Roberts RD21B(ECO4) Ecologic 4 DAB/FM RDS Digital Stereo Radio wth up to 150 Hours Battery Life - Black

As my old radio (Roberts) had just about died, I spent some weeks agonising over which model to buy to replace it with. I like Roberts and have always found them to be reliable and produce the best sound. When I finally made the decision and bought the RD21B (the ECO4 model) I was most pleasantly surprised. The radio is a good size and weighty, making it feel very substantial, it looks good too. Setting it up was unbelievably simple. Basically you take it out the box, plug the mains lead into the back of the radio and then into the mains socket and then swtich it on, making sure you have extended the aerial fully. It takes less than a minute for the radio to find and tune in to all the available stations. As I live in a remote area, I wasn't expecting much from the digital side, but amazingly the quality of the signal and the sound produced are quite stunning. Proper stereo radio at last, without needing a long aerial lead, wonderful. (goodbye FM)To be fair, the FM side wasn't as good as my old Roberts radio, but with such an amazing digital sound, there is no point in using the FM at all.To say I am pleased with the radio is an understatement - it far exceeds my expectations. Listening to ClassicFM is a delight and radio 4 is as clear as a bell.I must also point out about delivery. I ordered from Amazon on Tuesday and clicked the free delivery box, so I expected that it might take several days. Not only did it arrive the next day, but I had an email from the delivery people DPD saying it would be here between 13:52 and 14:52 - it arrived at 13:51 - how amazing is that, especially when you realise that I live in a small village in West Wales.So brilliant all round,especially Amazon's price. I am well pleased.

Friends have a Roberts Revival Radio. Recently; while decorating at their house, I had the radio on (above normal volume) and could hear it even when upstairs. I was impressed by the sound quality so was going to buy one; then I noticed the Ecologic 4 had seperate Bass & treble controls; so it must sound better I thought and £70 cheaper.(Roberts list prices)So I purchased one.Sorry to say, I am disappointed by the sound quality of the Ecologic 4 compared to the Revival. This may be due to the speakers,the radio case material, or both. To my ear the Revival Radio has a more 'rounded' sound with good enough bass. The Ecologic 4 sounds quite 'thin'; even with the bass up full. I know this Radio has a plastic type case and perhaps that has something to do with it?The carrying handle only moves backwards,to the rear from vertical. The aerial is situated in the middle of that range of movement. It would be better if the handle could also drop forward, completely out of the way.The aerial on my radio was very stiff to rotate from the horizontal resting place to vertical. After three weeks use the securing nut had worked loose on the aerial mounting boss. I had to remove a small cover plate and retighten the nut.The display on the Ecologic 4 is white text against a bright blue backlight. The display has a narrow angle in which to be viewed for best contrast, otherwise the display matrix tends to distract the eye. By comparison, the Revival Radio has black text against a pale gold background, which I found much easier on the eye.When the Ecologic 4 is being powered by batteries only, the display backlight switches off about 10 seconds from the radio ON button being pressed.(Energy saving) Using any of the pushbuttons or dial tuning controls will power up the display for about 8 seconds.When the radio is connected to the mains the display does not switch off.I do like the Ecologic 4, it is a good Radio and £70 is a good saving but I prefer the Revival.The aerial on my Ecologic 4 needs tightening again!

I was after a DAB radio with long battery life, with punchy sound and easy to use. Roberts claim a wopping 150 hours using six D size alkaline batteries. "Which" report found 81 hours when they tested it. So it probably lies somewhere between the two figures, depending on sound volume, and quality of batteries used. This is streets ahead of any other DAB radio presently on the market.The first DAB radio I bought several years ago was the first edition of the Pure Elan, bought for the same reason as the Roberts ie battery life. At the time, other radios gave 5-10 Hours battery life, whereas Pure claimed 30 Hours with the Elan using 6 of the smaller C type batteries. I found using Duracell + batteries this was correct, however the sound was very, disappointing, muffled, muddy with no treble.So with the RD-21, Roberts have extended the battery life ( although using the larger D type batteries )by about 3 or 4 times that of the Pure Elan. So is there a catch ?Absoultely not !!! Obviously technology has moved on. Roberts will be using chips that consume far less power than the earlier Pure Elan. But soundwise, these 2 radios are like chalk and cheese. The 21 has separate Bass and Treble controls which give great tonal adjustment. Speach sounds suberb, great for radio 4 and 7. For music output it obviously can't compete with the bass output from a subwoffer, but in a small room gives excellent presence and balance, and the opportunity to subdue the midrange by wacking up both bass and treble ( the way I like it ! ). Very impressive indeed, for the size of radio.Simplicity itself to setup and use, with a large display on the top, excellent battery life, fantastic sound, and a radio you can pick up and take into the bathroom, or the garden shed, without having to change the batteries every fortnight.PS It was not my intention to make a generalised comparison between the sound qualiy of Pure radios and Roberts radios, only the 2 specific models mentioned. I have owned and used the Pure Evoke 3 virtually every day for the past 2 years, and is in my opinion the best DAB radio sofar built.