Final thoughts, awards, HEXUS.right2reply
At a glance
Pros
* Easy to use
* Sounds great
* It's DAB - and well implemented, too
* Good selection of versatile alarms - couples who needed to get up hours apart are well catered for and can go to sleep listening to one station and each wake to another quite different station
* Quite small and light - no trouble to move from room to room
* USB updating of firmware - all consumer electronics products should have this option
* Reasonably price, if not ultra-cheap (and you can save £10 by opting for the maple finish)
Cons
* No audio input (so no iPod playback, for instance)
* No battery options (so you miss out when moving it from room-to-room and can't take it out and about)
* Surprisingly large plug-mounted mains adaptor
* It's only DAB - with no FM - so might not receive your favourite minority stations
* Mono-only speaker
* Lacks grab-you-by-the-throat good looks (but would probably look at home in any room in the house)
If you're a radio person while at home and are in the market for something better than the table-top radio you've got already, then DAB is the obvious choice. But does that mean you should choose the PURE Tempus-1XT? Well, even though it's not ultra-good-looking, it is still a product you could fall in love with - there's so little to criticise and so much to praise.
Would we recommend it? Wholeheartedly. Assuming, that is, the Tempus-1XT doesn't lack any feature you need/want (battery capability, FM reception, or audio input, say) and is within your intended budget range. But if the Tempus doesn't meet your requirements, it's almost a certainty that PURE has within its DAB line up something that will hit your sweet spot.
And our very positive experiences with the Tempus-1XT leads us to suggest that you do check out PURE's offerings when compiling a shortlist - the company hasn't established itself as the top brand in DAB radios without good reason.
HEXUS Awards
The Tempus-1XT isn't ultra cheap but is good value and you can save a bit by opting for the version in maple veneer. It achieves exactly what we think its designer set out to do and can be thoroughly recommended.
Thoughts on this review? Share them with us over in the HEXUS.community.
HEXUS.links
HEXUS.community - discussion thread about this review
PURE Tempus-1XT - home page
PURE ST-1 speaker - home page
PURE - home page
BBC - DAB home page (includes reception checker - by postcode)
HEXUS.review - Dualit DAB/FM Kitchen Radio
HEXUS Where2Buy
When buying online, price is king, so most stockists of the Tempus-1XT seem to opt for the maple version, rather than cherry. Those that stock both seem to put a £10 premium on the cherry. The price to beat is RankHour's £ 87.98 - including VAT and next-day delivery (£6.99). Opting for three-to-five day delivery cuts the cost to £2.99. In either case, the charge would also cover delivery of an ST1 speaker (in maple) if that were purchased at the same time, at £29.99 inc VATJohn Lewis's £92.95 for the maple version includes VAT and five-day delivery (£3.95). Next-day or named-day delivery costs £6.95. The company also stocks the cherry version, and this costs £10 more.
