Hello

 

I am interested in changing the existing radio in my Occy to a DAB radio. I have seen that I require a DAB aerial as well. One website states that I need extra accessories though. What tools would I need to replace the existing radio and what are the instructions to replace the radio? Is it easy to change the radio in the car?

 

Andy if you've an jumbo box with an auxiliary input then I'd suggest you use a Blutooth receiver that plugs into it and stream your music from your phone or tablet that's what I use .... Kit Sound do a unit for around £18-£20 from Tesco etc 

Ive got Factory DAB in my OCt 3 and its pretty much useless.  One minute it has perfect signal, then it drops and you get nothing.  Ive spent that much time re tuning and trying to find new stations that I ended up just using it as FM.

I do have a jumbo box with no auxiliary port. I did speak to my brother (who has a Skoda Octavia) and he said it's easy to change the radio to a DAB. I do want to get a DAB radio with Ipod connectivity though and my brother did say that you can get an internal DAB aerial that sits on the dashboard.

Use something like the Pure Highway 400 or 600 to play DAB through your current radio headunit...

 

https://www.halfords.com/technology/car-audio/dab-car-stereos/pure-highway-600-in-car-digital-radio-adapter-with-hands-free-calling

 

Generally DAB is abysmal quality compared to FM. 128kbps gives horrible reproduction and most stations are LESS than this, where as FM is at least CD quality. (Bitrates need to be 320kbps to compete in quality stakes.)

DAB+ is generally better quality, but UK has few true quality DAB+ stations, and still mix DAB and DAB+ so still ends up rubbish quality.

DAB was a massive step backwards in quality which is why there is still no official date to switch off FM. 

Keep your FM and get a DAB add on.

Edited 28 August, 20187 yr by promethian

I'm looking to do the same shortly, I listen a to all sorts in the car and use my AUX port to connect to my phone and listen to Spotify. I dont have a massive data plan on my phone though, so listening to streamed services and radio is a no go (Spotify I use offline). 

 

I appreciate that the DAB signal, is not always the best, but for me it's more about choice of station, 6 Music for example cant be found on standard FM, or 5 live Sports Extra for Cricket, F1 and other sports broadcasts from the BBC. The loss of quality on the Audio would make a big difference on an upgraded system, but through the factory set up you are not going to notice quite as much IMHO.

I'm actually looking to replace my headunit (currently MFD2 sat Nav) with a Pumpkin Android unit, or similar. I'm then going to get the optional DAB receiver. I may well look at a new data plan though for my phone as that will help expand music and navigation options.

 

If I wasn't going headunit route I'd go with a Highway as suggested above  by silver1011.

Edited 29 August, 20187 yr by rawcas

I do have a Stream MP3 radio but there is no AUX point in my car. I have seen a few DAB radios around but I would also like to play my iPods through a head unit and keep the CD facility as well