Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go (Alba CRDAB301 DAB)

Member Name: rosebud2001

Product:	Alba CRDAB301 DAB
Date:	14/07/09 (108 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: DAB radio alarm with FM option, versatile alarm function, ease of use, great sound quality

Disadvantages: The display screen is very bright and might bother some in the dark

For years, I have been woken by the radio. Firstly, it was the "Today" programme on Radio 4 that would break into my dreams and remind me the day had begun. When my husband was working in Belgium, it was the World Service that did the job. Latterly, it was Radio 5 Live that would waken us, as my husband enjoyed the sports coverage offered by the station.

One problem that seemed to plague us over the years was the fact that after a certain period of time, the FM aerial on these devices, which was usually just a small wire, would stop working meaning we couldn't pick up any station with a decent reception.

Last year I had this happen again, for the umpteenth time, so I decided I was going to eschew an analogue radio alarm clock in favour of a digital one.
Costs vary enormously in the DAB radio market and I ended up purchasing this Alba model, which was on sale in, of all places, the Post Office, for the rather excellent price of £19.99.

~~ Getting Started ~~

The clock radio is small and lightweight, and comes in the box with the instruction manual and a mains adaptor.

I had hoped this might have a sturdier antenna but no - it is the wire sort which has plagued me in the past, however it is slightly thicker than ones I have had experience of in the past, and has a loop at the end too, something I had not encountered before.

This should be a plug and play device really - so long as you have good DAB coverage where you live, you should be able to plug it in and the clock will set itself within three minutes. If it doesn't, you can manually set the clock yourself fairly easily.

Similarly, the clock radio scans for radio stations automatically. This can take a few minutes but the display screen has a progress bar to give you an idea of how long it will take.

Setting an alarm is also straightforward, with an Alarm button on the radio to access making selections for your alarm.

~~ My Thoughts ~~

I have been using this for a year now and have to say that I am very impressed with it.

You have the option of using the Alba as an analogue FM radio too - which is a nice touch but personally you couldn't get me back to analogue radio anywhere but the car, where I don't have any choice in the matter.

The screen is blue and gives a clear reading for the time. When you are using the clock radio only as a clock, the time is displayed in larger digits than those which appear on the screen when you are listening to the radio. Although the screen does dim when you are only using this as a clock I do feel it is quite bright so you might wish to consider how this might bother you, or not, during the night.

Like all DAB radios, certain channels display the song being played, which I find a really nice touch and one of the things that made me delighted to have spent a ridiculous amount of money on a DAB radio for the kitchen about five years ago. I know, I am easily pleased! I also like the fact you have a far larger selection of radio channels available on DAB, particularly given how homogenous most local FM stations seem to be these days.

The alarm feature is one that I really do like. You have several choices regarding when you want the alarm to go off. Mine is set for 6.30 am Monday to Friday, but I can change this so it goes off every day, just at the weekend or Monday to Saturday. Changing this setting is very easy using the Alarm button on the clock radio.

You can also choose how you wish to be awoken. Obviously, this is a radio and whilst I prefer to be woken by the radio, you can choose to be woken by a buzzer instead, and there are several noise levels for this buzzer - so if you dislike being rudely awoken by a buzzer that might wake the dead, you can opt for the quieter buzz. There is also a Snooze button and you can decide if you wish temporary silence afforded by this to last between one and nine minutes.

Switching the alarm off is easy too - once again you just hit the Alarm button and the sound of silence will fill your bedroom.

The sound quality you get from this radio is excellent - I have never had any problems with reception and even at a fairly loud volume there is no distortion whatsoever. You can also listen to the radio through headphones as there is a headphone jack and once again I have found the quality of sound to be of a high standard listening this way.

The downside to this is I usually find myself being somewhat rudely awoken every weekday morning at 6.30 am, particularly as I have selected Radio 2 to wake me up and Sarah Kennedy can play some very strange choices of music close to the 6.30 am slot - in the past I have been woken by Gregorian chants, barber shop quartets and the latest Coldplay track, all playing at a fairly loud volume and crystally clear.

Overall however I am really impressed with this clock radio from Alba - for the price I paid it's a really nice little clock radio and it looks sleek too. If you are on the lookout for a new clock radio I would highly recommend you go with this and enter the DAB age.

**This review is also published on ciao under the same user name**

Summary: Great DAB radio alarm clock offering excellent choice of channels and great sound

Processing/Quality:
Reliability:
Ease of use:
Features:
Sound quality: