Internet Radio - advice please

[davidsm]

I am thinking of buying an internet radio
Candidates so far seem to be the VQ Susie Q or the Roberts iStream 2.
The cons for the Susie Q seem to be that it is mains only (although when I first looked at it on line there seemed to be a battery pack available but a call to customer services produced a response "that was an error") and although it is blue tooth enabled I understand you can use Bluetooth "in" to play an external device on the radio but not "out" to Bluetooth enabled headphones. It does have stereo speakers and has good reviews for sound quality.
The Roberts is a lot cheaper but is portable although speaker wise it has only a single driver and so far as I can see I would have to use wired headphones the same as the Susie Q.
Does any member have any experience of these and is there anything else I should be looking at? Ideally I'd like to be able to have stereo speakers, battery portability and Bluetooth headphones facility. Does one such exist?
Any advice welcome.
regards,
David

[Rod]

The best sounding one is a Ruark R1 which has Bluetooth but not battery capability. It's streets ahead of anything else audio wise and a great company to deal with.

[Daddelvirks]

Go for Ruark, the sound is fantastic. I decided for their small blue tooth speakers and use my phone as radio.

[Skier]

Genuine question. Why go for something like this rather than, for example, a Sonos type device that can play internet radio as well as music stored in a library?

[Kingstepper]

Genuine question. Why go for something like this rather than, for example, a Sonos type device that can play internet radio as well as music stored in a library?

Many of them can. Our (elderly) Pure Evoke can and I think our newer Roberts can too.

[Seamaster73]

I am thinking of buying an internet radio Candidates so far seem to be the VQ Susie Q or the Roberts iStream 2. The cons for the Susie Q seem to be that it is mains only (although when I first looked at it on line there seemed to be a battery pack available but a call to customer services produced a response "that was an error") and although it is blue tooth enabled I understand you can use Bluetooth "in" to play an external device on the radio but not "out" to Bluetooth enabled headphones. It does have stereo speakers and has good reviews for sound quality. The Roberts is a lot cheaper but is portable although speaker wise it has only a single driver and so far as I can see I would have to use wired headphones the same as the Susie Q. Does any member have any experience of these and is there anything else I should be looking at? Ideally I'd like to be able to have stereo speakers, battery portability and Bluetooth headphones facility. Does one such exist?

Seems to me a much better solution is a radio app like Tunein for your iPhone and the best bluetooth speaker you can afford.

[DMC102]

I use a radio app on my phone or tablet, with bluetooth out to my TV soundbar system.

With decent bluetooth headphones and/or speakers in other rooms, there's no need for a standalone digital radio.

[davidsm]

thanks guys,
there's plenty of information for me to assimilate.
D.

[VDG]

Interesting, I'm currently looking to replace my Pure Contour (kitchen) DAB radio with good quality hifi stereo sound unit, to me sound is actually more important than any features like t'net/wifi connectivity as long it sports Bluetooth/NFC..

While Ruark looks good, I want to stay under 150-200 quid so I'm going tomorrow to JL to listen to Sony, Pure etc to see how they compare..

[Carlton-Browne]

Interesting, I'm currently looking to replace my Pure Contour (kitchen) DAB radio with good quality hifi stereo sound unit, to me sound is actually more important than any features like t'net/wifi connectivity as long it sports Bluetooth/NFC..

I think you'll find that short wave together with a dipole antenna is still the best way to receive Radio Moscow.

And then of course there's...

[Kingstepper]

Interesting, I'm currently looking to replace my Pure Contour (kitchen) DAB radio with good quality hifi stereo sound unit, to me sound is actually more important than any features like t'net/wifi connectivity as long it sports Bluetooth/NFC..

While Ruark looks good, I want to stay under 150-200 quid so I'm going tomorrow to JL to listen to Sony, Pure etc to see how they compare..

Why NFC?

[VDG]

I think you'll find that short wave together with a dipole antenna is still the best way to receive Radio Moscow.

And then of course there's...

LOL, may be a good idea actually since you lot took Spudnik radio off the DAB waves so it won't needlessly alarm the natives ;)

Why NFC?

I've seen it on Sony radios so a bit of future proofing in case it picks up.

[Kingstepper]

I've seen it on Sony radios so a bit of future proofing in case it picks up.

Makes pairing slightly easier but you should only have to do it once anyway.

[comdiver]

Ruark Bluetooth speakers and tune in pro app works best for me


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[VDG]

Zo... Went to listen to JL to Pure, Sony, Ruark etc.. while Ruark box bass and definition was nice it didn't hold a candle IMO to Sony CMTX5 depth, stage and separation. To my ears bass and clarity was on par (also it punched way above its size with 40w, sorry JL peepz) so I've 'pulled the trigger on that bad boy'

[BillyCasper]

Seems to me a much better solution is a radio app like Tunein for your iPhone and the best bluetooth speaker you can afford.

I use TuneIn and particularly like ‘Beyond the Beat Generation’ - 60s underground and psychedelic music.


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[VDG]

Just to add, if anyone is after proper high end Bluetooth speaker go and listen to Naim Mu So Qb. Wow, just wow!

[thfccambs]

Genuine question. Why go for something like this rather than, for example, a Sonos type device that can play internet radio as well as music stored in a library?

Same as , use our Sono's for ll internet radio. Works great

[swanbourne]

I've had one for a few years and listened to it a lot but not much now. Stream quality on some stations is very poor so will still sound bad on even the best equipment.

Eddie

[Carlton-Browne]

I've had one for a few years and listened to it a lot but not much now. Stream quality on some stations is very poor so will still sound bad on even the best equipment.

Eddie

I'm surprised at that - internet radio is one of those technologies were I regret not having paid more to be an early adopter and I often find the streams to be as good or higher quality than traditional FM (and definitely always better than DAB!). Obviously a radio station will only be as good as the internet where it's based - we occasionally listen to a Cuban station on Sunday afternoons (Memorias on Radio Rebelde - Latin music from the 30s to the 60s) and connectivity is clearly a challenge.

[BillyCasper]

I'm surprised at that - internet radio is one of those technologies were I regret not having paid more to be an early adopter and I often find the streams to be as good or higher quality than traditional FM (and definitely always better than DAB!). Obviously a radio station will only be as good as the internet where it's based - we occasionally listen to a Cuban station on Sunday afternoons (Memorias on Radio Rebelde - Latin music from the 30s to the 60s) and connectivity is clearly a challenge.

That sounds interesting, will give it a go.


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[swanbourne]

I'm surprised at that - internet radio is one of those technologies were I regret not having paid more to be an early adopter and I often find the streams to be as good or higher quality than traditional FM (and definitely always better than DAB!). Obviously a radio station will only be as good as the internet where it's based - we occasionally listen to a Cuban station on Sunday afternoons (Memorias on Radio Rebelde - Latin music from the 30s to the 60s) and connectivity is clearly a challenge.

I suppose it's all about bandwidth costs. My radio displays the quality of the stream and I've seen some stations as low as 16kbps and 32kbps is quite common.

Eddie