Sangean WR-2 Digital AM/FM Tabletop Radio, Walnut
The Sangean WR2 brings distant AM and FM stations to your door step through Sangean's advanced RF/IF electronic circuitry. The wood enclosure is acoustically balanced and the enhanced frequency response, front firing speaker provides rich, room filling sound. The acoustic bass compensation and 7 watt amplifier give this small radio a truly big sound. (Stereo FM is fed to the earphone jack). Advanced features include: large backlit LCD display, clock with alarm (radio or buzzer), bass compensation, auxiliary input jack, stereo headphone jack, 10 memory presets, F type antenna jack and RDS. Preset and clock values are automatically saved up to 30 minutes during power interruptions. Additionally, the WR2 comes with a full-featured infra-red remote control! The WR2 has some very advanced features. The Radio Data System (RDS) displays short text messages on applicable FM stations. The upcoming Enhanced Other Network (EON) is also supported providing traffic information in some areas. The auto-clock-set function will derive the current time from the RDS signal of your local FM station (if you have RDS in your area). The clock may be set for 12 or 24 hour format. When rotating the volume control, the volume level (1-60) will be displayed. If you tape the the volume control once it becomes a full range Treble Control. Two taps converts it to a full range Bass Control. The tuning steps may be set to 9 or 10 kHz on the AM band and 50 or 100 kHz on the FM band. The radio will continue to run 6 minutes during a power failure and preset information will retained for about one hour. The back lighting may be set at 3 different levels of brightness, or turned off. Antenna System - External AM Antenna Terminal / External F Type FM Antenna Terminal Record Output - 3.5 mm mini stereo jack, monaural output 2.2K ohm Auxiliary Input - 3.5 mm mini stereo jack 47K ohm Variable Bass & Treble Controls Clock & Alarm (Radio/B
Boasting an acoustically balanced wooden enclosure and an enhanced front-firing 3-inch speaker, the Sangean WR-2 tabletop radio offers the sound and features of a living room system in a cabinet that fits conveniently in a bedroom, kitchen, or garage. Any discussion of the WR-2 begins with its walnut-finished wooden housing, which is rich in both appearance and tone. The cabinet's front surface features the speaker on the left side, a series of intuitively placed control buttons toward the bottom, and a generously sized LCD display in the middle with three brightness levels. More importantly, the cabinet teams with the 7-watt amplifier and the acoustic bass compensation system to add warmth and depth to the audio. Complementing the housing is Sangean's advanced RF/IF electronic circuitry, which picks up distant AM and FM stations and reproduces them with unmatched clarity, making music and even talk programs come alive. Even though the WR-2 is advertised as an AM/FM radio, it offers much more than a standard digital tuner, including a Radio Data System (RDS) that displays short text messages on applicable FM stations, along with support for the Enhanced Other Network (EON) and its traffic information (available in certain regions). And unlike most tabletop radios, the WR-2 lets listeners adjust the treble and bass levels via the variable volume control. In its default mode, the rotary volume knob displays the volume level from 1 to 60. Tap it once, however, and it turns into a full-range treble control, and two taps creates a full-range bass control. Additional features include a clock with an alarm (radio or buzzer), an auxiliary input jack for connecting such devices as an iPod or MP3 player (both of which sound great through the speaker), a recording output jack, 10 memory presets that help you quickly find your favorite stations, and a full-featured infrared remote control. A final bonus stems from the power backup function, which plays the radio for six minutes during a power failure (ideal for emergencies) and retains the memory preset and clock values for about an hour. The WR-2 measures roughly 9.5 by 4.5 by 6 inches (W x H x D) and weighs 5.5 pounds. What's in the Box
WR-2 tabletop radio, detachable power cord, infrared remote control, user's manual.
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Sangean WR-2 Digital AM/FM Tabletop Radio, Walnut Reviews
The front. I also have to say that the volume dial is weirdly too discrete. There are basically two rows: row 1) am/fm toggle and presets, and row 2) with all sort of programing controls etc. I still love the old Receptor radio, so easy to use. But more importantly to me, the button lay out is crazy.
I would rather have a new one of those than the Sangean, Still, i do like it, just wish it was easier to use. The sound is fabulous, clear and loud when you want it to be. Perfect (Why kill this User Interface for Horizon's more complicated). Everyone has commented on the bright light, so i will say i agree, even the lowest level is too bright for a bedroom alarm clock radiohappily it is in my study-I still keep it off. A HUGE sleep.snooze button on top.
It would make so much sence to have hidden the lower buttons under a door and make the other buttons a little bigger and easy to see and push; the on/off button has a nice bigger size, why not mimic this. two dials, two buttons and a very subtle easy to use alarm clock. I read too many negative reviews of the Horizon Solo, so i next bought this Sangean WR-2 for myself for a different room (the Receptor is still my bedroom clock radio). this means there are around 15 buttons on the face. It also has a nice little remote. I am regularly hitting the wrong tiny button preset or accidentally switching band instead of getting the preset I want.
I have previously purchased and (still)love the Boston Acoustics Receptor radio, but alas, it is no longer available. Also, I do like the AUX jack for my mP3 player, but the way to call it up is goofy, you have to hold in the am/fm button for a few seconds and then it becomes aux. I mean that it takes a lot of turning to make it go up a bit. BUT like with reviewer Al Past, many things mar this radio's usability. Further it pulls in distant stations much better than my stereo receiver that is connected to a big antenna (why are regular receivers so bad at this). Based on these criteria alone I would have given it 5 stars. (The remote is actually easier to use, it was laid out by human).
I bought a new BA Horizon Duo as a gift for my mom, and loved the sound but it is much harder to program and use than the Receptor, still the sound is great.
I already had the Sangean wr1 analog, so I was familiar with the quality of the radio. Great radio.super sound.easy to program remote. My sister has a Bose, and I cannot tell a difference in the sound quality.
That part is bad enough but what makes it worse are the wretchedly written instructions about how to use the buttons. My wife has a regular alarm clock for when I'm gone. Maybe after I've had it three months, if I haven't smashed it with an umbrella, I'll be able to change the time quickly. They are TOO COMPLICATED.
I still like the radio, though. Each time it was like I was doing it the first time: trial and error, trial and error, cuss, trial and error, cuss, and so on. (They could hardly have done worse). The buttons don't have intuitive names, have multiple functions, and whatever status comes into play when you push one only lasts long enough for you to consult the manual before it stops. Oct.
As other reviewers have noted, the display on bright could be seen through welder's goggles, but it can be dimmed and turned off, which is my choice. I taught technical writing for twenty years, and most of my students could have done a better job of explaining this. I am not bad at working DVD recorders, computers, and the like, but you'd better be a flaming genius if you want to use this radio without driving yourself nuts. Test your designs on normal people.
Full disclosure: I've had the radio two weeks, and set and changed the alarm time maybe five times. There's no excuse for this, and shame on the designers. There are two frustrating, disappointing things about this radio which drive me crazy. (I have a digital clock handy for the time at night). The Sangean WR-2 radio is basically what I wanted: a bedroom digital clock radio that would pick up the public station cleanly in a fringe area. C'mon, Sangean. The instructions make dealing with the already confusing buttons downright torture. First, some propeller-head digital cowboy engineer must have designed the buttons and the logic program behind all the settings.
She'll never figure this thing out. 7 Codicil: As I suspected, I can now change the time and alarm fairly efficiently, but no thanks to the manual or designer. Each one cost a star in my rating.
We got rid of the old radio because the light kept us awake. You have to push a button to see the time seperately. Easy to program. Another plus is that you can set the backlight to various options including off.
Very nice. I highly recommend this unit to anyone. The one drawback is that you cannot see both the time and radio stations at the same time. It has great sound.
This clock/radio is a perfect fit on the bedside table.
Then if you wake up and try to look at the time, the back light is off, so you can't see it. There's plenty of base, etc. Setting the alarm is initially complicated (not intuitive - you would have a hard time initially w/o the manual). It has a stereo headphone jack on the front (and the input jack on the back) to allow you to listen to late night radio w/o disturbing the significant other. It has a single alarm setting (vs dual alarms). Sound quality is very good for a fairly small single speaker radio. The Good.
The radio reception is very good with the internal antenna (I haven't tried the external connection to date). It has separate backlight settings for radio on and radio off and retains the settings (ie the backlight would come on with the alarm if you had it set that way). LED) day or night. It has three back light level settings. The quality and workmanship appear to be very good. The Ugly.
The backlight lights up the room at night, so you end up turning it off. I bought a stain/finish at HD and refinished the radio to a walnut color (another $7 and two coats of stain-finish). The display is not that easy to see from any distance (LCD vs. A was able to DX some distant AM stations - (Summer is not the ideal time for DX'ing).The RDS allows you to see the song titles, radio station name, etc. I purchased the "Walnut" version - it was more like light pine in color. The illuminated blue LED power light is way too bright - It lights up the room at night and you have to point it away from you to avoid the light in your eyes.
The Bad. I haven't found a station in my large metro area that broadcasts the RDS time - an atomic clock feature would have been much more useful.
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