Here are some examples:
The stereo model Avanti Flow, with DAB+, FM, iPod Dock and Wifi has come down from $749 to $599, as has the Sensia which has the DAB+, FM, Wifi and Touch-screen interface.
The more conventional looking and great sounding Evoke-2s timber finish stereo radio (DAB+ and FM) is down from $499 to $399, while the Evoke Flow (DAB+, FM, Wifi) is down from $449 to $329. Rechargeable Battery packs for the various radios are also cheaper by 20% or more.

We have a lot of DAB+ models to choose from, in a variety of sizes, functionality, colour, and of course various brands like Yamaha and Tivoli as well.

EVOKE-1S Marshall is the latest version of this unique “guitar amp in road case housing” styled radio. It combines the class-leading audio and features that have made Pure radios such a success with the iconic style of Marshall Amplification.
Featuring black vinyl wrap, brass effect front and authentic Marshall badge, EVOKE-1S Marshall also includes both digital and FM radio, an input for your iPod/MP3 player, a clear, autodimming OLED display, Intellitext and textSCAN and lots of station presets for quick access to your favourite stations.
Options include an in-unit rechargeable ChargePAK and matching S-1 speaker for stereo sound. Pure’s claim that it is “Loud enough to wake the dead” might not actually be true (subject to further testing) but the volume does go up to 11 – so Spinal Tap would definitely approve!
Now available at $279.

Firstly, there’s DAB+ (Digital Audio Broadcast Plus) which has lots of new channels and all the old AM stations in stereo instead of mono – and without that annoying static!

Then there’s Internet Radio. If that sounds complicated, it’s not, and it’s getting to be easier and easier to use as more products appear with either wireless or wired network connection capabilities.

What’s so good about it? Well, it offers so many different styles of music. Whatever genre you are into, it’s there. Whatever pop style or period, jazz style (JazzRadio.com has 26 distinct channels, and that’s just one site you can go to), classical or folk/ethnic, it’s all out there waiting for you to tap into it and enjoy discovering new things, or just relax and allow them to play a string of tracks that fit your mood and taste. You can get streaming radio from pretty much any country you want to – even if it’s just to hear the sound of the old country!

Modern radio Tuners are evolving to keep up with these trends. Some, like the Yamaha D-T500 and Arcam T32, offer AM, FM and DAB+. Others, like the Sangean WFT-1D, NAD C446 and Marantz NA7004, have taken a further step and added the network connectivity for streaming audio stored on your computer, and for Internet Radio. Fancy a small stereo system that can do all this – the Marantz CR603 can – just add speakers. Hit the links to read all about them on our Product Pages.

A confession: in amongst all this modernity, I still also enjoy good old AM & FM via my valve radios, as do a few of my colleague here!

NAD describe their latest offering as “a gateway to your digital music sources and to the world’s best radio”. They’re not claiming that the C446 ($899) is the world’s best radio, although it is awfully good, but through it you can access thousands of internet radio stations and get any sort of music program you want to hear. What’s on offer that way now is amazing – so many different style and sub-genres are there now – everyone is catered for.

It has the usual FM/AM and also DAB+. It can stream your own music collection from its hard drive storage on your network via either wireless or wired network connection. It is compliant with the modern standards for digital networking like DLNA and UPnP. You can even play from a USB input.

The onboard processing is an audiophile quality 24bit/192kHz DAC feeding high performance analogue circuits to give you maximum realism in playback. The radio circuits are of a standard above broadcast quality, ensuring the best from those AM and FM sections as well. AM and FM can even be output as a digital signal via back panel connections (see below).

You can browse and select music on the C446 via iPhone, iPad, Android devices or PCs using Windows 7. It supports all the popular digital formats: MP3, FLAC, WMA, WAV, and AAC

On the back panel you’ll find connections for AM and FM antennas, Wifi, Ethernet, analogue audio out, optical digital out, RS232 and 12v trigger for custom controls.

The appearance of this device at $899 is very competitive, some $600 under the nearest equivalent at the time of writing. It is a type of tuner that we expect to see more of in the coming years, but for now it has an open road to scoop up lots of sales!

Digital Audio Broadcast Plus (DAB+) has been on the air officially now for nearly two years in the state capital cities. Canberra and Darwin have been hearing test transmissions and will soon be permanently on air. Expansion of broadcasts to regional centres may take some years yet, but eventually …

Pure have been in the thick of it since the outset, and being one of the biggest brands in Europe gave them a head start. Their Reserach and Development division develops chipsets used by a number of manufacturers around the world. Although they have a large range of radios already, Pure have just announced some new models with lots of attractive features. Prices remain to be fixed but should ve available soon.

The Contour ($399) is a DAB+ and FM radio which has a retractable iPod/iPhone dock (which also houses the display panel) and wireless streaming (they call it Flow) for internet radio and other network sourcing options.
Contour features Pure Clearsound, a proprietary end-to-end digital audio solution using high-quality Class D amplifiers and digital audio shaping technology to deliver taut, punchy, dynamic audio. All matched with custom, full-range 3.5″ speakers and dual bass ports for 36W RMS of room-filling sound.

Features: 30 digital and FM favourites and unlimited internet favourites; Retractable dock with smooth damped movement; Component , S-Video and Composite video outputs for viewing iPod/iPhone video on your TV; Full-function remote control; Stereo headphone socket ; Alarms and timers; Upgradable via Wi-Fi, Ethernet or USB.
The Twilight ($329) has been designed to be a soothing companion, particularly for young children, capable of playing lullabies or ambient sounds from its inbuilt memory, together with DAB+ and FM radio. It has a range of lighting effects from a bank of low-wattage LEDs. There’s a self adjusting sensor to match light levels to the room. These can be for reading, a nightlight, or a progressively changing sequence of different colours. You can connect an iPod dock, and the Pure Powerport USB allows accessories needing power (or charging) to be connected. There’s also an alarm clock function with up to four alarms.

Marantz's versatile CR603

The CR603 ($1299) is not only a good-looking, good-sounding CD Receiver; it also gives you effortless access to a myriad of different music sources. Firstly, it gives you high-quality playback of CD content as well as MP3 and WMA files from CD-R/RW. And as it is a receiver, a radio is built-in and you can select analogue FM radio or take advantage of digital radio broadcasting (DAB+), which offer superior sound quality and supplementary information. The USB port is iPod-digital-compatible and is iPhone certified. But it doesn’t stop there: you can also connect the Melody Media to the Internet or your PC via the Ethernet input on the back. The DLNA 1.5 certified Melody Media plays thousands of free-of-charge Internet radio stations from all over the world via vTuner. You can even access your own music library on your PC. Whatever you want, the powerful 60W RMS x 2 plays music loud and clear… and effortlessly, because the large display makes operation easy. The Melody Media has it all.

Control System: The Marantz Wizz App transfers control of the CR603 into the palms of iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch owners. A beautifully designed GUI combines with an intuitive layout enabling a superbly easy way to control Marantz products via a home network.

The optional Airplay feature ($60) allows you to easily stream music from your iTunes collections to the CR603 with just the tap of a finger. With the incorporation of AirPlay on Marantz products, you can now open up their iTunes to a whole new experience, enjoying not only the ability to stream iTunes music from their PC or Mac on their home network, but access to artist information, album art and elapsed and remaining time.

Now that DAB+ has been going for 18 months the equipment available is on the increase and the benefits to consumers continue to make themselves plain. From the smallest pocket radio like the Sangean DPR-34+ up to the Arcam T32 high fidelity tuner, there’s something to suit everyone’s needs. Pure (UK) have a superb range of radios and are the market leader in most portable styles.

And the DAB+ benefits? More channels, more music styles, clearer – and stereo – “AM” stations, and extras like scrolling text (track/artist details, news, weather), and on some models Pause & Rewind. ABC News Radio listeners can carry on listening to the news instead of being stuck with Parliament whenever it is sitting! Music styles not previously well catered for can now have a channel to themselves, and promotional channels can bring you non-stop play of high-profile touring artists for the duration of their tour.

The strongest brand in the DAB+ portable and table radio market is still Pure, since they have a very comprehensive range, which in several cases also includes wireless streaming. This facilitates Internet Radio and allows you to tap into your music stored on hard drives in your computer or anywhere attached to your local network at home or in the office. They are about to announce a new online music service as well.

When looking for a mini or midi-sized stereo with DAB+, Yamaha have some excellent options such as the TSX-180, MCR-040 and the MCR-840. Yamaha’s separate component tuner the T-D500 can be recommended for use anywhere, even in those regions which do not have DAB+ yet, as it has AM, FM and DAB+ capability.
If you want to combine FM, DAB+ and wireless streaming in one component-size tuner, the Sangean WFT-1D will give you that combination.

Arcam’s T32 tuner is the choice for high fidelity systems that deserve the best audio quality. At $1298 it is the most expensive of the current offerings, but sonically justifies this price as its sound is noticeably superior. It also has all three bands (AM/FM/DAB+) covered, and can also be supplemented with Arcam’s iPod connection hardware to seamlessly integrate your iPod into the hi-fi with quality results.

Incidentally, BMW have just announced that they will offer an option for DAB+ receivers in their cars from the middle of 2011.

Living in a capital city has its good and bad aspects, but one of the good ones at present is that we’re the first to have Digital Audio Broadcast Plus (DAB+) or digital radio.

Gradually the reception facility is being added to full sized component tuners and to mini-systems. Most surround receivers and stereo receivers still don’t have it, and it will probably take a few more years before it becomes universally fitted. In the meantime we can recommend the DAB+ tuners from Yamaha, Marantz, Sangean and Arcam as suitable additions to full-size stereo or surround systems.

For adding to smaller systems (including the Geneva single box solutions) a handy little DAB+ and FM radio is the pocket-sized Sangean DPR34+. This can be connected to most systems by whatever lead they need for their auxiliary input, running out of the headphone 3.5mm socket on the DPR34+. For $189 it not only adds to that system, but can be carried around with you anywhere for casual listening. The inbuilt speaker is not too good, but through earbuds or lightweight headphones like the Koss Porta Pro, the sound is fine.

We’ve had these for some time now, and they have proved very popular.

Oasis Flow ($399) combines digital radio and FM reception with a Wi-Fi connection, to provide you with a world of listening. Enjoy internet radio, listen again programmes, podcasts, Pure Sounds and music streaming when you’re in range of your wireless network, and digital and FM radio wherever you are. It can withstand the rigours of outdoor life thanks to its rugged weatherproof case, cast aluminium framework and rubber seals. It has an internal antenna, but there’s a supplementary rubberised screw-in antenna as well.

• Digital, FM and internet radio
• Flow technology for internet radio, listen again programmes, podcasts, PURE Sounds, and media streaming from a Wi-Fi-enabled computer
• Weatherproof and splash resistant
• Rugged design and build quality
• Rechargeable for hours of portable listening.
• Connect an iPod/MP3 player
• 30 digital radio presets, 10 FM presets and unlimited internet favourites
• 3.5mm stereo headphone socket
• Firmware Upgradable via Wi-Fi or USB
• Powered by the Lounge – visit www.thelounge.com to register your radio, find new content, organize your favourites and listen online