Home » Pure Highway 600 – Your one stop solution for all your car entertainment needs

Pure Highway 600 – Your one stop solution for all your car entertainment needs

Pure is an authority when it comes to DAB Radios. However, their product range doesn’t end there. Pure also make car audio products. Their range, compared to the competition, offers easy installation. Something pretty much anybody can do. The product range is called the Pure Highway series, and we tested out the Pure Highway 600.

Pure Highway 600 – Features

  • DAB Radio, with 20 station presets
  • Bluetooth connection with your phone – allows you to play any music from your phone
  • Connects to your car via AUX connection or FM Radio
  • Easy to install – no tools or expertise required
  • Go button to identify what song is playing on the radio and add it to playlists via Spotify
  • Access your smartphone’s features via Siri or OK Google
  • Spotify control – choose playlists, artists, songs, etc
  • Antenna attaches to the body of your car to give you seamless reception, no matter where you are
  • Handsfree calling through your phone
  • Wireless controller attaches anywhere to your dashboard
  • Unlock smart features via the Pure Go app

In the box

  • Antenna
  • Wireless controller
  • Magnetic grounding tail
  • DAB film aerial
  • Microphone module
  • Batteries (2 x AAA)
  • Wireless controller bracket
  • 12v Power adapter
  • Self-adhesive cable clips
  • Cleaning wipe
  • Documentation

Look and feel

The Pure Highway 600 consists of two main parts. A wireless controller, shown in the picture above. It runs off 2 x AAA batteries, and can be attached anywhere on your dock. It is reasonably small, and comes with a bracket and an adhesive to fit anywhere you like. Since this is wireless and runs off its own batteries, you don’t need to worry about installing it.

The second part is the ‘antenna’. This attaches to your windscreen plus on to the roof of your car. A wire comes down that then splits into two and attaches to your power port and AUX in. A microphone port also exists, which allows you to plug the microphone in. While there may be a long wire with the system, you can tuck it away with cable tidy accessories that come with the device.

It may look noticeable in the picture, but it generally hides behind the sun visor so you wouldn’t normally notice it.

Installation

Like I already mentioned in the section above, this comes in two parts, the wireless controller and the antenna. As far as the wireless controller goes, all you need to do is to attach it at a suitable location on your dashboard, and pop the batteries in.

On the other hand, the antenna takes a bit more effort. There are videos on their website, but the process was remarkably simple compared to any other car audio product I have used.

The process is as follows:

  • Identify the corner you want to attach this in. Ideally this would be the top corner of the windscreen on the passenger side.
  • Pull down the roof lining, and slide the magnetic antenna in. This may sound risky and weird, but it was almost designed to be pulled down, and went back up again as soon as I had attached the magnetic antenna on to the roof.
  • Attach this to the antenna dock.
  • Pop the microphone in.
  • Remember to make sure that the microphone connector is flush with the antenna. It tends to get stuck a few millimeters above. If you leave it so, the microphone won’t work. Push hard!
  • Once the items are connected, clean the bit on the windscreen and take off the sticky pad from the antenna and stick it to the top corner.
  • Do the same with the antenna bit, and stick it on.
  • Run the power/audio cable down and connect it to your USB port or car lighter port through the accessories.
  • If you have an AUX IN, connect the 3.5mm connector into it. If not, ignore that one.
  • Use the adhesive pads to keep the cabling tidy.
  • Do the same with microphone, but run it along the top of your windscreen, and attach it to the sun visor.
  • Turn the thing on, play with it, and enjoy the music.

Setup

Once you have installed everything, the setup is really simple. The radio should turn on as soon as your car turns on. If you connected it via AUX IN, simply move to that, and let it play what was already set up. If not, Press the HOME button and change the audio mode to FM, select an FM Frequency and tune to that.

Also through settings, you can pair it to your phone via Bluetooth.

The Wireless Controller has a handy screen which is really intuitive to use.

Once paired, it is advisable to download the Pure GO app. This allows you to set up the Spotify app as well as the track identification feature. Both those features require an active internet connection, plus access to your Spotify credentials.

Once you have set up in the app, you don’t need to do much more. The phone and the Pure Highway 600 take care of everything else.

Ease of use

Wireless Controller

The Wireless Controller comes with a very handy screen and intuitive controls. You may want to read the manual, but even if you throw it out of the box, you will find that you can navigate through the various menus and features quite easily.

DAB

When it comes to listening via DAB, this comes pre-configured. By rotating the dial, you can select a channel. Push the dial in and it selects it. Off you go.

As far as reception is concerned, it was absolutely flawless.

Spotify

Once you have set up the app, you can also listen to Spotify through this device. This makes it great as you don’t need to faff with the Spotify app on your phone. As soon as you have paired this, you can simply go to Spotify, select a playlist of choice, and you’re good to go.

It has to be remembered that when you use this feature, it relies purely on your phone data. Even in the case of downloaded albums.

Handsfree calling

This can easily be used to make and receive phone calls. It pairs with your phone and gives you access to your phone book, allowing you to ring anybody from there. You can also make calls by asking Siri or Google Assistant.

Just remember to plug the microphone in properly, otherwise you may end up shouting a lot with no results!

The ‘GO’ button

The Go button offers a Shazam like feature. If you like a song that is playing on the radio, just hold the GO button and it will ‘Shazam’ it, i.e. identify it, and then give you the option to add it to your Spotify playlist. A few times, we found that the song was identified but not available in Spotify.

Sound quality

I have to mention that while this is an audio device, the sound quality relies purely on your car’s audio system. I can report that it was as good as it gets in my car, with no added hissing or noise.

[UPDATE] Battery Life for the Wireless Controller

I write this in September 2019, and the batteries on the wireless controller have finally run out. While this will be different for everyone, they lasted around 18 months for me.

More information

More information on the Pure Highway 600 can be found on their website. If you don’t need phone calls, you can get the Pure Highway 400, and if you don’t want Bluetooth/Spotify, and only want a great DAB radio for your car, you can get the Pure Highway 200.

They are all available on Amazon. The Pure Highway 200 starts at £80 (on offer currently), and the Pure Highway 600 costs £160.

Verdict

This one is a keeper. Ever since I have installed it in my car, I haven’t stopped using it. Be it to make phone calls, listen to podcasts, or simply let the sat nav guide me! Definitely recommended.

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