[Eee-Tee]

Thinking of buying a DAB radio for my Dads Birthday, but don't know much about them. Was thinking of a personal one, as he spends a lot of time outside, in garden etc. So was wondering what the reception is like on them. I have checked the postcode at ukdigitalradio and have coverage. Alternatevly would I be better going for a standard, mains powered radio?
Any advise appreciated

[FatBoysOnTour]

Personally, I would go for a standard radio, reception will be much better. I've got a Pure Evoke 2XT, which is portable, but not exactly personal.

If you get the Pure Chargepak (an extra £29.99), which is a rechargable battery pack, you can use it outside in the garden or wherever without the mains adaptor, and the battery life is pretty good.

You get smaller radios, the Pure ONE for example, that have excellent sound quality, and aren't all that big.

Either way, I'd go for a Pure receiver if you can afford one, I can recommend them.

[FatBoysOnTour]

In saying that, there is a halfway house, the Pure MOVE, which is 'palm sized' around 8cm-15cm I think, which has a telescopic aerial, but you can also use it with the headphones as a personal radio if you're in a strong reception area.

This would probably be the best of both worlds, but I haven't heard the sound quality. Going on the Evoke that I have, it is probably very good, but at £80 retail, quite expensive. They sell them on eBay a lot cheaper than this (often TalkSport branded), and another post on here is asking for a comparison with a Grundig, which looks exactly the same, which is on sale in Tescos for £35.

I'd agree - I'd go for a standard DAB radio that can be powered by batteries. Firstly because the reception will be more reliable and secondly because if your dad will be listening to it while he's doing other things - the headphone wire might get in the way - but it's vital for the reception (on most personal DABs), whereas with the portable he has the choice (i.e. plug in headphones or listen out loud on the speaker.

[nutter998]

I have a Pure PocketDAB 1500, it uses the headphone cable as an aerial. When outside with a good signal it performs really well. Indoors is not so good, so if you're looking for a portable DAB radio then this works really well.

[Roger Matthews]

Originally Posted by nutter998

I have a Pure PocketDAB 1500, it uses the headphone cable as an aerial. When outside with a good signal it performs really well. Indoors is not so good, so if you're looking for a portable DAB radio then this works really well.

My Pure PocketDAB 1500 seems to work well outdoors and indoors as well; but then I live in a strong signal area.