Boston Acoustics Recepter Clock Radio

I listen to a lot of talk radio and finally tired of the thin sound of regular AM radios (of which I have four, for various rooms of the house). I have Boston Acoustics speakers and therefore was immediately a little partial to the Recepter, so I wandered off to my local Best Buy and was simply blown away by the sound and the look of the unit. I was so impressed I bought it on sight.

Well... I got it home and it didn't work. Well, it turned on and all, but there was a problem... The button on the front that you use to choose the band (AM/FM/Presets) didn't do anything and therefore I could only get AM. Since that's pretty much all I listen to, that wouldn't necessarily be a problem, but c'mon, for $160 you want it to WORK.

So, back to Best Buy, and I already knew I'd gotten the last one, so I was Recepter-free. Bummer.

Well life moved on and I didn't go back after Best Buy replenished their stock. Then Christmas rolled around, and Dad said "what do you want Santa to bring you this year?" Actually I'd asked for this for my birthday six months ago, but *ahem* "Santa" came through and it was under the tree this year.

Let's just say that I am very, very happy with this radio. Yes, the Recepter could use a bass control or a tone control to limit the boominess on male voices on AM and it can sound a smidge unnatural on some music on FM radio, but the overall experience of listening to this fine unit makes that all minor. It's kind of strange, actually, since Boston Acoustics has always been known for their "transparent", accurate sound. I'm a little surprised that they tweaked their electronics to the point that it DOES get boomy... I don't know what the engineers did here, but it seems like it has a permanent "loudness" control (anyone remember those??) that emphasizes the bass frequencies at low volume but scales down the boost as the volume rises... With (rock) music this unit really does sound great. You'll stand there scratching your head wondering how that little speaker and tiny port on the back can it! Speaking of which, don't push this radio up against the wall... Make sure the port on the back has room to "breathe". Strangely this isn't mentioned in the manual as far as I can see, though it does warn you to leave at least 2" clearance on all sides for "ventilation" (and no, the radio doesn't get hot, it barely even gets warm, so don't worry about that).

As you would expect, the reception is amazing. Rock solid, no static, no nuthin'. With the INCLUDED antenna I am picking up 880 AM (NYC) from eastern Indiana (700mi from here). Yes, I know it's night and reception is better at this hour of the night, and yes, I've picked up this station (badly) 900mi away in GA on my car stereo, but the reception here is almost like I was sitting in NY. And if the reception YOU get isn't good enough for ya, the connections on the back allow you to hook up a rooftop antenna (or other external antenna).

Okay, enough about the radio. What about the clock?

Once you read the instructions, setting the clock and the alarms is a snap. You can dim the display if you like, and you can have the radio default either to the active frequency or to the clock as suits your fancy (as I have it set now, it normally displays the time and only shows the frequency when you move the freq. selector).

I've not had this long enough to know much about the clock's accuracy, but I HAVE found something that could potentially be a problem. I read in the manual that the 3-AA battery backup (included) will save the clock and alarm settings in the case of power failure or if you unplug it. I thought maybe I was missing something, so I tested it out and found that the battery backup will NOT actually SOUND the alarm if the power is STILL off when the alarm is supposed to go off! I keep two AM clock radios in my bedroom (one in the room itself and one in the master bathroom) and keep them both set as a precaution, and BOTH of them have battery backup that will sound the alarm even if you unplug them (9V backups in both)... Or, of course, if the power goes out, which is why I am concerned about such things. Like most of us, I can't afford to oversleep and miss work.

Basically, this unit is totally unsuited to being the sole alarm clock if you actually need it to wake you up. Keep another $10 clock radio with a battery backup (or battery operated travel alarm clock) on your dresser as a precautionary measure.

And oh, what a radio! I've not heard the Tivoli or the Cambridge Soundworks table radios, but the Recepter will definitely give the Bose a run for its money, and for less than half the price. Yes, it's mono, but you won't miss it after listening to this radio. As mentioned by another poster, this radio was highly rated by CR. If you're like me and don't necessarily take CR's word for it when it comes to audio equipment, there are numerous other reviews online that you can read. Just Google it.

Did I mention that the aesthetics and ergonomics of the unit are beyond peer? I know it's all subjective, but my silver Recepter is a beautiful piece and has a quality feel. I give it four stars for reliability only because the first one didn't work properly out of the box.

Get one. You will not be disappointed.