Roberts Splash DAB/FM RDS Digital All Weather Radio

only had this a few days but very pleased with it. it is nice & heavy & well built was going to get just the FM version but decided to pay a bit more & try my 1st DAB/FM & initial impressions appear to be promising. this radio gets a good signal & not bad sound throu the single speaker. it does seem to be splashproof & all controls appeared to have sealing it is a wee bit on the large side but i dont think this is an issue unless you have limited space available. the only minus in my own opinion is the aerial lead which needs to be extended for good signal it is just of the loose wire type & can be laid going up or down from the back of the radio but i think this would have been better if it were of the solid extendable type but this i think is only a minor quibble its just that it dangles about. I would highly recommend this radio & it also can be used outdoors so would be ok in the garden as its portable with D batteries (not included with product) nor is the external power adaptor so you need to factor this in as you will need to haveone or both available to power it but ofcourse dont use the extranal power source in the bathroom/shower for obvious reasons!

I had a Pure Digital Bathroom Radio for some years and although it gave good sound quality, I was unable to pick up many digital channels and recharging the battery became more and more necessary (and annoying as the radio just cut dead without warning) as it aged. There is little choice in the 'bathroom' range however Roberts have a good name and I plumped for this one as a replacement. It is very stylish and compact and very easy to use and set channels. It picks up loads of digital channels and gives the same quality reception regardless of channel set and the fact that it is in an internal bathroom, without windows or outside walls. I was very pleased to also get a radio that takes batteries, rather than a rechargable battery unit that can be very expensive to replace, and the running time on one battery set was marketed as very high. I put in top quality batteries, however after only 30 hours, I am getting a 'battery low' message, which is disappointing, hence only 4 stars.

When it works, it's a lovely radio - good reception, easy to use, fairly easy to set up, loud enough to hear over the shower. Eats batteries, but that's true of all DAB radios. However, the first one I bought lasted about 5 months before packing in. The display still worked, the torch still worked, but the radio would no longer switch on. Changing the batteries didn't solve it. Spoke to Roberts, who diagnosed a "software fault", and returned it for a refund. Bought a new one to replace it, and this lasted only a month before giving up the ghost in the exact same way. I'm giving up now and looking for something different.

Why only three stars for what should be a five star product? Purely on its power consumption and lack of truly compatible AC adapters. Running on batteries it is very hungry, giving about half the comparative life of batteries to any other battery operated radio we have, including a very old Roberts R983 which has a louder volume (I would guess higher wattage output but I don't have the figures) and is usually on loud in the bathroom. When it comes to AC power adapters (DC Input) a number of things come to light. First the socket fits the larger dc plug, but the pin is the size of the smaller dc plug. Consequently using the larger plug it keeps loosing contact, and using the smaller plug it wobbles in the socket which is not good for long term as it puts a strain on the pin. Second, Roberts do not produce an AC adapter for this radio themselves, and most of the adapters available on the market have trouble with providing enough power resulting in the radio constantly loosing its DAB tuning, even where the adapter is rated at over double the specified current rating for the radio. I am expecting my third adapter shortly, this time one with a variable voltage so I should be able to adjust it to compensate (I hope!). This could all be averted if Roberts were to produce an adapter themselves suitable to power the radio under all conditions. Otherwise it is a great little radio with a very useful wall bracket. It would be even more useful if additional wall brackets were easily available so that it could be moved from bathroom to kitchen etc. The only other point is that there is no leeway on maximum volume meaning that it has to be flat out to hear it above the noise of cooking etc. Whether or not it is value for money at £100 - only if you desperately need a radio that can be wall mounted or is water/splash proof.

Didn't get as far as actually using the radio. The aerial is some plastic-coated wire which needs to be physically stretched and held 6" above or below the radio to secure a good signal reception. Way too much aggravation when all you want to do is switch on the radio and listen in. So returned it and replaced with a radio with metal antenna.

Roberts Radio I have a Roberts CD/radio/Bluetooth player and the sound is superb. I wanted a smaller waterproof radio to use mainly the bathroom or to take outside. Radio reception where I live is poor; I've tried a few cheaper radios but they all have bad background hiss or wander off station. I know the radio reception (both DAB and FM) on the audio system is excellent, so I went for their 'waterproof' radio. I like the simple design; it's got clean straight lines, with softly curved rounded edges and when the retractable handle is pulled out from the back, it has a bit of an Art Deco look. The build quality is superb. Strong plastic but it's weighty and substantial, well balanced with rubber feet to stop it slipping. It's supplied with a wall bracket too if you wish to fix it permanently. If you do that, bear in mind it comes with a wire aerial which needs to be straight up ( or down) and may look unsightly. I've put the radio on the ledge at the end of the bath and the cord hangs down the corner, out of sight. It has DAB and FM with 4 presets available for each channel. The volume, search, menu and select buttons on the front are well laid out, rubberised and robust. It needs 2 size D batteries ( not supplied) and can be powered from the mains with a suitable adapter (also not supplied). Batteries should last for weeks at least and probably months, even with regular use. One thing I like about Roberts is the instruction book. It's very well written, clearly set out and makes set up a doddle. All the functions are explained with supporting line diagrams and there's excellent customer support if help is needed. I had it up and running with my chosen stations stored within minutes. The display ( which also has time) is large, clear and easy to read. Manual or auto tuning is available and there's a timer alarm. It also has a large bright LED torch built into one end and an emergency siren alarm button which could be a useful alert. As for sound, as I expected, it's outstanding. Too loud to play at full volume in the bathroom, but that level of sound may be good when it's used outside. There's absolutely no hiss and once found, the station remains on band. There's no drift or variation in volume. It found numerous DAB stations in an area where DAB reception is dreadful, so I'm really pleased. Sound quality is clear with good voice tone for listening to plays etc and rich bass, clear mid and treble for music stations. An all round great buy; good looks and fabulous sound.

Been suffering with patchy and unclear signals from a variety of analog shower radios over the years, so when the last one died I thought I'd try for a DAB Digital water resistant radio. Surprisingly there were very few water resistant models available - maybe DAB is a technology that's already been rendered obsolete by internet radio. Bought the Roberts Splash model since it met my two criteria - DAB and water resistant to a decent quality. When it arrived I was a bit surprised by the size - it's nearly a foot wide, 6 inches high. I was expecting something handheld. Managed to position it in the shower using the strap provided with the radio. Tried it for signal without the arial unfurled, but if didn't pick much up, so repeated it with the arial hanging below the radio. This time the auto setup picked up all the stations I expected. In use the radio is out of the direct line of spray from the shower, but if does get splashed and a bit wet each time. It appears well protected from water and so far has taken being in the shower in its stride. The ability to just hit a button to select from a range of preset channels and receive a crystal clear signal at a loud enough volume to be heard over the shower spray makes this radio a joy to use. This is the shower radio I've always wanted.

A great radio. Excellent sound quality. A bit on the large size for a bathroom, unless you have acres of counter space.