Grundig DAB+ GDR700DAB

Love this so much – We've had this digital radio around 6 years. It came to us second hand, abandoned at a business site my husband was tasked with rectifying, left behind and about to be tossed in a bin along with other stuff we saved. I have no idea how old it was when we got it, or what it's life had been previously. I can't fathom why anyone would have left it… Read more

behind.

Husband had thought it would live in the shed. No chance - and it's lived on my kitchen bench and been used everyday since.

I've not owned Grundig previously but know it's often a pricey alternative.

I bought a Sony digital radio sometime before this, paid in excess of $200, and hate it. Even with the instructions it is utterly infuriatingly difficult to setup.

The Grundig on the other hand is really easy to setup and use without any instruction. So far we've had no problems at all with it or the remote.

Whilst these are long ago discontinued, there are still some used ones around. I highly recommend it as a fuss free, attractive solution where you want a digital radio. So happy to have it.

Love the look ! – I purchased this from a store on ebay over 1 year ago, it has been very good, clear reception and I like the cute little remote. I can't really find any fault, it turns on and works and blends in with my decor, I keep it in the kitchen so the humidity / steam there hasn't effected it, but it's not next to the cooker. It's good, digital modern tech with the retro look ! Design

Good – I know I have put sound quality as a pro and con, and the reason is this: It is probably the best-sounding of the DAB+ radios on the market; but if you have ever heard some of the products from Logitech, such as the Squeezebox Boom, with a similar sized package, (and a similar RRP) you really know what you're missing. Now we've cleared that… Read more

up...

I bought this radio because I liked the look of it. As an old baby-boomer, it reminds me somewhat of the old valve-type "kitchen radio" we all grew up with. Unfortunately it doesn't sound quite as good, though.

But moving right along... The timber finish may not be to all tastes, but it IS timber, and a light coat of Teak oil or similar brings it up to look quite nice (expensive, even...).

All the controls are hidden behind a discreet smoked panel along the entire length of the bottom of the front panel. It hinges down to allow access to controls for "bass-treble", "scan", "info" (which temporarily (unfortunately) changes what's displayed under the station name), "mode" (FM or DAB+) "-/+ Volume", then the display, and arrows and a "select" button to change channels, a "menu", preset" and Power on/off button. It's all pretty intuitive, and the manual is hardly required. The small remote control mimics most of this, and has five preset buttons and a "mode" and "shift" button, which gives you a total of 10 FM and 10 DAB+ channels.

Given that the display is "live" (time and date) as long as the power switch on the back is on, it would have been nice if pressing any of the preset buttons on the remote brought the radio to life on that preset channel, but you have to press the "power" button first. A small thing, but noticeable.

Don't expect room-filling sound from this unit. The speakers are only rated at 3 Watts, and at anything much more than a loud conversational level, produce the most awful distortion. There are two of them, though, so you do get stereo sound.

Sensitivity-wise, it's pretty good. Where I live in the mid-Blue Mountains, I sometimes have to raise the telescopic antenna on the back, but sometimes it's not necessary. That's pretty good.

The unit will run on its mains adapter (9V 1A DC), of from 6 "C" sized batteries. Rechargeable NiCd or NiMh batteries can be used, but will probably not give more than a few hours use, as the power consumption is quoted at 13 Watts, and rechargeable batteries usually have a terminal voltage of around 1.2V, compared to alkaline batteries at 1.5V. That's 7.2V instead of 9V. I haven't had time to test this yet...

Other reviews I have read about this radio (actually the SAME review repeated verbatim everywhere) make much of the rather poor build quality inside the radio. It's not what I'd expect of a $300 (original RRP) radio, but at the $149 I paid, I don't have a problem with it.

It should be noted that it has connections on the back for a headphone, and "line out", so it could easily be connected to a stereo system. And it has to be said that it's only the poor inbuilt speakers and low-power output amplifiers which limit the quality of the sound. There is also some resonance from the plastic cabinet which adversely affects the sound.

I cured this by removing the back and attaching some sheets of self-stick felt about 3mm thick (available from $2 shops for a pittance as "surface savers") to the inside of the back of the cabinet. While this did quite a bit to improve the sound, it probably didn't improve my chances of warranty service!

Would I recommend this unit?

Yes - provided you don't drive it too hard, it's one of the better (affordable) digital radios. Its sensitive, looks nice, sounds better than many, and is simple to operate. Styling, sound quality*, size, intuitive operation. Sound quality*

Perfict small portable radio – I bought this radio on line from Bush Australia and have been very happy with it. In fact I purchased two so I didn't have to take it upstairs to my bedroom every night as it is my first choice for latest news etc. It is pleasing to the eye, has a retro look, has the German engineering, easy to use. The audio quality of the digital radio is… Read more ·  1

exceptional and would impress anyone who has listened to the AM spectrum recently. I can't fault it. Highly recommended. The look, the name, the reputation of Grundig, the price. Can preset the stations which is great and sounds fantastic. Can't fault it, it suits my needs perfectly.

Good – I like this unit. It gets mixed reviews on various forums and some say Grundig are not as good as they used to be. Most products are lower quality these days. I like the radio, sound quality is good for a smallish unit. I don't like the external transformer and the crappy wire that joins it to the radio. Generally happy and would recommend it.… Read more

Nice retro look. Sound is quite good and better than many others. Simple to operate. External transformer.