Stylish DAB radio which performs well

I looked around for ages for a radio with a line input at a reasonable price. Having owned a couple of DAB radios already, having FM as an option was essential as DAB performance can vary from mediocre to abysmal as stations can dissolve into a Dalek sounding, gargling mess.

The Blik is really designed as a clock radio with snooze buttons etc on the top, however it performs well as general radio. The unit is quite small and light - not a great combination for sound quality, but manages to overachieve nevertheless. Sound quality is very listenable from the single speaker with clear speech and a passable impression of bass on music. It's no party animal, but its perfect for day to day listening. DAB stations are pulled in strongly and the unit picks up more stations and plays them better than other DAB radios I have tried.

The design looks neat and unassuming with a clearer LCD display than many more expensive units. Ergonomically, the buttons on the top are not a triumph being close together and flush with the top - fumbling for the snooze button might be a challenge! The supplied remote makes general use much easier and the unit includes a 3.5mm line in for hooking up an ipod as well as a headphone socket and line outs.

I like this unit, it performs well, is well specified and designed (fiddly buttons aside) and is excellent value for money.

not impressed

the first one i purchased did not work out of the box.Returned it to john lewis.Could not fault thier responce BUT within a few weeks the second devoloped a tuning fault!.asked for my money back. no problem.a shame i had come to expect quality from roberts over the years.

Good radio, less good clock

As a radio this is a good piece of kit. Easy to use, really useful dual alarm (weekdays can be one alarm, weekends the other or none). The bright blue backlight is *very* bright even on dimmest setting - but that's ok with me - helps you see if you get up in the night. The only real downside is the the clock digits are very small - they don't use the whole display area for the clock for some reason, so if you're short-sighted you won't be able to read the clock from the pillow!

Rather disappointing

Good selection and capture of DAB signal. Quite easy to use.
Sound is rather woolly and"boxy", but acceptable for bedside listening. Having two stereo speakers in a box 10 inches wide seems pointless. The unit has a clock and Sleep facility, but surprisingly no Alarm function. Display is very bright in a dark room and a dim facility would be useful.
See also the reviews of the identical product in light wood finish.

Overpriced and avoid.

This really is one to avoid - so much so that it's on onroute back to AMazon for a refund. The sound (from the radion and CD) is not would you would expect from SONY,in fact put me in mind of those cheapo Binatone makes of years ago. Unit itself is more bulky than it needs to be and whilst the blue lighting is impressive it does not dull enough to just be aware of the time it felt as if it was lighting the whole room - handy I guess if you need to find your way without switching a light on but infuriating when trying to get to sleep!Once my refund has been given I will be looking for an alternative unit at the moment my 23 year old Sanyo has been ressurected!

Lightweight and disappointing sound

Having been recently upgrading our radios to DAB we have bought quite a few DAB sets recently. Unfortunately the Intempo is the most disappointing of them. Lightly built and feeling flimsy in use the sound matches its feel, sounding very tinny with poor bass reproduction and a frequent annoying background buzz when in use.

The controls are fiddly to use. Station selection is via a dial which is flush with the front of the radio. Which makes the control look quite good but very difficult to use. That is slightly offset by the presence of five preset station buttons on the set but if you want more than five then you are either using a button combination to get to the next set or after 10 DAB presets your are back to its awkward dial selection. The volume control is a simple up down button on the side of the radio but which unfortunately is rather indiscriminate in the range of settings making it all too loud at some settings but all too quiet at the setting immediately below.

This is only about five pounds cheaper than the Pure One which is another of the radios we bought recently and yet putting the two of them next to one another there is no comparison. In some ways the intempo looks better but its sound quality is much poorer, it fails to pick up the stations which our other radios can find, even failing on some of the major stations. On the whole this is OK if you want a small DAB radio for a few stations and are not too worried about sound quality but if that's the case then any cheap FM radio would do. Otherwise I'd suggest spending just a few pounds more which could get you something much better. (Edit - I've only had this on the kitchen table for a few hours and I've decided it's going back. Even in that time the sound quality is so poor that I've resorted to bring a different radio in to replace it. If I'm going to do that then it isn't worth having this radio around!)

Roberts RD-21 'Gemini 21' DAB radio - a super little unit!

I was looking to buy a DAB radio as a gift, with a budget of about 60 quid. Having looked at radios in that price range, I was disappointed with the choice. They didn't look, sound or feel worth £60... so I decided to look a little higher up the price range and came across the RD 21. This radio is chunkier than others, which is a good thing... the build quality is superb and it runs from the mains directly (no need for silly power adaptors). It has surprisingly good sound quality too from those tiny speakers - even a seperate treble and bass control - yes, the unit itself CAN actually reproduce bass (keep the bass control at the 2 o'clock position and try it on the floor)! It has both variable headphone and fixed audio outputs too. The controls FEEL nice (smooth rotary controls and positive push bottons - that's the 'Roberts' difference), it's simple to use, it looks nice... I love it and now want one myself! Well worth the extra £20 at £79.99 (£72 ish on Amazon and some other elec places). Definitely recommend this little radio to all!

A great product

I've been searching for a good, portable DAB radio for years but have always been thwarted by lack of features on the products available. This radio is an excellent design and, although I've only had it for a few weeks, the quality seems excellent. I originally wanted to buy the Pico Wifi radio but noticed that the replay and record feature is not available on that. If only Revo could combine the two...

Here's what I like about the Pico+: Rechargable battery (built in), record+rewind DAB, AUX/Ipod input, earphone jack and stereo speaker output, car charger, robust and water resistant, good reception, deep sound (for mono), remote control, very portable, stylish.
Here's what I don't like: no sleep function, to adjust volume you need to push the Function button first (unless you use the remote control to adjust volume).

DAB = Designer, Amazing, Brilliant.

I bought this product in John Lewis this christmas, and have found it to be a beautiful piece of equipment, oozing style and technology. I am really into all things retro, and this certainly is for those who love a genuinely well made, quality, and robust radio that demonstrates up to the minute class, as well as historical curviness.

I own the cream version, which I find suits my country kitchen very well. However, my 16 year old brother (I am 22) now loves its look so much that he is buying the aluminium version for his bedroom, which sort of demonstrates how versitile this piece of kit is, attracting many different target audiences.

The only thing I would say was that I was suprised on how large it was compared to, for example, the roberts retro radio, from cath kidston. Although the roberts radio has charm, I decided I would quickly get sick of its look, when compared to this sturdy and timeless classy radio.

The sound quality is fantastic, and I can link my iPod up to it which is great, and the sound for that whilst connected is still tip top.

Top class, for those who care about quality english manufacturing, style and technology, and not just about the price, which I must admit isnt the best. John lewis sells cheapest at 150 quid.

To Bright!

Nice product - excellent DAB and easy to use BUT display light is very bright with no means to lower intensity.Have to hide behind book or whatever so you can get to sleep which rather spoils the intended purpose of the unit as you then cannot tell the time!!