BT Aviator 10M review

Features
The Aviator's strongest feature is its large LCD screen. It's extremely readable even from a metre away, but this high readability does little to compensate for the headache of changing stations. The navigation system made us want to throw the radio against the testing lab wall and call an exorcist.

One of the better qualities of the Aviator is its ability to record live radio. In standard mode, the radio is constantly caching the last ten minutes of broadcasts, which you can replay by pressing the Replay button. This is useful if you nip out of the room for some reason and want to hear what you've missed, but it will mean that you're missing new broadcasts while you're playing back the last ten minutes.

If you want to save your recording, you can either leave it resident in the Aviator's memory, or store it on a removable SD card which slots into the side of the chassis. It's also possible to insert this SD card into a computer and retrieve the recording for playback elsewhere.

Playing back recorded radio is well implemented on the Aviator. There are clear controls for navigating your stored audio. These double as channel presets when you're listening to regular radio. There is also provision for listening to old-school FM broadcasts.

Performance
We expected a high quality sound from a radio this heavy and solid -- strong cabinets typically give radios a better chance at defining lower frequencies and annoying buzzes are less likely to creep in. Disappointingly, this was not in evidence here. The Aviator strained to play modern pop with anything approaching the sound quality we've experienced with other DABS.

The low-end lacked clarity, while the high end sounded weak and tinny. It gave passable performance on spoken word stations, but double bass solos on Jazz FM lost much of their kick, and pop sounded like supermarket muzak (even good pop).

Listened to in isolation, the Aviator is not horrifically incapable of producing a reasonable radio sound, but when compared to the other digital radios we've tested in the same price range, its shortcomings become obvious.

If you like the styling of the Aviator and can forgive it's sub-par sound and often frustrating navigation, you'll find the radio fine for casual listening in a kitchen. For more demanding listening, the Aviator is hard to recommend over so many other digital radios -- most simply sound better and function more intuitively than this.