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“Being a busy mum, I seem to spend about 50% of my time...”

written by joleen1 on 31/07/2004

Good Points
Aesthetically pleasing wood veneer finish - looks great in my kitchen!!
Easy to use controls
Excellent sound quality (compared to analogue)
Good price - getting cheaper now thanks to updated models coming on the market.

Bad Points
Bulky plug
Doesn't run on batteries (may put some people off but it didn't bother me)
Garish blue on/off button not in keeping with the style of the radio.
Display can be hard to read from certain angles.

General Comments
Being a busy mum, I seem to spend about 50% of my time doing tedious stuff in the kitchen. I therefore like to listen to talk radio stations as a distraction from peeling spuds and often despaired at the terrible reception my old analogue radio afforded. That is now a thing of the past thanks to this cute little wooden box.

First thing that struck me was the appearance and quality; both are excellent. The wooden finish and retro styling look great, and it feels like a really well made item which would stand up to some wear and tear. There are some nice little touches too like the brushed chrome effect handle, sturdy rubber feet to prevent sliding and a cable tidy to avoid spaghetti junction by your plug socket.

The features include 6 presets, a nice little tune and select button, a green LCD display which you can customise to your own preference (ie if you want to see the time and date under your station name or the signal quality etc), a headphone socket and the option to hook it up to a hi-fi for proper stereo sound if you are that way inclined.

Anyway there is more to life than looks and thankfully the sound quality proves that beauty really is more than skin deep! I managed to pick up 65 stations in my area and they all sound crystal clear to me. It really is hiss and crackle-free and I don't think I could bear to listen to analogue radio again after this. My ears are getting spoiled!! I am not an expert on digital radio so I can't really elaborate any more on this but suffice to say I would consider this a sound investment for anyone who loves to have their radio on as background noise to accompany their mundane chores!! No more whining noises in my kitchen - well not from my radio anyway unfortunately I can't say the same about my 2 year old!!