EActually, the English manufacturer Roberts prefers to build portable radios with a nostalgic look and, when time permits, cultivates its status as purveyor to the royal court. But he also has one foot in the modern age as a pioneer of digital radio technology DAB and as a provider of networked media receivers. We took a closer look and listened to one specimen of this species, the Stream 67 model. The name says it all, the device goes online when it is supposed to and fishes every imaginable music, radio and podcast offer from the Internet. But he can do much more. With its built-in telescopic antenna, it receives radio programs via FM and DAB+, it plays digital music files via a USB port on the back, it lets your smartphone play along via Bluetooth, and it can access music archives on a server via the home network that supports UPnP protocol supported. Finally, a narrow drive slot on the front of the device loads CDs for playback.
But first an almost banal question: Where is the ideal place for this device to be used, perhaps on a shelf? With a depth of 29 centimetres, it is actually too powerful for that. In addition, two woofers with bass reflex openings radiate the sound to the rear. So the streamer needs a bit of air to breathe. A sideboard is a good place or a bedside table in the bedroom, because thanks to a timer function, the device can even take care of wake-up calls. The operator navigates through the range of programs in three ways: two rows of buttons and two rotary knobs do everything necessary directly on the device, a color display on the front of the device shows what is running with text and images.
An infrared remote control controls the streamer from a distance, and those who prefer to use their smartphone for this task can download the Undok app. You need your smartphone anyway to configure the streaming services and create the necessary accounts. Spotify, Deezer, Amazon Music, Tidal and Qobuz are available, i.e. practically all the important portals. The apps from these providers then interlock with the Undok control app, and the software arrangement becomes a bit more complex when Amazon Alexa voice control also comes into play.
But then: Was it due to Undok? Was it the firmware of the streamer? In any case, in our tests, the control app lost the connection to the radio from time to time, and it could not be persuaded to establish contact again. Only turning off the streamer and restarting it fixed things again. That’s a shame, because the app actually has good facilities: it clearly lists all the programs on offer and, as long as it works, controls all the settings with ease. But maybe the next software and firmware update will solve the problem.
Before the listening check, we first dealt with the possible sound settings. An equalizer function offers pre-programmed sound cosmetics for various program types such as speech and music, and manual adjustment options influence bass, mids, treble and also the virtual breadth of the sound image. After a few test runs, we raised the highs slightly and dampened the mids a bit. Conditioned in this way, the streamer played impressively – on a fairly wide stereo stage, with a powerful bass foundation and with warm, sometimes almost a bit lush mids. However, the two broadband chassis that radiate to the front tend to bundle high frequencies. That’s why the streamer sounds best when it’s played at about ear level. All in all, the compact all-rounder, which is available in a brown and black veneer case and in a silver high-gloss version, cuts a good figure, and if the manufacturer solves the software problem quickly, the price of 750 euros is also okay.