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Pure Contour 200i Air review

The Pure Contour 200i Air is a versatile iPod dock, offering some of the most user-friendly connectivity options we’ve seen, matched by a gorgeous design.

The 200i Air is the third Contour in Pure’s series, following the Contour and Contour 100i, one thing we’re disappointed to find missing is a FM/DAB tuner, which is a surprising because radio prowess is what Pure is famous for, but a DAB tuner costs money and increasing numbers of people are listening to internet radios via apps on their phones.

puRE 200I MAIN

On the front of the Contour 200i sits the iOS dock, although it doesn’t retract like the original Pure Contour, but it’s much more durable and can ably hold an iPad, which you via the small remote or volume controls built into the top.

There’s no LED display for station information, instead the status indicator tells you want feature is being used. Around the back there’s an aux-in (for non-Apple devices) and a Coaxial port, 

The Pure Contour 200i Air is a connected device, go online using the ethernet port, or wirelessly. The 200i Air is one of the first device to support WiFi Login sharing, which takes away all the hassle of logging in using a WEP key; simply dock your iPhone or iPod in the front, press a button and the Contour automatically shares your network access details to get online.

pure contour 200i dual pic

AirPlay, Apple’s native streaming process, is built-in so you can stream music, podcasts and audiobooks to the Contour simply by tapping the AirPlay button on your iPhone, iPad or via iTunes. 

Sound quality is impressive from the 36W RMS speakers, it’s certainly not as bass heavy as we’d have liked, but it’s certainly loud enough to fill a room.

Pure isn’t just about hardware. Pure Lounge is an internet radio app for Android and iOS devices with access to thousands of radio stations, it’s a useful app, neatly designed and costs nothing. Alternatively £4.99 a month nets you a subscription to Spotify rival Pure Music, a cloud-music service with Pure Tag, for quickly identifying music tracks.

The Pure Contour 200i retails for around £199, which is great value for an AirPlay dock, especially one that looks and sounds this good and makes music streaming so easy. We would have liked to have seen a DAB radio, but with this device Pure is targetting territory currently occupied by Philips and B&W, offering similar features, but at a much cheaper price.

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