Roberts Rambler BT Stereo Bluetooth DAB/DAB+/FM Radio
Roberts Rambler BT Stereo Bluetooth DAB/DAB+/FM Radio
 |  |  | |
|---|---|---|---|
| DAB / DAB+ / FM Radio | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Bluetooth | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Stereo | ✓ | ||
| Aux Input for Legacy Devices | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Alarm Functions | 2 | 2 | |
| Battery | 4 x AA | 4 x C cell | Lithium |
| Mains Operated | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Headphone Socket | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Travel Lock | ✓ | ||
| Sleep Timers | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Dimensions: | 22.3 x 13.5 x 6.8 cm; 1.48 Kilograms |
| Model: | RAMBLERBTSDE |
| Manufacture: | Roberts |
| Dimensions: | 22.3 x 13.5 x 6.8 cm; 1.48 Kilograms |
Great little radio I bought for my wife’s use in the kitchen. Easy to use but a little fiddly with saving presets. However it does the job. On the subject of radio information such as record name and artist, all you have to do is tune in to a music station and then press the info button once and that’s it. Wasn’t in the instructions though. Hope that helps.
Nice radio with easy to use controls and classic looks. Only gripe is that the audio quality I lacks bottom end and so sounds very mid frequency focused to my ears: the sound cuts through fine but there’s something missing compared to the Pure DAB radio that I had before this one. That one went all tacky on the plastic and had to go. This radio is certainly better in terms of case finish and build. You win some and you lose some. I’ve grown used to the sound after a few months and hear it as the new normal despite the light bass. Overall a good DAB radio.
A neat and smart radio which has easy to use controls and good sound quality
Brought as a christmas present.easy to tune,looks good,good tone. Pleased with the purchase.
Just had a new kitchen fitted and this radio is just what I want and it sits nicely in the corner with perfect reception on both DAB and Bluetooth.
Bought for the wife, loves it, nice build quality, nice sound, the blue tooth is a really nice addition too 🙂
Love the look. Easy to save presets though sometimes have issues recalling them but overall nice radio.
This is nothing short of brilliant. The sound quality is excellent, and can fill a room if you turn up the volume.
Beautiful quality and although this is not inexpensive it’s worth every penny. A great buy
John
Gateshead
Just what we wanted dead easy to use plugged in it found all the channels our old one had. Put in our presets easy.
Nothing not to like absolutely love this radio, the best sound eve
Bought as a gift for my daughter to replace an old Roberts. She is thrilled and loves it. Sound quality excelle
Looks very good. Sound and volume all good. Controls easy to use. Mainly used with Bluetooth headphones and it would have been nice if it had a built in Bluetooth transmitter. However for about 12 I purchased one that plugs into the headphones socket. Very happy.
A top quality radio that not only looks great but works brilliantly with no issues at all.
The shade of blue is stunning and it looks so lovely in my kitchen.
Great quality and value for money.
Lovely sound quality.
comes nicely packaged.
Would make a nice christmas gift .
5 stars!
We usually use a wireless speaker for listening to music through our phones, but when I saw this radio available I thought it would be so handy to have something to play FM radio & bluetooth!
This radio has a really cool retro look (love that it also looks like a handbag!) – I love the duck egg colour and its a great size too.. not too bulky at all.
The retro look is modernised with the digital display on top which shows you your listening options (DAB/Bluetooth etc)
It’s really easy to use, just plug in (or there is an option for batteries too which is great if you’re out on a picnic or a beach day).
You can listen to Digital & FM radio & bluetooth. It also has two alarms and a sleep timer.
So far I’ve used it for FM radio while I work from home, but mainly for bluetooth so I can listen to spotify & podcasts. Connecting to the BT from my phone really couldn’t be easier, absolutely no problem adding the device and effortless connection.
The FX sound quality can be a little bit patchy at times but I am in a remote enough area so it’s to be expected.
The BT sound is good, I do think our wireless BT speaker gives better sound, but in saying that I still rate this radio. The main issue I’ve had with this is the range. I had the radio sitting outside (plugged in) with my phone a few metres away and it was very patchy at times. This really surprised me as I thought the range would have covered further than it did.
So this the only negative I have for this radio. I would recommend, its pricey but you’re branding for the brand and the quality shows
Not only does this Roberts radio look the part, with its retro look and duck egg finish, but it produces fine results. The audio is clear, crisp and on point. Listening to the radio was always good, but this elevates the experience to another level. The buttons respond to a simple touch and the scanning works great. The carry handle is sturdy so you can really carry it around and the unit is completed with a premium finish. It feels expensive and indeed it is. That price tag will cause some to baulk – I can understand that. However, it is a product that feels like it will last for many, many years. The radio is great company so why not make it as lovely an experience as possible. If you want that, then this is well worth the investment.
This has a very good retro aesthetic to it but also some modern features to boot. It provides DAB/DAB+/FM radio functionality and also Bluetooth. As a Bluetooth speaker it’s not the best – I find standalone Bluetooth speakers that I own to be more intuitive and better sounding (at a similar price range). As digital radio it is very good though. The sound is warm and rich whilst the reception is uniformly excellent and very stable. The build quality is excellent, which is reflected in its price. I do prefer the smaller Roberts Play 20 over this though, which I received at the same time. It is a smaller and considerably less expensive radio that I find more intuitive to use (for example, much quicker navigating stations) and the sound quality is not all that much compromised from its considerably smaller size and cheaper price tag. I do find the Rambler to be a very good radio but in terms of value I think the Play 20 is comparatively better, which is the only reason I’m not awarding full marks here.
This radio looks great, it has a real retro look of an old transistor radio. It is a great duck egg blue/grey and matches my kitchen units. So that is where it has pride of place. The reception is Crystal clear and doesn’t get distorted when you turn the volume up. It is a bit pricey but it’s a really lovely product.
This radio is really attractive. The colour duck egg is lovely and the vintage 50s look is really nice.
This radio is stereo and has bluetooth compatibility
It is a good quality DAB radio and the sound quality is crystal clear. The stereo placement is good, but it is a Radio not a HI-FI !
I found it easy to tune in the stations and easy to set the presets. I also connected my phone to the Radio via Bluetooth very easily and managed to play music from my phone through the Radio, the RDS displays the artist and title. The volume does go pretty high and I did not have any distortion issues.
It can be used on the mains or with 4 AA batteries, the battery compartment is easy to open and located on the bottom of the Radio so it is hidden from view.
This Radio is well made and very good quality, the only thing I would say is that maybe the carrying strap could have been thicker but it is well attached and I don’t anticipate having any issues with it.
This Radio is a little bit pricey but I think you are paying for the quality and design.
I love it.
I received this item free of charge and this is my honest review.
This radio is a different level absolutely love it .
Works perfectly and very easy to use also sonde quite is so clear and has a high volume too,but personally would use it just for decoration as very old school radio nowadays.
A bit expensive it was ,150 when I reviewed it.
My first impressions were that this looked like a quality item, with a classic, retro design.
Build quality on my one is pretty good and it feels quite sturdy. Front and back as well as the handle are trimmed with a duck egg, PU leather, the grille on the front is metal and the ends are solid wood with brass-coloured piping. The top and the base are plastic and seem fine, rather than high end.
The design harks back to a mid-twentieth century aesthetic, aping old transistor radios. The main anachronism being the control panel on top, which could have come from any recent DAB radio, though it does give off a 1990s car radio vibe.
If you are used to a DAB radio then you’ll be familiar with the controls and how to select a DAB station. The rest of the controls (setting an alarm, for instance) are easy to pick up and didn’t provide any obstacles to use.
In terms of features, the radio is able to accept FM broadcasts as well as DAB, can be used with wired headphones and is able to accept audio from other devices, either through an auxiliary jack or via Bluetooth. In the case of the former, it is really easy to set up, allowing you to enjoy media from your phone or other device.
The audio is fine and for most people, in most situations where you are going to use this it will suffice. However it is not the best. It does lose something at both the high and low ends, but it is quite clear otherwise. For listening to speech radio, an audiobook or having a bit of music on while you do something it’s fine; it’s probably not one for the audiophiles though.
Overall, I really like this radio despite its few flaws. I have an old DAB radio this will be replacing as it has better sound and connectivity, but it is not quite perfect, particularly at 150.
General: This is an FM and DAB digital radio, with an auxiliary input and which can work as an amplified Bluetooth speaker. It has an alarm function so will also work as a clock-radio. The radio is capable of receiving compressed DAB+ when available.
Power: The radio is powered by a mains power unit (supplied) or 4 AA batteries.
Controls: The controls are well laid out, labelled and straightforward to use, with the display providing feedback.
Ease of use: The radio could not be easier to use with tuning either being manual or automatic. Features such as setting up alarms, pairing Bluetooth devices and storing stations in pre-sets are all very straightforward.
Reception: I live in a poor DAB reception area. The Roberts radio sensitivity matches other DAB radios that I have, it is not better but it is also not worse than others.
Sound: I am very happy with the sound quality and volume of this radio but my comments require qualification. If music quality from this radio is compared with sound played through a modern speaker such as an Alexa Echo speaker then the Echo sounds better. The Echo has both more low and more high accentuation. The disadvantage of accentuated sound like this is that it is not the ideal way to listen to speech, especially at volume. This means that a radio designed for both speech and music either has to have sophisticated tone controls or must attempt to strike a happy medium. In my view the Rambler achieves a happy medium with nice sound across the range of uses – for the size of its speakers. I am happy using it to listen to speech or music.
Appearance: Often items purchased on-line are a disappointment when they arrive as they do not look as good as their photos. The Roberts Rambler Radio is an exception. The styling is distinctly retro but the radio is smaller than older Roberts radios were. The mix of a modern take on a traditional design, compact size, wood and ‘leather’ finish in Duck Blue works really well. The radio is complemented by the digital display on the top which displays information in large lettering. The display is limited by only being visible when looking down on the radio and using quite large text so having to scroll all but very short messages.
Cost: DAB radios tend to be relatively expensive although it is possible to get them cheaper than the approximately 150 this currently sells for. I think at this price point the Rambler is expensive but it will be a good purchase if it has the features you are looking for and if it lasts as long as my Grandmother’s Roberts did !
This radio looks a little vintage but had modern features. Nice leather strap and the sound quality is great. The only thing I regret is that the radio is not wireless – that would justify the high price better. A little expensive I would say.
I really love this radio, it us extremely well made and high quality both in build quality and sound quality. The workmanship is fantastic.
It looks very retro and stylish. My Teenager is not used to more old-fashioned radios like this. They normally use their phone or Alexa to listen to music. They were very impressed with this radio and thought that it looks great. It wasn’t long before they were streaming their music through this.
I am not always great at using technology but this was very easy to use. Within minutes I had used my bluetooth on my phone to connect to this radio to play my music.
The DAB radio is easy to set and there are a lot of different stations to find. It is good to have such a great choice. The sound quality is clear and hasn’t broken up or lost its signal.
I am very pleased with this radio. I haven’t used anything like this for ages, streaming through my phone instead. This has far better sound quality though. I can control the radio with my phone or on the unit itself. It is easy to use, sounds great and looks great.
This arrived in perfect condition in its own branded box.
Firstly I must admit that I’m not well up on all the correct terms to describe what kind of sound this produces. I can hear the difference in qualities but I don’t know the jargon to describe it accurately and for this I apologise for using the very unimaginative description of the sound being good
This is a modern radio with a retro look.
This has the look of the radios we used to have in the 70’s right down to the aerial that clips into the back.
The instruction leaflet is pretty simple to follow. Some of the radios functions are a follow, DAB radio, FM radio Bluetooth or AUX so you can play your own music , alarms, powered either by batteries or mains, headphones socket, and you can also store up 10 different channels.
It’s got everything that you could need from a radio and sounds good as well.
Only time will tell if its been made to last so should any issues arise in the future I will return and amend this review accordingly but my 1st impressions of this are very high.
DAB radio performance is outstanding – reception is clear and reliable at all times. FM is slightly less impressive with occasional trips and gaps if you’re in a weak signal area like me. Bluetooth compatibility is excellent and consistent, and is a breeze to connect your device to.
It is pleasingly compact for a two-speaker radio and therefore handily portable. The case itself lacks the finesse and high build standard that you would want to see from a Roberts radio, which is a shame. The retro styling is bright, cool and trendy, but slightly inauthentic as a result of the plastic-y surround and faux-wood edging that’s not as slick as it should be for the price-point.
The meaty bass and solid mid-range frequencies come over really well and on first listen it sounds great. However, the very top-end frequencies are under-supported, and this does detract from the listening experience as it lacks precision and clarity. And that’s my main gripe with the Roberts Rambler: at this price I really would expect top-notch sound quality, precision and balance, and it’s not quite there.
Its controls are simple and pretty intuitive, offering all the options one would expect without going overboard. The buttons have exactly the right look and feel for the design. Track names and station information are always nicely displayed.
With cool lines, cool colours and cool sound, this is a really good DAB radio. Were it not for the average standard of finish and the less-than-perfect audio, I would happily have given it 5 stars.
My kitchen was already beautiful because it was organized according to my tastes.
Adding this radio to my kitchen was like putting the last piece of the puzzle together.
Now, whenever I’m in the kitchen, I simply click on the power button, that the radio turns on in the last programmed station, with the previous volume, in my case it’s on my favorite FM radio station with crystal clear quality.
When the rdio is turned off it continues to display the time, we all know how useful that is.
And when I don’t want to listen to the radio, I just turn on Bluetooth and connect to my cell phone and enjoy myself.
I am delighted with this Roberts Rambler Bluetooth Radio in particular with its old style look.
I had my first career in the Hifi industry and developed an ear for good products and during that time sold a little Roberts but then it was “old fashioned” and expensive – this is quite different! This isn’t cheap, but it gives a lot for the money and it isn’t old fashioned but it is vintage in style, yet offers ultra modern technology – there is a great difference today between old fashioned and vintage! The design blends wooden sides with leather coated exterior ( I chose the splendid “duck egg” finish) but the top control area has a digital LED display and touch controls. There is a headphone socket on the top panel (3.5mm stereo) and an auxiliary input socket recessed into the underside of the unit (also 3.5mm).
Because this is a DAB radio, it displays an accurate time on the control panel, and whereas you can also access FM radio this is a unit for the 21st century! It also will connect by Bluetooth to your phone so that you can play your music collection and your Spotify account through its handsome speaker system.
Sound quality is always the main issue and this is delightful, yes, you could get something better for double the cost, but this achieves a really brilliant performance that will satisfy most people.
Negatives? Well it isn’t really a negative, but 4 AA batteries will only give you a day’s use, and frankly, I don’t expect to be able to use any product of this quality on battery anymore – it is just good to know that if you are going out for a picnic you can put a pack of Duracell in and carry it with you.
THis is a delightful product and one which I expect to be listening too for years to come – how wonderful!
First impressions, yes, this is definitely a Roberts radio that follows the traditional retro styling of the original radios that have gained a massive reputation over the years. From the classic duck egg blue leatherette skin to the simple well laid out controls on top, it looks and feels like a modern incarnation of the old vintage quality. In some ways, this remains true, but underneath that glossy surface, there lies some deep defects both in design and performance that reveal a lack of engineering progress where other brands have powered ahead.
The radio comes in pleasant eco-packaging using mainly cardboard and a material bag that can all be recycled. The kit also comes with a mains adaptor and a collection of instructions, in different languages. The English text is clear, concise and easy to read, making setting the radio up a breeze and you’ll be listening to stations within a few moments of opening the box.
Provision is made for battery power as well, by accessing a compartment under the set that needs 4 x AA batteries (not supplied.) In this compartment, you will also find the DC socket for the power adaptor lead and an AUX input socket for external devices to be played through the set’s amplifier.
Although this radio emulates the original retro styling with solid oak wooden side panels, two control knobs and centre push buttons, inside the radio holds modern circuitry to include the well established DAB (digital-analog broadcast) decoder to provide multiple choices of stations, including genres of fringe, pop, news, current affairs and of course the traditional BBC radio stations. The radio also gives FM stations between 87.5 to 108MHZ.
The other main difference is the inclusion of a BT mode (BlueTooth) this is selectable from the ‘Mode’ pushbutton and switches on the pairing facility that allows another BT transmission device to be connected wirelessly to the radio’s amplifier. You can now stream sound from your cell phone, tablet or computer to the radio, using the volume knob to control the sound.
Other features, such as an alarm setting that turns the radio on at set times, a turn off after so many minutes timer and 20 station memory presets have all been included in the lineup taking the Roberts radio vintage into the modern era.
All that glitters is not gold … there are some problems, both in design and workmanship that should not be evident in well established make with a price tag of nearly 150. I’ll detail these issues below:
Build quality.
Looking more carefully at the casing, I can see a loose trim between the top right-hand side wooden panel and the leatherette casing. A kind of floating gold strip that bobs up and down with a press of the fingernail. Serious? no, but it’s a small area that will eventually collect dust and dirt and looks unfinished.
Battery power.
A feature that I miss is the option of fitting rechargeable AA batteries or alkaline. A simple changeover switch would have enabled the fitting of rechargeables that are charged while on mains power but take over when unplugged from the charger. It’s a small ask, but c’mon, other big brands do this, because it’s such a great feature.
Sound quality.
The amplifier output is not stated in the user manual but feels like about 3-5 W. The main gripe I have is with the twin speaker design. The radio will pick up and automatically produce a stereo sound signal where the reception is strong enough. This gets channeled to 2 front-facing speakers separated by about 2 inches f space. If you are an audiophile, you’ll know that stereo sound needs separation to create a depth, ambiance and spatial soundstage. That 2-inch difference between the left and right speaker will not in any way give a sense of a stereo. Am I splitting hairs? no, because these two speakers are of pretty poor quality, providing only basic speech frequencies. There is no high-end presence and it lacks any bass depth and richness for the lows. Listening to speech is disappointing in that it loses the sibilance from consonants and the crispness in diction. The music is pretty flat and underwhelming. On a frequency graph, it would probably show a hump in the middle 500-1200Hz range with a slope off to upper and lower frequencies, indicating limited frequency response.
My old Roberts radio has a larger oval speaker that sounds much richer in the mid and lower frequencies, albeit lacking in treble response. I’m saying all this because modern speaker design and circuitry like DSL (Dynamic sound loudness control) is used successfully in many smaller devices to give a superior sound experience than this Roberts radio. The 2 stereo speakers are a waste of space as the sound is effectively mono anyway and instead, it should have been designed with one single high-quality, full range speaker. At the cost of losing the non-existent stereo feature, it would have gained a better more satisfying sound for speech and music
Display fault.
I’m assuming there is a display fault on the FM setting. When you select a station with the right-hand side knob, it should display the station name for a few seconds, then switches to the current time. On my set, the display flickers fast and randomly between station name and time setting giving a confusing erratic display. This only happens on the FM band. On the DAB band it works correctly. Is this a quality control issue? I don’t know, but it’s irritating and again not befitting an expensive radio.
If I had bought this radio new, I would send it back as faulty. I would think hard about buying another given the inferior sound quality. It feels like we are expected to put up with a poor sound design and niggly faults and build quality at the cost of being loyal to a tradition. Coming from a well established brand like Roberts Radio, I think this is a step backward that will ultimately tarnish their reputation.
Summary
If you value the retro design and that is your criteria, this will be a nice radio that will remind you of yesteryear and feels at home in any setting. The visual design is very pleasing with the leather look, oblong case, clean lines and uncluttered controls. This is the quintessential traditional radio look and Roberts radio have it encapsulated in the Ramber.
If sound quality is a premium feature you need, this may not float your boat. It leaves you feeling underwhelmed compared to so many other Bluetooth speakers, and DAB radios. You might just put up with the compromise if the price was cheaper, but at nearly 150, I personally expect something better.
A critical review? Yes, because Roberts Radio has set a well established benchmark for great design, usability and sound quality. This one, despite its modern features and classic design, has lost some sparkle and finesse along the way.