The Humble Kitchen Radio

[Don Petter]

How important is portability - do you have a little shelf space? - I have a small Yamaha system which has DAB and FM, CD player, USB and iPod inputs - versatile compact and decent sound. If that's too big and you need to move it around then your Sony example looks good.

I, too, think BO should have a full range of facilities, perhaps in this style?

http://www.armyradio.com/arsc/skin1/images/FAQ.jpg

[Beef Oven!]

How important is portability - do you have a little shelf space? - I have a small Yamaha system which has DAB and FM, CD player, USB and iPod inputs - versatile compact and decent sound. If that's too big and you need to move it around then your Sony example looks good.

Portability is essential. From the days of taking the radio with you to the outside toilet, to present day central heating, double glazing and fitted carpets, the radio goes everywhere. Kitchen, bathroom, khazi, up to the bedroom at night. I've even taken it to the car with me, when I've been engrossed in a particular programme.

[amateur51]

You do have to extend the aerial, and then move the radio round the kitchen, in one inch increments, until you get a reliable signal.

Actually, I find a spare DAB car windscreen aerial hung up on the picture rail works well. (Does your humble kitchen have the necessary rail?)

Top post DonP!

[amateur51]

I just tested it on the bedroom DAB radio (Pure Evoke-3) - with the aerial extended there is a very stable full signal, all 5 (6?) bars showing. Retracting the aerial that drops to 3 bars - but the sound is still fine.

I agree that testing the strength of signal in the house is a good idea, I suggest by borrowing a DAB radio to use in situ, because it does depend on the architecture of the house, and in what rooms you would want to listen, how strong the signal will be - here: full strength in the bedroom, virtually nothing in the kitchen

Does FM suffer similarly?

Remind me why DAB is so highly thought of by our Master Race

[amateur51]

Well, that makes things easier. You could have an old non-working radio to satisfy that habit. Even throw away the works to make it lighter?

You're on a roll this morning DonP!

[Beef Oven!]

Yes I was disappointed too. The aerial definitely affects the strength of signal received.

Here, the DAB signal in the kitchen is pitiful with or without, so radio comes from the old iMac which is in the corner picking up WiFi, meaning the half-dozen favourite foreign internet stations are options when BBC radio offers nothing tolerable

Something that I have just thought of, does a strong FM signal mean that it's likely that you'll get a strong Dab signal?

I am lucky to have a strong FM signal, so if I went Dab, would it be the same?

[umslopogaas]

I dont need a kitchen radio, because the kitchen opens directly into the living room (the previous owners took the door off) and my hifi set up is in the living room. I have an FM tuner with an external aerial on the roof and reception is pretty good (I'm in east Devon). The other day when we had an all day power cut I resurrected my Sony portable short wave/FM radio, the one I used to carry in my suitcase in the days when my job involved a lot of overseas travel and kicking my heels in grotty hotel rooms. It still works and given that the set is only about the size of a paperback book, the sound quality isnt bad.

[Flay]

We had one of these when I was a lad:



Nowadays I use a small battery-operated FM radio in the bathroom (no point having hi fi in the little room) and a mains powered FM radio in the kitchen. The signal is too poor for digital even with an extended aerial.

I think you just have to borrow and try out a digital radio. If you move it about you may find you lose the signal easily. They are also generally heavier and use more power. And digital radios are not simultaneous so if you have different ones in different rooms there could be timing problems.

You could always use a mobile phone radio with ear phones. That's what I do when I am busy about the house, and it gives the choice of FM or internet radio.

[mangerton]

Something that I have just thought of, does a strong FM signal mean that it's likely that you'll get a strong Dab signal?

I am lucky to have a strong FM signal, so if I went Dab, would it be the same?

Not necessarily, as the two systems use different transmitters. You can check details for your area here.

FM reception is not brilliant where I live. I bought a Sony DAB/DAB+ portable in the summer, and have been pleasantly surprised by the results. I can carry it throughout the house, and it works everywhere, whereas my FM portable has to sit on the kitchen windowsill.

When I were a lad, we had a large radiogram, which lived in the sitting room and was definitely not portable. It did however have Long, Medium, and Shortwave reception as well as Trawler Band. (qv)

edit: DAB+. I'm thinking ahead here, in case the benighted OFCOM ever decide to get up to date with the rest of Europe and the world.

[johnb]

I have been very, very happy with my FM/AM only Tivoli Pal and would definitely buy another (or the DAB/FM equivalent) should the one I own fail, in spite of it being quite pricey.

It is made from very heavy plastic and IMO the sound is remarkably full and remarkably good for such a small box - more than good enough for casual listening. It is battery operated so can be carried around and, based on how I use it, the battery charge lasts for many days.

They have models that include Blue Tooth (so, I guess, you can play Blue Tooth enabled devices through the PAL) and they have DAB/FM models but the interval between recharges will be considerably reduced with DAB/FM.

[Alain Maréchal]

When I were a lad, we had a large radiogram, which lived in the sitting room and was definitely not portable. It did however have Long, Medium, and Shortwave reception as well as Trawler Band. (qv)

Off-topic, but I remember my childhood home had a substantial domestic radio with the names of many exotic stations. Recently a closed stretch of motorway forced me to drive along D roads; as I found myself driving through Allouis I had a "madeleine moment".

http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allouis

or

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allouis

re that (qv): does anybody have a clue? - wiki is no help.

[AmpH]

Another vote for Tivoli Radios from me too :-

http://tivoliaudio.co.uk/

A Tivoli Model One has been in my kitchen for several years and is permanently tuned to Radio 4 FM. Whilst the ultimate volume level is perhaps a touch on the low side, the sound of this radio is warm and natural, particularly with the spoken voice.

http://tivoliaudio.co.uk/shop/table-radios/model-one-reg-in-black-silver.html

In addition, I have 2 no Tivoli PAL units - the same model as johnb illustrates in his post #25 above - the sound is indeed extremely good for a single speaker portable unit. One of my ' PAL's ' regularly accompanies me on my travels !

These don't come cheap, but are far and away the best sounding portable radio units I have heard. I only use FM, so haven't heard the DAB models.

[Ferretfancy]

I have a very nice Roberts MP-SOUND43 in the kitchen. It's a handsome piece of equipment, more like a table radio than a portable, with an iPod dock and CD player.
I'm very pleased with it, and have no reception problems with the aerial mounted vertically, but then I do live high up in North London.

DAB is OK, although I prefer FM, partly because if I have the my living room tuner on there's that irritating delay as you move from one room to another. This was an expensive outlay, but most of the radios I listened to sounded like paint stained builders accessories.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Remind me why DAB is so highly thought of by our Master Race

Because the BBC keep on telling us how good it is. (They should learn to tell the truth.)

[Gordon]

Because the BBC keep on telling us how good it is. (They should learn to tell the truth.)

Hmm. My clock says 13.01 but your post is timed at 13.54!! Have you invested in a time machine?

AH!! now it's been mended!!