Sony XDR-P1DBP DAB/DAB+/FM Portable Digital Radio

A look at the pocket-sized DAB/DAB+/FM portable radio from Sony

[@user-vb5fs1sf2y]

I have this radio and find the sound to be excellent and not at all tinny, much better than you would expect for such a small size.

[@SS-qy9ec]

Great little well built radio with decent FM and DAB tuner. Sound through speaker is bright clear and crisp and louder than expected. The volume limiter through headphones is extreme. I returned my radio because of this which is a shame because I like this little radio.

[@colinpearson7240]

thanks for the review....just placed order.

[@rolandvos]

Thank you for your video. It inspired me to buy this little miracle radio too. I also made a video review (in Dutch), not so nice as yours but nevertheless I hope it will help viewers to make a choise.

[@marcodimeco8368]

Hi Ben, I noticed that the radio cuts the info on the screen after a while (for instance it displays song's name and artist, but after some characters it turn back from start). Do you know why? Thanks!

[@bngn]

I noticed that the programme information cuts off the last character - or rather, I suspect it technically shows it but immediately loops back to the beginning meaning you can't actually read it. The looping behaviour makes sense due to the limited display capacity. What I suspect Sony has not done is code in a short delay of, say, a second, before the loop starts again. This is a bit of an irritating usability oversight and would require a firmware update to fix. I don't know if that's possible for this unit nor if it is, whether one is available.

[@marcodimeco8368]

Well, I think you're right. But nevermind, it sounds very good for such a small radio. Thank you very much!

[@NiceTechViews5403]

thx for review :-) did you ever changed the build in battery or do you know how to do?...we orded it today....but there might come a day where we need to disasamble and to change the battery i guess...i saw an offer somewhere on uk ebay....and it seem that they build in a 3.7V battery...would be great to have a video from inside ;-)

[@bngn]

No, I've not changed the battery as mine is running fine at the moment and I'd expect to for a few years at least. I don't know enough about working with Li-Ion batteries (presumably what is contained in this radio) to know how easy it would be to swap, but I would just say to exercise some caution due to the volatile nature of this battery type.

[@NiceTechViews5403]

Hi thx 4 reply Ben ...u´r laser fast :-)...yeaa i know...i guess i will first get the device ..Sony is producing great devices ..last week i got the PL-880 TECSUN...so great radio...but here in germany the old fashion way with LW, MW and even UKW is going down ( unfortunately)...so i will mainly use this for SW...The sony will be my Daily-Sound-Machine for here and there or camping...the biggest advantage for ME..and finally the reason for BUY was the capability to charge the sony via USB....we spend lots of time with our camper and outside...we can charge it with simple SOLAR-panals...same is the Tecsun...charging via USB...this is so great and prevent me to buy all the time new AA batteries

[@foghornleghornii5480]

Ben Gamblin Great video my friend. I'm after a small dab radio for fishing . Does this radio have a station lock button?

[@bngn]

Thanks. It has a hold switch that locks out all of the controls until released. It's part of the power slider switch (slide right to turn on/off, slide left to enable/disable hold).

[@aunumero73]

Hello Ben ! What about sensitivity / selectivity on FM compared to 'top rated' Sony receivers (XDR-F1HD for example), or the nice Sangean ATS 909-X ? Thanks ! Regards from France. Patrick

[@bngn]

+aunumero73 Hi Patrick. It's not something I can comment on I'm afraid as I don't use FM much anymore and don't have another set useable to compare - hopefully somebody else can comment on that aspect. What I will say is that the auto-scan seems to skip over a lot of weaker stations that when tuned in manually are listenable, if noisy.

[@aunumero73]

+Ben Gamblin (M0GKY) Thanks Ben ! The auto-scan feature always showss this weakness ; the same applies to HF receivers (I'm also HAM op). I hope someone can reply my question. 73's.

[@salvaavlas5757]

Is that possible to wake up in the morning with the clock of the radio? Thank you

[@bngn]

Don't seem to be, no. There is a sleep option in the menu but I can't see one for an alarm.

[@salvaavlas5757]

Ben Gamblin thank you for your fast reaction bro

[@yordyords]

So DAB and DAB+ are different like 4G and 4G+?

[@bngn]

Yes, in the sense that both 'plus' versions are enhancements to what has gone before. DAB+ is an improvement on the original DAB standard and is backwards compatible with it but not forwards compatible. So, a DAB-only radio cannot decode DAB+ broadcasts but a DAB+ radio can decode both. In theory, DAB+ can offer better audio quality where it's offered, depending on the chosen bitrates (poor on the UK's newest national ensemble), with stereo being possible at lower rates and a better handling of loss of signal (fades out rather than the chirpy, bubbly mud sound of original DAB). Whatever digital radio anyone chooses, be it this one or another, it is important now to ensure it is DAB+ compatible otherwise the full complement of available stations won't be receivable. This shouldn't be assumed as at least in the UK, I believe original DAB only radios not compatible with DAB+ are still sold. So, check the specs carefully!

[@yordyords]

Ben Gamblin Ok, thanks for the explanations. This will help me in the future, because in my country, we still don't have DAB radios, because our regolations can't allocate spectrum. Hopefully in year or two, we can have DAB.

[@TulioPinheiro-ly7zb]

ok!

[@NiceTechViews5403]

Heyy :-) the meanwhile i have this little nice radio...YES is its a good choice! In-House its working but as usual would say for Antenna-Radios its sometimes not so easy to receive a station..i guess this strongly depend if we live nearby a transmitter...also IN my camper here and there i get " No Service" available. Here it would be perfect if those kind of Radios would provide a litte "jack" to plug in an external Antenna...I saw some hacks here on youtube from other users on other Radios...Unfortunately i cannot find here in germany Radios with ext. Antenna adapters ( e.g.) Outdoor ..and not to FAR from the next transmitter all this is perfect the ability to CHARGE via USB is so much pretty....camper is providing solarPower...this way the radio will sound 4EVER :-) So.. SONY: please give us a Radio like THIS...with a little ext Antenna Jack - And you will HAVE the best DAB-Mini ever!!

[@bngn]

Unless you're in a very strong signal area, you're always going to have a bit of an issue with indoor reception with regular radios, be they AM/FM or DAB - although the effects of a weak signal will differ with each system. So, yes, you will need to be in a reasonable coverage area for the ensembles you want to receive. Radios in camper vans (or cars etc.) have a particular problem because you're putting the radio in a metal box - a Faraday cage effectively - which attenuates a signal even worse than a brick or wood construction. In this situation, an external aerial would be ideal. I would suggest though, that a radio more intended for static placement would be a better option in that case. This one really is designed solely as a portable, to be moved frequently, something that an external aerial would hinder. Having said that, you may have a bit of luck clipping an external aerial to the collapsed telescopic aerial, using a crocodile clip connected to the centre braid of the coax to the external aerial. It won't be as good as a proper installation since you'll be missing a proper ground connection, but may yield better results for you than the built-in aerial alone. However, if you're out of the coverage area for what you're trying to receive, even this won't help you.

[@NiceTechViews5403]

Yes u´r right..it would be possible to adapt or build something...outdoor is a challenge anyway...an other aproach i´m currently testing is the ability to "receive" radio stations via the internet...the dataTransferUsage is quite less...so i test this netgear aircard NTGR2181 in combination with 2x wideRange amplifier(s) www.shop-alarm.de/WLAN_Verstaerker_WLAN_Booster_-_WLAN_Reichweite_erhoehen_WLAN_Empfang_verbessern.html tomorrow i´ll receive the missing TS9 cable...we spent 2 day´s in the blackwood forest..got only 2G..no good internet connections...next time we will see if this litte boosters will do some good job i´ll let u know...

[@TulioPinheiro-ly7zb]

preço?

[@bngn]

Preços de hoje (30/07/2016): amazon.es = €92.51; amazon.co.uk = £65.01