Pure Digital Avanti Flow internet review

Radio Product of the Year, Awards 2010. Talented and likeable, the Avanti Flow is a genuine alternative to a micro system Tested at £250.00

What Hi-Fi? Verdict

Radio Product of the Year, Awards 2010. Talented and likeable, the Avanti Flow is a genuine alternative to a micro system

Pros

  • +

    Great spec

  • +

    good ergonomics

  • +

    sounds is large-scale and well controlled by prevailing standards

Cons

  • -

    No iPod menus on the display

  • -

    goes loud, but not quite as loud as it might

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The configuration of the Pure Avanti Flow suggests it's a rival for something like the Roberts Sound 53 – a desktop/worktop design.

But, where the Roberts features a CD player alongside its DAB/FM reception and iPod dock, the Pure goes without CD playback and counters with internet radio.

Your £250 buys iPod connectivity (including iPhone – in 'airplane' mode), wireless connectivity, DAB/FM radio, 3.5mm in- and outputs, remote control, two 3in full-range drivers and a 5.25in downward-firing sub driven by a claimed 75W. It's glossily finished and well built.

iPod secured in the cradle, the Pure sounds punchy and composed. Headhunter's Physics Impulse (a 128kbps file) is a martial test of timing and attack, but the Avanti Flow is unfazed.

FM, and to a lesser extent DAB, reception is equally laudable. Radio broadcasts are crisp, spacious and poised. The Pure is a tenacious tuner, picking up signals in obscure parts of our listening rooms where other radios give up the ghost.

Internet radio is the party piece, though, and here too the Avanti Flow scores highly. Easy to navigate and uncomplicated, the Pure is a simple link to a whole world of radio, from Venezuela to the Vatican – providing you have a wireless network to attach it to.

Aside from a lack of outright volume, there's very little here worthy of censure. If a three-piece micro system doesn't appeal but internet radio does, you'll need to put this on your shortlist.

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What Hi-Fi?, founded in 1976, is the world's leading independent guide to buying and owning hi-fi and home entertainment products. Our comprehensive tests help you buy the very best for your money, with our advice sections giving you step-by-step information on how to get even more from your music and movies. Everything is tested by our dedicated team of in-house reviewers in our custom-built test rooms in London, Reading and Bath. Our coveted five-star rating and Awards are recognised all over the world as the ultimate seal of approval, so you can buy with absolute confidence.

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