PURE PocketDAB 1500 Personal Rechargeable DAB/FM Radio

PEF

at 5:12 pm

This little radio is generally excellent and has deservedly won a What Hifi? award as personal DAB product of the year. On the basis of that I asked for and received this for my birthday, and have been extremely pleased. It’s bigger than some of the tiny MP3 players available, but then it needs to be because DAB is power hungry so it needs a decent size battery pack. Having said this, it’s actually about the same size as my iPod 60gb, something milions of people carry around with them every day. If anything it’s a couple of millimeters bigger all round than the iPod, but is rather lighter. It’s certainly ludicrous to suggest it’s bigger than an old cassette walkman.

Im terms of build quality, it’s pretty good. The front plate is black anodized aluminium which shouldn’t scratch or get too fingerprinty. The sides and back are plastic, silver and black respectively. Build quality is good, though it doesn’t quite have the quality feel of an ipod. The Sennheiser earbuds are very good for supplied ‘phones, certainly better than Apple earbuds, so ignore the comments below. I’ve got better headphones available anyway, and it sounds great through those.

It is extremely user-friendly, I had the Pocket dab 1500 up and running and tuned in within a few minutes. And sound quality is very, very good. I’ve had it plugged into a standalone hifi system, and it sound great though decent speakers, as well as rich and full-bodied through decent headphones.

DAB sound quality is excellent within the limitations of the medium. Pure are the best at making DAB listenable, and the 1500 does a good job of pulling in marginal stations. The BBC Multiplex is a bit weak where I live, but this radio still pulls it in strongly. FM sound quality is also reasonable, but the headphone cable isn’t enough to give good reception, so there’s a fair bit of background noise; but then I already have decent FM tuners in the house and didn’t want the Pure for that. On a personal note, although I enjoy the convenience and choice of DAB, given a decent FM tuner with a good aerial, FM is still streets ahead in terms of sound quality, especially Radio 3 which is my favourite station. It is worth noting that any portable radio is only is good as the signal it is receiving when you’re on the move, and this is better than most, giving a great sound once it’s got a decent signal.

I’ve given this product four stars, because although sound quality and usability is very good, and you certainly won’t be disappointed if you buy this, it could be a little smaller and better built.
Rating: 4 / 5

Scriabinmahler

at 8:23 pm

First I was suspicous of this new model due to the first negative review, but my suspition proved pointless when I actually bought the item encouraged by the following positive reviews.

I live in Cambridgeshire where Classic FM and BBC Radio 3 receptions are notoriously poor with ordinary FM tuners. But with this DAB radio, reception is near perfect with high reception level. No inerference even with my PC at my work place. Only occasionally it gets interference in some parts of shops, builings or on bus where interfering signals come and go. But normally that’s what happens with any DAB radios.

I listen only to classic music and some jazz music, and sound is superb with enough detail and warmth if you set the bass boost on.

Only difficulty I found is that the sliding lid for the rechargable battery never opens again once it’s closed. I had to struggle to re-open it for an hour until I stuck a lump of blue-tack on it to force it open without damaging it!
Rating: 5 / 5