Be Excellent To Each Other

Is it worth buying a clock radio that ISNT DAB these days?
I have no idea, but with other things needing future proofing is it prudent to buy a DAB one?

if anyone can recommend a good model (neednt be DAB however, depends on advice for the above) then let me know.
If you can plug a sony MP3 player into it, all the better (shunned Ipods so thats out of the question).


Thanks for the advice

DAB can GTFF. Stick with FM.

Why would you need a clock radio to do anything other than go "BLART! BLART! BLART! BLART!" when it's time to wake up?

I have to say I'm thoroughly underwhelmed with DAB.

You could get a visual one.

The problem with DAB is that you're still listening to the radio instead of music you actually like.

The point is to get out of bed though, not lie there listening to the music. Apparently.

ok cool thanks for this. saves me money as well.

anyway, its for a gift, not for me.
my mobile wakes me up suitably.

I has a nice Sony one, it has a digital FM radio with 5 presets, and two alarm times which appear in separate little LCD windows. It was about 25 quid from Argos.

http://www.sony.co.uk/product/rad-clock-radio/icfc273l

I now want a clock radio that plays You Suffer by Napalm Death instead of the "BLART! BLART! BLART! BLART!"

I don't use an alarm because I can wake up at any time I fancy, and if I do use an alarm I always wake up a few minutes before it goes off to stop it from chiming, but mine plays a gentle harp sound.

I quite fancy one of those ones that slowly lights up to simulate the rising sun and to slowly wake you up. That's be nice for cold winter mornings, just as a way of slowly introducing some light into the day.

You have many choices.

Caution - light bulb discussion imminent!

I know I'd just sleep through it and end up getting a sun burnt fizzog.

DAB has Planet Rock. Therefore DAB wins, for a value of win where the contestant likes classic rock and people like Rick Wakeman and Alice Cooper having silly programmes where they recount amusing anecdotes of their lives in amusing ways.

If I go to bed late/drunk enough that I think I'll need an alarm to get me up then a clockwork one is fucking terrifying the best. Also, the constant tick-tock is good for getting to sleep as the constant noise helps me ignore the tinnitus.

Me and alarms are having a weird relationship at the moment. I always (ALWAYS) wake up a few minutes before my main alarm goes off. Snooze for 10 mins then up and out. At the weekend though, I (being a creature of habit) don't bother to switch the alarm off. Strange thing is I never remember cancelling it at the weekend. Odd.

I've got into the habit of having a wee nap on the sofa before I head out to work as well. So I set my phone alarm, just in case I fall properly asleep. Strange thing is, I know, for a fact, that the phone alarm is set for 7:10am, but it doesn't go off until 7:13. It drives me crazy and has ruined my morning snooze.

But DAB? Currently, it's pants. Although I do enjoy Absolute radio and Heart, which I can't get through FM here.

The wife has one of those, and she really likes it. I'm damned if I know whether it really is any better for you than "BLART BLART BLART", but it keeps her happy. It's a 100W bulb though, so we'll be pretty much fucked if it blows.

I saw a twisted tube energy saver the other day, same size and fitting as a standard bulb, 20w (or something like that) equivalent to 100w. I think they're learning.

Is it DimrillDimmable?

Also, 21W CFLs have been available for years!

DAB is worthless. My parents have gone through several of the things over the last few years, even though they just play Radio 2 on it. I just read through the station list on the godigitalradio site and ffs, every single station is 'Adult Contemporary'.

DAB does sound better than FM, though. Even I can notice, and I'm rubbish at that sort of thing.

It really doesn't though, and I am good at that sort of thing

Nope. DAB sounds flat and artificial. Like a low bitrate MP3

It does in my Mundano. High notes sound much better.

We've got a 'Pure Chronos CD' alarm clock and it's OK, but probably not worth £99. It has an aux jack so you can plug other things into it, and has DAB and FM reception. The auto screen-dim works quite nicely, although being blue I have trouble focussing on it until I've been awake for more than a few moments.

TBH, I use my phone as my alarm, it's quicker and easier to set.

It's a low-bitrate MP2, in fact.

Indeed. My DAB radio in the kitchen is used mainly for FM. Until I get pissed off with the limited number of stations I can get and reluctantly flip to DAB for Absolute or Heart.

It's telling that the new car we're getting next week (Fiesta Titanuim) didn't even offer a DAB as an option. Or at least, they didn't mention it. *checks specs*

It wouldn't on the road(s) between here & Glasgow. You go down a dip or round a bend & the reception gets a bit noisy on FM. Whereas DAB just cuts out

From wikipedia:


UK stations almost universally use 128. The exception is Radio 3, and only because of strenuous complaints from most of its listeners.

DAB should be given up on as a bad job. I'm convinced it only got off the ground in the first place due to some petty London-based government officials being annoyed by channel congestion and pirate radio transmission.

Which isn't a problem for the other 99% of the country so live with it, you dicks.

I'd be surprised if you don't get the same radio options as the Mondeo. Does is have the talky-talky voice command stuff?

Have you all got me on ignore? Planet Rock.

Ah, now that was offerred. If it came with that, then ho hum, never mind. FM will do for now. Mp3 connector was more important to her anyway

oh, i've just remembered, planet rock

MAke this, you could get it to sound the 60s TV series as it's alarm noise.

http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1329

The built in phone stuff is superb, though.

Where the hell is Gaywood anyway?

Panto.

He's in lurrrrrrrrrrrrrve

Awwww...

What a selfish bastard.

Get back here, you Love sick midget.

Wait.. he chose a woman over us?? Oh.. ok.

Back to the original subject, I'm off all this week and obviously I forgot to turn the alarm on my mobile off so Monday morning was a 7:30 start. Great.

CLOTH EARS!

I used to be in charge of alot of audio equipment. I had all the nationals on DAB, DSAT as well as 1-4 on FM.

You could flick between all 4 main nationals and it went like this:

DSAT>FM>DAB

The low bitrates on DAB rob the music of any life or bottom end. You can't even blame the codec as DSAT is also MPEG 2. DAB stations need to be at 256k to get any sense of audio fidelity out of it.

We'd sometimes have to switch to DAB as a backup for our DSAT or dedicated audio lines. You could hear the difference even on Real at 40k.

Not one bit of that stops it sounding better in my Mondeo, though.
Feel free to try it yourself.

I have noticed that for the "household" radios you see flogged for 30 quid that the FM tuner in the unit is generally diabolical.

Also depends on the FM signal level. Car radios will put filters in and reduce the stereo image to ensure that hiss can't be heard. A good FM signal is better than DAB just as a good analogue TV signal is better than Freeview.

I was going to ask if that was like the story of how Alan Sugar demanded that the cassette players on cheapo combo CD-cassette hi-fi units have their sound quality reduced because CD playback couldn't be made to sound better than cassette playback with the cheap components the designers had to work with.

But then I saw that you meant dedicated FM tuning devices, not combo units that can pick up FM and DAB.

That's what I meant. Most of the kitchen style DAB radios also offer FM, but it's shit.

If you want a real listening experience, get hold of a 1970's radio made by a quality manufacturer and tune it to AM. Lovely stuff.

What happens if I want to listen to it in the afternoon?

Dad is indeed rubbish. There's nothing wrong at all with FM other than the commercial stations and the stuff on them. What I've been looking for for ages is an FM clock radio, decent quality, not wholly ugly, that has a headphone socket so I can listen to the Shipping Forecast and God Save The Queen before dropping off, without keeping my wife awake.

I've now found one, thanks to Roberts, who I'll bet have vaguely decent sounding DAB compared to most. First clock radio alarm on their website looks like it'll more than do the job... and for £45 which is a bargain when you look at the shit you can get for the same price in a supermarket. In fact I'm not sure why I'd ever bother buying any radio other than a Roberts, if the radio feature was the main thing. Never bought one before - the family Roberts radios are all older than me and all in better condition to boot!

Dude, don't diss one of your parents. That's breaking the 5th commandment of the famous Ten Commandments, after all.