dab radio

[beanpole]

I would welcome advice on whether it is a good time to buy a DAB radio Also if so what kind of price for a good radio and any suggestions as to a good radio that will last

Thank you in advance

[Ethel]

Firstly - is DAB available in your area?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/digitalradio/

[beanpole]

Have already checked and it is

[Machecoul]

I've just bought second Pure DAB radio - the Evoke 2xt - stereo plus FM plus it has a socket so I can play my MPs player through it (didn't know about that until I got it home). Not cheap though (about �135) but I think worth every penny.

The other Pure has been moved upstairs - early mono model still working fine.

The range of stations is fabulous.

[Machecoul]

That should have said MP3 player!!

[Ian1]

My advice would be to get one that could accept an external aerial. If, in the future, you did invest in an DAB roof-top aerial it would probably increase the number of stations you could receive.

[BillyNoMates]

Really depends on whether you mean a small portable DAB radio or a HiFi DAB tuner.

The portable types can be a little tempremental wrt to signal - so as has been suggested try to go for one with the option of an external aerial.

Personally on the HiFi side I find that the quality has reduced as they cram more and more digital transmissions in, reducing the bitrate. The only station that's very high quality is Radio 3 - fine if you like the classics. That said, with a good signal and aerial the results are good.

There's more choice to listen to and some tuners display information about what's playing on a scrolling display. You may however, not receive local stations as these don't always broadcast on DAB - particularly independent stations.

[stubbings]

DAB is worthwhile but has its limitations - good for BBC 5 Live / Test Match Special + other MW stations. Another pro is the range of stations available and the scrolling information. I dont have one that pauses live broadcasts, but this is available at a price.

Sound quality is acceptable but not HiFi - most stations broadcast at around 128 mbps which is the same as MP3 quality - hard to hear the difference on a small radio or minisystem, but I reckon my FM tuner is far better quality.

Though DAB claims to be interference free - it isn't ! Someone near me switches something on around teatime and the signal is intermittent for about an hour - annoying - maybe a better aerial would cure it.

Buy one if you listen to MW stations a lot but don't expect miracles. Prices have really come down - Argos have a basic one for about �40. A more sophisticated mini stereo is what you need if you listen to music.

[Electronic_Engineer]

DAB radio gives quite poor sound quality, because it uses the old MP2 system combined with the very low data rates needed to fit in all the channels. Many DAB stations even broadcast stereo content in mono. There are also significant problems with reception in some parts of the country, and many users have reported an unpleasant bubbling mud sound or a complete loss of signal as they move their DAB set from one place to another.

Do you have a wireless broadband internet connection? If so, you can already get all of the digital stations using a computer and this will give higher sound quality than a DAB radio.

If you really want a DAB radio, make sure it will also work on the improved DAB+ system, which is being adopted by many other countries and may yet appear in Britain. I would also recommend getting a radio which has wi-fi, so that you can use it listen to radio stations distributed using the internet - including all of those available on DAB and many more - with higher sound quality.