Pure Highway 200 In-Car DAB+/DAB Digital Radio FM Adapter with AUX Input for Music Playback – DAB Car Radio Adapter/Transmitter, Black

Product Information

However, what if you have no intention of splashing out on a new car, but want to upgrade your existing audio system? If you’re after digital radio with the added benefit of Spotify music streaming, the Pure Highway 400 might be the answer.

Reception was excellent on our test route, with no drop-outs. The Pure also has Bluetooth to connect your phone to play music (including streaming services such as Spotify), but will not allow you to make hands-free calls like the Kenwood. It would have been in with a chance of winning if it hadn’t been so pricey.

Do you want to dance?

On the plus side, the instructions are the clearest of any we experienced, and the unit is simple to fit. The display is clear and easy to use, too, but unfortunately the DAB reception wasn’t great, with frequent drop-outs even on stronger stations. If you can’t use the (supplied) aux-in cable with your car, the FM transmission is also far too weak, making it unusable. With that in mind Pure have released a kit that is ridiculously easy to install yourself. The Highway 200 comes with a mount, cable grips, and a USB power supply. The whole process should only take 20 minutes or so. The main difference over the Pure Highway 400 also tested here (below) is the addition of a separate microphone and phone connection option, allowing high-quality Bluetooth calls. Yet despite having this extra, the Kenwood is almost half the cost of the Pure. That makes it a bit of a bargain. Unfortunately it seemed to be 'car dependant' (not all windscreens made equal). A lot of DAB antennas are integrated into the rear glass nowadays so it 'should' work but DAB was inherently a bad technology (I think it has changed to DAB+ now) for handling poor signal. If you’re planning on keeping your car long term, or have a ‘forever car’ the Highway 200 can be permanently fitted, it just requires a bit more ingenuity.

This DAB adapter is easy to install, but you can pay to get a professional from somewhere like Halfords to install one for you if you’re unsure about how to do it.Worked fine sat in the drive but driving around Plymouth and a took a trip upto to Exeter along the A38 reception was very poor and in most cases non existent. Plugging everything in and testing with the supplied USB adapter the DAB radio came to life, appearing on the 207’s LCD display as playing via the CD changer. Perfect. I experimented with antenna positioning and FM tuning to no avail. Maybe the fact I drive a small van had somthing to do with it? Has anyone done this? Or have any advice on whether it will work or not? The Autoleads splitter is 20 notes, so I'd prefer to have some idea of it possibly working first? You can connect the Pure Highway 200 via an AUX in cable or transmitting the DAB radio via FM to your car stereo. That means it will work with older cars and even classics. It might not look like it does, but it also is a Bluetooth radio. It is great if your current audio system does not have Bluetooth yet, as you kill two birds with one stone.

Thing is my dashboard is starting to resemble a NASA control desk, so I want it away somewhere else in the car. Das Gerät hat mit der Scheibenantenne ungefähr die gleichen Empfangseigenschaften wie unser Zweitwagen mit werksseitiger DAB+ Ausstattung. Mit einer DAB+ Magnetfußantenne auf dem Dach empfängt es m.E. sogar noch besser als dieser. The Kenwood KTC looks suspiciously similar to one of our previous Best Buys, the Pure Highway 600, and we’d wager that they are the same device that has been rebranded. That means the Kenwood is easy to fit and works brilliantly, with no drop-outs on our test route. Thanks but actually I just want decent interference-free radio reception without distortion and/or dropouts; I am not bothered about hands free calls. Been thinking about switching to one of these as my Revo Dab has become more and more unreliable of late. I absolutely love Dab radio in the car as normal FM reception has always been poor for me.

Wired for sound

Removing the side trim to the centre console meant there was enough room to feed both cables down the edge of the cubby hole. It’s not worth running through the entire installation as part of this review, but there are some key things to note. Firstly, the antenna must be positioned as high as possible on the windscreen and at least 4cm from the side of the screen. The sound quality depends on the quality of your car’s speakers, but if they are high-quality, the Pure Highway 400 is capable of producing a great sound, with more detail than you’d get from FM, provided you have a good DAB signal. I've got a Peugeot Partner and alot of the car's functions go through the entertainment screen. So this seemed like the Logical choice.