Sony has debuted two new DAB+ radios, the XDR-C706DBP clock radio and the XDR-S16DBP portable radio. Both radios can received DAB and FM broadcasts too.
DAB+ is an enhanced version of DAB (Digital Audio Broadcasting), which is being rolled out in several European countries and Australia and the main difference between DAB and DAB+ is support for more efficient codecs such as AAC+ and MPEG Surround.
DAB+ is not currently used in the UK, though may be introduced in the future. The whole digital radio transition has been a bit of a debacle here with only about 25% take up since it was introduced in 1995. The high cost of the radios and little perceived benefit has been the main source of the problem and the current UK government has backed away from a previous commitment to turn off the FM transmissions in 2015.
As you’ll see from the pictures, both devices are stylish and I like the retro looks of the portable radio, though I can’t find any evidence that the “portable” radio runs off batteries – they’re not mentioned anywhere in the blurb.
The XDR-C706DBP clock radio is £59 and the XDR-S16DBP, £79. Available now.
