Do Bose Make DAB Radios?

Bose is an American speaker and headphone company famous for making products with excellent sound quality.

Rather than making standalone radios, Bose produce a range of sound systems (the Wave range) that combine radio with other features such as a CD player, Bluetooth and WiFi. They also produce a range of Bluetooth speakers (the SoundTouch range) that can be used with WiFi to play internet radio.

While some Bose radios have a built-in radio tuner, this is usually only an AM/FM tuner rather than a DAB tuner. This is probably because Bose is focused on the US market, and DAB radio is not currently used in the US.

At the time of writing, we could only find two Bose products with a DAB radio. They are detailed below.

 

Bose Wave Music System IV

The Bose Wave Music System IV is a sound system that offers a CD player, a dual alarm clock, stereo sound and a remote control. The Wave Music System IV also has an AM/FM/DAB/DAB+ radio.

The product comes with an external antenna, though you might not need to install it. You can save 6 preset digital stations as well as 6 on AM and 6 on FM. The remote control has 6 buttons so you can access your favourite stations easily.

One additional feature is a signal strength indicator that shows how strong the current station’s signal is as a percentage.

 

Bose Wave SoundTouch System IV

The Wave SoundTouch System IV is essentially the same as the Wave Music System IV detailed above, only with the addition of Bluetooth and WiFi to allow for wirelessly streaming audio from a phone or the internet. The Wave SoundTouch System IV is therefore more versatile than the regular Wave Music System IV, but it’s also more expensive.

Like the Wave Music System IV, the Wave SoundTouch System IV has a radio that picks up AM, FM, DAB and DAB+ stations. It also lets you save 6 preset stations on each of AM, FM and DAB/DAB+, and has a signal strength indicator.

One advantage of the Wave SoundTouch System IV is that you can use it as an internet radio, so you can simply stream radio stations via the internet rather than relying on DAB. This will give you a larger choice of stations and less interference if you have a good broadband connection and live in an area with weak DAB reception.

 

Alternatives to Bose

Bose products are expensive and many believe the brand is overrated when it comes to sound quality. If you’re looking for a DAB radio with excellent sound quality, there are some potentially better options out there.

One DAB radio with superb sound quality is the Ruark R4 MkIII. The R4 MkIII is a high-end product with a price tag to match, but it’s hard to beat when it comes to sound quality. The R4 Mk III is a stereo radio with a CD player, Bluetooth and a USB port for playing MP3 files. Most importantly, it picks up FM, DAB and DAB+ stations.

Another good choice is the Revo SuperSystem which unlike the Ruark R4 Mk III also features internet radio. The SuperSystem is a stereo radio with a power output of 80 watts. It also features Bluetooth, though it doesn’t have a CD player.

For some more options, see our roundup of the best DAB radios for sound quality.