VQ Lark - DAB/DAB+ Digital & FM Radio with Bluetooth

I took a bit of a gamble purchasing the VQ Lark dab alarm clock as there aren't any reviews anywhere for it, only a few lines on The Independent where I first became aware of it. I needed a replacement for my faulty old FM alarm clock. I've read reviews of similar products such as the Pure Siesta Rise but was put off by mixed reviews of poor sound quality and the display being too bright which would really annoy me.So on to the review..Initial thoughts were positive, it is very well made, high quality plastic and fabric with rubberised buttons, it is quite weighty too and has two rubber strips on the base so won't slide around. It looks really nice and when connected to the mains it automatically scans for stations and sets the time. The time display is large but very dim on it's default auto dimming setting, it dims too much to be readable in the dark.First niggle, the button to navigate right gets stuck in the surround.. It functions but I have to push it in a particular way or it sticks. This is a relatively minor annoyance as this button is mainly used for setting alarms or changing dab stations/scanning FM, as I don't need to change the alarms often and mainly listen to one station to wake up to, it's not a big deal, but it seems poor quality control for an otherwise very well made unit.Second issue is much more of concern. When the volume is low, 1 to 6, there is a very obvious hissing noise in the background on any DAB station and on any FM station. Now this may not be a big problem for me as the radio will be far from the bed on a dresser, so I don't think I'll notice it too much (I've only done a quick check it so far so time will tell...pun intended! ) If the radio was on a bedside table I think you'd really notice the scratchy hissing noise. I tried plugging it into different sockets incase it was electrical interference but it made no difference. It sounds like the noise on an untuned FM radio. When the volume is turned up, the sound is really good, it has dual speakers and a passive radiator (?)in the base, there are about 4 EQ presets in the menu and a user set EQ so bass and treble can be set to your liking. I'd say it's on par with my Amazon echo ... Really nice for a clock radio. I'm not sure how I'll get on with the low volume hiss though as primary use is the alarm clock so I need the volume set to level 1 to wake up to. I might end up having to return it if I can hear the hiss.Otherwise, the clock display can be manually set for brightness level 1 to 4 or set to auto dim depending on light levels in the room. As mentioned earlier, auto dim is too dark so I tried it at level 3.It's a real shame about the background noise on low volume, it detracts from what is otherwise a really nice high quality unit.

Good looking, pretty well made radio alarm clock. At least these guys are really trying to make a quality product, unlike many others.I love the easy to read blueish white display, with date that auto dims. It’s a good looking thing……then all the rest is very slightly not quite hitting the mark.It’s just a little too difficult and fiddly to setup and use. The sound quality is quite good as long as you tweak the EQ settings. Main negatives for me are, DAB radio just doesn’t want to stay tuned in, other radios I have don’t have this problem. So I’m forced to use FM, which is absolutely fine. Recalling stored favourite radio stations is a bit hit and miss, so usually don’t bother. The 2x preset favourite radio station buttons on the top work fine so that’s good, just wish there was more preset physical buttons there. The buttons generally seem a bit slow to react sometimes, as if the unit is half as sleep.But it still looks great!

The good:1. IMO, the best looking alarm clock I can find.2. Good features and sound quality is high, for an alarm clock.3. Fairly easy to use, with only a brief need for the manual.The bad:1. The buttons on the top stick occasionally, and are rubberised, so will eventually degrade and become sticky.2. 3:15pm is displayed as "03:15", and the colon between the hour and minutes blinks (unnecessary!).3. Mine forgot the saved (DAB) radio station favourites, for no apparent reason (yes, the battery backup is fine).All in all, a great looking clock, but it needs little annoyances ironing out, a better rubberised-plastic on the top, and just put together with a slightly greater eye for quality.

This is a great radio alarm clock and I'm very pleased with it.There are however a couple of minor niggles.1. I have the alarm set to play our local radio station, the first morning the alarm operated and the male announcer's voice was accompanied by a clicking sound . I think it was emanating from the 'Passive Radiator' on the bottom of the unit. I checked the 'Equaliser' setting. The factory default is Rock, changing that to 'Flat' removed the clicking.2. My previous cheap radio alarm 'ramped' the volume up. The Lark starts at the preferred listening volume, first thing in the morning however this is a bit loud to wake up to.I've reported this to MyVQ and they are looking into altering the default equaliser setting and seeing if volume ramp-up is a possibility.Up with the Lark. Noel.

Nice looking radio with good features and functions but best of all, excellent sound quality. On the negative side - awkward to programme alarm and "sleep" functions, you have to tap through a menu each time whereas my last radio (a Sony) allowed "one touch" alarm on/off and sleep. Why can't they have separate on/off switch which would allow multiple taps of "on" switch to set "sleep" timer, why no "one touch" alarm button which could memorise last set time meaning no need to have to go through the set up process each time (which you must do unless you want the alarm on same time every day)? However, the worst thing in my view are the tiny fiddly buttons, some of which get stuck in the casing when you press them. To switch off the alarm for example you have to press the relevant alarm button - and there are tow of them, both miniscule and behind the main on/off switch meaning you have to physically get up to look at the top of the unit to find them. If you simply press the "off" switch it does not simply switch off but automatically goes to "snooze" mode which is ridiculous. Lastly although the colours look nice the unit does not match my white bedroom furniture - given most bedrooms have white furniture why on Earth not offer a white colour on this model like they do on other models? Due to the above very annoying issues I am returning the product which is a shame as the sound quality is very good.