Internet radio receivers

[MickyD]

Life is never that simple, Micky. Richer Sounds in Belfast do not have it in stock. They can order it from Yamaha as a ''special order''. This means that I have to pay the full amount upfront, without having a demonstration beforehand. It is not quite buying blind - I have the benefit of your helpful comments - but if I am not happy with it, I have no come back. The store in Dublin that advertises it, also does not have it in stock.

If I may ask you two further questions, Micky. I am aware that you had someone set up your system for you, but does the Yamaha come with a printed instruction manual? If not, how is the set up information imparted? I have done a search online, via Google, for an owner's manual without success.

I know the Yamaha has Bluetooth, but can a smartphone or tablet also be connected to it through a 3.5mm aux in cable?

Once again, many thanks for your assistance.

In fact, I did manage to set up the system myself in the end, Dermot - it was merely the difficulty in getting Radio 3 on the internet that posed a problem for me at the start, and thanks to your advice, I managed to solve that!

Yes, the Yamaha comes with a really good manual, clear even for a technical ignoramus like me! It does have Bluetooth, but I have no idea if you could use it with a tablet or smartphone, sorry!

As I mentioned in my recent post, the unit has now come down to about 800 euros here in France, a good deal cheaper than what I paid for it at the beginning of the year, but that's life! I am sure that it would be sufficient for your needs.

[Dave2002]

Hi Dave. I have to confess that I have never gone into the subject in great detail, but whenever I ask in electrical shops in France about DAB radios, the personnel have no idea what I am talking about! Maybe I'm wrong, but I am pretty sure that over here, it is only FM reception in cars. I don't think the French have ever gone into DAB radio broadcasting.

Hi Micky

I found this, which seems to be reasonably up to date - https://forums.digitalspy.com/discus...mment_89292132
This indicates that DAB and/or DAB+ is available in some major parts of France.

I don’t know what the continuing/on going situation is going to be there. As the U.K. is still sticking with the original, basic DAB, some U.K. receivers might not work in France, though I think most of the latest ones should - including car based ones. There are newer variants of DAB which other countries have adopted, and as the innards of the boxes are not too dissimilar many manufacturers can cope with the different systems. However some countries have given up on DAB and some have digital radio, but not in any way compatible with DAB (Canada - may have given DAB up, USA uses different digital radio and satellite radio “standards”).

[Cockney Sparrow]

With a manufacturer such as Yamaha - multinational, not UK niche, I'd expect a root around on their website (Googling "support manuals Yamaha Audio com UK" - or variations of) would turn up access to a manual and quick start guide downloads. If not, why not contact their sales support.

In this case - maybe have a look here:

https://uk.yamaha.com/en/products/contents/audio_visual/downloads/manuals/index.html?k=&c=audio_visual&l=en

[MickyD]

Hi Micky

I found this, which seems to be reasonably up to date - https://forums.digitalspy.com/discus...mment_89292132
This indicates that DAB and/or DAB+ is available in some major parts of France.

I don’t know what the continuing/on going situation is going to be there. As the U.K. is still sticking with the original, basic DAB, some U.K. receivers might not work in France, though I think most of the latest ones should - including car based ones. There are newer variants of DAB which other countries have adopted, and as the innards of the boxes are not too dissimilar many manufacturers can cope with the different systems. However some countries have given up on DAB and some have digital radio, but not in any way compatible with DAB (Canada - may have given DAB up, USA uses different digital radio and satellite radio “standards”).

Interesting, Dave. All I can say is that I have never heard any of my French compatriots talk about DAB, neither have I seen a portable DAB radio in any shop. Must remember to ask my geek friend at work tomorrow - will report back!

[Dave2002]

Interesting, Dave. All I can say is that I have never heard any of my French compatriots talk about DAB, neither have I seen a portable DAB radio in any shop. Must remember to ask my geek friend at work tomorrow - will report back!

I'll be interested to hear about the views from France. I found this in one of the links I looked up:

France adopted DMB-R (aka DMB-A) for digital radio rather than DAB+. Subsequently DAB+ was permitted alongside DMB-R and broadcasters very quickly switched to DAB+. The only residual DMB-R broadcasts remain on the test ensemble in Rambouillet, operated by a car manufacturer. However, even these services are duplicated in DAB+. The market has overwhelmingly opted for DAB+, but DMB-R currently remains a part of the French specification. The regulator has launched a consultation on a proposal to remove DMB-R from the national specification. Wohnort recommends that a receiver intended for France should be able to receive DAB+ as a minimum. A DMB-R receiver is only really necessary if you want insurance against the unlikely event of the market suddenly changing its mind

I also noted some adverse comments about bit rates and variants of DAB deployed in France. The suggestion being that broadcasters would try to cram (have already crammed) in as many channels as possible - in order to give more "choice", thus reducing what might in some cases be limited audio quality to something far worse. Some of the DAB+ options should sound better than DAB in the UK at comparable bit rates, but if the bit rate is reduced significantly quality will suffer badly.

[Bryn]

Interesting, Dave. All I can say is that I have never heard any of my French compatriots talk about DAB, neither have I seen a portable DAB radio in any shop. Must remember to ask my geek friend at work tomorrow - will report back!

https://bestradios.co.uk/does-dab-radio-work-in-france/ i.e it's there but with decidedly limited coverage.

[hmvman]

We're wanting to get an all-in-one audio unit for our kitchen/dining area and I've been tempted by the John Lewis 'Cello' which has internet radio too. It seems an incredible spec for the price but seems to get good reviews. Anyone here have any experience of it?

[Pulcinella]

We're wanting to get an all-in-one audio unit for our kitchen/dining area and I've been tempted by the John Lewis 'Cello' which has internet radio too. It seems an incredible spec for the price but seems to get good reviews. Anyone here have any experience of it?

No experience of it, but I have of JL staff, and would suggest that you pop along to Richer Sounds in town first and see what they could offer. (No, I'm not on commission.....)

[Bryn]

No experience of it, but I have of JL staff, and would suggest that you pop along to Richer Sounds in town first and see what they could offer. (No, I'm not on commission.....)

"JL staff"? "JL & P partners", please.

If shopping form RS, be sure to sign up as a VIP, first, to get the extra discount.

[Pulcinella]

"JL staff"? "JL & P partners", please.

If shopping form RS, be sure to sign up as a VIP, first, to get the extra discount.

And a free mug!

[hmvman]

Thanks. Looking at the RS website, though, I can't see anything that fits the bill within my price range. The Ruarke units are very good I'm sure, but I don't want to pay 700 quid for it - even with the temptation of a free mug - and it doesn't have internet radio.

We found JL staff/partners helpful when we went looking for kitchen appliances earlier this year.

[Pulcinella]

Thanks. Looking at the RS website, though, I can't see anything that fits the bill within my price range. The Ruarke units are very good I'm sure, but I don't want to pay 700 quid for it - even with the temptation of a free mug - and it doesn't have internet radio.

We found JL staff/partners helpful when we went looking for kitchen appliances earlier this year.

I'd still give them (RS) a call to chat about your requirements; they'd probably let you listen too.
I'm afraid our dealings with JL have not been as encouraging: blinds, vacuum cleaner, bedding, sofas. Nearly always told to go online or had to wait for more stock to arrive and be delivered!

[hmvman]

I'm afraid our dealings with JL have not been as encouraging: blinds, vacuum cleaner, bedding, sofas. Nearly always told to go online or had to wait for more stock to arrive and be delivered!

It must depend on who you get. The kitchen appliances man was very good but we had a less good experience with the lady in the bedding department. In the end though we bought a mattress from Browns and all the appliances for the new kitchen from Herbert Todd's who were excellent in every respect but I realise I'm now getting horribly off-topic!

[Stunsworth]

Interesting, Dave. All I can say is that I have never heard any of my French compatriots talk about DAB, neither have I seen a portable DAB radio in any shop. Must remember to ask my geek friend at work tomorrow - will report back!

I’m in France at the moment and the DAB+ radio in my car hasn’t managed to pick up any stations so far - FM obviously is fine.

[Anastasius]

We're wanting to get an all-in-one audio unit for our kitchen/dining area and I've been tempted by the John Lewis 'Cello' which has internet radio too. It seems an incredible spec for the price but seems to get good reviews. Anyone here have any experience of it?

Just be wary if you want to use it to play CDs because a lot of these do not have any read ahead buffering.

What does that mean in real life ? Any CD, such as an opera, with lots of tracks in an Act will pause between tracks. Great if all you want to do is play a pop CD but useless for classical music.