Clock Radios

[Scott]

Just think of them as the Dyson of the audio world.

[T i m]

Some places do don't they ... where you tick the devices you want to compare ... but there isn't a big single site for most of the appliances that I know of though.

Good question ... but it's a bit like Bush or even Sony where you got the good stuff and also the budget / rebranded stuff (and now Bush is

*just* a name I believe).

"In 1959 Binatone started importing transistor radios into the UK. Over the years the brothers grew the audio based product selection from radios to a wide range of audio products including world receivers, clock radios, cassette players and audio towers."

"Dino Lalvani's Binatone Communications Group is headquartered Hong Kong and has offices in London, Lummen, Indianapolis, New Delhi, Bangalore and Shenzhen. Main product categories are communication (landline, mobile), baby monitors, home monitors, pet training systems and multimedia (tablets, e-readers, GPS sat Nav).[1] These products are sold under the brands Binatone, iDECT and Voxtel and the licensed brands Motorola and AEG."

I wonder if it's one of those things were the older people know the Binatone name and know what it is (and mostly don't care as long as it does what they want) and many of the youngsters wouldn't buy it if it wasn't a big brand in any case (and probably wouldn't appeal to them either)?

Cheers, T i m

[Woody]

I would still comment as I did before that IME Pure radios (en bloc) have a very limited high frequency response and seem to have low frequencies boosted that makes them boomy.

I would suggest to the OP that he buys from such as John Lewis so that he can take it back if it is unsuitable.

[Scott]

Is this definitely a feature of Pure rather than a problem with DAB in general - compression, low bitrates and an outdated codec?

[RJH]

Bit of a whoosh situation there :-)

I find Roberts tend to trade on a name too much - bit like Hoover and Dyson perhaps. I tried one of their internet radios while I was there. Crashed/locked solid.

Yes, that's what I thought about the sound, very boomy and overbearing bass, dull treble.

I do have a Stream 83i - had it for some years now and use it every day. That's pretty good.

[RJH]

Yes, thanks, they were list in JL, £85 at Richer Sounds, and as you say, £72 refurb. Still wouldn't buy one - if it sounded half decent, I might. Although many on the amazon reviews seem very happy. Oh well.

[Woody]

No, its like that whether on DAB or FM. Compare it with, say, a Sony or Panasonic and the difference jumps out at you.

We have an Evoke 1. I've had a bad cold over the hols and it resulted in a degree of deafness. I turned the Evoke on in the kitchen to listen to the Today prog and with that set at a level that I could hear (not that much higher than normal) it was impossible to listen to. It was so boomy the case rattled and the sound broke up like bubbling mud even though we (now) have a good signal and it doesn't do it at lower levels. I even tried plugging the bass port underneath with a large cork but it made no difference.

[pamela]

There are some Amazon reviews which suggest you're not alone when it comes to sound quality.

[Tim Watts]

I think a Pi would be a good start.

You've got sound and I reckon some RGB(W) "pixel" matrix LED panels would make a super display.

[Tim Watts]

OT

I am surprised by the pathetic lack of quality alarm clock products.

The Philips "wake up to light" ones are good - well made, ring up an LED light gradually to a very high brightness to help soften the wake up of people who hate winter. But even that does not retain time in the case of a power cut or (better) sync to the 60kHz time signal.

For me, the perfect clock would be:

Soft display - VFD or OLED simulating VFD.

60kHz time sync

Multiple alarms, with settable "which day" option.

Excellent snooze with light touch to snooze. Should alarm forever until fully silenced.

Auto dimming display that is bright enough to be seem in direct sunlight.

Proper mains with no wall wart. Should be nice and heavy so as not to fall off shelf when poked.

[R D S]

We have a Roberts DAB one, always been happy with it. Can't see it for sale any more, nearest thing seems to be a Dreamtime.

You might want to have a look at a suitable holder and app for a tablet.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

With a portable radio it's likely the speaker and cabinet which have the major effect on the sound rather than the electronics. Pretty well the same as with anything using speakers.

Ah. The Bose sound. ;-)

[Martin Brown]

It is a "feature" rather than a benefit of almost all of the modern smallish domestic kit. Done I presume for the aging disco ghetto blaster generation. They probably can't hear the high frequencies anyway.

Japanese makers seem a lot less inclined to shake their box to bits.

Pure, Roberts and quite likely most of the others too. DAB basic rate isn't all that bad unless you put it up against a good FM receiver or original source material and then the losses are very obvious.

UK DAB isn't helped by its inability to work in many places without a significant aerial and even then there is a tendency in bad weather to get announcers who sound like they are gargling whilst trying to speak.

Driving down the A1 there are several bad DAB dead spots.

[Martin Brown]

There is no point in having 60kHz time sync when the set has DAB since it can obtain the correct time from the transmission anyway.

Better would be LCD display with backlight for night time.

Disagree entirely - just makes it a lot heavier, bulkier and more dangerous with mains voltages inside the chassis.

It should be easy enough to make one work from a 5v USB supply. (not like you need massive power or anything in an alarm)

[pamela]

I hate those wall warts!

[Tim Watts]

Who said mine would have DAB?

I disagree - I hate LCD displays. You can dim LEDs right down - but it would be interesting to see how dim "Unicorn HAT" Pi LEDs go to when on setting 1/255. VFDs were the nicest displays IMO but sadly non existant now.

I want heavy. All the modern clocks are too flimsy and light - slight tug on the cord and they fall off the shelf.

As for mains - unless you are planning on pouring coffee over it, there's nothing dangerous about it. It's more dangerous to have a bulky wall wart in a socket down the side of the bed where it's covered by bedding or liable to get hit by the bed frame (on a smooth floor).

Also, I place more faith in a nice solid iron transformer with provable isolation than some random cheap switch mode PSU.

That would be a theory - doesn't seem to stop the shop ones comming with massive wallwarts sadly.

[John Williamson]

The SMPS will have the same level of isolation as a heavy transformer based one, it will be more efficient and a lot smaller. They also run cooler, so are less likely to overheat if covered by bedding.

Don't forget, your heavy iron transformer based supply is under the same cost constraints as the SMPS, so the same corners are likely to be cut.

Part of the size of the wallwarts is to provide enough space inside to safely isolate the mains from the low voltage side of things. Air gaps are cheap, while space saving plastic mouldings cost money, which is why the plugtop sized USB chargers cost more than the larger ones. If you are buying one, then the space saved may be worth the extra, when you are buying thousands, and are not the end user, the cost savings of buying the larger ones are considerable.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Despite living in London, much the same applies to FM using the set aerial. Although just fading and distortion - so not quite so dramatic as the boiling mud.

I have a very expensive aftermarket active DAB aerial on the old car, and in general DAB reception is better than FM. On the stations I listen to and the routes I use.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Don't agree. Too sensitive to viewing angle. LED isn't.

[Simon Mason]

53N 0W

0430 UTC: BBC Worldservice on local DAB - burbling. On local FM 95.9 kHz -keeps cutting out. On 6005 kHz from Ascension Island - 100% copy.