Sony XDRS16DP DAB+/DAB Digital Radio

This Radio is a small wonder.Very lovely retro design and it looks and feels like real wood. This radio is the perfect kitchen or garage radio, It is very light to carry, good readable screen and the sound (for the price you are paying) is fantastic. the sound from this radio is very warm and clear but don't look at this radio if you want bass. this radio is aimed at the all day listener how wants a radio that is easy on the ears.the only drawback i could find (for some people) is that it dose not use battery's so it is not portable but for me that is not an issue because i got it for my garage and it will stay there on the same shelf for decades (hopefully) :) as for reception i had no issues at all, but i live in Malta 316 Sq KM island in the middle of the Mediterranean, so reception is not an issue.

hope you people find this review helpful since some reviews out there are misleading (low star rating), because some people for the £60 they payed expect Hi-Fi sound and the 3inc speakers to perform as subwoofers.

First - this is a sexy radio. In my opinion, it knocks Pure (with their increasingly dated core design) into a cocked hat. Second, the sound is very decent for a radio of this size, in this price bracket (will will only get better if and when the UK moves to DAB+, which this supports). It also feels solidly built and hasn't so far been prone to the unreliability I've recently found from Pure DAB radios.

BUT - There are a few things about it which let it down badly.

- It has no preset buttons. Changing between stations is either manual, or via a horribly unintuitive favourites menu.
- The 'enter' button is positioned well away from the jog knob, used for navigating menus, stations, etc. Why not make the jog knob clickable?
- The display is *terrible*. It's a dirt cheap LCD, which (despite being white on black) leaks light and has a very poor viewing angle. The text scrolling happens one character at a time, rather than smoothly, as it the case with most recent DAB radios. The OLED display in my Pure Tempus is infinitely better at around the same price point.

I'm happy with my radio, but disappointed because it could so easily have been much better.

I bought this radio to listen to mainly radio 4, so pretty much just speach. I found it very easy to use, setting stations etc was child's play, evn for a technophobe like me. I chose this model for its sleep feature which starts at 60 mins reducing by 15 min intervals to 0,so that I can fall asleep listening to the radio knowing that it will shut down after the time set. It looks good too, feeling substantial, not at all like the mini pure which I have for the kitchen; Ilbeit much cheaper. I thought the Sony excellent and great sound quality for the price.
If I had to find fault, it would be the control buttons. They are almost flush with the casing and for me, with not great eye sight, this makes finding them difficult. Other wise fabulous! Would recommend .

This radio is great for the price & is ideal for the kitchen or as we use it, for playing in the mornings while eating breakfast. Looks & feels quality & is crystal clear with a bright & clear to see digital display. Have been pleasantly surprised & the mains charger fits into the back at 90* so it can be pushed back to the wall fully.

As long as you have decent DAB reception the sound quality for the price is excellent. You can monitor the strength of the signal on the display panel to find the optimum position. As with all radios it receives the best signal upstairs or on a windowsill. I had to take it upstairs and use the 'all scan' feature, which will pick up everything it can and I was then able to receive a much better signal downstairs. You need to determine final position first then put it straight in place. If you move it again you will have to start the process all over! Even though the BBC stations are described as 'fair' for this area I have excellent reception, the FM signal is less impressive but the PURE radio I previously purchased was even worse. Neither compare with a decades old Roberts radio for FM reception. Overall, it sounds better than the PURE evoke one, which I returned due to poor performance.

It seems pretty solid and I like the retro look. It would have been nice to have real wood and chrome rather than laminate and silver plastic but I guess I'd rather have the lower price on balance. It's remarkably similar to my much loved 80's Robert's radio.

It was very easy to get started straight out of the box, I didn't need to refer to the instruction book. You can store 10 DAB and 10 FM stations and it has a timer for 60, 45, 30 and 15 minutes if you want to nod off with it. It automatically displayed the correct date and time as soon as it was plugged in. It doesn't have an external antennae port but does sport a standard headphone jack. It will only run off mains power, which is fine with me as I'd rather not pay for something I don't need.

All in all very pleased, it's a great little kitchen or bedroom radio with the added bonus of DAB+.

Got a great deal on this excellent DAB DAB+ radio which has the usual high Sony quality. I have several DAB radios eg pure, denon, yamaha and the Sony is currently one of the best.

Sound quality = good (but this can be improved by using the stereo 3.5mm jack out; tip: the Revo BLOk in brown is almost a perfect match and triples sound quality)
Tuning = excellent (auto scan is fast and accurate)
Reception = excellent (really long aerial)
Build quality = excellent
Looks = very good, could be a touch smaller perhaps
Features = Above average (DAB+ available but only has 10 presets)
Form factor = Average (buttons unlit are hard to see at night, and all look the same)
Price/Value = Excellent (assuming you get it under £70)

Overall 4/5 (and if you take sound out to hifi etc 5/5)