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Electronics : Roberts RD 49 White Radio
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Rating: 
- A bit disappointing
This radio requires 6, not 4, AA batteries. I power it by mains and feed the output into an amplifier.
On FM there is a high-pitched whine if the amplifier gain is turned up too high. On DAB there is a low-frequency clicking sound. I can remove most of these extraneous noises by turning down the external amplifier's gain and using the radio's own volume control to give what are still adequate volume levels.
Five presets is really too few, especially on DAB.
The quality of the DAB broadcasts is inferior to that of the FM broadcasts, as the high frequencies are noticeably attenuated. However, this probably isn't the radio's fault. DAB is broadcast at too low a bit rate for music; it's significantly lower than I would record an MP3 stream. Garbage in, garbage out. DAB is fine for speech and this radio offers compression of the dynamic range on DAB, when the broadcast supports this feature.
This is a great radio for listening to the BBC World Service. Enjoy classical music on FM, while it's still available!
Rating: - Good radio, but has a stupid design flaw
The RD49 is a good small DAB radio. It is about the size of a paperback book. It has both DAB and FM with RDS. Good sound from a long-throw speaker. It has an in-built battery charger, using NiMH rechargeable batteries. However, it has a really stupid design error. There is no lock or hold button, so, if you have the batteries in and pack it in your luggage, it is almost certain to switch on. It would have been a very good travel radio but for that. None of Roberts DAB radios have hold or lock switches. When I phoned them to ask why, I was told that Roberts DAB radios are not for travel. So now we know.
Rating:
- Poor sound quality
This month's Which report on digital radios has just given the RD 49 a very poor 40% score mainly on account of poor sound quality. I have to agree. When listening to this radio with earphones there is an irritating and highly distracting mechanical hum in the background. As the whole point of a digital radio is high quality sound, this is a major design flaw. If you are looking for a good digital radio under £100, Which recommends the Roberts RD46 (70%) or RD41 (66%) or Pure One (£50) which all have much better sound quality, but which are sadly heavier. A qood quality small digital radio is still to be made.
Rating:
- Great Radio, pity about the battery recommendation
Very pleased with the radio. Good reception and sound quality.
It is a pity that Amazon recommends the radio be bought together with 4 rechargeable batteries when 6 are required!
Rating:
- Fantastic DAB Radio!
The main reason for this purchase was to replace my Pure Evoke which couldn't cope with my laptop at work; the Evoke's signal would just drop fast and die once XP had finished booting - extremely annoying. The only way around this was a Moon Raker Di-Pole, a little unwieldy to say the least...
Eventually I went for the Gemini 49; it's performance at just 10 inches away from my laptop is fantastic! No interference whatsoever!
As mentioned, there are some shortcomings with this unit, but who cares? It's small, neat and powerful. It fits perfectly in my old portable CDROM carrying case, including the PSU. They could have left out the FM band completely, it'll be dead soon enough. The only other problem you may encounter is pressing the station buttons; you need to rest four fingers on top whilst using your thumb, otherwise it will fall over(!)
All-in-all a fantastic unit, well worth the money and beats the Evoke hands-down!
- A bit disappointingThis radio requires 6, not 4, AA batteries. I power it by mains and feed the output into an amplifier.
On FM there is a high-pitched whine if the amplifier gain is turned up too high. On DAB there is a low-frequency clicking sound. I can remove most of these extraneous noises by turning down the external amplifier's gain and using the radio's own volume control to give what are still adequate volume levels.
Five presets is really too few, especially on DAB.
The quality of the DAB broadcasts is inferior to that of the FM broadcasts, as the high frequencies are noticeably attenuated. However, this probably isn't the radio's fault. DAB is broadcast at too low a bit rate for music; it's significantly lower than I would record an MP3 stream. Garbage in, garbage out. DAB is fine for speech and this radio offers compression of the dynamic range on DAB, when the broadcast supports this feature.
This is a great radio for listening to the BBC World Service. Enjoy classical music on FM, while it's still available!
Rating:
- Good radio, but has a stupid design flawThe RD49 is a good small DAB radio. It is about the size of a paperback book. It has both DAB and FM with RDS. Good sound from a long-throw speaker. It has an in-built battery charger, using NiMH rechargeable batteries. However, it has a really stupid design error. There is no lock or hold button, so, if you have the batteries in and pack it in your luggage, it is almost certain to switch on. It would have been a very good travel radio but for that. None of Roberts DAB radios have hold or lock switches. When I phoned them to ask why, I was told that Roberts DAB radios are not for travel. So now we know.
Rating:
- Poor sound qualityThis month's Which report on digital radios has just given the RD 49 a very poor 40% score mainly on account of poor sound quality. I have to agree. When listening to this radio with earphones there is an irritating and highly distracting mechanical hum in the background. As the whole point of a digital radio is high quality sound, this is a major design flaw. If you are looking for a good digital radio under £100, Which recommends the Roberts RD46 (70%) or RD41 (66%) or Pure One (£50) which all have much better sound quality, but which are sadly heavier. A qood quality small digital radio is still to be made.
Rating:
- Great Radio, pity about the battery recommendationVery pleased with the radio. Good reception and sound quality.
It is a pity that Amazon recommends the radio be bought together with 4 rechargeable batteries when 6 are required!
Rating:
- Fantastic DAB Radio!The main reason for this purchase was to replace my Pure Evoke which couldn't cope with my laptop at work; the Evoke's signal would just drop fast and die once XP had finished booting - extremely annoying. The only way around this was a Moon Raker Di-Pole, a little unwieldy to say the least...
Eventually I went for the Gemini 49; it's performance at just 10 inches away from my laptop is fantastic! No interference whatsoever!
As mentioned, there are some shortcomings with this unit, but who cares? It's small, neat and powerful. It fits perfectly in my old portable CDROM carrying case, including the PSU. They could have left out the FM band completely, it'll be dead soon enough. The only other problem you may encounter is pressing the station buttons; you need to rest four fingers on top whilst using your thumb, otherwise it will fall over(!)
All-in-all a fantastic unit, well worth the money and beats the Evoke hands-down!