Dualit DAB Kitchen Radio Radio

 

 

Create your own review

My wife asked me what I wanted for Christmas and I decided that I am most at home when pottering around doing DIY and listening to the radio.

For years I have used cheap second hand radios found at car boots as tend to listen to speech and BBC Radio 4 in particular so I never really sought after a high quality sound.

And yet in deciding on a present, I wanted something that would last and I could remember for years to come as something my wife had bought me - a heirloom if you like

I read the reviews and listened to a huge range of radios even getting tempted by the newer Internet radios that could get 6000 channels

However, I knew what I really wanted was a high quality radio, clear sound and one that would last.

I kept on coming back to the Dualit Kitchen Radio (which my wife calls my toaster!),

It just oozes design quality. For years I had always assumed that Mono equals poor sound and Stereo equals good(or better) sound. Well I was so wrong. I have never heard Mono sound so good - who needs stereo (although you can plug in an additional speaker to get stereo sound if you want)

Now I watch less television, use the radio next to my bedside to recharge itself overnight (NIMH battery with Charging/Full battery alert) and wake me up in the morning with an alarm and radio switch on. I use my small Ipod nano to download podcasts and then play them back through the radio

I absolutely love it and would have no hesitation in recommending it

I bought this product in John Lewis this christmas, and have found it to be a beautiful piece of equipment, oozing style and technology. I am really into all things retro, and this certainly is for those who love a genuinely well made, quality, and robust radio that demonstrates up to the minute class, as well as historical curviness.

I own the cream version, which I find suits my country kitchen very well. However, my 16 year old brother (I am 22) now loves its look so much that he is buying the aluminium version for his bedroom, which sort of demonstrates how versitile this piece of kit is, attracting many different target audiences.

The only thing I would say was that I was suprised on how large it was compared to, for example, the roberts retro radio, from cath kidston. Although the roberts radio has charm, I decided I would quickly get sick of its look, when compared to this sturdy and timeless classy radio.

The sound quality is fantastic, and I can link my iPod up to it which is great, and the sound for that whilst connected is still tip top.

Top class, for those who care about quality english manufacturing, style and technology, and not just about the price, which I must admit isnt the best. John lewis sells cheapest at 150 quid.

I bought a DAB kitchen radio for my wife who is a professional chef and small producer for Christmas two years ago. She like nice things and the Dualit fulfills the promise of robustness of our 1970's Dualit toaster which has outlasted flashy gadgets that have been and gone. Being a girl she likes smart design. Being practical I like something that will survive the kitchen and not need replacing in 5 minutes.
Having seen a tried a number of friends DAB radios I avoided them until the reception quality improved since we live in a country area near a big church which plays havoc with mobile reception. This is where the Dualit scores - it's good, but not bulletproof, in DAB. What counts is that it has FM and SW backup which is great. As a Radio 5 and Radio 4 listener I appreciate this and the speech reproduction which is helped by what appears to be a horn speaker underneath.
I bought from John Lewis and tried the sound of several radios including Pure Audio on which the Dualit seems to be based. The John Lewis own came out miles ahead on sound quality whilst the Dualit is mono in standalone mode. However, the Dualit has a socket to output to spare speakers if you have some on top of your kitchen cupboards or an Apple remote wi-fi connector for example. This is a major plus other DAB radios do not have. Also digital optical input we don't have and a normal socket to connect an iPod which we do.
Other handy features are a kitchen timer with snooze button, wake-up and alarm and a very easy to use rotating knob to select other stations by frequency or search or genre - handy if you've had enough of non-stop disaster, political scandal or royal wedding coverage. Unfortunately, there is no feature to block out Chatty Man, politicians or Simon Cowell so civilisation will have to wait for a 'taste' button.
Construction is robust and ergonomics are excellent. Knobs are better than buttons and the black trim is rubberised and non-scuff so the price premium for a 'mono' radio is justifiable if you do actually want a kitchen radio (the same could not be said of it's cheaper brother I think). If you want a DAB radio for your mum or are technophobic the Dualit kitchen radio is pretty much a no brainer.
However, there is one serious drawback which I suspect is common to most DAB radios - the battery is four letters beginning with s and ending in t. So, don't plan to sit in a hammock and tune into Gardener's Question Time or Liverpool in Europe. Battery charge with a new battery is around 30 minutes in DAB and hours in FM mode. We have now had two batteries. The original lasted about 3 months before dropping off in performance and dead in 9 months. The replacement from Dualit was dead in 2 months. So much so that you cannot unplug the radio without it cutting out. No point in going back to Dualit customer service again since it is an eBay-it-or-forget-it problem.
This brings me to the 2nd design fault which like most modern gadgets is the ubiquitous transformer that plugs into the wall. This is not desirable in a kitchen radio where bulk is an advantage and cables a safety risk.
On the whole the Dualit is the best kitchen radio out there but DABs have a long way to go in reception before the bureaucrats turn off analogue )not that they care about voters out of town). The drawbacks of most other DAB radios are not there. Construction is robust and the Dualit kitchen radio is easy to use and clean with doughy hands. What would be hand is an elbow accessible mute or one operated by resistance drop from touching the handle. The timer is also a fiddle to use so really a third matching knob would be easier. Stereo speakers would be a major benefit.
If you want something that doubles as a DAB and works with your stereo then the Dualit is worth considering. As a portable radio the battery problem rules out the Dualit DAB since you cannot buy 3rd party NIMH batteries elsewhere. I also question the safety of transformers in a radio supposedly designed for kitchen use. It was certainly a disappointment to find one in the box so really Dualit need to think about making different voltage models for different markets. Really, the only DAB radio worth looking at is one with normal rechargeable batteries or a built in transformer.
A kitchen radio is a niche product and nobody is going to pay the price premium of a Dualit without good stereo or the connectivity add-ons the Dualit has. This model needs revising to be as good as a Dualit toaster. Bearing in mind how many professional kitchens there are you think Dualit would look to their core market. If Dualit added a means of using Listen Again Dualit would havea product that would outsell their toasters 10-1

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review

› See all 3 customer reviews...

 

Search Customer Reviews
Only search this product's reviews

Search Listmania!