Best Pocket DAB Radio

Best Pocket DAB Radio for 2024

With mobile devices and internet radios becoming more popular, it’s easy to think that DAB radios have no place in the world today; however, this is not the truth. DAB radios are still popular among folks who love to listen to their favorite shows and tunes without having to spend a fortune on internet connectivity. 

In this review we will be bringing you the best pocket DAB radios available today. These devices will surely change your listening experience. They are portable and also have the necessary battery power required to keep you company wherever you go.

Here is our selection of the best DAB radios:

  1. Editor’s Choice – Sony XDR-P1DBP Pocket DAB/DAB+ Radio 
  2. Runner Up – AZATOM Pro Sports S1 DAB Radio 
  3. Budget Pick – LEMEGA PR1 Pocket DAB Radio
  4. Best for Sports – Majority Petersfield-Go Personal Digital
  5. Most Lightweight – Goodmans GDPRDAB pocket DAB radio

Editor’s Choice – Sony XDR-P1DBP Pocket DAB/DAB+ Radio

The Sony XDR-P1DBP is the perfect companion for listeners who value endless entertainment, music, news and weather reports every time and everywhere. 

This Sony product is the #1 unrivaled DAB radio today. The Sony XDR-P1DBP allows you to save up to 20 preset radio stations. This way, you do not have to waste time manually searching for your favorite stations. 

In addition to this, the Sony Pocket DAB radio can be described as a big engine in a small body. All this is made possible through the built-in digital amplifier that becomes useful when you choose to enjoy quality sound in speaker mode. You’ll also enjoy stereo quality sound from this radio while in headphone mode.

Finally, the XDR Pocket DAB radio uses USB connectivity technology to pair with a USB type B ports which is also suitable for charging the lithium battery embedded in this device.

PROS

  • Offers balance and crisp sound for both talking and music programs despite its pocket-friendly size.
  • Excellent battery life of 20 hours after every full charge
  • The antenna is powerful enough to receive DAB and FM stations even when folded.

CONS

  • The power slider on this Pocket DAB radio is quite fragile.

User Feedback

Many users love the Sony XDR-P1DBP for its crisp and clear sound quality, making it great for talking, commentary, and music programs. It is also valued for its pocket-friendly size and long battery life of up to two days, making it the perfect traveling companion. It is, however, quite expensive, but users say it is worth every penny. 

Finally, several users complained of a fatal design flaw, which is the power sliders. They are pretty fragile and break just after close to ending or after the warranty period on this product elapses.

Runner up – AZATOM Pro Sports S1 DAB Radio

The AZATOM is the perfect DAB companion for folks looking for DAB radio features that are unrivaled. Its long battery life, built-in speakers, earphone support, and digital display make it the runner up pick.

With support for DAB and DAB+, FM technology, 20 hours of battery life, and a quick charge feature, this DAB radio is the next best rechargeable pocket DAB radio. It even goes further than the Sony XDR-P1DBP to provide you with ten additional DAB stations. 

The digital display of the AZATOM pro shows song titles, DJ names, time, news, battery level, and signal strength. Furthermore, you get to enjoy 60 presets of all your favorite radio stations while being able to switch between headphones and speaker mode whenever you want.

PROS

  • Portable and lightweight enough to be used during walks and hiking trips.
  • High quality built-in speakers
  • Great battery life and also charges quickly
  • Excellent quality radio for the price

CONS

  • The aerial is too thin and has to be fully extended to get clear signals.  
  • The earphones cannot serve as an antenna.

User Feedback

The AZATOM pro-Sports S1 DAB radio, an upgrade of the original S1 model, is loved by people with verified purchases for its solid build, high-quality speakers, and long battery life. However, several users complained about the fickle nature of the aerial, which they say is too thin and always has to be fully extended to receive signals. 

Users also commented on the speakers being too loud even when set to the lowest volume making it difficult to use the radio at night. 

Budget Pick – LEMEGA PR1 Pocket DAB Radio

Owning a pocket DAB radio doesn’t have to put a dent in your pocket; that is why we have the LEMEGA PR1 pocket DAB radio for all of you who want a price-friendly DAB radio. This is one of the best personal DAB radios since it guarantees you a private listening experience via earphones.

Available in white and rose gold options, the LEMEGA PR1 pocket DAB radio, though budget-friendly, is no slacker when packing essential DAB radio features. This little digital device gives you access to 20 presets, which can be accessed at the touch of a button; it also guarantees perfect reception by including a durable built-in antenna.

The LCD on the LEMEGA PR1 allows you the conveniently tell what station you are currently playing. In addition, the rechargeable battery boasts 10 hours of talk time. It also has an integrated lock switch that ensures you don’t have to worry about accidentally switching between stations while on the move.

PROS

  • It weighs just 60 g and is very compact
  • It is affordable and durable.

CONS

  • The buttons are flimsy and prone to damage.

User Feedback

Many users commend the LEMEGA PR1 pocket DAB radio for its affordability, light weight, and compact design, making it great for use while running, walking, or gardening. However, many users say using the preset feature is quite tricky.

Best for Sports – Majority Petersfield 

The best personal DAB radio for the sports-centric and athletic is the Majority Petersfield DAB pocket radio. This company, founded in the garage of two guys, has grown to a top-notch DAB radio manufacturer with radios that pack all your favorite to-go features.

This is the number one DAB radio for athletes, and here are the reasons we say so. It weighs 61 grams and dimensions 7.9 x 2.2 x 5.4 cm. The radio has a clip that can be attached to your pocket—making it perfect for running, working out, and other sporting activities. 

Like the other products reviewed above, the Majority Petersfield pocket DAB radio supports DAB, DAB+, and FM stations. It also uses a built in battery as its power source. However, you can only listen to programs via headphones, which also serves as its aerial.

PROS

  • The unit is lightweight and comes with a clip for attaching to your cloth
  • The battery life of this product is decent.

CONS

  • Buttons on this product are not well made
  • No speaker 
  • Cannot receive signals without plugging in the earphones.

User Feedback

Customers who have had the Majority Petersfield DAB radio for quite some time commended the manufacturers for creating a lightweight, compact, and sports-friendly DAB radio with excellent performance. 

However, several complaints surround the low-quality headphones, which affects the sound quality and overall listening experience. These users advised prospective buyers to get a decent quality headset to enjoy the radio.

Best Lightweight – Goodmans GDPR DAB pocket DAB radio

The lightweight design and compact nature of the Goodmans GDPR pocket DAB radio do not stop it from having features like a functional, durable rechargeable battery and built-in speakers. This design ensures you don’t have to rely on earphones to listen to your favorite DAB radio programs.   

When it comes to lightweight DAB pocket radios, no other DAB radio compares to Goodmans GDPR pocket DAB radio. This is a slim device and weighs only 20 grams; it features a rechargeable 1000mAh battery that delivers 13 hours of talk and music time.

PROS

  • Compact and extremely lightweight
  • Decent sound quality.

CONS

  • Battery life is poor especially when on DAB and DAB+ mode
  • Components are not durable.

User Feedback

Several verified buyers like the Goodmans GDPR pocket DAB radio because it is incredibly lightweight. A user compared its size to a stack of 5-6 credit cards. Users also loved that its small size didn’t mean terrible sound quality or the absence of built-in speakers like some other DAB radio brands of this size.

However, after stating these pros, users were also quick to add that configuring the Goodmans GDPR pocket DAB radio is more challenging than it should be. For example, many people complained that setting up the sleep time and on-screen display had proven abortive.

How We Selected the Best Pocket DAB Radio

While scouring the internet for the best pocket DAB radios that made it to this article, some factors and features were crucial to our selection process. Here, we will discuss features that aided in our selection of the best pocket DAB radio.

Portability

While selecting these pocket DAB radios, the main criteria we looked out for was the true portability of the radio. The pocket DAB radios needed to be lightweight, compact, and easy to carry around while gardening, walking, running, or jogging. The DAB radios we chose are small enough to also fit into your pocket or a small bag. Many of them include straps and clips. A typical example is the Majority Petersfield which features a hook to attach the radio to your pocket.

Battery Performance

Radios that operate on the DAB frequency are known to draw a lot of battery power. For this reason and because these radios will see much moving around, we selected radios with tested and trusted battery life. Some of these batteries are removable, while others are inbuilt. These batteries are all rechargeable lithium-ion batteries like those found in mobile phones. They boast more than 10 hours of power with continuous use. Brands like the Sony XDR-P1DBP  and AZATOM pro-Sports S1 deliver up to 20 hours of battery life. 

Sound Output Source and Sound Quality

While choosing the best pocket DAB radio suitable for your lifestyle, we made sure to include those that were perfect for private and public listening. The Majority Petersfield and LEMEGA PR1 pocket DAB radios are the best personal DAB radios since you can only use them with your headphones. Others on the list have inbuilt speakers that are convenient for when you have a group of friends over. You have the freedom to choose either mono or stereo sound mode with these DAB radios. But the overall sound quality on each radio is excellent.

Available Radio Bands

Your DAB radio should not be limited to receiving DAB radio stations alone; versatility is essential. For this reason, we chose radios that also supported FM and DAB+ reception. Since standard DAB is not available in several countries outside the UK, especially in Australia, DAB+ becomes essential. With DAB+ bands’ support, whether you live outside Europe or plan on traveling with your radio, you can be sure your radio will still be able to use the FM band or DAB+ band.

Available Presets

Your DAB radio must allow you to preset your favorite stations; this way, you don’t need to search for stations constantly; instead, enter the registered number, and you can easily enjoy your favorite shows. All DAB radios selected have Presets. However, the AZATOM pro Sports S1 outperforms all the others as it gives users up to 60 presets.

Display

We also considered the display type and display features of these DAB radios. DAB radios need to provide you with information that analog radios can only dream of having. From the display, you will see the name of the currently playing song, the name of the DJ or artist. Information like the battery level, time, and signal quality will also be visible from the display. There are also extra features like dimming the display whenever you want.

The Difference Between DAB and DAB+

DAB or Digital Audio Broadcasting radios, although created more than 25 years ago were designed to be an improvement to the well-known and still very popular FM radios. DAB radios are known to offer better sound and signal quality than FM radios could ever hope to achieve. 

DAB+ are upgrades to these DAB devices. While DAB gets encoded in MP2, these radios operate using a MPEG-4 high-efficiency AAC v2 profile encoded in AAC+. This means DAB+ devices can decode audio in a very high-quality format using Advanced Audio Coding (AAC), Spectral Band Replication (SPR) and Parametric Stereo (PS). 

DAB+ radios have the advantage of being able to provide user with surround sound, and also being able to receive signals from both DAB and DAB+ stations, while DAB devices are limited to only DAB stations.

Summary

In this post we reviewed the best pocket DAB radios. These are portable devices that deliver solid performance to the listener: