Pure Digital Siesta

Ever since I can remember I have had a radio alarm clock. The idea of waking up in the morning to something other than an incessant beeping noise was perhaps the main appeal. A couple of years ago though my old analogue radio alarm clock gave up and stopped working and so a replacement was required. After researching and looking at a number of different types and styles I opted for the Pure Siesta DAB clock radio and since then haven’t looked back, even acquiring a second one for my wife’s side of the bed.

So What Does It Do?

Well it works in a similar way to a standard radio alarm clock, only with a host of very clever extra features. First and foremost it works as both an FM/Am radio and a Digital radio meaning that you can obtain a much larger selection of radio stations and perhaps more importantly have a much clearer reception. When you set the radio up it automatically scans the airwaves for the available Digital radio stations and makes them available on your bedside unit. This can be refreshed at anytime by the simple press of a button making it very easy to use.

The Siesta can also be used as a standard radio, a digital radio in addition to being used as a radio alarm and if you so desired a regular alarm clock as well. The range of uses for such a small device do make it the ideal item to have on your beside table. It looks quite sleek and modern and perhaps more importantly it is very streamlined, taking up very little space. At only 17cm wide, 14.5cm long and only a very impressive 6.5cm high, which is quite compact considering the options and features the device boasts. It is perhaps even more impressive when you consider the speaker takes up approximately 10cm of unit and to create a device that can produce such crystal clear sound from such a small unit is incredibly impressive.

Setting It Up

This is perhaps one of the easiest electrical devices I have ever had the pleasure of setting up. Having removed it from the box and plugging it in, I had very little else to do. Firstly it automatically searched for the DAB channels and also set the time on the clocks display panel. The clock itself updates relating to daylight savings time and saves any real need to get too involved in the set up of the system. Once the list of channels has been updated you simply choose which station you want to listen to and its up and running with the minimum hassle.

One of the most impressive features the Pure Siesta has is being able to re program the time display on the clock when there is a power cut or if it’s unplugged. This saves the aggravation of resetting the time and more importantly it also remembers the programmed alarms, which saves a lot of time in reprogramming them,

Alarming

The main reason we bought it was for the alarm feature and this is perhaps where the Pure Siesta really stands out from the crowd. You can set 3 separate alarms on the system and have a choice of Daily, weekdays only, weekends only, Saturday, Sunday or only once. This is very useful as my wife and I both have different working patterns and it means we can set 3 alarms to cover our usual weeks and not have to worry about changing or setting an alarm every night like we had to with our old radio alarm clock.

One of the very few downsides we have found to the Siesta in both the older version I have on my side of the bed and the newer version on my wife’s side is the inability to set a radio station to each alarm. The device automatically plays the last station you were listening to and occasionally this has caught us out on the few occasions we’ve used the Siesta as a standard radio. I am a bit of a creature of comfort and have a preference to waking up to the same show each morning and once or twice have found myself surprised and perhaps a little annoyed at my self for not remembering.

If there was one feature I would add to the Pure Siesta then that would most certainly be it. Of course this slight negative is quickly overlooked when you consider that you can set the frequency and even the volume by which each alarm comes on. It would be fair to say that the downside is far out weighed by the positives.

Radio GAGA

As well as the alarm the system boasts a very clear and crisp quality radio. The FM/AM section of the radio works well and picks up the same signals as our regular radio in the lounge, which is quite impressive considering the aerial is almost half the length. Of course we very rarely use the FM/AM function on this radio, due to the superior sound quality and reception we get on the DAB function.

As we live in Berkshire and my favourite radio station, Xfm, is a London station we previously were unable to get any reception on the analogue radio’s, however now using DAB we get as clear a signal on a London only station as we do from one of our locally based stations. This is where the DAB function really comes into its own and justifies the purchase. With a number of additional stations and an improved sound quality it makes the purchase of a DAB capable radio a real bonus, especially if you do tend to have the radio on for long periods of the day.

In addition to the improved sound and range of stations the radio also boasts an intellitext system that tells you not only which radio station you are listening to but also who the presenter is and on the majority of stations what songs they are playing. I felt this was a very useful tool, especially when a song comes on that you like, it makes it a lot easier to get the artist and the song name than it ever has been.

Going Green

One of the main draws towards the Pure Siesta in the first place was the boasts about its power consumption. In creating this radio alarm clock Pure have ensured that it uses the minimal amount of power possible. As far as we can tell the environmental impact has been properly considered, not being an expert in this field, there are a few noticeable items, such as the display going into standby mode, where the display on the front of the clock gets a little duller and this, according to Pure, makes just over a 1W difference in power consumption between the radio being in use and simply being on stand by.

A Worthy Investment

I would certainly say that the Pure Siesta DAB radio alarm clock is one of the best purchases I’ve made in the last few years. In fact it was so good I went out and bought a second one. It serves us well as a radio alarm clock as well as a radio and with the increased selection of stations it is certainly justifies its £49.99 price tag. You can pick one of these up for between £40 and £50 if you shop around, with various websites offering slightly better prices than I paid for either of mine. They are available from the likes of Sainsburys and Amazon and if your looking for a cost effective radio alarm that provides value for money then the Pure Siesta is it.

Available in Black, Silver, Grey and White