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DAB recommendation

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TheBooks
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DAB recommendation

#22918

Postby TheBooks » January 13th, 2017, 4:27 pm

Mrs Books want DAB radio for her birthday.
Who am I to argue?

Recommendations for make/model please. Up to £100

Cheers

The Books

bionichamster
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Re: DAB recommendation

#22926

Postby bionichamster » January 13th, 2017, 4:58 pm

Mrs BH had a similar notion a while back and at the same time was having a notion for kitchen stuff in 'duck egg blue' thus I attempted to kill two birds with one stone by purchasing this Kitsound radio :https://www.amazon.co.uk/KitSound-1950s-Style-Portable-Handle/dp/B00GGFJSZQ

I believe it may come in other colours though. It has reasonably good sound quality and reasonably good reception and the controls are simple to use, I'd say the only minor downside is that the volume control is in incremental stages rather than continuous so depending on the level of background noise we occasionally find it difficult to get the level just right as the required volume at the time is between two increments which are respectively slightly too quiet or slightly too loud. It's only a minor thing and frankly bothers her more than me as if I'm listening to the radio I want to hear it not have it twittering away as background.

The Pure and Roberts brand radios get good reviews and I know folks who have them and they are pretty good and well made, but they are often well over £100, and depending on what and where it's being used I think The Kitsound above is a perfectly acceptable substitute, a similar 'retro' look Roberts is nearly four times the price So I'm happy, but more importantly so is Mrs BH

BH

PrincessB
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Re: DAB recommendation

#22959

Postby PrincessB » January 13th, 2017, 7:42 pm

Recommendations for make/model please. Up to £100


This looks viable from Roberts Radio if you don't mind a more modern looking unit for £85.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Roberts-Radio- ... ooth+radio
Richer Sounds also sell this radio as do John Lewis for £15 more.

To drift very slightly off topic, I really like having bluetooth on the radio. My birthday present was a Bush DAB radio with bluetooth which at £40 comes out well under budget:

http://www.argos.co.uk/product/4269036

I like the little Bush unit, it lives in my office and the bluetooth means I can use my Ipod to play podcasts or my tablet to stream music, play from Spotify or listen to catch up radio. The 2x2watt output is best suited to vocal where it is crisp and clear.

The Roberts offers a much more robust 2x5watt output and appears to have a subwoofer to add a little to the bass. While I don't have this model, I used to have a Stream 83i which had a similar speaker arrangement and it sounded far more tonally balanced than the Bush ever could. This model also has bluetooth.

Many of the larger John Lewis shops have a dedicated section for the plethora of radios, streamers and speakers you can indulge in. While reviews and specifications are interesting, it is always nice to actually hear the device in action.

Regards,

B.

bungeejumper
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Re: DAB recommendation

#22960

Postby bungeejumper » January 13th, 2017, 8:05 pm

Stating the obvious, I hope, but have you checked that DAB radio works in your area? Not a chance around these rural parts - I can get only a few stations clearly on the west side of the house but none anywhere else, and nothing in the car except for a few pop stations with added 'bubbling mud'. But most urban areas fare better.

BJ

MrCake
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Re: DAB recommendation

#22965

Postby MrCake » January 13th, 2017, 9:14 pm

I have 4 Pure Evoke DAB radios of various vintages and wouldn't buy another one. Maybe I've been unlucky but one of them became harder and harder to switch on until eventually it just failed to function altogether. It was just out of guarantee all I could get Pure to offer was a £25 voucher towards buying another one (which I didn't). Another one decides every now and then to switch itself off for a few seconds before switching itself back on again, and also decides on its own to change from DAB to FM or auxiliary. The other 2 work fine. Nothing to do with the power cables or plugs, so all internal radio gubbins at fault.

Clitheroekid
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Re: DAB recommendation

#23141

Postby Clitheroekid » January 14th, 2017, 10:58 pm

One option might be to consider a bluetooth speaker instead. If, like me, your wife just listens to the same 2 or 3 stations all the time then her phone is already effectively a digital radio.

I was given a Roberts digital radio a couple of years ago, which was fine, but after a while I stopped using it and just listened to the radio via my phone, simply because it was more convenient when walking round the house. Although the phone speaker quality obviously wasn't as good it was perfectly adequate, especially as most of my listening is to R4.

However, someone bought me a Bose bluetooth speaker for Christmas, and I'm frankly stunned by the quality of sound it produces when paired with my phone. It's far better than the quality of that on the Roberts radio, presumably because all the purchase price goes into the speaker, rather than most of it being spent on the radio itself.

Here's a list of some of the better ones currently available - http://www.techradar.com/news/audio/por ... rs-1069079

shadowside
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Re: DAB recommendation

#23170

Postby shadowside » January 15th, 2017, 6:25 am

We have had a couple of John Lewis own brand DAB radios for several years and been very satisfied. Simple and effective.

quelquod
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Re: DAB recommendation

#23193

Postby quelquod » January 15th, 2017, 10:05 am

Clitheroekid wrote:However, someone bought me a Bose bluetooth speaker for Christmas, and I'm frankly stunned by the quality of sound it produces when paired with my phone. It's far better than the quality of that on the Roberts radio, presumably because all the purchase price goes into the speaker, rather than most of it being spent on the radio itself.

+1 for this.
DAB quality in the UK is mostly low-bandwidth and shockingly poor quality, much worse than FM and no speaker can remedy that. Internet radio or streaming is generally far better and, through something like a Bose, almost 'HiFi'. A Bose isn't cheap mind you, and there are hosts of lower-end but still very adequate iPhone docks and the like.

Hardgrafter
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Re: DAB recommendation

#23203

Postby Hardgrafter » January 15th, 2017, 10:36 am

I have (had) 5 DAB radios.

The best one by far is the Roberts ECO4 bt which is dab/fm and has bluetooth. https://www.robertsradio.com/uk/product ... ab/eco4-bt . About £90 from John Lewis and lots of places.

Good quality feel, good sound, goor reception sensitivity, low power consumption (can take batteries) and easy to use presets (like a car radio). The LCD display is large and clear.

dspp
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Re: DAB recommendation

#23221

Postby dspp » January 15th, 2017, 11:52 am

I have used John Lewis :
John Lewis Spectrum Duo DAB/FM Bluetooth NFC Digital Radio, Berry Red £59.95

I am in a rural town, close by some seldom used traintracks. The radio is actually below train track level in my ground floor. I find that there are only about a dozen DAB stations that work ever. When they work the DAB quality is better than the rather hissy VHF quality. However the VHF degraded gracefully whereas the DAB is all or nothing and there are times when the only DAB I can get is r4. This particular radio is OK and does what it says on the tin.

regards, dspp

JoshL
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Re: DAB recommendation

#23245

Postby JoshL » January 15th, 2017, 12:56 pm

I can recommend this from John Lewis: http://www.johnlewis.com/john-lewis-spe ... olour=Teal
(other colours available - I have a black one). Excellent sound from such a small radio, and DAB reception excellent here in Surrey at any rate. Also runs off batteries quite happily. And only £40.

If you want bluetooth as well then http://www.johnlewis.com/john-lewis-ast ... lour=White looks good.

Josh


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