What Hi-Fi? Verdict
It looks and feels the business, but the execution here leaves something to be desired
Pros
- +
Style, style and more style
- +
beautifully built, too
Cons
- -
Erratic touchscreen controls are frustrating
- -
sound just too thick
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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.
