The first thing you notice about the Pure Chronos CD is its large, informative display. The time is displayed in large digits, with DAB station and scrolling text below. Surprisingly for a clock radio, the Chronos is also supplied with a remote control, which certainly makes the unit stand out from the crowd.

In fact, the Chronos CD would not look out of place in a kitchen, its curved triangular design fits twin speakers along two of its edges. Power up the Chronos CD on DAB - Chill for example - and the sound is pretty expansive and engaging. The speakers, angled outward, doubtless contribute to this effect.

Criticism has been levelled at the Pure Chronos CD clock alarm's flimsy build. Certainly it's no worse than other clock radios, but the Chronos does attract quite a high price tag, so it ought to be better than most. The top-mounted CD player lid opens with a positive push, but the lid feels insubstantial. Buttons - including the large snooze button along the front edge of the Chronos - are easy to locate, but difficult to push without some support to steady the unit. Thankfully in day to day use button pressing like this is minimised. Stations can be scrolled and selected using dedicated buttons. The snooze can be finely adjusted minute by minute.

Pure Chronos CD fascia

No less than 4 alarms - all set independently - are on offer for any combination of weekday or weekend settings. A front-mounted jack on the unit lets you hook up an MP3 player or any other audio device for playback through the Chronos' speakers. With the inclusion of a headphone socket, personal bedtime listening is also possible.

The Chronos CD goes suitably loud for a clock radio - loud enough, in fact, to wake the entire neighbourhood to DAB, FM or CD as you choose.

With the chilled sound of, err... Chill, this clock radio really performs well. Bass-heavy tracks may not show up the Chronos' strengths, but the radio still manages to sound balanced and - let's face it - for its size the Chronos CD sounds great. Music and talk stations are handled extremely well. Considering the closeness of the stereo speakers, the Chronos manages to surprise with a spatial stereo soundstage. Radio 2 sounds natural, without over-egging the treble. Pop and jazz stations sound foot-tapping. I wouldn't mind waking up to this clock radio.

Pure Chronos CD clock radio

A light dependent resistor controls the display brightness, depending on the ambient light in the room. No doubt this will have been tested using human guinea pigs in a darkened room to work out the optimum brightness setting.

The single CD player handles standard, WMA and MP3-encoded CDs and, as such, is CD-R and CD-RW compatible. Major CD functions, station selection and volume are duplicated on the supplied remote control. Separate Play/pause, skip and stop buttons are found on the top of the unit.

Pure Chronos CD DAB/FM clock radio

The Chronos CD would grace a kitchen worktop as equally well as a bedside table. Its sensible list of features and connectivity ensures its usefulness as a music player as well as radio.

Find out where to buy the Pure Chronos CD DAB/FM alarm clock.

For:	Expansive soound from a small unit; CD player and amplifier functionality
Against:	build quality is a little flimsy
Verdict:	A great alarm clock solution offering DAB, FM and CD playback
Price:	GBP100.00

Find out where to buy the Pure Chronos CD alarm clock radio online.

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Pure Chronos CD clock alarm radio

Pure Chronos CD clock alarm radio Tech Spec

Specifications: Stereo digital radio with full Band III and FM reception. ETS 300 410 compliant and capable of decoding all DAB transmission modes 1-4 up to and including 192 kbps. Supports FM RDS and RadioText.

Frequency ranges: Band III 174-240 MHz, FM 87.5-108 MHz.

CD Player: CD-R and CD-RW playback. Support for CD Text and 20 track audio CD playlist. Multiple playback modes (repeat, shuffle, etc). MP3/WMA playback, including support for ID3 tags.

Speakers: Two 3" x 1.5" custom-wound oval drive units.

Input connectors: 9V DC power adaptor socket (230V supplied). 3.5mm Line-in for auxiliary devices.

Output connectors: 3.5mm stereo output for headphones.

Controls: Power on/standby, sleep, source, tune/select, menu, alarm, info, presets, volume, play/pause, stop, fast forward, rewind and snooze.

Remote: Infrared remote control

Presets: 30 combined DAB and FM presets in a combined list.

LCD display: LCD display with 16 x 2 characters, plus additional function icons (volume, time, alarms, signalstrength, source selected, repeat and shuffle) and large clock. Features adjustable backlight (active and standby mode) with auto-dimmer.

Mains power supply: 230V AC to 9V DC external power adapter.

Approvals: CE marked. Compliant with the EMC and Low Voltage Directives (89/336/EEC and 73/23/EEC).

Dimensions (mm): 125 high x 195 wide x 185 deep.

Aerial: Wire aerial attached.

Related links:
Find out where to buy the Pure Chronos CD DAB clock alarm online.
Buy Pure Digital's range of DAB tuners, portables and receivers, via this website.

guide to DAB digital radio, on this website.
where to buy DAB digital radio, on this website.
what to buy - a DAB Buyers Guide, on this website.
more DAB radio receiver, system and tuner reviews, on this website.