View Quest Retro Mini review

This retro radio boasts attractive looks and a tempting price tag, but how does it fare in the sound quality stakes? Tested at £60

What Hi-Fi? Verdict

A talented, versatile radio even if it’s not the best performer sub-£100

Pros

  • +

    Lovely design

  • +

    Portable

  • +

    Goes loud

  • +

    Balanced

  • +

    Reasonably clear

Cons

  • -

    Needs more expression and detail

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By name, the Retro Mini is a sincere soul. It’s pretty miniature (naturally, smaller than VQ’s Retro model) and would sell just as easily as a 1980s movie prop as a radio thanks to its cream matte face and leatherette wrap.

Unless you’re after a plain white or silver radio, you’re in luck.

Build

The Retro Mini comes in eleven colours, from mustard to ‘radiant orchard’ (that’s purple to regular folk). Three cutesy Emma Bridgewater designs are also available to match your finest dinnerware, if you don’t mind parting with an extra £20.

The Retro Mini looks a cut above the asking price. In truth, we wouldn’t be shocked if we’d been told the price tag had three figures in it, so the fact it’s comfortably under £100 comes as a pleasant surprise.

The two strips of plastic buttons go along with the period theme, and we like their soft click when pressed, although for volume and station scanning good old-fashioned dials would be preferable.

The 2.4in LCD screen is big and coherent, so making out the time and text from across the room shouldn’t involve squinty eyes. Even at wider angles, you can still make out the display.

Features

Specs are anything but retro though, again belying its enticing price. £60 doesn’t just get you DAB, DAB+ and FM tuners (there’s memory to store up to 30 stations of each), you can play music from your portable device via the Retro Mini’s 3.5mm input or wirelessly over Bluetooth.

There’s also a headphone output on board and a mini-USB socket for charging devices – handy if your smartphone needs a quick top up.

It doesn’t have a built-in rechargeable battery, but a compartment for four AA batteries means it can still be treated to a full day out. And that’s totally feasible too – it weighs less than a kilogram and can be easily ferried around by its leatherette strap or thrown in a handbag.

It’s not quite as pocket-friendly as its smaller sibling Blighty, though.

MORE: Best DAB radios 2015

Sound

It’s worth getting to know the View Quest a little better before popping it on a shelf. Dual alarms can sort you out for weekdays and weekends (a snooze function is there to get you in all sorts of trouble), while ‘MyEQ’ offers five sound modes.

The default, ‘Rock’, is little bassy and not much balance can be found in ‘Flat’, ‘Pop’ or ‘Jazz’ either. Stick with ‘Classical’ and you’ll be content whether it’s radio presenters talking or your favourite jam playing on BBC Radio 2. To an extent, anyway.

Despite a single driver packing just 5W of power, the Retro Mini is not a timid or frail listen. In fact, it’s reasonably rich and weighty, not to mention capable of reaching decent volume – ideal if you want something that can be heard over the fan cooker or next door’s lawnmower.

Though presentation is fairly detailed, voices do sound a little muffled compared to the more expressive Award-winning Pure Evoke D2. It’s like there’s a tin can between the radio presenters and microphone.

The class-leading D2 is a tad more articulate and sensitive to the rhythms and inflections of music too.

Verdict

The Retro Mini is another decent radio from ViewQuest.

While not the sonic marvel of its (slightly pricier) Pure peer, its sound is easy to entertain for the money and the lovely aesthetics is a real bonus. In our eyes, it’s £60 well spent.

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What Hi-Fi?

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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