World's First Affordable Digital Radio

The DRX-601E is not far below the performance of digital tuners at over twice the price.
Hi-Fi News, May 2001

Two years after Arcam unveiled the world's first domestic digital radio tuner, we now have a unit available for less than £300. This compares well with the original Alpha DRT10 at £800, and the previous cheapest unit, the Technics ST-GT1000 at £499.

The Videologic DRX-601E is a standalone unit, with similar facilities to previous tuners from Arcam, Cymbol, Sony, TAG McLaren, and Technics...

Nine stations can be stored in memory for immediate access. Station selection is made by turning the rotary knob at right, and pressing this in once to confirm. The major difference between the DRX-601E and other DAB tuners is evident here: the speed at which it 'tunes' to the next station. Where other digital tuners force you to wait a second or two, the DRX-601E will change instantly to another station, provided that it is on the same multiplex. The display can be dimmed by a button on the front panel, and information such as multiplex frequency, signal strength and station information can be called up for display. A small Band III aerial is included, consisting of a short length of wire terminated with an F-type connector (as used on satellite receivers).

The sound of digital radio, for those not familiar with the format, is far removed from that of analogue FM broadcasting. A reasonable analogy is the difference between the LP record and the compact disc. Many people prefer compact disc because it does not overtly show the interference problems that affect records, such as pops and crackle. DAB versus FM broadcasting is a similar shift; DAB does not suffer the hiss and crackles of weak FM.

..The DRX-601E is not far below the performance of digital tuners at over twice the price, so for those curious about the capabilities of digital radio, the opportunity to sample DAB now comes at a lower price.