Hi all, any experts around to offer an opinion. Looking to buy a dab radio / cd mini / micro system and have so far narrowed it down to 3 options:

1) Denon D-M35 - seems to have the best sound quality and better reviews (also the most expensive)

2) Onkyo CS 220 - Standard system but has a great advantage of the option to buy an ipod connector which plays/chargers and controls the ipod via the micro system

3) Teac CRH225 - also a good system with regards to sound

Any comments would be greatly appreciated and any other suggestions.

Evening dkd - i have been reviewing each of these for my next purchase.

Not sure where you got your information on the Denon having the better reviews

- for what it is worth the Onkyo for example has just won the What Hi Fi award for best all in one micro system £200 - £500.

- check out these reviews that praise the Onkyo again
http://www.urban75.org/tech/onkyo-CR-505DAB.html

some more
http://www.a1-sound.co.uk/detail.php?id=435&

and again
http://www.avreview.co.uk/news/artic...98218328378316

And it is the cheapest of the three. I think you can grasp which one of your selection i have chosen for Christmas!

Hi mister.c

Thanks your great response, does sound like the onkyo is a quality unit but for some reason it just doesnt appeal to me as much as the other too (yeh i;m strange).

A new twist is that TEAC have released the crh255 which has a usb port which is pretty interesting as I have been told this enables the Ipod to run via it. (Not sure if the systems remote will allow Ipod track change though).

With regards to the Denon reviews T3 reckon the Denon is the best unit for sound and overall performance!

Still totally confused about which unit to go for and if its worth to wait till after Christmas to see the prices decrease?

decisions decisions........

Buy the Denon.

In my dark and distant past, I worked in a hi-fi specialists which sold Denon amongst others, and Denon always beat the others with a big stick - better sound, build and reliability. I've got numerous pieces of kit, from a good few manufacturers, but one of my best purchases has been my current Denon AV Reciever. After 5 years out of the trade, it proved to me that Denon still have the edge for build quality. They're remotes are a bit low rent (looks), but work fine.

Onkyo kit is also reasonable, but historically a pain to get spares for (don't know of any particular reason).

Teac stuff also seems to be OK, but I can't help but feel that they are trading on their history - they used to make blinding tape decks (everything else was only average).

In order of preference, I'd look at:

1. Denon
2. Teac
3. Onkyo

BUT - its you who has to pay for it and live with it. I'd take a bit of time and try to listen to all three, back to back, using a favourite CD or five, and let your ears be your guide.

Thanks fat controller, i have no background whatsover in the trade so you make some good points. Three additional thoughts / comments for you dkd

I would not worry too much about the parts; buy the Onkyo from some on-line retailers and or John Lewis and you get a two year guarantee.

I think John Lewis has all three so if you are near one of these, then this may be the place to check it out. Alternativly, i am sure a quality local retailer should have 2 or perhaps all of them for you to sample.

I am not sure about the other two but the Onkyo can be bought without the speakers saving £50; one of the big reasons i am going for it as i have some quality speakers which would be used with my new purchase.

I'd go with your gut feeling to avoid the Onkyo; unless of course you get the chance to hear it and it changes your mind.

I've have similiar preferences to avoid brands / options which others like; but i always go with what i want!

guys thanks so much for your input. Will pop down to John Lewis and have a play with all three over the weekend.

Will let you know just out of interest how it goes but appreciate your comments... keep em coming.

cheers

http://www.hifi4less.com/TEAC_CRH_25...r_with_DAB.htm

I do like the idea of being able to record DAB direct onto my flash memory stick / MP3 player, so perhaps the decision to go for the Onkyo is not totally made!

Hi guys, popped over to John Lewis and tried all 3 and would make following comments (for those interested )

1) Onkyo : speakers made the sound very plain and the bass / treble did not make a single bit of difference. The unit itself didnt feel that solid either.

2) Teac : 255 - great improvement to the 250 especially in terms of functionality. The usb port is great, it displays (after a little wait for the loading) the track names of the songs from my Ipod but and this is a big BUT the song selection can only done by the system and not the Ipod itself, and it works in file/folder manner which is not any use as they are numeric files and .wma extensions etcs (which are hidden on the ipod so cannot be ammended) so you cannot actually see what song you are selecting until you play it. So not a great use for the Ipod! but it may be a lot better for other mp3 players / data storage use. So that unfo eliminated the teac

3) The denon was the winner for me, the sound was far more superior and was a solid system. Felt better built (the teac volume knob got confused when turned fairly quickly and increased / decreased the sound in one movement).

Plus the bookshelf speakers were small but solid/heavy and was told that not subject to magnetic forces like others so no inteference from tv/mobile etc.

++

So have placed the order for the Denon.... thanks all for your advise which was a great help!!!!

Ive got the Onkyo.
The important thing is to follow the advice of the magazine reviews and ditch the Onkyo speakers.

I've got mine hooked up to some Denon-labelled Mission speakers which I already had, and it sounds great.

I so wish I'd come across this thread a few days ago as I would have given you this url for the Denon DM35 DAB - http://www.petertyson.co.uk/denondm35.shtml. Both John Lewis and Currys are selling it for £379 whereas Peter Tyson have it for £289.90 (that includes the SCM53 speakers too).

I ordered this from petertyson.co.uk a few weeks ago and even being in Belfast and having an extra £20 P&P added on still made it a great buy.

The sound quality is quite exceptional with a remote control that is much easier to navigate than the earlier model of the UD-M3 that I'd purchased back in 1999. I still have this unit in my dining room and it works pefectly after 6 years. I knew I wanted a newer Denon system for my bedroom and I wanted DAB radio so the DM35 DAB fitted the bill nicely.

DKD, you are so going to love the Denon when you get it. I didn't realise that depending on where you live depends on which set of DAB channels your hi-fi equipment will pick up. I have radio 1 - 7, etc. I was hoping for Oneword but it's not on the Divis transmitter here in Belfast so I use Sky for that one instead.

I cannot praise the DM35 highly enough.

Hi Kymbal, I;ve placed my order with Peter Tyson but they are currently out of stock so hopefully will get it in a week or so but appreciate the info, they do seem to be the best priced around..ssshhhh!!!. Can't wait to get it though and play with the Dab, not sure what stations I will get although the DAB wed site says I should get a few. Might need to hook it up to an external arial.

Anyone know if this can be done via sky?

Hi dkd, when I placed my order on Saturday 5th Nov they rang me on the following Monday to say it was 'out of stock' because of its popularity and that bascially the models were leaving them as quickly as they could order them in. That was fine. Got another call only a few days later to say it had been despatched.

I got the speakers one day then the main unit the following day lol. Not sure why this happened but I was just pleased to have such a beautiful looking piece of kit.

I unwrapped the speakers that Thursday evening and placed them where I wanted them to sit and couldn't stop touching them as they looked so lovely AND somewhat weighty. God help the thief who tries to run off with these speakers, thought I.

Next day the same guy then delivered the unit itself. Again quite heavy but oh so beautiful looking. You do feel though as if you've got your money's worth. It really does look the business.

I could ramble forever about it lol. You've made a great purchase.

Good choice! I hope you get as much pleasure out of your Denon as I get out of mine - and sleep fairly safe in the knowledge that they seem to be about as reliable as you can get (the Toyota of hi-fi?).

I totally agree with you Beachbum - i've have got some Mordaunt Short speakers and my local independant Hi-Fi retailer has these as well. I looked at all three of these models today but not with them linked to the standard speakers but to the Mordaunt Short ones.

Going against the majority in this thread (hell it would be a dull world if we agreed!) the denon was not for me; to me with my speakers then the Onkyo sounded (marginally) the best of the bunch. The Teac; well great sound and for me with the USB port offered more possibilities and the convenience of recording DAB direct to my 1GB stick (I am not an IPOD MP3 user but a 1GB stick user so the +ve's referred to by dkd in his earlier posts certainly hold true for me).

The Denon was nice and sounded good and looks great but in terms of what i am looking for from my DAB stereo then it did not do it for me I am afraid.

Dont get me wrong; I am not doubting the quality of the denon; all three are great pieces of kit which should keep us all very pleased and i am sure whatever each of us chooses we should all be happy. Its nice to have some reasonably priced quality DAB options at under £250. Decision time has been made and the USB port has meant i've jumped for the Teac. Thanks for all your information / comments / opinions - been very helpful
Last edited by mister.c. (2) : 22-11-2005 at 19:29

I've been looking at the same systems. I'm getting mixed info on the TEAC though. I'm pretty convinced that the unit will encode mp3's and wma's (despite what one hifi shop told me) from the built in cd and dab tuner to an external usb hard drive. Will it also encode from other attached sources - e.g. a record deck (with preamp)?

If not I'll probably go for the onkyo and use my own speakers.

Afternoon smarjoram; i dont have a record deck but can confirm that i can record the television audio (the TV is attached to the system) direct to my usb mp3 player thorugh the Aux 2 output which would draw me to conclude that similiar connections such as the deck will work fine.

If anyone could tell me where they have seen the onkyo (main unit only) then i'd be grateful as a mate of mine (and I) have hunted locally from him and on the net and found nothing, serious supply shortages we were told.

After years of buying Sony audio systems, I have recently been converted to 'proper hi-fi' brands with my new Denon DM39 mini system and Wharfedale Diamond 121 speakers, well worth the extra money over a basic Sony or Panasonic system