Customer Reviews

Tivoli Audio SongBook AM / FM Alarm Clock Travel Radio, Yellow

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

The new Tivoli Songbook is one sweet, versatile radio. I was reluctant to order it because it was brand new model and I couldn't find any reviews, but I'm glad I overcame my reluctance and purchased this radio. I consider it expensive for an AM/FM radio so I expect serious performance for the money--I was not disappointed. It's Tivoli, so I expected sound quality and Tivoli delivers. The sound isn't quite as full as the Model One, but it's more than adequate. For talk radio, it's simply the best sound I've heard from any radio.

One reason I hesitated purchasing was because I planned to use this as a table radio more than a travel radio--the lack of external antenna jacks was a concern because I have trouble with AM reception in my area. The real surprise was the reception--this small radio locked on and pulled in signals that I have trouble pulling in with some of my better radios like the GE Superadio or Grundig Satellit 800--all while delivering a clear, clean signal. Admittedly, I'm not a DXer, and I'm not suggesting this is the radio for that purpose, but it's performance, particularily on AM, is impressive for such a small package.

Performance was great using the aux input on a Sirius tuner as well as MP3 and CD.

Overall, it has the look and feel--as well as performance--of a quality product.

One thing that you should be aware of--this model uses an outboard transformer--a relatively large wall wart. That negates some of the travel versatility, IMO, but isn't a problem for home use. One of the smart design features is the wall hang slot on the back--I promptly mounted the thing over my nightstand and cleared off the space formerly eaten up by my cheap, tinny sounding clock radio.

It's a rare day that a product meets my expectations, much less exceeds them, but this is a great radio!

As a long-time enthusiast for the Tivoli Audio PAL radios (and owner of four of them), I was eager to try the new SongBook. But when I tried the SongBook next to a PAL, I discovered that the SongBook is inferior in every way.

(1) The SongBook is WAY too big for a travel radio; you can't tell from an isolated picture, but the SongBook is as tall as the PAL, and actually larger (the volume of a PAL is only 85% of the volume of a SongBook). The SongBook is very easily tipped over, and hard to pick up in one hand without changing the station; the PAL is very stable, and has convenient depressions for carrying it with one hand. A PAL fits into most briefcases more easily than a SongBook. [The PAL is 82.5 cubic inches (1,360 cc); the SongBook is 94.0 cubic inches (1,540 cc).]

(2) The SongBook is also actually heavier than the PAL! I weighed my PAL against my SongBook, both with batteries installed, both without power cord. The PAL weighs 1 pound 14 ounces (850 grams). The SongBook weighs 2 pounds 1/2 ounce (910 grams). A very curious "travel radio".

(3) The legendary audio quality of the PAL has been eroded in the SongBook. The SongBook does not have the same clear sound of the PAL, and has an annoying hum (the PAL does not). I notice the hum in the SongBook particularly through headphones. (Comparisons were made with a PAL and a SongBook side by side, tuned to the same station.)

(4) A small but important design blunder is that the SongBook does NOT charge its batteries when it is turned on; by contrast, the PAL charges its batteries whenever it is plugged in, turned on or not. This means that you can run the PAL all day on batteries, and also listen to it all night while it recharges. The SongBook won't do that, you cannot listen while it charges; if you turn it on, recharging stops. You have to stop listening to the SongBook to recharge it. This is both irritating and counter-intuitive. The PAL "just works".

(5) The alarm and time functions of the SongBook are very basic; you will do better with a very small travel clock. And the display for time and alarm is far inferior to most small travel alarms. (Also, if you run out the battery completely listening to the radio, you will lose your time and alarm settings for the clock--a bad interaction of functions, since if you run out the battery while sleeping your alarm won't go off.)

(6) Other functions of the SongBook are not improved over the PAL: it has the same headphone jack, the same AUX input jack, the built-in battery charger using a cord and wall wart, the same telescoping antenna. The PAL is every bit as useful as a powered speaker for a computer, MP3 player, CD player, etc. (more useful because it's easier to move around and handle). The nice "weather-resistant" rubbery coating on the case of the SongBook (also useful inside, and easy to clean) is the same as used on the PAL, no advantage.

(7) The SongBook does allow you to save stations on five preset buttons. This, however, is partly offset by the fact that when you pick up the radio you will likely hit one of the buttons and change the station. The PAL uses a round dial to control tuning, but actual station-tuning is just as digitally-precise on the PAL (and a real pleasure).

(8) The PAL includes a special rechargeable battery, installed in the radio at purchase, replacements sold by Tivoli on the web. The SongBook uses six AA rechargeable batteries, not included, but widely available. This opens the possibility of using AA alkaline batteries in the SongBook in a pinch--but what sort of pinch makes rechargeable batteries stop working suddenly? They wear out slowly; so that's not very useful. And in order to use alkaline batteries in the SongBook, a tiny and nearly invisible switch hidden inside the battery compartment must be moved (which seems easy to overlook), so as not to damage the radio. For what it's worth, the batteries in my PALs seem to last much longer on a charge than the six AA rechargeables I got for the SongBook, even after half a dozen complete discharges and recharges (different AA rechargeables can vary, but mine are supposed to be good ones for this use).

(9) Curiously, the SongBook requires that another nearly invisible switch hidden inside the battery compartment be moved in order to change the spacing of AM stations for tuning in North America versus Europe. But I have carried PAL radios both ways (bought in North America and used in Europe, and bought in Europe and used in North America) and listened to AM stations without needing to make any such adjustment.

The Tivoli Audio PAL is such a wonderful product that it would be hard to improve on, and the SongBook definitely is no improvement. By all means, buy a PAL! You'll love it.

Buy a PAL, and along with it buy a travel clock which is smaller than 11 cubic inches and weighs less than 2 1/2 ounces. You'll have a setup superior in every way, for home, for business, and for travel.

When my nearly 20 year old Sony Dream Machine cube style alarm clock radio finally gave out I decided to go in search of the best night stand alarm clock radio money could buy. The requirements were design style, sound quality, reception, ease of use, and a back light that goes completely off so that I can sleep at night. After a good deal of research I zeroed in on the Tivoli SongBook ($159) and the Sangean Sonido ($99). After trying both, here's what I've found:

The Tivoli SongBook has very attractive, modern styling (I prefer the black model), exceptional sound quality (like having a $1,000 Bose next to my bed), terrific reception (I don't even need to extend the antenna to get my favorite radio station clearly), very easy to set/update the clock and alarm times, and a back light which thankfully goes completely off. I took one star off for the SongBooks negatives - the alarm must be turned on everyday buy pushing down and holding the alarm button for a few seconds (easy to do, but I fear the day that I forget), no alarm snooze (I just turn the volume down), and the display, with or without it's beautiful blue back light turned on, is small and difficult to read, even from only a foot or so away while lying in bed.

The Sangean Sonido looks nice, though not as attractive a design as the SongBook, cost's $59 less than the SongBook, has a more readable screen than the SongBook (with back light that goes completely off), has an alarm snooze, and has an alarm that stays on from day to day. While I haven't made my final decision yet on which to keep, I'm strongly leaning toward the SongBook given the Sonido's shortcomings - to get my favorite station clearly I must extend the antenna directly upwards creating an unsightly mess, while better than a Sony Dream Machine the speaker audio quality is only about half as good as the SongBooks (I think this is what spoiled it for me), and even though the display is nicer when the radio alarm sounds the display shows the radio station number, not the time!

I hope Tivoli will improve the alarm functions in a future SongBook model update, until then I think it's still worth the $159 price tag (as long as I'm not late for a meeting because I forgot to turn the alarm on!)

Update: In the end I decided to go with the Sonido. I exchanged my first unit and the replacement had much better audio quality (though still not as good as the SongBook). The reception remains less than stellar, but while using the SongBook I was late for a meeting because of it's lack of full alarm function features, so it had to go.

I've got a few of the Tivoli products and the SongBook shares the same great audio as its siblings. I bought the white color and after a few months there were some brownish stains developing beneath the rubberized surface. These could not be cleaned. They were faded streaks that seemed to be developing from beneath the coating. The only thing I could imagine is these were caused by recharging the batteries, for the unit becomes warm while doing so and the marks were in that vicinity. I contacted Tivoli and without question, they automatically offered a free replacement---FANTASTIC customer support! I'm presently awaiting this new unit (also in white, I guess because of warranty policy) so perhaps the issue has been solved. In order to be safe, I'd probably order the unit in another color. The radio is worth its price and Tivoli gets top honors for their support!

With iPod auxiliary, premium speaker, and above average AM/FM reception, the Songbook is an attractive radio. I've had mine for 3 years. It locks on stations well. The speaker is not overwhelming in volume or bass but produces a warm sound. The speaker is not as rich as Tivoli's brother, the Model One, but the Songbook, perhaps because of its telescopic antenna, gets far better FM reception. One of the advantages of the silver color is that it is aluminum, not rubber like the other colors and the rubber radios hold dirt, which is not easy to clean.

If the Songbook is too pricey for you, you can get similar speaker sound and superior AM/FM reception from the similarly sized Sangean PR-D7 (3-inch mono speaker) or the Sangean PR-D5 (2.5-inch dual stereo speakers).

Having wanted a nice portable radio that would tune in harder to get AM stations in my area, I decided to spring for a Tivoli Songbook.

The radio is very nice to look at and use, the styling and ergonomics were a big draw for me. Cool rubberized covering, small size, LCD readout, etc. I almost bought the Tivoli PAL radio, since as far as I could tell the speaker and tuner are the same. What compelled me to get the Songbook was 1) Digital tuning meant an easier time finding and locking in to a station. 2) Pre-sets: 5 for each band are enough for me, and this made it quicker to change stations. 3) Sleep timer: I wanted to use the radio when drifting off to sleep. The PAL has a conventional analog tuner (dial), no timer.

The results: Size / styling - great, although it isn't the most stable radio due to it's taller thin size. Sound is definitely good, but I wasn't as blown away by the reviews that claimed "awesome" sound. Come on, it's a single 2-3" speaker, nothing that size will sound too impressive. It does a very good job of tuning in FM stations, but AM isn't that much better than my $40 Sony boom box. The display is a nice large blue color, easy to read. The sleep timer is one of my complaints: why only a single 20 minute sleep timer? It wouldn't have taken much tweeking to make it 20,40,60,120 minutes would it? (just like my 10 year old TV has?) The other thing that bothers me is that with all the free space on the front of the radio it should have a small bass and treble set of buttons to make the sound a little more adjustable. Many portable radios have these adjustments (yes even the $25 ones).

Pros: Cool styling, good sound, decent tuning.
Cons: For a $160 radio it should have bass & treble controls, and a better sleep timer. I now have the sinking feeling I just paid way too much for this radio!

I wanted to get one of the Tivoli table models, but I really needed the alarm and ability to bring it more easily when I travel. Most hotel clock/radios just don't cut it for sound or reception. So, I got this model ... and in general, I'm happy with it. The sound is as good as promised - surprising indeed from such a small package. I also am glad that an AUX-in is provided, I've hooked my iPod to this and together, they make a very portable system with good sound.

Tivoli products seem to be generally well-thought-out. But - a travel alarm clock should, at a minimum, not require you to travel with the owner's manual to set the alarm ... and there, this one fails. The sequence of buttons to set the alarm is (to me, at least) so non-intutitive that I can't use the alarm on the road (half the reason I bought it) without reading the instructions every time.

So, overall ... I'd buy it again. I expect I'll photo-shrink the alarm instructions and tape 'em to the bottom of the case, but it would have been nice not to have to do that.

Clay

benefits of Aux-in: use it as a high-quality speaker that will fill your apartment with rich, bold sound from your Laptop, Ipod, Mp3 player, walkman, cd player etc. It's one of the only machines that have this option.

safe against black-outs: this clock-radio won't make u lose track of time after a power-outage. it has a built-in automatic battery charger for battery storage. once the electricity is out, the battery kicks in, so u don't lose any preset or alarm information. never be late again!

crescendo alarm: a very considerate feature! it will not startle u or give sensitive individuals a heart attack in the morning. this alarm begins at low volume and gets successively louder until it reaches its maximum level u have preset. u can choose to wake up to your aux-in device, fm/am, or a beeping sound. the beeping sound changes as it beeps, becoming more and more annoying to the unwakeable sleeper as time goes by! Great for people who just can't get up!

Best fm/am reception: according to professional reviewers, and myself, radio reception is crystal clear and cannot be beat!

Sound quality: Rich, Bold sound. Sound Fills my whole apartment, without cluttering it. Has a wallmount. Sound is comparable, arguably better, than the Bose clockradio.

How i make the most of it: my laptop plus tivoli songbook = my entertainment center. anybody with a laptop or an ipod should definitely not go without the Tivoli Audio Songbook. All other clock radios pale in comparison. Looks cool too!

A year ago, I migrated over from my monolithic mid-hi end seperate home stereo components to the Tivoli Model two radio unit, cd player and mini-sub.

Won over by the high quality sound, feel, and old school look of Tivoli, it was an easy choice to pick up the Songbook for my on-the-go tunes and as an ipod mini accessory. Much more backpack-able that the ipal, this is one high quality little unit. The sound and reception are remarkable, and the look, feel, and ergonomics of the Songbook are a joy.

(Also, in the Altec inmotion dock, you can produce sound through the inmotion speakers and headphone out to the aux in of the Songbook, to get great sound from both sources at the same time!)



I have the white, rubberized unit, ordered through Amazon/J&R.

Well, the Songbook is a great radio. But I needed a clock radio with an alarm, and it just so happens that sometimes I can't sleep and so in the middle of the night I turn on the radio--BBC and better news and all that. Believe it or not, that cancels the alarm. Once you set the alarm, that's it for the Songbook for the night. Then there's the problem that if you just leave the radio on all night, it's the radio frequency that takes up most of the readout. The time is teenyweeny in the corner of the display. I pretty much know what station I'm listening to without looking, but I might want to know what time it is in the middle of the night. Like I said, buy it for the radio, not the clock.