Roberts MP16 DAB Hi-Fi radio review

Can Roberts impress with its DAB offering?

Roberts MP16 DAB Hi-Fi radio. Audio, Radios, DAB Radios, Roberts, Hi-Fi 0

Reviewer: Stuart Miles
Review Date: 20 August 2007
Manufacturer: Robe
Price as reviewed: £325
Latest price: £229.99

Our score

9/10

Full Review

Roberts has been making radios since 1932 and its latest, the MP16, follows the company's heritage as well as adding some new tech into the mix, but has this offering got what it takes to match the new boys on the block? We get listening to find out.

At £325 this is no cheap kitchen radio and the DAB radio and accompanying CD player sits within a heavy duty aluminium casing.

The design although compact (it measures 250 (w) x 140 (h) x 300mm (d)), still comes across as big, and you'll need a decent shelf to perch its 10kg weight on.

Taking the lion's share of the front panel is the 16 x 2 character LCD display which displays DAB information like station name, song playing and the such like, and a CD tray with the rest of the buttons and controls fitting in around them.

Build quality is top notch, as you would expect for the price, and the dials and buttons have the feel that this is a company founded almost 80 years ago.

The look is completed with the two accompanying - again largish - 50W speakers that are connected by standard speaker cable meaning you can adjust the length accordingly rather than be limited to what comes in the back of the box. There is no subwoofer.

Get to the DAB radio itself and the MP16 is superb across a number of areas. Where other DAB radios have sometimes failed to pick up a decent digital signal in our office, the MP16 had no problems.

While there the Sound 16 doesn't feature the company's PausePlus feature that allows you to pause live radio as in the Gemini RD8 model, the radio does feature 30 station presets, FM and MW backup options and CD MP3 playback.

However where we were most impressed is the quality of the audio. Turned up loud enough so the house four doors down could hear there was no lost in quality, reverb or any other issues and if you are looking to fill a large room you will have no problems at all.

Verdict

The Roberts maybe a touch on the steep side for what is basically a CD player with built in radio, however the quality and the performance is top notch.