DAB+

timjim

But Radio fidelity is a US publication and the Whathifi review is for the idock version not the CD version therefore not the same as yours

km1500

poppasmurf_bewdley said:

Radio broadcasting is on the way out.  Just as TB broadcasting is on the way out.

In my home now, there are no radios.  I'm a fanatical radio listening, but Alexa is in all my rooms, including the bathroom. Not only can I change radio station whilst in the bath, I can alter the heating or the lighting. I can even answer the door. If Radio Bongo somewhere in Africa is DAB+, then I can get it via smart speaker.

what do you do if you don't have internet ?

JohnRH1952

timjim

I just selected those reviews as an example of dates and comments made that's all. There are plenty of reviews but I don't see the need to find them because I know what I have, I know when it was produced, I know when I bought it, I know exactly what my instruction book says. The chronos 2 is produced or rather was produced in two varieties with a CD player or an idock and you could have it in black or white. The radio is the same in both models but I choose the CD player.

My point for coming onto this forum was to ask others what experiences they have and it would have been nice to have found someone with a chronos 2 which receives DAB+ because it seems to me that some actually do. They have software upgrade ports for exactly this reason. I don't see the need to continually have to prove what I have sitting in front of me.

gillywilly_2

Devongardener said:

Isn’t more to do with the area you are in?  Where I live in South Devon, there are only limited stations available on DAB plus, no BBC radio stations at all.
Check your postcode: https://getdigitalradio.com/post-code-checker/

Thanks for this: I too live in South Devon and, having done my usual 'tuning in to Classic FM as it's Christmas' habit, was pretty concerned that this meant I was going to have to ditch my three DAB radios (what a massive waste!).  

Such a relief to find that it's only certain radio stations - at the moment... - that are giving standard DAB the heave ho (and quite amused to see all the DAB stations that I supposedly receive 'good' reception for!! - I'm not in a basement flat, not in a built-up area*, building not made of concrete, nor encased in steel - *180 degrees sea view!).

So, sorry Classic FM, but I'm not ditching my radios just to tune in.  Pretty disgusted, really, that you don't see fit to keep 'old' DAB tuning for those of us more concerned about the environment than receiving a slightly superior broadcast from you.

Username03725

gillywilly_2 said:

Pretty disgusted, really, that you don't see fit to keep 'old' DAB tuning for those of us more concerned about the environment than receiving a slightly superior broadcast from you.

There's no real need to be disgusted; things change and DAB is like a lot of other things - analogue TV, Betamax tapes, Friends Reunited etc - that come and go over time. DAB has existed since the early 80s in development form and since 98 as a broadcast platform. It's old hat, inefficient and doesn't fit the media world as it currently exists, and is being dropped across the world. Apparently "only the UK, Romania, Brunei, and the Philippines still use a significant number of legacy DAB broadcasts". Quote from Wiki.

DAB+ allows more stations on a multiplex and higher audio quality for lower bit rates, and that's what the media giants want these days - more choice, if maybe not higher audio quality. We can all rail against it but you may as well lobby for the retention of LW for all the good it'll do. DAB+ is better for their broadcast / advertising needs, and there's always online versions to use instead which don't require the purchase of new dedicated equipment to listen.

Geoff_W

Pity about the issue with car radio's. Classic FM is the only station I listen to in the car and my 2021 Honda Jazz Crosstar only has a vanilla DAB radio on board. I don't have much of a data plan on my phone so my chances of going that route are slim. Hey ho! Technology - 1 step forward and several steps back to the dark ages.

tghe-retford

gillywilly_2 said:

Devongardener said:

Isn’t more to do with the area you are in?  Where I live in South Devon, there are only limited stations available on DAB plus, no BBC radio stations at all.
Check your postcode: https://getdigitalradio.com/post-code-checker/

Thanks for this: I too live in South Devon and, having done my usual 'tuning in to Classic FM as it's Christmas' habit, was pretty concerned that this meant I was going to have to ditch my three DAB radios (what a massive waste!).  

Such a relief to find that it's only certain radio stations - at the moment... - that are giving standard DAB the heave ho (and quite amused to see all the DAB stations that I supposedly receive 'good' reception for!! - I'm not in a basement flat, not in a built-up area*, building not made of concrete, nor encased in steel - *180 degrees sea view!).

So, sorry Classic FM, but I'm not ditching my radios just to tune in.  Pretty disgusted, really, that you don't see fit to keep 'old' DAB tuning for those of us more concerned about the environment than receiving a slightly superior broadcast from you.

In less time than the introduction of DAB to Classic FM migrating to DAB+, we've had FM radios made obsolete by the expansion of the band to encompass frequencies previously used by the emergency services for Radio 1, Classic FM and local services. And in the space of a decade, ITV Digital boxes and TV sets which people sunk hundreds of pounds into were rendered useless because the technical characteristics of the service changed that those boxes and TV's did not support at digital switchover. And of course Medium Wave radios bought in the 70s and 80s rendered useless by the Government decision to end simulcasting if you used them to listen to a service that only receives FM. And that's before we get to the switch-off of 3G phone signals.

Technology evolves and keeping the current infrastructure in place alongside new infrastructure is expensive. Most people have a DAB radio that only costs £20-30 (people paid more taking inflation into account when the BBC closed their medium wave national stations and migrated exclusively to FM in the 90s) used at work or in the kitchen. If we didn't move forward, we'd still be using 405-line analogue black and white television that use far more watts compared to modern LED TV's. More of a pain with an in-car radio but no more different than the changes we saw regarding FM and medium wave in the past that rendered car radios obsolete.

The ironic thing is, DAB+ has better error correction which allows for better reception in fringe areas where DAB would be full of "bubbling mud". The reasons why broadcasters are moving to DAB+ is that it allows for two to four stations at the same audio quality to fit the space of one DAB station. And most people buy digital radios for choice. More choice means more sales. Newer radios are more energy efficient than their DAB only counterparts.

facade

I've been looking for an affordable Dab+ radio, and there don't seem to be any.

My straw poll of the sub £50 radios is only about 10% are Dab+, and they are at the higher end.

I just wanted a £20 Dab+ box that works off 4 AAs to listen to Classic FM.

All this started when I was driving back from Tesco and Alan Titchmarsh  ws warning that in 2 weeks they would be on Dab+.

The funny thing is I listen to it in the car on FM, because Dab is a dead loss in the car when it is moving in the first place!

Emmia

facade said:

I've been looking for an affordable Dab+ radio, and there don't seem to be any.

My straw poll of the sub £50 radios is only about 10% are Dab+, and they are at the higher end.

I just wanted a £20 Dab+ box that works off 4 AAs to listen to Classic FM.

All this started when I was driving back from Tesco and Alan Titchmarsh  ws warning that in 2 weeks they would be on Dab+.

The funny thing is I listen to it in the car on FM, because Dab is a dead loss in the car when it is moving in the first place!

Amazon have a couple at around the £25 mark, although they're brands I'm not familiar with, or if you want a known option there's a Roberts radio for around £50.

I've been looking recently for a DAB+ kitchen radio.

SpanishBlue

Emmia said:

facade said:

I've been looking for an affordable Dab+ radio, and there don't seem to be any.

My straw poll of the sub £50 radios is only about 10% are Dab+, and they are at the higher end.

I just wanted a £20 Dab+ box that works off 4 AAs to listen to Classic FM.

All this started when I was driving back from Tesco and Alan Titchmarsh  ws warning that in 2 weeks they would be on Dab+.

The funny thing is I listen to it in the car on FM, because Dab is a dead loss in the car when it is moving in the first place!

Amazon have a couple at around the £25 mark, although they're brands I'm not familiar with, or if you want a known option there's a Roberts radio for around £50.

I've been looking recently for a DAB+ kitchen radio.

B&M do a very basic DAB+ radio for £20 but would probably be okay for a kitchen.

https://www.bmstores.co.uk/products/juice-dab-radio-404705