- Access over 16,000 Internet Radio Stations
- FM-RDS displays track and artist info during FM radio playback
- 20 FM presets
- Remote control included
- Aux In/Line Out jack
The Sangean WFR-1 is beautifully finished with a polished wooden case, an array of controls on the front panel, including on/off, volume and equalizer (tone control). They are not particularly intuitive but better than the single knob on the WFR-20. There is also a substantial and full function remote control, resembling that of the Roku, rather than the credit-card sized devices that come with Pico and the WFR-20. The amber display is larger than those found on any other set but the Roku (more about this later).
Set-up was very easy (I use an ethernet wired connection to my router but it works with my wi-fi network) and it was playing within a few minutes of unpacking. There is also an FM tuner with a separate antenna. Sound is excellent and far superior to any of the other sets I have owned except Roku, which is almost as good. For this unit, Sangean has gone to Frontier Silicon rather than to Receiva for their streams. Nevertheless, there is an abundance of stations, including Real format so I can get all the BBC channels (a big negative with Roku). There is little delay in receiving streams after switching on and Frontier has a good website where you can set up favorites and add new stations. Playing stored music from my computer via Windows Media Player has been easy and more consistent than with the WFR-20 or AE.
Now for the downside. Despite a larger display that claims to offer four lines of text, there is no control for format (as Roku provides) or for brightness (which the WFR-20 offers). Most frustrating is that Frontier do not stream program information with the station! There is plenty of room for this on the display and such information on content is invaluable because some stations do not provide this audibly; the WFR-20 does this well because it uses the Receiva streams but it would require reprogramming of software by Frontier to have this on the WFR-1. Frontier tell me it is being discussed but they have no plans for implementation! Surprisingly, Sangean, although the 800lb gorilla here, do not seem inclined to pressure Frontier. I have had several conversations with the amiable Selwyn, whom you reach quite easily when you call up technical support at Sangean, and he agrees totally with me and suggests that I contact Frontier (which I did) or write a review to make this point which I am doing!
So in summary, this is an excellent product with great acoustic performance but marred by small, but irritating, shortcomings in the display. As a result, I gave it 3 stars rather than 5.
Buy Sangean WFR-1 Table-Top WiFi Internet Radio with FM-RDS (Dark Brown) Now
I primarily chose this radio over others (including the Logitech Squeezebox) because of its good looks. But it's a very good radio as well. The menu structure is logical, the display is easy to read, there is a cool web interface to easily surf all stations and add them to your favorites. Truly amazing stuff! The sounds is good, though don't expect miracles. It can be a bit boomy at times, but otherwise sounds quite good.A quick tip: I had the same problem with the WEP setup, it only allows 64-bit WEB encoding (10 characters). However, you simply download the latest firmware (Sangean posted a new version on Nov. 5, 2008) which supports 128 bit encryption! Set your router to 64-bit (for now), connect the radio, then download the update directly over the internet (Under setup menu -> Upgrade). It will download the latest firmware and install it in a minute or so. After that you can set your router back to 128-bit encryption and reconnect the radio, this time you can enter a full 128-bit HEX code! The backlight is still on after you turn the radio off, but it's dimmed. I have this in my office, not the bedroom, but I wouldn't expect this to be a problem.
Read Best Reviews of Sangean WFR-1 Table-Top WiFi Internet Radio with FM-RDS (Dark Brown) Here
I've watched this advertized on Sangean's site for a year, impatiently waiting, and finally got it yesteday. Its beautiful in every way. Installed easily, menu to navigate the 16,000 internet radio stations well done, web creation of playlists you can access directly from the radio or your own content on Windows Medida player 11 quite easy. The audio is very good (If the Bose CD desktop is an A, this is a B+ after getting the EQ right.) Most channels CD quality sound. I'm quite ecstatic having this and very highly recommend it.A few little tips: when putting in your router password, there is a lower case alphabet later in the selection to use, and the remote didn't work great til I put a little paper between the batteries to line them up better, now its flawless. Don't let this lead you to believe this cheaply made, this is a very nicely built, attractive device.
Want Sangean WFR-1 Table-Top WiFi Internet Radio with FM-RDS (Dark Brown) Discount?
(After update the rate should read 3 instead of 5 !)Just got this radio and it runs great (wireless internet & FM haven't been able to establish the media player connection so far, though this is most certainly an issue linked to the router). The sound is amazing, once you toggled around a bit to find the right equaliser settings.
Do keep in mind however that, more likely than not, you will have to upgrade the WFR1 first before being able to establish an internet connection through your router. The upgrading seems to be a bit of an issue, so I thought it might be useful to write a little resume;
So, how do you listen to the WFR1 with a WEP protected router?
First, download the installer from the Sangean website ()
The logical way to go from here is upgrading through your computer (USB cable connection).
However, do NOT follow ALL of Sangean's on-line instructions.
Here is how it works;
1. "Download the Installer" -> OK
2. "Remove AC" -> OK
3. "Press and hold the "forward" and "back" buttons on the radio while plugging in the ac cord." -> OK
4. "Release buttons after display shows "USB Upgrade"" -> OK
(5. "Connect USB cable between radio and PC") -> NO! DO NOT CONNECT YET!
6. "Run correct executable file depending on model" -> UNZIP & RUN the installer on your PC
7. "Follow Upgrade Wizard to completion". -> at one point the program will ask you to connect the USB cable & give you information on what to do on the radio menu. ONLY CONNECT THE USB CABLE (you already set up your radio in step 3 & 4). After this, the program runs the upgrade.
Your radio will now accept the WEP code.
(For those who run a DHCP server on their router, don't forget to check/update the DCHP reservations list, otherwise your newly connected dynamic DHCP client might expire after a certain number of hours!)
Hope this will be of some help!
UPDATE : (or; "how to ridiculously loose 2 stars")
Contrary to the WFR-20, this radio (well, Frontier actually) does NOT give you any information on the artist, songs, etc! This means I have to continue using the (free) software on my computer to get any information in which case I could as well have linked the computer to my amplifier... Quite unacceptable, and even more so since the WFR-20 (Reciva powered) works fine in this field...
My advice: stick to a Reciva powered radio for the time being !!
UPDATE 2 :
My radio started acting funny, lost interest in it's remote, and finally gave up all together after 20 months of use. Standard warranty is 24 months in Belgium so I was fine, but I'm not all that impressed with the rather short life span of this product.
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I wanted an internet/FM clock radio and this one got some good reviews.Pros: Great retro look, just like the AM radios of my childhood. Beautifully finished real wood case, a single big knob, and a yellow glowing display. The sound is quite good for a tabletop--maybe a bit boomy but that should be fixable by the eq function. The FM reception is helped by a real car-radio-style antenna. The good news is that my favorite weak stations are streamed online so the FM reception is not really much of a factor. The menu structure is logical and easy to use, giving access to FM, internet radio, podcasts, and your local shared music library. I haven't yet figured out if you can plug in your iPod, but there is a USB port that must be good for something. The wifi worked well with my AirPort (but see cons). The variety of internet stations available is overwhelming; you could waste a lot of time channel surfing. Finally, because Fort Collins CO is my home town I'm a big fan of atomic clocks. This radio doesn't have that feature, but it does have an option to sync time over the internet, which is great.
Cons: For me the biggest disappointment is the alarm clock. You have to navigate through the menus to change settings. This is worse than it sounds because although there are two alarms, there's no way I could find to have, say, one alarm for weekdays and another for weekends. If, like me, you keep flexible hours, this could be very annoying. Surely there's enough processor power and memory in this product to implement different alarms for every day of the week. Too bad it isn't open source. Also, the price paid for good looks is that the control buttons are indistinct and their labels virtually unreadable. Once you play with it a bit you can learn the keys, but I'd suggest you not toss the manual. Others have complained of the light, which cannot be turned off. I'm a good sleeper and do not expect it to be a problem for me. A minor annoyance was that the wifi setup seems to have a limit of 10 characters for a WEP password. So I had to reconfigure my AirPort before I could connect wirelessly. And, as another reviewer noted, remember that passwords are case sensitive.
Summary: This is an excellent, good-looking FM/wifi/internet radio, but with barely adequate alarm options.
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