Perstel DR101 DAB Digital Radio

This is the second DAB radio I have owned, the first being one of the early PURE Evokes. I have to say that the reception of the Perstel DR101 is not nearly as good as that of the PURE Evoke. Also, when reception is less than perfect, which seems to be most of the time even though I live in a strong signal area, there is a continuous underlying burbling sound which can be extremely irritating.

Most disappointingly, this radio does not offer presets. Tuned stations are in groups ('ensembles'), and to access any particular station first requires tuning to the appropriate group, and then scrolling through the stations in that group to find the one you want...a tediously fiddly process at best of times.

Sound quality is disappointing, and does not compare well even with my relatively cheap Aiwa minisystem. Hifi this Perstel certainly is not. With the excellent sound quality one has come ro expect from portable music devices these days (CD, minidisc and MP3 players, etc.) this is rather a let down.

Without a doubt this radio is a vast improvement on portable analogue radios. However, if you expect the 'crystal clear reception' and 'outstanding sound quality' touted by proponents of DAB radio, you will not find it in this Perstel. Save your money and wait for the quality products which must sooner or later appear from the manufacturers with an estalished reputation for excellence.

Sound quality (with a good signal) superb, although when it's not the 'burbling' sound can be annoying. This has excellent reception where my Roberts R984 has lots of hiss and distortion. Great on trains, no burbles at all (with aerial extended). I find my hi-fi headphones plugged in sound as good as my home DAB tuner. Remember with radio, even DAB doesn't guarantee 'perfect' reception, so you will find some spots where reception is bad and the radio has to keep retuning itself, which is not the radio's fault, something you accept.

I use Nimh rechargables in mine, (last about 5 hours). Buy decent batteries (go for at least 1800 mA ones if you can). As for the charger it is worth spending money on a 'intelligent' charger with automatic charge current control and (most important), one that either trickle charges or cuts off the current when it senses batteries are fully charged.

Those really cheap chargers you see (£10-15)wreck your batteries and are false economy. Look for a charging time of 3-5 hours from flat: £20-25 should cover that. Will save you money too! I use a Minwa 5798 charger for mine.

Good feature is each time the radio powers up it scans for available stations. With some DAB portables you switch it on and have to perform a search manually, saves time.

Handy carrying case. Earphones supplied sound fine but were uncomfortable until my ears got used to them. A minor niggle.

Also unlike the Roberts, if you sit next to or near people using mobile phones, this radio is unaffected by interference/radiation generated by them: no annoying buzzing!

The MOS DAB portable isn't as good. I bought one in Apr 2003: after a week and took it back and swapped it for this.

If you plan on taking it abroad (outside of Europe), you need the DR101VLF which covers L-Band (1452-1490Mhz), as well as Band III (UK/Europe) and FM. As far as I know only this version (Band III/FM) is sold in the UK.

In all a nice package for a fair price, considering the sound quality you are getting.