Roberts Revival iStream 3

A very nice stylish retro high quality DAB / internet / FM radio .. with bluetooth connectivity to computer, phone or ipad .. and there is also Alexa voice control It has excellent sound quality .. and is easy to use and set up .. The ' Old Brit ' styling is a paradox .. you expect the crackle of the Light Programme playing.. The Billy Cotton Band-show .. in 1956 ... but instead it delivers flawless digital hi-fidelity sound .. that can fill a room effortlessly with deep rich tonality The internet radio is an amazing feature .. thousands of crystal clear stations from around the globe easily found ... you drill down by genre and national location .. so easy .. Also included on the menu are an array streaming Apps such as Spotify , Deezer etc .. there are even pre-sets for ease of operation .. and two timer /alarm functions.. a windows media player, USB input and phone charger .. also a nice helper App for phone / tablet .. and a headphone port Six AA good quality rechargeable batteries are needed (not included so you need to purchase them separately ) .. and then the radio has mains free portable functionality .. for about an afternoon .. There are lots of great colours to chose from .. which look fab We chose the midnight blue which sets off the gold grill , controls and trim beautifully .. this compliments our interior colour scheme perfectly The radio is not just .. " Made in England " .. it is .. ... "Made in Yorkshire " ... So you cannot get better than that ... Without any exaggeration we do'nt just like this radio here .. We absolutely love it ...

I really like this a lot! The sound quality is really quite good, especially if you are just using it in a small/medium sized room and not trying to fill the whole house with music. The bass is really great/deep. The actual radio looks great and is super stylish and built with quality. I tested the DAB vs internet radio, and the internet radio is far superior and well worth the money. It also means you don't have to worry about reception and using the aerial. I am actually also using it as an alarm and was REALLY happy that when the radio wakes you up, it starts on a low volume and gradually gets louder, making it a much nicer experience to wake up to. The alarm was also a lot easier to set than expected, and alows you to set 2 alarms for daily, once, weekdays or weekends! I think you can set at least 10 radio station pre-sets. For some reason when I searched for the radio stations (really well known ones) they wouldn't come up, so I had to search for them all manually which took a while. However once you get them in, it's great. I'm good with technology and even so, on initial set up I struggled to get it connected to my wi-fi, I think the instructions could be better. Initially I tried to do it through the WPS push button on my router, which didn't work. If you want to connect it by entering the password (as you would when connecting to your phone or laptop), you have to search for the router through the wizard where it finds it for you, and then select the option to enter the password, but it's called something else which wasn't immediately obvious and took a while to find by going through all the options. However once I got it set up and updated the software, I've not had any connection issues. Using it with spotify is amazing and works a charm. If your phone is connected to the same wi-fi network then it will automatically sync up with the radio. Even with the radio off, if you press play on your phone, it will play through the radio, which sounds so much better (compared to my iphone). There is a slight 3 second delay between pressing play and hearing the audio, but really not a big issue. I love how album covers will display on the screen! Another great feature is that you can dim the brightness of the screen so that even when the radio is off, the backlight stays off which won't keep you awake at night if you have it in your bedroom or using it as an alarm. Don't know what the battery life is like as I keep it plugged in through the mains. Also really like that you can plug a USB cable in it to charge your phone if you want. My *only* slight niggle is that the shade of blue is ever so slightly darker than what I expected, I expected it to be a more pastel blue however I would say the colour is very true to the picture and more of a dusky mid tone blue/grey. However that is my fault and I should have seen it in person, I probably would go for the white colour next time as I think that looks prettier. This is my first Roberts radio so not sure how it compares with older models.

R250 or iStream 3? Actually they are both beautiful, but the istream 3 is a beast to operate. Ok I’m 73 and just so ‘last century’, as my grandchildren remind me: indeed, my faithful old R250 circa 1998 (number 302700) Is technically just a simple radio: you switch it on, maybe twirl a knob and that’s it - certainly light years behind this latest model, released in 2018. However this is a review of aesthetics and innate quality not function and it rambles on rather, so most of you should ‘tune out’ now, I suspect! What else can they think of for this iStream 3 to do? Get the lovely Alexa to make the tea, perhaps? Actually I do not wish to talk to electronic ladies (I get into enough trouble with the real ones), I have no music on my phone, don’t have ‘Spotify’ and don't really need hundreds of internet stations. Apart from FM, I appreciate the DAB facility and that’s about all I need. So why buy this range- topping model? Well, money aside, why would one buy anything but a Roberts and then why would a person penny- pinch on the features, for the sake of £25 over, say, a Roberts RD70? Note that the iStream 3 can recharge suitable batteries-which the RD70 cannot, so that £25 could soon disappear anyway. As to competitors, a Roberts is still a Roberts. Take, for example, twiddling the two control knobs. Actually you do not twiddle them at all, since they both turn with a delightful ‘clicking’ motion that ensures precise setting. Although I dare say a Lexus is very nice and has as much kit as the average Bentley, which would you rather own? Unfortunately, like Bentley, Roberts Is no longer truly British: I gather that since 1994 a company in the Irish Republic has owned it. Nor are many models now British built, though it seems anything made of wood still is, moreover there is talk of a SONY owned factory in South Wales. In addition ‘Which?‘ and other soulless reviewers now rank certain other radios rather more highly for performance. Also, that beautiful leather covering is (and always was) really, well..... But not to worry, there are more important things. All those competitors look naff by comparison and it was ever thus. Look at my old R250, it still is really beautiful and unmarked after More than 20 years. It’s been well looked after of course, but one really must not mistreat such things. I have seen some Roberts faded or, worse, peeling. It is evident that, unfortunately, some careless people still leave such jewels on sun drenched window ledges or in damp conservatories. My two radios are of almost identical dimensions and I suspect some of the shaping templates used 20 years ago are still used now. Quality of the IStream’s ‘leather’? Time will tell, but it looks well. There are some not so good developments to report. Whereas for access the old R250 has a rear door mounted on a brass piano hinge, secured by a proper latch, the iStream 3 has to be turned upside down, where there is a rather nasty sliding plastic cover that conceals umpteen (6) miserable little U2 batteries. The base Panel Itself is well fitted but is all- plastic, not wood, and the power cable emerges awkwardly from it. The base of my R250 is covered wood, like the rest of the radio, even though you cannot usually see it. A seven year old can quickly learn how to tune- in the R250 (instructions, 8 pages) and I suppose a 2021 seven gear old could do the same with an iStream 3, but a 73 year old will struggle with the 75(!) page instruction booklet for all of a long day, since this is really a computer with greater facility than they had in 1969 to put a man on the moon. Those instructions are not in keeping with the machine, written by a techno geek: an easy start guide would be useful. The basics for finding an FM radio station are eventually found on page 48! Moreover it is a flimsey affair with tiny print. Seriously, a hardback rather like the one for my old Bentley (1936 model😊) would be expensive but also an original selling point given that even a geek will have to refer to it frequently. There are not really many buttons, but as on all such things today you set the mode, access a menu and then endlessly press away until hopefully the desired function turns up. The viewing panel is too small, but the graphics are beautifully and colourfully done. What does it sound like? Well very nice, clear and adjustable In tone, very crisp and with no buzzing, etc. Whatever the soulless reviewers may declare I would say that this radio is still worth about 200 of your fine British pounds. PS. Some of the above is somewhat tongue in cheek, so please don't take it all too seriously. I did indeed own an old Bentley for 19 years, and very nice it was but, unlike this radio, I couldn’t afford a new one!

J'avais acheté cet appareil pour ma femme car elle aimait beaucoup le disgn et voulait une radio qu'elle pouvait balader. Le style et joli, le son est franchement très bon, par contre gros dilem avec le côté "transport". Il mange beaucoup trop de piles car hélas, il n'y a que cela comme option. Ils auraient dû penser à mettre une batterie rechargeable. Donc au final, il reste à la même place et sur secteur, alors que son utilisation première était vouée à être mobile.

La prise n'est même pas française ! NUL

Das Roberts iStream 3 ist ein wirklich sehr gutes Radio, dass fast alles kann. Internet (Wlan), DAB+, UKW, Amazon Musik, Spotify, uvm. Darüber hinaus kann es per Bluetooth vom Handy, per USB- Stick und AUX In Musik abspielen. Was mir auch gut gefällt ist das es mit einem Netzgerät betrieben werden kann und mit gewöhnlichen Batterien. Im Batteriefach ist ein Schalter mit dem man umschalten kann wenn man statt normale Batterien Akku Batterien einlegt, die dann bei Netzstecker betrieb geladen werden. Der Sound ist ebenfalls sehr gut. Bass und Höhen können getrennt eingestellt werden. Das Radio hat einen Kopfhörer und einen Line out Ausgang die beide Stereo sind. Ich habe lange zwischen dem Roberts iStream 3 und dem Stream 94i überlegt, mich dann jedoch für das iStream 3 entschieden, da es auch diesen schönen Retro Stiel hat. Das Stream 94i hat Stereo Lautsprecher, während das iStream 3 nur Mono Lautsprecher bietet. Der satte Sound hat mich aber dann von dem iStream 3 überzeugt. Außerdem kann man es ja über den Stereo Line Out auch an die Hi-Fi Anlage anschließen. Ein weiterer Vorteil des iStream 3 war das es ein Akku / Batterie Fach schon mit an Bort hat. Ich habe das iStream 3 über Amazon UK bestellt, somit muss man beachten das bei dem Netzteil auch nur ein UK Netzstecker dabei ist und die Bedienungsanleitung in Englisch ist. Ein Weiterer Mängel war, das dass Packet die Original Verpackung des Radio war. Man konnte also sehen was im Packet ist, falls man es von der Post vor die Haustür stellen lässt. Außerdem war die Verpackung bereits geöffnet, was evtl. auch am Zoll (von England nach EU) liegen kann. Innen war es original verpackt und es fehlte auch nichts. Man muss aber sagen das die Verpackung gut verschlossen war. Lediglich Tesa an den Verpackungsverschluss laschen fehlten so das man nicht sagen konnte ob das Packet nun geöffnet wurde oder nicht. Da ich aber schon in einigen Rezessionen zum Roberts iStream 3 von rauschenden Empfang bei FM gelesen haben, uns selber die Erfahrung mit einem mangelhaften Netzstecker hatte, bin ich überzeugt das hier das Problem beim Netzstecker liegt und man hier genau prüfen muss welcher Netzstecker hier der richtige ist. Ich habe das Original Englische Netzteil mit UK Stecker und ein Adapter von UK auf EU verwendet. Der FM Empfang ist nun super 👍🏼

Not being funny but, so long as you "know" the legacy of Roberts or are a fan of retro styling, this is the best radio playing/ listening experience you could hope for. And, 2 of its best features have been undersold / unreported = the inbuilt AA NiMH battery charger! and the remote control app which deftly finds internet radio stations anywhere across the globe and have you connected to a far flung place in seconds. It's just awesome and you owe it to yourself not to miss out any longer. Well done Roberts! and Yorkshire!

Really good DAB radio, with a warm sound which quickly grows on you. Internet radio a little slow to start up. Picking DAB and streaming stations much easier using the UNDOC app (particularly as aerial quite close to selection know). If using rechargeable batteries, you need to slide a small switch in the battery compartment! The Power pack has inbuilt UK plug, and quite large, so a little bit cumbersome with an AU adapter. The leather had a dark patch on the rear, that looked like it had been re stuck, but does not show from the front so decided to live with it. Useful display of the time when not on.