Roberts Reva review

Roberts likes a radio beginning with the letter ‘R’. There’s the Revival, the Rambler, the Reunion, and even an alarm-clocked shaped radio called the Rest – it’s Jonathan Ross’s worst nightmare.

The Roberts Reva continues said tradition, but unlike its stablemates, we’re not quite sure what that moniker actually signifies. A quick Google search reveals that Reva is a female name of Sanskrit origin that means "one that moves”, although that’s a touch confusing considering that this categorically is not a portable radio. In Hebrew the name can refer to a rain or shower, whereas in Swedish, it means a split, tear or rift.

Nominative conundrums aside, the Reva fills an attractive niche in the radio market. Below it is the tiny Roberts Revival Petite 2 (£100 or so), while more premium specimens, such as the superb Ruark Audio R1S, are available if you’re willing to spend around £300.

At £199, this Roberts DAB radio sits nicely between the two, making it a tempting proposition if you seek considerable radio pedigree that, while not cheap as chips, won’t leave you penniless, either. Plus, if performance is up to snuff, Reva might well come to mean “radio we recommend”.

Build & design

One of the major selling points of almost any Roberts digital radio is its design, and the Reva is no different in this regard. Its substantial trapezoidal form won’t necessarily appeal to potential buyers who can’t resist the cutesy charms of the small, adorable Revival Petite 2, let’s say, but there’s no denying just what an attractive and well-realised product the Reva is when placed on a kitchen counter or bedside table.

The mid-sized radio comes in a choice of three finishes – Cherry, Pastel Cream or Black – with our test sample decked out in that black finish with a classy metallic trim, giving off a calm, almost brooding elegance. If wireless speakers are too utilitarian for your tastes, the snazzy looking Reva may well appeal to your more artistic eye.

Style, happily, is married seamlessly with ergonomics, making the Reva a pleasure to use. The rectangular digital display is bold and easy to read from afar, displaying the time and date if left in standby mode and then switching to key track or station specifics when called into action.

Flanking that display are two metal-fronted dials, with the left-hand dial taking care of volume and its right-hand counterpart used for selecting inputs and adjusting tuning. Running in a row beneath are Mode, Dimmer, Alarm, Info/Menu and Mode buttons, as well as a power switch adorned with a slender horizontal LED.

The text on those buttons could be a touch easier to discern, but that shouldn’t be an issue for the majority of users.

We’re always looking for a way to catch a test product out, or scanning for ways it could, inversely, catch out a prospective user, but we struggled to find a task that wasn’t easy to execute via the Reva. Setting presets is easy to perform (you can have up to 40 – 20 for DAB, 20 for FM), as is finding your favourite radio station, pairing a source device via Bluetooth or setting either one of the radio’s dual alarms.

It’s the little touches, though, that make using the Reva a real delight. The LED surrounding the source dial, for instance, changes colour depending on which input you select, moving from a tasteful blue glow when pairing via Bluetooth to a rich red when selecting FM radio.

The volume control, meanwhile, is adorned with a ring of individual lights which are illuminated as you move the dial from sensible to ear-splitting. Those control dials have weight to them as they turn, while the metal used for the buttons beneath feels more rewarding than any cheap plastic alternative.

Features

As you’ll likely have gathered already, Roberts’ handsome radio does a good deal more than just read out the shipping forecast. Standard DAB/DAB+ and FM radio tuners are joined by Bluetooth streaming from a compatible source, and if you like to keep things a bit old school, you can always use the rear-mounted 3.5mm aux input to connect external devices physically.

The Reva is fitted with two dual alarms with snooze functions, as well as an adjustable sleep timer to set, when the Reva will automatically power down. When you consider that lots of users will have their radio playing in the background as they drift off to sleep, that’s not a bad facility to have.

Perhaps even more useful for modern users is the Reva’s USB-C port which, as you might find on a JBL Charge 6, say, is capable of juicing up your smartphone or other compatible device without the need for an in-wall power outlet. You can’t play music from the USB-C port – that’s the gap the aux is filling – so owners of more modern smartphones may need to dig out an adapter or rely on Bluetooth instead.

You also get a 3.5mm headphone socket if private listening is your thing, with the Reva offering a solid on-head performance that correlates with the speaker’s general sonic performance.

Sound

If you’re planning on getting your paws on a Roberts Reva, you will get quite a lot of radio for your £199. It’s a reasonably large unit, dwarfing the more expensive Ruark R1S by a considerable margin.

With that size comes a decent helping of power (a total output of 15 watts), something which the Reva harnesses to considerable effect. Even if this isn’t the subtlest performer you’ll ever encounter, it has plenty of clout, especially at the lower end, bringing the bassy brawn when tracks require it. The Reva suffuses music with spaciousness and weight, anchored by a hefty, powerful bass that grants tracks plenty of musical authority.

We don’t feel starved of detail or clarity, either. At this level, Roberts’ retro radio is able to tease out admirable levels of information, with voices in particular coming through with poise and precision. Human speech over the airwaves is clear and articulate as we switch from the soothing sanctuary of Classic FM to the more anarchic indie rockers over on Radio X.

When it’s time to crank things up a notch, the Reva has enough attack and propulsion – it’s not quite a ravenous Rottweiler, but this Roberts is no pampered Poodle, either. Muse’s You Make Me Feel Like It’s Halloween offers an effective blend of snappy drum rhythms and zippy synth stabs, whereas Dr. Dre’s Forget About Dre is big, bold and easy to nod along to.

What’s interesting about the Reva is that many of its greatest strengths could also be classed as its more frustrating limitations. We’re never afraid of a bit of burly bass, but the Reva radio can get a little carried away in this regard, with that lower end riding the line between being fulsome and weighty and just downright boomy. A touch more articulation and refinement, we feel, wouldn’t go amiss.

Further, the sound the Reva produces is admirably spacious and open, but those qualities slightly come at the expense of overall cohesion. Sometimes, the music from the radio can sound slightly mechanical and pulled apart, as though sonic elements are working distinctly from one another rather than all coming together to form a unified, cohesive whole.

Despite its many admirable qualities, the Reva overall lacks the fluidity and subtlety to make it a five-star listen, shortcomings that we find are highlighted when we listen to the admittedly more expensive Ruark R1S in comparison, where everything feels as though it clicks more neatly into place. The R1S is smaller and leaner, yes, but it’s also more graceful, cohesive and natural sounding – elements that we wish the Reva had a little bit more of for a fully satisfying listen.

That said, the Reva is still a fun, rewarding listen, and if you want a radio that sounds full-bodied, spacious and pleasingly detailed, Roberts has fulfilled that brief confidently.

Verdict

The Roberts Reva has unquestionable allure. It’s versatile, a pleasure to use and fills a nice gap in the radio market, all while delivering a performance that, while not the most refined or fluid, has enough power and scale to make it eminently listenable at this price level.

As a convincing blend of style and substance, it’s a fine addition to the Roberts family.

Review published: 12th November 2025

SCORES

• Sound 4
• Build 5
• Features 5

MORE:

Read our review of the Ruark Audio R1S

Also consider the Roberts Revival Petite 2

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