TVs seem to be well provided for with their set-top boxes, but I have yet to see anything in the general press about devices for radios. Is there any move to convert analogue radios in this way and, if so, can you recommend any devices? David Bishop
There are several products that can be plugged in to a traditional radio or hi-fi tuner to enable them to receive digital audio broadcasts. You can check what's available by going to the Digitalradionow.com site's product finder (http://www.digitalradionow.com/prodf.php#results), clicking on Type of Radio and selecting Adaptors. For home users, the options are the DA-1 adaptor from Dixons (£44) and the Genus DU1 Digital Radio Upgrade (£50, www.genusdigital.com/du1.htm). However, the existing radio must have some sort of line-in plug such as an AUX socket, though the DU1 also works with optical S/P DIF. There's also the Revo Dock (£50, http://www.revo.co.uk/digital-radio/home.php), "coming soon", to connect a Revo digital radio to a home system. I have not heard any of these products and cannot comment on their sound quality, but the prices seem rather high compared with the cost of buying a new standalone digital radio. An adaptor could make sense if you have a radio that delivers good quality FM but you want to use DAB to listen to an AM (medium wave) station such as Radio Five Live.
