Pure Digital Evoke 3

I pondered for ages trying to decide between the Roberts RD55 and Pure's Evoke 3 as I wanted something that had functionality to pause and rewind, record (specifically to SD card), play FM stations, have stereo sound and play MP3's as well as one that gave great sound and could carry base and wouldn't distort at high volumes but I couldn't find anywhere on the net that compared the 2. I knew the Evoke 3 had won loads of awards but that was in 2006 ...
...moved on so the newer RD55 could have improved or equal quality sound without having won any awards. In the end I realised the only option was to actually go into a shop and listen to the sound for myself (having a baby I'd put off doing that as it can be such a mission to get out these days!). The only local shop I found that had a good selection of DAB radios didn't stock the RD55 or the Evoke 3 but instead informed me that the Roberts RD25 was ... more

I pondered for ages trying to decide between the Roberts RD55 and Pure's Evoke 3 as I wanted something that had functionality to pause and rewind, record (specifically to SD card), play FM stations, have stereo sound and play MP3's as well as one that gave great sound and could carry base and wouldn't distort at high volumes but I couldn't find anywhere on the net that compared the 2. I knew the Evoke 3 had won loads of awards but that was in 2006 and with it being 2008 I realised technology would have moved on so the newer RD55 could have improved or equal quality sound without having won any awards. In the end I realised the only option was to actually go into a shop and listen to the sound for myself (having a baby I'd put off doing that as it can be such a mission to get out these days!). The only local shop I found that had a good selection of DAB radios didn't stock the RD55 or the Evoke 3 but instead informed me that the Roberts RD25 was the best - which only served to confuse me more! (Interestingly when I tried to compare the RD55 with the RD25 I found Roberts website doesn't list the RD55 which is weird!??) It was hard to compare properly as they didn't have a full list of functionality to hand (and I wasn't about to read the full manual for each!) but from what I could tell the RD25 has MW as well as FM and DAB whereas the RD55 only has FM and DAB (which is what the Evoke 3 has). I was then torn as I liked the idea of having all 3 to give maximum option of stations, however after listening to the RD25 (which had good sound but distorted at high volume) and the Evoke 2 (which they had in stock and is very similar to Evoke 3 but with less functionality) I quickly realised it was the Evoke 3 for me. It is much larger and heavier than the RD25 but the sound quality isn't in the same league. With the Evoke 3 I can listen to it from another room with the volume up high with no distortion and great hi-fi quality sound. The RD25 sounded like I was listening to a good quality portable radio, the Evoke 2 sounded like I was listening to a hi-fi system. The style isn't great for my decor but with such great sound and features compared to any of the other portable DAB radios I could find, it was worth it. It has an eco mode for energy saving, you can play your mp3 player (or similar) through it, connect direct to your PC (for updates and editing files on the SD card - which you have to buy separately by the way) and you can buy a chargepak for it which is kind of like a rechargeable battery that lasts for approx 10 hours per charge (great if you're out and about a lot). It also has more presets than you're likely to need and 20 alarms with a touch switch snooze button (you can also set how long you want the snooze to be - anything from 5 to 59 minutes). The only downside is it doesn't allow you to record one station whilst listening to another nor does it have MW. But I still gave it 5 stars as compared to the other DAB radios I checked out, this was head and shoulders above the rest, even 2 years after its release - and that's got to be worth 5 stars!!! 

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