Roberts Zen Plus
Best compact radio
Pros
Stylish, compact looksUSB chargingCrisp, clear audioSleep Sounds a useful feature
Cons
ExpensiveAverage Bluetooth performanceInterface can be unresponsive
The Roberts Zen Plus is a compact bedside radio that comes with “wellness” features to help send you off to sleep. For the performance and feature set it does feel expensive, but considering its size the audio performance is better than some bigger radios.
It’s a stylish effort with a neat textured fabric covering that wraps around the top half of its body, and its compact size ensures it takes up less space on a bedside table. Available in three colours we found the Zen Plus to be a simple, modern-looking radio.
The LCD clock screen takes up the front of the speaker and our reviewer found it easy to read even from a distance. After a few minutes the screen can auto dim, but if you prefer to change the brightness manually, that can be done through the menus.
The interface of Zen Plus works fine for the most part, but it can also be slightly unresponsive to touches, leaving us prodding at the screen on occasion. The screen can flash repeatedly as well for reasons we haven’t figured out. Presets number 20 in total with 10 for DAB and 10 for DAB, which is less than the Groov-e Zeus but to be honest, twenty seems enough for us to deal with.
Two alarms can be set and there’s a fair degree of customisation as to when they can go off, but the most interesting feature is the Sleep Sounds wellness feature. There are 13 sounds to choose from including Ocean Waves and Pink Noise which are designed to help get to sleep with minimum fuss, though we did find the Kitten Purring sound to be a little off-putting.
For a speaker of its size the Roberts Zen Plus sounds better than expected. It’s clearer and detailed than the bigger Groov-e Zeus, striking a more natural tone across DAB and FM stations we listen to. It’s clear and crisp with the spoken word, inviting no sibilance as far as we can hear, and it sounds balanced across the frequency range.
There’s not much to speak of in terms of bass but what’s provided is enough to communicate a decent sense of punch to the low end. We were less impressed with its performance as a Bluetooth speaker, bass isn’t as good as a Bluetooth speaker such as the Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 3 and midrange clarity is something of a disappointment.
Reviewer: Kob MonneyFull Review: Roberts Zen Plus
