Perhaps shouting back is a bit extreme but the Sonus 1XT does talk back and in a surprisingly warm human like voice. No commodore 64 synth sound in fact this dab radio has a voice more like the higher end SatNav systems. First lets deal with the DAB radio features of the Sonus, this model really is the 1XT that pure brought to market in the run up to last Christmas, it features a 3" drive unit which delivers a full and rich sound. Sadly it's still a mono unit and you'll need the extra speaker option for the modern wonders of stereo.

You can store up to 10 stations on the preset keys with the 1XT and using the selector knob its easy to scroll through the 50+ DAB stations available today and just push the knob in to chose the one you want to listen to. This Sonus model retains the white on blue LCD for navigating the simple menu system and viewing the text data provided alongside the DAB radio signal, plus the alarm clock feature makes the unit an ideal bedside companion.

But you know most of this, so what makes the Sonus different? put simply its iVOX which is Pure's voice feedback technology developed with the RNIB with the visually impaired in mind, there are a number of key features which while essential for those less fortunate than ourselves are also useful to every gadget fan.

For example tap the snooze handle once and the time is spoken and press it twice to hear what times the alarm clock is set to, the time function is excellent on these winter mornings when you want to know just how many more minutes you can have in the warmth. The iVOX button controls how many features are voice enabled and almost anything can have voice prompts from set-up menus to the ability of the unit to spell out the scrolling DAB text.

The 210 x 175 x 110mm Sonus 1XT also has a USB connection for updating the radios firmware a first for Pure's devices this will allow new voices to be downloaded in the future and if you have a recording device with an optical input you can use sync record with the Sonus triggering capture of DAB signals.

Perhaps one of the features you may miss is the VET or volume equalising technology, this smoothes the change between different audio levels as you switch stations, it's a bit like a plumber if it does its job well (which it does) then you don't notice it, if it gets it wrong there's stuff all over the place!

We are consistently impressed with the quality of devices from Pure's range and the Sonus 1XT DAB radio is another fine product and the extra cost over the standard 1XT (£20) is value for money just for the voice feature alone.

Audio quality is first class and quite astounding for such a small enclosure our only negative comments have consistently applied to this range and they are the lack of stereo and the overly retro styling. But don't let this put you off it's just us being honest, at £119 the Sonus 1XT speaks volumes to us.

Published - 14/01/2007

More DAB Radio Reviews -

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