Naxa NCA-696 Detachable PLL Electronic Tuning Stereo AM/FM Radio MP3/CD Player with ID3 Text Functio

• PLL Electronic Tuning Stereo AM/FM Radio Tuner
• Anti-vibration Auto-insert CD Mechanism
• MP3/CD/CD-R/CD-RW Playback with ID3 Text Function & ESP (Anti-shock Protection)
• Mechanical Front Face Detachable Panel with Carrying Case
• Station Preset, Station Seek & Preset Scan Function

I was wary to purchase a stereo at this price point and an unfamilar brand at that. I have to say I'm generally impressed. For under sixty dollars you get a stereo that has an aux input, USB input AND a SD card input. You don't find that on any brand names at this price point. I like the idea of putting an 8GB sd card or flash drive and hitting random (which it does for all sources)and not having to mess with much else. The display, which is quite busy, is attractive and fully animated with a pulsing three color equalizer and rotating CD icon when playing discs. The only complaints I have is that its an all button deck. If you are used to a volume knob or jog dial, this unit will take some getting used to. Other than that, I find the scrolling text for the ID3 info annoying, but that's a personal preference. Tuner works fine. Sound is good all around. I've read conflicting statements about the max wattage being from 100 to 400 watts, but the sound is clear at peak volumes in my truck and I don't really listen to music that loud anyway. It did come with a full function remote and hardshell padded carrying case for the faceplate, which some name brands don't even provide anymore. Overall, the build quality is on par with other brands and I think its a great value worth considering.

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This stereo is OK. It's a great value but is missing a complete of really obvious features. For the auxiliary input evaluations, I'm using an LG Optimus Android cellphone.

Radio: Auto tuner, memory, quality are all good. Has 3 FM memory banks and 2 AM. Sounds good.

Audio CD: Plays fine but has troubles resuming once turned off and back on.

Data CD: Haven't tried.

Aux In: Works, but pretty quiet. Have the volume as loud as possible on both head unit and device, which creates a pretty normal listening level, but the high volume from my phone creates a little distortion. (For perspective; the volume goes up to "45." Talk radio is good around 20. Maxed on both the head unit and phone creates a comparable volume.)

USB In: Not sure what's wrong, here. It works, for a moment, but it seems as if the power is a little irregular or wiring is loose or something. The phone dismounts and re-mounts. It doesn't stay connected long enough to actually play anything. The manual advertises the USB port is for memory sticks: Perhaps they're more fault tolerant and work better?

SD In: Haven't tried.

The face plate feels pretty cheap. It has buttons instead of dials, which make tuning and volume adjustments a little tedious, and the entire removable plate doesn't sit perfectly flat. The brightness of the screen is not great. It's FAR too bright at night, and too dim during the day. I have a query into Naxa to find out how to adjust brightness because it wasn't obvious how to do it with their manual. -UPDATE: 3 business days for a reply, and the answer is the brightness cannot be changed.

Also, the face plate buttons are bright blue. Neither the pictures on Amazon nor the box reflect this.

Basically, it works, but spending a couple dollars more will buy you a much more capable stereo. But it's also a much less obnoxious stereo than many other after-market head units, and that is worth something.

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so far so good. for the price. you get many features. I like the bluetooth feature so I can talk on the phone hands free. and I can listen to my music on my phone thru bluetooth without any wire. and it's auto connect whenever i start my car so I don't have to bother with the setting everytime.

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This product works well. It is definitely a great buy. I received everything new in its original package. I installed it in my vehicle and it fitted perfectly.Thanks!

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WTH is a NAXA?! anyway, this cheap (price-wise) little deck works great for me. It's been awhile since I purchased it, and it's still going strong. Only downside is, if you use a large memory stick/card, after 900 or so songs, it gets an asterisk and a number and you cannot skip songs. the number changes, but the song doesn't. This deck can only read a certain amount of memory off a card or USB.

02-05-2013 deck is still just as good as it was on day 1.

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Bump Digital MP3/FM Radio Boombox with Remote Wireless Speaker

• Compatible with most MP3 players and audio devices with 3.5mm Auxillary audio output
• Built-in FM Tuner, SD Card Slot. Plug-n-play from SD Card.
• Full-range speaker: 2.4GHz digital wireless transmitter ensures high-quality connections without wires.
• Expands up to 6 wireless speakers (sold separately)
• Ensures high-performance sound up to 60 feet from the transmitter

I just received my pair of wireless speakers and after putting them through their paces, I have to say, they perform very well.

Sound quality is fantastic, especially for voice and most music even rock comes up surprisingly well. The bass experience is pretty much what you'd expect from a pair of speakers in a mug-sized enclosure, but considering this size I think they do very, very well. Considering everyone's first task for any bite-sized speaker set is to try and break them by cranking up the volume and seeing how closely they resemble 'real' speakers, they're doing well!

Useability is so-so and the buttons feel a little plasticky, however the rubberised paint that covers most of the units is very nice to the touch and makes the whole thing feel like a quality product. The style is very clearly ripped off another brand's item, however that item doesn't sport the feature list (or the lower price) of the Aluratek package. At around $100 for the pair they're not all that cheap, however if you're looking for a solution that can play music anywhere, any time, from anything that has a 3.5mm jack (or use an SD card or the built in FM radio) then I would recommend you get yourself a pair.

I'm also intending on using them during board meetings as replacement laptop speakers one at each end of the table. This means you can have each speaker at lower volume (therefore better quality) and everyone can still hear and speak over it if necessary.

As far as portability goes, you'd keep them in a briefcase or backpack, but probably not a laptop tote or handbag. Battery life is yet to be determined and probably isn't worth talking about anyway, as it will vary greatly on the mode of use.

Overall I'd give it 5 stars and am very happy with them so far.

BC

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The first unit I received did not function properly the wireless function was kaput. However, tech support from the manufacturer was GREAT. Call was answered quickly, no language barriers, knew what he was doing, went thru the process quickly with me and told me it was a defective unit. Quickly got a free replacement from Amazon their usual, good customer service.

I bought this unit because my wife and I agree on NO TV shows, and our televisions are close together. We end up competing with our remotes to raise the volume to hear our own shows. I thought this would be solved by putting a speaker near my head, and shutting off all other sound from the TV.

My TV allows me to mute the internal speakers. I plug the main speaker into the headphone jack on the TV. I turn the sound down to nothing on the main speaker, which sits by the television. I have the audio portion of the show wirelessly transmitted to the bump speaker which is right by my head. The volume control on my remote even controls the loudness on the bump speaker.

Problem solved. If you have a need to keep the audio low, this product works well. However, don't expect a high level of sound quality. It is fine for TV, but I have my doubts about music.

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I completely regret buying this product. I've had it for a little over a month now and more problems just keep coming up! I'll just mention some its many awful features:

1. Clock: You cannot control the am/pm mode. The numbers only go from 00 to 12.

2. Alarm. Although I've programed both alarms to be OFF, the speaker somehow changes the setting and always turns on the radio in a random station. This is driving me insane!!!! I cannot stop it from turning on. This is particularly problematic when the battery dies and the clock is not synchronized. I've actually received calls from my neighbors complaining about the loud noise when I'm not at home.

3. EQ Settings: Apparently only works when using a SD card and not when you use the audio-line port. By the way, this is never mentioned in the instructions.

4. Preset stations: Frankly pathetic. You cannot choose the preset stations. As a matter of fact, the automatically chosen ones often are stations with no signal!!!

Please, do not waste your money on this product.

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Not as much bump as I would like. About the quality of speakers sold for those junk portable cd players in the 90's. The logitech z515 was slightly better but both hiss some.

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The device goes to a sleep state roughly every 20 seconds, where nothing can be seen on its LCD screen. This happens when the radio is running on battery power and when plugged into an electrical outlet. Strangely the device stays "on" when plugged into a USB port. This can make its use a clock somewhat limiting. The speaker playback is better than expected for such a small device but still lacking.

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iHome iH26 Portable Travel Alarm Clock for iPod (Black)

• The perfect portable alarm clock for when you are on the go with your iPod, it even comes with a carrying case to protect both itself
• Lets you listen, fall asleep, and wake up to your music while charging your iPod when running on AC adapter, but it also runs on 4 AA batteries
• Features a low-profile design, an auxiliary line-in jack, gradual increasing wake-up music witha sleep timer
• Includes 2 stereo neodymium micro driver speakers, a travel lock feature that maintains your settings, a sure-alarm battery backup
• Comes with inserts for all iPod models including the Nano, measures 8.22 x 5.9 x 1.65 inches (W x H x D)

This is a fun little device the perfect size with plenty of features. It fits on my nightstand in place of your typical alarm clock, not taking up any extra room. It easily packs up to go on the road with you. It has custom adapters included for every size of docking iPod, as well as a connector for non-docking iPods. Great sound, great control of sleep vs. wake volumes, and a nice dimming feature with 4 settings to it, so that the light of the clock doesn't keep you awake. And if you forget to dock your iPod, the buzzer alarm will still sound (actually it's a beeping alarm).

If you are a heavy sleeper, or like 90 minutes of sleep music in addition to your wake music, I recommend putting your iPod on shuffle all songs before docking it on this station so that you won't get to the end of your playlist and run out of music.

I only have two complaints about the iHome 2 Go travel alarm clock. One is that my clock seems to gain a few minutes every day, so it ends up being very fast. I reset the time once a week. The other is that I have to remove my iSkin to dock my iPod. I was sure when I bought the skin that it said I wouldn't have to remove it to dock the iPod, but because of how the docking works on this station, I do.

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I got this alarm clock for my birthday from my parents (im 20). SO, about the ihome2go: This little thing is awesome. Speakers: get loud, and quiet. I had no trouble falling asleep with the "sleep" function and i didnt have it on the lowest volume. Alarm function: take your ipod out to get the standard "beep" alarm. the remots is mad convenient too. Not to mention this thing comes with a case! People are complaining about the ac adapter not fitting in the pack, but i dont think its a big deal. The batteries in the alarm clock last long enough on short trips that if i were to bring it with me, i would only need the ihome and my ipod. the audio cable is also really convenient, allowing any and all ipods, cd players, and mp3 players to offer alarm music. Basically, best gift ever.

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I found the sound to be excellent on this unit, especially given the smaller size. Crystal clear sound even at maximum volume. Much better than I expected. I wasn't able to get any sound until I inserted the batteries (4 AA) so I would consider that a drawback. I have no idea how long those batteries will last yet. There is a separate backup battery for the clock in case of a power outage. It comes with a nice travel case as well as a remote that can pause/play the iPod. Overall I am pleased with my purchase.

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this is an awesome product I'm just going to do a pro and con table thing

pros-

-Nice sound

-Can run on batteries and play music

-Back up battery for clock only

-Waking up to music rocks

-almost if not all iPods work on it

-can hook up a mp3 player to it

-Comes with a case

-Has a remote

cons(only a few)

-Case is good except u cant fit the speakers and the ac adapter, u can fit your iPod and the remote though

-remote has to be faced at the speakers to work

-You have to take off your skins to put it in... unless its really really small but i don't know you still might have too

I'm a college student, and I bought this in order to play music in my dorm. Unlike many other reviews, the iHome can be as quiet as you want, but can also be very loud. It works great as an alarm clock, the sleep function is excellent, and the sound quality is great. One con is that the backlit lcd face generates a lot of light at night... it's similar to a night light.

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ETON G5 AM/FM/Shortwave Portable Radio with SSB (Single Side Band)

• AM (520 KHZ-1710 KHz)/FM-stereo (87.5 MHz- 108 MHz), LW (150 KHz - 510 KHz) and Shortwave (1711-29999 KHz) Single Side Band (SSB); Digital Phase Lock Loop (PLL) dual conversion
• Digital Display world-band radio
• Station name input features allow a 4-character input of the stations call letters
• Synthesized tuning system with digital tuning methods including Auto-Scan, Manual-Scan, Direct Key-in and Manual Tuning
• 700 programmable memory presets

I have had this radio for about a week now..

the instruction booklet is a little skimpy and setup can be confusing, however this is a fine radio.

FM selectivity is good, and quality through earphones is excellent, on SW the SSB feature is necessary to listen to HAM radio..its just a shame its not synchronous sideband detection..you must fine tune to select USB or LSB...Other than that the sensitivity is good, my only conclusion is that its not as good as my Satellit 800, but its also 1/20 the size and < 1/2 price.

There is a nifty "time zone" feature that allows the traveller to easily select which time zone he is in..the glaring omission however is that while GMT can be set (=UTC or world time and the basis for SW radio) all time zones are simply linked directly to GMT..or put it another way, there is zero capability to deal with any summer time...you need to muck about faking a time zone for BST, EDT or whatever.. this is a silly error.

The feel of the slightly rubberized surface is excellent, as is the display lighting and three methods of tune .. a rotary know (thankfully), seek, and direct frequency input.

If you are looking for a decent portable radio with SW, packed with the necessary features for enjoyable listening and without unnecessary frills, i cannot think of a better buy.

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Extremely nice, easily configured potable radio. AM broadcast band and FM performance is exceptionally good. SSB (Single Side Band) although BFO tuned, is very good. Shortwave performance is on par with radios in the $300.00 price class. Display back lighting is great and the display is easily read. Although a bit more expensive than the Sony ICF-SW7600GR, and does not offer synchronous detection, it is worth the price.

Note: Some offerings includ ear buds, travel case and roll-up antenna some do not. The manual indicates these are are included although that is not always the case.

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The Grundig G5 is a fine performing world band radio. It just isn't worth the price IMO. I also own the Kaito KA1102, and Sony ICF-SW7600GR. The Kaito costs 1/2 the price and performs equally as well. IMO, the KA1102 is the best deal in world band receivers. It's not quite as easy to use as the G5, and the sound isn't quite as good, but it is a much better value. The Sony costs slightly less than the Grundig, but performs equally as well on AM, and beats the Grundig on SSB. Mainly due to its synchronous detection circuitry. The one thing I like about the Grundig over the Sony is the fact you can charge the batteries in the radio. You can also do this with the Kaito. You can't do that with the Sony, and it also doesn't include the AC adapter. All in all, you can go wrong with any of these 3 radios. But I can't see paying twice as much for it over the Kaito, and the Sony is a slightly better performing radio, that costs slightly less.

04/2010 Update:

Wow. Since my review from 2008, the price of this radio has dropped from $140, to under $90. At this price, it is a great bargain. It's easily a 5 star radio at it's current price.

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This radio is good it has the continous 150 to 29999 kHz with no boundries. The AM and FM reception is superb, but LW and SW bands are medrocre. The LW band is fair to poor you would need a tunable loop antenna that covers 150 kHz to 520 kHz to pull in distant LW stations. The AM band is real good and the selectivity and sensitvity is good and well performing. The shortwave bands are fair to poor unless you use a external wire antenna with the G5. I could not pick weak signals, I hope I can get mine fixed. Please be careful not to use the radio in areas with high static electricity. When used with a Active Antenna or long wire antenna use an attenuator or preselector with this radio. There is a good line out jack on the right side so you can connect your radio to a stereo system or minidisc recorder to record your favorite shortwave radio programs. The radio requires 4 AA batteries, and sometimes it needs reset, the good thing is that the "reset" feature does not erase your preset memories even when the batteries are taken out. The SSB reception is very good if the reception was better.

This radio is a great shortwave portable when used with low gain active antennas and not so

big wire antennas. This radio is recommended for FM and AM DXing as well as shortwave radio

broadcast DXing.

This radio requires a special AC adapter that is 8 volts, and does not require more or less than that.

This is my first shortwave radio. I'm very pleased with it. Have had it about a month and use it daily for about an hour. Original set of Duracell alkaline batteries are still good. Good reception on all the local AM and FM stations. I am 20 to 40 miles away from the transmitters. I pick up many shortwave stations from inside my home using just the telescopic antenna. Routinely listen to Radio Romania, Radio Havana, China Radio Intl. Have also received broadcasts from Vietnam, Egypt and Africa. Get a lot a spanish speaking stations but I do not speak the language. I have no other shortwave experience but I would not hesitate to purchhase this radio again or to recommend it. I use it exclusively with headphones so I can't comment on the speakers. Clock and time zone were easily set. The page memory system is very easy to use once you try it a couple of times.

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Duracell Coppertop AA Batteries, 28-Count

I purchased these batteries a couple months ago from Amazon.com and used them in a childs toy. They didn't work. My first thought was it must be the toy. I tried another toy and same thing happened. Then a third and fourth. Batteries seem drained. I have no idea what the problem is. Duracell is normally a good brand so maybe these are fake Duracell or very old? Just letting you know my experience with them. Judge for yourself.

Batteries came in two packages. I opened 1 pack and every single battery was completely dead! And no I did not put them in backwards...lol I actually looked! :) I put the old batteries back into the pop light that had gone dim and the light glowed, tried 4 more 'new' batteries and nothing. I tested the whole pack and not 1 worked. The exp date on the batteries still have a few years to go so you would think that they would have been okay. Sending back and will just buy more when I'm out shopping. I may be paying more, but at least they will work!

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I have been a loyal Duracell purchaser for 15 years, but the last 5 or 8 years, they have seen a serious quality drop.

I've now ruined four remotes in the past five years thanks to leaking Duracell batteries. this never used to happen, matter of fact, one of my remotes had good Duracell's that expired in 2002, but had not leaked.

However, a remote was just ruined by a set of Duracell's that expire in 2014 (this review is from 2012) that had been installed in 2011, and leaked.

So I'm done with this brand. The ONE thing a battery MUST do is not leak. If it does not last, OK, I'll look for a more durable option. If you ruin my gear repeatedly, it's over.

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I was really happy to get a good deal on batteries right before christmas however we started using them for new toys and they won't run everything. We bought a leapster for our daughter and it would turn on and turn right back off, we checked the batteries to make sure they were in correctly and tried again...nothing! We were getting ready to package it back up to return it when my husband decided to try different (store bought) batteries and to our surprise, and honestly disappointment in our wasted money, they worked. We will not be trying to "save" money on batteries again!

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Batteries arrived in good shape and on time. But 2-3 weeks later when they were installed for the first time in my child's Christmas gift. NOTHING! They absolutely did not work! I happened to have new batteries of a different brand to replace them and had no issues getting the toy to work. I recieved an entire box of duds! Not very pleased.

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NYNE N-19 iPad/iPhone/ iPod Alarm Clock with Speaker Dock

• This dock is a 30-pin dock and therefore does not support Apple models newer than the iPhone 4S as these have new docks
• Universal dock to charge and play, iPod, iPhone and iPad
• 3.5mm aux-in compatible with most phones and MP3 players
• 2.0 Stereo acoustic suspension enclosure design
• AM/FM radion with 6 presets and switchable USA/EURO frequencies
• Dual alarm that allows you to wake up to iPod, iPhone, iPad, FM radio or alarm tone with programmable wake up volumes

I visited a friend this past weekend,I noticed her alarm clock looked kind of unique. She had her ipad docked to it, playing music videos right by her bedside. It sounded great for the size, it has a slim profile so it fit perfectly in her head board. I started playing with it, then got distracted you know.. but it is a prettty high-end looking piece. So I found one here and ended up getting one for myself. I didn't even know it had a video out until I got it. So I have this on my bedside, and when i'm watching videos on my iPad, I have it playing on my tv also. Very slick.

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SDI iHome IH22 - portable speakers with digital

• DUAL ALARM CLOCK SPEAKER SYSTEMFOR IPOD - TRANSLUC

Not too happy with it...I had to buy an adaptor so it would play my granddaughter's mini ipod in it. It only worked a couple of times with the adaptor & then it quite working!!! 2 thumbs down!!!

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I received this as a Christmas present.....the box says "for your iPod or iPhone...and "comes with 4 inserts to adapt your model"....well, first, mine only came with 2 inserts. I went online, and inserts are $6+ shipping. To top it off, there isn't even an insert that works with an iPhone....I emailed customer service and they told me to use a line to connect my iPhone, but it wouldn't activate with the alarm or charge my iPhone.....so, basically, I have an overpriced alarm clock with an audio jack.

Before I found out it wouldn't work with my iPhone, I tried to set the clock. It was more time consuming than any other alarm clock I've ever owned. The speaker quality is comparable to a dollar store alarm clock. This will be going right back. I can charge my phone and use an alarm app to get better results.

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Frustrating, hard to set. Does not sync time with ipod they read 2 different times! Got it for Christmas I'm returning it ASAP!

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I think this is really cool I used to just use my iPod for an alarm clock but now I have the louder speakers that are just way better

Compact but useful. It's great for a small space at work or home! It Charges, plays music and tells time all with a small "footprint".

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Wave® Music System III - Platinum White

• Lifelike sound from Bose® waveguide speaker technology
• Plays all your music sources: CDs/MP3 CDs, FM/AM--plus your iPod®, smartphone, computer, tablet or Bluetooth® device with optional accessories
• Includes CD player, advanced FM/AM tuner, headphone jack, remote, clock
• Now with: Touch-top on/off/snooze controls; dual independent alarms; displayed song/artist radio info

What a big sound from such a small package. I use to have last version of Wave Music System II and it was great, this new one is even better. They made radio sound so good, and it let you now the name of the song and the artist. The touch pad on top is very usefull to turn on or off the unit. LOVE this Music System.

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Really enjoying having a CD player in the living area. Loving the on/off with a touch. That said, the sound is not crisp. Doesn't seem to be a way to change that. Compared it to the sound in my 19 year old Honda and 7 year old Toyota. The Honda player won hands down with the Toyota system also way ahead. As a trained musician I admit to biases. I don't like muffled sounds. Suspect I could have paid a lot less and gotten better sound than this.

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Has really great sound, but ALL controls are on VERY small remote, which is easily misplaced!! Buttons on remote are especially small for elderly aunt, which gift was purchased for. Needs to have some controls on unit itself for when remote is lost

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We were looking at bigger options but this one absolutely does the job without taking up the whole counter. Really nice sound.

It's a bose. It sounds much larger than it is. It works for us just fine. We mostly just use the radio, not the disc player.

What is causing me to deduct 2 stars is that it's basically entirely dependent on the remote. I loathe electronics that require you to not lose the remote even for very simple operations.

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Aluratek AIRJ01F USB Internet Radio Jukebox

• USB plug-n-play (no software to install)
• Search for music by Genre or geographically (over 300 countries) and 13,000 channels
• Save all your favorites right to the USB drive and take it with you when you travel.
• No monthly costs!
• Keep a list and vote for your favorite radio stations to tabulate TOP 10 genre and region lists among all users.

It's pretty straight-forward: it lets you listen to thousands of radio stations that broadcast on the Net. As I write this review, I am sitting here, on the US East Coast, listening to some Icelandic rock station. In the past couple of hours I browsed through radio stations based in France, the Philippines, UK and, I believe Thailand. Pretty cool, eh?

But, let's summarize:

Installation: super-easy. You stick the USB thing into the proper port and you get prompted to allow for the software to install on your computer at least that's what Vista does.

Interface: you get 2 top-10 lists that can be expanded to top-100, by region or by genre. The tops are not too useful, unless you really believe that the number one talk station in the world is broadcasting from Bulgaria but, it's fun to have them there. The categories are usually hit and miss you are almost as likely to find music on a 'talk' station as your are to find actual talk but... it's no big deal, believe me. The stations are also classified by Genre and Location and, within each of these, you can sort them by 'country' not all stations have a country assigned to them and Kansas and Kenya are both viewed as 'countries'. You can include individual stations on your favorite list and you can vote them up or down. There is also a 'history' section, a 'help' section and a link to the maker of the product. Oh, the bottom of the window is reserved for advertising but, I bet, you are NOT likely to stare at the Aluratek windows while listening to the radio so it's not bothersome.

Reception: each station shows a number of bars, telephone style 4 bars are supposed to be the clearest and no bars you probably can't get. The quality of your connection is, without a doubt, dependent of your own bandwidth. Depending of it and depending on many other factors, your connection may break from time to time or you may not be able to connect at all but, so far, I am happy with what I get.

Why I almost took out 1 star?

The interface could be improved. What I definitely miss is the ability to enter my own little notes to the stations that I mark as 'favorites'. The way they appear now which could be something like 'WKZR' or maybe a string of Chinese hieroglyphs is not always descriptive enough.

To summarize: if you spend a few hundred $$ for your laptop, I can't think of any good justification for not spending $20-30 on this little device.

______________________________

October 2, 2008 Update

I learned from a related discussion thread that there are 'free' sites that allow access to thousands of radio stations with some search capabilities. http://www.vtuner.com is one of them. Some may prefer to use such a site for their radio listening and save some money. Personally, having purchased this device, I am more likely to use IT than Vtuner but this is my personal preference only.

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The Aluratek Internet Radio Jukebox is great for finding & surfing radio stations around the world and playing them through a single interface. It performs this task very well. I had it up and running on my home PC in no time, just as advertised. Reasons I didn't give it 5 stars:

The interface itself is clunky, cryptic and a bit slow. It's easy enough to use, just kind of awkward.

It does not necessarily work on "locked down" office workstations. Although it doesn't need to install software to run, it does need to put a special driver in your Windows directory. Not a deal-breaker by any means, but something to be aware of.

All in all, the Internet Radio Jukebox is great for exploring Internet radio stations. If you'd like that process made simpler and more convenient, then you'll probably be happy with it. Otherwise, it's no different from just bookmarking your favorite stations with your Web browser.

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I got the jukebox for Xmas. I got it to work on Vista Ultimate and have no complaints. The jukebox is a complete waste of money! A person can down load Winamp(free download) and go to www.shoutcast.com and get over 10,000 streaming radio stations at no cost, Further the shoutcast website also has a shoutcast player! All of these services are free. Why pay $20 plus for a USB flash drive when you don't have too. Further you can't loose a Winamp player or Shoutcast Player!!

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I discovered this Aluratek AIRJ01F USB internet radio stick as an Amazon promotion. The idea that I could be anywhere in the world but easily hear my local radio stations sounded great. (Or vice versa -easily find broadcasts worldwide.) After checking the handful of reviews, I decided to take a chance -hardly a big loss if it didn't pan out. Well, I'm glad I did. It arrived in two days. I opened the package. The instructions said, "Plug it into the USB port." I did (on my laptop which runs Vista) and, lo and behold, the application immediately began to run, and a huge directory of worldwide web radio stations came up, organized in several different ways, and easily searchable. In seconds, I was listening to my home town radio station. One click later, I was checking out a station half a world away!

Then a friend called and, in passing, he mentioned that he never gets to hear broadcasts of his old college's football games, because the school is 600 miles away, and he often travels, anyway. I recommended this! Could he figure out how to get the webcasts without this inexpensive device? Maybe....No, obviously not. This makes finding numerous stations so easy, no matter where you are or what computer you're using.

One issue: I tried plugging it into a secure laptop which runs Windows XP, and the self-starting app did not run automatically. I'm still trying to track down the ActiveX setting which is preventing this. But, no problem, anyway: All you have to do is create a shortcut to the application on your desktop, and then clicking that will start it up.

Nifty and inexpensive little thing, makes staying local, or going global, with your web radio, so easy! These will make great Christmas gifts, too!

I was feeling nostalgic, remembering listening to BBC radio dramas when I was in college in Europe. I've tried to find them online with no luck.

Then I bought this tiny gadget.

I plugged it into my computer's USB port, and it's like going back in time. It works just fine on my computer running Windows XP. I can listen to radio dramas from the UK, music from Virgin Radio, Celtic stations from Ireland, and other favorites from around the world. I can also explore stations I've never heard of from pretty much every country on the globe.

Mind you, this device isn't perfect. It can take a few seconds for a radio station to start, sometimes you'll find a dead link, sometimes the sound drops a bit, though usually not much and certainly not as much as any other form of radio streaming I've found. Despite the drawbacks, I would highly recommend it to anyone who is missing a favorite radio station from another country. There's no reason to feel homesick anymore.

Likewise, if you're traveling with your laptop and you like to listen to American radio, you should probably take this with you. I've been in countries where I've had the hardest time finding anything on the radio I liked. With this device and a laptop with an Internet connection, you can take this comfort from home anywhere you go.

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Sangean DDR-63 All-in-One Table Top with WiFi Internet, FM-RDS/Aux In/ CD/USB/iPod Cradle in Acousti

• All In One, Internet Radio/FM-RDS/Aux-In/CD/USB/SD/iPod Cradle
• iPod Cradle Charges and Plays iPod/iPhone
• 10 presets on FM Band and 99 Station Presets on internet Radio
• Full Function Remote Control
• MP3, AAC and WMA Compatible

While I would not say that this item is perfect, it does stand alone in a sea of mediocrity. When you consider the impressive range of features that it offers, it's really easy to overlook the minor shortcomings. It's also hard to find much to compare it to, since there are only 2-3 units available that offer all of these features at such a reasonable price point.

First off, it's really nice looking. Piano black is a good description, as it is a deep, high gloss, black finish. This is complemented nicely by the blue backlit display (which is adjustable for both brightness and contrast). It feels solid and of quite good quality. Also, since neither this site nor the manufacturer's website describes it, it DOES include a full size remote control. Happily, it is not a tiny credit card type of remote. It is full sized and has real buttons. The remote feels a little cheap, but at least it offers those two features. I'll try to upload a picture of the remote at some point. The touch sensitive buttons on the unit itself do not offer any kind of tactile feedback, but do have nice blue lights, and seem to be responsive. I anticipate using the remote more often than these buttons.

The Pandora integration is really great. It does not seem to offer a way to "like" a song (as you can on the Pandora site) but it is easy to set up and use.

***UPDATE, 2/29/2012: I can't stress enough how much I enjoy using the Pandora integration on this radio! It is truly a joy. We use it in the kitchen, and if an artist or song comes up in conversation over dinner or breakfast, PRESTO! we can look for them/it on this radio! You do not have to log in to Pandora using a computer to create new stations.

The iPod integration is nice. It seems to work pretty well with my iPhone 4. It charges the phone while playing music. The remote control can be used to control the iPhone/iPod too, which is nice. The unit comes with a plethora of plastic adapters to get a secure fit for different kinds of iPods, but I have not tried them. The unit does not display the song info, but of course it is displayed on the iPod.

CDs take a few seconds to initialize, which is one of the minor drawbacks I mentioned before. And it does not display info about the CD such as track names, etc. It only displays track numbers and elapsed time. Not a huge deal I guess.

The Internet radio is very cool, and presents a whole world (literally!) of stuff to hear. It does not display info about individual tracks (another minor drawback). Instead it can display the name, description, genre, country of origin, reliability of connection, bit rate, audio codec, and sampling rate of the station. Nice!

FM reception seems good. I live close to a city, so your performance may vary. It does display station names, track names, artists, or whatever RDS info a station is transmitting (if anything).

Sound quality? Oh yeah, sound quality. Well, I'd say it's really good. I'm not an audiophile (if I were, I probably wouldn't even consider a tabletop radio) but I do have some musical training, a somewhat discerning ear, and a somewhat geeky mentality when it comes to audio/video stuff. So I'm going to say the sound quality, as perceived by a person such as myself, is an 8 or 9 out of 10. I'm using it in a kitchen with lots of acoustically bright surfaces and felt it was a little bass-heavy out of the box, but there are several EQ presets, and a personal EQ setting, which lets you adjust bass and treble.

Another minor drawback that I've noticed, and the one that seems to bug me the most, is the inability to power on and go directly to the mode you want by pressing the appropriate button on the remote. You always have to press the power button first, whether on the unit itself or the remote. You then cycle through the radio modes by pressing the "Radio" button, or for the other formats you press the "Media" button to cycle through CD, iPod, etc.

I have not tried the USB, SD card, or Media Player software, nor have I tried the recording capabilities. I wanted something with FM, CD, Internet radio, and iPod integration. As far as I'm concerned those other features are just gravy, and it will probably take a while before I try them. If they are important to you, leave me a comment and I will try to use them and report back.

In closing, you can't beat this unit at this price. Please buy it so Sangean keeps making cool stuff!

***UPDATE #2, 12/19/2012: I'm still pretty happy with this item, but over a period of 2-3 months this past summer I was having a few problems. At one point the FM radio would just go silent after listening for a while. The exact duration of listening required to see the problem would change, but the sound would only return after unplugging the unit. I contacted Sangean and they said I could ship the unit to them for warranty repair, ALONG WITH A CHECK FOR RETURN SHIPPING. Seriously? The item they made went bad so I have to pay shipping both ways?? Even Apple will pay shipping both ways for warranty repairs on laptops (at least they used to). Another problem was that the touch controls on the unit stopped responding to touches for a while. Both problems seem to have cleared up, at least for the time being. Still a cool item, but not without its problems.

Buy Sangean DDR-63 All-in-One Table Top with WiFi Internet, FM-RDS/Aux In/ CD/USB/iPod Cradle in Acousti Now

We were looking for a replacement for a Boston Acoustics Micro System CD whose CD stopped working. Boston Acoustics no longer offers a radio with a CD, otherwise I would have just replaced it in kind, as the sound was great from top to bottom. Without going into the boring details, I will tell you I had the opportunity to do a side-by-side comparison in my kitchen of the Sangean DDR-63, three different Bose Wave Radios ranging from 3 to 10 years old, a new Cambridge Soundworks i765, and the Boston Acoustics whose radio still worked. Since this is a review of the Sangean, I will focus on that.

Size-wise, the unit was very similar to the Cambridge i765, both being slightly larger in depth and height compared to the Bose and the Boston models. The Cambridge model required the use of a power brick AC/DC adapter which added to the surface clutter, whereas the Sangean and Bose models just had a standard AC cord running from the unit to the wall plug. The Sangean was probably the nicest looking of the group, at least to my eye. However, the LCD display was also my least favorite. I found it harder to read than the others. The integrated iPod dock looked great and worked fine a very nice feature. Setting up the wireless connection to my router was easy and straightforward since both radio and router supported WPS. However, sound quality was paramount to me, and the Sangean did not measure up, at least to my ear. It lacked the terrific bass response of the i765, and it also lacked the sparkling mid-range of the Bose units. Overall it just sounded a bit 'muddy' throughout the spectrum in comparison to the others. Not terrible, just not as good. None of the radios was perfect. The Bose lacked bass, the i765 lacked mids. Since internet radio was the least important feature to me, the Sangean was the first radio I ruled out and returned. I will say that Amazon's return policy and process is excellent and is a key reason I do frequent business with them.

Read Best Reviews of Sangean DDR-63 All-in-One Table Top with WiFi Internet, FM-RDS/Aux In/ CD/USB/iPod Cradle in Acousti Here

We looked for several months for a small, good sounding device to replace our big old stereo system. After finding the Sangean DDR-63 we read the specs and reviews before finally committing to buy it. It was fulfilled by Vann's, and we got excellent service from them. The machine arrived in 3 days in perfect condition.

What I really like about the Sangean:

1. Setup was a breeze, even connecting by WiFi which I've had problems with on other devices. Within 5 minutes the clock, internet radio and Pandora were up and running.

2. The sound is GREAT. I don't know what some reviewers have done, but we're very happy with the sound. I have experience with what Bose Wave machines sound like and although I haven't done a side-by-side comparison I know they are in the same league. Clear, crisp with clean bass. We usually leave the equalizer on "Flat", but some poor recordings do need adjustment to sound their best. We're not looking for window rattling volume, but the Sangean can get quite loud.

3. Great looks. Yes the description of "piano black" is a good one. It takes up a small space with no extra wires and cables cluttering up the living room. The touch panel is sensitive without the "bump" buttons sometimes found on lower cost products. The remote is a real full sized one with real buttons. Range for the remote easily allows use from across a large room.

4. Pandora! We've had a Pandora account on our computer but never really used it much. With the DDR-63 we've added stations and discovered a lot of new music. It's perfect for a dinner or a party, non-stop music any genre you want with no hassle.

5. Lots of input options. The DDR-63 has FM, CD, IPod dock, line-level, SD card and USB inputs. Wow! The WiFi connection also lets you read from a shared drive on your computer, so your personal music library is available, too.

6. Recording. You can record from CD or FM or Pandora or internet radio onto SD or USB devices. This was a big bonus for me. I have a Soundfly (FM transmitter) in my car that accepts SD cards. I can record music from Pandora onto an SD card and play it back while I'm driving!

7. Line-level output. This lets us connect to a wireless speaker transmitter so the music extends to our patio. Another Wow!

All in all we love it and have no regrets. Would definitely buy it again!

Want Sangean DDR-63 All-in-One Table Top with WiFi Internet, FM-RDS/Aux In/ CD/USB/iPod Cradle in Acousti Discount?

Been playing with this item for a few weeks now, after searching for a shelf system with CD/FM and internet radio all-in-one, which is pretty hard to find surprisingly enough.

It's a bit pricey compared to internet only systems, but has everything I need.

Sound -pretty good for such a small box, no problems with static 4/5

Integrations -hooked up my Pandora account, MP3 library on my computer, and general internet radio stations in just a short time. Takes a few seconds to acquire original connection to wifi, but after that, everything works seemlessly, quickly, and without any drops, even with my router on the other floor. Only nitpick is would like to be able to save pandora stations to quick numbers. 5/5

Interface -remote is ok, its tough to enter characters searching for internet stations or pandora creation, but I've never seen a really good interface for doing that on a system like this. My young kids have already figured out some pieces of it in a few days, so can't be too hard. 3.5/5

Overall -has all the features I wanted, and will be buying some wireless speakers soon to expand the sound to another room/floor. Already been listening to more music in the last two weeks that we had in the past year. Recommended if you need these features and the price doesnt scare you off. 4+/5

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We got this for the kitchen / dining area and it is an excellent choice for a small area. The sound quality is very good but it is limited in how loud it can play. At lower volumes it plays clean and clear full bodied sound, as good as the Bose Wave system.

The control panel is touch sensitive and works well, although I did manage to confuse it and had to power down to continue. Not all features are accessible using the front panel, and you must use the remote for Preset stations and EQ settings. Not a big deal if you lose the remote...

The CD player is like any other units you have used and has the best sound quality of all the inputs I have tried.

The ability to play Pandora radio stations / playlists is a great feature, just create an account with Pandora, link the radio ID to the site, create the music lists at the website, and those list show up on the radio. It is the feature my wife uses the most because it plays a variety of similar artists and style to the radio station you picked.

I have not used the Internet Radio as much, but I see this feature as a way to get a different perspective on news, music or talk shows. You can pick from 100s of radio stations / podcasts around the globe.

The microSD slot also works well. I moved the memory card from the mp3 player to the DDR-63 and all your music files are there. It shows artist, song name on the display. It allows you to move from file to file, but you must go past all songs in the current file.

I have not tried the USB or the Ipod slots.

The FM and the WiFi antennas work well and there is a signal strenght indicator to find best position.

Overall a great product with lots of music input choices and a reasonable price. Much better deal than the Bose

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