Retrofit DAB, can it be done???
- Thread starter Dan the man
- Start date
I'm in the same position as yourself, interested to know how much it would be to retrofit it! If I get some time I might pop down the stealers and ask.
Why bother, FM radio is far superior to DAB radio in a car. DAB keeps loosing the signal whereas FM just transfers automatically to the next strongest transmitter. Several of my friends have both DAB and FM and always have theirs tuned to FM.
Fragup
Registered User
Dab does sound better, But I live live a a fairly populated area in south east and dab signal is patchy at best, although is a bit hilly in places round here so not so good if you are down in a dip as that seams to make it worst for signal.I won't spend much if you get the chance to upgrade, or you might be disappointed as is not a massive improvement on FM
the_lecht_rocks
Registered User
Itguy
Registered User
I wouldn't be without dab now, had it in my MINI for 2.5 years and it was excellent and very rarely dropped out.
The standard radio station selection is awful where I live on FM so having dab is essential (or use web radio).
The standard radio station selection is awful where I live on FM so having dab is essential (or use web radio).
ACWKGYTO
Registered User
It obviously makes a big difference where you live. I have no problems at all with FM in the car or at home. I don't have DAB in the car but my friends seem to have a lot of problems. They also say how much better FM sounds. It may well depend on the type of thing you listen to.
I live in the south east and the dab is fine and sounds good, plus it has r6, never had a problem with it on a long journey either. I know this isn't a 'complete' solution but there are aftermarket dab receivers out there that might work https://www.google.co.uk/#q=car+dab+adapter&undefined=undefined
I have noticed certain stations here (Glasgow Area) sound better i.e. Capital and the local Clyde stations, they seem a bit louder compared to others on the national selection, so maybe the bitrate/strength can vary, I find it perfectly fine though to listen to and enjoy the larger selection of stations, haven't really experimented with using FM except when it autoswitches in car parks and stuff and I only notice because it says (fm) on the display.
The UK was an early adopter of DAB, and unfortunately that's meant we've been left with an early, less capable version of the technology. A lot of continental Europe uses DAB+ which gives much better sound quality. The bitrates of UK stations vary considerably and are almost always below HiFi quality.
Given the above I was quite surprised to find that the same station generally sounds better in the car on DAB rather than FM. Having read up online about this it would seem FM stations generally compress their sound quite heavily, which appears to account for the difference.
Given the above I was quite surprised to find that the same station generally sounds better in the car on DAB rather than FM. Having read up online about this it would seem FM stations generally compress their sound quite heavily, which appears to account for the difference.
That was with my14 cars only unfortunately:-(Any ideas if it can be done or price? Lol.
MY14 cars come with DAB.
Audi's built-in DAB supports DAB and DAB+
Can it be retrofitted?
Very likely as a separate box with audio going through the AMI but would be for audio only and no text on the MMI screen or built in tuning controls.
Retrofit integrated into MMI? Don't know but likely to be £££ / â¬â¬â¬â¬ as the system seems pretty closed.
John.
Audi's built-in DAB supports DAB and DAB+
Can it be retrofitted?
Very likely as a separate box with audio going through the AMI but would be for audio only and no text on the MMI screen or built in tuning controls.
Retrofit integrated into MMI? Don't know but likely to be £££ / â¬â¬â¬â¬ as the system seems pretty closed.
John.
In my experience it sounds worse... I tried Radio 2 back to back, swapping between DAB and FM and back to DAB etc., and to me FM sounded a lot better. I think that DAB in the UK is so compressed that the sound quality is generally worse than FM with a decent signal...
This is the main advantage of DAB - more stations, and better versions of AM stations. Plus the threat that one day they may switch off FM. I'm glad I got DAB (2014MY), but I'm also glad I didn't have to pay extra for it as I almost never use it.the_lecht_rocks said:
DaB is a far better sound quality than FM . No doubts on that one, have had DaB in Audis since Sept. 2008 and when in range it is superb also when not in range it switches to FM channel of the same station, well it does with Heart. Not 100% sure about other channels
I live about 20 miles from the large FM transmitter in Peterborough which is probably why we get superb FM sound quality. Not aware of the difference in the car as I only have FM but in the house I have a DAB/FM tuner linked to my Hi-Fi and the quality of the FM is much better especially when listening to classical music. Mind you I do have a 3m FM aerial in the loft and my house roof runs N-S and the transmitter is due North of the house. It will be interested to see what happens if and when I get a car with DAB and FM.
I am having an A3 2.0TDI-184 quattro s-tronic demonstrator for the day tomorrow. I will have to remember to tune the radio to DAB at some stage. Most of the A3s and Golfs I tried so far in this area have all been tuned to FM.
I don't think 'indefinitely', just a few years. Given it was originally supposed to be 2015, that's not all that far away really! It happened with TV relatively quickly, I'm sure it won't be long. I imagine with it at least looming in the future it's going to affect the resale value of the car not having it regardless of whether the switchover has actually happened by then or not.
There's an interesting article here:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/u...logue-radio-to-disappear-by-2018-8859731.html
Seems industry and government can't quite agree where to draw the line for the switch off. Industry are guessing 2018, but no one is committing to any dates yet. When I ordered mine last year I was of the opinion that DAB just wasn't worth the £300 that Audi wanted for it, so I'm quite happy that I avoided paying £300 for an option I didn't want (you now have no choice).
If Audi ever released a retrofit kit for less than £150 then yes, I would be interested as I think that's a fair price.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/u...logue-radio-to-disappear-by-2018-8859731.html
Seems industry and government can't quite agree where to draw the line for the switch off. Industry are guessing 2018, but no one is committing to any dates yet. When I ordered mine last year I was of the opinion that DAB just wasn't worth the £300 that Audi wanted for it, so I'm quite happy that I avoided paying £300 for an option I didn't want (you now have no choice).
If Audi ever released a retrofit kit for less than £150 then yes, I would be interested as I think that's a fair price.
It's amazing it isn't standard on most cars by now to be honest. Same as bluetooth, I'd be stunned by any new car that didn't come with that as standard. I'm stating to think the same way about USB or SD card support for music now too.
I agree that dab should be standard in all new cars, even budget cars. If they did the switchover now there would be a huge problem cause the percentage of cars with dab must be very small.
Bluetooth I'm not sure is essential bot more of a luxury. Even though there was talks a couple of weeks back about hands free being banned as well.
Bluetooth I'm not sure is essential bot more of a luxury. Even though there was talks a couple of weeks back about hands free being banned as well.
Audi were very slow on the DAB uptake as certain manufacturers have had it fitted to their small family cars for over two years...
Audi are one of the first to have it still as standard - there are still manufacturers out there who don't even offer it as an option!
Not sure if that is true as Ford were one of the first to have it as standard in 2009 in the majority of its models Frequently Asked Questions | Honest John In 2011 Audi were still saying that they had no plans to fit it as standard, I quote "We canât currently see DAB being offered as standard as the demand doesnât justify the extra expense". Manufacturers steer clear of digital radio | News | Auto Express I have enjoyed DAB as a standard fitment in my car since 2011...
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Isn't it a shame that you have to pay extra for DAB just because DJs never quite got round to telling us what they were playing.
Nothing on the Retrofit scene at the moment...
Some main dealers will offer you a system called Pure DAB Highway or a version of AutoDAB (That uses a remote instead of MFSW). Both fitted by them look horrific.
If there were to be a fully MMI Integrated retrofit I'm hazarding a guess that it's going to be just shy of £500 fitted. Original parts when they come available will likely be around the £800.
My best advice is if you are think whether to get it or not just spec it. DAB is getting stronger all the time and for the small fee you have to pay it's worth it as in the long run it's gonna be more expensive to retro.
Some main dealers will offer you a system called Pure DAB Highway or a version of AutoDAB (That uses a remote instead of MFSW). Both fitted by them look horrific.
If there were to be a fully MMI Integrated retrofit I'm hazarding a guess that it's going to be just shy of £500 fitted. Original parts when they come available will likely be around the £800.
My best advice is if you are think whether to get it or not just spec it. DAB is getting stronger all the time and for the small fee you have to pay it's worth it as in the long run it's gonna be more expensive to retro.
I suspect that retrofitting could mean a new aerial (perhaps), and maybe even a new MMI unit. I don't think it'll be cheap at all!
