Sangean WFR-20 WiFi Internet Radio & Media Player by Sangean
|
List Price: Our Price: Calculated in a shopping cart Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: CE See more digital camera details and other models |
|---|
Digital camera reviews of Sangean WFR-20 WiFi Internet Radio & Media Player
Digital camera Review: Outstanding radio
Summary: 5 Stars
I've been a radio "nut" since I built my first crystal radio when I nine years old. Since then, I've become an amateur radio operator, worked as a maintainer for aircraft radios, and been a shortwave listener for years.
That's my "radio" background.
So what about this Sangean WFR-20 wifi radio?
I've had my radio for a few weeks now and I am very pleased. Set up was accomplished in minutes. It's user friendly even if you have the slightest aptitude for computers/radios etc. Nothing tricky at all.
Now I can receive, in clear digital audio, 30,000 radio programs from all over the world. No static, no drift, no radio buzz if my neighbor decides to use his electric saw. Searching for stations is easy through the decision tree on the display, i.e., locale, genre, my stations etc. Pick one and go through the stations.
In addition, I've programmed, via the easy to use Reciva site, all my favorite talk shows, news programs, music stations. I found excellent stations I never heard of before.
You have to get used to the one dial set up. That takes about 30 seconds to figure out. Big whoopie. The only "negative" I can come up with is that the "tree" you go through to get from one station to another is a little awkward, but no big deal at all.
The radio is convenient enough for me to use it in the basement, in the kitchen, outside in my workshop. Comes in great everywhere on my property.
I don't know about other brands of wifi radio, but I do know that I really like my radio a lot. Should have bought one earlier.
Digital camera Review: Style over substance: Great sound and good looks mask a functional horrorshow
Summary: 2 Stars
I believe this is the US branding for what in the UK is known as the Roberts WM201 wi-fi internet radio. The below review references the Roberts branding, but it may be that the technology is actually Sangean's. The differences between the two I believe are limited to the default vaultage and default equalisations settings. Otherwise they're the same radio (see the Amazon.co.uk site)
Roberts radios command a good deal of loyalty, which is the only explanation I can give for the preponderance of glowing reviews on this site. The WM201 isn't the worst radio ever designed (that was Roberts' utterly moronic Gemini 9 CRD-9 DAB radio) but like the dreadful Gemini the WM201's interface is poorly thought out.
Keeping it positive, these are the good points:
* Looks great: the piano gloss black finish is certainly pretty, and with the single knob it has a pleasing economy of design.
* The sound is lovely: rich, mellifluous and detailed, BBC Radio 4 (predominantly talk) sounds wonderful and accentuates Jon Humphrys' baritone Welsh and Jim Naughtie's Scottish brogue.
* It certainly picks up a ton of stations, as you would expect an internet radio to do. Great being able to listen to WNTN in Massachusetts or Newstalk 2ZB in Wellington New Zealand (especially when the All Blacks are playing)!
Internet radio is inherently better quality than the heavily compressed sound of DAB which, despite frequent claims to the contrary, is pretty lousy (rather like a 54kbps MP3), and additionally is likely to be superseded by (incompatible) DAB2 within a short number of years. Hence the tremendous allure of the internet radio: not only a far wider range of available stations, but ythe format is preternaturally immune from obsolescence and delivers in far better sound quality. But that's internet radio in general, not the Roberts per se.
Enter the Roberts WM201, a leader in the field and a classy looking and sounding one at that. You would think that that would be all you need from a radio, so five stars would be a done deal. Not quite.
Firstly, the additional componentry is poor, or at any rate has been poorly designed - listening to the headphones is a trial: the display backlight causes significant interference to the headphone outs, yielding a high-pitched whine, and there is additional interference/degradation to the headphone signal which is not apparent in the main speaker output. I suspect poor shielding or a missing capacitor or something (I confess, radio experts: I'm no electrical engineer); at any rate it makes the headphone jack effectively unusable. Since the backlight can't be turned off entirely, the problem never goes away but can be minimised by turning it down.
Secondly, as mentioned, the backlight can't be turned off, and can't be dimmed sufficiently either. Even at its lowest setting it exudes an ethereal blue/white radiance across the room at night, which might be nice in the living room, but on a bedside table, at 2 a.m., is tremendously irritating. (The Gemini 9 was worse: it broadcast a sickly orange glow bright enough to keep the neighbours awake)
Thirdly, the software user interface is incredibly clunky, and in places just plain stupid. For example:
* While the radio is idle, there is a nice big clock display (though it glows eerily in the middle of the night). However, the moment the alarm kicks in, the WM201 does two stupid things: One, it turns itself on (good) but instead of just getting on with it, presents a dialogue: "Turn Radio On? (Y/N)". That is stupid. For one thing, the radio already *is* on, so asking the question is rather shutting the door after the horse has bolted. Secondly, I have deliberately programmed it to come on; *of course* I want the radio on. Infuriatingly, selecting "Y" overrides the alarm (programmed to turn off after a stipulated time) meaning that you have to manually turn the alarm off when you've finished listening to it. But selecting "N" turns the radio off altogether. Not helpful. The only way of having the alarm come on and then go off at the pre-requested times is to ignore the dialogue, which means that the display displays the dialogue rather than any information about the radio station or the time. Very stupid. The same effect could have achieved by simply having no dialogue screen at all. Awakened by John Humphrys' mellifluous tone, should one not want to hear it, one would turn the radio off.
* Which brings me to another point: There is no intuitive way to "snooze", as there is every other alarm clock/radio I've ever come across (including the idiotic Gemini 9)
* But the display problem gets worse: Once you've made the decision that you do indeed want the radio on, you are then given only a rolling screen display of the station and its content. Not the time. The nice big clock on the display disappears. Even if you use the (tiny and fiddly) remote to display the time, it will disappear after a few seconds. Now the one time the time display is utterly essential is that sacred waking hour between radio coming on and reluctant exit from bed - i.e. the alarm going *on* and the alarm going off. So just when you most need the clock, you don't have it.
Fourthly, the hardware interface is horrible. The single dial requires an elaborate combination of pushing a twisting to get even simple tasks done, and the remote unit is tiny, fiddly, has no backlight and is impossible to read in low light (such as that cast by the eerie glow of the clock display). Turning on a real light to read it at 2am is verboten in my household.
Fifthly, the media streaming is very hard to set up and, even where you do get it set up, virtually impossible to use. I have a number of digital music sources linked by Wifi: an iTunes library on a Mac, a Windows Media library on a PC and a Napster subscription service. Using UPnP (the windows streaming option doesn't work at all, as even Roberts seem to acknowledge) I have managed to at least locate the media on the Macintosh and cue them for playing, but never have they actually played. UPnP can find the PC alright, but neither the WM Library nor the Napster subscription on it. I concede this may not be entirely the WM201's fault - the elaborate arrays of firewalls and passwords around the network may intercede in the process, but all the same the WM201's user interface is so poor that it offers no help or suggestion as to what the problem might be. So again, a failure to adequately consider the user in the design.
For all these failings, I would be bound to say, Roberts has previous form (e.g. the shameful Gemini 9). Roberts makes good traditional radios, but it has not grasped what consumers want out of their digital media facilities. Much of this might be fixable by a firmware update, but to date I've not noticed one. A missed opportunity.
Olly Buxton
Digital camera Review: Sangean WFR-20
Summary: 4 Stars
Nice machine. Sounds great, easy to use. The a few things that kept it from being 5-stars:
1. The LCD light is very bright, even at it's lowest setting
2. Alarm clock isn't very loud
3. It doesn't default back to the clock once radio station is set
4. Can't use the volume adjuster until 30 or so seconds after selecting a radio station.
Would buy this radio again, and will. One for the kitchen, one for the bedroom. Love it.
Digital camera Review: Excellent radio reception, operating system a bit complex
Summary: 3 Stars
this radio is perfect for people who like broadcast band radio, live in an area with poor over the air reception, and have broadband internet access via a private or public Wifi network.
The sound is superb.
The downside is that one does not "tune in " a station. One has to locate it via a variety of menus, and listen to it later.
Thus it takes weeks to locate stations that one wants to listen to, as one's favorite stations may not be available .
in addition, it takes about a minute to change from one station to another.
The operating system is very complex, and will only appeal to those who are good with computers.
easier to operate than a full featured short wave radio, and much better reception of broadcast band stations. no short wave or ham bands.
Digital camera Review: Very Pleased with Sangean
Summary: 5 Stars
The setup to connect wirelessly was very straight forward. The ability to find stations easy. It is even easier if one uses the Reciva website to set up personal preferences. The sound quality is also very good. So far so good. It has been about 2 weeks of ownership. Happy with the purchase.