Best DAB Radio Alarm Clocks 2023

It’s much nicer to wake up to the radio than a high-pitched alarm, so it’s not surprising clock radios are so popular.

If you’re buying a clock radio, it makes sense to get one with DAB/DAB+ radio, as it will give you a better choice of stations and will be ‘futureproof’ if the FM signal in the UK is ever switched off.

Choosing a DAB clock radio can be difficult, as there’s so much choice available. To help you out, we’ve researched the market and have picked out 7 of the best DAB radio alarm clocks available.

These include cheap digital radios as well as more premium options. Some of these radios also have Bluetooth, so you can connect them to your phone to stream music or podcasts.

We hope these reviews help you choose the right radio for you.

Best DAB Radio Alarm Clocks

1. AZATOM Horizon

The AZATOM Horizon is one of the most popular clock radios on the market at the moment. It offers great value for money with FM/DAB/DAB+ radio, Bluetooth and a USB charging point.

This radio doesn’t have a particularly attractive design, but it’s compact and functional. The Horizon is available in either white or black and displays the time in large digits on the front.

AZATOM is a budget British electronics brand whose products usually offer a good compromise between quality and price. The Horizon is very affordable and is a good cheap alternative to products from brands such as Roberts and Pure.

Features

Dimensions: 14.5 x 14.5 x 4.5 cm
Weight: 360 g

What’s the alarm like?

You can set the alarm to wake you up to either a standard alarm buzzer sound or a radio station of your choice.

When you go to set the alarm, it will let you choose either the last station you were listening to or one of your saved presets.

You can also choose the volume of the alarm. The alarm will start out quiet and gradually get louder, so it won’t startle you when you wake up.

The radio will play for a duration of your choosing (15, 30, 45, 60 or 90 minutes). Of course, you can switch off the radio manually before this time period ends.

You can choose to set an alarm to sound for just one day, seven days of the week, just on weekdays or just on weekends.

Changing alarm settings can be a bit fiddly, but the instructions manual is helpful.

Since there are two alarms, you can set one alarm for weekdays and another at a different time for weekends.

There’s a large snooze button on the top of the radio, which should be easy to find in the dark or when you’ve just woken up.

When you hit the snooze button you can choose to pause the alarm for 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 or 30 minutes, or switch it off altogether.

One downside is that the radio comes on when you set the alarm, which isn’t ideal if you’re trying to set the alarm without disturbing anyone else.

Summary

The AZATOM Horizon is one of the best-sounding radios in its price range, and while some find it fiddly most users don’t have any problems using the alarm clock.

USB charging and Bluetooth are nice additions that help set it apart from other radios at this price point.

You can set the display brightness to ‘Dim’, which should be low enough to prevent it keeping you awake at night while still allowing you to see the time.

See our full review of the AZATOM Horizon here.

 

2. John Lewis Spectrum Clock Radio

The Spectrum Clock Radio from John Lewis’s own-brand range of digital radios has a large clock display and offers good value for money.

One of the nice things about this product is that you can activate the snooze function just by pressing down the top of the radio, so you don’t need to find a small button when you wake up.

This radio comes with a 2-year guarantee from John Lewis & Partners, which gives you some peace of mind.

You can get the Spectrum Clock Radio in a range of colours: Black, Slate Grey, Teal or White.

Features

Dimensions: 15.5 x 11.3 x 8.9 cm

What’s the alarm like?

This radio has a dual alarm clock, which means you can set two independent alarms.

Each alarm has its own button, which makes it a bit simpler than on the AZATOM Horizon, where both alarms use the same button.

You can set the duration of the alarm to 15, 30, 45, 60 or 90 minutes.

You can choose to use either a standard alarm buzzer sound or a radio station. If you want to wake up to a radio station, you can choose either the last station you were listening to or one of your presets.

Since you can only set 2 presets on DAB and 2 on FM, this can make changing the radio station you want to wake up to a bit fiddly (the easiest thing is just to tune into it first before setting the alarm).

You can choose when the alarm will sound (once/daily/weekdays/weekends), and can also choose the volume of the alarm.

Once the alarm is set, you’ll see an alarm icon on the display.

When the alarm sounds, you can press the snooze button to pause it for 5 minutes or press the snooze button repeatedly to pause it for 10/15/30 minutes. You can also turn the alarm off altogether by pressing the alarm button.

There are two snooze buttons, which are relatively large.

Summary

The Spectrum Clock Radio offers good value for money, and the easy-touch snooze function is very convenient. However, it can be a bit fiddly to use at first, and the display level can be too dim or too bright.

This radio is a great size for a bedside table, and the time is shown in large digits. It doesn’t have any advanced features such as Bluetooth or USB ports for charging devices, but it’s a good basic DAB radio for the bedroom.

Read our full review of the Spectrum Clock Radio here.

 

3. Roberts Revival iStream 3

If you want to invest in something more stylish with more features and better sound quality, the Roberts Revival iStream 3 is worth considering.

It has a retro 1950s-style design with lots of modern features including internet radio and Bluetooth.

Features

Dimensions: 25.5 x 16 x 11 cm

What’s the alarm like?

You can choose to wake up to an alarm buzzer sound or a radio station (including internet radio stations). You can choose either the last station you listened to or one of your presets.

You can set the volume of the alarm and choose when it will sound (once, daily, weekdays or weekends).

The alarm will sound for up to 60 minutes unless you cancel it. You can press the snooze button to pause it for 5 minutes or press the snooze button repeatedly to pause it for 10/15/30 minutes.

One good thing about the alarms on this radio is that you can set and cancel them while the radio is on standby. On some clock radios, you can only change the alarm with the radio turned on, which can disturb other people if you want to change the alarm settings late at night.

Summary

The Roberts Revival iStream 3 is pricey, but it looks fantastic and has some great features such as internet radio and Bluetooth.

 

4. John Lewis & Partners Aria

This compact and stylish radio from John Lewis & Partners could be a good choice for a bedside table. It has Bluetooth so you can stream music from your phone, tablet or laptop.

Features

Dimensions: 19 x 11.8 x 11.8 cm

What’s the alarm like?

The John Lewis Aria allows you can set two separate alarms, so you could have one for weekdays and another for weekends.

You can set how often the alarm will sound (once, daily, weekdays or weekends).

You can choose to wake up to an alarm buzzer sound or a radio station (either the last station you listened to or one of your presets).

You can also set the duration of the alarm (from 15 to 90 minutes) and can set the volume. The alarm starts quiet and gradually gets louder.

Alarm icons on the display shows when the alarms are set.

There’s a snooze button which will pause the alarm for 5 minutes.

Summary

The John Lewis Aria has good sound quality and is ideal if you want something stylish with Bluetooth but don’t want to pay for something very pricey from a brand such as Roberts.

 

5. Majority Histon II

The Majority Histon II is a budget-priced DAB radio alarm clock which comes in a few great colourways – Black, White and Rose – ideal for matching your home decor.

The small size of this radio makes it a great choice for those who travel a lot.

Features

Dimensions: 18 x 5 x 11 cm

What’s the alarm like?

The Majority Fulbourn II has a dual alarm clock, so you can program two separate alarms.

You can choose how often the alarm will sound (once, daily, weekdays or weekends).

You can choose to wake up to an alarm buzzer sound or a radio station (FM or DAB). The alarm starts out quiet and gradually gets louder.

The snooze button puts the radio on standby for 9 minutes before the alarm sounds again.

Summary

This radio offers great value for money and is the ideal size for a bedside. Alarms are quite easy to set and can be customised to suit your daily schedule.

One downfall of using this radio as an alarm is that the display can be too bright at night, so you might want to put something in front of it to avoid disturbing your zzz’s.

 

6. AZATOM Spitalfields

The AZATOM Spitalfields is an FM/DAB radio that lets you set four separate alarms, making it very flexible. It also has a built-in rechargeable battery so you can carry it around the house or into the garden and use it as a portable radio.

Like the AZATOM Horizon reviewed above, the Spitalfields is a very affordable radio that offers good value for money.

This radio has a retro design with a leather effect finish that comes in a choice of two colours: black or cream.

Features

Dimensions: 19 x 14 x 9 cm
Weight: 750 g

What’s the alarm like?

Unlike most clock radios, the AZATOM Spitalfields lets you set not one, not two, but four alarms.

You have a choice of waking up to a regular alarm buzzer sound or a radio station. You can choose how long the alarm will sound for (15/30/45/60/90 minutes).

You can set the alarm to sound just once, every day, on weekdays or on weekends.

You can also choose the volume of the alarm. The alarm will gradually build up to this volume. However, the lowest volume setting is still quite loud.

Summary

The AZATOM Spitalfields has lots of nice features such as 4 alarms, an adjustable EQ and a remote control, though sadly no headphone jack.

It has great sound quality for something so small and cheap, and has the added bonus of being portable.

However, the default alarm volume is quite high, so it’s not the most relaxing way to wake up. If loud music doesn’t bother you this isn’t a problem, but if you prefer to wake up gently you might want to choose the Pure Siesta Rise instead, as the alarm volume on that radio increases gradually.

Read our full review of the AZATOM Spitalfields here.

 

7. AZATOM Blackfriars

The AZATOM Blackfriars is a very affordable and popular digital radio with a dual alarm clock. It has a vertical design with a small footprint, so it would suit a bedside table well and the addition of a handle means you can easily transport this radio from room to room. This radio has a built-in rechargeable battery so it can be played without being plugged into the mains.

This retro radio is available in Oak and Black Ash, so you can choose a colourway to match your home.

Features

Dimensions: 13 x 8.7 x 18.2 cm
Weight: 780 g

What’s the alarm like?

This radio lets you set two separate alarms. You can choose to wake up to a regular alarm sound or an FM or DAB radio station.

You can set the alarm to just sound once, sound every day or just on weekdays or weekends.

The alarm stays on for 15, 30, 45, 60 or 90 minutes, so you can choose a time duration to suit your morning routine.

When the alarm sounds, you can push the Skip dial button to switch the radio to standby for 5 minutes.

One downside to this radio is that you can only set the alarm with the radio turned on, so you can’t do it silently. Also, the lowest alarm volume is still quite loud, so it might startle you in the morning.

Summary

The Blackfriars radio does get the job done if you’re looking for a compact and inexpensive DAB clock radio. It’s not perfect, as it can be quite fiddly to use, however, it offers good value for money, has a nice design and is a good size for a bedside table.

 

How to Choose a DAB Radio Alarm Clock

Here are some things to consider when choosing a DAB radio alarm clock:

• Price: The price of DAB radios with an alarm clock varies greatly, from about £20 to well over £200. You can get a good basic clock radio for £30-£50, but if you want something with lots of features or a really stunning design, you will need to pay more. A radio with a CD player and/or Bluetooth will be more expensive than one without but will offer more versatility.
• Features: All of the radios reviewed here have FM/DAB radio and an alarm clock. Here are some extra features you might find useful:
  • Multiple alarms – Many clock radios have a dual alarm clock which lets you set two separate alarms, for example, one for weekdays and another for weekends. Some radios such as the AZATOM Spitalfields let you set as many as four separate alarms.
  • Bluetooth – Bluetooth will allow you to stream internet radio, podcasts and MP3s from your phone or tablet through the radio’s speaker.
  • USB charger – Some radios have a USB port that will allow you to charge a phone overnight.
  • CD player – Clock radios with a CD player will typically be bulkier and more expensive than those without, but this could be a useful feature if you have a large CD collection.
• Size: If you’re looking for a radio for your bedside table, you will want it to be compact. Check the radio’s dimensions before you buy it to avoid accidentally buying something too large.
• Design: A clock radio can be a fashion statement. You might like something modern, or you might prefer a retro design.
• Brand: Established brands such as Pure and Roberts tend to be more reliable, but also more expensive. If you don’t mind trying a less well-known brand, there are some good radios from budget brands such as Majority and AZATOM that offer great value for money.

 

What’s the Best DAB Radio Alarm Clock with Bluetooth?

Out of the products we’ve reviewed here, four have Bluetooth: The AZATOM Horizon, the John Lewis & Partners Aria, the Roberts Revival iStream 3 and the Majority Fulbourn II.

In terms of value for money, we’d recommend the AZATOM Horizon. However, the Roberts Revival iStream 3 is more stylish and has more features and better sound quality.

 

What’s the Cheapest DAB Radio Alarm Clock?

As with all electronics products, the price of radios fluctuates often, so it’s difficult to say what the cheapest DAB clock radio will be when you read this. However, the following are the cheapest options we could find when researching this article:

• Bush DAB / FM Radio – A very basic DAB radio available from Argos here
• Majority Histon II 2nd edition – A small radio with a dual alarm clock available from Amazon here

For some more ultra-cheap DAB radios, see our overview of the cheapest digital radios on the market.

 

Conclusion

If we had to pick just one of these DAB radio alarm clocks to recommend, it would be the AZATOM Horizon. It’s not the flashiest or most feature-packed clock radio on the market, but it offers the functionality and performance most people are looking for at a very reasonable price.

 

Related posts

• Best Alarm Clock Radios
• Best DAB Radios with Bluetooth 
• Best DAB Radio