Description
Roberts Revival iStream 3L DAB+/FM/Internet Smart Radio - Midnight Blue
The Revival iStream 3L pairs the classic Roberts wooden cabinet with DAB+, FM and more than 20,000 internet radio stations, plus Spotify Connect, Deezer and Amazon Music.
Shaped like the Revival radios people have kept on kitchen shelves for decades, the iStream 3L hides a full smart tuner inside an acoustically tuned wooden cabinet. It plays DAB, DAB+ and FM, and once it joins your WiFi it opens onto internet radio as well. A good choice if you want modern reach without a modern-looking box.
That WiFi connection brings more than 20,000 internet stations and a large catalogue of podcasts within reach, and forty of the sixty presets are set aside for them. Spotify Connect, Deezer and Amazon Music are built in, so a playlist chosen on your phone plays from the radio itself rather than through it.
Ideal For
At 250 x 160 x 106 mm the iStream 3L sits comfortably beside the kettle, and the leather-cloth wooden cabinet looks at home in a room that is not full of black plastic.
Podcasts play straight from the radio over WiFi, and with forty internet presets you can keep a long list of shows and stations a few button presses away.
Fit six AA cells and the radio works away from the mains for eight to ten hours, which covers an afternoon in the garden or a day's work in the shed.
Key Features
Over twenty thousand internet radio stations and a podcast catalogue arrive over WiFi, well beyond what the DAB and FM bands can carry in any one place.
Forty presets for internet radio and podcasts, ten for DAB and ten for FM, so streaming favourites do not crowd out the broadcast ones.
Spotify Connect, Deezer and Amazon Music are built into the radio, so streaming does not depend on a Bluetooth link staying up across the house.
Six AA cells, alkaline or NiMH, give eight to ten hours away from a socket. Rechargeable cells charge inside the radio in five to seven hours.
The USB port plays MP3 files and also delivers 5 V / 1 A for charging a phone. Supported audio formats run to WMA, FLAC, AAC and ALAC.
The UNDOK app for Apple iOS and Android controls the radio from a phone or tablet, which helps when it is sitting high on a shelf.
What the WiFi tuner adds
Irish DAB and FM will always be limited by what is broadcast where you live. Connecting the iStream 3L to your home network removes that limit: more than 20,000 stations become available, along with podcasts you would otherwise listen to on a phone. Forty of the sixty presets are reserved for these, so a station from another country can sit alongside the local news bulletin without displacing it.
Power on the mains or AA cells
The supplied adaptor covers everyday use at home. Drop in six AA cells and the radio keeps going for eight to ten hours on alkalines, which is enough for a long stretch in the garden or a power cut. NiMH rechargeables are an option too, and they charge inside the radio in five to seven hours, so you are not hunting for a separate charger.
A cabinet built for sound
The wooden cabinet is acoustically tuned rather than decorative, wrapped in leather-cloth with a carry handle on top, and the whole radio weighs 1.71 kg. Six equaliser profiles with separate bass and treble let you match it to the room. Connections are generous for a radio of this size: 3.5 mm aux in for an old player, a 3.5 mm line output if you want to feed a bigger system, and a 3.5 mm headphone socket for listening without waking the house.
How It Compares
| Listening Need | Revival iStream 3L Technology | Practical Benefit |
|---|---|---|
| Stations not on DAB | WiFi internet radio | Brings over 20,000 internet stations and podcasts to a radio that also tunes DAB, DAB+ and FM. |
| Away from sockets | 6 x AA cells | Eight to ten hours of listening on alkalines, with NiMH rechargeables charging inside the radio. |
| Your streaming account | Spotify, Deezer, Amazon Music | All three are built in, so the radio plays them directly rather than relaying from your phone. |
| Bedside or kitchen | Two alarms and sleep timer | Wake to DAB, FM, internet radio or a buzzer, and set the radio to switch itself off at night. |
| Feeding another system | 3.5 mm line output | Runs the radio into an amplifier or powered speakers when you want more than the built-in sound. |
| Older sources | 3.5 mm aux input | Connects a CD player, an old MP3 player or anything else with a headphone socket. |
The Verdict
Strengths
- DAB, DAB+, FM and WiFi internet radio
- Over 20,000 internet stations plus podcasts
- Spotify Connect, Deezer and Amazon Music built in
- 60 presets, 40 of them for internet radio
- Runs on mains or six AA cells
- Aux input, line output and headphone socket
- Acoustically tuned wooden cabinet with carry handle
Considerations
- The six AA cells are not included, so budget for alkalines or a set of NiMH rechargeables when you order.
- Internet radio, podcasts and the streaming services all need a WiFi connection; without one the iStream 3L is a DAB and FM radio.
- Bluetooth is version 4.2 and supports the SBC codec only, so it does not offer the AAC streaming some phones prefer.
What's in the Box
- Revival iStream 3L smart radio x1
- Mains adaptor x1
- Quick start guide x1
- Safety and warranty leaflet x1
- Streaming services leaflet x1
