Internet radio receivers

[peterthekeys]

And no chat

Ohhhhhh yes!

[MickyD]

I nearly bought that one also - but at the moment I'm primarily looking for something to replace the once excellent but now clapped-out Sony micro system which I have by my bedside - and I suddenly realised that I couldn't see any sign of an alarm function on the Yamaha. So instead, I've gone for the Pioneer X-CM66D-B (I was originally concerned about the fact that this only did internet stations via the TuneIn site - but having tried TuneIn and seen how many classical stations are available, I don't think this will be a problem (unless the TuneIn site itself folds.)) I will also post updates on how I get on with the Pioneer box.

I have just set up the Yamaha unit...in fact, I see in the instruction manual that it does have an alarm function, so you could have got it, Peter!

My first impressions are OK, but initially I feel that my trusty old Technics speakers are still better than these new ones. All the same, I think that speakers have to be 'broken in', so I will give it time and for my ears to adjust. I now have to read the manual and work out how to do all the internet radio station lark - I hope it's not too tricky! How is the Pioneer working out?

[Beef Oven!]

I have just set up the Yamaha unit...in fact, I see in the instruction manual that it does have an alarm function, so you could have got it, Peter!

My first impressions are OK, but initially I feel that my trusty old Technics speakers are still better than these new ones. All the same, I think that speakers have to be 'broken in', so I will give it time and for my ears to adjust. I now have to read the manual and work out how to do all the internet radio station lark - I hope it's not too tricky! How is the Pioneer working out?

Wait for your ears to adjust and for the units to warm up. Conflicting views on this, but I strongly believe in 'burn in'.

[MickyD]

Wait for your ears to adjust and for the units to warm up. Conflicting views on this, but I strongly believe in 'burn in'.

I think you are right, Beefy...two days later and my ears are adjusting...and I am sure that the speakers sound different to when I first tried them. I'm pretty happy with the setup...it's only for my small office and more than adequate for my needs.

[anotherbob]

My son uses one of these. He's very satisfied.

https://www.richersounds.com/marantz-mcr611-blk.html

I have a Squeezebox Touch which thanks to the help from folk at the Logitech community forum can do everything I need through Logitech Media Server on my PC.

[MickyD]

Well, my geek duly came and set up the Yamaha web radio. It's excellent - France Musique working well, but would you believe impossible to get BBC Radio...presumably some sort of lock on it. Pretty lame of the BBC when you consider I can get it over the PC here in France. Very disappointed.

[Dave2002]

Well, my geek duly came and set up the Yamaha web radio. It's excellent - France Musique working well, but would you believe impossible to get BBC Radio...presumably some sort of lock on it. Pretty lame of the BBC when you consider I can get it over the PC here in France. Very disappointed.

It’s possible that the Yamaha is actually functioning correctly if the BBC have put restrictions on access in other countries. It might be similar to the situation re DVD players, where some properly specced players would not play or allow copying of DRM protected material, whereas some much cheaper players didn’t include the software to prevent such “misuse”. So maybe you are expecting to have a feature which the BBC as the distributor does not wish you to have in your current location.

[MickyD]

Yes, that's exactly what I meant, Dave, though maybe I didn't explain myself very well. The Radio 3 station is displayed on the Yamaha but cannot be received...it must be as you say, the BBC don't want me to have this feature, although that is pretty stupid when you consider that I can listen to all BBC radio stations without any problem on my PC here in France.

[Dave2002]

There are ways around that - such as use a proxy server.

[MickyD]

Ooh, now you are getting too technical for me, Dave!

I have to say that the sound quality of classical music from this Yamaha setup sounds much better when using the internet radio than when playing CDs. I wonder why that is?

[Anastasius]

My son uses one of these. He's very satisfied.

https://www.richersounds.com/marantz-mcr611-blk.html

I have a Squeezebox Touch which thanks to the help from folk at the Logitech community forum can do everything I need through Logitech Media Server on my PC.

Could you possibly ask your son if the Marantz plays CDs gaplessly ?

[anotherbob]

Could you possibly ask your son if the Marantz plays CDs gaplessly ?

According to the Marantz description it does support gapless playback.

https://www.marantz.co.uk/uk/products/pages/productdetails.aspx?catid=speakerdocks&productid=melodymediamcr611

[Anastasius]

According to the Marantz description it does support gapless playback.
https://www.marantz.co.uk/uk/product...odymediamcr611

Thank you. Didn't think to look at the spec

[peterthekeys]

Comparison - Pioneer X-CM66D-B vs. auna Connect CD

I finally took the plunge and ordered a Pioneer X-CM66D-B. The main things which swayed me were the external speakers and the physical network port (just in case I had problems with reception via wifi.)

I had problems from the start. The display is LED-based, and only about 20 characters; also the remote has very small buttons. My wifi password is quite complex, and it took me about half an hour and more tries than I could count (not to mention a lot of foul language) before I got it entered correctly (the worst part was that I kept touching the ENTER button, upon which the thing tried to connect with the incomplete password. Then it would reset itself, and I would have to start again ) However, I finally got it to connect to the wifi router. I then tried to find Audiophile Classical (which I've been using as my "test" station), and found that navigating through the maze of internet radio stations via the primitive single-line display was a nightmare. I found the Classical section and then spent about another hour working down through the entries one by one, trying unsuccessfully to find Audiophile Classical.) Finally had a breakthrough - accidentally found an entry in a menu (not mentioned in the manual) which allowed me to search by location. I knew that Audiophile Classical was from Greece (yes, really) - so selected that and finally found it and got it playing. Sound quality was good, but a bit on the quiet side, so tried to pump up the volume: got to maximum volume, and found that I could hardly hear it from three yards away (and I'm not deaf!) The maximum volume was ridiculously low - less than that from my PC speakers: I can only assume that some paranoid person in Pioneer's health and safety department decided to cap the output volume, on the basis of protecting users' hearing. Other major problems: the display doesn't give any details of the track being played (which given that Audiophile Classical broadcasts a lot of fascinating neglected music, but doesn't do announcements, is something of a killer); and the unit doesn't seem to recognise many internet radio formats (I found an entry for Radio 3, and found that it offered 12 different formats - but none of the first 6 worked: eventually got down to 128k MP3, and that worked.)

Most emphatically not impressed, and was tempted to send the Pioneer back straight away. However, decided to take a further plunge, order the auna Connect CD (which was my other favourite based on the descriptions) and try a direct comparison. Tried the auna this afternoon. The experience was different again; the unit has a "proper" multi-colour graphic display, allowing intelligent navigation via menus. Connection to the wifi was a cinch (bigger buttons on the remote!) as was navigating through the internet radio menus to find Audiophile Classical. And - joy of joys - the display gives details of the track being played. The sound quality is excellent (particularly given the small size of the speakers) and even at the default level was comfortable listening some distance away (it also has a graphic equaliser, with the ability to tune treble and bass to one's liking.) I tried pumping up the sound, and didn't get anywhere near the maximum volume before I had to turn it down again.

So - the Pioneer's going back (first time I've been disappointed by a piece of Pioneer kit.) I get the impression that the internet radio setup is old and poorly thought-out (I did look at the HM76, which looks to have a more sophisticated display and supports more formats - but it's a lot more money, and still only allows connection via TuneIn.) The only downsides for the auna are: internal speakers only, and no provision for physical network connection (but wifi seems fine.)

(BTW - both units were sourced from Amazon.)

[MickyD]

What is the output of the Pioneer, Peter? My Yamaha is 70w per channel, so can go very loud indeed. Though infuriatingly the BBC won't allow me to listen to its radio stations over here in France, I am having fun discovering others. Linn Records has a nice station back to back extracts from its catalogue. And the Yamaha also gives details of track listing. So far I am happy with my purchase.