Customer Reviews

Boston Acoustics Recepter Radio (Platinum)

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I love the "Boston" sound. It's a mellow, warm sound that doesn't give me "ear fatigue". Finding that quality in a small, clock radio was a revelation. Yes, at a buck fifty, the price is above that of most current table radios, but I think it's worth the extra dough. Also, I live in a fringe area so getting NYC stations is difficult. My Proton radio and several portable's were delivering more static than music when I reached out for WNYC or WBGO - 2 great local public stations. But the Recepter pulls them in with a crisp, static-free clarity that shows there is someting special going on electronically inside the guts of the unit. Setting the alarm, time and station pre-sets is easy. The battery backup has worked through several power glitches. And there is that sound - rich, chocolate, smooth. I would recommend this radio to anyone who is tired of junk products, someone who appreciates quality and is willing to spend a few extra dollars for a clearly better product. 5 stars...

I chose this radio primarily for superior sound and good reception. It exceeds expectations. The reception is clear and crisp in huge contrast to my old Sony. No fidgeting back and forth anymore with a chinsy dial. the digital tuning is sure and clear. Every station on the dial is coming in crisply in this metropolitan area. The sound is wonderful; full and rich. I barely turn up the volume; plenty in reserve. But the volume is easily controlled with a smooth knob. I agree that it is a tad bit bassy at low volume but that gives it the fullness of sound. The bonus is the elegant simplicity of the design. The buttons are layed out nicely, and the pre-set programming on the knob is great. Easy to set, you can have all your stations on one knob; even switching bands so you can have the ball game on there too from your AM dial. And you can put them in the order you like, as it puts them in the order you set them, not numerical order of the frequency. I think this is better design than even the row of small preset buttons on some other models. The numbers might be a pinch smaller than average, but the problem is with my eyes not the radio. Its not too bright; there are 2 brightness settings, lo and hi. The dual alarm, i thought unnecessary, but I have found it a convenient feature for a weekend alarm without having to reset. Though re-setting time and alarm is a breeze with the one knob, rather than teeny H and M buttons, held simultaneously. My one "con" is that I always found with other clocks when you used a radio/buzzer setting, it would return to radio play when you hit the snooze at the buzzer. This one turns off entirely for 10 minutes, rather than keeping the radio on. I find that odd and would have much preferred the excellent radio to keep me at least half awake. ANT had a great price when I ordered. I'm so glad that I treated myself to this awesome radio. And I disagree with the comment about the buzzer not being loud enough, it starts off reasonable but gets louder. And the comment about not seeing the time if your listening to the radio is incorrect. There is a button that lets you choose your preference. It is right on top, not under the lid, so you can switch your preference easily any time you want. Just a press switches it back and forth. Like I said,good design. Less often used buttons are under a lid so you don't tap them accidently.

Hey folks Vince the radioman here again , I have a large selection of radios and love to do compares. This radio is ALMOST fabulous. At times the sound reproduction depending on the music gives the effect of a large system , like the Wave radio. But , unlike the Wave radio it tends to be a little boomy,BUT,consider the price difference.The memory section and the tuning section are very well laid out and the tuner sensativity is very good . Strong FM stations come in clear without an antenna.The AM is also good. Its sleek and cosmetically appealing. Its not to badly priced considering the "big" sound. Its sturdy and I have had no technical issues now for over a year.

The knocks are, no headphone , line out or any other ins or outs.

The Tivoli model one and the Sangean WR1 are priced about a third lower ( and not clock radios) and the sound is not quite as good although I think that the tuner sensativity on the WR1 is the best of the bunch.The Tivoli and the WR1 also have multiple ins and outs..... a previous review mentioned that you cannot see the time while the radio is on...sorry, not true , there is s display button on top of the radio alters the time and freq.

I recommend the radio.

This radio has great sound. In the SF/Bay Area, I can get enough clear stations to fill all 20 presets. The AUX feature is very useful for listening to MP3/iPod. You need to get a male-male 1/8 (mini) cable. The product doesn't come with one. There is an older model without the AUX feature. No place clearly differentiated between the model with the AUX and the model without (even Amazon), so when I ordered it, it was kind of a shot in the dark that I was getting the model with the AUX feature.

Ding against: when you're listening to the radio (or AUX), you can't see the time. It would be nice if the radio automatically went back to displaying the time while playing music.

First, as an absurdity, it seems mine, like many others, has a clock that cannot keep time and loses up to a minute a month, the company admits this happens, and its just ridiculous.

As to the sound...

It's really a matter of three things...the kind of music you like, your expectations, and psychoacoustics.

The sound is "bassy" around 200hz, and some stations (which by the way are not blameless, fm stations have different de-emphasis and can sound boomy all by themselves) will sound boomy with male voices, and some music as well.

The radio does not repeal the laws of physics, either, and is not near as good as a good $2000 system, obviously.

But it IS a wonderful radio, if the following applies to you.

First, if you have sensitive hearing, then much music will sound "wrong" or "tiring" to you after a while. Less than wonderful car stereos will "hurt your ears" after a while and the like.

The good news is, bassy though this radio is and obviously not nearly so well-defined in sound, it sounds "right"...it does not fatigue to listen to at great lengths.

I have access to better-sounding equipment at home and for critical listening of course would use that but, in the bedroom, it just sounds "right" to leave this on almost constantly, at a volume level appropriate to a table radio, which it is, and not for room-filling sound.

At low volume, suitable for falling asleep, the sound is wonderful and not bassy because of the ear's different sensitivity.

At table radio volume, the best adjective I can use is that it sounds "friendly" or accessible.

Coupled with the wonderful human engineering, such as a rotary preset selector, it just feels nice to use and listen to as background music.

Jazz is crisp, and you can clearly differentiate the bass of a bass fiddle as opposed to other instruments; classical is also pleasant, and if you do listen critically you can here the very real deficit between this and a great system, but thats not what it's for, that kind of critical listening.

Basically, is it worth $150 to add wonderfully pleasant sound and an easy to use instruemnt to your bedroom? Of course.

Is it suitable for listening to critically and intensely? Of course not.

One note of caution...to these ears, rock and pop are not what one would use this for; that's where the lack of definition relative to better systems plus the bassy quality hurt the most.

This is a solid product and has many fine qualities- not the least of which is its reception of weak signals. However when it comes to the most important quality of any radio, sound quality, the Boston Accoustics Receptor Radio is a disappointment. It's not that BA doesn't do an amazing job at producing rich and big tones from such a small product. It most assuredly does. However, it's the choice of tones and the lack of any tonal adjustment that is a disappointment. I've concluded that BA assumes everyone wants bass boost, shrill highs and very little mid-range.. (Different strokes for different folks, I guess). If you listen mostly to rockin' roll, then you might like the tonal range offered by this radio. However, if you are a jazz or classics fan and like flat, unmolested sound reproduction, then you will likely be disappointed with the lack of clear mid range and over boosted bass. On talk radio stations, the added bass tends to garble voices.

If you are tired of being awakened, or failing to be awakened, by static instead of music this radio will really surprise you. This digital clock radio literally locks onto the station. Multiple stations can be preset for easy station changes. The beautiful deep rich bass that you have never heard on a clock radio really makes listening pleasureable. The unique styling takes a little getting used to, but the platinum color goes beautifully. Alarm functions are easy to use. Another unique function is that the alarm can be turned off from either a button on the front of the radio, or a button on the top. Though this is a little more expensive than most clock radios the sound is REALLY worth the difference. The unit does make a nice table radio as well!

This radio is well worth the investment. I was searching for desk top/counter top radio that was small, got good reception and produced superior sound. I was thinking Bose, but then saw that Consumer Reports listed the Boston Acoustics Receptor as similar in quality. At about half the price of a Bose Wave Radio, this product is clearly a great value. I have been very pleased. I also like the clock/alarm features, which are easier to use than those on a typical bedside radio alarm clock.

I purchased the Boston Acoustics Receptor Clock Radio for my fiance as a birthday gift. He had wanted one for some time, but had not gotten around to buying one. He had said it would be a nice thing to have beside his bed. I was skeptical, but decided if it was something he wanted then I would find one for him. This radio is amazing. The sound is spectacular, and it is very clear. I would never have guessed such a small radio could put out that quality of sound. The single front speaker combined with the rear base subwoofer is far supperior to bedroom radios. I can honestly say this radio is worth the price and I would love to have one for my office.

I recently got to test the Boston Acoustics Recepter and was impressed with its over average reception, clean design, and ease of use. However, at this price point I'd expect a real telescopic FM antenna, not the little loose wire in the back. Additionally, I'm disappointed that it doesn't have a headphone jack for bedside use when your spouse doesn't want to hear your radio. In spite of these reservations and my underwhelming test experience at the stereo store, I read that the Boston Acoustics has unique technology that impedes interference so I decided to buy a charcoal one. At home, contrary to testing it in the electronics store, I was blown away. The rich crisp sound eclipses all my Tivoli radios and my Sangean WR-2. In spite of the pigtail radio, reception is very strong on FM and AM. I love the look, the small size, and ease of use. In short, it is my favorite radio and I have all the good ones, the Grundig S350, the Kaito 1103, the Sangean WR-2, the Tivoli PAL, the Tivoli Songbook, etc. I therefore give this 4 and a half stars and would happily give it five if it had a headphone jack.