UKC

I'm thinking of getting an entry level DAB radio to replace my radio/alarm and looking for recommendations please. (ie it must have an alarm) I also seem to remember reading a review of one which could record up to 15 mins of radio which would be a real bonus, but I imagine not available in my budget, which is in the £30-50 region

Anyone got one they can either recommend or advise me to keep clear of? Thanks.

In reply to Fraser:

Evening bump.

In reply to Fraser:

It's the luck of the draw really I'm afraid. If you are in a strong signal area there should be no problem with any radio. 15 mins of recording is an odd requirement (if it records, I think you'll get more than that) - maybe the ability to plug in an ipod would be more use. I've bought a quite a few and the worst was a Roberts Gemini 55, purely because the sound quality was terrible. It *could* record though. Cheap ones seem to have less ability to get a signal in weak signal areas.
John Lewis is quite good for testing out radios as they often have operational ones that you can play with.

In reply to Fraser:

Got this one about 6 months ago, might be outside the budget

http://www.go-electrical.co.uk/pure-chronos-idock-dab-radio-in-white-series...

can download podcasts and audio books onto the ipod and listen to them in bed. So far it has been great.

In reply to sbc_10:
I got a refurbished one of those from richer sounds a few weeks ago for £50 (with manufacturer's guarantee). not sure if they have any left but it was a good bargain I thought. I got it because I wanted the cd player too. I also have the Pure one classic series 2, which has pause/rewind/recording facilities (although I can't work out the 'listen later' thing!). that might be more what you want.

In reply to freerangecat:
sorry, looked more closely - I have the cd version of the one mentioned above not the iphone dock one.

Thanks for this folks - like anything I suppose, you get what you pay for. I'm not sure if I'm in a good or bad signal area, so I'm guessing it must at least be 'reasonable'

The 15 minute recording facility was more of a <would be nice to have> than an actual prerequisite. I don't have an iPod but I can see the direct download capability would be useful, so that's maybe something I should consider for the future. Roberts and Pure seem to be the main brands to go for and there is a John Lewis close to my office where I've seen a few of each. I'll have a closer look at some next week and see where I stand after that. Thanks again all.

What we have is a retired IPhone 3 in the kitchen.
we can use BBC iplyare abd the external speakers.
it works as an alarm clock.
as the iphone is now out of contract we use the household wi-fi to receive the signal

In reply to Fraser: I have this one in my bedroom: http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/audio/radios/radios/logik-l55idab10-dab-radio-...

it cant record as far as I know but has dual alarms.

I also have a chronos cd/alarm clock/dab radio in the kitchen. The cd player part isnt too smart but the radio is good. Got that one on freecycle

In reply to Fraser:
http://m.richersounds.com/product/internet-dab-radio/pure/chronos-cd-series...

they still have the refurbished ones on sale. the best radio you're going to get for your £50 budget I would imagine.

In reply to freerangecat & RockAngel:

Thanks for those links, they both look pretty good. I stopped off at John Lewis on the way into this office this morning and had a look at several. Nothing was sufficiently plumbed in to let me hear the sound quality however, but I'll persevere. A couple of their own brand ones looked quite good value too.

The Richer Sounds one might be tempting...there's a store just round from here too, so that's my homeward journey now also getting a detour!

In reply to freerangecat:

Just noticed amazon is also selling these new at the same price.

In reply to Fraser:

Are you sure? The only one I can find at that price on Amazon is the same 'outlet' refurbished one that Richer Sounds are selling (obviously, it's great if you can get it for that price I was just surprised)

In reply to Fraser:

The whole area of DAB is a bit confusing for me and to be honest, I think that the radios are too expensive. From what I've read over the years there is a mini battle between DAB and DAB+ in this country alone. Add the fact that DAB isn't that popular on the continent and it may not actually be around that long before a new technology overtakes it.

If DAB was the future then surely the car industry would be shoving more and more DAB's into their cars?

I had a cheap ASDA DAB radio and it was Ok, but if the reception faded then you got no sound at all, where as with FM, the signal just faded and came back in but you at least still heard the station.

Personally I will be sticking with an FM alarm clock, listening to the radio through a free-view box on the telly and over the internet where I get my digital pleasures.

If it becomes a cheap option to get unlimited internet on my phone then even better as I will get digital radio where ever I go.

But personally, even with all the marketing and hype, I'll let DAB pass me by.

http://www.which.co.uk/technology/audio/guides/dab-explained/

In reply to freerangecat:

I think it's the same one:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Pure-Outlet-Chronos-Series-Stereo/dp/B004S0SIUC


In reply to The Lemming:

Thanks for the link, looks useful. From a very quick skim it does say "don't be put off buying a DAB radio". Like all technologies, you could hold off forever waiting for the next step up. The analogue one I'm using just now was only about a tenner from Argos, so it's not the best sound quality! There was a nice John Lewis one for £34 which seemed good, at least on paper. Will try and give it a listen, although I imagine the discounted 'Pure' one will be better.

In reply to freerangecat:

Sorry, hadn't checked the smaall print; you're right, it's the same Richer Sounds one, oops.

In reply to Fraser:

that's ok, I just didn't want you to make a mistake and buy a refurbished one when you expected to be buying a new one.

In reply to freerangecat:

No worries, thanks for flagging it up. I'd probably not have noticed!