Sony XDR-P1DBP Pocket DAB/DAB+ Radio - Black

The media could not be loaded. The Sony DAB wireless radio is a fantastic product, offering excellent sound quality and a sleek design. It provides clear DAB and FM reception, making it a reliable choice for music and talk radio enthusiasts. The wireless functionality adds convenience, allowing you to take it anywhere. Its intuitive controls and robust build make it user-friendly and durable. A great pick for anyone seeking a high-performing, portable radio!

I was looking for a DAB radio with a sleep timer which the majority seem to lack. This radio has a sleep timer and so much more.Reception:The aerial normally lies horizontally along the top of the radio. It can be unclipped, hinged upwards and extended but I have largely found this to be unnecessary in my area. It receives the DAB signal in places I have seen others fail. I have driven the length of the M1 - aerial extended 2 sections - without loss of signal. It has a key lock and easily fits in a pocket - In a good reception area with an attached earphone - it can be played ‘on the go’. It receives FM as well as DAB. Dedicated preset buttons can be set to 3 stations in each mode and more presets are available via the LED screen.Audio Quality:A boom box it is not. It is palm size with a single speaker but satisfyingly solid. It has good volume and sounds fine, but obviously, the small size restricts the bass response. I don’t mind the lack of stereo or deep bass for the convenience of the reduced size (and presumably extended run time) - though I have never understood why so many larger DAB radios restricted themselves to mono.Longevity:It lasts about 10 hrs between charges which is quite adequate for me. Most notably it charges via a micro usb input which means many usb phone charges will do the job - even a borrowed one away from home.Build Quality:I am so impressed with the quality of build and attention to detail. It’s small and portable yet feels solid with mini rubber feet and a let down flap for extra stability if the aerial is knocked while extended.!! It’s just one of those items I would want to grab when the house burns down !!

There are dozens of good reviews here and elsewhere but this radio is even better than I expected. Even in a poor reception area, stations are clearly received in mono on both FM and on DAB. There are a few shortcomings of course.STEREOIf you use headphones, it automatically switches to stereo which is not quite so praiseworthy. In a poor signal area the signal breaks down far more but you can't turn it to mono to get rid of the problem. In a good reception area the 'hifi' quality via headphones is perfectly acceptable on FM; surprisingly good actually BUT it is severely volume limited to comply with Euro reg. IP/09/1364 so it probably won't go a loud as you want with good quality headphones. It is nothing like as good 'hifi' on DAB as the audio quality is plenty good enough to reveal the inherent shortcomings of DAB transmissions. Anyone with decent hearing will switch back to FM to get the subtlety that our awful DAB system destroys. You can't blame the radio for that of course and the Sony is DAB+ ready so if and when we get a decent digital service in the UK, the radio is ready for it. Because it is DAB+ ready, it should also pick up digital radio when in other countries. I have not tried that yet.Highly recommended for talk radio but not really suitable for music via its 1.5" speaker nor on headphones with DAB. Until our wonderful FM service gets gets turned off, you can get excellent 'hifi' sound via headphones and FM - as long as you don't want it up loud of course.The ON/OFF switch!!!!!Do be aware that it has an unusual ON/OFF switch that some people have broken. Unfortunately, it is not a normal latching ON/OFF switch. It does different things depending on mode and direction. From the central switch position, marked by a dot, if you move it LEFT, it locks in that position but if you move it RIGHT it springs back to the central position. It takes only a gentle touch to the RIGHT to turn it either ON or OFF. If you slide it to the LEFT it locks either ON or OFF to reduce the chance of inadvertent actuation. If you lock it 'ON' then moving the slide switch back to the central dot 'unlock' position does not stop it playing BUT if you lock it 'OFF' and then unlock it by moving the switch to the central dot position, it turns on straight away without having to move it to the RIGHT as you normally would to turn it on. Thus you have two different ways of turning it ON but only one way of turning it OFF. The logic of that is flawed and is bound to cause confusion. Maybe it has fooled some people into pushing the switch harder than they need to but a gentle touch is all it should need. It would be far better if Sony dispensed with the lock and had a simple, intuitive ON/OFF switch.The favourite's buttonsJust three favourites buttons are perhaps all they had room for, so I will forgive that, BUT they are the same texture as the radio and are dead flush with the top of the radio so you can't feel them in the dark. Given that many of us will keep this radio by our bedside, that is a thoughtless bit of design. How about some braille style dots or a slight indentation Mr Sony? Bizarrely, the buttons on the front and side are deliberately tactile even though they are far less likely to be needed in the dark.A few shortcomings but it is still an excellent little radio which will go in my suitcase as often as my toothbrush.P.S. In case anyone scoffs at my use of the term 'hifi', it does actually meet the original 'High Fidelity' specification. Not on DAB of course.

The Sony XDR-P1 is an excellent little DAB radio. There are definitely cheaper alternatives out there even by Sony (such as the S40/S41) but the P1 has the smallest form factor and an excellent build quality. Despite the small size, the built-in speaker is remarkably loud and without distortion, and easily loud enough to fill a room if desired. It is of course only a mono speaker, but a lot of DAB stations are only broadcast in mono anyway. Using headphones will give a stereo output if the station supports it.The built in aerial is quite good, I can generally get good reception on FM or DAB even with it folded away (or only partly extended). If listening through headphones, the headphone wire is used as an antenna and this seems to work fine too. The menus are easy to navigate and contain all the features and settings you could expect, including the ability to set presets (and assign 3 favourites to the buttons on top).The only flaw I've found with this radio is that occasionally whilst off it will fail to turn back on with the power switch. To everyone who says the switch is 'broken', I suspect they likely have the same problem and it is easily fixed by pressing the small 'reset' button on the underside with a paperclip or pin. The presets and settings are still retained and so far this has always managed to fix the problem for me so it was not serious enough for me to return, but still a minor annoyance so minus one star for that.