Internet Radio Adapter query

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tcabw

68 posts

Master Geek

#280778 10-Jan-2021 12:12

Turin Internet Radio Tuner WIFI Adapter

Sold by Surplustronics and on Trademe.

Has anyone had any experience with one of these? I can only find one review and that's a British Youtube one. I think it's a rebadged Ocean Digital model. I'm not too hopeful of finding anyone out there who can help, but here's my story anyway.

We have a country residence that has nil radio reception other than through SKY or Freeview, but with decent RBI internet. I've been playing around with streaming internet radios for a number of years now and have gone through 4 so far. Two were Ocean Digital WR280's. One was a Grace model and the first one (about 7 years ago) one similar to the Turin (no speaker or controls). All were wifi (no ethernet) and all had connection problems at one time or other. Of the two Ocean Digital radios which uses Tune-In as a station provider, the wifi has died completely on one and on the other though it says it has an internet connection shows no stations. Although there is an option to upgrade firmware, none appears available. These were quite expensive to purchase direct from China and I'm a bit wary of Ocean Digital as a result, though if the Turin is a rebadged. Ocean Digital, at least it has an ethernet port which would be a big plus for me.
The Grace radio still works (about 5 years old) and offers many stations, some of which connect and some don't, and although the station menu provides options for RNZ National, Concert and RNZ International, only RNZ International connects, which means all the news broadcasts are focused on the Pacific Islands. My current search is to find a replacement that will include both National & Concert stations.

My reason for seeking out these radios was to find a good source of radio for listening to in bed. For the rest of the house SKY provides National and Concert and my Onkyo amp has internet radio built in should more variety be sought. If you know of anyone with the Turin radio, I'd appreciate knowing whether it connects to National and Concert and any positive/negative views on the device!

all the best

Tony C.

sbiddle

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#2633043 10-Jan-2021 12:50

Any reason why you wouldn't just simply buy an Amazon or Google smart speaker?

Due to licencing it's becoming increasingly difficult to listen to many overseas stations now anyway as so many are geolocked.

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tcabw

68 posts

Master Geek

#2633223 10-Jan-2021 19:11

sbiddle:

Any reason why you wouldn't just simply buy an Amazon or Google smart speaker?

I have been using an Android Phone with a bluetooth speaker, but when you are in bed in the dark, fiddling around with it is not easy for a short sighted 74 year old especially if you want to change stations!

nitro

646 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2633237 10-Jan-2021 19:30

tcabw:

sbiddle:

Any reason why you wouldn't just simply buy an Amazon or Google smart speaker?

I have been using an Android Phone with a bluetooth speaker, but when you are in bed in the dark, fiddling around with it is not easy for a short sighted 74 year old especially if you want to change stations!

all you would need to do is tell the smart speaker, i.e. 'hey, google...' or 'alexa...' no fiddling required.

gave my father-in-law (also 74) an echo show for christmas and he's enjoying it.

sbiddle

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#2633262 10-Jan-2021 21:00

Yes the beauty of an Alexa or Google device is that everything is voice controlled and providing you can remember the name of the station you can listen to it..

tcabw

68 posts

Master Geek

#2633287 10-Jan-2021 21:58

Hmmm..... perhaps I'll look into it then. Must admit there must be a reason for the dearth of bedside internet radios. They've never really taken off and the price for what they are is quite high.

mentalinc

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#2633289 10-Jan-2021 22:01

Sounds like maybe something like the Lenovo Smart Clock $90, which will be beside clock and radio and the hey google radio thing.
Note: I've never used one but understand this to their purpose.. that and in the kitchen.

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robjg63

4090 posts

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#2633377 11-Jan-2021 08:41

tcabw:
Hmmm..... perhaps I'll look into it then. Must admit there must be a reason for the dearth of bedside internet radios. They've never really taken off and the price for what they are is quite high.

Can also recommend the google nest mini.
I was laid up in bed for a few weeks late last year and it was great.
Easy to set up - you just need the google home app on a phone or tablet (looks like there is even a version for iphone/ipad).
I set mine up with a Spotify free account as well.
So you just need to say 'hey google - play music by xxxxx' and away it goes.
Or 'hey google - play radio new Zealand national (or pretty much any radio station you like).
Of course there are all the other google assistant things like 'when is the next bus to britomart', 'what is the weather forecast' 'what is in my calendar today' etc etc.
They have been on special a few times. Normally $89 each, but have been up to half price occasionally.

Nothing is impossible for the man who doesn't have to do it himself - A. H. Weiler

robjg63

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#2633390 11-Jan-2021 09:01

mentalinc:

Sounds like maybe something like the Lenovo Smart Clock $90, which will be beside clock and radio and the hey google radio thing.
Note: I've never used one but understand this to their purpose.. that and in the kitchen.

I am not sure when these came on the market - but they look like better value than the google nest mini speakers.

https://www.noelleeming.co.nz/shop/smart-home/voice-assistants/lenovo-za4r0040au-smart-clock-black-with-google-assistant/prod201314.html?gclsrc=aw.ds&&gclid=Cj0KCQiA6Or_BRC_ARIsAPzuer8-5Gd2kNjruo9kmKctrQrA42NbPLSBMxlj4hJI9Nv0cGplGTbuttgaArtJEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

Same official price as the google device but has a display (permanent clock) and display for other messages.

Nothing is impossible for the man who doesn't have to do it himself - A. H. Weiler

tcabw

68 posts

Master Geek

#2633392 11-Jan-2021 09:05

Thanks for these tips. I wasn't aware of much of this latest technology. Everything changes so fast these days especially for us old fellas.

The Lenova Smart Clock and Echo5 which is obviously popular and mostly sold out throughout the country might be worth checking out when I hit the City next.

cheers

Tony C

tieke

674 posts

Ultimate Geek

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#2633486 11-Jan-2021 11:45

I agree that an Amazon or Google device would be the simplest and best replacement for you, but be aware that if you like sleeping in a dark room at night there is quite a difference in the various screened devices.

I tried a few options for the side table next to my bed to replace a standard clock radio, and found that the smaller Google Hub was the best of the LCD screen devices. They all have a darkness sensor that turns off photo slideshow, changes to clock mode and dims to minimum brightness once the light level gets low enough, but while the "black" background of the small Google Hub had almost no residual glow and the larger Google Hub had a slight grey glow that was acceptable to me, the Echo Show even at minimum brightness was effectively a grey glowing panel and wasn't acceptable for me.

I also found the Amazon mini smart speaker with integrated LED clock display was far too bright for right next to the bed even at minimum brightness - I wrapped a semitransparent flexible ruler around it to reduce brightness to an acceptable level.

If all you want is a radio next to your bed, especially if you prefer talk-based stations to hi-fi music then the cheapest screen-free versions of either the Amazon or Google devices would be fine - the Amazon Echo dot is available in either the cheaper 3rd generation puck-like shape or a larger 4th generation globe-shaped version (which despite its bigger size has very similar audio to the previous gen, including the same sized speaker). The sound quality in the Google Nest Mini (2nd generation) is about the same as the Amazon devices, and it's often cheaper to buy (Bunnings have had it for sale for around $40 several times, while the Amazon devices on sale are around $20 more).

An advantage of the Amazon devices is that they have a 3.5mm audio out if you wanted to use a better quality powered speaker, but the standard sound quality of either is better than standard clock-radios. Both devices can also be linked with a second device to effectively become stereo speakers (or with even more speakers if you wanted synchonised music in multiple rooms).

tcabw

68 posts

Master Geek

#2633657 11-Jan-2021 14:53

Thanks folks! I think we can close this off now. I've taken the plunge and opted to buy an Echo Show 5 at the reduced price of $119 freight free.

With freight free, it's only 10 bucks dearer than the Internet radio that I was originally seeking opinions on and appears to have tons more features. I don't think it glowing in the dark will upset me too much and its only me that has to worry about it. I'm looking forward to having a play with it. 👍

Tony C.