Review: The GoLondon DAB Radio

I’m a home worker, so more often that not a radio is playing somewhere in our house.

My DAB radio (this beautiful PURE Orla Kiely ) has been rocking my world, both in looks and sound quality. But, as wonderful as it is, it’s not the most portable radio; I certainly couldn’t take it with me to the bathroom for some shower karaoke (don’t deny it, you occasionally croon in the shower too).

Enter the Sonoro audio GoLondon (£129).

The colourful, portable DAB radio works on battery power or mains power. At first glance, it looks like one of those super-sized drinks you pick up at the cinema. It’s certainly a step away from the more commonly seen PURE-shaped radios, leaning instead towards the more brightly coloured, rubber texture of brands like Bodum.

A DAB black sheep

As a DAB radio, it continues to bucks the trend on a number of other sections.

Firstly, the main browsing controls sit in the base of radio, which is raised like the bottom of a wine bottle. It’s simple enough to use; there’s an up and down button to scan through the stations and a menu button to save it into the presets. You’ll get all the basic stations (Radio 1-6, Heart, Kiss FM etc), which is enough to get you through a camping trip with the family. To turn it on, all you need to do is turn the volume dial at the top and pull out the aerial.

The DAB radio is great, but for me the real perk is that it doubles as a mobile speaker. The pack comes with a AUX-IN cable to connect anything with a headphone port. I’ve been using it to boost the sound on my iPhone, and the quality is pretty impressive.

How does it score?

Wins points for:

• Style – you can buy different sleeves for £15.99, so you can customise it to your kitchen
• Sound quality – Both the radio and the speaker quality is clear and doesn’t break up when you increase the volume.
• Portable – it’s fairly lightweight and easy to pack into your luggage. Plus the casing means it’s protected from any bumps and scratches.
• It comes with the AUX-IN cable and a charger with both UK and USA adapters. Often, this is something that a manufacturer will encourage you to buy separately.
• The rechargeable batteries should last up to twelve hours.

Loses points for:

• It’s got an RRP £129.99. DAB radios have been fairly slow to drop in price. That said, the fact that it’s portable and doubles as a speaker makes it a better deal.
• No alarm function, which would make it great for your bedside table.
• Radio signal – In fairness this is down to where I live, but signal did occasionally drop out. Not enough to really annoy though.

Conclusion

I like the look. I like the sound quality. I like that it’s portable and can be used as a speaker. And the fashion fan in me loves that you can change the look of the outside. Overall, it gets a thumbs up from me. Add an alarm function and I’d be more than happy to spend £129.99.

You can buy it from selected retailers across the UK, with a full list stated on the Sonoro website.

Emma Cossey

Emma is our resident fashion and social media specialist, having worked as a blogger, editor and writer on a number of fashion and beauty websites. She writes regularly for The Bag Lady, and has previously written for The Times Online, Shoewawa and Jorg & Olif among others.

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