Grace Wifi Radio (ITC-IR1000B)
by Grace Digital
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Our Price: $199.99 Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Buy Used: from $74.99 (click here) Category: CE See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Grace Wifi Radio (ITC-IR1000B)
Customer Review: Poor Quality Control / Great Radio!
Summary: 3 Stars
I either have bad luck or Grace's quality control is really poor. I have just returned my 2nd to Amazon and waiting on delivery for the 3rd to arrive.
First - powered down during firmware upgrade and never came back. Second - arrived with static in the speaker that evolved into the speaker not working all together. Took 15 minutes out of the box to re-pack it and send it back. Having said that I have had to return 2 units - I am anxiously awaiting the 3rd try. I love this radio!
Pro:
Pandora.com - if you don't know what it is go there - it's the reason to buy this radio
Internet Radio - where else can you get 1000's of radio stations?
Media Files - You can play your MP3's directly from your computer to your radio.
Cons:
Quality Control is definately not up to par.
Operator interface takes some getting used to...could be improved
Firmware is still buggy - it crashes / shuts down / turns on
Set-up - Look you have to have some techie in you to appreciate and set-up this radio. If not, you will be writing a review on how the manual is incomplete and how this is hard to set-up. I didn't read the manual and figured it out without - to each their own - but don't expect it to be plug and play.
Overall, the product concept is great! The execution needs to be cleaned up a bit to make it a bit more mainstream. I on the other hand...will be waiting to see if my 3rd radio works!
Customer Review: Ergonomically Unfriendly
Summary: 3 Stars
The radio is what it was advertised to be. One can get some hard to receive (even continents apart) and receive them in decent sound quality in a compact case where it can easily fit in one's bed headboard space. That is the pro. The cons are, it lacks some background lighting for the control pannel buttons. It is a struggle to locate those buttons in the dark unless one turns the light on when at the risk of your spouse filing some divorce papers. A dim light for the control buttons could go a long way to make the radio a user friendly for those of us who needed to be soothed to sleep by listening to music, news or talk shows. I don't know if it was the particular unit that I had, but it makes a low frequency (sort of transformer type) humming noise even when the volume is completey off; and it won't go away until the radio is turned off (if you can find the ON/OFF button that is). The antennae was lose and wanted to be commanded by gravity, which I suppose could be tightened up if I was going to keep the radio. Although one could reportedly subscribe with the "Reciva" site (which I didn'y bother), the available 5 preset buttons are woefully inadequate for a radio that boasts to bring in more than 5,000 channels (Stations). Also, the channel retrivial system whould go a long way, if they could provide a favorite sation selector on the same line as the HD 820W by Cambridge Sound Design does.Customer Review: Where has this been all my life?
Summary: 5 Stars
My satellite radio is getting a rest. I'm a big fan of old time radio, and I've found stations that play nothing buy OTR, 24 x 7. Clear reception of the BBC World Service (without the repeats you get on the domestically-provided versions), and of all the regional BBC stations are a real bonus. The classical stations are complemented by the excellent sound produced by such a small speaker.
The "on demand" features available on many stations are great -- I like being able to listen to a story when I want to, rather than tuning in at any particular time.
I haven't yet tried streaming from my PCs, which is of minimal importance (I already stream to my stereo via bluetooth), but if it works as well as everything else, it should be no problem.
The radio was simple to set up. Getting new stations added isn't as simple as just filling out the form on reciva.com, however. I'm still waiting five days later for some to be added, and they haven't yet fixed the Syracuse, NY AM station's transmission. despite my report of the error. It's supposed to be WSYR-AM, but the feed is BBC Arabic.
That's a very minor problem, however.
I LOVE this radio, and will probably buy one or two more in the year ahead.
My only wish is that I could have this in the car -- but universal wifi isn't here yet. I can dream, can't I?
Customer Review: Through the price barrier
Summary: 5 Stars
I've been listening to internet radio for more than 5 years, and have been exploring the purchase of a stand-alone wifi radio for the last two. The market has either been high-end ($300+ for the Roku Soundbridge or the Revo Pico), products with flaws (check the reviews for the Torian InFusion) or not a true standalone device (requiring that your computer be on, works only with open networks, etc.).
When I saw the Grace Wifi Radio at the $170 pricepoint, I decided to give it a try. I opened the box about an hour ago, and within 10 minutes had it set up, working with my WPA protected AirPort network. Sound is good; this isn't hifi, but like 90% of internet listeners I'm no high-end audiophile. The stations available through the Reciva server simply blow my mind (think thousands instead of the hundreds I normally look through on iTunes). I can see myself playing with this for weeks, cranking the dial like a kid with his first shortwave.
Note this is a very simple radio; only 5 presets, no equalizer, no dancing visuals, no ipod dock..... And I haven't tested its capability to play audiofiles sent by iTunes (that's not what I bought it for). But all in all I'm very pleased, and while decent wifi radios will probably be available below $100 before the year is out, I'm glad I didn't wait.
Customer Review: Good deal for the money
Summary: 1 Stars
I got this radio by UPS on 10/27/08. Spent a couple of hours trying to get it beyond the "Initializing Network" stage, which it would not do. Went into the router settings, disabled the router firewall, disabled the WEP security, still without any success. Customer service at this company is only voicemail that does not get answered. Did get through to someone by pressing "sales" and he said the unit was defective and to return it. They do answer their email though. It was way easier and cheaper to return via Amazon than via manufacturer. I took a chance on a replacement unit. Three days later I had the replacement from Amazon and it seems to be working fine. One thing I liked about it right out of the box is that it has an internal power supply instead of a "wall wart" which increases portability and gives it a more solid look. Sound is pretty good for a small speaker. Range is not what I would like, but in all fairness that may well be from the crappy router that I have. My wife liked it right away because I was able to get her favorite talk shows on it. I'm still having fun with the Pandora feature. Overall, I think it is a really good buy for the money. I at first gave it a one star rating but now give it four out of five stars, but Amazon doesn't let me change the rating.