Late last year, we tried the Pure Siesta S6, the younger brother of sorts, to the Siesta Home. The flagship DAB clock radio in the Siesta range, with a bigger speaker at 3″, two passive firing vents and a CD player, for those that live in the past, I’m hoping it’s going to sound even better than the S6. Let’s open the box and find out.
There isn’t much in the box, just the unit itself, a power adapter, with UK/EU pins and an instruction manual. The unit is well packaged and protected within a foam housing. To the front of the unit, is the display, CD in and CD player controls. On top is the overall controls, including menu, EQ, select, volume up & down etc, and to the rear is the power port, two USB ports for device charging and the extendable aerial. The Home comes in two finishes, graphite which is a blend of greys and black, or polar, which is a blend of whites & silver. We got the graphite version and as expected, it does look very stylish and sophisticated. When comparing to the S6, it’s slightly larger in footprint, double the height, due to the CD player section, and 5x heavier!
Features are similar, if not identical to other models in the Siesta range and include DAB/DAB+ & FM capabilities, CrystalVue+ auto dimming display, SoundSpace EQ, 40 pre-set stations, 4 alarms, sleep timer, kitchen timer, USB charging and of course, the CD player. The big changes with the Home is the speaker arrangement and controls, which now include the SoundSpace EQ and the 3” wide range speaker for full bodied sound, 2 side firing passive radiators for the bass. The SoundSpace EQ, optimises your listening experience by choosing the room profile which best suits your environment. SoundSpace EQ considers the room size, the reverberation time and the product placement relative to room boundaries, such as walls and floors, to provide a sound best suited to the environment it’s placed in.
Set up was easy, I just turned it on and it automatically started to scan for radio stations and updating the time & date. The menu is simple and easy to browse, the buttons are push to use and the display is big, vibrant and easy to read. Setting one of the four alarms is easy, it’s handy if you want to set your alarm to 7.30am, 7.40am, 7.50am & 8am, we’ve all been there, but the snooze button could be bigger!
To use the CD player, you simply push the CD into the drive and you’ll feel it being taken. Likewise, to eject, press the button and wait for the CD to begin coming out. The CD player has it’s own controls, underneath the slot, or you can use the slim remote control provided. I’m unsure on the CD player, it’s a nice to have but do people still purchase CD’s? Perhaps some of the older generation does, but for me at 29, I haven’t purchased a CD in years!
Sound wise, the Siesta Home was on point. It had that rich, distinct sound that the smaller models had, but with a little more clarity & thump. The increase size in woofer, added an extra level of bass and loudness, enabling more versatility from the speaker. One feature that added to the listening experience, was the EQ functionality that’s now present. The EQ options related to the type of room & typical surfaces associated with that room. For example, kitchen would be worktop, with hard surfaces OR living room, with soft furnishings. By scrolling through the options, the change in sound is easily noticeable and allows the user to personalise the sound to their surroundings.
After spending some time with the Home, I have just two quibbles with it. One, being the size, as it easily overtook my bedside table, which meant I had to move my watch box, not cool. Two, being the CD player. Is it necessary? I struggled to find a CD to try it out and it’s a fact, CD sales have and will continue to decline.
The Pure Siesta Home is currently available for just under £200. For more information, check out the official Pure website.
