Pure Classic Mini

Available in two finishes, white/oak and black/walnut (tested here), the Pure Classic Mini lives up to its name, with a traditional-looking aesthetic, along with a wrist-strap. Sure, if you get up close to the ‘walnut’ finish, it’s obvious that it’s a vinyl wrap, rather than real wood, but squint at it from a distance and it looks convincing enough.

Pure has opted for a mixture of front and side-mounted buttons, working in conjunction with a triple-function volume/mute/selection knob (on the right side) and a 2.4in colour display. The most frequently used side buttons are easy to find unsighted, at least after a short period of familiarisation.

However, the button that’s used to assign a station to one of the 80 available presets (40 each for DAB/FM) is easy to confuse with, and too closely placed, to the Quick Access pair, which allows you to scroll through the memorised stations.

A USB-C cable is supplied for mains operation, but the great news is that there’s a large, rechargable 4,000mAh battery with a running time of 15 hours – although at higher volume levels, I found it to be about two-thirds of that.

Audio output is delivered via a single 2.5in speaker (there’s no headphone output), augmented by a driver located on the rear. While there’s nowhere near the volume levels or scale generated by the JBL Tuner XL listed below, the 5W output available here does a stand-up job for this kind of money. It’s a genuinely involving and tonally well-balanced sound. Just be sure to select the ‘Music’ EQ setting, rather than ‘Voice’.

That remains the case whether you’re listening to the radio or streaming content wirelessly via Bluetooth from your phone. Given the relatively low outlay required, the blend of performance, user-friendliness and value offered by Pure’s Classic Mini makes it an easy Best Buy.