Roberts Ortus 5 DAB+/FM Bluetooth Clock Radio

A DAB+, FM and Bluetooth bedside radio with a full-colour TFT display, 40 presets and a USB socket to charge your phone overnight.

At a Glance

• Digital and analogue: DAB+ / FM RDS
• Station presets: 40
• Graphical display: Colour TFT
• Overnight phone charging: USB-A

The Ortus 5 is a mains-powered clock radio for the bedside, covering DAB, DAB+ and FM with RDS and adding Bluetooth 5.2 for anything you would rather play from a phone. At 114 by 143 by 99 mm and 582 g it takes up little space, and the two alarms sit on dedicated slide switches rather than buried in a menu.

The full-colour TFT display is what you notice first. It shows station information and the time as a proper graphical readout rather than a row of segments, and brightness is adjustable so it can be bright in daylight and discreet at night. Forty presets, twenty DAB and twenty FM, keep everything you listen to close to hand.

A colour screen on a bedside radio sounds like a small thing until you are half asleep and want to know what is playing.

Ideal For

• Bedside table: Two alarms on their own slide switches, a nine-minute snooze on a dedicated button and alarm volume set from 1 to 32 so mornings start at your level.
• Shared bedrooms: Each alarm is independent, so two people on different schedules can set their own wake time and choose radio or buzzer without touching the other's setting.
• Desks and studies: The aux input and Bluetooth make it useful beyond radio, and the USB socket keeps a phone topped up while you work. It draws under 0.8 W on standby.

Key Features

• 40 station presets: Twenty DAB and twenty FM presets, which is enough to cover a household's habits without anyone having to give up their station.
• Full-colour TFT display: A graphical TFT screen with adjustable brightness, so the display can be legible across a sunlit room or dimmed to something you can sleep beside.
• 50 mm driver: A 50 mm full-range driver with a rear bass port gives the Ortus 5 more weight than the cabinet suggests, whether that is speech or music.
• Two slide switch alarms: Both alarms have their own physical switch, so you can see at a glance whether tomorrow's is armed. Wake to DAB, FM or a buzzer, with volume from 1 to 32.
• USB phone charging: A USB Type-A output supplies 5 V at 1 A, enough to keep a phone charged overnight and one less plug on the bedroom socket.
• Bluetooth 5.2 and aux: Bluetooth 5.2 with AAC handles wireless streaming, and a 3.5 mm aux input takes a wired source. Both modes drop to standby automatically after 15 minutes.

• A display you can read: Clock radio displays are usually a row of segments and little more. The Ortus 5 has a full-colour TFT LCD, which means station information, the clock and the menus are laid out properly rather than abbreviated into whatever the segments allow. Brightness is adjustable, so the same screen works in a bright room during the day and dims down for the night. It is a small change that makes the radio easier to live with.
• Two alarms, two switches: The Ortus 5 gives each alarm a slide switch on the body of the radio. You can tell whether an alarm is set without waking the screen or entering a menu, which is exactly what you want at half past eleven at night. Each alarm can be set to DAB, FM or buzzer, alarm volume runs from 1 to 32, and a dedicated button gives you nine more minutes when you need them.
• Everything a bedside socket needs: Beyond the radio itself, the Ortus 5 is built to be the only thing plugged in beside the bed. A USB Type-A output delivers 5 V at 1 A for a phone overnight. Bluetooth 5.2 with AAC covers podcasts and playlists, and a 3.5 mm aux input is there for anything wired, with a stereo headphone output for late listening. The clock sets itself automatically, so the time is right after a power cut, and standby draws less than 0.8 W.

How It Compares

The Verdict

Strengths

• DAB, DAB+ and FM RDS with 40 presets
• Full-colour TFT display with adjustable brightness
• Two alarms on dedicated slide switches
• Bluetooth 5.2 with SBC and AAC codecs
• 3.5 mm aux input and headphone output
• USB Type-A output charges a phone overnight
• Standby power below 0.8 W

Considerations

• Mains only. The Ortus 5 runs from the supplied adaptor and has no battery option, so it stays where it is plugged in.
• There is no internet radio, WiFi or app control, so listening is limited to DAB, FM, Bluetooth and the aux input.
• Audio comes from one 50 mm full-range driver, so playback through the speaker is not stereo.

What's in the Box

• Ortus 5 clock radio x1
• Mains adaptor x1
• Quick start guide x1
• Safety and warranty leaflet x1