Was trying to received Jazz FM on the hifi which has a DAB tuner, only to find it listed the station but no sound. Seems there is now DAB+ which Jazz FM uses along with some other stations. Thing is, seems there is no way an older DAB set can receive DAB+ stations or be upgraded to DAB+, so looks like it means all DAB set are partially obsolete, which will include many car DAB radios as well, I expect. Perhaps easy and cheap enough to replace if you have stand alone little dab radio, though typically £99 for a DAB+ one, but mine is an integrated part of a hifi system. Wonder how many other stations with be DAB+ only ?? Must be alright for these Mandarins who determine the radio frequencies etc who never have to think about money and anything outside the M25. Still the manufacturers must be happy about another way to put out expensive goods.
Sadly, DAB was rushed out and as per usual there was quite a lot of too-ing and fro-ing before the specs were agreed. I remember that there was quite a lot said about DAB when it was launched, in that it wasn't anything like as good as it should or could have been. Too late was the cry, and I suspect that this is part of the reason that the uptake of DAB was very slow indeed. DAB+ appears to be the spec that we should have had all along, and is now most likely getting pushed forward as there is a significant desire to switch off current FM transmitters to free up air wave space. I know for a fact through work, that there is a severe lack of space available for public services (buses, trains and even the emergency services to some degree), hence the need to make as much space available as possible, In fairness, it is very much early days, and most people who have recently bought a DAB radio will be able to upgrade its firmware to DAB+, the older ones (like mine, and the one in the car) which cannot be upgraded are already marching toward the end of their useful life anyway
If you have recently bought an expensive top of line radio like a Pure then some its its DAB+ Compatible/Ready units can be upgraded, but there are a heck of a lot of standard DAB units out there that cannot be upgraded, Judging by the take up rate of DAB vs FM then thats likely to be several million sets. For folk like me with good quality hifi systems with built DAB tuners, designed to last years they are not the kind of thing we can just throw away and buy new; we at least I can't ! Still, have found a workaround, listen to Jazz FM on the PC/internet and 'stream' it over to the hifi via my USB converter module, seems a cheap device , only £16, but sounds good. UCA202 | Audio Interfaces | Computer Audio | Behringer | Categories | MUSIC Group
Then again, if you (like me) have hi-fi with DAB, it is likely that your equipment is not DAB+ compatible, you will have to upgrade - - - - what hi-fi buff doesn't love an excuse to upgrade???
Have got one of the original all in a box Arcam Solo , which am loathed to get rid of as I love its sound. Seems 'proper' hifi Dab+ tuners are c. £200 and I could plug it into Aux, but kind of spoils the single box theme. Suppose I could try one of these little units and hide it behind things just for Jass FM, saves messing with the internet PC / connection streaming all the time. AZATOM Pro Sports S1 portable DAB radio Expect its just a matter of time before they all migrate over to DAB+, though how long before they close the DAB old frequencies ..? Seems the car radios are even worse, they were late in the day updating to DAB , no idea how many new cars are fitted with DAB+ ?? though looking on the aftermarket head units some are available with +. Just feel sorry for the folk still buying DAB sets and not realising DAB+ is around, though as you say, its just another part of the throw away society.
