Do you use DAB radio in your car? Is it worth it?

We use it all the time. It's good but nothing groundbreaking. Cuts out in areas of dodgy signal (currently on holiday Suffolk coast, pretty flaky on the extremes).

Doesn't seem a huge upgrade on FM if you ask me aside from having more choice but 90% of what we listen to is Radio X anyway.

With internet radio, android auto etc it's less useful than it was 10+ years ago IMO.
 
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jpaul said:
have you tried using them ? (...same as accessing streaming services but) do you find you get good/unbroken reception in the car via your phone,/HU sim, or, need to download playlists.

...but yes, title to the DAB video says it all 32kbs, I don't get out of bed for less than 160
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The DAB aerial in my van is terrible, so I just always use BBC Sounds through Android Auto on my head unit. It's far better quality. Only time it ever drops out is when I'm out in the middle of nowhere in the highlands of Scotland, absolutely zero chance of a DAB signal up there either.
 
Use DAB in the Skoda. Have for years, only listen to Talk Sport and BBC Radio Leeds. Have never noticed any issues. Have noticed the car has options to setup Internet Radio I have been meaning to give this a try and setup.
 
I don't use it that much but when I do its been fine. I guess it can be a very localised issue.
 
Few flat spots on my commute and outside of my home town.

Having only had FM for almost the last decade, I like DAB and the variety. A weak or crackly FM single just annoys me, so if it's not clear and strong I'd rather listen to my own music.
 
you can have the best of all worlds with Internet Radio though quality & diversity -
probably need unlimited data, but the cars an ideal environment for some USA local radio stations , or something from exotic clime

anything to heavy on the radio and it's diffiicult to concentrate on that and driving, maybe not if you have autopilot taking care of you.
 
My car has FM and DAB but I don't think I've ever used the DAB as I only listen to 1 of 3 FM stations. Plus I don't have DAB on any radio at home either.
 
I only listen to stations that are on MW, so DAB is great for me, never drops out. FM channels on DAB are so so quality, i mainly use streaming for music so dont listen to R1 or similar.
 
My OEM head unit was a DAB system, quality etc was very dependant on location with large parts of the UK with **** all coverage (I travel all over the UK)

I've now got an Android head unit in my car & reception is terrible with the screen mounted DAB antenna so I either stream using the TuneIn app (if within mobile range) or use my music library on USB stick
 
Nope, if the signal is bad it just cuts out or stutters. Most things I listen to is off a memory card these days.
 
[TW]Fox said:
I have DAB in both my cars and I don't think it's very good.

The biggest issue is signal quality - because its digital, you either have signal or you don't. This means I find it constantly cuts out - sometimes even in the most unlikely of places like in towns and cities. At first I wondered if it was something wrong with my car, but I've experienced the same thing in other cars I drive and the same thing in both of my cars. I've also spoken to others who have experienced the same thing.

When it works, its great - good sound quality, a good range of stations - but the constant cutting in and out of signal is really annoying.
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Basically, this. However, the car will change to the FM equivalent if this happens. The only issue is when you're listening to a DAB-only station.
 
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Use DAB all the time in the wife’s car without issue locally and it automatically drops to FM in bad signal areas. It’s great for station choice and I can’t say I notice the quality drop from FM.
 
a1ex2001 said:
Use DAB all the time in the wife’s car without issue locally and it automatically drops to FM in bad signal areas.
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When that happens, do you notice any jumping because there's a very slight delay in DAB due to the processing.
 
Feek said:
When that happens, do you notice any jumping because there's a very slight delay in DAB due to the processing.
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I’ve never noticed it but in all honesty it happens very rarely DAB coverage is pretty decent these days until you get right out into the sticks
 
Yeah used my dab radio for the first time today. As others said works fine when in town but you will lose signal when out in the sticks. Once you understand this you’ll accept its limitations. Personally I like it even if lose signal for several minutes sometimes.
 
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