table radio reviews

1. Posted: Aug 2 2008

   I had read reviews of most of the high-end table-top radios with CD - Bose, Cambridge, Polk, Tivoli and a few others. No iPod connection required for me, though it has a line-in. The radio does AM/FM, CD (MP3), USB Flash (though it sticks out the front) and up to 2GB SD cards. I ripped my CD collection to high quality 320kbps - just over 2MB per minute. I bought a 3-pack of 2GB SD cards and each 1 holds about 15 hours of music. The sound is fantastic and as good as any mid-priced stereo receiver/speakers. It fills a medium size room loudly and at soft "talking party" volume, it fills a large room with excellent sounds. 1 nit - The unit must be controlled by the remote. The front knob only does on/off and volume. The remote is a small flat device that needs to be within about 10-12 feet of the radio and pointed straight towards the front. Highly recommended.

2. ( 1 of 1 found this review helpful ) Posted: Jun 22 2008

   I bought this radio for my kitchen, which is a high traffic, high use area. It has great sound but the features are the real sell. I was frustrated because most everything out there was focused on the iPod which I will never own. Also, most of the CD players will play mp3s but not wma format. My collection of thousands of songs are wma. This radio plays mp3 and wma formats from 3 different sources (USB drive, SD card or CD). It also has an aux jack so I can plug my (non-iPod) player in. Now, my kids and I can each have our own music on whatever media we like and just plug it in. On top of all this, it has RDS (Radio Data System) that tells you the names of songs and groups from radio stations that participate. I have always loved this feature on my car radio. Now for the downside. All the functionality is on the remote. All you can do from the radio is power and volume. I would have liked a little more functionality available on the radio. Also, there does not seem to be a way to make it so the RDS display is the default. I have to hit the mode button when I switch to a station that supplies RDS. This radio is a little pricey but well worth it and much less expensive than the Bose Wave radio that has nowhere near the features.

3. Posted: May 7 2008

   This is one sharp looking radio...it has a beautiful symetry about it....& yes, it sounds as good as it looks....so good it seems there is only one thing this Sangean cannot do that full size stereo systems can....& that is produce sound at levels that will distort your perception of time & space....& you know what?....i have outgrown the need for such things & am perfectly content to listen to music at decible levels that are comfortable to hear....in this Sangean, less is truely more....the WR-3 is packed with features i may never use, but it is great to have them anyway....love the blue info display....& how it "says" hello when you boot it up....i have parked this under the wide screen on the wall in my modestly sized living room, & it is accusticly & astheticly perfectly suited for the room, it looks so good it competes with the tv at being a focal point of attention....reception in both AM & FM is excellent & the remote is nice too, one glance is all you need to get it set up in seconds...the cabinet is heavy & sports an excellent finish....one complaint i have though.....is that stupid sticker they put on the FRONT of the unit...which, if they were considerate enough to have used a label that does not leave behind glue residue....would not have been a problem....but they were not considerate, & it is a problem, as it does leave behind a sticky, hard to clean mess right on the front of your new radio....how freaking lame!.....a minor point but worth noting non-the less.....the WR-3 is a unique peice of sophisticated, fine fidelity furniture that i highly recommend to all in need of such.

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1. Posted: Oct 3 2007

   I want to buy this product and have followed it from Amazon to Country Home Products to the Crosely website. On the Crosley website instead of vague information regarding the "antenna" it explains the necessity of purchasing either an XM mini tuner to play XM (as well as getting a subscription to XM) or ordering another product an XM Mini Tuner and Home Dock. This explicit information should added to both this website and the Country Home Products website. Otherwise purchasers will not get what they think they paid for. All of these items are on back order according to the Crosley website and no date is given as to when it should be available. I am disappointed but want to order this item. No it is not portable and light. I want something that I don't have to build but can simply attach a tuner and go after getting the subscription. This looks like it.

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1. Posted: Aug 1 2007

   My elderly mother lives in an assisted living community and has lost most of her eyesight to macular degeneration. Finding electronic equipment she can successfully use is a problem with SO MANY gizmos cluttered with small buttons for controlling everything. I searched for literally YEARS for a reasonably priced, well made table radio for her (one that she could actually use). The tiny picture available here suggests that the big white button on the dial actually turns the AM/FM tuner and I was delighted to find when I opened the box that it does indeed control the tuner. In fact, it gears down so that you get really fine tuning for radio stations (you turn the dial all the way around about 4 times when going from the lowest end of the dial to the highest end). It also comes with a tuning light that turns green when you have the signal at the best strength. The volume knob is also simple to operate. The built in mono speaker has good sound and nice bass. My mother is thrilled!

2. ( 1 of 1 found this review helpful ) Posted: Jun 2 2007

   As radio, the CX-166 does well on AM, but the FM circuitry is not up to decent standards and an antenna wire dangling somewhere is necessary. It labors even to pick up FM signals from radio stations within 25 miles. It comes with a single USB thumbdrive input slot for users carrying their MP3 or WMA tunes in the root. It does not support separate folders for different music genres, nor does it allow for even random playing. Each time you choose the USB mode, it starts from the beginning and you must push a tiny hard-to-press button to skip to the next, or go back one at a time. While in USB mode, there is an annoying low-frequency hum from the speakers, but not in either radio mode. I do appreciate the analog tuning dial for AM/FM radio station selection, and also like the analog volume control, rather than stepped button pushes. The turn switch to choose between OFF-USB-AUX-FM-AM is very stiff, however, and the knob is small.

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1. Posted: Aug 23 2008

   The reception on this little radio is exceptional, even without any supplemental antenna. This is the first time I've been able to listen to NPR without static! I also like the port to connect an MP3 player. The sound is good for the size. The only thing I would like to see added is a few preset buttons. If you are looking for a great radio, you won't be disappointed with this one.

2. Posted: Aug 14 2008

   The initial reviews of the Sony ICF-M1000 when it first went to market weren't very favorable, at least by audiophile standards. But with a substantial price drop to around $50.00 (from $150.00 or more), the radio you get now is heads above anything at this price. I bought one through Amazon and have had it for about a week. The radio looks fine, has firm, smooth operating controls (actually very classy), surprisingly basic operations and a very fine sound and reception sensitivity. Ideally, one might have prefered separate treble and bass knobs, but the single tone knob works well enough. It sounds better than all my single speaker radios, including a GE Superadio III and an old Panasonic RF2200. Reception (both FM and AM) is simply outstanding with the clearest hiss-free sound of any radio I own. The FM antenna is in the power cord, so positioning the cord can effect reception. Because the radio has an internal ferrite AM antenna, weak AM stations can be boosted significantly with a Terk Passive AM-1000 antenna just placed next to side of the radio and tuned to the station frequency. I have the radio in the basement to listen to FM transmitted from my XM radio upstairs--this works fine. Even in the basement without any additional antenna, the AM reception is very clear and clean at night. Happy with the purchase.

3. Posted: Aug 4 2008

   I use the Sony ICF-M1000 in the kitchen. The digital tuner makes it easy to find the stations I want and reception is great.

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