Laura Ashley VQ Monty

Available in 13 finishes, including with designer ‘wraps’ from Cath Kidston, Joules, Emma Bridgewater and Laura Ashley (the variant tested here), the Monty is the undoubted catwalk queen of this test.

Supplied with a 9V mains adapter, the Monty can also run off a rechargeable battery, but you’ll need to budget an extra £19.99 for it. The battery compartment can’t take regular AA batteries, so if you don’t have the rechargeable battery add-on, you won’t be able to take it out and about.

The interface, which relies on pressure-sensitive buttons arranged around the display, is clunkier than other models tested with display screens. Working out exactly how to store stations as presets is a challenge. The fact that there are 60 of them for DAB (20 for FM) offers some compensation, even if you have to physically push a button 60 times to scroll through to the last one.

It’s also clear that there’s some relatively elderly technology inside the Monty as it proved less capable than many of the other radios when it came to hanging onto marginal signals. The wired earphone output also proved painfully thin-sounding, though it was great to see the inclusion of a 5v/1A smartphone charging output, the only one of the radios tested to do so.

Placed where it can get a strong signal, though, the Monty acquits itself well. When it comes to tonal balance, there’s a brace of EQ settings to play with, but the ‘normal’ or ‘bass’ settings proved the best. Sound quality, courtesy of the 10W onboard amp, is both light and open, with a discernible sense of presence and body. It may have a few foibles, but this radio’s beauty is more than skin-deep.