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Wave hello to a PURE future with the EVOKE-1S DAB Digital Radio
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by Posy Hammond
What lies between vintage radio and MP3s? PURE digital radio. A crystal clear sound, with radio stations working to bring you random music you love but haven't heard before. Oh, and it's enivronmentally friendly, and you can plug your MP3 player into it, too. Welcome to PURE radio.
PURE Digital Evoke-1S DAB Digital Radio
I have never been on the cutting edge of technology. My music was flung out on cassette tapes when everyone else was praising the crystal clear clarity of CDs or rediscovering the warmth of vinyl. Movies were seen through a fog of gently rolling video tape static long after the video tapes themselves had become difficult to find. I don’t have a Playstation 3. And my mornings have been starting with a battered FM radio alarm clock that seems to pick up transmissions from passing aliens and randomly overlay them onto whatever I am listening to. So when the high priestesses of Mooky Towers said it was time to enter the 21st century and go digital I said... OK, I guess.
STYLE
The design of the Evoke-1S is iconic; clean simple lines that remind me instantly of listening to pirate radio stations on my first ever radio. The casework is real maple veneer (it is also available in cherry) and feels robust. The buttons are easy to see and the metallised knobs smooth and sturdy. The display is clear and visible from any angle but remains subtle due to the way it adjusts automatically depending on the ambient light levels. It sits nicely in both kitchen and bedroom, an understated but stylish presence.
FEATURES
Firstly it is a DAB digital radio. This excites me for quite some time as I discover radio stations that play music I like. It also receives FM with RDS, giving even more stations, and it is a simple matter to run an iPod or MiniDisc player through it. Sound quality is good and doesn’t distort when the volume goes up. The display can be configured to show different information and I like the fact that I can pause and store text when I hear a tune I like. The optional ChargePAK provided a good four hours listening after just one hour of charging and on full power can give you portable sounds for about 24 hours. It has a tone or radio alarm and a kitchen timer and the software can be updated with a USB cable for future upgrades (although strangely not if you own a Mac).
SIMPLICITY
Key for a techno disaster like me I was delighted with how easy the Evoke-1s is to use and was swiftly flicking through channels. The 5 preset buttons take a quick twist of the tuning knob and then a press of a button and adding a station to the larger preset list doesn’t take much more effort. I programmed the alarm without any reference to the manual, thrilling myself as I realised I could set it for weekdays only and avoid that Saturday morning misery of waking up far earlier than planned. Other functions are no more complex and it scores highly this area.
GOODNESS
The Evoke-1S is a member of the EcoPlus range from PURE. This means it has been designed to minimise its environmental impact. When set to the default energy saving mode it has a standby power consumption of less than 1W. The packaging is compact and made from a minimum 70% recycled material finished with a water based varnish and all documentation is printed with Soya based ink on 100% recycled paper. Oh, and the Evoke-1S is recommended by the Energy Saving Trust. This means that a product is not only better for the environment but is also cheaper to run - and PURE radios get this endorsement every time, according to their press release - in fact, they were the first radio to do so. Environmental goodness is clearly on their minds.
OVERALL
This is a really nice piece of gear, its looks and simplicity very pleasing to a luddite like me. The range of stations available is impressive and I have been discovering loads of fantastic new music that I probably wouldn’t have found any other way. If you haven’t upgraded to digital radio yet then I would certainly suggest you take a look at this and support a product that makes an effort to minimise its environmental footprint.
PURE Digital Evoke-1S DAB Digital Radio
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