Even with all of its extra stations, DAB radio has never really managed to catch on in hi-fi circles, losing out to FM and AM in the sound quality stakes (for the most part) and also giving up ground when it comes to reception, too.
But that’s not to say that DAB is dead in the water. Even with the arrival of Internet radio, DAB’s generally fuss-free setup means it can still do a job if the hardware will allow it. This is where new-ish UK-based hi-fi developer, Mitchell & Johnson come into play. Established in 2011 by Paul Mitchell and David Johnson, the brand are one of the very few all-new hi-fi companies to form in recent years. Hoping to upset the establishment with a range of great value, great sounding products, the two partners have been offering up their takes on traditional 2-channel equipment. No prizes for guessing that one of these products is a DAB tuner! Meet today’s review subject: the DR-201V
As with most DAB tuners, this one also supports FM and the still-not-supported-here DAB+, meaning it’ll pick up pretty much any available broadcast in the UK, both local and national. What most DAB tuners don’t include is Bluetooth connectivity, giving the DR-201V a quick one-up before we’ve even switched it on. Those wanting to playback audio from their mobiles or tablets are handily catered for with this as a feature, and even better, downloading a radio streaming app, such as TuneIn, will give you Internet radio access that can then be streamed through your hi-fi. Genius!
Also similar to other tuners is that this is pretty much where the feature count ends. The DR-201V can hold up to ten presets, it has a two-line Dot Matrix display, which was nice and easy to read across our demonstration room, and also gives us three output sockets, a set of RCA’s, a digital optical and a digital coaxial connection. And that’s pretty much your lot. Not that we’ve any complaints about this, it’s just the way things go with this type of product.
Set in place in our demo room, hooked up via the RCA’s and using the industry standard 75ohm screw type connector straight into our roof-mounted aerial, the DR-201V was ready for a good listening to.
It’s probably not an understatement to herald BBC 6 Music as one of the best reasons for the existence of DAB. Certainly no other station has had as storied a history on the service, with 6 Music most memorably the subject of public outrage and eventual delight after the BBC threatened to pull the plug on the station in 2010, only to face a reprieve by MP’s after heavy protests. The station is truly a fantastic breeding ground for all types of music, from IDM to modern classical, African rhythms to Appalachian folk and everything in between. Through the DR-201V, the eclectic mix on Giles Peterson’s Saturday show sounded excellent, sounding positively ‘FM like’ in its approach to quality. Bass was solid, layering of instruments was good, and most importantly, the thin and tinny top-end that can sometimes rear its ugly head with DAB broadcasts was nowhere to be found. Bravo!
FM was equally pleasing, with Radio 3 (normally a very good quality station anyway) probably the best we’d heard it. All of the minor details that make up some of the finest Classical performances were as well defined as their CD/vinyl equivalents, which is saying something!
Lesser quality stations (Absolute… stations, we’re looking at you!) still sounded a bit rough around the edges, but the DR-201V did its best with them, smoothing out some of the hardness of the higher frequencies and generally making things listenable – something that isn’t always the case!
They’re definitely few and far between these days, but if you’re not quite ready to go down the Internet radio route just yet, this Mitchell & Johnson effort is a great way to gain access to a wide range of stations without sacrificing quality. Round of applause for the new kid on the block!
To find out more about the Mitchell & Johnson DR201V, click here.
Author: Chris, Liverpool store
