Roberts Revival Petite 2 review

Sometimes, a product will come through the What Hi-Fi? test rooms that makes everyone in the team go: “Yes.” The Roberts Revival Petite 2 radio is one such product. It is a dinky DAB radio with Bluetooth powers, but really, just look at it. It’s tiny, it’s cute, and we want it. 

Even as wireless speakers and music systems are getting smarter and more multi-functional every day due to increasing demand, there is something universally appealing about the humble radio, especially one with such a compact form and such lovely retro looks.

Build & design

Roberts has form here, with its Revival line of DAB and smart internet radios long delivering an attractive, stylish retro design that is hugely appealing to both look at and hold. 

The Revival Petite 2 follows the same blueprint as the original five-star Petite: it’s so tiny it can fit onto the palm of your hand and perch in any corner, narrow windowsill, bookshelf or cluttered desk. There genuinely isn’t anywhere this petite portable radio isn’t able to find a place to sit pretty and regale you with music. It’s shorter than a can of fizzy pop, its footprint is narrower than a paperback book, and it’s just a bit wider than an AirPods Pro 2 charging case. Wherever you can put your smartphone down on a surface, the Petite 2 will occupy the same amount of space.

The build quality is reassuringly solid and oozes high quality, and we love the rounded, smooth corners, soft but sturdy leather-like covering and colour-matched grille. It’s available in seven attractive hues: sunburst yellow, duck egg, pastel cream, pop orange, dusty pink, midnight blue and black. The contrasting bronze trims, metal buttons and Roberts logo complete the look. Compared with the first-gen model, the Petite 2 is ever so slightly shorter but deeper, and lighter by six grams.

The OLED display screen is tiny but it is clear and has a strong enough contrast that you can read the text in any light. The screen is dimmable, with 10 steps on the brightness scale (tip: turn it up to max 10 when in bright sunlight). What’s more, Roberts manages to pack a whole lot of information into that small screen without it looking cramped. The radio station name, track/artist name, current source, signal strength, battery level icon and the time are all displayed neatly. It’s informative and easy to read at a glance. You can push the control dial to see additional radio station details, such as bitrate, genre and the date, and use it to pause and skip songs when playing music through Bluetooth.

The four large buttons for power, selecting source and volume up/down respond swiftly, while the multi-function control dial in the middle handles station tuning, selecting presets, scrolling through menu options and more. We occasionally find ourselves instinctively reaching for the dial to turn up the volume when Absolute Radio kicks out a ’90s banger, but it takes only a while to get used to not using the dial to change volume on this radio.

Features

It may be small and you might be wondering why on earth you’re paying £100 (approx. $126 / AU$190) for a little radio, but there are so many features packed into the Petite 2 to make it more than worth it. You get the essential radio tuners – analogue FM and DAB/DAB+ digital radio – as well as Bluetooth for streaming from any source. We’re not expecting high-quality codecs here, but the standard Bluetooth connection pairs well and retains a good signal throughout. 

There are 20 presets you can save in total: 10 for DAB, 10 for FM. It’s easy to save and recall stations using the control dial, and it’s useful to be able to save so many of your favourite stations so you don’t have to scan all the time. You can long-press that same control dial to access the many menu options, which include the brightness level, timer and new alarm clock settings.

The radio’s long battery life of 20 hours returns, and you can charge it up to full using the USB-C port, which has replaced the micro USB port of the previous model. 

Also new in this second-generation model is the 3.5mm headphone port, which replaces the 3.5mm aux input. We think it’s a fair swap, as being able to plug in your headphones to listen to music or podcasts at night or without disturbing others is a great bonus (and we imagine not many people would be plugging yet another source into this small radio). Another useful addition is the telescopic antenna included in the box, which is better for getting a consistent signal.

Sound

If all that wasn’t enough, we are pleased to say that the Roberts Revival Petite 2 radio also sounds very, very good. Under the hood lies a 40mm driver with a passive radiator that provides this titchy unit’s sound, but there is nothing tiny or diminished about the presentation.

Naturally, the quality of sound depends on your location/proximity to a radio transmitter and the quality of the station’s streams, but once you get a strong signal, the Roberts delivers a consistent sonic presentation across radio and Bluetooth. 

It’s a lively, rhythmically engaging sound that has a surprising amount of weight and punch to it, given the unit's size. The way it handles voices is a highlight, sounding clean, solid and detailed. The voices are admittedly given centre stage compared with the rest of the musical arrangement and instruments, but it’s a balance chosen for talk radio – one that Roberts will have intentionally chosen. Voices have a natural warmth that is appealing, and enough detail and nuance to communicate each presenter’s different personalities and inflections well.

This translates well to songs played through the Roberts, regardless of source, as the Petite 2 bops along merrily with everything we play through it. Waxahatchee’s Right Back To It sounds fluid and dynamic through the Petite 2, and we are too caught up with the song’s melody to care about things such as stereo separation or outright resolution.

We aren’t expecting huge helpings of bass weight or a wide, expansive soundstage from such a small box, but the Roberts is no wallflower. Whether you’re listening to BBC Radio 3 or Heart FM, the sonic balance is judged well to ensure it sounds confident and dynamically interesting, with the right amount of solidity and richness underpinning the midrange and upper bass to sound satisfying. Even heavy metal tracks that usually require far more wallop and impact, such as Disturbed’s Down With The Sickness, sound entertaining through the Roberts. There’s momentum and drive, you can tap your foot along to songs, and the warm, engaging presentation and standout vocals make it a joy to listen to. 

The Petite 2 even reaches an impressive volume for its size, but be aware that when going past 15 (out of 20) on the volume scale, the sound can start to get too unruly. It remains a sweet listen even at lower volumes. Plug a good pair of wired headphones – such as the Grado SR80x or Rode NTH-100 – into the radio, and you’ll be rewarded with the same lively, solid and engaging sound signature.

Verdict

For £100, you get quite a lot from this petite portable radio, and it’s an utter delight to use, hold and look at. Happily, it’s a lot of fun to listen to as well, so we have no problem recommending the Roberts Revival Petite 2 to anyone, especially if they are very short on space.

Whether it’s for your teenage kid, a friend or sibling, or your grandparents, we can see the stylish, versatile, enjoyable-sounding Petite 2 appealing to anyone who still values the humble wireless radio – and wants all the added extras, too. All that’s left is the matter of deciding which colour to choose… 

SCORES

• Sound 5
• Features 5
• Build 5

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Read our review of the Roberts Revival Uno BT

Also consider the pricier, bigger Roberts Stream 94L

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