Dab - Yes Or No

[hodaz]

My new headunit has the option of DAB with an additional adaptor, I'm tempted to go for it as a I do like listeing to Radio 1XTRA which is only availbale on DAB. All I'm wondering is it worth it? Is the SQ any better on normal FM radio stations for example?

[Mike_B]

Hahaha... big can of worms there. With really good quality equipment, the sound via FM is better than via DAB. This is especially true in the UK where our wonderful government, via Ofcom, have seen fit to use an outdated encoding mechanism and don't enforce any minimum bitrates. Many UK stations are only broadcast in 64k Mono. Even the BBC only use 128kB stereo, except for Radio3 which is (or used to be, anyway) broadcast at 192kB. This is all using MP2 encoding which is less efficient than MP3 or MP4, meaning the effective audio quality is even worse than you'd expect for those bitrates.

However, there are undoubtedly more stations available via DAB, you don't have to retune as you go around the country, and there is less obvious interference, though you get a sort of bubbling noise when the signal drops. Plus, as you say, some stations are DAB only. If you want to listen to 1Xtra on the move, DAB is your only option. Personally, I'd go for it as long as the adapter and any additional aerial requirements aren't really expensive.

[aido]

Aren't they decomissioning the FM transmitters in a few years anyway which is going to force everyone to DAB?

Have to admit I've not heard any DAB stuff yet, all the stuff I like I have to stream over the net from sites such as http://ah.fm and http://di.fm and where possible I usually sign up to the premium bit so I can get 320Kbps and it sounds lovely :)