An eclectic selection of technology with some cookery
So how should I listen to radio if I don’t want to faff with my phone or I’m not near a PC? This is where the kitchen radio project started from.
I’m keen to avoid anything proprietary such as a Sonos speaker as the hardware will only last as long as the App is supported and it gets expensive if you want something as simple as Stereo sound.
I’m also not sure I want to use Bluetooth and a phone App. In a car it’s fine as only my phone tends to be in the car and I can use the dashboard controls to launch the relevant App. In my house there are a lot of devices and it’s pot luck which pairs at turning on. It’s not particularly slick if I have to find which device in the house has paired and disconnect it in order to listen to the radio while I do the washing up.
I’m also keen to avoid investing too much in hardware that may become obsolete. i.e. having to throw an entire radio away if just the internet streams have changed format.
I want good sound quality but not have to keep replacing all of it when technology changes. I still have a 1990’s Hi-Fi that sounds very good and all I’ve done is change the input devices over time. From the outset I planned to have a system of multiple components so when the internet element inevitable breaks as codecs/streams change I can move on at minimal cost.
I brought myself a set of speakers (JBL Control One) and a basic but well regarded Amplifier (DollaTek Breeze Mini Dual TPA3116 Digital Power Amplifier). Wired them together with some twin core, 1.5 mm², 30 x 0.24mm, more commonly known as pendant light cord and got myself a half decent Hi-Fi for not a lot of money.
Having seen a video by Techmoan about a Majority radio Hi-Fi separate I thought I would see what else they offer.
I then discovered that Majority offer a cheaper alternative called the Robinson and Ocean have a similar device with the catchy name of “DBA03R”. Researching the two I discovered a lot more information regards the the Robinson such as it’s database is based on MediaU. I was then able to check if it had the stations I wanted in advance. I decided to on this basis to get the Majority Robinson.
I got the Majority Robinson and I have to say it’s OK at best. It has two drawbacks the first is liveable with but the second is a bit of a deal breaker for me. Firstly: it takes a long time to turn on but as it comes back to the last station you can just turn it on at the mains and it will start working at some point. I suspect this is going to be an issue that all internet radio equipment is going to have. Secondly: as far as I can tell it only supports the 128kbps MP3 stream from the BBC which is little difference to DAB. According to the BBC this is a “Legacy” stream for “Low end internet radio devices”. If this is genuinely all it can support I suspect it will have a rather short life as the stream was considered “Legacy” as of 2015. I’ve tried programming BBC “AAC-LC” and “HE-AACv1” streams in the the radio via the app but it never gets past 25% buffering. If you’re not too worried about sound quality its a good device with easy to use software. The menus have a lot of options but they are easy to use and offer presets which is handy given the vast list of stations available. The accompanying App is very handy as searching for stations is much easier with a keyboard and it gives you the ability to directly enter station URLs if they are not listed already.
The BBC have started to broadcast announcements that “Legacy” mp3 streams are being turned off and to contact your manufacturer. So I did and this is what I got back:
Dear Kryton,
Thank you for your message.
Please note that all of our radios using Magic: Magic M6 products have supported HLS since August 2019. These products will seamlessly transfer to the new internet radio streams in mid-2023.
Therefore, we can confirm that you will have no issues with your radio.
Please let us know if you have any other questions.
Best regards Tech Support
To be honest if I’d known what I know now I’d have carried on looking for another solution. I may have looked at having an old computer running in the kitchen acting as a radio. Others like it as they worry far less about quality and love the random streams you can listen to on it with ease. I can only hope for what a future software update may bring.
Keywords: ELECTRONICS ENTERTAINMENTTAGS: AAC, BBC, DAB, JBL, MP3, OCEAN, ROBINSON, TPA3116