Hey folks, I got an email through from Mini this morning about a DAB radio offer. I never thought anything of a DAB radio until our roadtrip to Belgium and back for the GP and my mate had one, thought it was great. But is it worth the £299 conversion? I don't have a multifunction steering wheel either so is there a cheaper or better alternative?
MINI F56 Cooper in Deep Blue with black roof and caps.
Soon enough we will all need DAB in the cars will we not?
My S came with it from the factory and I wouldnt have a car without it now.
If you are intending on keeping the car for say another couple years then its prob worth it but if you are considering changing before then, then perhaps its not worth it.
Ipod's are cheaper, the radio is full of guff these days
Feet were made to fit car pedals. If we were meant to walk, we'd have pogo sticks for legs
With the new Countryman inbound my S will be around for a good few years yet and I was thinking along the lines of what you've said about the switch to digital radio.Originally Posted by ianking
I agree, but I often get bored of listening to my iPod and need to break it up with the radio!
MINI F56 Cooper in Deep Blue with black roof and caps.
In the mini the DAB quality is better than the FM. The list of stations available is excellent as well.
I thought DAB was only available in certain areas unless this has changed. Didn't think we could get it in the Borders - Ian, do you get ok?
Because of the above I have never used my DAB in the car. Also thought there was a bit of a battle re digital radio with DAB being only one solution - a bit like Betamax and VHS but this may be old info and DAB won the battle.
I do also find using the DAD tuning in the car a bit of a nightmare when I have tried to use but that may be me being thick!
^^ AFAIK it's area based, so for people like me with no mains gas (despite being only 25 miles from the oil capital of Europe), and rubbishy mobile reception, I'll be surprised if I ever get DAB
Feet were made to fit car pedals. If we were meant to walk, we'd have pogo sticks for legs
DAB does lose reception in remote areas - but they have to be pretty remote.
With DAB you can drive the length of the country and listen seamlessly to the same station the whole way. Plus you get a lot more stations, such as my favourite (BBC) 6 Music that is DAB- and internet- only.
Getting a DAB radio tuned initially can be a nightmare - stations are not broadcast individually but in 'ensembles' (groups) of 20 or so stations. Ensembles can be local or they can be national and when tuning a Mini DAB you have to make sure the radio is set to receive both types of ensembles if you want to have all possible stations.
Great for things like 5 live exta. I'm sure ours automatically tunes at the push of a button and it groups all the BBc stations, which suits me, as I hate commercial radio anyway.
Been loving the DAB in my Cooper (first time I've had DAB). Reception has been excellent, but do lose it locally when in a narrow street with high buildings (Anstruther / Cupar), so dunno what it's like in a city. Very few FM channels around here to extra digital channels are great.
I've found FM radio getting progressively worse over last few years, with it fading out in places where there used to be a strong signal - I assume they are turning down the signal like they did with TV signals in the run up to digital switch over.
Could be worth getting it due to that?
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