Sangean WFR-20 WiFi Internet Radio & Media Player
by Sangean
|
List Price: Our Price: $224.36 You Save: $74.64 (25%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Buy Used: from $156.00 (click here) Category: CE See more product details |
|---|
Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Sangean WFR-20 WiFi Internet Radio & Media Player
Customer Review: Bought it thinking I'd probaby return it...
Summary: 5 Stars
...but I like it too much!
I listen to a lot of internet radio; this is my primary form of news and entertainment. My computers tend to serve the purpose of being $1200 radio station streaming devices and I use FM transmitters and 900Mhz transmitters (sorry to see the RCA Lyra Transmitter set discontinued--it worked really well). The WFR-20 frees up a computer, it sounds great, the output jack connects to one of my Sangean FM transmitters so I can listen to this all over my house and yard. The Reciva software can be a bit buggy--but mostly works quite well. I log on to the Reciva website, set up my favorite stations and they appear on the radio. The WFR-20 can also access files on the computers connected to the wireless network shared through Windows Media (a bit buggy) and PNP connections.
It's kind of a homely thing, but it works well. And it's smaller than you might think. Better controlled by remote than its single knob control.
Customer Review: Best Bedside/Desk Radio I've ever owned
Summary: 5 Stars
The Display light can be dimmed all the way to off! No more blinding. If the power goes out, the unit will come back on with right time and date. The 4 alarms will remember settings also via chip - no need for a battery. All alarms can be set as daily, weekly, or just once. The latter is very nice to me and wife if I have to get up early once. Stereo sound is great with adjustable Bass and Treb. 12 presets are great - but you can create your own channel list! That's like creating your own radio dial with all your favorite channels - getting rid of everything you dislike. You can play stuff off your computer or ipod, scan songs and play them randomly. And if station you want is not listed you can connect to web and store it. Unit has a Headphone jack, line-in and line-out to connect to your A/V receiver and of course a LAN line if you don't want to go wifi. Hands down, best bedside radio I have ever owned.
Customer Review: Very good
Summary: 4 Stars
I am very satisfied with this product but there are a few areas where this product is not as good as my other internet radio (Grace internet radio). The radio works well is easy to set up and very intuitive. The clock display is great and easy to read and the sound is good. As with all internet radios I have played with the radio occasionally get locked up (nothing a reboot by removing the power cord cannot fix). I would prefer to have had an on/off button on the radio, as the single button will not let you power off (or adjust the volume down) if you are not in the right menu. The remote operates these functions in all menus. I would also have liked to see Pandora and/or Sirius applications on the radio. One final gripe is that when the radio is playing, no clock display (even small) is available. You need to turn it off to see the clock. Overall though a great product that I recommend.
Customer Review: Puts the Fun Back in Radio
Summary: 5 Stars
For those who misspent their youth trying to tune in distant stations on AM or shortwave, this radio will reawaken some of those memories.
It worked right out of the box, and the audio is quite good, especially on those stations which stream at relatively high rates (128 kbps and up).
My wife and I spent Christmas Eve listening to Radio Cook Islands, where the lead story on the news was the fact that people were behaving themselves during the run up to Christmas.
Of course you can get these stations on your computer, but there's just something about hearing the sound come out of something that looks like a radio.
The Reciva web interface is a great touch, and they are constantly adding to the database of stations from every corner of the world.
Highly recommended for fans of radio. It probably won't hold much charm for other people.
Customer Review: Don't do it
Summary: 1 Stars
I loved this radio for a few years (!) and discovered the new mantra of technology: an upgrade means reduced functionality. If you mistakenly upgrade to the current firmware, or it comes with the current firmware, this radio will take longer to turn on than a pre-transistor radio with bad vacuum tubes. There is no legitimate way to downgrade the firmware, and no appeals to Sangean will be answered. Mercifully there is one save out there, Sharkfin, and program designed to hack the radio. But be prepared to spend a lot of time setting up this software, all to downgrade to what you had. The upgrade has something to do with an EU requirement not to let the radio consume electricity in a ready mode. Consequently it goes through its entire logon procedure before turning on. Very nice radio otherwise, but Sangean's non-response to many US customers deserves less than a star.