[gangzoom]

I've been keen to try out this DAB radio thing for a while now, have no problems with FM but just interested in what DAB sounds like...and I've just had a Highway 300Di fitted to my E90 335i at..Halfords My car has Sat Nav/iDrive, but only base audio with no USB (I did upgrade the door speakers but nothing fancy). Retrofitting BMW DAB costs in the region of £1K and a iPod USB cable is another £400-500.

I looked around for various other options but none really looked any good, until I came across the new Highway from Pure. Unlike the previous Pure Highway this is fully installed so there are no wires trailing all over the place, and includes a USB port to plug in iPods/Memory sticks.

So the good points...
1) Reasonable looking interface
2) Comes with USB/iPod support
3) The aerial appears to be quite good.
5) Plugs into Aux in socket, better quality than a FM transmitter thing.
4) At £175 its certainly much cheaper than the BMW options, and the only function you loss is steering wheel controls for changing stations.

But are some drawbacks.

1) Currently only available at Halfords with £30 for fitting (though they often do deals where its free)
2) As above
3) Extra external aerial.

In the end I thought I just go for it, if Halfords cannot fit it I'll just get my local car audio shop to fit, but obviously will cost a lot more than £30.
I went to Halfords Leicester who were very professional. The chap that installed it even tunnelled the USB cable so that it came out in the drivers arm rest rather than the glove box . The first unit that was installed was fault and wouldn't turn on, after a 2nd visit to get another unit fitted here are the results.






First impressions are very positive, sound quality is much better than AM. Given my car essentially only has base audio set up the sound quality is never going to match my home audio system. The iPod feature is great, charges my iPhone 4 with no problems and lets me access all my music, the interface is very easy to use. The aerial is also not as noticeable as I feared, infact my wife still hasn't noticed the extra aerial .

Alpine I believe have released the same product but rebranded, and comes with a internal aerial, but obviously costs more than the Pure. I'm more than happy with the Pure device and with the service I got at Halfords...still i'm not sure if every Halfords has access to someone as good as the chap that did my install

[creepy coupe]

Not sure about the external twig. Didn't they do one which went around the inside of the rear screen?

[Sparks69]

Thanks for the post, I've been looking at doing this in our E91 for a while. You're right about Alpine; they have recently released the EZi-DAB which is a 300Di in drag. It does offer different screen colours (which does appeal) and an integral aerial but is more expensive! I have a JVC DAB head unit in my other car witha Blaupunkt integral aerial which works really well.

[mikeoz]

HI
Snap also have a 300di fitted 2 mnths ago to my 335i. I think its a good product and as stated above the extra aerial is not that noticable..
Only thing is pick your halfords as the first 2 i went to had no clue at fitting them. The bigger branches tend to have more training.

[225_AB]

Thanks for the write up mate but I really couldn't live with that antenna stuck on the windscreen. There must be a better solution

[AlwynMike]

I've been looking at thee for a while.
As others, I've been put off by the external aerial.

Looking a the earlier Highway, sold by Halfords with an external aerial free.
I am considering mounting it on the roof console next to the sunroof, feeding the audio to the armrest AUX, and picking the power up from the interior lights. As for the aerial, reading various forums, an external antenna mounted internally will work a lot better than the supplied windscreen tape.
A favourite ploy is to use a magnetic antenna inside the boot - still screened, but a fair compromise.

There are a few other concealed/built-in options at around £300 fitted, even ones that interface to iDrive too.

Mikie

[Laney]

I'm not liking the external aerial. How does the wire get to it? Through a hole cut in the roof?

[creepy coupe]

Originally Posted by AlwynMike

I've been looking at thee for a while.
As others, I've been put off by the external aerial.

Looking a the earlier Highway, sold by Halfords with an external aerial free.

Mikie

As I remember it. They had a fine wire filament with suckers every so often, so you could stick it to the glass.

[gangzoom]

There are no holes any where, the aerial is stuck onto the windscreen and a receiver inside the windscreen picks up the signal. Pure also do a stick on internal aerial but I choose to stick with the external purely because it's suppose to be far superior interns of picking up DAB signals.

[creepy coupe]

Have you tried in with the rear screen heater on? Any interference?

[Dave3]

Looks like an Unmarked Police Car! Always Suspicious when i see extra aerials!

[IanS100]

What is the advantage of using a DAB over the installed FM radio?

[fulcrum]

http://www.youtube.com/embed/2WBaQ1REnLA?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

How about this?

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/s...egoryId_265865

Fitting guide

http://www.autodab.com/files/CTDAB-BM1-low.pdf

[fulcrum]

Thats it I want one

[gangzoom]

Originally Posted by creepy coupe

Have you tried in with the rear screen heater on? Any interference?

Apparently it doesn't work through a heated windscreen.

Originally Posted by IanS100

What is the advantage of using a DAB over the installed FM radio?

FM stations don't sound that much better, but AM stations are a world of difference. Again its something I can live without was just curious but didn't want to spend £1K on a BMW retrofit. Will defiantly want it built in for my next car.

Originally Posted by fulcrum

How about this?

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/s...egoryId_265865

Fitting guide

http://www.autodab.com/files/CTDAB-BM1-low.pdf

I looked at this unit, the problem is you can ONLY control it via steering wheel controls. Its also not very easy to use, you have to remember a lot of button combinations. The Pure unit is much more user friendly, and has USB/iPod interface.

All in all I'm pretty happy with the Pure, I'm sure if I was willing to spend a bit extra any good audio fitter could have come up with some alternative to the external aerial but £175 to get iPod interface and DAB is not bad.