Sound quality, thoughts, rating
Sound quality
Based around a single speaker the sound quality is surprisingly good. Speech is clear and crisp and the gravity of song vocals belies the speaker size inside the Classic, especially when turned up to high volume. We suppose that a number of DAB stations are broadcast in mono and, as such, the PURE ONE Classic doesn't lose out much.
Whilst good, we're concerned that competitors are able to offer two speakers (stereo) in units costing less than the £50 asking price here, and listening to the aforementioned Wharfedale DAB is a more room-filling experience when broadcast quality is good. PURE has the Elite, sure, but at £70 it's out of most people's budgets as a basic DAB device.
What we think
PURE's ONE Classic is a natural evolution on the original model that was synonymous with DAB. It improves upon its predecessor in a number of ways, including ReVu support and future upgradeability to DAB+, but we're left feeling just a little short-changed when spending £50.
The problem is that whilst the ONE Classic practically ticks all the right boxes, stereo support should be a given at £50, and the lack of it detracts from what otherwise is an very good package.
Excellent build quality, above-average sound (albeit mono), easy-to-use interface, and hassle-free tuning and playback means that the PURE ONE Classic is a safe buy: we just wish it was around £10-£15 cheaper.
The good
Great build quality
Above-average sound
Easy-to-use interface
The not so good
Mono speaker
Expensive for what it is, retailing for around £50
HEXUS Rating
HEXUS scores products out of a possible 10. A score for an average-rated product, therefore, is a meaningful ‘5’, and not ‘9/10’, which is common practice for a great many other publications.
We consider any product score above '5' as a safe buy. The higher the score, the higher the recommendation from HEXUS to buy. Simple, straightforward buying advice.
PURE ONE Classic DAB/FM radio
HEXUS Where2Buy
The PURE ONE Classic DAB/FM radio can be purchased from Tesco Direct for £49.97, including VAT
HEXUS Right2Reply
At HEXUS.net, we invite the companies whose products we test to comment on our articles. If any PURE representatives choose to respond, we'll publish their commentary here verbatim.
