Digital Radio from Cable Receiver - Printable Version +- Devialet Chat (https://devialetchat.com) +-- Forum: Devialet Chat (https://devialetchat.com/Forum-Devialet-Chat) +--- Forum: Tweaker's Corner (https://devialetchat.com/Forum-Tweaker-s-Corner) +--- Thread: Digital Radio from Cable Receiver (/Thread-Digital-Radio-from-Cable-Receiver) |
Digital Radio from Cable Receiver - knud0 - 28-Mar-2015 Hello! I've configured a cable receiver to run headless in radio mode to feed my Devialet 120 with all 146 radio stations broadcasted digitally by my cable TV provider. For this I've connected the receivers optical out to Devialets optical in. (In Austria there is no DAB/DAB+ available!) On the whole, this works fine, but sound on my KEF LS50s is a bit low voiced. I feel also it lack a bit of punch and dynamics. Most of the radio channel broadcast MPEG-1 Audio Layer II, 196 kbit/s and 48,0 kHz, a few even with 320 kbit/s. The cable receivers audio output is set to PCM, but it is also possible to change the mode to BITSTREAM. Comparing PCM vs. BITSTREAM showed no significant difference in SQ to me. Is it reasonable to fetch the signal from the HDMI output of the cable receiver with an additional HDMI Audio Extractor and put it on to the Devialets optical in? Or is it simply the MPII signal, that produces no better sound? An alternative would be, of course, to use a traditional FM tuner and feed the Devialet with RCA line inputs. But today there exist only a few companies producing traditional FM tuners. http://www.rotel.com/UK/products/ProductDetails.htm?Id=507 http://www.amazon.de/Onkyo-T-4030-FM-Tuner-Senderspeicher-schwarz/dp/B009ATHSUC/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1427576278&sr=8-6&keywords=hifi+tuner http://www.amazon.de/Yamaha-500-HiFi-UKW-Tuner-silber/dp/B002S61WI8/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1427576278&sr=8-5&keywords=hifi+tuner I would be pleased for some recommendations to get an optimal radio sound for my Devialet without being hooked on Internet and WIFI. Indeed, it happened three times so far that AIR/WIFI broke down while relaxing in the bath tub! :-) Thank you! Knud RE: Digital Radio from Cable Receiver - thumb5 - 29-Mar-2015 Hello Knud, I'm not sure how much you were thinking you might spend on an FM tuner, but you might want to have a look at what Magnum Dynalab can offer. Until quite recently I had one of their FT-11 models which worked well and sounded very good. (I sold it as part of my box-count reduction process when I got my Devialet, since I was hardly using it because I have Internet radio via Sonos.) Hope that helps, and good luck! Ian RE: Digital Radio from Cable Receiver - PeterS - 29-Mar-2015 (29-Mar-2015, 09:58)thumb5 Wrote: Hello Knud, Another option is to look at the German brand Restek. I have a tuner from them which is FM and DAB+. I use the optical output to my Devialet. Yes, also FM is digital out! The sound is quite decent, but the sound quality depends on what is offered via the cable and that is a far cry from CD quality. Peter RE: Digital Radio from Cable Receiver - knud0 - 29-Mar-2015 (29-Mar-2015, 16:03)PeterS Wrote:(29-Mar-2015, 09:58)thumb5 Wrote: Hello Knud, Hello Peter, I've also had a look at Restek. They even offer a tuner for digital cable only: http://www.restek.de/mcab-dvb-c-tuner/ With the chrome finish this would be a stylish companion for the Devialet, but priced at EUR 1.400,00 is tough for a tuner. I know, all hand-made in Germany! Mayby I will try the Onkyo T-4030 as a buget option first. It also has a digital output thats is also active for analog FM/UKW mode. Thanks, Knud RE: Digital Radio from Cable Receiver - PeterS - 31-Mar-2015 (29-Mar-2015, 18:10)knud0 Wrote:(29-Mar-2015, 16:03)PeterS Wrote:(29-Mar-2015, 09:58)thumb5 Wrote: Hello Knud, Hi Knud, That might be a wise choice. The sound quality of cable stations or free to air stations in the Netherlands is a lot worse than CD or streaming quality. Maybe it is not worth while spending a lot of money on a tuner nowadays. And DAB doesn't sound promising when economics are more important than quality. Regards, Peter |