What Hi-Fi? Verdict
A neat bedside radio, but we have certainly heard better
Pros
- +
Looks good
- +
Nicely made
- +
Neat ‘Pop’ button
Cons
- -
Sounds a bit small, cluttered and hard
- -
Small screen
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Pure has a proven track record of making good radios: the company took gongs in our 2013 and 2014 Awards.
Next up is a trio of digital radios - the Pop Mini, Midi and Maxi. And what we have here is the middle-sized unit. Why is it called Pop? Because it’s the most noticeable feature of the radio.
Press the comically large power button at the top and it will pop up, doubling as a volume knob.
Build and design
The front has a small screen and a single driver, while the cloth-grille wrap is deceptive: sound only comes out the front. Power is from a microUSB connection, as opposed to a bulky power brick. The bottom of the device opens up to take four ‘AA’ batteries, or Pure’s rechargeable ChargePAK D1 battery pack (£35, sold separately).
As a radio, it handles DAB/DAB+ as well as FM. This model, as the name says, handles Bluetooth, so you can bring your own music to the party (Pure also makes a slightly cheaper Pop Midi with a 3.5mm auxiliary input instead).
Performance
The Pop is lovely to use and a tidy device, with friendly dimensions (17x9x10cm). Powering on the device will automatically bring up the station previously selected, as well as the last volume level.
The sound, however, could be better. You get a decent amount of detail and weight, but there’s no escaping the small size of the audio. There’s a hard edge to everything, too, that can get tiring.
Verdict
It’s a decent device for the price. Just don’t expect excellence.
