Roberts Rambler Mini DAB/FM BLUETOOTH RADIO MINI GREEN
Roberts Rambler Mini DAB/FM BLUETOOTH RADIO MINI GREEN
 |  |  | |
|---|---|---|---|
| DAB / DAB+ / FM Radio | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Bluetooth | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Stereo | ✓ | ||
| Aux Input for Legacy Devices | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Alarm Functions | 2 | 2 | |
| Battery | Lithium | 4 x C cell | 4 x AA |
| Power Source | USB-C (cable included) | Mains adapter (included) | Mains adapter (included) |
| Headphone Socket | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Travel Lock | ✓ | ||
| Sleep Timers | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Dimensions: | 18 x 5.8 x 11 cm; 460 Grams |
| Model: | RAMBLERBTMLG |
| Batteries Included: | 1 Lithium Ion batteries required. (included) |
| Manufacture: | Roberts |
| Dimensions: | 18 x 5.8 x 11 cm; 460 Grams |
I’ve always loved radio, and Roberts in particular. This Rambler mini looks very nice – it’s 100% plastic but feels well made and looks nicer in the flesh than on photos imho. Has a good user interface and the nice clicky on/off switch and rotating knob for volume is great (lots of radios have up and down buttons for vol – having the knob is much better). Wish it had some dedicated presets buttons, but oh well
Sound quality is the most important consideration, right? This captures that warm, slightly soft Roberts vintage tone really well: it’s really great for speech radio. It struggles a little with music but it’s not bad and sounds better than many other similarly sized radios (see my photo: the Rambler Mini is the second best sounding of all those radios apart from the Roberts Petite). It somewhat lacks bottom end (and the treble is a little ‘soft’) but it’s fine if you bung it in a corner as a kitchen or bathroom radio. I did have the Roberts Rambler BT (slightly bigger than the mini, with the real wood end panels) and the mini absolutely sounds better than it’s bigger brother (I returned the Rambler BT as it just sounded awful for its 100 price tag, despite looking gorgeous): my advice 100% buy the rambler mini and NOT the rambler BT. Also the Mini has a built in battery with a usb C port whilst the BT requires 4 C cell batteries to be portable C-cell batteries, wtf, Roberts!? ).
The absolute best sounding small radio in this category/price range is the Roberts Petite, aided by its passive bass radiator for around twenny quid more I’d say go for the Petite as it sounds fantastic for speech and music, but this Mini has a more classic look, does sound decent and has a somewhat more immediate/intuitive user interface than the Petite.
The Mini is a nice, stylish and cute little radio with usb C charging of its in-built battery (so no buggering about with AA or, far worse, C-cell batteries), you just need accept that it only sounds ‘decent’ and don’t expect it to blow your socks off sonically.
I would’ve expected better quality audio for the premium price tag, however the overall style and build quality on the outside seems great.
It’s being used paritally as a security measure for some elderly members of our family who keep the radio on 24/7 to trick burglars. For reference their radios tend to last 5-10 years of constant operation.
We’ll see how well this does.
I bought this radio on a whim – I was looking for a Bluetooth speaker for my caravan. I had been looking at the cheaper standard speakers but the retro design of this radio caught my eye. I had always liked the bigger Revival and Rambler models, but the rambler mini attracted me particularly as it is a bit more understated than the other models. The radio comes in a cardboard box and all the packaging is recyclable which is very important these days. Quick start instructions are included on the cardboard packaging, but these aren’t really needed as the radio is really intuitive to use. Switching on for the first time, the radio automatically scans for DAB stations – this took less than a minute to complete. The control panel has only six buttons and a volume wheel. Both radio and Bluetooth give a loud and clear sound. I particularly like the fact that you don’t have to reconnect to Bluetooth manually everytime you switch the unit on – it connects automatically. The two line dot matrix screen is clear to read and displays the radio station or song being played. Because this will probably sit on a shelf it’s unlikely that you will spend much time looking at the screen but it’s nice to have. It has a built in rechargable battery and a usb-c charging port, with usb-c cable included (but no wall plug, so you’ll need to find one if you want to charge it from a wall socket). Battery life is excellent – I’ve used on usb mode for 2-3 hours a day for several days and the battery level only dropped one bar from the level of charge it had straight out of the box. It can also be used while plugged in to charge. Although it’s made of plastic, there’s no creaking or wobbling plastic panels, it all seems extremely well made and put together. I wasn’t sure when I bought it what the point of the wood panels at each end was, but in fact when I saw it in real life these really add to the look, and make it feel much more premium. It’s heavier than it looks, but again this just adds to the quality. Very pleased overall and would recommend to anyone looking for a good quality radio or Bluetooth speaker.
Love style & colour – and great sound (previous radio was not picking up radio stations)
This little radio has features that add up nicely to make it more-or-less just what I was looking for:
* rechargeable, so it’s cable-free and not consuming batteries
* controls on top are clearly visible, functional, labelled well and easy to operate – save up to 10 favourites on each of DAB & FM
* small and light (lighter than expected and much lighter than Robert’s Revival Petite) – also slim, so ideal for my bedside table
* fantastic for travel – light, has a lock feature on the back to stop accidental switching on or messing up controls, and aerial clips on tightly
* straightforward to set up, but only with the online manual easily found at Roberts’ website – the quick start one in the (well designed, plastic free) packaging was of little help – and it’s worth doing it right at the start
* sound is clear and pleasant – it’s not rich, nor as bassy as bigger radios (or the Petite) but is particularly good for speech – overall it’s ideal for a personal radio
* proper aerial gives excellent reception on both bands and it tuned in really well
* and the design / style, of course, elevates it – I chose cream from the 4 available colour options, which fits perfectly with my things: although it’s just textured plastic with wood-like sides, with the silvery Roberts badge it, it’s a little bit classy
I do think it’s overpriced a bit. However, Roberts Radio know their customers and they’ll likely be, like me, prepared to cough up for something attractive like this, even if it’s small and not exactly complex.
(I have a Roberts Revival Petite and it’s now in the bathroom. Although it has excellent tone, the front facing control buttons, tiny readout and wire aerial made it frustrating for a freestanding bedside table. This new Revival Mini is far more pleasant to use.
I hope they improve it in time, or add a deluxe model, ideally adding an alarm and a bass radiator for sightly deeper sound.
It’s a joy to have and I’ve only knocked off a star because of price 79.99 might have been more reasonable than 99.99.
A fab DAB radio. Battery life is good and the sound quality is good too. Makes doing the dishes a lot more pleasant now!
Nice and compact with a really good sound quality to it! Particularly easy for picking up digital station that seems to instantly connect with a strong signal that holds well. I haven’t had any interference issues. Well presented and packaged too. Great value
This is the ultimate radio. Great sound, quality build, and thousands of radio stations. Has all the latest technology and is user friendly. Is the best radio I have ever owned. Well done Roberts, I love this radio and love that it’s rechargeable to
A very beautiful piece, can’t gen enough of it!!
I love it so much because I suppose I’m from those times when radio was one of the main sources of entertainment, I was listening to news, kids’ shows and even theatre on radio, like some sort of audiobook but cooler in my opinion.
Because of that, radio is still a great piece to have around, even tho I turn it on only because of nostalgically feeling, I enjoy everything about it.
So happened that this Roberts radio is an amazing piece and I love it so much!
Made very well, sturdy and assembled – higher quality! There’s a small display for information about the channel and time.
A retractable antenna is present as well.
The sound, when the channel is received well, is very good, loud and great quality.
The colour is absolutely amazing as well, there’s nothing I could argue about this piece or would want more – perfect design and great quality of make plus good sound!
Recommended even for the price somewhere around 100. Legendary brand and great product!
I already own a larger Roberts Radio so I was happy to add this mini Rambler to the collection. I opted for the Pastel Cream colour which looks lovely in our utility room. However, the radio does also come in Leaf Green, Duck Egg, and Sunburst Yellow.
For it’s size, this radio has excellent sound quality. It’s not going to be enough to get a party going but it’s certainly perfectly adequate for it’s assumed intended purpose. As I mentioned, mine is in the utility room so I use it while I’m ironing and cleaning.
One thing I really love about this radio is that it has a rechargeable battery. No need to purchase additional batteries, it comes with a USB C cable. This is definitely something I wish my larger Roberts Radio could do.
DAB and FM radio stations are already tuned in but it is also possible to play your own music via Bluetooth from your phone which is great.
This radio is functional but good looking and half the cost of the larger variety. I’m happy to recommend
The price tag – like any Roberts product – is quite high at 100 gbp and if you care about big sound: go for a bt-speaker instead! But if you want a versatile & highly portable DAB+/FM/BT radio with good design – go for this!
This review is for the Roberts Rambler Mini DAB/FM BLUETOOTH RADIO MINI BLUE.
A lovely retro DAB radio, arrived well packaged and on time. Simple to use and looks great.
The radio is smaller than than it looked in the pictures but I love it. The device has a few features. Sound quality is great. Also can be used and bluetooth speaker. Would recommend.
Roberts Rambler is by far the best bluetooth radio I have ever owned. It’s not only stylish, with its sleek and minimal design, but also functions amazingly well.
The sound quality is crisp and the battery life is amazing. It’s not too heavy or large, making it perfect for travel or day-to-day listening. The connection on this device is also fantastic!
I think the price of the radio is high
Mine came pre-tuned to various DAB stations which worked straight out of the box once the telescopic antenna was extended. The readout gives the normal DAB information you might expect and the ability to change the information feed displayed via the buttons on top of the radio; the display illumination can also be altered in a similar manner. The DAB settings also have DRC or dynamic range adjustment that can make soft sounds louder and vice versa but only on the DAB settings. The FM band is an RDS version, so station information is also indicated on the display.
This radio also can be a Bluetooth speaker playing music from a smartphone or other DAP, pairing with my android phone was really easy and the Rambler mini even controlled play, pause and track moves as well as displaying the track details.
On the back there is 3.5mm headphone connection point, a USB C slot and a really useful travel lock switch which effectively locks out all the buttons on the top of the radio (so it can be carried around whilst playing — I really like this!).
So, what I like about this new Rambler mini is that (1) it appears quite robust as a portable DAB radio and Bluetooth streamer; (2) Good sound quality for a portable unit; (3) The travel lock and finally; it has a software upgrade function for future upgrades (like an alarm or two — it does however have a sleep timer)
As a personal and portable DAB+ DAB/FM (RDS) radio and Bluetooth streamer I see this coming with me to the patio and the workshop and I knock just one star off since I would like it to have an indication of shower-proof (ness).