DAB radio recommendation needed

chorlton

I listened to quite a few cheapish DAB radios in John Lewis + Richer Sounds and all of the ones under £100 sounded a bit tinny to me (i was looking to replace a Tivoli iPal because the AM Radio didn't work on it and i wanted BBC 5 Live .)
Used my phone and iPlayer radio as a stopgap for a while, then I remembered we had an ancient iPod touch in a drawer - charged it up, found a radio app that worked and connected to the iPal via Aux socket - and kitchen radio problem solved for free!

almillar

Reckless Savings - do you have any more info on who's broadcasting in DAB+ at the moment, and where it's happening? I knew nothing about this happening in the UK.

googler

By the time the Govt gets around to DAB+, I think most everyone will be listening to internet radio.

On Sunday, I caught up with (via iPlayer) a series of five Radio 4 programmes that had been on Mon - Fri during the day.

I genuinely can't imagine going back to being forced to listen to my radio programmes at the time of broadcast. But then, I don't listen just to have 'something' in the background - I know what I want to listen to.

p00hsticks

I've been very happy with this as a cheap DAB radio

http://www.argos.co.uk/product/5535927

Norman_Castle

almillar wrote: »

Reckless Savings - do you have any more info on who's broadcasting in DAB+ at the moment, and where it's happening? I knew nothing about this happening in the UK.

Will the under 10s appreciate DAB+?

http://www.getdigitalradio.com/stations/index/?showall=1

austonic

I have used a few of the PURE devices, and like them a lot. However, I gave up on DAB sometime ago.

Many DAB stations still use relatively low bit rates, and many stations in the UK do not yet offer services using DAB+ (nor have plans so to do).

DAB uses MP2 encoding, i.e. what came before MP3, DAB+ uses AACPlus (AAC was used in the iPod) which has better quality encoding/compression and error correction. Thus, you might still not be that impressed.

Some DAB radios also support internet (often using WiFi) channels. You might want to consider a pure internet device as most stations are also available online. Although radio uses much less bandwidth than video, it is still best suited to unlimited bandwidth services.

Or consider using a good bluetooth speaker with your smartphone, and using any of the many "radio" apps and podcasting apps.

john1

austonic wrote: »

Or consider using a good bluetooth speaker with your smartphone, and using any of the many "radio" apps and podcasting apps.

I agree with austonic re internet radio is the way to go

If you get hold of a smartphone or computer with wifi (Android / iOS / Windows / OS X) and then purchase a Google audio chromecast dongle £30 or so
and a standalone speaker amplifier (doesn't matter
if its bluetooth ) as long as it has a AUX input.

Plug in and set up "cast dongle" as per instructions into AUX (very easy)

Download either radioplayer for UK stations or tunein radio if you want world wide stations

Tune in to desired station press cast on app and away you go

If you want you can cast the radio station as a multicast simultaneously around the house just with another chromecast and speaker in each room
where your wi fi reaches

A lot less cost than a property multiroom speaker system and just as effective .

GabbaGabbaHey

Reckless_Saving wrote: »

That's a 7 year old report and some stations are already broadcasting in DAB+

If you're buying a dab radio make sure it also supports DAB+

It might be 7 years old, but things haven't really changed since then. Apart from a tiny number of niche stations, there is no take-up of DAB+ in the UK, and it is highly unlikely that we will ever see widespread adoption of DAB+. The technology moves too fast, and by the time we move away from DAB, there will be far better options than DAB+. Internet radio is already eating away at the market share of both FM and DAB.

Given that this is a money saving site, spending additional money on a DAB+ radio (rather than just a DAB one) is an utter waste.

ThemeOne

This article gives a good view of the current state of play re DAB / DAB+

https://media.info/radio/opinion/dab-and-dab-the-differences-and-its-use-in-the-uk

poppasmurf_bewdley

I live in a very rural area and DAB reception is restricted. I can get the BBC stations via my Sony DAB radio but most commercial stations are no-no's.

I use my iPhone to get LBC via wifi, plus any other of the commercial stations very satisfactorily.