What Hi Fi Sound and Vision 04 DEC 2007

Genus Type-R

£ 150 3

* * *

It looks and feels the business, but the execution here leaves something to be desired

For
Style, style and more style; beautifully built, too
Against
Erratic touchscreen controls are frustrating; sound just too thick

A rare tactile treat, the Type R is a fascinating combination of 70s retro and up to date technology. In fact. Its control panel aside, it looks just like a vintage Roberts or Hacker model, and we’re not entirely unsure that Roberts don’t still make radios that look like this. Anyway, its side panels are wooden, its handle and top-plate are anodised metal and the controls all touch-sensitive.

All well and good so far, but it’s a different story when the Type R is in operation. The controls are erratic, making tuning or adjusting volume more taxing than it should be, and the sound – while offering lush scale to classical pieces – renders contemporary stuff soupy and ill-defined.