Dab radio in Aldi today. Would this be a decent buy?

Onthe3rdDay

Joe Doe wrote: »

RTÉ Pulse + BBC1Xtra both bangin' with no ads,
few other stations along the M1/EastCoast inc. Abs80/90's, PlanetRock, TeamRock, Kiss, Capital and more localised random ones.

DAB'+' is still a way off i.e. next gen...

You can also supplement antenna cheaply with diy 'silver foiled' items as per 'wifi boosting' (see lifehacks).

FM will always be around as it has much lower power drain,
and has uses in interphones, intercoms/monitors
- and most importantly PMR/WalkieT's which should work even after a EMP/shtf type event...

I can honestly say I'd be the first to Buy a DAB radio if I were able to receive BBC stations but that reception you're on about is only in certain parts of the country. The vast majority of Ireland can't get anything and those that can only get a few extra RTE stations. Plus stations that aren't exactly popular interest. (good for those that want them of course)

Capt'n Midnight

Banjo String wrote: »

I'm just outside Naas MYOB.

i'd guess there wouldn't be much dab coverage here, no point in buying it at near 50 euro if an Fm radio would suffice?

DAB is a solution seeking a problem.

If you have good FM coverage of the stations you want to listen to then there is no advantage to DAB. It's more expensive, uses more power and in theory the quality might be better but in practice the bit rates are too low.

If you have broadband or satellite you'll get a lot more stations, you'll even pick up some off UPC cable depending on the area you are in.

danjo-xx

Answer I got to a question I asked on the Radio forum back in June.

Do not buy any DAB RADIO that does not have DAB+. If RTE launch DAB nationwide in the future it will be DAB+.

edit: ooops think this was mentioned in other posts

Benbecul97

https://www.aldi.ie/dab-%26-fm-radio/p/013238264948000


back in stock,

anyone get one?

what's the quality like?

OmegaGene

Another historic thread reappears

legrand

That Aldi radio has bluetooth also. So you can use your favourite radio apps (tuneIn, BBC, RTE etc) and stream away with options to use FM or DAB if you want,.
[font=ALDISUEDOffice, sans-serif]Features[/font]

[*]Contemporary DAB & FM Radio with an LCD display
[*]DC & earphone jack
[*]Radio and buzz alarm with snooze control
[*]Auto time syncronisation
[*]20-pre set stations: 10 DAB & 10 FM
[*]Bluetooth® V 4.1 range up to 10m (Approx.)

Wheety

We bought one for the kitchen and it's a great little radio.

FM and DAB radio is crisp. Tend to leave it on FM though as there aren't too many DAB stations. Also my smart TV has bluetooth and I was able to output the sound to this radio. So you could have the match on and listen to commentary while doing the dishes and then run inside if there's a goal (I may have done this last night).

evolving_doors

OmegaGene wrote: »

Another historic thread reappears

Obviously couldn't hang on for the rope offer.

Red Silurian

OmegaGene wrote: »

Another historic thread reappears

At least on this occasion there's a current deal going

rom

-- Not a bargin but just a great radio ---

I have a Roberts radio 93i. Best radio ever. It streams all the Irish and worldwide channels over the net. It has FM/AM and DAB. I am in Cork and DAB is pointless here. Also it has support as a Spotify speaker and it can play back all the podcasts from any station. Great sound and very easy to use. It is not cheap but worth it if you listen to the radio a lot and are sick of a bad reception. A worthwhile investment if you run a business for example.

https://www.whathifi.com/roberts/stream-93i/review
94i has bluetooth so you can send the audio elsewhere also.

Wheety

But maybe they don't want to spend €200 on a radio.

The one currently in Aldi is fine and is only €40.

duridian

I won’t be buying anymore radios at Aldi after my experience with them.
I’ve had two Aldi Maxtek radios pack up and stop working recently (since Christmas)

The first one was a Maxtek 66580 bought in mid 2015 which immediately powers off again after you press the button to turn it on. Just lights display for 1 second then off. Same result mains or battery but had been used mostly on mains since I bought it.
The Bluetooth had never worked properly on this radio. Although it would pair, regardless of the audio source, the sound in BT was unbelievably low quality, like a 10kbps Realplayer audio stream from 1995!
I didn’t bother returning it over the Bluetooth problem as I only wanted it fir the FM radio really, which until lately was working.

The second was a smaller Maxtek 71128 bought in middle of 2016. Similar problem, but this one just makes a brief humming sound then powers off.
No display light up on this one, though it did have a lighted display when it was working. This was mainly run off 4 x AA batteries but neither power source gets it running now.

Neither were used very much. Maybe 3 or 4 hours a week tops and half that or less a lot of time.

Waste of money as far as I am concerned. Sorry I didn’t just spend a few quid extra and buy Roberts or Philips or something like that.

We’ve an old “double deck” Philips radio as well that’s in daily use by a family member since the late 80’s and still works perfectly. You get what you pay for I guess!

daheff

OmegaGene wrote: »

Another historic thread reappears

retro is all the rage these days.

corks finest

rom wrote: »

-- Not a bargin but just a great radio ---

I have a Roberts radio 93i. Best radio ever. It streams all the Irish and worldwide channels over the net. It has FM/AM and DAB. I am in Cork and DAB is pointless here. Also it has support as a Spotify speaker and it can play back all the podcasts from any station. Great sound and very easy to use. It is not cheap but worth it if you listen to the radio a lot and are sick of a bad reception. A worthwhile investment if you run a business for example.

https://www.whathifi.com/roberts/stream-93i/review
94i has bluetooth so you can send the audio elsewhere also.

I've the same radio,best I've ever heard

corks finest

corks finest wrote: »

rom wrote: »

-- Not a bargin but just a great radio ---

I have a Roberts radio 93i. Best radio ever. It streams all the Irish and worldwide channels over the net. It has FM/AM and DAB. I am in Cork and DAB is pointless here. Also it has support as a Spotify speaker and it can play back all the podcasts from any station. Great sound and very easy to use. It is not cheap but worth it if you listen to the radio a lot and are sick of a bad reception. A worthwhile investment if you run a business for example.

https://www.whathifi.com/roberts/stream-93i/review
94i has bluetooth so you can send the audio elsewhere also.

I've the same radio,best I've ever heard

94i

corks finest

corks finest wrote: »

rom wrote: »

-- Not a bargin but just a great radio ---

I have a Roberts radio 93i. Best radio ever. It streams all the Irish and worldwide channels over the net. It has FM/AM and DAB. I am in Cork and DAB is pointless here. Also it has support as a Spotify speaker and it can play back all the podcasts from any station. Great sound and very easy to use. It is not cheap but worth it if you listen to the radio a lot and are sick of a bad reception. A worthwhile investment if you run a business for example.

https://www.whathifi.com/roberts/stream-93i/review
94i has bluetooth so you can send the audio elsewhere also.

I've the same radio,best I've ever heard

94i

cbreeze

I have a couple of DAB radios, one of which is a pocket one. I don't listen to them any more because I get all the stations I need on either the computer or the phone, plugged into speakers. Only advantage I have found with the pocket DAB is that it is not as affected by fluorescent lights as an FM one.

digitaldr

Google home mini would be a much better bet.

corks finest

digitaldr wrote: »

Google home mini would be a much better bet.

No comparison ref Roberts radio sound wise,can't comment on the Aldi jobbie

Cazale

duridian wrote:

I won’t be buying anymore radios at Aldi after my experience with them. I’ve had two Aldi Maxtek radios pack up and stop working recently (since Christmas)

Yeah I had the same issues. Bought a couple of bluetooth radios from Aldi and neither lasted more than a year. I have five Google homes around the house now and never had an issue with them.

digitaldr

corks finest wrote: »

No comparison ref Roberts radio sound wise,can't comment on the Aldi jobbie

I don't know much about the Aldi one either. Roberts money would push you into Google home full-size territory which has much better sound than the mini.

thegreek

Banjo String wrote: »

Yeah, was actually thinking on this option earlier.

Gonna check out Argos / Amazon.

I have an 83 year old aunt who just could not get her head around the bluetooth and getting the radio to work.
I got her a Google Home mini and within two weeks had to get her a second one. They are only 35 euro at the mo and a bargain. All the internet stations plus the potential for a lot more, spotify etc.

edit: The need for a second one wasn't that the first one broke but that she wanted one in the bedroom and one in the kitchen. Next purchase will be smart bulb for the bedroom.

thegreek

corks finest wrote: »

No comparison ref Roberts radio sound wise,can't comment on the Aldi jobbie

Cheapest Roberts Internet radio is around €150+.

Absolutely no doubting the sound quality but as digitaldr said the Google Home is equal to the quality and is only €106 at the moment.

Dubh Geannain

I checked Trim Aldi last night and they never received these radios which went on sale last Sunday. If the warehouse stock is low some of the smaller stores don't get any sometimes apparently.

Reading some of the comments above I'm not too disappointed I missed it now. I'm also reminded of a iPod alarm clock radio I bought many moons ago from Lidl. I know it's not like with like but that also went kaput after about 2 years.

Mearings

Anyone buying a digital radio make sure you see DAB+ on the box. Plus is a newer tech required to receive many stations.

http://www.wohnort.org/dab/ireland.html


https://www.rte.ie/digitalradio/dab_coverage_dec09.pdf

Much better to get Amazon echo or if you want a cheaper option the new amazon echo dot has much improved sound over the older dot. I have all 3 (echo, old dot and new dot), all great and best money you will spend.

gussieg

i bought a retro looking dab radio in aldi am 3 miles byond maynooth got the basic rte stations , but it was nowhere near as good a sound or volume as the two basic radios i have, a phillips and a redgroove, both retrieved from recycling and both working grand fm wise.
I was hoping to get bbc 6 music on it. took it back.

stanley1

BBC 6 music is available on BBC Radio app.

Blingy

thegreek wrote: »

I have an 83 year old aunt who just could not get her head around the bluetooth and getting the radio to work.
I got her a Google Home mini and within two weeks had to get her a second one. They are only 35 euro at the mo and a bargain. All the internet stations plus the potential for a lot more, spotify etc.

edit: The need for a second one wasn't that the first one broke but that she wanted one in the bedroom and one in the kitchen. Next purchase will be smart bulb for the bedroom.

Sorry but where did you get the mini for €35? Thanks.

digitaldr

Ebay + Parcelmotel