The best digital DAB radios for every listener

The Roberts Revival Uno is more compact that the standard Revival, so it's perfect for smaller spaces — not to mention tighter budgets.

You get the choice of two alarms for weekdays and weekends, making the Revival Uno the ideal bedside radio for those who want to add a bit of style to their bedroom. It's also very portable because it's both battery and mains powered, so you can take your music with you around the house or garden.

The auxiliary input socket means that you can play music from your smartphone or MP3 player. There's a headphone socket too, so you've got options. And surprisingly, it has a significantly better battery life than its big (and more expensive) brother, with an impressive 25 hours.

The LEMEGA DR1 is a cheap and cheerful option, that literally sounds good — as the numerous positive responses on Amazon will prove.

It’s suitable for taking anywhere because it’s both battery or mains powered — not to mention the fact it’s small enough to carry around the house, garden, or anywhere else with ease. It’s also compact and has a competitive selection of features, including 20 pre-set stations plus an alarm and snooze function.

There’s no Bluetooth for streaming from your phone or smart device, but at this price there’s little to complain about — an excellent-but-basic radio that offers both DAB and FM. And all for under £30.

The Roberts Revival iStream 3 is probably the most advanced radio on this list, with stacks of smart features packed into its retro vintage design.

You can use your voice via Alexa devices or your smartphone as a controller with the Undock App, and all the major music streaming services are supported, including Amazon Music, Deezer, Tidal, and Spotify. 

All of this wouldn't mean much if the sound quality wasn't good, but you shouldn't have any concerns here. It's equipped with a six position equaliser and separate bass and treble. This creates a richer audio experience.

Unusually for modern devices, it uses actual batteries (6 x AA) though you can power it via a USB too. The battery life isn't quite as good as other models, but that's not enough to outweigh its plus points.

The Sharp DR-450 radio is a little cheaper than some of the other options in this list, but it doesn’t skimp on features. It also has an impressive 60 pre-sets, allowing to store all your most-listened-to stations. Not to mention an alarm clock function with a sleep and snooze timer and the option to set your alarm sound to either the radio or a buzzer noise.

Reviewers really rate the audio quality of this little radio. If there’s nothing on the radio you want to hear, you can connect via Bluetooth to wirelessly stream your own music straight from your smart device.

It’s also available in a range of colours to match your home, and comes with a modern LED display and dimmer function to set it to the perfect brightness.

The portable Bluetooth speaker is one of modern life’s great innovations: a high-quality speaker that you can throw in your bag and connect to the tunes on your smart device anytime, anywhere.

The JBL Tuner 2 goes one better. It's a highly portable Bluetooth speaker, but it has DAB and FM radio built in too. JBL is king of the mid-range speaker, and this is no different — excellent sound quality for an excellent price. It has five pre-set buttons for fast access to your favourite stations.

With 12 hours of battery, it gives you plenty of listening time. It’s also IPX7 waterproof, so ideal for tuning into your station by the pool or at the beach.

There’s more to the i-box Tune than meets the eye. It’s an easy-to-carry, rectangle-style DAB/DAB+/FM radio that comes in a selection of colours (though we like the retro vibes of the white and black).

Inside, however, it has got the smarts to store and remember a whopping 60 stations (that’s 30 DAB, 30 FM). If you’d rather listen to tunes from your smartphone, no problem — it has Bluetooth connectivity for streaming too.

Another nice touch is its sleep function. This allows you to drift off to the sound of the radio. Simply set a time for the radio to switch off — 30 or 90 minutes, for instance — then you can snooze to the sound of your favourite DJs and sounds.

This isn’t the only portable radio in this list, but this gets top marks for sheer portability and quality.

The Pure StreamR is just a little bigger than the palm of your hand and boasts Alexa, 360-degree sound, and an X-SPAN design that compresses down even smaller, which makes it even easier to throw in your bag.

You’ll get all-day listening from this radio, with an impressive 15 hours of battery — that’s even more than some of the premium-level options on this list. It’s fair to say that its primary purpose is to stream via Bluetooth, but it’s fully equipped for DAB radio. The aux cable doubles up as a little antennae.  

Some reviewers have found it tricky to set-up and get the Bluetooth going, but once that’s sorted you’ll never look back.