One-minute review
The greatest DAB radios are all in regards to the easy issues in life. Classic tunes whilst you create within the kitchen, soccer commentary within the tub and Test Match Special within the backyard.
Cue the Roberts Revival RD70, a retro-styled DAB/FM radio that makes an attempt to carry the ‘wireless’ bang updated by including a big color LCD show and Bluetooth streaming from smartphones.
Since it will possibly additionally run on battery energy, the RD70 can also be a well-disguised transportable Bluetooth speaker. Is this the go-anywhere all-in-one of your desires? Well, maybe not. The RD70 is nice as a DAB and FM radio. It’s fake leather-covered picket speaker cupboard offers loads of mid-range and bass (a tad an excessive amount of, even) and it appears good on a kitchen counter or in a rest room.
However, it’s not as transportable as you may assume, because of its use of 4 AA batteries – no simply rechargeable battery right here. It’s additionally not waterproof and its Bluetooth streaming can also be quiet and underwhelming.
So what ought to we make of the RD70? Well, don’t purchase it for its portability or for its primary Bluetooth options – each of that are the fallacious facet of retro – and deal with its core talent as a DAB radio for a kitchen or lavatory. Yes, it’s costly and misfires on a few options, however the vintage-styled RD70 is among the best-looking, best to make use of DAB radios for the house.
Roberts Revival RD70 DAB Radio value and launch date
The unique Revival had been round for years and was one of many UK’s best-selling transportable radios.
This new model initially launched in 2018 updates the tech inside, however barely touches the retro design. It’s obtainable in purple, black, dove gray, duck egg blue, leaf inexperienced and pastel cream.
Design
- Retro Nineteen Fifties styling
- Portable with deal with
- Weighs 1.7kg
If there's an iconic design on the planet of DAB radios, it’s Roberts’ Revival. Styled as a Nineteen Fifties ‘wireless’ within the outdated sense of the phrase, the RD70 now tackles the fashionable which means of that phrase so as to add Bluetooth streaming from smartphones.
Do you keep in mind what radios had been like within the Nineteen Fifties? Nope. Nor us. In reality, you would argue the classic styling is a tad overdone, and the RD70 extra museum piece than actually retro – however both method there are few extra design-led DAB radios on the market, save for the Ruark R1 Mk4.
It’s principally geared toward kitchen sides, window sills, bogs and bedside tables. The latter is clear from its provision of a sleep timer (for as much as 90 minutes), two alarms and a sleep perform (you simply hit the right-hand knob), although we predict its cumbersome dimension is slightly an excessive amount of for the common bedside desk.
There is one more reason to maintain it away from the bed room; its 36 x 48mm color LCD show is ranged on the highest of the system so it makes for a not quite perfect clock radio.
Measuring 106 x 250 x 160mm and weighing 1.7kg, the RD70 appears prefer it’s coated in leather-based. It’s not – it’s merely an artificial faux-leather – and on older incarnations of the Revival this layer hasn’t aged effectively. Cracks and tears have appeared within the protecting after a number of years. We’re hoping that has been addressed on the RD70, although solely time will inform.
It’s an eye catching look and the designers have gone all-in on the Nineteen Fifties look, proper all the way down to a gentle faux-leather carry deal with, bronze-coloured speaker grille and knobs that flip and click on to navigate menus. It will in all probability enchantment extra to older customers than youthful.
However, there are many modern touches on its top-mounted management panel, from that great-looking color LCD show to playback buttons that allow you to management your music when streaming from a smartphone. Also on that panel is a headphones jack and a 3.5mm line-in for attaching different audio gadgets.
Setup
- 10 DAB and 10 FM presets
- Six show themes
- Portable with AA batteries
The RD70 has a telescopic aerial extending to a most of 60cm, but it surely solely feeds upwards. While that provides slightly stability (side-ranging aerials are likely to droop after some time), it’s not nice information for anybody wanting to place the product on a kitchen floor beneath cabinets. That goes doubly so as a result of in our assessments the aerial was principally required to get a secure sign.
We managed to tune-in myriad DAB radio stations utilizing the auto-tune perform and located the mixture of clicks and turns of the left-hand knob pretty intuitive. We had been then capable of set particular stations as presets and simply navigate between stations, although the RD70 lacks devoted preset buttons that take you straight to a particular radio station.
A color show is fairly superior for retro merchandise like this and it comes with some attention-grabbing choices. It presents six show themes to select from, together with ruby, emerald and sapphire-coloured backlights. It makes use of the sheer dimension of its shade show to point out a digital model of a clock face. In principle you get album art work on the show from DAB and through Bluetooth, however this didn’t work in our assessments. It’s hardly a essential characteristic, anyway.
Bluetooth streaming is simple sufficient. You simply toggle to Bluetooth on the supply button and discover the RD70 in your telephone’s settings. Does the RD70 work effectively as a conveyable Bluetooth radio? It can, but it surely comes with a catch. In place of a built-in lithium-ion battery that’s simple to recharge, the RD70’s undercarriage features a slip-off hatch for 4 AA batteries.
They’ll add as much as 25 hours of portability. If you solely plan to make use of them irregularly that’s high quality, however assume twice before you purchase the RD70 desiring to take it in all places, because you’ll want a stash of rechargeable AA batteries and the persistence to incessantly replenish them. We would anticipate the subsequent model of the RD70 to be a chargeable unit. The RD70 can also be not waterproof, so watch out taking it exterior.
Audio efficiency
- Warm and detailed DAB / FM sound
- A contact bassy for some
- Lack of quantity through Bluetooth
FM and DAB broadcasts sound glorious on the RD70, but it surely gained’t be for everybody. A results of its picket cupboard housing a mid-size driver, the sound high quality is heat, detailed and has loads of bass, however isn’t designed for prime volumes.
As its styling suggests, you’ll hear heat, spherical tones good for voice, and for music radio, too. However, it is going to be slightly bassy for some; in our check a DJs with a low voice did sound moderately boomy.
You can dive into the RD70’s EQ settings if it’s an excessive amount of; right here you’ll discover traditional / jazz / pop / rock / information sound presets (although none are standout) alongside primary tweaks to treble and bass.
We discovered that for DAB radio – music and voice – the bass must be at -4. For Bluetooth streaming we settled on -2 for bass and +3 for treble, although the key concern we had with this mode was quantity.
It’s simply so quiet if you swap to taking part in podcasts or music from a smartphone, even with the smartphone on full quantity. As effectively as missing quantity, the sound seems barely muffled, too. This sadly isn’t uncommon on DAB radios, which roundly fail to deal with Bluetooth streaming with any type of talent.
If you need a ‘new’ wi-fi speaker, go elsewhere, however if you'd like ‘old’ wi-fi, the RD70 impresses.
Should I purchase the Roberts Revival RD70 DAB radio?
Buy it if...
You’re after a DAB radio for the kitchen
There are few higher sounding or trying DAB radios for a kitchen than the RD70. Its Nineteen Fifties styling works effectively in most kitchens and the sound high quality for voice and speak radio is great in case you dive into the EQ settings.
You need to take your DAB radio into the backyard
The RD70 sadly doesn’t have a chargeable inside battery, however at a pinch it really works for about 25 hours on 4 AA batteries. A little bit of a faff, however attainable.
Don't purchase it if …
You need to stream music out of your smartphone
The RD70 has a Bluetooth module, however streamed music lacks quantity and supreme readability. It’s high quality for a kitchen, however across the residence you’re higher off going for the superior sound of a Wi-Fi speaker (and/or one with AirPlay in case you’re an iPhone proprietor).
You need a bedside radio
It’s received sleep timers and a sleep button, however the LCD show is on the highest, so that you gained’t have the ability to see the time in the course of the night time. The RD70 is greatest considered aDAB radio for the kitchen or lavatory.
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