Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #8025 in Consumer Electronics
• Brand: Philips
• Model: AE5900/05
• Released on: 2007-08-08

Manufacturer's Description
DAB digital radio is a new way of broadcasting radio via a network of terrestrial transmitters. It provides listeners with more choice and information delivered in crystal clear, crackle-free sound quality. - The technology allows the receiver to lock on to the strongest signal it can find. - With DAB digital stations, there are no frequencies to remember, and sets are tuned by station name, so there is no re-tuning on the move.

The Philips AE5900/05 uses Dynamic Range Control which adds or removes a degree of compensation for the differences in the dynamic range between radio stations. For example, a station broadcasting popular music may have a high level of compensation applied since the emphasis is on a constant high listening level, whereas a station broadcasting classical music will have little or no compensation as the listener requires all of the highs and lows in the music to define the detail.

Box Contents

Customer Reviews

it's good
bought this because of the the low price and am very happy with it. manages to pick up a good signal although i live in an area with only mediocre digital reception, my walls are 3 feet thick and i live in a valley. i don't know if this would be any different with any other make/model but i can say this has a great sound for it's size; it's easy to use (apart from the mistake in the instructions regarding preset stations detailed in other reviews) and i reckon it looks nicer than most other digital radios on the market. if my house burned down and i got a big pile of insurance money i'd get exactly the same again.

Quality radio, pity about a couple of irritants.
I bought a Philips AE5900 because of the reviews here. In spite of some negative comments, everyone was very pleased with the sound and design. After living with it for a few weeks, I emailed Philips to express my dismay that, when I switch to standby (it's in the bedroom), I can't activate the dimmer (more like blackout!), so I have to leave the radio switched on, activate the dimmer, turn the volume down to 00, and basically leave the radio powered on all night. This solution works okay, but it's a pity that it's necessary. Also, I can't get the snooze function to work and I asked Philips for advice, and asked what the snooze button on top of the unit is for because there is no mention of it in the manual instructions. They replied, but gave no answer to either problem. They just said my radio had a fault and I should return it to the supplier. Since the problems don't affect the quality of the output and I can live with them, I shall keep the radio, mainly because from the various reviews here I can't see a replacement of the same model would be any different.

good sound
Nice crystal clear balanced sound.

Weirdly, however, I found that the sound degraded when the aerial was raised. Possibly something to do with noise in my area - difficult to say.

A negative point is the very bright light on the display. I have to cover it up with a book sometimes when i sleep. Buttons are a little small and fiddly, and could do with more presets. Would have gotten 4 or 5 stars if not for these points.

Otherwise a very good digital radio, and seems like an excellent price especially when compared to people like Pure.