Roberts Stream 95i

Introduction

Roberts is probably one of, if not the biggest name in the UK radio market. The retro-styled classic-looking radios have been a popular addition to many homes over the years.

And along with its 50s retro styled radios, the brand has made forays into more modern systems. The Stream 94i was there at the beginning, where radios were sashaying into the realm of hi-fi, offering access to DAB radio as well as Wi-Fi with Spotify Connect support.

The Stream 95i is the follow-up – more expensive – but hopefully better radio/hi-fi system too.

Design

• Heavy
• Comes with a handle
• Optional rechargeable battery

It’s a significant change in terms of the Stream 95i’s appearance. The dials, onboard controls and display have been shifted from the front to the top surface, the front and back taken up entirely by a black fabric grille.

Which is the front and which is the back? The side that has the golden Roberts logo on it. I’ve managed to confuse myself with that on many occasions.

It’s a move that has its upsides and downsides. Controlling the radio through its dials and buttons on top seems a more natural fit, but it does mean that the display is harder to see. It’s the type of display where you have to be hovering over to dip into the menus.

The display is bright and viewable if standing up, but it is quite small as well. Below the screen is a privacy switch for enabling or disabling the built-in microphones if you don’t want the voice assistant picking up your random thoughts.

The Stream 94i had a menagerie of buttons on its front surface, but for the 95i these have been refined down to four. And like other Roberts radios, there’s no lettering of what each one is just symbols. It means making an assumption or diving back into the packaging to find the manual.

The button with three lines is the ‘Menu’ button, the heart is for favourites or presets (of which you have ten per source). The dial with three dots above is the ‘Mode’ button (source selector), while the circle is the ‘Action’ button – basically voice assistance.

Either side of these buttons are dials, both are responsive and smooth to turn; with the left hand-side covering volume and right for selecting a station or moving through the menus. A press and hold on the left dial powers the Stream 95i on or off. For the right, a press controls playback.

There’s a headphone input on top and a telescopic aerial for better reception. More connections are found on the radio’s underside – USB (for both charging and playback), an aux input, and Ethernet for a direct connection to your router.

I haven’t mentioned build quality. The reviewer for Stream 94i felt it was one of Roberts best looking radios but for me, the various materials like the glossy surface wouldn’t scream ‘premium’ in 2025. The Stream 95i has a more tasteful, minimalist appearance with its faux wood styling for a radio that seems designed to blend into the background.

It’s a big unit, and while it comes with an attachable handle, it’s slightly bigger than its predecessor and heavier too. Portability is more than hinted at as you can add a battery (there’s a compartment on the underside), but the battery is optional (£39.99) and not included. Adding it brings 8 hours of battery life and it can be recharged.

There’s no IP rating to surmise its protection against water, or at least no mention of it on the Roberts site.

Features

• Roberts app
• Spotify Connect
• Alexa integration

The Roberts Stream 95i circumnavigates the territories of radio, hi-fi and smart speakers. If you’re an Alexa user, Amazon’s voice assistant comes built-in. Don’t want Alexa? Either don’t activate her in the first place or disable the microphones with the privacy switch.

You’ve got the usual DAB, FM, DAB+ tuners, but more importantly, there’s Wi-Fi connectivity which opens the Stream 95i to a whole other realm of music sources. There’s Chromecast (or Google Cast), Spotify Connect and Bluetooth as well.

Moving away from the Undok app of before, Roberts’ app adds built-in support for the likes of TuneIn, Tidal, Qobuz, Amazon Music, Deezer and more although there’s no AirPlay support; but the more expensive Pure Classic Stereo doesn’t have it either.

You can access a selection radio stations through TuneIn, and there’s a BBC Radio option that offers local and regional stations (for whatever reason this option didn’t work). If you’re looking for true Internet radio access however, the Stream 95i doesn’t have it.

The app itself isn’t an eyesore and should evoke some familiar nods from anyone who’s used a Linkplay device before. You can set presets (up to 10), stream directly from the mobile device’s storage or access any music servers on your home Wi-Fi.

You can create a list of favourite songs, group the Stream 95i with other supported devices on the same network, adapt the EQ either through custom or presets. Set your alarm clock, swap input sources, control volume and playback. The app itself is swift in terms of response. It’s very simple and easy to use.

Sound Quality

• Rich bass
• Bright highs
• Not the most detailed sound

Though the Roberts Stream 95i is aiming for hi-fi quality audio, it’s probably a stretch to expect “hi-fi” quality from a one-box, 2.1 speaker system. Nevertheless, the Roberts gives it a good college try.

From the off, it conveys a warm, weighty sound. The soundstage isn’t the widest – slightly bigger than the width of the radio, with vocals granted the priority and ladled with a decent amount clarity.

This isn’t the sharpest sounding effort across the frequency range. It offers a broad or loose sense of detail rather than a performance that’s full of detail and definition. But its performance is enjoyable in light of the warmth of the speaker’s sound.

There’s good bass presence, something that’s a struggle for a more ‘traditional’ radio, with low frequencies that are rich in tone, punchy when they need to be, and offering decent weight and power. If the Stream 94i put the emphasis on a sound that was a little too treble-focused, the Stream 95i places its emphasis towards the lows instead.

Listening to Run Free by Soulwax, the highs are bright, and the soundstage is spacious. It’s a likeable sound, though it’s not particularly dynamic. I wouldn’t say it’s a sound that could replace a true hi-fi system, but the Steam 95i isn’t aimed at that type of customer. It’s a smooth, easy-going performer.

At its maximum volume (32), it sounds compressed, voices are distorted and bass disappears. The radio gets louder but the soundstage doesn’t get wider. At volume 13 I found it’s performance to be loud enough.

It’s a similar performance across other sources. With FM stations the bass is rich and there’s good clarity to the voices. Again it’s not the most detailed or defined performance but the Stream 95i show assertiveness with the bass that gives a track by Kool and the Gang some power and energy. With tracks that require big amounts of bass, it perhaps lacks true bass extension, bottoming out by sounding hard.

With a Spotify stream over Wi-Fi, it sounds clearer, more dynamic and seems to manage the lows with some more clarity and less richness. It’s a sound that depending on your view, is either a bit more balanced or lacks the richness of its radio performance.

It does sound like it’s more energetic and dynamic over Wi-Fi, and playing a few tracks through Tidal, there’s solid brightness at the top end of the frequency range. I’ll come back to the opinion that I don’t think it’s the most defined or detailed sound.

The Stream 95i’s performance over Bluetooth is relatively similar to its radio sources, leaning more towards bass-heavy output. The richness of its sound sacrifices some levels of detail and sharpness, the midrange is a bit on the sharp side (especially with female voices), but it’s a fun, wholly enjoyable sound.

Should you buy it?

FAQs