The August MB415 is a versatile and relatively cheap portable radio with Bluetooth and DAB. This radio is made by August International, a UK-based electronics company who manufacture a range of products including televisions, speakers and radios. One distinctive thing about this radio is that it lets you play MP3s from a USB or SD card. Find out more about what the August MB415 can do and how it performs in this review…

Features

Dimensions: 21.6 cm wide x 12.8 cm high x 9.8 cm deep
Weight: 900 g

Performance and use

The August MB415 has quite a stylish and understated design with a rubberised finish. It has decent sound quality for a small radio, though there isn’t much bass.

This radio is generally easy to use and the manual (available online here) is clearly written. Bluetooth in particular is easy to use and you should be able to pair your device very quickly. The Bluetooth range is about 10 metres.

One area where the August MB415 could be improved is in the design of its buttons. Rather than regular buttons that you press down, the August MB415’s buttons are touch-sensitive grooves. This makes the buttons fiddly to use, especially if you’re in bed and can’t see them. Another issue with the buttons is that they are labelled with very small text which can be difficult to read.

This radio can be plugged into the mains or powered with the built-in rechargeable battery. The rechargeable battery is unlikely to last more than 4 hours on a full charge, which isn’t very impressive. However, it’s easy to recharge the battery since it charges while the radio is plugged into the mains. The power cable connection isn’t very secure, so sometimes it falls out.

One of the nice things about this radio is that you can use it to play MP3s from a USB drive or SD card. There’s also an aux-in port, so you can connect other audio sources. However, it’s a shame that this radio doesn’t have a headphone jack.

August MB415 vs. August MB400

August International offer two very similar portable Bluetooth radios, the MB415 and MB400. These radios have similar features, dimensions and prices, so what’s the difference between them? Here are the main differences:

• The MB415 was released in 2015 whereas the MB400 was released in 2014, so the MB415 is a newer model.
• The MB415 has a built-in rechargeable battery, whereas the MB400 takes 4 x C batteries.
• The MB415 is slightly larger and heavier.
• The MB415 has a different design and comes in either black or grey. The MB400 comes in black, blue, red or grey.

Verdict

The August MB415 looks stylish and has a good number of features for the price including Bluetooth. It’s a decent radio overall, though it’s let down by the button design which makes it fiddly to use.

Similar radios

One similar radio from a more well-known brand is the Pure Elan BT3. Like the August MB415, the Elan BT3 offers FM, DAB, DAB+ and Bluetooth. The Elan BT3 can be powered by the mains or with 4 AA batteries, which could be less convenient to use than the MB415’s built-in rechargeable battery.

If you’re willing to spend a bit more money, you might want to consider the VQ Hepburn Mk II. The Hepburn Mk II is a very stylish DAB radio with Bluetooth that comes in a large choice of finishes. The Hepburn Mk II is only portable if you buy the optional battery pack, which is a bit inconvenient.

For some more options, see our roundups of the best DAB radios with Bluetooth, the best portable DAB radios and the best radios with a USB port.

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The August MB400 is a portable FM/DAB/DAB+ radio with Bluetooth that can also play MP3s from a USB drive or SD card. This versatile radio can be used with either C batteries or on mains power and comes in a large choice of colours: black, blue, red, silver, white and yellow.

Features

Dimensions: 20 cm wide x 15.5 cm high x 7.2 cm deep
Weight: 757 g (without batteries)

Performance and use

Setting it up

Setting up the August MB400 is very straightforward, you just have to enter the date and time and then it will scan for stations. The radio has a wire aerial located at the back which you need to unwind and extend it to get good DAB reception. Otherwise, you might find the display simply says “DAB not available”. If you don’t get many DAB stations at first, try adjusting the aerial and then re-scanning.

Alarm

This works well as an alarm clock and would be ideal for a bedside table. You can choose to wake up to FM/DAB/DAB+ radio, music from a USB drive or SD card, or a regular alarm buzzer sound. There’s a button on the top of the radio which dims the screen to a very low level so you can sleep facing it and it shouldn’t keep you awake.

Sound

This radio has two 3 W speakers, so it technically has stereo sound. However, due to the small size of the radio and the fact that the speakers are right next to each other, you won’t get any feeling of stereo separation from this radio.

For the size and price, the MB400 sounds good, but don’t expect to be blown away by its sound quality. It doesn’t have an adjustable EQ and sounds a little bassy, but that’s better than sounding tinny. The 6 watts of sound output should be enough for any room of the house.

Power

You can use this radio on either mains power or with four C-size batteries. The battery life isn’t great, so you will probably want to use mains power most of the time. One advantage of C batteries is that they’re much easier and cheaper to replace than the bespoke battery packs that come with many other portable DAB radios such as the 1byone Portable Digital Radio.

Bluetooth

Using Bluetooth is easy and straightforward, and you shouldn’t need to look at the manual to figure it out.

Usability

The August MB400 isn’t laid out in a very logical way, and it might take you a while to learn how to use all the features. If ease of use is your number one priority, this radio isn’t a good choice as there are many other radios out there which are simpler and easier to use such as the Goodmans Canvas DAB Radio.

Verdict

The number one reason to buy the August MB400 is for the great choice of ways to listen to music it offers: FM, DAB, USB, SD, Bluetooth and aux-in. If you have music or audio on lots of different devices you should be able to find a way to play it through the MB400’s speakers.

For the price, the August MB400 offers a great range of features and has decent sound quality. It’s a great DAB radio for the kitchen or the bedside table. Its main flaw is that it can be fiddly and complicated to use.

Alternative radios

One of the mains selling points of the August MB400 is that it is Bluetooth-enabled so you can stream music wirelessly through its speaker. If you don’t have a clue what that means, you might prefer a simpler alarm clock radio, which should be cheaper as you won’t be paying for features you won’t use.

While the August MB400 is portable, it isn’t splash-proof and won’t deal well with humidity. If you’re looking for a radio for the bathroom, check out our recommendations here.

The post August MB400 Radio Review appeared first on Best Radios.

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

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.

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.

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