Tivoli Audio iPAL Portable Audio Laboratory AM/FM Radio, Silver/White
by Tivoli Audio
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List Price: Our Price: $219.00 You Save: $0.99 (0%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days 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 Tivoli Audio iPAL Portable Audio Laboratory AM/FM Radio, Silver/White
Customer Review: I'm a bit picky....
Summary: 3 Stars
I have become, over the past few years, a bit of an audiophile. I tend to do a lot of research (and a lot of returns too :-) Anyway, I recently decided to bite the bullet and buy an iPAL for the bathroom. Here's my summary:
Is it a good, small, desktop radio?
Yes, I think it is about as good as it can get for a 2.5'' speaker in a portable radio. It's fairly rugged (except for the antenna). The radio tuner works 'very' well and the fact that it runs off of an internal NiMH battery makes it very portable.
How does it sound?
The good. Vocals. This little guy presents wonderfully clear vocals. This may seem odd, but this little guy shines with talk/news radio. Voices don't sound as thin as they usually do in small portables.
The not so good. Because it hits the vocals so well it tends to let the mids out do the other frequencies. What does this mean? It means if you are listening to Allison Krauss then you will hear her as clear as a bell, but the dobro and banjo might get drowned out a bit.
The bad. OK, yes, I realize that this little guy wasn't meant to compete with my component stereo system. Come on, it's got a 2.5'' speaker. Does it have bass? Sure it has excellent bass from a speaker that small, but it really can't get the full range that some of us want.
Competition
The main competition to this guy is from Boston Acoustics. They both seem to be trying to make the best portables on the market. I'd be hard pressed to choose between the two for a winner. I went with Tivoli because it is a time tested product.
Sound review (1 to 5, 1=good, 5=bad)
Allison Krauss = 3.5 - Great vocals, little bass. The other insturments get drowned out.
ACDC - 4 - Amazingly, it does pretty well for mid-heavy rock.
Evanescence - 3 - Doesn't present the bass-heacy sound well at all. Vocals still sound great.
Bach (piano) - 4.5 sounds great. Crystal sound.
Bach (concerto) - 3 - Sounds like a small radio. The overall sound is OK, but all detail is lost.
Indigo Girls - 4 - Very nice sound. Again, mid-heavy songs sound excellent.
The Killers - 3.5 - Not too bad, but their music tends to have a bit more bass than this speaker can show.
FatBoy Slim - 3.5 - not too bad if you aren't looking for the thump. The overall sound was pretty good.
Chet Atkins - 4.5 - great sound and clarity.
Ella Fitzgerald - 4 - very nice. I mean hey, you WANT to hear her voice. ;-)
Jack Johnson - 5 - this little guy was MADE to play Jack. Sounds like he is sitting right there.
Kutless - 2.5-3 - It loses all detail. Gets a bit muddy.
Eric Clapton (Blues before sunrise) - 4 - Nice sound - he comes through just as raspy as you want.
Los Lonely Boys - 4 - harmonies rock, guitar licks are sharp.
My Chemical Romance - 3.5 - vocals clear (am I sounding redundant?) - bass is lost, harmony on Helena is sweet
Queen - 4 - sounds as good as it could. :-)
Fall Out Boy - (Our lawyer...) - 4 - a lot better than I expected. Mid-grunge-and-punch sound came out very well.
Matisyahu - 4 - great sound. I actually listen to him more now than before with this radio.
The Little Willies - 3.5-4 - I think my MP3's of this were encoded too low. I think it will sound much better after re-encoding them.
Overall summary:
Do I like it - very much so!
Would I buy another? As a portable, yes. If I buy another small, home radio or set I'd probably go with the Model Two http://www.tivoliaudio.com/product.php?productid=144&cat=262&page=1 just for the second speaker and stereo.
Hope this helps!
DrD
Customer Review: One of the best purchases I've made
Summary: 5 Stars
I spend a lot of time working around the house and garden and this radio is an indispensable companion. I've had mine for about 4 years and use it at least once or twice a week. Mostly I listen to NPR but also hook up my ipod from time to time. The rechargeable battery is still going strong. I can easily get a whole day out of it. And Tivoli sells a replacement battery if necessary.
On the sound - yes it's mono but here's the thing... you cannot get stereo imaging out of a radio this small. Tivoli figured wisely that one good speaker is better than two so-so speakers that only give the visual appearance of stereo imaging. The sound has suprising depth and warmth for such a small package that never fatigues the ear. The volume is limited to about a 50ft listening radius.
On the reception - it is good but not as good as some of the other reviewers have reported in my experience. I have had occasional trouble with interference as I've walked past the radio even outdoors. And it was no better than any other radio at picking up the ball game at work. The reception is okay but don't expect miracles.
On the portability - yes it is a brick. I would strongly recommend the optional carrying bag if you plan to use it as I do. It has pockets specifically designed for the ipod and it does a good job of protecting your gear as you toss it around (it's a thick, soft canvas material). The long strap makes it a grab-and-go item.
On the quality - the iPAL has a quality feel to it. Sturdy construction and a pleasing feel to the controls. Unlike other electronic items I've owned the attached rubber protective caps for the inputs on the back are still intact after much use. And I have put mine through the paces. Dropped it off a ladder, left it out in the rain for a bit, tossed it into the car and around work. Have had no issues whatsoever. The carry bag is tough as well.
One final note - the iPAL is no different than any of the other PALs that come in different colors by Tivoli. The PAL predates the ipod and Tivoli just made a white one, included a white 3.5 cable and added the "i" to the name to cash in on the ipod craze. You can get any color you like and get your own cable for the ipod.
I'm not kidding about the title. I buy a lot of gadgets and this is my favorite simply because of the countless hours of hassle-free entertainment I've gotten out of it. If my house burned to the ground this would be one of the first items I would replace.
Customer Review: Which color to get? Read on....
Summary: 5 Stars
Finally got mine today from J&R, which sells their gear here through Amazon as well....
First off, the web photos of all the various versions of the PAL/iPAL are not very accurate and the actual radios look very different in person. Also, the SongBook from Tivoli is much bigger than the PAL for those considering that option.
For me, there is really 2 choices in the color scheme, either get the iPAL or one of the other rubberized solid colored PALs. Under the store lighting at J&R, none of the rubber versions look great, except maybe the black and white. The brown, blue, gray, red, yellow, and green all looked rather dull and cheap. I asked to see the yellow and red up close and was impressed by the feel of that rubber coating. It is very reassuring in transporting those radios around, as the skin is like a surgical glove. That's the best part. The bad part was that fingerprints, smears, and grease stains were all over that rubber skin. The saleman tells me that these display models had been there for 6 to 12 months. I figure these black marks must be hard to get off, as all of the colored PALs had them all over their surfaces. The lighter versions; white, red, yellow, and green showed the dirt more clearly than the darker versions.
If you want your PALs to look clean and don't care to wash your hands before every use, don't get the rubber versions. The iPAL had no rubber skin, so you simply wipe it clean with a cotton cloth. Easy. The bad part is that the handling of the iPAL is less secured. I can see how one can drop it by accident.
I had intended to get the yellow version, but after seeing one in person, decided to get the iPAL instead.
Sonically, I didn't find any major difference between the colored PALs when compared with the iPAL, but the rubber enclosures did seem to have a deeper bass.
I couldn't get many AM stations at the store, but the FM stations were coming in loud and clear.
At home, the AM stations were no problem here in Queens, NYC. The bass of this 2.5" speaker is pretty amazing.
Overall, I think this tiny radio is sonically better than my Bose radio with those stereo speakers.
Have fun picking one for yourself.
Customer Review: What are you waiting for?
Summary: 5 Stars
Buy this ultilitarian 'black box' radio if like me:
1)You want a practical (simple) analog tuner. Twisting the two dials Volume + Tuner combined with the outstanding reception capabilities should satify all but those who have esoteric and extravagant needs. Or course you'll have to jiggle the antenna, but, it can take it.
2) You do not relish trips to the big box for enormous cellophane packs of batteries. This baby plays off the power grid as long as you need to listen. The rechargable battery concept works well. I have not drained it during my day or night usage.
3) You have need of comforting sounds in an exposed climatological condition. In other words; outside in the Sun, cold, heat or rain. It will not fail. If you can take it -it can.
4) Enjoy a lot of noise from a little package. I have a tin ear and am more concerned with the relative clarity and the ability to actually aquire a local FM station without the annoying conflict of competing stations or static. Volume is as much as the normal hearing person should require.
5) If one day when you as I become technologically gifted, the PAL will be capable of elevating my IPOD (Following my potential purchase of one) to the tactile boom box heights I prefer to the pathetic squeaks from isolated earbuds normally associated with micro sound devices. Hell,if I can hear it -Why should'nt the neighborhood.
My only extremely idle complaint is that the attached waterproof jack ports have attached covers that should have hinged skyward rather than on the downward side. In reality the rain does not penetrate, but, I like to keep things simple and would have placed the hinge on top rather than on the bottom. Buy or borrow one and you'll see what I mean. As long as the rain falls from above I like my idea. As far as the dynamics of circuitry, I'll leave that to the geniuses that design such products.
I have had numerous extreme outdoor radios that have not outlived me. Pound for pound this one probably will.
Just in case I am buying another.
Customer Review: Maybe ours were lemons, but no help from Tivoli customer service
Summary: 3 Stars
My boyfriend and I both purchased iPALs for $150 shortly before we met - about 4 years ago. My iPAL started being finicky about recharging after just three years. It took a lot of jiggling to get the recharger to find the sweet spot inside the radio's built-in jack so that the little recharging light would come on. Inevitably, the plug would slip out of place and I'd run out the battery frequently. Once I managed to connect to the current, I hated unplugging to take my radio with me, so I lost the portability aspect that sold me on the product in the first place. The A/C jack has since deteriorated, and I can hardly use the radio. Maybe once a month it will surprise me and let me turn it on.
Boyfriend's radio just quit working several months ago, after he'd had it just over 3 years. Turning it on, he'd get that little electronic poof, but no tunes. At that point I wrote to Tivoli customer service. Even though we were well outside the 1-year guarantee, I thought that a pair of $150 radios should really have a better shelf life than 3 years. My parents have working radios that are older than me, and they're just cheap clock/radio types. I didn't get any response from Tivoli, which was surprising, since they are clearly invested in making beautiful, quality products. But I guess when you're out of warranty, you're out of warranty.
When Tivoli didn't respond to my letter, I gave my boyfriend the go-ahead to perform exploratory surgery on our iPALs. He opened them up and decided to switch their batteries, which actually made them both work, good as new, for a while. But while his iPAL is still fine, mine is up to its old non-charging tricks and is no lnoger useable. I really hoped Tivoli would incentivize my purchase of a new Songbook or iPAL with a little discount, because I really loved my radio - sound quality! portability! elegance! - while it lasted. But I hesitate to go back and pay so much for such a short-lived product.