August MB300 Clock Radio Review

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Summary:
The August MB300 is good for playing MP3s, but the FM radio reception is poor.

Buy it online:
See on Amazon.co.uk

The August MB300 is an FM clock radio that can play MP3s from a USB stick, MP3 player, smartphone or SD card. It has stereo speakers and a remote control, but lacks DAB radio. Let’s take a closer look…

Features

Rechargeable battery (can also use mains power)
USB port and SD card reader for playing MP3s
LCD screen that shows time and temperature in Celsius and Fahrenheit
Remote control
FM radio
2 x 3W speakers, giving stereo sound
5 EQ options: Normal, Rock, Jazz, Pop and Classic

Dimensions: 13 cm wide x 9.5 cm tall x 9 cm deep
Weight: 499 g

What’s in the box?

In addition to the radio itself, you also get a 3.5 mm to 2.5 mm adapter, a USB charging cable, a 3.5 mm audio cable, 2 AAA batteries, a remote control and a user manual (which can also be found online here). It comes with an interchangeable UK/EU plug.

Pros

Good sound quality, and loud enough to fill a small room
Cheap
Looks good for the price
Small – should fit anywhere
Remote control with the full range of functions
12-month warranty

Cons

You can only set one alarm
Aerial is weak and easy to break, and doesn’t offer very good reception
Alarm is difficult to set
No DAB radio
Screen only lights up for a few seconds when you press a button, which is annoying if you are using it as an alarm clock
Buttons on the front need to be pushed quite hard

Performance and use

The radio takes about 3 hours to charge using the power adapter or USB charging cable. When fully charged, the radio gives 5 hours of playback. It can also be used with mains power.

By using the USB port you can play music from an MP3 player or flash drive. You can also use and MP3 as the alarm sound, which is a nice feature.

The FM radio is quite disappointing as the reception is often poor. The speakers are fairly high quality, so it’s fine for listening to MP3s even if not great for the radio.

Verdict

The August MB300’s best feature is that it can play MP3s from a USB drive or MP3 player. If this is what you need, the August MB300 is a good choice, especially given its price.

The radio does have some serious drawbacks, however. Firstly, it doesn’t offer as good radio reception as most similarly priced models. Another irritating thing with this radio is that the display doesn’t stay lit for more than a few seconds, which makes it inconvenient for checking the time if you use it as an alarm clock. It also doesn’t offer DAB radio, which means it isn’t future-proof.

To conclude, we don’t recommend this radio unless you’re looking specifically for the MP3 playback function.

Alternative radios

Unless you need MP3 playback, we’d recommend a different radio such as the Majority Abbey Bedside Radio. This alarm clock radio offers FM and DAB as well as the option of charging your smartphone overnight. You should also consider one of these Sony clock radios, or take a look at our roundup of the best clock radios.

For some more radios with USB ports, see this article.