Best DAB radios: Which? Best Buys and expert buying advice

Whether you use your radio to listen to music, catch up with the news or enjoy a drama or comedy, digital radio (or DAB) has made it easier and clearer to do so.

The best DAB radios we've tested offer crystal-clear speech, easy-to-read displays and simple buttons and menus. Each one is put through its paces by a panel of five audio experts – and they listen to a variety of music genres to make sure we don't end up recommending radios that sound dull, tinny and lifeless or have muffled speech.

Read our reviews below of the DAB radios we've tested – including from the likes of Pure, Roberts and VQ – and see expert advice on how to narrow down the best one for you.

The DAB radios we tested

The biggest brands and the most popular 10 DAB radios are listed below.

Only logged-in Which? members can view the radio test results below.

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A selection of the DAB radios we tested are listed in alphabetical order below.

Only logged-in Which? members can view the best radios from our tests.

Join Which? to get instant access to our test results and Best Buy recommendations below.

Pure Evoke Spot

Most recently tested December 2023

Type Home

Need to know Compatible with the UNDOK app, includes alarm, sleep and snooze functions 

Pure Woodland

Most recently tested February 2024

Type Portable

Need to know Water-resistant exterior, built-in rechargeable battery (USB charge cable supplied)

Roberts Play 11

Most recently tested August 2023

Type Portable

Need to know Mains and battery powered (four AAs)

Roberts Rambler Max

Most recently tested October 2024

Type Home

Need to know Can be battery powered if you buy the BP3 rechargeable battery pack, internet compatible, alarm feature (allows for up to two separate alarms to be set up)

Roberts Rambler Midi

Most recently tested October 2024

Type Portable

Need to know Powered via mains or four AA batteries, alarm feature (allows for up to two separate alarms to be set up)

Need something to spin your vinyl collection? Check out the best record players and turntables in our tough tests

Roberts Revival RD70

Most recently tested October 2017

Type Portable

Need to know Includes alarms, sleep and snooze functions

Roberts Revival Uno BT

Most recently tested January 2022

Type Portable

Need to know Mains and battery powered (four AAAs), includes alarm, sleep and snooze functions when connected to the mains

Roberts Zoombox 4

Most recently tested February 2024

Type Portable

Need to know Built-in CD player, mains and battery powered (six C-type), alarm clock functions

Ruark Audio R1 MK4

Most recently tested January 2021

Type Home

Need to know Battery pack sold separately, alarm feature (allows for up to two separate alarms to be set up)

Ruark Audio R1S

Most recently tested August 2023

Type Home

Need to know Physical remote control sold separately from the Ruark website, compatible with the UNDOK app

More DAB radios from our tests

Here’s how the rest of the DAB radios from our tests measured up, listed in alphabetical order.

How we test radios

While the majority of our overall test score for radios relates to sound quality, we also look at ease of use, features and (where appropriate) battery life.

Audio quality

• A panel of five audio experts listens to a selection of tracks, from jazz to pop, rock to classical, vocals and speech on each radio and gives their verdict. With established backgrounds in the audio industry, they're a tough bunch to impress, but it means that if we've given a radio the thumbs-up, it's more than deserving of your time.
• We check the maximum volume a radio will go to before the sound distorts, so if you live in a noisy area or have hearing difficulties, you can gauge if a radio will suit your needs.

Ease of use

• We replicate your experience and assess how easy it is to set up the radio for the first time – and if you need to read a hundred-page manual before you can even turn it on, we'll let you know.
• We also check how easy it is to save your favourite stations and adjust the sound settings, as well as use any other features, such as internet radio and streaming services.

Reception

• We broadcast our own DAB signal in the lab, which means we can test the strength of each radio's receiver.
• We assess which models give you patchy sound, and which maintain a constant reception.

Features

• We note if models have internet radio, Bluetooth connectivity, an integrated CD player, recording functions, bass and treble controls and timer and alarm functions.
• If the radio is a portable model, we also time how long it takes the battery to run flat from a full charge.

We regularly revisit the radios on sale to see if there are any more popular models that need testing and when we find them we do.

Find out more about how Which? is not influenced by product manufacturers or retailers and how your support helps us to stay editorially independent

Which? Don't Buy radios

Our tests uncover the best and the worst. If a product performs so poorly that we think you should avoid it, we call it a Don't Buy. We've tested three radios that we've named Don't Buys.

The worst radios on test have awful audio quality, aren't easy to set up and use, have reception issues and in some cases are poorly built.  

Log in or join Which? to reveal those radios we've named Don't Buys

What type of radio should I buy?

There are three main types of DAB radio you can buy:

• Home/tabletop radios These tend to be larger and heavier than other types, meaning they usually sound better but are confined to staying primarily in one room.
• Alarm clock radios Living on your bedside table, they tend to have easy-to-read screens and large buttons on the top, which are easy to hit when you’re lying in bed.
• Portable radios Ideal for the garden or to take on holiday, they can typically also run off batteries, making them easier to move around and away from power sockets.

Portable radio charge packs

If you like the idea of taking your radio into the garden or down to the park, then the idea of a ‘portable radio’ may sound very appealing. And more often than not this is just a case of slotting in some disposable batteries or rechargeable batteries – typically AAs.

But sometimes, to make the radio portable, you have to buy the manufacturer’s custom battery pack, which is sold separately. These usually cost an additional £20 to £50.

If portability is important to you, check the tech specs of the radio to see what batteries it takes and whether it requires a rechargeable battery pack that’s not included in the box. Then you can add the price of the battery pack to the price of the radio, to find out what the full cost really is compared with other models.

Digital radio switchover: what you need to know

Much like the digital television switchover in 2012, a proposed digital radio switchover will see a change in the source of radio entertainment from an analogue platform (FM and AM, for example) to a digital one (DAB and DAB+).

To listen to radio stations that are broadcast digitally, you'll need to own a device that can pick up a digital signal. Fortunately, the switchover isn't imminent – it's not set to happen until at least 2032, so there’s no rush to replace your old FM sets with a shiny new DAB one.

The switchover is likely to affect only national radio stations in the first instance, with FM still being used for local and community radio stations. Inevitably, however, Ofcom will attempt to bring these to DAB, too.