Comments on: Why DAB Stations Closing Down is Good News

By: DAB Radio Deals

DAB Radio Deals — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 17:17:13 +0000

What do you make of the report by Enders Analysis that said DAB Radio could be the next Betamax? Do you think DAB will survive? Lets hope so!

By: howie b

howie b — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 11:53:54 +0000

yes dab has its detractors – mainly hi fi buffs with £000’s worth of top end kit who will always tell you that listening to a BBC Radio 3 live concert on FM wipes the floor with DAB. What if your preference is for Virgin Talk Sport and Five Live? ever tried listening to them on AM after dark in the wilds of Fenland? It’s like listening to a dog vomiting. DAB has been a revelation for us listeners used to grubby old medium wave. Roll on the second dab multiplex and roll on dab plus . Here in Oxford I have the choice of over 60 stations with the convenience and ease of use of DAB. Doesn’t every Dab radio retune automatically every time you switch on? My Pure Evoke 2 has always found the new stations quite happily without me having to do a thing!

By: diandal

diandal — Sat, 31 May 2008 10:35:40 +0000

the introduction of dab i must say has been a welcomed one for me however i feel that each region has too many rock/dance/pop stations and not more of different types,ie-24hr news,country,reggae etc. i also feel the uk should change to dab+ like other countries.– smile and be happy and fool the world –

By: Frank Quinlan

Frank Quinlan — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 18:45:48 +0000

I am just waiting for DAB to be receivable in Alderney

By: Dougi kirk

Dougi kirk — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 09:55:56 +0000

Dab seems to be very erratic in terms of its signal strength, and being a builder I have the radio on daily.
Many a time have I had to revert back to FM just to hear the same station but without the silences caused by weak signals.
No wonder DAB is slow to take off.
Its typical britishness,only a half done half thought out job.!!!
I gather the states uses a wider signal band( I,m no expert!!) thus giving them better reception.
Until that improves here then DAB will never catch on!!!

By: Alan Giles

Alan Giles — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 06:13:51 +0000

“Compeition is good”: That is what the Major government said when they privatised British Rail: well 13 years on we see fares going up to pay not only to throw huge subsidies at the private train operating companies, but for the upgrades which the TOCs should be supplying out of their enormous profits (i.e. subsidies).

So with radio: Competition would be good if it were based on talent and innovation: in reality it is the same few big names in the industry throwing up music stations which have very little individuality. OneWord has to go, but PopcrapFM sprouts up like weeds all around the spectrum.

By: Tony

Tony — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 13:11:53 +0000

Well that just shows us the power of suggestion. If you bombard enough people enough times with enough propaganda they will end up believing anything (check out peoples views on man-made global warming) but that’s another story.
Even a bog standard mp3 player outperforms DAB in terms of sound quality but most people have never really compared the difference. Why would they? life’s too short.

By: Matt

Matt — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 12:32:37 +0000

I would not want to disagree with your ears. However, Ofcom (through ICM) interviewed DAB owners and asked the questions “How would you rate the sound quality on your DAB radios” and “How would you describe the sound quality on DAB compared to FM”. For the first question 83% said excellent or good and for the second 93% said much better, better or the same. More on this here: http://snipurl.com/dabsoundquality

By: Tony

Tony — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 12:26:19 +0000

DAB radio = sibilance, sibilance, sibilance.
Very poor compressed sound and only useful for the over forties as they lose their ability to hear high frequencies.
DAB+ will make most current models on the market doorstops.

By: J P Wilson

J P Wilson — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 10:01:46 +0000

I have just read the article by John Plunkett in the Guardian (30/01/08) on DAB radio and I am astonished that he, or those he is quoting, are writing off DAB as a form of radio broadcasting.

Until DAB came along we didn’t have in this country the choice of radio stations that I have listened to when visiting Oregon or Tennessee. Now I can listen to a jazz music 24/7 on theJazz or old BBC comedy on BBC 7 or contemporary Christian music on UCB UK.

In the article there is talk of “the three of the largest radio groups having reduced their commitment to the DAB platform in recent months, their stations having been replaced by a mix of ethnic, religious and non-commercial broadcasters, [so] the future health of the DAB platform must be under question.”

All I would say is that perhaps the sound of those non-stop music and book reading stations did not appeal to audiences and maybe these new ethnic, religious and non-commercial stations are what is needed to enhance the range of broadcasting in the UK and help secure the health of DAB into the future.

If these new stations can find an audience, and cover their costs, what does it matter that they may not appeal to the chattering classes?

Radio needs to provide a wide range of services and DAB is helping many people find stations that are fulfilling their listening needs.

In our family we have more than one DAB radio so that we can listen to these new DAB-only stations at home and in the car.