Comments on: DAB vs FM Radio – What Is The Difference & Which Is Best?

By: Norman

Norman — Sun, 26 Jan 2020 16:54:27 +0000

The trend with radios from high-quality with FM to low-quality often made in China with DAB is most depressing. The net effect seems to be
1 poorer sound quality and
2 higher environmental damage/electricity consumption.

FM radios don’t last as long as they used to either. The build quality is atrocious. How can companies fail to provide the basics of good sound quality and build quality on something costing £20-30? One might only want 10-20 radio stations, but with sound as clear as radios sold in the 20th.C. That didn’t cost £50-100, the components themselves are probably a few £.

Long term, I’ll move to internet radio if and when FM is turned off. But mains electricity is unreliable out here in the sticks. If it goes off, so does the internet. Or maybe internet radios incorporate a battery …

Incidentally, if the government wants people to be able to hear important broadcasts in the event of a national emergency from a few nationwide transmitters as it did in the 20th.C, even FM is hopeless. It needs to be LW or conceivably MW. (Mobile phones might not be suitable for this purpose because the system lacks the battery backup that landlines had and have.) Just a thought in the 21st. C …

By: Peg ni gormain

Peg ni gormain — Sun, 22 Sep 2019 12:35:25 +0000

Interestingly, I too am unimpressed with my new dab stands for BAD? The nearest broadcaster where I need to pick up –
Midlands radio 3, just won’t come in. Very frustrating. Yet newstalk , no problem if all you want is an hourly diet of depression inducing current claptrap, beginning with the letter B/ (SITOSIS).

By: Ian

Ian — Sun, 01 Apr 2018 16:58:41 +0000

In reply to Chris. I completely agree, when using DAB radios on 240v the power consumption isn't noticed but when a portable DAB receiver is used the battery life really is significant. I am about to replace my bathroom receiver and have thought about DAB but when I look at the battery life of DAB v AM/FM there is no contest. TMS on LW can be received in the Dordogne; try that with DAB.

By: George H

George H — Sat, 21 Oct 2017 07:28:06 +0000

DAB is a massive disappointment. Several reasons:

Just look at the Digital reception map. Outwith major urban areas, reception is poor or non existent. Actual experience shows that on the move, DAB is useless.

Even in ‘good’ reception areas, reception is patchy with major dead spots indoors.

Most channels in my area are only broadcast in mono. Progress?

Most channels are just variants of an incredibly shallow pop music ethos with a constantly repeated small playlist.

Fact – no matter how the sales pitch tries to dress it up – the sound quality is poor. If a good reception is achieved it may be clear but even on the best quality equipment, it is not a dynamic, rich, natural sound like on FM. The system and process selected by U.K. DAB engineers for relaying the signal and subsequently converting it to sound in your radio is physically incapable of transporting the kind of quality sound that we should be expecting from a modern audio product described as ‘the future of radio’.

If all you want is a tranny in the corner it’s probably fine but if you are looking for a quality audio system to complement your existing hi-fi, as I found out after forking out a fortune on several DAB components.

I live in hope that one day things will improve, but until then, be prepared for a potential disappointment. Ask your salesmen for the truth about DAB before making your mind up.

It’s not all doom and gloom though. Once set up, sets are usually very easy to use. Just be prepared to always have plugged into the mains socket. Unlike LW/MW/FM radios in which batteries can work for months, DAB radios can eat a new set of quality alkaline batteries in a day or two.

Another plus – you do get a slightly better choice of channels (if mono is acceptable).

By: Mike Penn

Mike Penn — Wed, 18 Oct 2017 18:48:31 +0000

DAB sound quality is awful mp2 highly compressed a thin nasty sound. FM from a quality Tuner easily sounds better. BBC iplayer online via a usb DAC at 320 kbps is a different beast, it walks all over DAB.

By: Chris

Chris — Mon, 16 Oct 2017 06:45:42 +0000

I have an analogue radio in the bathroom which is on for 20 minutes a day and the batteries last at least a year.
I did replace it with a DAB radio and they ran out after three weeks. Needless to say, I’m back with an analogue!

By: Ian miller

Ian miller — Sat, 19 Aug 2017 22:16:25 +0000

More choice? – yes but 90% of it is stuff I would never dream of listening to on fm, especially hours of guys talking endlessly about football gossip.
No need to remember frequencies? – fm radios have had presets and easily read tuning dials for years so dab isn’t exactly breaking new ground in this respect.
Ability to stream info ? – yes but the reason I listen to a radio around the house is that I don’t need to look at it so streamed info is a bit of a waste of time.
Better reception? I have no problems with fm normally so dab is unlikely to be an improvement and strangely,living in central Scotland, listening to radio Scotland on dab is not good. In the highlands of Scotland fm can be patchy but dab is largely non existent and this seems unlikely to change for some time. Maybe the plan is to sacrifice highland listeners for the greater good of everyone else.

By: Andrew

Andrew — Wed, 26 Jul 2017 23:37:27 +0000

I think analogue is the best and always will use it out do lose signal with digital and bits of info in digital music is lost I am sticking to anologue much better

By: RealTron

RealTron — Sat, 22 Jul 2017 07:27:30 +0000

The opinions above only hold for urban areas. In my cabin I had a perfect analog retro TEAC FM receiver that gave me 10+ stations. My brand new Argon DAB 2+ gives one (1) FM station and no DAB. Power outage gives loss of memory (need to retune to find that single station). Station switches cost a second rather than being immediate. There is no way to settle for less quality to listen to important news, etc. Very disappointed. Digital sucks. I miss the immediacy of analog.