Intempo PG-01 Review

Overall Rating

Clock radio features
Interference-free reception

Sound quality
Only 4 presets
Slow tuning

I bought the Intempo PG-01 DAB digital radio for £70 to replace a cheap FM bedside clock radio, about a fifth its size and price, but which suffered from intolerable interference (I used to spend ages trying to get clear reception by repositioning its silly dangling wire aerial). At least the Intempo has an effective telescopic rod, is interference free on DAB, and has minimal interference on FM. And it has clock radio alarm/sleep functions.

The sound quality of the Intempo in DAB mode is mediocre - muffled, boxy, muddy, with compressed frequency response, slight distortion and no audible stereo separation, somewhat reminiscent of a 1950's MW radio, but without the crackle. CD quality it is not. The FM sound is marginally better, apart from slight hiss and interference.

Just about the only point of the UK DAB system, apart from being interference-free, is to offer vast numbers of stations, although this is admittedly not much of a point since most UK stations are dreary and repetitive beyond belief. Once you have heard two or three pop music stations you have surely heard the lot - but with DAB you get dozens of them. With the Intempo's measly four presets, it is such a hassle to tune into most of the available stations that you are unlikely to waste your time trying. Every time you want to listen to a non-preset station you have to click sequentially through all the available stations, which is a slow and laborious process.

The unit, in common with many DAB radios, has a sort of chunky, retro, army radio for a suburban semi look. Its design is a masterpiece of implied but non-existent sturdiness and functionality: the radio equivalent of a cheap 4x4. It could almost have been made by an enthusiastic schoolboy in a carpentry and metalwork class - but then it might have looked more interesting. I suspect its pale wood-effect finish will get shabby pretty fast.

As for ergonomics, the brightly back-lit LCD display has small characters, so you tend to get totally dazzled at night before you can read it. Switching between FM and DAB entails an inexplicable several second delay. And the elegant legends of the microswitch controls are in such a small pale font, that you can hardly see them even while they are still fresh and new; if you intend keeping this radio for more than a few months you will do well to learn what they say by heart, before they fade away.

Anyone with good hearing, who is not interested in the plethora of dreary pop stations available on DAB, and who currently enjoys good FM reception, is likely to be disappointed with the audio quality of this radio. But if you suffer from FM interference, do not require high quality sound, and you need the wake-up and snooze facilities of the Intempo, it could be OK for you.

Members' Comments onbroglet's Review

• catswhisker on 20th Aug 2007

  After reading all the reviews of the Intempo PG-01 I must admit that I have been pleasantly surprised by the overall sound quality and sensitivity of the radio,especially in the DAB mode. HOWEVER, 1 big minus is the LCD screen which has started to 'FLICKER' and is very annoying as there does not seem to be any method of accessing the troublesome LCD (or,repairing the faulty bulb).I tried e-mailing INTEMPO but got no reply.
  CAN ANYONE ADVISE ME HOW TO REPAIR / GAIN ACCESS TO THE LCD ?