iTech iDAB ONE

I found this to be an ok digital radio. The sound quality is good, as is the design, but it blew the power adaptor after having it for just over a year (just out of warrenty).

From what I've heard it's a common problem so, for that reason alone, I wouldn't recommend it.

When it's working the iTech iDAB ONE is a perfectly adequate radio, but mine has destroyed two power adaptors so far - the second being rated for twice the specified current - so i'm assuming that there is a fault in the design.

I don't like the combined volume/channel control which can be difficult to operate - changing the channel can lead to a sudden massive increase or decrease in volume.

I'd been looking for a DAB (Digital Audio Broadcast) radio for some time. I wanted a semi portable unit with other functions such as MP3 playback as well. I never much liked the appearance of the "retro" style that I had seen.

My fianc bought me a iTech iDAB ONE radio which I have been looking at in a local Comet store (reduced to £39.99).

Taking the unit out of it's packaging the first thing you notice is the clean Ipod like styling unlike some of the other DAB radios on offer with it's fake wood panelling. Some units have the Xfm logo embossed on the speaker grills, but thankfully I don't have this styling on my radio.

The unit is equipped with twin stereo speakers with a centre console that includes a large clear indiglo dot matrix display which has the equivalent 5 line display although it will show icons of any shape and size.

To the right of the display is the main control panel with which is shaped like an Ipod control, but no scroll touch sensitivity. Instead there are up, down, left and right controls and a centre activation button. Left and right control's the volume, up and down scrolls through the menu system. The menu and back button being left of the display console.

The menu system is clear and straight forward with access to your DAB radio station in alphabetical, genre or most played. Although bass and treble controls have to accessed via the sub-menu.

On the back of the unit there is the ariel which is a F connection so you can attach an enhanced ariel if you have poor reception. There's a fold in handle and a compartment to take 5 D size batteries. I haven't tested the unit with batteries, but others have reported 3 days of use with alkaline batteries.

Also on the back is an sd/mmc card reader for mp3 tracks. I have placed a 2gb sd card and it recognised it with no problems. The only issue is that it will only display the first 8 characters of the track from your card.

There's also a 3.5mm auxiliary in and out jack to attach an external audio source or connect to other speakers

Looking on the right side of the unit there's a 3.5mm headphone socket. Using the headphone socket I've noted a constant background hissing noise and when changing channels or mp3 tracks there's an electric feedback similar to speakers which have no magnetic shielding. I have used 3 different headphones and had the same results each time. This does not occur if you use the auxiliary out port, but you can't reduce/mute the volume

I live in North West London in a 1st floor flat looking over a field to the east. On the whole the DAB reception is good and clear, but when we had recent high winds the reception dropped repeatedly, but in context that was also true of my Freeview reception as well and since they both shares the same technology. The ariel has to be fully extended for me to have un-interrupted reception.

The general audio quality is variable to say the least. Using the DAB radio to listen to LBC the audio quality is decidedly poor like an mp3 track at 64-96kbps, but listening to Radio 1 the quality improves and it's closer to 128kbps or higher. Turning the bass or treble on can improve the sound quality, but can also cause speaker vibration on the bass setting and the speaker volume is less than 20%, but can improve when the volume is increased above 25-35%. You can't have both bass and treble on at the same time and there is not adjustment in either the bass or treble settings.

Listening to MP3 tracks is a much better experience. Typically tracks encoded to 192kbps (including variable bit rate) and above come through clear and crisp with a reasonably good mix of bass and treble. It will not play WMA/AAC/OGG Vorbis files.

There is a karaoke function, but who in there right mind would want to use it I certainly wouldn't know. Especially since there wasn't any lyrics displayed when I did switch to that mode.

There is a clock with alarm/snooze function. Some have noted that when the power is off the unit reverts back to the factory settings and resets the alarm to off. I have not found this a problem when I have unplugged the unit.

Conclusion

The styling of this unit is refreshing and clean with a good clear display. The menu access is reasonable and the buttons respond well with positive feedback when depressed. The fact that it is portable and competitively priced is a bonus.

There are a number of problems with this unit such as the bass and treble controls and ID3 Tags, but I believe these can be solved with future firmware updates. Audio output on the whole is reasonable, especially with mp3 tracks.

Although the unit doesn't advertise itself as having EPG (Electronic Programme Guide) the manufacturers could include this feature in any future firmware upgrades.

DAB is in its infancy and it reminds me of were Freeview was 2-3 years ago, now consider how it has expanded. I truly hope that the sound quality will be improved by increasing the bandwidth which to me seems to be the issue.

If you're looking for a compact portable system then I do suggest you consider this product. There are short comings but at this price range they can be forgiven.