DAB
Frustrated with trying to navigate the screechy old-school tuning dial on our antique bedroom analogue clock radio, we thought we’d splash out and move into the DAB age with the PURE Digital Siesta.
Continue reading Review: Pure Digital Siesta DAB Radio (83%)
Brit DAB overlords Pure have introduced their new flagship DAB/FM radio, the Evoke-2S.
Replacing the earlier award-winning Evoke-2XT model, the updated DAB portable comes with the company’s Clearsound Technology for improved audio which uses an integrated high-performance switch-mode power supply, Class D amplifiers, digital audio shaping technology and custom-tuned speakers.
Supermarket giants Tesco will soon start offering shoppers the smallest and cheapest personal DAB Digital radio in town, the teensy weensy Technika DAB-108P.
Set to retail for £34.97, the midget-sized Technika measures up at just 6.9cm long by 3.8 cm wide and weighs in at a mere 52g.
DAB radiomeisters PURE have announced the latest update to their EcoPlus range, the Pure ONE Elite radio.
Hoping to lure your wallet into a spend-frenzy with its rounded corners, shiny chromed controls and tactile soft-touch finish, the Elite comes in black or white finishes and packs the usual large dose of Pure goodness for £70.
Boston Acoustics has announced that it will be launching, nay unleashing, its first DAB/FM radio for good ol’Blighty, the Solo XT in March this year.
Packed in a unit with a “pleasing soft touch” (oo-er), the unit delivers twin DAB and FM functions with support for Band III and L-Band, while Boston claim that the radio will deliver good reception in areas with very low signals.
Continue reading Boston Acoustics Solo XT DAB Radio Gets UK Release
DAB digital radio dynamos PURE Digital have announced the TEMPUS-1S, the third update to their popular TEMPUS family of DAB bedside radios.
Sporting the same bedroom-friendly real wood, cherry veneer casework, the TEMPUS-1S hopes to soothe twitchy sleepers and all-night insomniacs into a deep slumber with its collection of ‘Natural Sounds.’
Continue reading Pure Digital Tempus-1S Comes With Natural Sounds
Brit audio firm Pure Digital have announced a new affordable and rather dapper DAB and FM clock radio called the PURE Siesta, which offers market-leading standby power consumption and a host of green initiatives.
Continue reading Pure Siesta: A Green Cred DAB/FM Clock Radio
The champagne corks have been popping in the 4 digital group offices this morning, as they hear from Ofcom that they have been successful in their bid to gain 10 national DAB radio licences.
The group, lead by UK TV network Channel 4, has the ambition of providing a serious competitor to the dominant national BBC radio services, to provide a “distinctive and different experience of radio.”
Continue reading 4 Digital Group Gain 10 National DAB Licenses
Those lovely people at Pure have launched another means of listening to DAB radio and other audio, this time in a compact micro Hi-Fi form.
The new PURE DMX-25 DAB Micro System with MP3 playback comes with the ability to playback MP3/ WMA files from portable USB flash memory drives, SD memory cards and CDs. Beyond those terribly modern means, there’s also two auxiliary inputs, letting you connect iPod, MiniDisc or MP3 player.
This micro system is Micro with the main unit being 140mm wide and 150mm tall – not much wider than a CD case.
All the DAB goodies are available including autotuning to all available stations and scrolling text showing news, sports results, artist names and track titles (as long as it’s supported by the broadcaster). Pure tells us that some areas of the UK have up to 55 DAB stations these days.
The CD player isn’t just for the run of the mill audio CDs. It will playback CD-R and CD-RW disks with support for CD Text and audio CD playlists. The DMX-25 also plays back MP3-CDs, including support for ID3 tags, giving significantly increased capacity.
For those of you who love to know about the guts of what you’re buying – The DMX-25 is powered by the Frontier Chorus FS1010, which incorporates the revolutionary META multi-threaded processor and Universal Communications Core technologies developed by Imagination Technologies. So there!
DMX-25 is on sale from April 2007 from major retailers and independent hi-fi dealers nationwide for just £129.99 (SSP inc. VAT).
Tech Specs
Tuner: Stereo digital radio with full Band III and FM reception. ETS 300 410 compliant and capable of decoding all DAB transmission modes 1-4 up to and including 192 kbps. Supports FM RDS and RadioText.
Frequency ranges: Band III 174-240 MHz, FM 87.5-108 MHz.
CD Player: CD-R and CD-RW playback compatible. Support for 20 track audio CD playlist. Multiple playback modes (repeat, shuffle, etc.). MP3 & WMA playback, including support for ID3 tags.
Speakers: 4 Ohms (nominal) impedance. 10W RMS power handling. Two-way design. Treated paper mid-bass driver. Custom-tuned crossover. Rosewood finish. Removable grilles.
Input connectors: Two 3.5mm line-inputs for auxiliary devices. USB host port for flash-based memory sticks (key drives) and powered media devices. SD memory card support.
Output connectors: 3.5mm stereo output for headphones.
Controls: Power on/standby, clock/sleep, source, tune/select, menu, timer, info, presets, volume, play/pause, stop, fast forward, rewind and MP3 directory navigation.
Remote: Fully featured infrared remote control. Uses 2 AAA batteries (supplied).
Presets: 30 presets (10 DAB and 20 FM).
LCD Display: LCD display with 16 x 2 characters, plus additional function icons.
Mains power supply: 240V. Euro/UK power socket adapter.
Approvals: CE marked. Compliant with the EMC and Low Voltage Directives (89/336/EEC and 73/23/EEC).
Dimensions (mm): Unit – 140 wide x 150 high (280 with CD compartment open) x 230 deep (including controls). Speakers – 130 wide x 205 high x 160 deep.
Aerial: Wire dipole DAB/FM aerial.
Warranty: Comprehensive two year warranty.
Designers of DAB radios seem a strange lot.
Although the technology may be 21st century, DAB radios have often ended up looking like they’ve been teleported in from a previous age.
Perhaps charged with a mission to lure pipe-smoking Terry Wogan addicts into the wonderful digital age, there’s been a long string of DAB products cased in reassuringly old fashioned Ye Olde Wooden Panels or leatherette surrounds.
There’s been DAB radios harking back to an even earlier vintage too, with manufacturers like Roberts creating designs that wouldn’t look out of a place in a 1940s living room.
Whenever designers have taken it upon themselves to create something that looks vaguely modern, they tend to go to the other extreme, creating curious scary sci-fi creations that would send granny’s zimmerframe into overdrive.
DAB radios have also tended to come in just two sizes: big and bulky for carting around the house/garden or teensy weensy for the pockets of joggers and subway riders, with precious little inbetween.
Sensing a gap in the market, leading UK DAB manufacturer Pure have come up with the Pure Move.
Offering clean simple lines with more than a nod towards the great transistor age of the 60s, the Move is an attractive compact portable, measuring in at 150 mm x 85 mm x 27 mm.
Look and feel
Substantially built, the 280g Move looks like it could handle a few knocks, with a metal finish on the front and rubberised material on the side and back giving a good grip.
A small kick stand folds out of the back offering a good viewing angle of the display, with an extending aerial helping reinforce its traditional tranny radio look.
We weren’t quite so impressed with the power on button, though. This sits on the side of the radio and has to be held in for several seconds before the radio will turn on or off. A simple switch would have been far preferable.
On powering up for the first time, the display glows orange and the radio scans for all available stations, a process that took around a minute.
Using the front mounted controls, it was easy to navigate to a station of our choice (BBC6 Radio please!) and we were impressed by both the sound quality and volume of the unit.
Obviously, bass heads aren’t going to get their denture rattling fix from something as diminutive as this fella, but the sound quality was punchy and pleasing enough for everyday use.
Controlling the Move
Using the Move was pretty simple too, with the central circular controller letting you swiftly adjust the volume up/down and flip through radio stations.
Either side of the controller are Info/Preset and Menu/Dab/FM switches and – as with most Pure products – the interface was simple and intuitive.
Up to 10 DAB and 10 FM presets can be stored and the preset order arranged to your liking.
The Info button cycles the information displayed on the 2-line LCD screen, giving current date / time, station genre, multiplex, frequency, bit rate, signal strength and, most usefully, a single scrolling line of song info/news snippets.
The menu key gives access to EQ settings, display controls and firmware upgrades, with a hold key ensuring that no clumsy oaf changes the station by mistake.
Connections
Apart from the mains in socket, the Move comes equipped with a mini USB jack, aux in and a headphone jack.
Powered by their ChargePak technology, Pure’s internal rechargeable cell (Li-ion 4200 mAh) nearly managed to match the claimed highly impressive 40 hours of listening time, although we reckon most people will just keep it plugged in anway.
Reception on both DAB and FM was great with the aerial extended or packed away – not surprising seeing as we can see the Crystal Palace transmitter from our window – but we weren’t able to test coverage in less well served areas.
Conclusion
With its extended battery life, simple controls and traditional looks, Pure have come up with a very attractive offering which deserves to do well.
The asking price of £90 is a tad steep, but consumers looking for a versatile DAB radio that is truly portable may find it an excellent investment. We liked it.
The verdict
Features: 87%
Ease of Use: 85%
Build Quality: 85%
Overall: 86%
Specifications:
Palm-sized DAB and FM radio with full DAB Band III reception.
Frequency range: DAB Band III 174-240 MHz, FM 87.5-108 MHz.
Input connectors: 5V DC power adaptor socket (230V supplied), 3.5 mm Aux-in, and Mini USB connector for software upgrades.
Output connectors: 3.5 mm stereo headphone output.
Controls: Power, Lock, Info, Preset, Navigator, DAB/FM and Menu.
Presets: 10 DAB and 10 FM. LCD display: Orange backlit LCD display with 16 x 2 characters, function icons (volume, battery life, time, EQ, signal strength, DAB/FM and stereo) and clock. Key-press activated backlight can also be set to ‘always on’ for optimum visibility or ‘always off’ for longer battery life.
Mains Power supply: 230V AC to 5V (0.6A) DC external power adapter.
Battery Power supply: ChargePAK-inside Li-ion 4200 mAh rechargeable battery provides over 40 hours of portable DAB listening.
Dimensions: 150 mm wide x 85 mm tall x 27 mm deep. Weight: 280g
Aerial: Recessed telescopic aerial supplied. Headphones act as an aerial when connected. (Headphones not supplied.)
Pure