Yaakin K1, personal digital DAB+, DAB / FM radio, MP3 player mini radio, SD card recordable radio, rechargeable battery, portable handheld radio, walking or jogging, including headphones

(Updating earlier '3 star' review). An early review, unit bought just 2 weeks ago).(Earlier review included:) "I have owned many MP3 players (Sandisk, Walkman, Oakcastle), all with FM radio so was interested to see this one with DAB, and at a low price - close to that of Sandisc and Oakcastle units. Much chunkier than the others, it's more than 1½cms thick, Height 8½cms, width about 6cms. Still light and small enough for easy portability although there is no aperture to attach a neck strap.Unlike other MP3 devices there is no built in storage for MP3 recordings. One therefore needs to insert a Micro SD card. Mine was a 32Gb, and it was easy to insert and immediately recognised.On/Off is via a physical switch on the top edge of the device – also has a Lock position. (I mention here that I have a personal preference for ‘physical switches’ rather than ‘screen taps’. This device uses the former which is a plus for me) ...""As happens with most portable devices, the operating system takes a bit of getting used to and seems a bit eccentric. Not fully mastered but … " [NOW I'M USED TO IT, IT ALL SEEMS PERFECTLY LOGICAL]The [Standby] button is used to toggle between DAB radio, FM and Music Playback.PLAYING MP3s."Click Music Playback and it begins playing (the latest MP3 track). Press [Enter] button to pause.Pressing [Menu] jumps back to the list of albums, enabling scrolling up or down to choose another.The Volume and ‘Forward/backward buttons are clear and work logically.MP3 playback quality is acceptably good.PLAYING DAB RADIO. First time, scroll through the Menu list to ‘Local Scan’ to get it to find the stations. Use the forward/back arrows to choose a station and when playing, hit Menu and scroll to Preset Save to save the station.When using the unit from a fixed spot, I find the quality is generally okay. But when on the move (walking or cycling) it regularly cuts off for moments, something which I gather is a common problem with portable DAB players even expensive ones." [AFTER SEVERAL MONTHS' USE I FIND THE DAB RECEPTION FINE - MOST OF THE TIME, GOOD SIGNAL WHEN OUT CYCLING ETC]PLAYING FM. [STILL NOT USING].RECORDINGIt claims one can record what is playing on DAB. This sounds like a super feature, one I’ve not seen on other DAB radios but I have not yet tried it. [STILL NOT TRIED]REMEMBERING AFTER SWITCH-OFFOne plus. When one restarts after a switch off, the unit DOES remember where it left off (the point in a MP3 track and the station last played).BATTERY LIFEToo early to assess. [ I REGULARLY REMEMBER TO PLUG IN/RECHARGE AND DO NOT YET HAVE EVIDENCE RE 'HOW LONG'. BUT I REGULARLY USE FOR 2 OR 3 HOURS OR MORE .... NOT YET HAD IT CONK. SOMETIME I WILL GET AROUND TO PROPERLY TESTING THE BATTERY LIFE].ANNOYING FREEZING ISSUE [I CITED THIS ISSUE HAVING OCURRED DURING THE FIRST FEW TIMES OF USE. CURIOUSLY IT HAS NOT RE-OCCURED TO PERHAPS I WAS INADVERTENTLY DOING SOMETHING ODD LEADING TO THE ISSUE. HAS NOT 'FROZEN' SINCE, A COUPLE OF MONTHS ALREADY].In summary , after 3 months' use ... I remain delighted with the unit. Compares well with other past and present devices for MP3 playing (Sandisk Clip, Oakcastle, Sony Walkman] plus it's great having a 'useable outdoor DAB portable radio'!

Minor problem in that the cable supplied did not work, spotted because the wrong menu appeared when I connected it. Luckily had a cable that fitted so was able to continue. Good sound, not used a lot so far so cannot really say much about how easy it is to use.One thing that would be of help is to have the manual available as a pdf so I can pop it on my phone to open when I need to refer to it, so easy to use these small instruction books and the text is tiny whereas a pdf can be enlarged.Happy with the purchase, sound is crystal clear.

One to avoid: The present was a gift and the recipient lives in a stone cottage on the side of a narrow valley. I had a Pure personal DAB radio and an old valve radio that worked just fine there. Charged the radio (the mode primarily required) and cue disappointment. Reception indoors was patchy, at best, and changing headphones/cables did not alter the quality appreciably. With the return period lapsing, I am now stuck with an over-the-limit Secret Santa present.

I made a mistake with auto power off in 5mins making me think there was a battery fault. Radio Nerds In Manual tuning mode you can see the individual channel frequencies. Off the bat I found the FM radio chipset very good with local mono pirates, stereo seperation good and bass is good on FM using some Sennheiser CX100s, bass always stronger on FM than DAB+ as a rule, DAB+ is stiill very clean with good seperation. being able to record to WAV file on FM mode and MP3 in DAB and DAB+ band is very useful. I was recording to .wav file for 6hrs38mins on FM still had plenty battery left. Battery needs to warm in a bit for best results. FM radio chip is much better than my Cowon D2 and D2+ pictured is also very close thickness, Yaakin K1 could learn from Cowons styling and bevelled screen though. BUT for the price! this is well worth it. You should be able to figure out recording without instructions I did , just press 'enter' in record mode and Menu to stop. I had to remove the card once to see my recordings so don't panic. Again for the price the battery lasts 9 to 10+ hours especially if you use at low volumes or with a headphone amp. I use aFIIO A3 which helps boost bass and warmth very well. I'm trying to delete Google from my life and the K1 is helping.

Build quality is not the greatest, it’s got a cheap feel to the buttons. Also the headphones don’t fit my ears and fall out easily, it’s ok with other earphones but be careful because only certain earphones pick up the radio signal, sound quality is good once you find suitable earphones. Good little radio once you good earphones.

Fantastic DAB radio with SD MP3 up to 32gb. Great functionality, you can even record from the DAB onto the SD card. It sure saves using a phone for music and streaming radio, saving phone battery life and streaming costs

Other reviews correctly mention issues with radio dying/ losing all saved dab presets. I could have just about lived with that annoyance considering the fact that recording from radio did actually work, which is what I wanted this for, but the battery life was very poor so I returned it. I work self employed listening to radio all day and need a decent battery life which this struggled to provide. I remember buying personal audio devices 10+ years ago that were far superior to this, now the market is flooded with shockingly inferior items like this which will be thrown away most likely within a year by even those who persist in using it with its deficiencies. The world has moved further into a throw away society than it ever was. How can anyone who designs and produces items that are not fit for purpose have any kind of self worth?