Buy Now...

I am told that the first idea was turned into a reality five years ago, certainly a lot less time has elapsed since the first real commercial offering at a realistic price. I believe – as far as stand alone units was concerned - that would have been the Evoke from Pure.

The Elan is 28x17x8cm, the 8cm is a maximum as the top of the unit is 3.5cm and the base 7cm wide. The unit is powered by either 6 ‘C’ cell batteries or mains. The adapter is supplied however the batteries are not. The stated life of the batteries are 30 hours with DAB but this unit has also FM and in that mode they are said to last 80hours.

See also: DAB Radios

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Early DAB radios were rather difficult to tune and you probably needed a roof aerial I certainly did with my first PCI offering. Nowadays you have a simple rod aerial and it seems far less directional. The rod on the Elan extends less than 60cm from the right edge of the unit, this along with the carrying handle are chromed the rest is plastic all but the controls on the top in light grey with dark grey for the surrounds to the 14 buttons. The face has a 5x2cm three line display that has a backlight (5 seconds and off by default) that can be set to stay on, useful in the dark but not recommended if you are running on batteries.

Insert the batteries – or plug into the mains – and press the ‘Sleep’ button that doubles as ‘On’ and the unit will tune itself to all the DAB stations in your locality, in my case that is 53 according to it’s findings, certainly more than the last time I turned a DAB radio. However you should check likely reception in your area before purchase as certain parts of the UK do not have good reception. Go to www.ukdigitalradio.com click on the map and enter your postcode. You are then given a good idea of the likely stations available in your area. Probably not the 53 I can receive but try it and see.

The DAB tuning took only around a minute and is a one time job unless you move locations. Press the second button and you switch to the FM band and right at the top end. You scroll down the band and if you find a station you like program it. This procedure is the same for DAB/FM and you can preset 8 stations for each. Certainly a lot easier than scrolling the length of the FM band or running through 53 DAB stations (default listing is alphabetical).

There is a clock and providing the batteries – or mains – are not removed then this should keep perfect time. There is also a Sleep Timer that allows you to go to sleep listening to the radio, it then turns off after your preset period of 15, 30, 45, 60 or 90 minutes.

There is also a headset button and this allows you to listen without disturbing others who may not even like your choice of music. There is a small manual and a getting started sheet that should cover everything between them.

The unit looks like radios did some years ago, the sound is clear and crisp and while I would not recommend using it on batteries (for the cost) the life is a great deal longer than earlier models. The suggested selling price is £79.99.

Link http://www.pure.com/Products/Product.asp?Product=VL-60726