Customer Reviews

Eton Sound 100 AM/FM Radio, Black

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

The Sound 100 is the latest in Eton's product family. As a stand-alone radio this device is average. The model with the iPod dock is a cut above and more worth consideration for only $30 to $50 more.
Eton Sound 100 iPod Dock, White
Etón Sound 100 iPod Dock, Black

The speaker is monaural, but optimized to prevent distortion. At the highest volume the sound gets tinny but doesn't hiss. If you like modern design, the Eton is one of the best looking. It is sleek, COMPACT and light.

But there are shortcomings. The internal AM antenna is below average. You can use an external one, and most users will need to.

There are only 10 programmable station presets. The RDS broadcast data is only 8 characters at a time. The screen is hard to read; you have to be right in front of it. There are no external RCA, speaker or subwoofer jacks, only line out. There is no EQ, treble or bass control and no way to adjust the backlight.

Why only 10 presets? Why no speaker or subwoofer jacks? Why didn't they add Short Wave or HD capability?

If you only need an alarm clock radio, there are other options. This unit is above average on FM but below average on AM. Products by Sangean, BA and others have higher ratings at this price.
Sangean WR-2 Digital AM/FM Tabletop Radio, Black
Sangean WR-3 AM/FM Digital Table Top Radio
Boston Acoustics Receptor Clock Radio (Platinum)

If you are VERY picky about sound and want a nice compact radio alarm clock, this unit will mostly appeal to Eton purists who prefer this design. Definitely compare before you buy. Enjoy!

Pros
+ Very nice iPod serial interface for optional Dock
+ Line-in and auxiliary jacks for MP3 players and other devices
+ Good speaker sound with surprising bass
+ Shielding protects the radio from interference
+ Battery backup possible for power outages
+ Nice alarm clock function
+ Nice looking design in a small and LIGHT form factor

Cons
- No equalizer; no treble or bass control
- Requires external antennae for good radio reception
- No RCA jacks or stereo connections for external speakers
- No Subwoofer connector - only standard stereo line out
- RDS only displays 8 characters at a time
- Backlight is not adjustable; you must be close to it to read it

As a satisfied owner of a Tivoli Model One and Three, I needed a good excuse to purchase the Eton Sound 100. One of Amazon's "Lightning Deals" and the coming of Christmas gave me the excuse. I didn't even plan on trying the radio out since it's a gift, and the objections of some of the reviewers--to an illuminated display or a "plastic-looking" cabinet-- struck me as of little to no consequence. But curiosity got the best of me, so I did the side by side, Eton Sound 100 vs. Tivoli Model One and Three comparison. My findings--

Sensitivity: The Tivoli pulled in my favorite fringe FM stations (60 miles out) more effectively than the Eton--clear, no static, no fiddling with the radio or its little "hang-tail" antenna required. The Eton definitely required extension of the antenna to get an equally clear signal. Also, I noticed that it was extremely sensitive to my physical touch, using my body as a kind of antenna. When I walked away from the radio, the static resumed. AM was another story. The Eton out-scored the Tivoli in selecting and holding on to the AM stations in the Chicago-Milwaukee area.

Sound: I experimented with speaking voice from FM broadcasts and music from a Panasonic CD player. The Eton has more bass "volume" than the Tivoli (which isn't exactly lacking in that department), registering a pronounced, even dramatic resonance when the bass player suddenly dropped to his lowest string. It's also a slightly more "mellow" sound, reducing by a slight margin the hissing of sibilant consonants or the highs of sizzling ride cymbals. But suddenly making the switch to the Tivoli Model One made me realize why I'm so fond of this radio, which is practically the identical size of the Eton 100. The sound of the Tivoli is simply more natural, with greater life and presence. (On both the Eton and Model One, I could advance the gain all the way and achieve ample loudness with no distortion, rattles, buzzes.)

Clock-radio: My wife's pet peeve with the Model Three is that she can't set two alarms, the first to radio and the second to a buzzer; my problem with the Model Three is that it's on a 12-hour cycle, and beeps every afternoon when I'm the only person in the house. Hence, a decided advantage in this department to the Eton Sound 100 (though my wife's problem is probably best addressed by a Boston Acoustics Receptor, which I have yet to try).

Bear in mind that comparing high-end radios so close in quality and price is necessarily a highly subjective, personal experience, with variables ranging from the individual's musical preferences to the weather outside to the end of the room or side of the bed the radio is on, and even two comparable radios can disagree about which side best accommodates their needs.

These aren't recommendations--just one reviewer's conclusions: If you don't care about the clock radio, remote control and absence of pre-sets, it's the Tivoli Model One for my money--decisively. If you want a good-sounding, high-end clock radio with remote, presets, and at 50-100 bucks less than the Tivol Model Three with its problematic alarm, it's the Eton 100. And if AM is still part of your life, it's the Eton 100. A final detail worth mentioning: both the Eton 100 and Model Three come with fairly generous-sized wall warts (AC adaptors); the spartan Model One does not.

Addendum: At the risk of offending the Eton fans (or maybe it's my breath), I've had a chance to spend some time with the Boston Acoustics Receptor clock radio and found it preferable to both the Tivoli 3 and Eton 100. More compact than either (no wall wart accompanying it), 2 truly independent alarms, a beautifully conceived tuning dial (no poking at little buttons or hunting with a manual tuner), and competitive (at the least) sound and reception. I still have the Eton Sound 100 and a recipient who would prefer the Eton Ipod Dock model (priced considerably higher than what I paid for the Sound 100). The answer, I'm hoping, will be a universal iPod dock made by Belkin and going for about 40 bucks. Admittedly it's not a stylistic or color match, but if it's functional, close enough.)

I just received my black Eton Sound 100, which I put in my computer room, five feet away from the computer so as to avoid computer interference. Take my word for it, a nearby computer really compromises reception and signal strength on ANY RADIO. So for your computer office, I recommend a radio with a remote so you can keep your radio several feet from your computer. The Eton's remote works fine from several feet. Lucky for me, the Eton has proven to be my best choice for my office here in Los Angeles. With the telescopic FM antenna positioned slightly right, all my FM stations, including the weak 89.3, come in loud and clear. Better yet, I don't have to get up and move the radio (its internal AM antenna) to find the sweet spot for AM stations. 640, 790, 710, 1150 and others all come in loud and clear. I have to give the Eton a grade "A" for reception.

The Eton is my best looking radio. Part modern, part retro, with a polished black shine, it is sleek and attractive, my favorite radio in terms of pure looks, even better looking than my Tivoli Songbook. At this price point, the Eton Sound 100 must be compared to the Tivoli Songbook, the Sangean WR-2, and the Boston Acoustics Receptor, all more or less priced the same, depending on sales. As a radio hobbiest, I have all 4 radios. Ranking them, I'd give the Eton a slight edge over the WR-2 because its telescopic antenna brings in better FM while AM is equally strong on both. The Sangean has a slight advantage in that it has manual tuning; in contrast, the Eton must be either toggled (a very slow process going from one band width extreme to the other) or tuned with digital memory presets. You will want to put in the 2 double-A batteries so you don't lose your presets as the Eton's most glaring weakness is how slow it takes to tune with the toggle buttons. On balance, I think the Eton beats the Sangean WR-2 for the following reasons: Slightly better FM, telescopic antenna (the Sangean has a pigtail FM antenna), better looking, sleeker and smaller footprint. I'd say the sound is deep and rich on both radios' monoaural speakers.

Comparing the Eton Sound 100 to the Boston Acoustics Receptor is really hard for me because of the 4 radios mentioned, I love these 2 the most. I think I like the bright sound of the BAR the best but it has no remote or telescopic antenna. Nor does it have a headphone jack. So it is relegated to the kitchen where it does an excellent job. If you can pick one up on sale for 100 dollars or so I think the BAR is great for a room in which you don't need a remote or headphones.

I must say the Tivoli Songbook takes a distant fourth place. Slightly weaker reception and the fact that its design is such that it easily flips over puts it in last place.

For an attractive bedside or kitchen radio with remote control, presets, unique retro design, and strong AM/FM reception, go for the Eton Sound 100.

It's not a bad table radio; it sounds pretty good and AM/FM reception is good. I like that it has an external FM antenna (but it lacks any connections for an external antenna). The bad things are the cost, the backlighting, and the difficulty in setting the time.

I got mine for around $135 with shipping. The Sangean WR-2 which is a much better radio sells for about the same amount if you do a bit of shopping. I paid considerably less for my WR-2 than the list price on the Eton 100.

The backlighting is not adjustable! And at night it's BRIGHT like you can see across the room in the dark bright. If you need to sleep in a dark room this not the radio for you.

The clock settings revert away from set mode so quickly that it's hard to set by the tone of a time service.

If you're looking for a really good table radio I suggest the Sangean WR-2. The backlighting is adjustable (you can also turn it off). It sounds better and the treble and bass are adjustable (the piano finish wooden cabinet in white or black is especially nice.

While I'm not sending it back--if I had bought this radio retail, I'd probably take it back to the store and order another Sangean WR-2.

I compared this unit to a Sangean WR-2 and felt the Sangean was a better buy, having more features and better value. The WR-2 also looked much more attractive, and the wood cabinet certainly seemed much nicer than the ordinary plastic used for the Eton.

As far as features, the Sangean has RDS reception, bass and treble control, a knob tuner for the digital radio frequency (easier to select a station quickly), and a dimmer with variable intensity. The Eton is a tad easier to use as an alarm clock, and has a theoretically superior extendable metal antenna versus the rather cheap Sangean wire tuning cable.

In terms of sound, both radios sound rather good, considering they have a 3" mono driver in the 5-7 Watt range. Good sound, clear enough. "Room-filling"? Not likely, but also not needed. Both units use a bass port but IMO the Sangean's wooden cabinet gives it somewhat better bass extension. The audio adjustments on the Sangean are useful, to trim or add bass and treble as needed depending on broadcast nature.

Sensitivity: Both units proved less sensitive than my Onkyo receiver tuner. This is expected, and acceptable as I planned to use the table radio at work, but was still a bit of a donwer after reading all the verbiage from both mfgrs about how exceptional the tuning capability of each unit was.

FM: In the radio hell that is the NYC airwaves, the Eton managed to tune in 29 stations, while the Sangean tuned in 27. (The Onkyo receiver tuned in 34.) The Sangean however tuned in my favorite stations better and the RDS info for the stations that offered it was great. The more expensive $200 Eton Sound 100 with Ipod Dock offers RDS (plus the Ipod dock) for $50 more, but IMO for $150, RDS function should be included.

AM: The Eton was much better than the Sangean here, but AM programming and audio quality in NYC is especially wretched. I never listen to it except for rush hour news and traffic. The superiority of the Eton here is pretty meaningless in my personal case. And again the Onkyo was better than the Eton, so this is hardly a super machine...

Evaluation: The Eton looks like a hunk of ugly plastic. It sounds ok, and tunes slightly better than the Sangean in terms of pure number of stations it can bring in. However, in terms of features, aesthetics, and build quality, the Sangean is the winner in my eyes. Also, the Sangean can usually be had for somewhat less than the Eton Sound 100, so the value is all the more exceptional.

If all you want is tuning capability, you could get the Boston Acoustics Recepter (which out-tunes both of these guys) but has even more limited features for the same list price. If you want more of a balanced product, the Sangean is a better deal.

While this unit looks nice, it sounds awful. The bass is pumped way up and there is no way to turn it down. The result is that I can not understand voices on the radio and music sounds AWFUL. While I do not expect much from what is really just a clock radio, this is worst I have ever heard in a radio.

In addition, instead of having the power cord connect direct to this radio, they use an external "wall wart", which is so large it covers both of the AC outlets when it is connected.

I am returning this it is so bad. If you do try to buy this, do not pay over the $30 to $40 that it gets put on sale for.

When was the last time you had a digital clock which couldn't keep time? Here's your chance to get one! It loses several minutes a month.

The display can only be read if you are looking head-on (e.g. no off angle visibility).

This is probably ok as a radio, but not suitable for use as a clock or clock radio.

Sound is OK.

After many weeks of research I decided to buy the Eton Sound 100. Especially when the blue model came available at a big discount. The first day of use was exciting because the sound quality this unit produced was far superior to any bedside radio I previously used. But soon the quirks (bugs) became obvious. Here is my list of reasons for returning this item and opting instead for the Sangean RCR-22 (which has not yet arrived but I am hopeful)
1. The bass level was way too high. Needs a better balance. I had to stuff the back opening with tissue paper in order to dampen the bass a bit. If you are into big sound with really big bass then this is your unit.
2. The case rattles at the highest volume levels. I'm sure this would not be an issue if the bass wasn't so intense. This is a minor issue since I would rarely set the volume up all the way.
3. LCD display is way too bright and not adjustable. I read some reviews about this issue but thought they were whiners. I stand corrected. I had to cover the unit with a heavy-fabric ball cap at night just to get the light down to a normal level. I also had to turn it around so the back was facing me. Do not buy this unit if you are not willing to cover this unit at night in order to sleep.
4. Display hard to read when standing over or when not looking square into it. Also, VERY annoying is the fact that when the radio is on the display shows the radio station in large digits and relegates the time digits to the top corner of the display. You cannot read the time unless you are at eye-level and at least 12 inches from the unit while the radio is on.
5. The volume knob is buggy. Sometimes I'd turn it one notch and it would gain/reduce one or more levels. Sometimes it would gain/reduce just one level as I would expect. One time I used the remote to reduce the volume and it actually started to increase. Again this is a minor flaw but for a moderately expensive radio you expect good fit and finish on the most basic elements.
6. FM reception not as great as I expected from some of these reviews. My car radio gets better reception. My bedroom is on the second story and the unit placed right under a window. Sometimes a station would sound decent with that antenna fully closed and tucked away. Then I would fully extend the antenna and that same station would sound worse (whats up with that?). Other times a station would sound better depending on where I was physically standing in the room. Felt like behavior from a dime-store radio. My top 5 favorite stations came in fine almost all the time so this may not be an issue for you. I am hoping the long reputation of Sangean's radio quality is an improvement.
7. Alarm clock a bit strange from what I was used to. You basically program the radio station and volume you wish to wake to at the time of setting the alarm. I was used to just setting the wake time and whatever was the last used station and volume level was your wake settings. I am not sure if this is an improvement. Given more time to get used to this I probably would have appreciated it.

I still give this unit a 3 because its big sound really blew me away and it's alarm clock functions are easier than my previous Sony unit. I barely needed the instructions manual and I was setup and ready to go in minutes. Other things I liked...

1. Cool styling
2. Very easy to set time/presets/alarm
3. Perfect size for a nightstand
4. Headphone jack for private listening
5. Line-in jack for mp3 player. Also a line-out for external speakers.
6. Only 3 buttons on the top of the unit which makes it very easy to find the sleep and alarm-off buttons in the morning.
7. Digital tuning (I love this) and automatically stops at next clear station when you are scanning. Scanning is really easy also, you just hold the up/down buttons in for an extra second.
8. Battery backup available, but not even needed for short outages. There must be a built-in capacitor that holds all your presets and the time for at least 30 minutes or more. This was very nice to find.

So there is a lot to like about this unit...if you don't care about sleeping in the dark and don't mind the other annoyances above. I would have gladly lived with all the cons above except for the issues I had with the display made me return it. The other stuff I can live with. The Eton Sound 100 feels like a 1st generation product. I look forward to improvements on future models because this unit really has a lot going for it as an entry model. I wish they would use an LED display, not LCD.

The Eton Sound 100 compares favorably with the higher priced small monaural FM radios available today. Its small footprint made it especially useful in my kitchen -- with its included remote I could put on top of a cabinet and save counter space. With its PLL circuitry and telescoping antenna it receives many distant FM stations with good clarity that other radios cannot. Its alternate channel selectivity is outstanding.
I did not realize it was an alarm clock, since I wanted to use it in the kitchen, but having battery back up means that power losses do not require re-setting up the pre-set stations.
As other reviewers have noted it does not "star" with AM reception, but there are only a few radios available that are really good with AM in weak signal areas.
My only criticism is that it is a bit too "bassy" for my taste, coupling low frequencies to any furniture surface where it is placed. Decoupling it by placing a thin layer of foam insulation underneath cured that problem nicely.

The AM reception was awful.
I was replacing an old Sony Dream Machine, but the old Sony handled AM much better.
So I must give it one star.

Also, the backlight was glaringly bright.