Radios

rawk100

I want to get a decent radio for the kitchen that sounds good rather than the old tinny thing ive got at the moment. Must be battery and mains powered, DAB and FM, dont need a CD, probably twin speaker, modern or retro styles, must get a decent reception (maybe wifi connectivity would be good if theres such a thing), max budget £80 ish. 

I have no idea whats good or bad nowadays so any suggestions or recommendations would be welcome. 

Wolfetone

Not sure if you can get them anymore but we have had an Evoke D2 Mio for the last four years and it's been faultless with great solid sound.

TheMarlin

My wife wanted a Roberts vintage looking DAB radio for the kitchen. The one she wanted was £180. Was part of her Xmas present last year. 

She liked the look of it, didn’t care about the sound.  On low volume, it’s a dull distant mumble. Sounds better wound up a bit, and can kick out some decent volume without distorting.
i have a cheap crap one in the back kitchen, sound nearly as good for about a quart of the price. 

I’m pretty convinced you can pick up something WAY better sounding for a third of what I paid. 

Roberts. Style over substance.  

Philly_Q

I've got a Pure Evoke 1, with an extension speaker.  No idea if it's any better than anything else, but it works fine and it's been going strong for about 10 years now.

rocktron

Amazon has this:-  

https://www.amazon.co.uk/AZATOM-Multiplex-Digital-Radio-Alarm-Oak/dp/B07WV5HXC9/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=dab+portable+radio&qid=1575037367&sr=8-3

Look on eBay for Mini Hi-Fi Systems, or Micro Hi-Fi Systems if you prefer something smaller. Unfortunately, most of these are mains powered, and cannot be powered by batteries.

Something like this Panasonic SCPM250BEBS Mini Hi-Fi System with Bluetooth should cater for most of your needs, except battery powered.:- 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Panasonic-SCPM250BEBS-Mini-Hi-Fi-System-with-Bluetooth/401616176313?epid=3032172441&hash=item5d823084b9:g:fP8AAOSwhyZbwKHD

There are similar systems available from other manufacturers.

I have a Panasonic SA-AK580 500 Watt RMS beast for well over 10 years and can attest to Panasonic's quality. This thing is loud enough to entertain the entire neighbourhood!!!

There is a similar Panasonic SA-AK770 CD HiFi System available on eBay right now:- 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Panasonic-SA-AK770-CD-HiFi-System/264497778487?hash=item3d954bcf37:g:A-0AAOSwJdBdfmO7

If you have teenage kids, you won't see this again!!!  

maltingsaudio

Roberts seem very overpriced and aren’t repairable when the warranty expires. Sound is quite acceptable though. File under the Dyson of DAB radios

Kittyfrisk

@rawk100 ;  This is pretty reasonable quality (the brand) and not far off your budget, with loads of features
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pure-Internet-Digital-Spotify-Bluetooth/dp/B016ALP7DM/ref=pd_sbs_23_t_1/261-2495251-9866058?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B016ALP7DM&pd_rd_r=e104a834-0f53-4bcf-b34f-b999ada00208&pd_rd_w=rwJZA&pd_rd_wg=JuRAE&pf_rd_p=e44592b5-e56d-44c2-a4f9-dbdc09b29395&pf_rd_r=FZFZVA87S86E6RRBGQGB&psc=1&refRID=FZFZVA87S86E6RRBGQGB

Regarding Roberts, I have a model 93i that is excellent, sounds very good & is loaded with features such as internet radio, streaming, etc.
Also an ancient DAB/FM Gemini 1 that I bought second hand about 12 years ago, still sounds great & works fine.
Just saying 

Kittyfrisk

maltingsaudio said:

Roberts seem very overpriced and aren’t repairable when the warranty expires. Sound is quite acceptable though. File under the Dyson of DAB radios

I have just repaired a Pure Evoke 2S that wasn't repairable by the manufacturer as it was out of warranty & no longer supported. This situation sadly also applies to almost all modern consumer electronics.
Happily a non-economic repair doesn't mean it isn't fixable, as I'm sure most people here are aware.
P.S. my TRIO hi fi amp from around 1984 is still doing sterling service as a dedicated amp for my music computer  

octatonic

maltingsaudio said:

Roberts seem very overpriced and aren’t repairable when the warranty expires. Sound is quite acceptable though. File under the Dyson of DAB radios

They look very tatty after a couple of years too.
Mrs Oct got given one for Christmas by someone- frankly it is a bit of a pain in the ass.

Better to get an Amazon Alexa device- you can listen to anything, radio, podcasts, audiobooks and use it for kitchen timer and reminders.

Kittyfrisk

octatonic said:

maltingsaudio said:

Roberts seem very overpriced and aren’t repairable when the warranty expires. Sound is quite acceptable though. File under the Dyson of DAB radios

They look very tatty after a couple of years too.
Mrs Oct got given one for Christmas by someone- frankly it is a bit of a pain in the ass.

Better to get an Amazon Alexa device- it can listen to everything, radio, podcasts, audiobooks and use it for kitchen timer and reminders.

FTFY 

thermionic

TheMarlin said:l

My wife wanted a Roberts vintage looking DAB radio for the kitchen. The one she wanted was £180. Was part of her Xmas present last year. 

She liked the look of it, didn’t care about the sound.  On low volume, it’s a dull distant mumble. Sounds better wound up a bit, and can kick out some decent volume without distorting.
i have a cheap crap one in the back kitchen, sound nearly as good for about a quart of the price. 

I’m pretty convinced you can pick up something WAY better sounding for a third of what I paid. 

Roberts. Style over substance.  

My mum loves radios (a trait I have inherited) and she loves Roberts Radios in particular. There’s one in every room. The on/off/volume control broke on one so I tried to fix it. It was a very cheap switch tacked on to a pot, not a standard part. I emailed Roberts to ask if I could buy a replacement part but they refused, saying it was out of production. So I cut out the cheap and nasty switch and wired in a toggle mounted in the hole at the back that held the dc input jack (this one was used exclusively on batteries). So yes, they are cheaply made.

SRich

I’ve had a few Pure Evoke Flow radios, and whilst I’ve had a couple of glitches, Pure have been quite decent about warranty. I had a two year old unit replaced by them (with a contribution from me).....and yet the 12+ year old still functions well but the display has faded to indistinguishable. The display electronics can be replaced apparently but it looks like a faff.

Yet there is still something about the design & function that appeals.

DrCornelius

I’ve always bought Roberts and I think they sound great, got a really good low end to them. Our latest one (beige with a dog pattern on) died mysteriously while we were on holiday with my hard of thinking son looking after the place..

Saw a little battery powered one in Lidl this week for £25 (digital , DAB, alarm etc) and thought I’d try it and try and save a few quid.

Its great, not as good sound quality wise as the Roberts bit small enough to plonk wherever I am and the batteries last 60 hours.

I bought it on Wednesday so they should still be around if you’ve got a Lidl near you.

Kittyfrisk

SRich said:

I’ve had a few Pure Evoke Flow radios, and whilst I’ve had a couple of glitches, Pure have been quite decent about warranty. I had a two year old unit replaced by them (with a contribution from me).....and yet the 12+ year old still functions well but the display has faded to indistinguishable. The display electronics can be replaced apparently but it looks like a faff.

Yet there is still something about the design & function that appeals.

Random web search response on Pure displays
https://www.avforums.com/threads/pure-evoke-flow-radio-dim-display.2103336/

I'm afraid that (in my not inconsiderable experience, YMMV) once good names such as Roberts & latterly Pure have been diluted by cost cutting/value engineering, over emphasis on marketing & trading on previous kudos from earlier quality products.

thumpingrug

I have a good quality pair of blue tooth speaker in the Kitchen and simply stream from my phone.  I have a coupe of radio apps as well as BBC sounds and use that for DAB and Internet radio from all over the world.  

jonnyburgo

Echo Dot is £22 on Amazon right now, scuppered if you don't have a t'internet like but we have one in our kitchen and its perfect for radio.

SRich

Kittyfrisk said:

SRich said:

I’ve had a few Pure Evoke Flow....

Random web search response on Pure displays
https://www.avforums.com/threads/pure-evoke-flow-radio-dim-display.2103336/

I'm afraid that (in my not inconsiderable experience, YMMV) once good names such as Roberts & latterly Pure have been diluted by cost cutting/value engineering, over emphasis on marketing & trading on previous kudos from earlier quality products.

Amen to that.....planned obsolesence.

sev112

Kittyfrisk said:

@rawk100 ;  This is pretty reasonable quality (the brand) and not far off your budget, with loads of features
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pure-Internet-Digital-Spotify-Bluetooth/dp/B016ALP7DM/ref=pd_sbs_23_t_1/261-2495251-9866058?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B016ALP7DM&pd_rd_r=e104a834-0f53-4bcf-b34f-b999ada00208&pd_rd_w=rwJZA&pd_rd_wg=JuRAE&pf_rd_p=e44592b5-e56d-44c2-a4f9-dbdc09b29395&pf_rd_r=FZFZVA87S86E6RRBGQGB&psc=1&refRID=FZFZVA87S86E6RRBGQGB

Regarding Roberts, I have a model 93i that is excellent, sounds very good & is loaded with features such as internet radio, streaming, etc.
Also an ancient DAB/FM Gemini 1 that I bought second hand about 12 years ago, still sounds great & works fine.
Just saying 

We’ve had that one on amazon for a couple of years and it’s bloody amazing. Astonishing the sound that comes out of it.
we use it for standard radio during the day, easy Wi-Fi streaming of Spotify, and the occasional searching for Austrian Europop and Russian heavy metal channels

rawk100

Thanks for the recommendations, I'll give the roberts stuff a miss but the Pure radio seems a good bet, think ill go and have a look at one....

hollywoodrox

SRich said:

Kittyfrisk said:

SRich said:

I’ve had a few Pure Evoke Flow....

Random web search response on Pure displays
https://www.avforums.com/threads/pure-evoke-flow-radio-dim-display.2103336/

I'm afraid that (in my not inconsiderable experience, YMMV) once good names such as Roberts & latterly Pure have been diluted by cost cutting/value engineering, over emphasis on marketing & trading on previous kudos from earlier quality products.

Amen to that.....planned obsolesence.

Roberts used to be proper jobs , and hacker

hollywoodrox

Have you seen the price those PURE Marshall’s are fetching !!!!!!!