If you’ve ever looked into purchasing a digital radio in the past few years I’m sure the Pure brand is something you’ve seen around.
Formed back in 2002 they’ve become synonymous with DAB radios so chances are you may have seen or heard one before. The Evoke series has become possibly its most popular range and following on from the 2013 award winning D2, we now have the new Evoke H2. Already a winner of a coveted 5 star review in What Hi-Fi magazine, I’m expecting big things from such a small unit.
In appearance it looks exactly the same as the D2. It takes on the same finishes and all of the buttons and display look and feel exactly the same. The familiar wood effect surrounds its white clean front panel. Encased in the white panel is the speaker, digital display and all of your control buttons. It’ll be interesting to see the difference in sound over the D2 as appearance wise I cannot see any.
“A clear midrange and bass adds to the appeal of the H2’s sophisticated sound.” ‘What Hi-Fi? magazine’. 5-star review.
Everything is controlled from the front panel and there’s 20 presets included to store your favourite DAB or FM stations on. Like it’s previous incarnations there’s a 3.5mm input on the rear so you’ve got a source flexibility rather than it solely being a DAB/FM radio. This comes in handy as there isn’t any Bluetooth connection. I found that a little strange as a lot of DAB radios now include Bluetooth as standard now. You also may think that they’ve added an in-built rechargeable battery as is becoming the norm but sadly this is another slight on the H2. You can buy a separate battery pack in the B1 which when fully charged lasts up to 30 hours of continuous playback so it’s not like there isn’t the option. Whereas Bluetooth and in-built battery pack miss out, alarm and timer functionality is included. Quite handy if you’re using this on your bedside table. Throw in a headphone socket and there’s some functionality there to get stuck into.
So everything looks, feels and works the same as it’s predecessor but the sound quality has clearly been upgraded. After tuning, it is automatically up and running and everything seems fuller, crisper and has a bit more bass to it. Not massive amounts though due to its sheer size of the speaker, but enough to tick along nicely. As with most radios it’s not all about music though so let’s try a bit of Talk Sport to see how it handles constant conversation. I kinda of wish I hadn’t bothered as Adrian Durham’s enraging views and voice sound clearer and more prominent on the H2. The speech is definitely held together better and doesn’t dovetail when someone goes on a high energetic rant.
All around it’s a big upgrade in sound and ultimately, that’s what a speaker comes down to. If you want to hear for yourself then pop down to your local Richer Sounds.
Click to find out more about the Pure Evoke H2.
Author: Bradley, Plymouth Store
