DAB Four

摘要

It's taken a decade - the BBC started DAB transmissions in 1995 - but digital radio has finally reached 'critical mass', even if it has yet to reach the true mass market. In the next few years, Digital Audio Broacasting will take over from analogue FM radio, although we don't yet know when the FM transmitters will be switched off. So it could be time to think about buying a DAB tuner! Steve Harris tests four The DAB standard is supposed to allow broadcasters to choose a range of quality levels, but in practice the sound of DAB remains a controversial issue because broadcasters (including the BBC) tend to use lower bit-rates, which equate to lower quality. However, there are good quality broadcasts, most notably on BBC Radio 3. Ironically, perhaps, now that the demise of FM is a certainty, we're seeing more multi-band DAB products. Of the four tuners rounded up for this group review, three have FM reception and two have AM as well.