This was posted 7 years 5 months 8 days ago, and might be an out-dated deal.

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DSE AM/FM Portable Radio with Digital Alarm Clock - $9.90 or 3 for $19 - Free Shipping @ Dick Smith

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Can't afford Sonos? Get 3 of these!
It claims to be suited to House Parties (does that still mean the same as in the mid nineties?).

At $9.90 shipped I reckon they are decent value for a radio with LCD display and alarm function. If you have trouble being woken up by your alarm, you can improve your chances 3-fold for $19.

Single Portable Radio

3 x Portable Radio

Yes, it does not have DAB, but in WA most DAB stations broadcast at 48-64kbps, causing FM to actually sound better.

The Dick Smith brand was bought by Kogan, but this is one of the DSE-branded items, which can be pretty decent in quality at times.

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closed Comments

  • +1

    Powered by 4 C cells, and no sign of a power adaptor or a power in socket, so could get expensive in the long term.

  • +1

    The 3 pack for a radio is a little unusual.

    • +5

      Multi-room wireless is the thing now…

  • looking for flip-clock. simple and big numbers. anyone knows any? square box ones, hate those looks like a balance :O

  • +4

    No DAB+ is a deal breaker for me, but I still up voted because I remember 90's House Party's ;D

    • +2

      I used to be all enthusiastic about DAB, and bought a small portable DAB radio to use in my car. But I couldn't understand why the sound was so dull, missing bass and high treble. Then I came across this webpage and it all made sense. Most stations have bitrates so low that a typical FM broadcast sounds way better. Can't be bothered listening to DAB since.

      • +2

        And i think a chunk of that bitrate is taken by the picture etc. So in reality it's even lower.

        There should be a mandatory minimum of 128 after subtracting for the other crap in the bitstream (higher would be nice, but let's be realistic. 128 is an absolute minimum)

        • What picture?

        • @greenpossum:

          I think he means the text that tells you what song is playing, what program etc.

          I dont think that would make a big impact to bit rate but agree with a 128 minimum for music stations.

        • @biggweilo: Probably a few bits per second, given that it only changes when the song changes, etc. The scrolling is done by the radio, not by the transmitter.

        • @greenpossum:

          They also transmit cover art i believe. Not having a dab in wa, I'm not sure though

        • @justtoreply: They can but it's rather small in size 320x240 px: http://www.digitalradioplus.com.au/CMSPages/GetFile.aspx?gui… so won't detract much from the bandwidth. The real problems are the decisions of broadcasters to limit the bandwidth and the lousy speakers of typical DAB+ radios. ABC Jazz sounds very good going through my amplifier.

        • many years ago I found 'on the internet' that 192kbps is the min should use for stereo. I had already mp3'd all my CD collection by that time.

      • +1

        I have not come across a portable DAB radio that has good sound quality. Another reason of bad sound quality is because some station despite transmitting in higher bitrate but audio is not sampled properly creating an impression that DAB is low quality.

        Stations like ABC classic, NovaNation are really good with a proper receiver and a good pair of headphone.

        For car most people that has a car PC assemble their own DAB with a DAB development board, more information on mp3car forum https://www.google.com.au/#q=mp3car+forum+dab

  • +1

    The price should reflect the era.. 19.90

    • time for the guru

  • You can improve your chances 3-fold for $19.

    You underestimate my sleeping ability,
    Three times zero is still zero :).

  • +2

    6 of this + $2 FM transmitter = multi-room wireless sound system

  • +1

    Dab suffers the same problem as our TV, networks focussing on quantity over quality hence the unusably low bitrates.

    Other discounts are the solar chargers and the bunny ears, the 9W one's dropped to $33. 10W probably csn actually get some juice into a phone.

  • When I'm listening through a tinny 4" speaker, the sound quality of DAB is not noticeable to my ears. I mainly just use it around the house when I'm doing housework or take it outside when I'm having lunch. Obviously if you are an audiophile and plugging it into an speaker system you will hear the shortcomings of DAB.
    My main issue with DAB is that its virtually impossible to access outside of the metropolitan areas.

    Back to the deal - the main deal breaker for me is the use of C batteries. Unless it's AA then its no deal for me. My DAB radio uses 4 x AA rechargeables and I always have my eneloops on hand, plus an AC adapter was included.

    • If you are an eneloop fan then you should have some adapters for c and d sizes , cheap as online

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