Customer Reviews

Tivoli AudioModel One AM / FM Table Radio, Black / Silver

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I was sure I would be disappointed with this radio given all the rave reviews I had read about. After all, it simply couldn't be that good, could it? I am quite happy to say that I was wrong, it is every bit as good as everyone says. I am full of admiration for the engineers who worked on this little marvel.

My listening is 95% classical, so my attention is always focused on the sound being natural, detailed, and musical. The Model One starts out with the best FM tuner on the market (hands down), which pulls in signals cleanly, even weak ones. My immediate reaction upon first hearing the sound was surprise at the details that were present in the music over an FM signal. I had always imagined that the reason my radios sounded so poor in the past was that the FM signal simply could not hold enough detail. The Model One proved this reasoning quite wrong, there is a lot of music in the FM signal. In fact, I could effortlessly pick out every instrument in the orchestra on this radio.

In the beginning, I was not overly impressed with the low frequencies produced by this radio. But then, I had simply set the radio down on an old desk, and could feel the desk vibrating in sympathy with the low frequencies from the radio. So I went to Home Depot and got a very heavy piece of ceramic tile to place under the radio to prevent the table from siphoning off all the bass. The difference was dramatic. This radio produces a LOT of bass. Very clear and musical bass. The elephant from Saint-Saens' Carnival of the Animals placed the string bass right in my room, I could swear. I found that when I placed the radio about 8 inches from a wall, the bass was even further enhanced. Other reviewers like to marvel at how much bass there is coming from this tiny radio, but I am much more impressed by how tight and musical the bass actually is. This is not to take anything away from its very clear and reliable treble range; it is just that one can't help noticing how small the radio really is, and with all that bass, and .... well, you know.

This is by far the most value I have ever gotten out of this little money for a piece of audio equipment. The Model One is very, very, sweet and musical, and this description is true for its entire remarkable frequency range. I listen to it about 9-10 hours a day, and weeks after the first listen, I still catch myself looking up from what I was doing at that moment to admire its sound.

I bought this radio for my office. (Hence the black finish. The computer's black, the phone's black, etc.) Radio reception in the building is normally crummy, but the Model One pulls in my favorite stations clearly, using only the included antenna, and the sound is exceptional. Even at low volume (don't want to disturb my co-workers), lows have pretty good weight, and the mids and highs are clear. Turn it up a little, and it fills the whole room with sound that's way out of proportion to its tiny size. One of the best FM radios you'll ever use, and for a lot less money than the other "premium" radios available.

I have a slight variation on the black-finished radio here; mine has an all silver front. Probably a custom model for Restoration Hardware stores. Anyway, it's a beautiful radio with incredible sound. It gets better reception than any other FM radio I've had in my office (24th floor of a tower in downtown Minneapolis), getting more stations than I ever knew existed. The sound is full, and loud! Really, that's my only issue with this radio. On a desktop in an office setting, it's pretty tough to adjust the little volume knob to a quiet enough level for daytime background listening. It's awesome when you crank it up, but I don't want to disturb my coworkers.

We bought this for our kicthen mostly to listen to the radio but also to plug in the ipod. Our old house has very thick walls and we have not had much luck with radio reception previously.

The Model One is a revelation. Reception is fantastic. Tuning is a breeze. The ipod sounds great. Honestly, if they didn't advertise it as mono, I would never have noticed. The sound is beautiful and is as loud as I ever need it for around the house.

I could not be happier with this purchase.

I concur with the praise offered for this radio, excellent sound and reception. I wanted it because my home is in a difficult reception area, with nearby mountains. My office reception is also poor but because of a metal roof structure. This radio brings in stations like no other I have tried in both areas. You can tune in a weak station, which is barely audible and quite unlistenable, but after a few seconds, the circuit seems to tune it in to the exclusion of nearby interefering stations and it becomes listenable.

In strong signal areas, the internal antennas are sufficient, otherwise it comes with a basic wire antenna for FM. To use an external AM antenna you are going to have to buy or make one. I bought the Tivoli AM antenna for about $10.00 from the manufacturer and find it does great things for the AM. Noisey stations suddenly become quite clean.

I am sure you can find even better antennas, reception of any radio is very much a function of the antenna.

It is a bit expensive. I waited until this model was on sale for $59.00 from Target and then bought 2.

This desk-top radio has very good to excellent FM reception using either the internal antenna or the provided external antenna. I live in a high-rise building that challenges reception on any device. I have not tested the AM reception. The unit is easy to use, very handsome and has a solid appearance and feel when operating the tuner dial or volume/on-off buttons. The radio does not have a tone control button which I think would be a great plus: the radio has a speaker port, or vent on the underside to help produce lower frequencies. However, the sound, depending on where you place the radio and on what type of surface is overly resonant with a pronounced hollow-log effect that is not always appealing when listening to news broadcasts and some music. I am going to try muffling the effect, or "tightening" the bass output by stuffing the port with some batting or cloth.

This product is definitely as advertised. Everything you need in a table top radio. Works great, looks great, is durable, and simple. Perfect for your office, and can even play music off your Ipod with an inexpesive audio cable. Highly recommended.

[[UPDATE June, 2011: We've had this thing on for five years and it still sounds sweet. My one concern is the 'analog' tuner, which collects dust in our tropical environs and creates static when you move the dial. On the other hand, we get to live by the beach in Hawaii, so too bad for us!]]

I get my news from DemocracyNow.org daily and listen to all classical radio on the internet and was disgusted with the 10 foot range of the signal transmitted my Rocket FM USB powered FM transmitter (Rocket FM plugs into a computer's USB port and converts my humble iBook into a mini FM radio station so we can listen to internet audio on any FM radio). In addition, there would be signal interference when we just walked around the room. To the rescue: a Henry Kloss Model One AM/FM table radio by Tivoli Audio. It now makes my housemates' Phillips boombox sound like a cheap violin. Not only that, but I put the Model One in the bedroom a full 36+ feet (passing through three double wood-joist drywalls) and the sound is still great (no, I am no audiophile, but...). Add 18 ft. and another double wall and slight static appears. OMG, I can't wait for the [Bleeps] to move out with their [bleepin'] boombox so I can get a second Tivoli (Oh dear, which one to choose?) for the livingroom.

My condo unit does not get good reception so it was hit and miss when it came to listening to my favorite programs. This Tivoli is amazing: superior reception, and so easy to operate; on/off/am/fm knob, volume control knob and spot-on station selector set in a small, square, sturdy modern box, beautiful, unfailing sound. I LOVE it.

The new updated Tivoli Model One adds AUX option to selector knob so you need not disconnect your ipod or other device before listening to AM/FM radio. The price is identical and it is not clear if Amazon is selling the older or newer model. (The photo shows the older model)