DAB, FM, Internet Radio, Music Library Streaming....can you fit anything else in... (Pure Evoke Flow)

Member Name: jodyv

Product:	Pure Evoke Flow
Date:	26/02/09 (198 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Packed full of features and looks the part

Disadvantages: Pricy for size

Christmas 2008, I was desperately looking for a present which my partner wanted to get me.... Being a bit of a gadget lover, I started looking along the electrical goods lines and spotted the DAB radios.

* General

Pure are the market leaders when it comes to DAB radios, their range runs from the basic DAB radio all the way up to this nearly top of the range model.

When looking at the radios, I spotted a leather bound Roberts one which had some good reviews and really looked the part....retro and tasteful. I was swaying toward the Roberts DAB only radio due to the style until I read an article on the BBC website:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7238768.stm

The article talks of the potential 'Betamax' failing of DAB radio due to costly infrastructure and with analogue radio still being very effective. This article put doubt in my mind regarding the future of DAB, so in order to future proof my present I requested the Evoke Flow.

The Evoke Flow combines 4 major music sources, FM Radio, DAB Radio, Internet Radio and Music Library Streaming.

* Set-up:

Opening the box was a real pleasure, well manufactured with an opening flap at the front detailing features etc... In the box is the radio in a small cloth bag, quick start guide and power adaptor. Looking at the radio, there is a 3" speaker, two dials, 3 touch sensitive buttons, a large OLED screen, aerial and a touch sensitive snooze handle.

I decided to set up all the software side of things first. I loaded the www.lounge.com website as advised in the instructions and registered the radio. It then advised to use the link to download 'Flow Server' for the streaming part. Having a dedicated home server for music and files which is always on, I decided to install it there. This is where I encountered my first issue.... Even though I had registered my radio and typed codes into various screens and the radio, I couldn't locate the link. As it was late I decided to leave it and enjoy the DAB side of things.

The following day I went into the site and something had updated over night, I could now download the software and install it on the server. This part was straight forward, configuration was also very intuitive....telling it where my music folder is etc....

According to the quick start guide, everything was installed now and good to go!! Ever since this point I haven't experienced any issues connecting with the radio via the software, it all works seamlessly.

* Usability

The build quality of the radio is of a high quality, it feels really solid, not that you'd want to drop it.... When turning on, it takes a few moments to initialise and depending on what task you've asked it to do, it may take longer if connecting to the internet or the server.

The volume is also impressive, especially for its size. It will hold its own at a party when used for background music. The large screen provides a great amount of detail which is generally quite useful. Tuning is a very simple, for DAB it automatically scans for the stations.

The media streaming I found quite poor to begin with....the quality was fine, it was more so the search function. I downloaded the full manual from the Pure website and soon discovered I had been going about it all wrong!

The internet radio side is massive, so many stations, literally 1000's.... I haven't played with this side of the radio too much due to the DAB and streaming catering to my music needs for the time being....however I will start making use of the genre specific stations.

Unfortunately the radio doesn't come with batteries and you need to buy a specific Pure manufactured battery pack. This is roughly £30, which in my opinion is a lot for a battery. You can also buy a remote and secondary speaker.

With the battery in use, you lose the clock display when the radio is on standby; there is also a longer delay when turning on. However you do get a decent amount of play time between charges.

* Conclusion

I personally believe this is the perfect all round radio which looks the part. With a gloss piano finish, it gets covered in finger prints, but a quick dust keeps it looking smart. The sound quality is impressive for it size, but don't expect deep bass. The only let down is the battery price and with it being sold separately.

Summary: It has everything, but costs a bit more.....

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