Here Beginneth My Digital Radio Revolution (Pure Digital One Mini)

Member Name: jupiter28

Product:	Pure Digital One Mini
Date:	17/02/09 (381 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Small-form and easy operation

Disadvantages: Mains only unless you purchase the expensive battery pack

Well folks it is time for the digital radio revolution. Aah, who am I kidding? I am getting into Digital Radio very late compared to when it first became available in the 1990s. I had an 18-year old twin cassette/radio player and was happy enough with the retro look and function of it, until it was finally sent to radio heaven by my builders last year.

So new (almost) house and I need a radio for the kitchen. Inexplicably there is now so much variety with radios that you need a bit of help to understand the choices.


~~~ WHAT IS DAB? ~~~

DAB stands for digital audio broadcasting, a digital radio technology for radio stations. Over the years I have heard a number of great things about DAB and how it is the future of radio broadcasting.

DAB is touted to provide a number of benefits over analogue radio broadcasting with superior reception quality, greater bandwidth for more stations within a smaller broadcasting spectrum and better features on DAB-enabled radios such as automatic tuning to all stations and providing a lot of information about the broadcast (songs, traffic info and station information).

However all is not good and there are some downsides. Reception quality can vary depending on where you live and how close the transmitter is to your location, though DAB+ should address this and as additional transmitters are built. Also compared to FM, DAB is not as established and it is more expensive to broadcast of DAB so you may not get every single station that is available on FM.

For more information see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Audio_Broadca sting
To check DAB is available at your postcode http://www.bbc.co.uk/reception/digitalradio/dab.sh tml
To check DAB stations are your postcode http://www.ukdigitalradio.com/


~~~ PURE ONE MINI ~~~

My main requirement with a DAB radio was to be able to play radio but for it to also look aesthetically pleasing. When I was wandering around the electronics department to gauge the type of products on display I noticed the shelves were primarily lined with the following brands:

- Pure
- Roberts
- Sony

And I noticed that the Pure models were more abundant than the other brands. I counted nearly 3 times as many Pure DAB radios than the next brand. They also have some very eye-catching designs. The Pure models are available in simple models or the retro look. I was after something inexpensive, portable and simple which is when my eye fell on the Pure One mini. the Pure One mini is available in glossy black, white or pink. I went with the glossy white version.

The Pure One mini is only 6 inches by 6 inches and 2.5 inches deep and without the battery pack is less than 1kg in weight. It has a digital display that can display text on 2 rows on the front at the top with a single 3 inch speaker beneath covering about two-thirds of the front. The speaker is described as full range which means it plays treble, mid-range and bass sounds. On the left of the display you have the PURE branding. On the right of the display it shows you the model name 'one mini'. The digital displays the volume, signal strength, station, a clock and scrolling text.


~~~ OPERATION & FEATURES ~~~

You get the following buttons on the top from left to right:

- On/off switch
- Button to switch between DAB, FM receiver
- Info - this allows you to switch between scrolling text and date on the display
- Autotune - allows you to add new stations and remove inactive stations
- Presets - 16 presets can be stored, both FM and DAB (8 of each)
- Stations

To the right of the device is a dial which you use to operate the device. You select a button and turn it to browse through the stations or to tune a station. Independently the dial also controls the volume.

The device comes with a mains adapter to power the radio or you can purchase a battery back at extra price. You will need the battery to make the radio portable. The battery pack is about £20. The radio also comes with a mini USB port for future upgrades to firmware, a line in to connect up an MP3 player and a port to connect up headphones. The radio comes with an integral telescopic aerial for better reception.

The instructions tell me that the radio uses 0.89 watts in standby and 2.42 watts in operation. This radio is part of the PURE EcoPlus range which means they use less energy than most other DAB radios. To save further energy I always turn the radio off at the socket which means you can lose the presets unless you choose to use the rechargeable battery pack.

The device has a feature called Intellitext which provides scrolling information on news, sports and web pages, numbers or song names which you can pause if you want to note anything down. With the dual DAB/FM receiver you can ensure you get radio coverage wherever you take the device meaning there is always something to listen to.


~~~ VERDICT ~~~

Generally, the device is not imposing on the worktop and looks like a neat addition to the counter. The sound quality to my untrained ears is excellent. There is no vibration from a loud volume and the sound can be heard clearly 15m away.

The information bar has been useful for all sorts of snippets from the news headlines to that song you have heard a million times but still cannot remember the name. As well as simple and clean look the radio is very easy to use and can be operated before you even read the instructions which is great for me as I don't tend to read instructions.

The device is available in the region of £36-£39 and has won the What Hi-Fi Sound & Vision award 2008 for the Best Portable under £50 which also influenced my decision to purchase. The only disappointment I have with the device is that you cannot use conventional batteries and if you want it to be fully portable you have to purchase the £20 B1 ChargePAK. For this to cost half the price of the device you feel is very expensive and the manufacturer is taking full advantage by using proprietary batteries. Due to this I have reduced my rating by 1 star.

The Pure One range does have advanced models that can pause/rewind live DAB radio with a tactile feel and these models start at £47 upwards. However if all you are after is a radio to listen to then you cannot go wrong with this for both price and looks.

Product Website http://www.pure.com/products/product.asp?Product=V L-61028&Category=

Thank you for reading. This review may be posted on other sites by me.

© jupiter28 2009

Summary: Pure Brilliance "The Radio for Everyone"

Processing/Quality:
Reliability:
Ease of use:
Features:
Sound quality: