Roberts Stream 83i Stereo DAB/FM/WiFi Internet Radio with 3 Way Speaker System
Posted by Notcot on Apr 24, 2010 in Portable Sound & Vision |
Product Description
The STREAM 83i opens up the world of Internet radio and media streaming via an acoustically superior portable radio. DAB/FM and USB playback are catered for too but the real benefit is the sound quality. There is a three way speaker system featuring a built in bass woofer housed in an acoustically tuned wooden cabinet which delivers stunning sound reproduction.
- Portable Design
- WiFi/DAB/FM RDS
- Stream music from your PC
- USB socket for audio playback
- Clock with 2 multifunction alarms
Roberts Stream 83i Stereo DAB/FM/WiFi Internet Radio with 3 Way Speaker System
I like this radio a lot. I bought it mainly to get BBC “Listen Again” on a radio that can also be carried between bedroom and kitchen etc. Fits the bill perfectly. I’ve had it for a couple of weeks now and think it’s great. It has a good warm sound with good bass and, thankfully, bass and treble equalizer control (with some presets and personal option). It’s the best sounding “portable” I’ve owned. It is a satisfyingly weighty object with good quality controls. Menu navigation, station selection and browsing/searching (for internet stations, podcasts, “listen again”s and the like) is fairly straightforward. The screen is fine as these things go.
Unlike some internet radios it has an ethernet socket in addition to wifi, which I thought I might need and is worth thinking about. As it happens wifi connects readily from everywhere in my house, even the bedroom from which my laptop’s usb wifi adaptor struggles. (I’m still glad of the wired option as a standby but haven’t needed it yet.)
The DAB reception is rock solid – I have a JVC mini hifi which struggles terribly with DAB in a corner of the house where the Stream83i just works. I only need to have the aerial pointing up, but not extended, to get a top reception. FM reception is not so good, but I’ve always struggled with FM in my house so cannot say whether the Stream83i is better or worse than other current similar models.
I have Townky media server (DLNA/UPnP) running on a NAS (Western Digital MyBook World Edition white light version) and it picked this up straight away. I was browsing and listening to my personal ripped music collection and archived podcasts with ease.
I find browsing internet stations quite easy and BBC Listen Again content all seems to be there. The controls are reasonably straightforward (again, as far as these things go on small screen/no mouse/no keyboard devices). In fact I found searching for things by name quick and easy.
I registered with the wifi radio frontier website (as per the instruction book). This is the site used as the internet radio/podcast database for the radio. Registering your radio on the site (which is free and very easy) lets you create a personalised menu of favourite radio stations and podcasts. It also allows you to add URLs for any internet radio not already on their database. You do all this from your PC, and the next time you use your radio, your personal menu shows up on the radio. Very good. (Do not confuse this side of things with the “last fm” functionality, which is entirely separate.)
I plugged my MP3 player into the Aux In and it worked very well as a pair of quality loudspeakers for it (for the money/size etc.).
I also plugged the MP3 into the USB socket and it started charging it, which was nice. The radio read my USB content and it worked fine playing USB content.
I haven’t tried the “last.fm” stuff so cannot comment on that. I’ll give it a spin one day, but it wasn’t what I bought it for.
The only thing that I feel should be mentioned is that this unit lacks the ability to pause and rewind radio. The “Play/Pause/FF/Rewind” labels on the preset buttons are only for playback of Media Player/USB content. They do not control the playback of podcast/listen again or normal radio. I only mention this because I own another Roberts DAB radio that has something called “Pause Plus” – pause and rewind about 20 minutes of whatever station you are listening to – which is brilliant. The Stream83i does not have this feature and is the only thing I would add to make it a perfect device for me. I had a good play with this box in John Lewis before buying (from John Lewis – sorry Amazon!) and knew it did not have Pause Plus. I can live without it.
Rating: 4 / 5
Last.fm is effectively an online radio station with a difference – the listener is in the driving seat!
The Roberts stream 83i links, via the internet, directly to the Last.fm web site.
Begin by going online and setting up an account at Last.fm.com and you suddenly have instant access to a vast library of tracks.
From here, you simply type in your favourite artists/bands/composers and this information is used to create a profile which forms the basis for a personalised music database. But things don’t finish there – Last also goes on to recommend material from it’s enormous music database that you may appreciate also.
You have then the opportunity to enter into the Last.fm Neighbourhood where your musical preferences can be shared with other users and vice versa, expanding further the material available.
Pretty much all of the Last.fm website functionality is available through the Stream 83i.
There’s the ability to tailor the music output to suit your taste (in my case – prog rock) by means of the Love/Ban buttons on the receiver.
Whenever a selection is made, the information regarding what you listened to together with likes/dislikes is fed directly to the Last.fm site, further enhancing your musical profile and continually increasing the body of material on offer.
I have to say that I’ve become quite addicted, having received exposure to a number of artists and bands of whose work I was previously unaware.
Sound quality is excellent for the size of unit, giving a fulsome but well controlled bass response. Distortion is also very low – even at high volume.
DAB reception is superb and Internet stations tune and buffer far more quickly than on the Pure Evoke Flow which I also own.
The media player is also excellent, although, unlike the Flow does not allow me to shuffle my entire music collection – displaying a message saying that there are to many tracks for the shuffle function to work.
Without reservation then, this is a five star product and those who’ve not yet experienced the functionality of Last FM will discover via the Stream 83i that a whole new musical world will rapidly open up before them.
Rating: 5 / 5
I converted from a Pure Evoke Flow to a Roberts Stream 83i. Ok, so this radio isn’t going to win any style or beauty awards but it’s inners are strong and it performs exceptionally well. I’ve had it running for about 2 months now and during that time it hasn’t skipped a beat – this can’t be said of many internet radios. Not one hiccup or reboot, I hope this continues!
The main part, the internet radio is driven by Frontier Silicon, and although their database is not as large as Reciva’s it offers a wealth of good stations from every country and genre imaginable, with the option to suggest one, or if you have a valid URL, create your own station. The favourites option is handy, as it allows you to store the station you listen to often for easy access on the radio, instead of trawling threw lists running into their thousands. It is likely you will want to use this as the 83i only has 5 dedicated preset buttons.
Aside internet radio, you have a very capable DAB/FM radio, (which works for me with the aerial down – pulling in all the stations I should receive with no hassle) and the Media Player function which streams MP3/AAC tracks from my MyBook World Edition NAS with no trouble.
On the back we have a headphone socket, Line out and Audio In, an RJ45 ethernet socket and the power supply jack. A USB socket is on the back as well as front but the rear one is intended only for use by Roberts, or I imagine to update the firmware where an internet connection is not possible on the radio. The USB on the front is intended to be connected with a MP3 player excluding an iPod or memory stick and thus it will play the tracks from this.
I have had no trouble with the Stream 83i, and Amazon has it here for a very good price so I recommend getting it from here. Unlike the Evoke Flow, I can find no disadvantages besides the looks and can highly recommend the Roberts Stream 83i. Thank you.
Rating: 5 / 5
This radio is a delight.Internet connection is easy even for a tech ignoramus like me.The sound quality is really excellent with no trace of distortion even at high volume.I listen mainly to jazz and classical music and the range of stations worldwide is really extraordinary.No DAB signals in this area and I have not bothered with FM since internet is so good.
This radio is easily the best I have ever owned and I would recommend it to anyone.
Rating: 5 / 5
Ok, I will not duplicate the information you can readily obtain from the multitude of online ads. I will compare this with the Evoke Flow which I also have, and list the features that make a difference.
The 83i’s strong points:
1) has 2.1 speakers, the Flow has one (mono). (seperate extra speaker purchase for the Flow)
2) includes a remote (seperate remote purchase for the Flow)
3) has two alarms. The Flow has one.
4) supports Last.fm features, which the Flow does not.
5) tunes in to WI-FI much quicker then the Flow’s Lounge service (Sensia included)
6) includes a USB port within easy reach (at the front)
Therefore, in my experience, the Roberts 83i is better than Pure’s Evoke Flow at most things, but for the interface.
Flow is still better in that:
1) More presets
2) Clearer and more attractive light sensitive OLED display screen
3) Less buttons and therefore less cluttered interface
4) Sleeker, touch sensitive buttons which feel like you are interacting directly with the options on the display (draws something from the Star Trek LCARS interface, without overdoing it)
5) Lighter and therefore easier to carry around
6) Battery option [thanks for comment ;)]
Hope this helps.
Rating: 4 / 5