SangeanWR-16 AM/FM, Aux-in, Bluetooth, Wooden Cabinet Radio

So far this radio is superb and exactly what I wanted.*AM/FM~~not as easy to find as one would think and the choices are limited*small and very nice looking; aesthetically pleasing~~very lovely look with the walnut and the rose gold; classy*excellent sound~~great sound from the get go, rich satisfying sound with good volume if wanted*picks up stations effectively~~I am in a remote area and next to a ravine no less; the accompanying antenna does the job so no static and all the stations i hoped for when other radios had limited success*bluetooth~~works as perfectly as one would expect*Priced fair~~I am old school and paying this much for a radio hurts but it is truly worth it. A mediocre clock radio would cost about half of this price but they are ugly in my opinion. This is a quality item that is attractive and pleasing.*small footprint~~needed something that was not a focal point nor took up unnecessary space. I considered a used Bose but they are just too big and too expensive. This fits in nicely as bookshelf or counter radio. It is the perfect size.*options~~haven't used the aux yet and don't know if I will need it at some point but I would expect it to work as well as everything else based on the rest of it.I am a fan. There are many sellers with this radio available. My seller, BeachAudio, shipped expediently and the item was well wrapped, double boxed and had no damage or packaging issues whatsoever. I am very happy with this radio. I spent considerable time shopping, looking, researching, deciding. happy happy highly recommend. If anything changes, I will absolutely update.

The media could not be loaded. The Sangean 45th Anniversary Special Edition WR-16SE is definitely special in many ways. Not only does it provide crystal-clear reception of local channels, but with exterior FM and/or AM loop antennas, you will have a far-reaching collection of broadcasts at your fingertips. This radio combines the look and feel of yesterday with the state-of-the-art performance of today. The analog tuning style gives a nostalgic feel, all the while digitally locking in frequencies, eliminating station drift. It is also equipped with Bluetooth connectivity and an aux-in, so you can easily play podcasts and internet radio stations from any device with a headphone jack or Bluetooth capabilities. Other features include a USB charging port, record-out jack, and headphone jack for a discreet listening experience.I would liken the design to a late 1970s/early 1980s luxury tabletop style. Well-made and durable, the wood cabinet, rose gold face, and well-lit dial are pleasing complements to each other and their surroundings. The sound from this radio is unbelievable for its size! It utilizes a quality speaker, bass port, and special audio-shaping style to produce clear highs and rich bass, eliminating the need for tone controls.I am very happy with my purchase and would recommend Sangean radios over any other brand sold today. If you are in the market for a compact, yet solid tabletop radio packed with features from a company that has been engineering and manufacturing radios for over 50 years, then the WR-16SE is made for you.

Buying something as simple as a basic radio is much harder than it needs to be because there isn't any real way to get a side by side comparison without buying both, which is exactly what I ended up doing. I will try to avoid repeating other reviews as most of them are pretty accurate. Here is the outcome:THE TIVOLI MODEL ONEI had been checking out the Model One for a few years and love the minimalist aesthetic but not the maximalist price so I got a used one on auctionbay. Although it was in good condition, it did need some work. First thing it needed was new feet. The Model One comes with stick-on silicon rubber feet and mine was missing one as they come off very easily. I installed a set of screw-on rubber feet. The tuner had the crackling and drifting issues complained about in so many reviews so I cleaned the tuning capacitor where the rotating shaft goes into it with some contact cleaner. Problem solved, but probably not permanently. There is also a feint but noticeable low level hum through the speaker even when it is off which seems to be another common problem. This appears to be due to an inadequate power filter circuit. Using an external power supply solved that problem. Although the radio functioned properly now I was still not satisfied with it and decided to check out the Sangean.THE SANGEAN WR-16I purchased WR-16 brand new because of the very reasonable price. It has built in Bluetooth which works seamlessly. I have read complaints about the Bluetooth sound level but I found that when the volume on my Pixel I XL was all the way up sound is equal to the radio. The Sangean is slightly larger than the Model One, has more thoughtful touches such as rounded corners on its cabinet and a backlit tuning scale which makes it much easier to see, especially in the dark. It also has lighted mode indicators that show up nicely in daylight but are bright in the darkness. The Sangean also has those stick-on feet which I will eventually replace. Which brings us to the "booming" sound so many people complain about. The Sangean has a bass compensation circuit which raises bass levels slightly as volume is decreased and has a rear-firing bass port whereas the Tivoli has a down-firing port. This gives music more of a full sound on the Sangean but talk stations can suffer a bit. Some people recommend stuffing a piece of cloth or a cotton ball in the port to de-bass it. If it is really an issue for you try covering it with heavy tape. That worked the best to attenuate the bass. I ultimately decided to leave the bass port alone as the difference between the two radios is much less than I expected from other reviews. I noticed no difference in sound with the radio close to the wall but placing it in a corner will likely make it boomier.THE WINNERThe WR-16 won the contest in every way, or it's more accurate to say the Model One lost in every way. The Tivoli's brutally minimalist design, it's main feature, is also it's downfall because that philosophy unfortunately extends to it's internals, with cheap components on minimally engineered circuitry. Disappointing, especially for the price. The Sangean has better quality components with the speaker being obviously better and has a much more sophisticated power filtering circuit with no unwanted humming or hissing. The cabinets of both units are laminated MDF, not solid wood but there is more craftsmanship and thoughtful design with the Sangean. For people who only ever listen to talk radio, must have that particular aesthetic, and don't care about value, the Tivoli might be the choice. Otherwise you are paying a lot for brand identity hype and getting little else in return. The Sangean is about half the price and easily doubles the value.

This radio looks good on the table top and has a great sound. The blue tooth feature is very useful to use with my tablet. The only downside I would give it is its receiver sensitivity. It would be okay as a radio used in the city, but out where I live in an rural area of the country, the radio's reception can be spotty and noisy. You cannot do DX with it! However, it was still a great purchase. I just wish that I could pick up that talk radio station across the state line.