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This review has been independently written to provide some in-depth advice for consumers considering buying this product. It was originally published in the Buyer's Guide to DAB digital radio.
This is a compact system from Goodmans, which the brand deserves to be proud of. It does the simple things well: combining a CD player with a DAB digital radio and delivering a micro hi-fi with style and economy.
The 1104 DAB has clean lines and simplicity. The main unit has a top-loading CD player and large screen in a small, sleek unit with a silver-grey finish.
It sits on an opaque glass plinth which has polished steel feet, giving the system an air of quality far beyond its value price. The speaker cabinets have a dark wood veneer with soft grey fabric grilles.
Below the blue-backlit screen is a large rotary volume dial. Other than that, there are a limited number of buttons and controls, which gives confidence that the hi-fi will be easy to use. We found that it was.
When you get the product home and take it out of the box it takes a few minutes to assemble. You have to connect the speaker wires yourself, but this is relatively straightforward.
Once you've connected the wire aerial and dangled it as high as you can, you're ready to plug the unit in. As soon as the digital radio is switched on, it will autotune and store details of all of the digital stations where you live.
The display options can all be selected by pressing the 'Random/Display' button. The radio text scrolls clearly across the screen and, though the text is quite small, it is easy to read.
We found the remote control, with a matching silver and grey finish, is the easiest way to use the hi-fi.
You can change digital stations by pressing the 'Down' and 'Up' arrow keys followed by the 'Remain/Select' button.
These are not as logically grouped on the remote as they could be. Ease of use returns once you've set up your favourite stations on the ten numbered preset keys.
As the presets can only be used from the remote control, you'll need to be careful not to lose it.
The top loading CD player has all the usual features, such as search, pause repeat and random-play. The CD controls are also very straightforward and easy to use.
The CD door opens a little higher than you might expect at first glance, which is something to bear in mind if you are keeping the Goodmans micro system on a shelf. It opens easily if a little abruptly, with a single touch of 'Open/Close' on the top of the radio.
The system can produce quite a powerful sound, but the speakers are well equipped to deal with this.
There are five EQ settings (Rock, Jazz, Classic, Pop and Flat) and an extra bass setting. There's also a headphone socket on the front of the machine.
This well designed and simple to use Goodmans 1104 DAB has all the benefits of digital radio and offers them within a compact, easy to use and affordable micro system.
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| LIST OF FEATURES |
| CD Player |  |
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| Stereo speakers | |
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| Remote control | |
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| Headphones output | |
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| Audio out | |
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| Digital optical out | |
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| Pause | |
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| Alarm | |
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| Sleep timer | |
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| Displays time | |
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| EQ (equalisation) | |
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| Tone control | |
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| Presets | 10 |
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SWITCHED ON COMMENTS
"This product is much better value than many of the digital radio micro systems available at the moment. And it's also a nice unit, with the wood coloured speakers adding a pleasing, extra touch. The biggest problem I have with this system is with the volume control. It probably goes loud enough for the average living room, but it's not especially sensitive. You have to turn it a long way before it makes any significant difference, it's just like winding up one of my clockwork radios! It's not particularly obvious how to tune between different radio stations and you'd certainly need to read the manual when you first bought it. The print on the buttons could be larger and if it was, this might make the tuning a bit easier to work out. But the eye-catching blue display is very sharp, and perhaps goes some way to make up for the button labelling."
Trevor Baylis OBE, Inventor of the wind-up radio
"My first impression is that it's got an uncluttered look and so it should be easy to use. But the buttons to change station are on the very top, right next to the CD player, something which I find confusing. Because of their position, you'd automatically think that they're for controlling just the CD. I would say that the Goodmans brand is at the cheaper end of the market, so this product might appeal to somebody who doesn't want to spend too much money. The product isn't trying to make a design statement, but I don't think many people really want their radio to do that anyway. When you've got a radio, CD player and speakers for this sort of price, you've got all-round good value for money."
Alison Barlett, Illustrator - who painted the magazine cover
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