Good
• Nice looking item & solidly built.
• Does all the stuff advertised pretty well.
• Connected to my security enabled router easily with the instructions provided.
Bad
• Aerial. After the first two weeks so floppy that I have to lean it against a wall to get the right position. How hard to get this basic right? Tightening the screw has no effect.
• EcoPlus. “Reduced power consumption. At the heart of EcoPlus is the requirement to reduce the power consumption of our products while playing audio and also in standby.” Hmmmm. Sucks the (additionally purchased) battery’s power and I’m not sure keeping it on charge all the time against the time you need the 24 hour battery life quoted in one review is all that green. Has died on me several times so I now have to think a bit more about how long I’m listening to it unplugged so as not to get caught short. Not sure if it consumes power when it’s on standby but unplugged. Maybe that doesn’t help. When the battery has died it won’t even switch on for some time afterwards – you just have to leave it plugged in and let it wake up on its own.
• Volume. OK on DAB & Internet BUT my most regular chunk of listening is Radio 4 in the bathroom in the centre of our flat (no windows & stacks of reinforced concrete all around) in the morning. That means FM, and on maximum volume I can’t hear John Humphries & James Naughty when I’m in the shower or over the sound of my electric razor. Never a problem with the old Roberts. Our DAB reception doesn’t reach the bathroom and I don’t necessarily have my router on first thing. Not the end of the world but an irritation none the less.
• Podcasts. If the podcast/s that you want isn’t/aren’t listed on the Lounge web site you can ask for it/them to be added. I asked for Enterprise Nation’s, but it never happened and there was no explanation why.
• Cutting Out. On occasions the sound has died for no readily apparent reason. Nothing I can do (switch of, switch on) fixes the problem, but it fixes itself, again for no readily apparent reason, if left alone for a while. It first happened when I connected the stereo out into my hi-fi amplifier (after about three days of use in this way) but has happened a couple of times since without the amplifier.
Summary
A nice looking radio that does plenty but has a couple of minor irritations and doesn’t compete with a Roberts on its FM specialist subject. Have a duster handy to keep it looking shiny.
Once I had written this (Tue, 15th Sep 2009) I went to the Pure web site, had a surf around, and since the facility was there thought I would send them my thoughts so attached the review saying:
“Hi Help Team
Having had my Pure Evoke Flow for a while now I have written a review (since I read other people's reviews) to post online (Trusted Reviews & Amazon) to help other prospective purchasers, but I thought that you might want to have a look first. It's attached. Any comments welcome.”
After a little more surfing I then added:
“I should say that the help section on battery life offers an explanation but my observation still stands. 1 hour on maximum volume isn't much compared to my "old" Roberts.
The section on stereo out vs headphone socket throws some light on the muted problem but I have never muted the radio, in fact didn't know it was possible. Having tried this out it definitely wasn't muted as I checked the display and would have seen the mute symbol. I also see that if it is switched off and switched on again it is un-muted. When/if it happens again I will make a positive check.”
I sent this to Pure and had a reply from Jason Voice, their Technical Support Manager that day:
“Thanks for your feedback Simon.
Battery life is different on DAB radios compared to analogue radios as described in the support note. 1 hour may not seem much compared to an analogue radio - but the again it's not an analog radio. You would be closer comparing a laptop computer to the Flow rather than an "old" analogue radio as your Roberts and the Flow share no similarities behind the box. All demands are different (and incomparable) - especially power demands. My post on Electronics Weekly may go some way to explaining what we're trying to do with EcoPLus (http://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/engineering-design-problems/2009/07/digital-radio-working-hard-on.html#comment-1736182) and why it needs to be done.
The aerial issue you describe is certainly an odd one. We're the world's leading radio manufacturer and the aerial system used on Flow is no different to the millions of other PURE radios out there. Unlikely to be something we 'can't get right' - more likely to be a fault with that individual aerial. Forward your address and I'll put a replacement aerial in the post for you to try out.
If the cutting out is happening on web radio then you may be channel sharing with a nearby wireless network. Wireless crosstalk can cause this kind of random interruption in processing so it maybe be worth checking out (you have 13 channels to choose from). Use a tool like http://wifihopper.com/ and check to see if you are sharing the same channel as another network nearby. Armed with this info, does the problem persist if you move to a free channel?
Let me know how you get on with the drop out, and thanks again for your feedback.”
True to his word not one but two new aerials arrived within a couple of days. Thanks Jason – excellent support. I fitted one straight away.
Wednesday 6th January 2010 - Sitrep
"Hi Jason
Thanks for the two replacement aerials that you sent out and your feedback. Thought I'd send you this sitrep - obviously too much time on my hands.
Aerial The new aerial has been in place for about three months now and ... is as floppy as the first.
I’ve thought hard about whether I am subjecting it to undue strain. The set lives permanently in my home office plugged in to my desk plug block and most nights gets switched off (at the switch on the plug block so that all my office kit is completely off).
Most weekday mornings I switch it on, extend the aerial, take it in to the kitchen whilst I make breakfast and then to the bathroom for a shower – all Radio 4 FM stuff. It then goes back in the office – usually aerial still extended.
If I listen to it during the day (Radio 4 FM or Planet Rock online) the aerial probably stays where it is. If I have a shower after squash (twice a week maximum) I listen to Planet Rock so I’ll retract the aerial and take it take it into the bathroom and then the bedroom until it ends up back in the office.
At weekends it moves randomly around the flat listening to Planet Rock online with the aerial retracted.
On reflection, I wouldn’t say that this is excessive – and as I have said my old Roberts radio had the same life with no ill effects to the aerial.
Cutting Out This has never happened since I wrote about it. I have done nothing to influence it. There are no other wireless networks anywhere close by.
Further Niggles
FM to Online Switching to online from FM listening takes its time – sometimes it seems as long as I would be in the shower anyway.
Battery Drain Sometimes, if I’ve been away for a while – up to a long weekend, it won’t come on at all and I have to charge it for a while before it will stay on.
Summary
Great piece of kit if you leave it in one position (so as not to repeatedly extend or retract the aerial), keep it plugged in and are not in a hurry to get to an online station. Otherwise it has three minor irritations, one of which still seems to be an avoidable mechanical design issue to me.
I must be the only customer you have who moves my portable radio around! Hope this helps."
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