Intempo PG-01 - TechRadar UK

With digital radios now selling for under £50 you might wonder why anyone would sell one without any discernable extra features for a good deal more.

But Intempo's PG01 is all about 'the look'. It has an aluminium carry handle and a polished wood veneer that appears solid and well built. But, under the veneer lies a fairly basic unit without any of the advanced features you're likely to find on Pure's line-up of DABs.

Panel of experts

Above simple aluminium speaker grilles, complete with volume knob in between, is a panel that holds all the basic controls. At its centre is a simple, two-line blue LCD screen that shows station name and scrolling text in white lettering.

Although the auto scan works well and tunes in stations quickly, there is a problem with ease of use. Instead of a dial for skipping between stations, the PG01 only has scanning buttons for jumping to the previous, or next, station.

It's a slow and clumsy way to find your desired frequency, but at least there's four preset buttons for DAB stations, which seems a sparse return. Luckily, its FM tuner, which automatically searches for the next station when activated, uses those same preset buttons for storing four presets of its own.

But that aside, a lack of versatility is the PG01's main problem, because there's not an option to use batteries, and only a headphone jack exists in the way of ins and outs.

That's a shame, as sound quality from the 5W stereo speakers is excellent, although it never approaches hi-fi quality. Used in a kitchen or a bedroom, the PG01 does just fine, but high volumes and bass-heavy sound are not its forte. On a positive note, it lends just about enough gravitas to music and certainly more than a lot of DAB radios half its price.

Reasonable value in terms of build quality and sound, the PG01 will suit those looking for a better-than-average entry into the world of DAB radio.