DAB Radios now available at Argos (in store) for under £20, but be quick!

roddydogs

The Jazz the only prog not on FM? R U serious?
could i also make a point-what u can hear especially over 10,000 Hz depends a lot on how old you are it maybe that someone as ancient as me cannot hear the difference bewtween DAB/FM even if played thru top quality stuff.
another point-who one earth listens to radio via Freeview with the Telly on?????????

Willy_Eckerslyke

A couple of years ago I bought an ALBA DAB radio. It completely used a set of batteries after 20 minutes listening and about 12 hours on standby.
A polite 'phone call to ALBA customer services produced complete disinterest and total refusal to discuss the matter. An e-mail to the customer services was ignored. I was curtly told by customer "services" to take it back to the place where you bought it.
It was exchanged for another similar model which was little better. At the time I was about to move house to another part of UK so the matter was forgotten. Trying the thing again recently on FM (I am not now in DAB area) it still ate a set of new duracells in about 3 hours listening to the (very) mediocre reception quality.
I find Digital radio great via Sky or broadband but be very wary of things with the ALBA logo!

wend33

We've had a 'Bug' DAB clock radio for years now and it sounds a lot better than our old clock radio ever did. It also picks up the time from the DAB signal so will put itself right after a power cut and remembers 2 different alarm times, being able to program them for weekdays/weekends. And it looks quite cute too!

richytay1

codger wrote: »

1) Connect your Freeview TV to a little home hi-fi system (because the hi-fi speakers will be better than the telly's)

2) Use the Freeview radio stations.

Compared to the unacceptable sound quality of the DAB radio, digital radio via Freeview is excellent.

Ok. So now you need to fit your freeview box, hifi and speakers in the boot when you go to your cottage in yorkshire. I'd recommend investing in a good pair of walking boots.

sven57

One of the main benefits of DAB Radio is that it has many more stations, but be warned, as most of these stations are national or regional. You should check out what you will get in your area before you purchase. You can do that here:

http://www.uk-dab.info/coverage.php

I know where I live in Lancaster, the only news I get on DAB is from over 60 miles away in Manchester & Liverpool where my digital stations broadcast from. If you are after real local news and information I would stick to FM.

Hope this helps..

guestjim

Although some comments say that the sound quality of the radio is not very good it seems to be okay to me. Its reception and reproduction are better than the expensive radio I had-- although that was three years old. It is not [SIZE=-1]Bang & Olufsen, but then again I'm not a connoisseur of music and it's good enough for my level of discernment. [/SIZE]As a portable radio it seems to me to be perfectly adequate. Certainly, for the price is very good value. However, I used reserve and collect to obtain one, but it looked like they were running out of stock already at the store that I was visiting.

bhebbes

1 You're reading this on a screen. Your computer also has built-in speakers, probably stereo, and can be fitted with others, and can be connected to a TV or monitor. Its got access to the internet. You can visit sites where you can view TV or listen to radio stations (digital of course). Or you can download TV or radio tuners. And you can use it to make phone calls without rental, call, or connection charges. To name but a few of its uses. That is, if youre a moneysaver.
2 Also as obsolete as a fax machine is the BBC being part of the state apparatus like the CofE. The prisons are bursting at the seams already without the criminal law being used to collect subscriptions for BBC1 and BBC2. They've had to stop insisting on modems being licensed, it's time to deregulate TV receivers.

Daisy_Bell

MSE_Martin wrote: »

What's the deal?

For the first time the price of basic DAB radios (digital radios receiving many more stations with arguably higher quality) has dropped below £20.

What are the cheapest available?

(Note as the weekly email goes to 1.4m people, inclusion in it means these are likely to sell-out quickly)

• Argos, in-store £17.49. Argos has slashed the cost of its Alba TRDAB2830 radio by 50% so is now available for £17.49. It has 20 preset stations and works on the mains or batteries. It's not available online, but is in stock across most of its stores. You can check if your local store has it with Argos' reserve and collect tool.

• Asda in-store £18.33, online £25.12. Asda has a no-frills Bush Blue DAB radio for £18.99 with £6.79 delivery if you get it online. Unfortunately I have no confirmation of in-store stock levels, so call your local Asda to check.

• Currys £24.99 instore, £27.98 online. Currys has a Matsui DAB radio for £24.99 if you get it i-nstore - or add £2.99 for delivery online. Though if you reserve it online and pick it up in-store there's no delivery.

• Ebuyer portable DAB £29.68. Refurb. Ebuyer is selling a portable One refurbished DAB for £29.68 including delivery. It's portable although being refurbished means it's probably got a slight scratch or is a returned item, but eBuyer states it's as new with all manuals, updated software and a one year warranty. Plenty are in stock.

SPOTTED A CHEAPER ONE? PLEASE CLICK REPLY TO REPORT IT IN THE THREAD BELOW.

What is DAB?

Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) is the freeview equivalent for radio, with transmissions offering a higher quality of radio without interefences like hissing. It also eliminates the need to manually tune a radio signal which makes it easy to find the stations you want.

Compared to listening via FM, DAB also enables double the amount of stations to be listened to for free. Unfortunately coverage isn't fully available across the UK, so first check you live in an area that'll receive digital radio before parting with your cash.

For those who have read discussions about the end of DAB and its replacement by DAB+ the global standard; don't worry. This hasn't been agreed and if it happened would take many years.

Martin

P.S. Thanks to moneysaveruk for posting the Argos top spot in another thread.

What I want to know is: when are they going to produce a DAB radio you can record on?

L.S.D.

steve_green wrote: »

@ L.S.D: And I think the magazine I write for can live without you buying it, too.

But considering the kind of vitriolic responses I've been getting from you (so far you've called me a liar and that I'm biased against DAB and you've accused me of needing to get my ears syringed - they're all libellous considering the work I do), I'd prefer not to bring the magazine I write for into this, although if you look through all the hi-fi mags in WH Smiths you will find at least one article by me and a picture that you can cut out, put on a dart board and throw darts at, or draw horns to make me look like a devil, or put a false moustache and rotting teach - anything you like really, it's your call.

Steve Green you answered to a post I made, to this comment
"
Originally Posted by

NMarshall
the sound is like something coming out of a bucket, with the higher frequencies non existent.

Therefore I was assuming you agreed with the above statement. I doubt if you or NMarshall told Panasonic, Sony, Pure, Teak & many others that their systems sounded like '"something coming out of a bucket, with the higher frequencies non existent" that they would find it hard to believe that was the truth. I have no wish to throw darts at you or anybody, I just disagree with the running down of a very good portable sound system. If we were talking AM here I'd agree but around my area I can only get radio 5, Talk sport 3 local radio stations & numerous other stations on DAB with a hi quality sound. I have traveled around with the Pure & again the DAB out performed any other portable radio system in that it was the best one with station choice, sound quality & ease of use & manoverability combined.

L.S.D.

Daisy_Bell wrote: »

What I want to know is: when are they going to produce a DAB radio you can record on?

You can record onto a SD card on several DAB units, if that's what you mean.