I rarely use DAB due to poor and patchy coverage where I live so generally I am on FM. Last weekend I drove up the motorway to see my daughter and decided to switch to DAB. I normally listen to classical music so it was Classic Fm and Radio 3. I began to think that the sound quality wasn't brilliant and a bit harsh so switched to FM and it was much better and clearer. We are all told that DAB gives you CD quality etc but I did noticed that the bit rate on the different channels was not all the same ie it varied from 116kbs to 132kbs. Has anyone else noticed this sort of thing? 3 x FL1 2 manual + 1 auto
5 x FL2 4 manual + 1 auto
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I like my FM but not got DAB in car so can’t compare. Have you tried altering the tone controls when it’s on DAB ?

DAB definitely sounds better than FM in my car but FM itself can be quite variable so it's difficult to compare. The higher frequencies do seem more prominent on DAB, I would say that the FM sounded "dull" by comparison which may be the same as you describing the DAB as "harsh"!

Low bitrate DAB sounds "swooshy" as you get more encoding artifacts in the sound.

Very few DAB stations give a better quality sound by comparison to a clear FM signal. There simply isn't the bandwidth available in the DAB spectrum to allow CD quality, period.
In fact many DAB stations only broadcast in mono, as they have to pay for the bandwidth used, which is beyond the budget of many independent stations.

I've a list of DAB stations and the bandwidth each has, and it's pretty eye-opening just how rubbish DAB really can be.
Me I stick to FM or CD, or even MP3 CD, all of which exceed the quality available on DAB 2009 Rimini Red SE TD4. Soon to be sold.
Gone. 2006 Tonga Green i6 HSE.
Hyundai Ionic 5 Ultimate on order.

Well this is a very subjective question isn't it, "better quality sound" is in the ear of the beholder.

I was merely observing that on the LR standard radio in my 2014 SE Tech Freelander, in my local area, to my ears, the main BBC stations sound better on DAB than they do on FM. There could be all sorts of reasons for this ranging from my aural preferences to the strength of the FM signal in the area or how the radio processing is set up to play DAB vs. FM.

I am sure the technical/encoding information you give is correct, but DAB sounds better to me.

I exclusively use DAB for reasons below....

1) The sound quality can be a lot better than FM, depending on the radio station.
2) No annoying hissing/fading in/out. I prefer the digital way of signal either there or not there, so I can decide to retune.
3) Greater choice of radio stations.
4) More national stations than the dreadful BBC on FM.
5) The signal quality/strength of DAB in my 2013 Freelander2 is really good.

I’ll second that.
I find that if I’m listening to anything on FM other than a BBC station, the quality fades when the headlights are on.
No such problem with DAB.