Best DAB Radios 2025: Retro, modern and everything in between

Very few companies can make a radio quite as stylish as Ruark, and that sentiment continues in the outstanding Ruark R2 Mk4. With its front-facing wooden panelling and sleek black top, the R2 Mk4 is arguably a conversation stater in itself, and if you’re someone who would rather have a music player that elevates your home’s aesthetic then this is the one to go for.

Part of what helps to maintain the R2 Mk4’s clean design is the decision to house the main controls on top where they’re largely out of sight. The controls are compact as well, with push buttons bordering a RotoDial wherein volume or your chosen radio station can be altered quickly.

If you are someone who likes to jump between several different radio stations throughout the day then you’ll be glad to know that the Ruark R2 Mk4 lets you save up to eight presets for quick selection. You can even set alarms on the device, making it just as well suited for a bedside table as it is for the living room.

Because the Ruark R2 Mk4 operates over Wi-Fi as well as Bluetooth, it can also be used as a modern music player via connected apps like Spotify. This means that you can dive into your go-to playlists and have them ring out on the Ruark R2 Mk4 with outstanding clarity. It can get quite loud too, so you’ll have just the right amount of power to keep a gathering feeling energised.

Most important of all of course is the tremendous sound quality that the R2 Mk4 can produce. Ruark hasn’t let us down in the past and its reputation continues as the Mk4 pumps out a weighty bassline that makes both songs and spoken word segments surge. There’s plenty of detail afforded to the highs and mids, so you’ll be more than covered here regardless of the genres you prefer.

The Roberts Revival Petite 2 is a compact and attractive radio that’s easy to carry from room-to-room or take on your travels.

The Revival Petite 2 shares the same retro 50s aesthetic as the Revival Petite with small adjustments made that include a new telescopic antenna on the rear for a more stable reception, and USB-C charging instead of micro-USB. There’s still no IP rating if you’re using the radio outside but there is a pouch you can buy to keep it safe.

The radio is controlled by a clicky rotary dial surrounded by power, volume and mode buttons. The latter is for switching between DAB+, FM and Bluetooth modes and we found operating the radio an easy experience. There’s a small OLED screen that features ten levels of brightness and displays the mode, battery life, time and track, among other things.

The Revival Petite 2 supports DAB, DAB+ and FM radio, with 10 DAB presets and 10 FM ones. Like with other radios, you can scan for stations, prune them and adjust the DRC (Dynamic Range Compression).

You can also stream directly from a mobile device using Bluetooth, and although Roberts has dropped the aux mode this time around, you can still listen via a pair of headphones. There’s a new alarm mode with the ability to set the time and mode – either FM radio or a buzzer.

The Revival Petite 2 sounds similar to the original Revival Petite, with the new model sounding slightly smoother. The Revival Petite 2 also reveals more detail and sharpness at higher frequencies and better clarity in vocals. There’s little depth and power to the bass though, but the radio does sound lively and energetic at high volumes. Voices are also smooth with no sibilance or harshness, which is important for a radio.

A stereo upgrade over the original SuperConnect, the Stereo version is priced high price for a radio at £489 / $599. We’d consider the Revo to be both a radio and hi-fi system rolled into one, which makes more sense once you look at it…

…as the SuperConnect Stereo is a big unit at 370mm wide. It’s also a lovely looking system with its wood panel and black anodised finish of the sample we received. Plonked in the middle is a highly visible OLED screen that can be read from a distance, and there’s a volume dial on the side to up or lower volume. The front side is littered with buttons that cover playback, menu, and alarm settings; but you can also operate it with the packaged slim remote.

The SuperConnect Stereo supports Wi-Fi and features compatibility with the Undok app. You can stream Spotify Connect, as well as Amazon Music and Deezer in the app itself. The app allows for customisation (which you can also do on through the onboard controls) of audio EQ and a bigger provision of presets, though this is one area we found confusing as the allocation of presets is different depending on what control method you use. There are six presets on the remote, seven on the radio and 10 in the app. Like the BoomBocs Studio, when we used up the full allotment in the app we weren’t able to access some of the stations on the remote or on the unit.

Less muddled is the Revo’s sound, which is a big, spacious, and detailed performance. We found it outputted an energetic, if not necessarily dynamic sound, that had plenty of thrust and punch to it, especially to the low frequencies. How it handles bass, however, is not always the most consistent. Bass tends to hog the limelight when listening to radio stations, but there’s an improved balance to be found when streaming music, which offers better control over low frequencies.

With competition from smart speakers from the likes of Apple and Amazon, modern DAB radios have diversified their feature set to compete and one of those very radios is Ruark R1S. Though at £299 it’s not the most affordable radio.

Like Ruark’s previous radios and wireless speakers, the R1S is a fashionable looking effort. It makes use of wooden panelling across its front to give it a natural look, with a 2.5-inch OLED screen that’s large enough to display information. It’s only available in one finish (mid grey lacquer with walnut grille) but we feel the R1S is easily one of the most stylish radios available.

Despite its fairly compact form factor, our reviewer found the radio pumped out impressively loud and confident sound that highlights vocal channels well so that we always heard what was said. For those who prefer more bass in their tracks or more attention afforded to the treble, the R1S’ sound can be adjusted via equaliser settings. Plus, with a separate battery pack, the R1S can be used as a portable speaker, although the price adds more to the cost.

The price does limit the Ruark’s appeal. For those more inclined to purchase a smart speaker, the lack of voice control or the ability to use your streaming service of choice as an alarm may be a deciding factor. Nevertheless, the Ruark R1S is first and foremost a radio, and if you have the money to spend for a DAB radio that looks and sounds great, you’ll enjoy Ruark’s work here.

A radio that’s a wireless speaker or a wireless speaker that supports radio? Whatever the case maybe, the Pure Woodland is a good example of the type of audio device we don’t see too often.

It’s built like an outdoor speaker with a water resistance rating of IP67, which makes the Woodland water- and dust-proof. The top and bottom are made from hard, rubberised plastic so it should survive some tumbles outdoors. Aesthetically it’s not the most colourful, but this isn’t intended to the type of party speaker you get from JBL or Ultimate Ears. The screen is not our favourite though: small and not easily seen unless you’re hovering over it.

The radio can tune into FM and DAB+ stations, and with Bluetooth 5.1 support you can stream music. There are six presets to save your favourite stations, though the way they’re integrated can cause some confusion. There are three presets for DAB+ and three presets for FM, and one of each is assigned to a button.

The sound quality is better than we expected for a radio/outdoor speaker. At lower volumes the Pure Woodland has a warm, rich tone that works for indoor listening, and when we raised the volume we found that it sounded crisper and more energetic, which we found suited outdoor listening more. The midrange is clear, the treble is sharp, and the bass is punchy. It can sound too crisp and energetic at times, but the Woodland is both one of the better-sounding radios and better-sounding outdoor speakers we’ve heard at its price.

The Roberts Zen Plus is a compact bedside radio that comes with “wellness” features to help you fall asleep. Considering its size, the audio performance is better than some bigger radios.

It’s a stylish effort with a neat textured fabric covering that wraps around the top half of its body, and its compact size ensures it takes up less space on a bedside table. Available in three colours we found the Zen Plus to be a simple, modern-looking radio.

The LCD clock screen takes up the entirety of the speaker’s front and our reviewer found it easy to read even from a distance. After a few minutes the screen can auto dim, but if you prefer to change the brightness manually, that can be done through the menus.

The interface of Zen Plus works fine for the most part, but it can be slightly unresponsive to touches, leaving us prodding the screen on occasion. Presets number 20 in total with 10 for DAB and 10 for DAB, which is less than the Groov-e Zeus but twenty seems enough for us.

Two alarms can be set and there’s a fair degree of customisation as to when they can go off, but the most interesting feature is the Sleep Sounds wellness feature. There are 13 sounds to choose from including Ocean Waves and Pink Noise which are designed to help you get to sleep with minimum fuss, though we did find the Kitten Purring sound off-putting.

For a speaker of its size the Roberts Zen Plus sounds better than expected. It’s clearer and more detailed than the bigger Groov-e Zeus, striking a more natural tone across DAB and FM stations. It’s clear and crisp with the spoken word, inviting no sibilance and sounding balanced across the frequency range.

There’s not much bass but what’s provided is enough for a decent sense of punch. We were less impressed with its performance as a Bluetooth speaker. Bass simply isn’t as good as a Bluetooth speaker such as the Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 3 and midrange clarity disappoints.

Like the Zeus, the Groov-e Boston is a radio pitched to affordable buyers. It doesn’t boast as many convenient features as the Zeus, but the Boston is a more stylish and portable unit for moving around the house.

We very much liked its looks with its wood cabinet and silver fascia giving the radio both a slightly retro styled but also modern appearance. It has a handle for carrying it around, and although it weighs 871g, we didn’t find it to be too heavy. If you like your stylish radios and find the Ruark R1S too expensive, the Boston is a more affordable alternative.

It has a battery compartment that accepts four C-sized batteries (not included), a telescopic antenna for a better radio signal, and a range of buttons and dials on its front that we found made operating the Boston an easy process. A downside is the LCD screen which we found to be a) too small, b) hard to read from across a room and c) the light spill from backlit screen distracts at night.

There are 20 presets for FM stations and another 20 for DAB. Other features include Bluetooth connectivity and Dynamic Range Control that controls the loudness of the highs and lows. This is a feature we reckon you can live without enabling as it doesn’t make much of a difference.

The sound quality from the Boston is not the most detailed and the clearest, but we did enjoy its smoothness. There’s a fun sense of energy about the Boston’s delivery that gets our head bopping to songs like The Foo Fighters’ Walk. Vocals are delivered in a clear manner wherever it’s a presenters’ voice or that of a singer.

Bass is modestly described, and we do wish that the stereo effect of left and right channels was more pronounced, but on the whole, for casual listeners, the Boston is a simple unit at an affordable price.

There are too many radios out there that nail the core feature-set but have a level of sound quality that just misses the mark, forcing folks to consider picking up a more refined Bluetooth speaker as well. Thankfully, Roberts Stream 95i is on the opposite end of that spectrum, so if you’re after an all-in-one musical device that mainlines as a radio but also works as a high-end speaker then you’ll love what’s available here.

Starting with the sound quality, it’s one heck of a composition that Roberts has managed to put together. When running through a litany of tracks, we were constantly impressed by how weighty the bass felt, with a pleasing rumble that only increased with more volume. Similarly, the highs and vocals packed a vibrancy that made singing along an inevitability.

It’s the type of soundscape that works perfectly for both personal playback and having a good bit of background music during a gathering. In fact, because the radio works over both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, you have the freedom to use it both indoors and outdoors without any hassle.

While you can use your phone to connect to the Roberts Stream 95i and play songs via the likes of Tidal or Spotify, it’s far from an essential requirement as Alexa integration means that you can dive into a playlist just by using your voice. This is perfect for when you’re not too sure on what you want to listen to and you’d rather go for a playlist that matches the mood you’re in.

It’s also worth mentioning that if you’re someone who isn’t too enamoured by the usual design language that you tend to see with classic radios then you’ll appreciate the more modern touch that the Roberts Stream 95i brings to the table. Its minimalist aestehtic feels far more in-line with a typical Bluetooth speaker, and the wooden panel on top just adds a nice touch of colour.