DAB radios in cars

[Nick Armstrong]

Do they work? Better than standard FM car radios?

I'd be interested to hear the experiences of anyone who's got a car with a DAB radio.

I may have to change motors this year and some of the possible options list 'DAB radio' in their spec. - I'd love to know if it's a boon or a pain, in terms largely of coverage / interference, both in the middle of nowhere and in the middle of busy towns, high buildings etc.

[Beef Oven!]

Do they work? Better than standard FM car radios?

I'd be interested to hear the experiences of anyone who's got a car with a DAB radio.

I may have to change motors this year and some of the possible options list 'DAB radio' in their spec. - I'd love to know if it's a boon or a pain, in terms largely of coverage / interference, both in the middle of nowhere and in the middle of busy towns, high buildings etc.

Austin Cambridge listing DAB?

Whatever next? Synchromesh gearbox, cigarette lighter, cloth seats and inertia-reel seat-belts?

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

lost my last radio due to code transfer and radio changes not coinciding so had to replace a standard Ford Radio with a DAB CD FM that also is a hands freee bluetooth device for my phone ... brilliant, some very minor cut outs [digital ineterference is silence not hiss] but very reliable the model i chose is a Pure from Halfords [brilliant bloke too but then that may just be Melton Mowbray for you!]


no regrets

[muzzer]

Hmmm. I don't really drive enough to warrant changing the original stereo in the car, but would like to as it has a tape deck ;) Compensated for by a 6 speaker system I might add, but this is not that type of forum.

[Don Petter]

I've had DAB in the car for quite a few years now. The only reason we wanted it was to be able to listen to R4Extra, R5Extra (mainly for the cricket) and Talksport (and R5 sport in general without the poor AM quality). For all these reasons it's been well worth it, but we still listen to R3 on FM out of choice, and we never listen to any of the myriad other DAB channels on offer.

The unit is a Pure Highway, which radiates to the built-in FM using a free frequency (you can scan to find one). This works fine in practice, though on long trips you sometimes find local FM broadcasts break in and necessitate a change of intermediate frequency. Since you can store four of the latter in the Highway, I synchronise these with four presets on the second FM band, which I don't normally use. This makes adjustment fairly easy, though I never understood why the Highway output doesn't use an RDS station identifier, so you could just re-scan on the Highway and let the RDS radio find the new frequency itself.

Anyway, to performance. I won't raise the old chestnut of sound quality. Suffice it to say, as above, that we only choose DAB for availability of content.

Reception using the supplied 'stick to windscreen' aerial was indifferent and quite patchy. As soon as I bought a magnetic external aerial to go on the car roof, a transformation occurred. An aerial with a good long lead (5 metres) allows positioning on the car roof a long way away from the built in FM aerial, and the lead can be neatly concealed behind the trim. None of this would need to apply to a new car with a fitted DAB set, of course.

Reception is pretty much full signal everywhere on our travels, though locally there are a few dead spots among the high buildings in Eastbourne. I haven't driven in London (i.e inside the M25) for many years, so can't speak for results there, but we have often been to places as far afield as the West Country, East Anglia, South Wales, East Midlands and up to Tyneside. In general reception quality has been equal to, if not better than, FM, with drop outs being a rarity.

I presume new car offerings are for sets with DAB as well as FM. I certainly wouldn't forego the latter. Hope this may help Cal's deliberations.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

The more expensive versions of Volkswagen cars are equipped with RCD510 radio/CD players that have both DAB and FM options. It's easy to switch between one and the other. Coverage varies between the two systems, so sometimes, if one is unavailable, you can try the other. It's very interesting to compare the sound qualities of the two. There's no visible aerial.

[Old Grumpy]

Hmmm. I don't really drive enough to warrant changing the original stereo in the car, but would like to as it has a tape deck ;) Compensated for by a 6 speaker system I might add, but this is not that type of forum.

LOL - does it have the name of the manufacturer of the stereo in big white letters accross the back window of the car?


KENWOOD

[teamsaint]

I have DAB in mine, (factory fitted), have to say it works well. In bad DAB reception areas, which seem to be relatively few round here, it switches fairly quickly to FM, if that is available.

Generally good experience.

I still need a good solution for listening to recorded programmes in the car though.

[Bryn]

I have DAB in mine, (factory fitted), have to say it works well. In bad DAB reception areas, which seem to be relatively few round here, it switches fairly quickly to FM, if that is available.

Generally good experience.

I still need a good solution for listening to recorded programmes in the car though.

Does you car 'radio' not have a USB input? I have JVC DAB/FM/AM car radio/CD player and I find its USB input the most useful feature of all. I have a fair collection of USB memory sticks with loads of Radio 3 stuff on them. The only (minor) annoyance is that though its makers claim aac compatibility for the 'radio', what they fail to mention is that it requires aac files to be wrapped in the m4a format beloved of Apple. Fortunately a fellow contributor here advised how easily aac files can be wrapped as m4a using the free MP4box program via a simple batch file command.

[VodkaDilc]

My 19 month old car came with an FM radio (DAB was an extra) and I have been completely satisfied with it.

[Nevalti]

My wife's (2009) Golf has a factory fitted DAB radio. It works perfectly well most of the time with very little cut-out or bubbling mud. When it does disappear, you are usually in a good FM area and visa versa - which is handy.

When both FM and DAB signals are good, FM is far more suitable for R3 in a car because of the benign compression. Also, even in a car you can sometimes tell that the low level information has been chopped out. On that particular radio, there is also a lack or mid-range body which seems to rob the music of - music. As usual, for talk radio, DAB is very clear - I still don't like it though and always listen to FM if there is a reasonable signal.

I would suggest that it would be silly not to get a DAB radio in your car. Even if you don't intend keeping it long, FM will probably be switched off within the life of that car and, one day soon, second hand car buyers will be reluctant to buy a car without a DAB radio if an alternative car has it - 'free'.

[Ariosto]

I bought a VERY expensive DAB car radio and they threw the car in free. Not that the car is up to much, as these new Rollers aren't a patch on the old ones. (Should have got a Bentley ...)

[Ferretfancy]

I bought a VERY expensive DAB car radio and they threw the car in free. Not that the car is up to much, as these new Rollers aren't a patch on the old ones. (Should have got a Bentley ...)

I hate car radio, full stop ! Sorry!

[Nick Armstrong]

I bought a VERY expensive DAB car radio and they threw the car in free. Not that the car is up to much, as these new Rollers aren't a patch on the old ones. (Should have got a Bentley ...)

I have purchased such a wireless, with a car attached. I pick it up on Monday. I shall report back.

(I test-listened to one, and was delighted with the radio performance. The car seemed to work ok too)

[Ariosto]

I hate car radio, full stop ! Sorry!

I know what you mean, Ferret! I only use ours (we have a car now for the dog!) sparingly - and I hate hearing loud car radios in the street with awful muzak. Oh for the peace of the countryside - where the nearest road and house is more than two miles away. You can't move for people in N London - it stinks!