PURE Digital PocketDAB 1500 user reviews
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User reviews2
hippetyhop 5 February 2008
Good: Metal case - slick and sturdy!
Bad: When are pocket DABs going to evolve?
Comment: I've been using various pocket DABs for a few years now and was lucky enough to get this one cheap (unwanted Christmas present) not long after I'd wrecked my last one by dropping it.
On the whole I'm delighted with it. It is a bit big height and width wise but slim and sturdy. The sound is perfect (no hiss detected) apart from when the signal drops out, obviously. I was dubious about the rechargeable battery at first but its life between charges is excellent. The buttons are solid and give a good positive "click". I especially like the way the on/off and lock buttons are recessed - I killed my last pocket DAB by dropping it on its "head", smashing the on/off button. I love the orange screen - it's a nice size and very easy to read, and has a couple of nice features I've not seen on other DABs - you can stop the scrolling script and edge it forward and back to read it, and you can adjust the contrast.
But this brings me to my main gripe: apart from these mior advances, this radio isn't much different from my first pocket DAB, a Ministry of Sound one I bought several years ago. The button/screen layout is exactly the same, suggesting that the innards are a standard format fitted into different skins. Contrast that with the advances in just about anything else you could name, from games consoles to digital cameras to laptops. Even kettles have changed more!
Maybe once the signal strength improves and pocket DABs become more popular the manufacturers will take another look at the interior features rather than cosmetics.
Timon 3 November 2007
Good: design, DAB reception
Bad: audio quality (a constant background "hiss")
Comment: I acquired the radio and had very high expectations from it. Unfortunately I had to return it to the (web)shop.
The good: design, size, battery pack, DAB reception quality (even in a poor DAB country like the Netherlands).
The bad: its audio quality. When switching on the radio immediately a "hiss" was noticable, even in the DAB mode. Of course the better the earphone (e.g. my Sennheiser CX300 or HD 555) the more annoying the defect, but even with the supplied MX300 the "hiss" was very noticable. And as the lowest most volume was already quite loud (with the louder settings being too much), I became to suspect a design flaw in the primary (pre-amp) electronics. The reply to my enquiry on this (d)effect was that this "hiss" was normal.
Leaves me to search for a better pocket sized DAB radio ;-(