Customer Reviews

Grace Wifi Radio (ITC-IR1000B)

5 star:		(71)
4 star:		(44)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(12)
1 star:		(19)

 

 

I've been listening to internet radio for more than 5 years, and have been exploring the purchase of a stand-alone wifi radio for the last two. The market has either been high-end ($300+ for the Roku Soundbridge or the Revo Pico), products with flaws (check the reviews for the Torian InFusion) or not a true standalone device (requiring that your computer be on, works only with open networks, etc.).
When I saw the Grace Wifi Radio at the $170 pricepoint, I decided to give it a try. I opened the box about an hour ago, and within 10 minutes had it set up, working with my WPA protected AirPort network. Sound is good; this isn't hifi, but like 90% of internet listeners I'm no high-end audiophile. The stations available through the Reciva server simply blow my mind (think thousands instead of the hundreds I normally look through on iTunes). I can see myself playing with this for weeks, cranking the dial like a kid with his first shortwave.
Note this is a very simple radio; only 5 presets, no equalizer, no dancing visuals, no ipod dock..... And I haven't tested its capability to play audiofiles sent by iTunes (that's not what I bought it for). But all in all I'm very pleased, and while decent wifi radios will probably be available below $100 before the year is out, I'm glad I didn't wait.

Easy to set up and use.

I've used it mostly for Old Time Radio broadcasts, so the sound is only as good as the source. But the speaker actually sounds quite good and there's even a 'bass port' on the rear of the case.

When you register on the Reciva site you can select and add programming to 'My Stations' by searching genre, location, or key word. Next time you turn the radio on, your selections appear on the menu!

I originally thought the small number of presets might be a problem. However, since you can scroll through 'My Stations' using the dial, presets are almost unnecesary.

Considering the price of competing units, this radio is a bargain. It does everything I expected and I'm very satisfied with this purchase.

This is a great radio and for the price, its a steal. The sound is more than ok but I play it through my stereo system. The drawbacks are that it takes a time to figure out the instructions, there are so many great stations but only 5 presets, I still haven't figured out if it will work with my Mac, and there is no remote! However at $100 less than any other wifi radio, who really cares?

Easy setup and great sound!

This is my second wifi radio. The first, an Acoustic Energy, did a fine job at working with my wifi, but the ergonomics (and the fact that it looked like a bedside air purifier), was only slightly better than the poor sound. The Grace wifi, on the other, with it's 4.5 watt amp and rear bass port really brings a richness to the audio that was unexpected, even for me, a dyed-in-the-wool audio snob. I was going to hook the output up to a set of high-end computer speakers, but (aside from missing out on the stereo output), the PC speakers actually sounded worse.

Two minor annoyances: (1) the radio tends to slide backwards when pressing the front buttons, so you need to hold onto the top of the radio while punching the controls, and this leaves (2) fingerprints, everywhere!

Perhaps I should have chose the white version of this radio, because the black model is a fingerprint magnet.

The price is right, the sound is great, the interface (with a little bit of effort) is a joy to use.

I live in a rural area where my FM reception is really limited. I have been using my computer to access the internet for my music in my study, but wanted to do that in my music room. When I saw the Grace Wireless Internet Radio ITC-IR1000B on Amazon.com, I felt it could meet my needs and ordered it. I was amazed to have it delivered only two days later!

It is a small sized table top style radio that packs an amazing amount of performance inside its polished black case, but there is a bit of a learning curve involved.

The radio can be used as a stand alone monaural radio with decent audio from its single speaker.The radio also can be used as a clock radio. There is a single stereo out miniplug rear jack for headphones that can also be used to connect the radio to a stereo amplifier, or an external amplified speaker system. It comes supplied with a proper set of RCA plug cables and minijack and I used those to add the Grace to my stereo receiver's AUX input.

In order to use the radio you need access to a wireless internet connection (WiFi)and I have a wireless router that is connected to my internet modem to make that connection. The listening room is a few rooms away from where the wireless router is, but the Grace had no trouble finding the connection. The manual states that the range of the Grace is 100 meters (300 feet) and this is fine for just about any normal home. There is a small WiFi antenna at the rear of the unit, which I left in the horizontal position because it would be placed inside my stereo cabinet.

After connecting the radio to my stereo system, I turned it on and it immediately started searching for a wireless connection and found my wireless system. It also found the other wireless systems of my neighbors.

"Warning, Will Robinson, warning!"

The operating manual is not as clear as it should be, and it took me a while to discover how to properly use the controls. There are two dials and a series of buttons, including 5 memory preset buttons, on the face. The smaller dial is for volume control and the larger dial is for scrolling through the menus that appear. The manual kept referring to "Press the SELECT button" and I was unable to find the SELECT button amongst the buttons. It turned out that the SCROLL DIAL is ALSO the SELECT BUTTON. When you scroll the menu to an item you want to choose, you then press the upper part of the dial to SELECT the item. After I finally found this out setting up the radio was a breeze.

Unlike most registrations which are basically a market survey for you to fill out, the Grace registration process actually is important. First of all your ID and serial numbers are stored inside the unit. The manual shows you how access those numbers, which you should write down to use for registration. You need to go to their web site http://www.reciva.com
and register your radio. The reciva.com website is a full service internet audio website which lists a vast amount of streaming sources. You can choose the feeds you want and then place them in "My Stations". This information is then retrieved by your radio and if you choose to scroll through "My Stations" on the radio your choices will show up. Since this process updates your radio there may be a delay between the point you add this information at the web site and it gets placed in the radio. Right now I have used 3 of the 5 preset memory buttons, but "My Stations" is in addition to those buttons and is virtually unlimited.

Pandora. Pandora is a great service, and the Grace radio can access the Pandora service via a dedicated button. Pandora uses a special search engine and you create "Stations" based on your listening preference. It is an amazing system and works well with the Grace radio.

Finally, the BIG question is "How does this baby sound?" In a word..."Excellent"

The Grace radio has such a clean and full sound that you could use it with a high quality integrated amplifier as the tuner. The volume setting of the radio seems to be designed for connection to an amplifier and turning the volume setting to maximum does not overload my receiver. The only downside to all of this is that since you are dealing with streaming audio, sometimes there are pauses in the audio when "buffering" takes place. Some "stations" have no problems while others may exhibit more pauses than you would like. I think this may depend on the amount of internet traffic, but it is really not a problem with the Grace radio, it's the nature of the beast.

I paid less than $200 for my Grace ITC1000B radio, delivered to my door, and I'm crazy about that little black box!

Other than the absence of a remote (to me, a non-issue), there is nothing to criticize about this radio. Everything about it reflects quality: Visually handsome in its high-gloss piano black case, and featuring 2 dedicated controls: a small volume knob, and larger knob for selecting functions and perusing the long lists of global stations. There are also 5 pre-set buttons for instant access to your favorites, along with the ability to store up to 99 favorites in the My Stuff section that will appear automatically on your screen once you register with reciva (www.reciva.com). Register asap once you have the Grace up and running, and within a day, you can compile a personal listening library of dozens of stations. And did I mention how EASY it is to do on this radio?

The build quallity is outstanding: The radio has a substantial, solid feel to it. The single 5w speaker (supplemented by a rear base port) is a real powerhouse that produces rich, room-filling sound with a more-than-decent base and strong, clear midrange and highs. Music, especially on the higher (128 kbps and above) has a near-CD level sound, and human voices have a real-person-in-the-room quality.

Know this, too: I am a near cyber-cretin, someone for whom anything related to the Internet is intimidating. But setting up and using this radio is as straightforward and simple as it gets. Plug it in, then just follow the commands that appear on the bright, easy-to-read LCD screen. Within seconds, you are connected. From there, just go to either Location (stations by country) or Genre (type of music, talk, news, etc.) and start exploring the Wide World of Internet Radio: 12,000+ stations to choose from, each coming through clearly, cleanly and static-free.

Within 5 minutes after my initial start-up, I was listening to classical music stations in the UK, France, Switzerland, even China; Old Time radio serials and mystery programs from the 1930s and 1940s; exotic music from India's Sikh Radio International; Irish and Celtic music from stations in Dublin, Glasgow, and Ballyshannon, some of it live; international news on the acclaimed Radio Netherlands; Radio Newfoundland ("Our Music, Our Heritage"); live broadcasts from American Samoa, South Africa, Russia, Whole Wheat Radio in Alaska, even Papua New Guinea. The Grace radio is, literally, an audio passport to the world.

I love the look of this radio which evokes the old classic tabletop radios of the 1950s, albeit with 21st century innards that allow you to vicariously travel in ways not possible with conventional radio.

Moreover, Grace's customer service is excellent. My emails were answered promptly, and with all the information I requested.

This is the first review I have posted on Amazon, and do so only because of how frustrating this product has been for me. The first Grace radio I ordered from Amazon was poorly assembled and would not recognize a strong wireless Internet connection. I borrowed an identical Grace unit from a friend and had no such issues- an instant connection after entering the WEP key. Although it was in its original sealed packaging, the scuffs and inconsistent gaps along the seams that appeared to be caused by a poorly-wielded X-Acto knife suggested it may have been a previous return.

All this could have been overlooked if the second radio I ordered had not had the same problems. After several reboots and a firmware upgrade it was finally able to recognize my home network. Unfortunately, it produced no sound whatsoever on any station or setting- not even the typical speaker whisper. Once again, I compared this to my friend's identical unit to confirm that I had not made a setup error. The second radio also suffered from the same workmanship issues as the first, though it was newly packaged exactly as the first one was. I will be sending the second unit back as well, and am convinced that this is a sub-par product from a company that fails to execute proper quality control. For those lucky enough to receive a working radio, the sound quality and ease of controls are very impressive; otherwise, be advised that many radios appear to have manufacturing problems.

As has always been my experience with Amazon, they are fast and courteous with their returns, and I do not believe these problems are in any way their fault.

The radio worked well for three months then suddenly stopped. The radio was returned for repair or replacement but nothing has been done and it is nearly impossible to reach anyone there as the phone is busy constantly. When I did get through the service person said they had stacks of returns and he wasn't sure when he would get to mine.

Works very well. It does take it a few seconds to connect to the WiFi network, so it is not instant on. Also you find stations by category, not by frequency or call letters. It's a little convoluted, but with the assistance of the website so that you can find a station and its category and using the 5 preset stations, subsequent use is easy. Tone is great, although I've used it mostly for talk type programs and have not fully explored its musical tonal quality.

I saw some reviews on here that made me doubt my purchase desire for this item but around Christmas, when the credit card damage was already done, I decided to take the plunge.

SETUP:
This was a breeze as long as you follow the manual: You scan for your wireless network and when it finds it you can select it (make sure your router is set to broadcast your SSID if you use this setting). The Grace radio will automatically detect any type of wireless encryption (I use WPA TKIP)and prompt for the Key. After entering this in (using a simple GPS-like address entry method) the radio immediately connected to the internet at 97%^ signal strength.

You can then also configure the clock (could have used time server but is not built in) and display (e.g. backlight) settings and language etc.

USING IT
I heard people complain over the fact that there are only 5 presets. I'd like to counter this with the following: there are 10000+ stations available all over the globe. If you need to save more that 5 then configure the online (free) Reciva / Pandora account and make your selections there. I for one do not have that many favorites as I am enjoying different channels from different regions. With so many to choose from it is a waste to narrow yourself to only a handful. Again, the simple way around your limitation is to setup the Reciva account.

The speaker is quite good for a little radio like this but if you want better sound then hook it up to your Amp with the supplied RCA cables. Depending on stream quality, it is fine (but not for the audiophiles amongst us).

Finally, this works VERY WELL with my home media server (I use Tversity) software and I can stream music files without a hitch. Also try WMCONNECT, works fine too. The bottom line is: you can stream music files from your network as well.

I consider this a great blend: Internet Radio AND Media Streaming device in one. Kudos for the reasonable price point and solid construction. ***** from me.