Oxx Digital Breeze review: Oxx Digital Breeze

The Breeze is a compact DAB+ digital radio that can be taken just about anywhere, thanks to its ability to run off four AA batteries as well as mains power. In fact, it's so small that its petite stature prompted many in the CNET Australia office to let out squeals of delight when taking it out of the very small box.

7.8

Oxx Digital Breeze

The Good

Light and compact. Runs off mains power and AA batteries.

The Bad

Highest volume might not be loud enough for taking outdoors in noisy environments.

The Bottom Line

With its small size and reasonable price, the Breeze is sure to win the hearts of many digital radio listeners wanting a portable solution that runs on both batteries and mains power.

Its dual power supply means that the Breeze is ideally suited to travelling, or to small places where you need a little audio company but are lacking a mains power supply. Certainly, the Breeze doesn't present enough options to be a main source of digital-radio content, because of a couple of other limitations.

Layout is a relatively simple affair, with all of the control buttons placed on the top panel. There's a power button and DAB/FM button on either side of the preset, volume, scan and info buttons in the middle. An extendible aerial completes the top panel. At the back, along with the AC plug, is also a 3.5mm headphone jack. The two-line display at the front, just above the speaker, will scroll to show station and basic information where applicable.

Running on batteries, the Breeze can manage around 10 hours of playback until the power pack needs to be plugged in (or fresh batteries have to be inserted). It can also store 10 station presets per mode.

For AU$79.95, you're not going to be getting premium fits and finishes, so the Breeze is mostly plastic, and all the buttons at the top have a rather hard, resistive touch when pressed. Still, they do the job, and most users shouldn't be fussed.

Sound quality is pretty much on par with what you would expect from a device of this size. It's fine for listening to vocal broadcasts, has much more emphasis on treble than on bass when playing back music and, overall, can sound a little on the tinny side. While it has no trouble projecting itself indoors, even at the loudest volume it's still not quite loud enough, which could present a problem for noisy, outdoor environments, like the garden or the beach. Also, bear in mind that even though it's portable, the Breeze is not splash proof or waterproof if you do want to take it into some messy situations — for that sort of flexibility, something like the much more expensive Pure Oasis Flow will suit.

Conclusion

With its small size and reasonable price, the Breeze is sure to win the hearts of many digital radio listeners wanting a portable solution that runs on both batteries and mains power.