitrates have been increased. If I remember correctly: Love 972: 128 Perfect 10: 128 Class 95: 160 Symphony 92.4: 192 Gold 95: 160 Yes 93.3: 160 Newsradio 938: 96 LUSH: 128 Some other channels were also only available on DAB: Bloomberg, etc etc. I did a A/B test between the DAB station and the FM station on both the Tivoli and PURE, and there is indeed a difference in terms of clarity. Quality wise, the Tivoli wins slightly over the PURE, with warmer midranges. But at that price point, it's quite expensive (I'll rather get a DAB deck for that price!) Only BEST Vivocity has the PURE One ($199) available, but they don't have a demo set, citing reasons that they've got "no signal" in the building... ::)
petetherock Posted May 26, 2007 Posted May 26, 2007 Hi bro I have a Sangean DDR desktop DAB radio aka Robert Gemini Good sound reception and looks SRP $399 DAB sound pretty alright with it, even though I am in a valley
Bernie7 Posted May 26, 2007 Posted May 26, 2007 It seems that the bitrates have been increased. What were the bitrates before?
SNAG Posted May 26, 2007 Author Posted May 26, 2007 What were the bitrates before? Hi, I'm not sure about the previous arrangement, but from what I can remember reading from the forums here, they were at 128kbps. But then again, they are also very selective in increasing bitrates for their stations - Newsradio 938 is at 96kbps (even though it's mostly news broadcast)
Bernie7 Posted May 28, 2007 Posted May 28, 2007 I did a A/B test between the DAB station and the FM station on both the Tivoli and PURE, and there is indeed a difference in terms of clarity. Quality wise, the Tivoli wins slightly over the PURE, with warmer midranges. But at that price point, it's quite expensive (I'll rather get a DAB deck for that price!) Only BEST Vivocity has the PURE One ($199) available, but they don't have a demo set, citing reasons that they've got "no signal" in the building... ::) Yeah, the Tivoli has its trademark warm sound which is nice for such a small speaker. Pure sounds cooler but more punchy though. I have both the Tivoli analogue radio and the Pure Evoke-1. Courts AMK has the Pure and Sanggean models. Should be able to demo there as it is a single-storey building.
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