Digital radios: How we test DAB digital radios
Which? test lab
Which? tests almost 3,000 products every year, including more home technology products than anyone else. We look at new products as soon as they are announced, helping you to understand new technologies, and whether they are worth your money.
Which? is different because...
- Our tests are based on years of testing experience
- We don't accept adverts in our magazines or website
- We buy everything we lab test
- We're completely independent of any manufacturers
Which? exists to give consumers impartial advice, which means that if a product isn't any good we'll say so, without fear of penalty. Which? works for you, providing trustworthy advice without a hidden agenda.
We examine everything that matters across all products, including performance, features and how well they work in real life – so you'll know exactly what to expect. Our unique, comparative lab tests mean you can trust our Best Buy and Don't Buy verdicts and choose with confidence.
Try Which? today for just £1 to find out which digital radios we rated as Best Buys.
Which? lab tests DAB and internet radios.
Digital radio testing in brief
Which? tests 35 digital radios a year and we ensure that our guides only have the models that are currently available.
Most digital radios have both DAB and FM tuners, some models are internet radios.
We test personal, portable and large table top digital radios, as well as alarm clock radios.
We aim to ensure all the major brands are represented.
How we choose products for testing
Dedicated Business Researchers carefully select the products Which? tests, scouring the market for the latest releases and the most innovative products.
Our Business Researchers aim to cover a very high percentage of the market in any one product area. And, while we do test some premium products, we avoid testing those products which you would need a second mortgage to afford.
We take the following criteria into account when choosing digital radios:
- Popularity - we test digital radios that are the biggest sellers
- Brand reliability - we test digital radios from brands that are reliable and tend to do well in our testing
- Innovation - we test new and innovative digital radios
- Cost - we typically test digital radios that cost between £20 and £150
Ease of use
We test how easy it is to tune into a station, save presets and navigate menus on a digital radio.
Our expert assessors test our products for their ease of use by running through everyday scenarios that replicate how you use your digital radio.
We start off by checking how easy the digital radio is to set up and whether it’s ready to use out of the box.
Once it’s up and running we test the tuning functions to assess how easy it is to find the station you’re looking for, save your favourite stations and even search for specific broadcast programmes. If a radio has DAB and internet radio modes we assess them separately as one mode may be easier to navigate than the other.
Any recording or live pausing functions are also tested so that you can record your favourite shows conveniently.
It’s nice to be in control of your equipment, so we thoroughly test the remote control and buttons on the radio, as well as making sure that the screen is readable and displays the information you want to know.
Clock radios are checked for their alarm and snooze functions, whether the display dims or can be dimmed at night and whether the time is automatically set and how easy it is to use in the dark or with your eyes shut.
We consider how comfortable products are to use for those with manual dexterity and sight problems and include additional information from our sister charity Ricability which tests some of the easier to use radios to find the best models for older and disabled people.
Get advice on what to look for in a radio in our guide to how to buy the best digital radio.
Technical testing
Our products undergo an extensive range intensive objective laboratory testing to assess performance.
Our expert listening panel rates the radios for sound quality using speech, pop and classical tracks.
Audio quality
The lab broadcasts it's own DAB radio signal and technical experts rate the sound quality of radio's speakers or in the case of personal radios, through the headphones.
Our experts listen to seven tracks on each radio broadcast at 128Kbps. In addition, two are broadcast and rated at the higher 192Kbps bitrate. For internet radios, our panel rates two more tracks streamed over the internet to the radio at 128Kbps.
Benchmark samples from previous digital radio tests are also used to ensure continuity.
These are some of the tracks we use:
Classical music: Including Tchaikovsky's piano trio, classical tracks are used to test how the digital radios cope with music from a full orchestra.
We check for clarity and if individual instruments sound real and natural.
Jazz: The jazz track by Jacques Loussier used in our tests demands clear bass from the radio to fully appreciate the sound. This track highlights a range of frequencies and the balance between bass and treble.
A Rickie Lee Jones is used to test how female vocals sound and the double bass played throughout the track highlights models that handle lower frequency sounds well.
Pop: U2’s ‘Even Better Than The Real Thing’ checks the digital radios' ability to cope with dynamic energy, synthetic sounds and to give a sense of space.
Speech: We also check the acoustic qualities of speech, if you're a Radio 4 fan or someone who enjoys sport these tracks will be particularly relevant.
We use male and female voice recordings, listening for problems such as sibilance (an over emphasis of the ‘s’ sound that can result in a hiss), which give a good indication of too much treble on a digital radio.
Aerial sensitivity
The lab broadcasts a DAB signal and gradually weakens it, recording the weakest signal the radio could receive without the audio breaking up.
The radios with more sensitive aerials that can receive weaker signals stand a better chance of getting DAB reception.
Personal DAB radios
Which? tests the supplied headphones on personal digital radios with the expert listening panel.
We also check for sound leakage from headphones and the potential for ear damage at maximum volume.
We measure the power used to play music at a volume setting of 70dB(A) at 1 meter.
Energy and battery consumption
We measure the energy consumption of radios make sure that they do not cost you, and the earth, once they are plugged in.
If you plan to use your portable digital radio away from the mains, you need one with a good battery life.
Our comprehensive power tests check battery life for portable radios and power consumption when listening to DAB, in standby and any energy saving modes.
Ratings explained
All data sent back from our laboratories is carefully analysed by Which? staff so that the highs and lows of every product are revealed.
If anything does not add up with a product then we will retest it. If there's a fault we'll purchase a new product to see whether it’s a one-off issue, or symptomatic of a larger problem.
The digital radio score ignores price and is based on:
• Sound quality 45%
• Ease of use 30%
• Features 15%
• Power use 10%
| Which? star ratings | |
|---|---|
| rating | stars |
| Excellent |  |
| Good |  |
| Satisfactory |  |
| Poor |  |
| Very poor |  |
To be a Best Buy a radio must score 65% or more.
Check out the Which? digital radio Best Buys for the best digital radios in our tests.