The iPod doesn't have a radio, let alone DAB, so an iPod speaker system with a digital radio built in has to be a good idea. That's what we thought when we got a first look at Intempo's RDI docking system. It's priced at an appealing £130, making it only slightly more costly than alternatives from DAB specialists PURE Digital.
But competition in the iPod accessory sector is bursting with explosive energy and manufacturers need to get smart or get out. Can Intempo take on 'Podspeaker favourites Bose and DAB connoisseurs PURE, and come out on top?
Design
With its glossy piano black finish, slick curves and an unusual sloping enclosure, the RDI is a little different from some of the more conventional speaker designs we've seen. Apart from a master power switch to the rear, all the controls are set into the front panel and are mirrored on the supplied remote control. Build quality's pretty decent, too -- it's solid, weighty and sits on some good old rubber feet.
Similar to the Bose SoundDock, the iPod sits vertically against the RDI's face, next to a little dot-matrix display. A retractable docking station pops out with a little push, though we felt it could be accidentally broken if pushed down upon too heavily when inserting an iPod, so the heavy-handed among you may want to be a little careful.
While the main speaker drivers are protected by a cloth-covered shield, the woofer to the rear is bare and open to the elements. Again, a little caution is needed, particularly when you're carrying the system around. You won't need to be too careful with the telescopic aerial though, because it's beefier than the most succulent piece of steak in a trendy London restaurant.
Features
All iPod models are supported, from nano to shuffle, touch to iPhone. The players' menus can be navigated easily with a little button pressing on the remote. But the really interesting feature is DAB inclusion. It's one of the only iPod systems to integrate DAB and it does it pretty well. It'll store all available stations after a quick autoseeking session, and navigating through the list is a doddle. Plus there's room for eight presets to be filled with your favourite FM or DAB stations.
Behind the scenes is 30W of total power delivered through the aforementioned 15W woofer, a pair of mid-range drivers and two tweeters. There's a fair bit of power on offer, positioning it not as a bedside radio, but as a fully fledged system for a bedroom or kitchen. Bear in mind there's no headphone socket, so it's no good for nighttime listening as a partner snoozes next to you in bed. A shame.
Alarm features are built in, however, so there's no reason the system couldn't double up as an alarm clock, and you can choose to wake up to your iPod or the radio. A line-in socket opens the door for compatibility with other devices, too, as if 160GB of music and a plethora of digital radio stations wasn't enough musical choice.
Performance
General navigation of the system is fairly simple. We wouldn't recommend it for Granny over one of PURE's DAB-only offerings, as they've got simplicity nailed down to a fine art (and she probably doesn't have an iPod). But the Intempo's numerous buttons and dual dials aren't exactly a challenge to understand. Autoseeking DAB stations took less than a minute and found all our favourites. We occasionally get poor DAB reception in one of our labs, but the RDI performed better than we expected, probably due to its chunky aerial.
On the whole, sound quality's pretty good for the price. Although a little heavy in the high-end, audio is well-driven and volume booms up to a good level. A little acoustic rock from Dashboard Confessional highlighted the RDI's bright sound, but also that it offers enough oomph to give the floor a bit of a rumble.
Considering its neat integration with iPods and the nicely functioning DAB features, we felt we were getting good enough sound for £130. Vocal frequencies seemed favoured though, resulting in voices slightly overpowering instruments, but generally it's pretty good. And it'll charge your iPod, too.
Conclusion
Despite the odd minor issue with elements of sound quality, this is a terrific little setup. The neat integration of DAB is excellent and as an iPod speaker system it gets an enthusiastic thumbs up. Intempo has created a respectable system for a good price, and very few people will be disappointed overall.
Edited by Jason Jenkins
Additional editing by Nick Hide
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User reviews2
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mkgadgetman 3 October 2010
Good: Good sound and features when it works.
Bad: Unreliable product and very poor customer service.
Comment: I bought one of these in December 2007 and when it was near the end of its warranty period, it started to make a high-pitched screeching noise and wouldn't play music from either the radio or the iPod dock. It then started working again for a short time until just after the 2-year warranty period expired when it stopped working altogether. I eventually managed to get through to Intempo support (after many failed attempts) and they flatly refused to do anything about the fault under warranty, in spite of the fact that the problems first occurred during the warranty period and that it was a common fault judging by the number of similar postings on Amazon and AVForums.
Instead of spending a lot of money to send it off to Intempo for repair, at the end of last year I decided to purchase another one instead. This worked fine until last week when this unit also started making a high-pitched screeching sound and again won't play music from either the radio or iPod dock. It is also getting extremely hot on the rear right hand side of the unit. I am debating whether to send it back for repair or request a refund from Amazon. (I have since found many other postings on avforums with exactly the same problem). Either way, many buyers of this product including me, have found it to be unreliable and the manufacturer seems unwilling or unable to rectify a known fault. Worst of all, its customer service is very poor in light of the above and the many other customers who have had the same experience as me. At a cost of around £120 I don't think it is unreasonable to expect a product to last more than two years before it is consigned to the scrap-heap. (My second unit only lasted 10 months before it stopped working).
If you want a unit that works reliably for a reasonable period of time, think very carefully before buying this unit.....
rhbishop2 11 September 2008
Good: Stylish good looks and good sound.
Bad: Volume control is hard to use.
Comment: I needed a new system for my office and looked at a range of gadgets. This included the Klipsch iPod which is excellent but has no radio, the Pure Chronos which looks wrong and does not have the sound quality I wanted and the Pure Evoke II which has no iPod dock. After careful comparison of features and reviews I chose this. As soon as I ordered it I came across a couple of reviews which criticised the sound quality quite heavily. I need not have worried. It really is exactly what I wanted. It sits on the window sill and looks very, very stylish even with a white iPod instead of black one. I play classical music most of the time either on my iPod or on digital radio. The sound for both is very good. Both piano and voice sound very convincing and I am quite hard to please in that department as I still perform regularly with professional musicians. However, this is a fairly small room and I am close to it. I don't think the sound is good enough for a large room but then I have a Bang and Olufsen system downstairs for that. The sound becomes congested when you push the volume up high. The little remote control is easy to use and although I can reach the controls on the radio I rarely use them in preference to the remote. The mute is very handy for when the phone goes. One minor quibble is the volume control. An analogue control would have been much easier to use. Overall I am absolutely delighted and feel I made the right choice.
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