Digital radio

matmcgregor

Where and what is the cheapest and pretty good standard DAB radio anyones seen or bought online??

Its for the kitchen


Thanks

Gordon861

I'm gonna get flamed for this but here goes, unless you really need DAB avoid it like the plague.

DAB is a substandard delivery system that was already out of date when it was released. DAB is based on old MP2 audio compression and yet they use the same bitrates as you could use for MP3 which means the signals are over compressed. I think only 2 countries in Europe have taken up DAB, the rest have gone for better formats, AAC (I think).

For the last 2-3 years they have been promising to bring out new radios that are able to be upgraded, but it has been kept quiet in order to not upset all the people that went out and got DAB since it came out. Hence the fact that the BBC are still pushing the current version of DAB onto the public and there will be an uproar when they finally admit that the format is out of date and needs to be scrapped.

Personally for the kitchen I would either go for a reasonable quality FM radio, or look for a WI-FI internet radio. They just connect to the internet using your home router and stream the radio off the web, 1000's of stations from all over the world.

A while back PC World were selling 'Logik IR100' for £40, then increased the price to £70, which were a great buy if you can still find them.

matmcgregor

I haven't got the internet at home, but thanks for the advice, anyone else recommend an fm radio?

M4RKM

hmm.. yeah.. i'll stick with FM to listen to BBC 6 Music, Absolute Radio (in stereo), and FiveLiveSportsExtra

*grins*

buglawton

While the debate rages year after year over why DAB is not perfect, I've been enjoying for some time rock solid DAB reception of Radios 4, 5 and World Service in a location where FM reception is a bit variable anyway, via the £50 Pure One http://www.pure.com/products/product.asp?Product=VL-60789 (don't expect Hi Fi, just appreciate the variety of channels and lack of hiss).

Sometimes, when you know what you like it's better just to buy and enjoy it while it's going.

However, knowing the lack of future proofing of UK DAB, I'm not likely to invest in a 2nd DAB radio or car one.

Oh, and Morgan has refurbs for £30 + P&P
http://www.morgancomputers.co.uk/shop/detail.asp?ProductID=3920&CategoryID=201&SubCategoryID=215&adnetwork=af

bob_a_builder

For the last 2-3 years they have been promising to bring out new radios that are able to be upgraded

And Pure have been supplying some of them, of course no updates for Dab+ yet, but USB enabled ready and firmware updates available now

example
http://www.pure.com/support/kb.asp?Product=VL-60907&FAQ=228

Hotspur

I have two Pure Evoke DAB radios (1XT and a Tempus) and find the sound quality great for general listening and much better than my old Grundig FM radio. Some of problems I have on FM may be due to my location and signal strength. One problem I have is that local radio in my area don't broadcast on DAB however that isn't much of a loss apart from missing the local football commentary and I can listen to that over the Internet if I wish to.

Pure now have a radio that has both FM and DAB now, the EVOKE 1S.

Be aware that all DAB radios aren't the same so listen before you buy if you can.

PS Found this Evoke in maple that is cheaper

philnicandamy

I've had one of these for a while now in the kitchen...excellent quality

£38.99

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/0490641/c_1/1%7Ccat_12108813%7CDAB+digital+radio%7C12108894/Trail/searchtext%3EPURE+DAB.htm

spinneyhorse

I believe that the i became electrosensitive due to the amount of EMF that this radios give out. The hum for two years from this radio placed on my bed side table, should have told me it was bad for me.

Does anyone else have problems now??


ElectroSensitivity UK - Homepage

Petition to: ask you to investigate fully the plight of increasing numbers of people who have become electro-sensitive (ES) or electro-hypersensitive (EHS) in the UK due to electricity or the new pulsed microwave radiation technologies such as TETRA,

Dreamnine

DAB was out of date and even DAB+ will become obsolete. Why pay £50 or so for inferior technology? On my phone I can get 2000 stations many of them at vastly better sound quality than DAB. Almost as good as FM.

Big con, like laminate flooring and Sony book readers. Who needs it?

John_Gray

Ever considered Internet Radio, either with an (expensive, usually wireless) set, or just listening to it on the PC? The most well-known internet radio portal is Reciva.