Roberts Stream 105 June 2011

Finding the stations you want to listen to among hundreds of others can make using internet radios a nightmare. Take a closer look at the Roberts Stream 105 wi-fi internet radio as we navigate through its menus in our video review.

The first thing that strikes you as you set up the Stream 105 is the lack of an aerial. That's because this radio doesn't need an adjustable aerial – it doesn't have FM or DAB – it only receives internet radio and the wi-fi antenna is built-in

The lack of FM and DAB is unusual, but not ridiculous – the government hopes to move the UK towards a digital radio switchover, after which national stations will no longer be available on FM. Internet radio easily delivers on any promises of ‘more stations’ being available on digital radio platforms – a wealth of listening choice from all over the world is accessible via the internet and is something DAB can't offer.

Find out more about the digital radio switchover in our Digital radio switchover explained guide.

Setting up

Connecting up devices to wi-fi is normally really easy, but if it doesn't work first time finding the problem can be a bit of a pain.

Connecting the Stream 105 to our wi-fi network was more of the former. You can only connect the radio to the internet using wi-fi, there’s no cable option, so you’ll need a wireless router at home. When you switch the radio on for the first time it asks if you want to start up the network connection wizard.

There are numerous ways of connecting the radio to your home network. If your router has Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) you can connect with just a push of the button on the router and the radio, which is really easy. Other options include entering the network key into the radio. Whichever of the options you choose to connect via, the radio guides you through each step.

There’s no touchscreen – most of the navigation is done by turning the volume dial and pressing it to make a selection – this keeps things pretty simple.

Entering passwords involves quite a bit of wheel turning and pressing – leaving us feeling a bit like a safe cracker as we spun the dial and clicked it to select characters. The display is quite small and so is the text, but the process was easier than with many of the other internet radios we've tried that also don't include touchscreens.

Finding a station

Saving frequently listened to stations as presets or favourites is a must. Although the Stream 105 lets you search for stations by country, name or even by entering a keyword, this still involves a fair amount of dial turning and clicking to drill down through menus.

You can save up to 10 stations as presets, accessible by using the dedicated preset button and then turning and pressing the dial to make your selection.

Favourites are unlimited, but of course the more you save, the more scrolling you’ll have to do to access the one you want. You can save podcasts or 'listen again' shows as favourites too.

As searching for stations from the full list or even by keyword can be time consuming, we can't emphasise enough the importance of saving stations and shows you like as favourites or presets. There’s also a 'new stations' option in the menu if you're feeling adventurous and want to try something new.

For a portable radio, sound is reasonable, but not stunning. Sound doesn't break up too much as you crank up the volume, but you can't adjust the bass or treble on this model – if you like your music bassy, the Stream 105 may not be the best choice for you. We'll have to wait until it goes to our lab before we can comment on how it compares to other models we've tested.

Something to note with regard to listening to internet radio is the time delay. When we tried out the Stream 105, the streamed sound was around 20 seconds behind the DAB radio we used to listen to the same station at the same time – something to note if you have more than one radio on playing the same station when you’re at home.

A time lag is expected with any internet radio, but how long the delay is will vary depending on your broadband speed.

The Roberts Stream 105 can wirelessly stream internet radio, podcasts and music stored on your computer. 

Podcasts

As well as access to live internet radio, you can listen to podcasts and BBC listen again shows on the Stream 105 – found in 'podcast' on the radios main menu. As with live internet radio, you can filter the list of available podcasts and shows in numerous ways including by keyword.

If the listen again show you're looking for is daily, a few shows by that DJ will be available to listen to again. The dates of the shows are easy to see on this model, which will help you to find the show you're looking for, although you still have to go through a couple of filters to get that far.

Being able to tune into listen again shows at your leisure may be appealing, but you can't fast forward or rewind them. If you want to hear a particular part of a show you have to listen from the beginning - a major limitation compared to podcasts on an MP3 player.

Music player

If you store your music on a computer at home, the Stream 105's music player mode may come in handy. It lets you stream music to the radio from other devices on your wi-fi network, so you could stream music from your laptop to the radio and listen using the radio's speaker. Music is streamed using a feature called Universal Plug and Play (UPnP), and the devices you stream from must be compatible with this.

We found setting up the connection between the radio and a laptop less straight forward than setting up the wi-fi connection.

We had no problem hooking up our Windows 7 laptop, but even though Windows Media Player version 11 supports UPnP we struggled to get our laptop (running Windows Vista) to stream to the radio. Security software and settings can make it difficult to stream to other devices, so setting up the connection for the first time may involve a bit of fiddling with settings when connecting to a computer.

The Stream 105 also has a 3.5mm auxiliary input on the back so you can connect up and play your MP3 player or iPod through the radio's speaker. You'll need a separate cable to connect it up.

Want a digital radio you can use to play music from your MP3 player? We've tested more than 40 digital radios with a 3.5mm input socket. 

Bedside and portable radio

The Stream 105 includes two programmable alarms, a snooze and a sleep function. The snooze is activated by pressing the main volume dial after the alarm goes off.
The sleep timer steps up in increments and can be programmed to a maximum of two hours.

It also has a battery compartment for six C size batteries and a carry handle for portable use. Roberts says a set of batteries are expected to provide around 15 to 20 hours of listening. Of course you’ll still need to be in range of a wi-fi connection to listen to internet radio on the move.

Although the Stream 105 is versatile enough to be used in the kitchen, on a bedside table and even away from the mains, the lack of analogue or DAB tuners makes it a bit of a niche product. The controls are simple to use, but as with any model that includes internet radio access, finding stations – or at least initially getting your favourite ones set up as presets – feels like a bit of a long winded process. 

The Roberts Stream 105 is due to be available in stores from 20th June, with an RRP of £100.

Pros: Uncluttered control panel, easy to use controls, bedside features, portable, media streaming

Cons: Small text on display, dial makes typing slow, lots of menus to navigate through, no FM, DAB or wired internet connection

You may also be interested in:

• Which? reviews of digital radios with internet radio
• Pure Sensia first look
• How to buy the best digital radio