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Technical Details
- Clock Radio Alarm- Flow Technology
- DAB/FM/Internet/tone alarms
- 30 DAB/FM presets
- Input for iPod/MP3 player
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By Andrew Chambers (Oxford, UK.)
I was looking for a media player for my bedroom, something that wouldn't look out of place on a bedside cabinet. I happened upon the Siesta Flow and it looked to be just what was I was looking for, DAB, internet radio and UpNp compliant. I used to have the Pure Siesta which is very similar but after a while I sold it due to the terrible display and over complicated way you had to set it up using too many (loud) clicks to get anywhere.
Anyway to the Siesta Flow. Firstly the display, this is a vast improvement over the old Siesta, it's still auto-dimming but this time you can actually see it in the dark! Good news. Wifi se-tup was easy enough no issues there but the front panel touch buttons are a bit of a pain. You just don't get that tactile feedback from them which gives you the confidence that you have pressed it. They need a light touch and do work OK, but they can be a pain and make navigating the menus very slow at times. The buttons on the top are much improved over the Siesta not too loud and you get direct access to the alarm settings so switching one of the alarms on or off is easy. A good feature is the alarm display that shows you the next active alarm and which ones are on or off, very handy.
The DAB radio is good, again no issues, I live in Oxford so I get good signal strength. Sound output is fine, stereo speakers, slightly tinny but better than expected. You won't get hi-fi sound out of it but it's only small and costs less than £[] so I'm happy with this aspect.
The Pure Lounge was a bit odd, you set it up on the internet and enter a code into your radio to store your favourites. It took me a while to figure this bit out but when you do it works fine, again no issues. But this isn't a key feature for me and I don't use the internet radio much.
My main use for the Siesta Flow was going to be streaming of my music from my UpNp compliant NAS drive. This isn't so good. It works flawlessly streaming from the Flowserver software installed on my PC but refuses to play from my NAS. The Pure Helpdesk was no help saying my NAS AV Server had 'incompatibilities and inconsistencies'. However both my Xbox 360 and my O2 Joggler stream from my NAS perfectly so I know where the problem lies. Anyway it works from my PC, but this has to be powered on. Not ideal and was almost a deal breaker for me. I tried everything I could think of to get it to work with my NAS but no joy. Installing a twonkyserver was not an option for me.
Oddly you can't wake up to the Lounge Flowsounds, which is a bit strange, you can only listen to them like the internet radio. But there are plenty of 'stock' sounds to choose from on the unit itself. I chose a soft chime to gently but firmly wake me from my slumber but you can equally have a barking dog or an air raid siren if that's what you need.
In summary, an improvement over the old Siesta, the soft touch buttons are not for everybody and Pure need to listen to their customers and actually fix something that doesn't work very well (like the display in the old one!)
By S. Clarke (UK)
Purchased this clock radio primarily for the internet radio capability and I have to say that I haven't been let down. I've have all my favorite stations plus a load more too.
I found the quick start instructions ok to get going. Had no issues getting it to connect to my wireless network - a breeze. I would agree with other reviewers that it's a bit fiddly entering the network password but it's a one off job to do.
Once you have registered at the Pure Lounge, got the code etc it's pretty straight forward to get going once you have figured out the main manual. They (Pure) do need to explain better how the interface between the radio and the Lounge web inteface works. Some simple diagrams would help. May be I missed something ......
The touch controls are fine once you get the hang of them - just needs a light touch.
DAB has always been a problem in the area I live but this radio picked up the signal fine; however, the FM is a more picky on where I put the ariel.
It sounds fine too especially the higher bit rate internet stations and plesently surprised by the quality of the DAB.
Like the 4 different alarms. I have now set up 1 alarm for weekdays and another for weekends. Each has it's own internet radio station assigned to it.
I haven't tried music streaming from my PC or the USB yet so I can't comment.
Despite the odd niggle it's a nice bit of kit for the money and I would recommend it.
By Mr. D. J. Bourke (Plymouth UK)
The range of features on this clock radio is remarkable - DAB Radio, Internet Radio, Podcasts, MP3 streaming and (if you really need it) FM Radio. Whilst the user interface could be much better (see below) I was still able to set the unit up and have everything working in a little over an hour including registering for 'The Lounge' (Pure's Internet Radio streaming site) and installing and configuring the media server software for streaming MP3's from my network to the device. The sound is great for such a compact unit and at under £80.00 it really can't be beaten.
The only reason I haven't given it five stars is that the user interface is disappointing. The display only seems to have two levels of brightness (bright and unreadable), the menus are cumbersome to work through and the 'touch' buttons on the front of the unit lack precision, cause you to leave fingerprints all over the display and are just naff. An extra fiver on the price would have been worth it for a better display, proper control buttons and a decent menu system.
Overall I would still recommend this product given the range of features and the quality of the sound.
By K. Ford (NW England)
Being a former owner of the Pure Siesta clock/radio, the Flow model promised much and it certainly delivers. It does so much more but is hardly any different in size to the basic Siesta. It took some time to get it set up and running well - not due to poor instructions but simply finding the best location for the router/aerial so that the radio got a good signal etc. The help team at Pure were, as always, ready to assist. Sound quality is brilliant for such a small neat item and, despite the comments of others about this product, I find the controls very intuitive. I would especially comment on how easy it is to set/unset alarms on the Flow (the non-flow Siesta was a bit laboursome by comparison). Having access to Pure's "Lounge" is great fun. The listen again opportunities seem mainly BBC related presently so it is to be hoped this will expand over time. In summary, this radio has all the good points of the Siesta plus many many more good points of its own. I love this radio!
By Mr. Frazer R. Snowdon (Sheffield, UK)
This radio looks good and works well enough, but won't pick up the internet signal unless it's very close to the router, unlike other appliances (laptop etc...) that can pick up the signal across the house.
The buttons on top are good, but the touch-screen buttons on the front are really fiddly and it's frustrating to use them (you have to use them to set the alarm, change stations etc...)
Sound quality is good for something this size, and the screen is easily visible at night. I've had some with a blue LCD display which are too bright and the time isn't visible unless you're at exactly the right angle, whereas this display overcomes that problem.
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