Pure is a well established name in the DAB radio market. This doesn’t stop them from constantly bringing new radios to the front, and the Pop Midi is part of their new Pop family. It brings both the power of radio (DAB and FM) as well as Bluetooth in a small (17cm x 9cm x 10cm) package, making this the ideal companion for you in the kitchen or the bedroom. Ability to play this via power in, or via AA batteries or a charge pack means this is extremely portable and versatile too.
Look and feel
This looks like a square jar, something that would actually fit in quite well in the kitchen. A wire mesh grill hides the speaker on three sides, with the screen on front.
The back features a headphone out socket, the ‘AutoScan’ button and a micro USB in which powers the device. You can also use the micro USB cable to push updates from a PC, though we didn’t explore that feature. It also features the antenna, which can be turned around and expanded to get your better reception.
The bottom features a flap that can be opened to show the charge pack / AA battery slot, so that you can play this without mains in too. It doesn’t come with either though, so you will have to either buy the Pure charge pack or supply your own 4 AA batteries.
The top is where all the action is. You get a big volume dial in the middle, which also acts as an on/off button.
The bottom features 5 preset buttons, with the ability to give you 10 preset channels. The top has the Source select button, the Menu button and the three buttons which allow you to go between channels, features, etc and select them.
Overall it is quite light, and feels a bit ceramic to touch. The interesting shape, as I have already mentioned, makes it a great fit in both your kitchen, your bedroom, or even the garage.
Setup
Like most DAB radios, you get an auto scan the moment you turn this on. Once auto scan is complete, you’re good to go.
Standby Mode
When the radio is off, you still get the clock as well as the date on the screen, which makes this an ideal bedside table/kitchen clock.
DAB/FM radio
The DAB radio works great, even with the antenna tucked back, though FM seems to struggle. I do live in Oxford, a few miles from a digital transmitter, so that may shift this in my favour. The FM needs to have the antenna out, and you can listen to your channels then.
With DAB, you get your usual mix of channels, and the screen gives you the channel number, as well as radio information as given by the channel. On DAB mode, you get DR on top of your screen.
You get similar results with FM. You get FM on top of your screen to show you modes.
You can press the Source button to choose between DAB and FM. The manual suggests that it should allow you to shift to Bluetooth too, but we found it doesn’t work like that.
Bluetooth Mode
An extra feature thrown in these days is the Bluetooth mode, allowing you to stream your own music, both stuff you have bought, or your Spotify playlist, for example.
As far as the instructions go, it should allow you to shift to Bluetooth mode using the Source button, but it didn’t work that way. We had to go to Bluetooth mode from Menu, and then pair our device. I thought this would be a one time thing, and once paired we should get Bluetooth next time we press Source, but found that this process had to be repeated every time we wanted to play Bluetooth music through the device. It isn’t as cumbersome as it sounds, as you have to press menu, scroll to Bluetooth, and you’re good, but it is slightly annoying nonetheless.
Once in Bluetooth mode, you can stream whatever is coming from your mobile, and you get good quality sound. It sounded a bit louder than regular radio, though that may be dependant on both your device and your radio reception.
Sound Quality
The radio is small, which means it is a straight forward result that it won’t blow you away. However, it offers a good decent sound. Compared to bigger speakers or sound systems, you can tell that it lacks something, but you can’t really point your finger at anything. There is no distortion, or tinniness to sound, it just works.
Volume goes up to 32, with regular listening volume between 20-25. As such, it may struggle a bit if you were in a noisy environment.
Extras
This packs in a few extras:
- Clock/date
- 2 Alarms
- Sleep Timer
- Adjust backlight and display options
- Adjust bass and treble
- Ability to update firmware – you can register your radio and Pure promise to send you details of software updates.
More information
More information can be found at Pure’s website, at the following link:
http://www.pure.com/product/pop-midi-with-bluetooth/
It retails from £79.99 and can be bought from John Lewis or Pure.com.
Verdict
A great device for the tasteful among us, who want a decent sound as well as a good looking DAB radio, including a space saving feature in its small package.