With all the fuss about digital radio (DAB), it has been easy to miss the arrival of a new technology that offers even greater choice: the wi-fi radio. Technically, these excellent gadgets are not radios at all. Rather than picking up the radio-wave signals of terrestrial stations – be they analogue or digital – a wi-fi “radio” uses a broadband connection to receive audio signals from internet-based stations all over the world.

It means there is a huge variety of programmes to listen to. At the last count, more than 8,500 stations were live – a figure that dwarfs the 40 or so you can get on DAB, depending on where you live. Not only can you pick up almost any station available on a standard radio – a boon for those who have moved home and miss their local station – but you can try thousands of others from around the globe, many of which do not broadcast at all in the conventional sense.

A wi-fi radio can also play on-demand audio streams, such as those on the BBC’s Listen Again service or your favourite podcasts, and some can even show live RSS news feeds, as well as playing music files stored on your computer.

Despite the vagaries of UK broadband connections, wi-fi radios generally have a more reliable reception than DAB. And the sound is often better, too. That is because the amount of spectrum available to DAB broadcasters is strictly limited, but with web radio, the amount of space stations can use is virtually limitless. So, while both systems rely on compressed digital audio signals, many internet-based stations offer higher bit rates than DAB radio. And whereas DAB uses an antiquated compression system, or codec, wi-fi radios use more modern ones. So, BBC Radio 5 Live sounds less good at 80kbps on DAB than it does at 64kbps via the internet.

All the radios we tested were only slightly harder to set up than a DAB model, if a wi-fi system was already running. Once the network’s security code was entered, each radio tuned in to the router and automatically found all available online stations. Given the sheer number of those, a crucial factor was how easy each radio was to navigate. Most could search for stations by location, genre and then name. But not all had preset buttons to store favourites – annoying if you were trying to relocate an obscure R&B treasure from Brazil.

Wi-fi networks have range issues, especially in large homes with thick walls. Reception was the same on all the models tested, other than the Revo Pico, which was inferior. All wi-fi radios have a delay of several seconds when you switch stations, which will annoy channel hoppers.

The biggest drawback is that, despite the huge selection of global sports stations available, many cannot provide live sport commentary, as they have not paid for the rights to broadcast it online. As none of these wi-fi radios also offers DAB reception, or even AM, football fans hankering to listen to the big match live must look elsewhere.

Choice also remains limited, but the overall standard here was extremely high, and these models are not much more expensive than an equivalent DAB set. The wi-fi radio’s time has clearly come. Soon, we may all tune in this way.

LOUNGE LIZARD

Roberts WM201 – typically £200, from www.hifibitz.co.uk

Luxury tabletop unit with an air of quality

With its piano-black finish and demure styling, this hefty, 12in-wide Roberts exudes class. The WM201 has no physical controls save for a single pushable rotary control; nevertheless, with its three-line backlit display and well-designed menus, it proved the easiest to operate. A couple of twists and pushes accessed any feature, from the 12 station presets to the sleep timer. The Roberts’s stereo speakers also delivered the best audio, sounding expansive and detailed. In fact, on high-bit-rate (256kbps) stations, it was far better than any DAB-based radio. The Roberts’s lack of preset buttons means you have to use the remote control to flit between stations; and it is not cheap. Still, it’s the best wi-fi radio in town.

STYLE MONKEY

Tangent Quattro – typically £190, or £180 from www.digitaldirect.co.uk

Swish looks and warm sound

A slice of Scandinavian technology is often pricier than a weekend in Oslo, but this suave Tangent is not exorbitant. Though this is a wi-fi model, it employs the same calibre of design and intuitive controls as the company’s impressive DAB radios. The trim, 8in-wide case has separate volume and tuning knobs at either end, plus 10 further buttons and a clear two-line display. With so many stations to choose from, the five preset buttons, which double up as media-player controls, proved invaluable. There is only a single, top-mounted speaker, and it was hard to notice the difference betwen stereo and mono on such a small product. That said, the Tangent produced a deeper and warmer sound than even the Roberts.

THE ORIGINATOR

Acoustic Energy – typically £200, or £169 from www.johnlewis.com

Well designed with crisp sound, but plasticky

This was the first proper wi-fi radio sold in the UK, and it remains an eminently sound choice. It’s a compact design, at 5in x 7in, but it still felt reassuringly solid. The combination of a decent backlit display, a large, rubberised control knob and 10 buttons (five for presets, the rest for manual tuning) made the radio among the easiest to operate. As you would expect of a specialist speaker-maker such as Acoustic Energy, the sound was top class. There’s only a single, front-mounted speaker, but it proved of excellent quality – smooth yet crisp, and punchy sounding too. The Acoustic Energy sounded livelier than the Tangent, albeit a touch behind the Roberts overall. Only its cheap, plasticky finish detracts from a fine package.

CHEAP AS CHIPS

Freecom Music Pal – typically £90, or £80 from www.play.com

Good, quirky design yet flimsy sound

Despite its modest price, the Freecom is strikingly styled. The 10in x 5in fascia is dominated by a fine four-line display, which presents all the information that accompanies internet radio in a highly readable way. It even shows scrolling RSS news feeds from, say, CNN. The controls are a triumph of ergonomics, but the unit is almost too light. The sound is also flimsy – the small internal speaker is good enough only for speech radio, so music should be piped out of the rear-mounted line outputs to a hi-fi. Other annoying quirks include the fact that BBC stations must initially be programmed in via PC software. The Music Pal has neat tricks, but it is wide of the mark overall.

SOUND VALUE

Intempo GX-01 – typically £120, or £100 from www.tesco.com

Big on value but poorly finished

With its big feature list and small price tag, this chunky-looking Intempo box looks too good to be true – but it almost delivered. The many functions are all controlled by a large, pushable rotary knob and six buttons. These worked well, giving quick access to the various menus. A good-quality three-line display helped here, and the Intempo even has a front-mounted USB socket. However, the volume/tuning knob felt fragile, and the display’s backlight bled through the white fascia, making the set look cheap. The sound was also barely better than that of the far smaller Revo Pico. The GX-01 is decent value, but spending extra cash would reap rich rewards.

GOING MOBILE

Revo Pico Wi-Fi – typically £150, from www.aqwirelessaudio.com

Do-it-all portable hamstrung by weak sound

The Revo packs plenty of technology into a 6.5in x 4in box. It’s the only model with a built-in rechargeable battery and analogue FM – for when you are out of range of a wireless network. The battery lasted 4hr on wi-fi stations and nearly 10hr on FM. Better still, all the sockets are showerproof. The Revo is operated by six buttons and a scroll wheel, and its two-line display was easy to read. Yet it still involved the most button-pushing, partly because of the fiddly central control, and the buttons felt cheap. The Pico’s light plastic case made it easy to carry but did the audio no favours – the small, single speaker gave a woolly sound. The Revo was the only model that became unstable at the edge of the wi-fi router’s range, which is a shame. This dinky radio is fine if portability is the prime concern, but otherwise it falls short.

JARGON BUSTER

Bit rate Technical quality of a digital audio file, expressed in kilobits per second (kbps)

Codec Digital audio compression, such as MP3

DAB (digital audio broadcasting) Digital radio-transmission system with more stations than FM/AM but patchy sound and reception

RSS Automatically updating news-feed headlines provided by many websites

Wi-fi Technology for wirelessly listening to audio streamed from the internet or files on a nearby PC

Reviews by David Price

Prices include Vat & delivery

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