Boston Acoustics Recepter Clock Radio
Out of stock |
Similar in Clock Radios
- Music playback: Radio Only
- Snooze Alarm: Yes
- Tuner Type: Digital Tuner
- Display: LCD
- Dual Alarm: Yes
- Overview
-
Reviews
-
Compare Prices
User ReviewRead All Reviews »
Great sound, but needs more features
Pros
Rich sound, handsome design.
Cons
Not enough electronic features given the premium price.
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
Those that want to wake up to decent sounding music should consider the Recepter. Yes it's expensive, but it looks like it's built to be around for 20 years.
My 35 year old GE clock radio finally bit the dust, so it was time to look into a quality replacement. I'd been reading reviews for high-end units for some time and have periodically checked eBay for old Proton units, which I always thought were great looking products.
I've had my Recepter for only 24 hours, but like other reviewers have stated the sound and reception are both wonderful. Is the bass too heavy? In my opinion no, but with pop-rock stations that use heavy compression of their signal I suppose it can be somewhat annoying. The local NPR and classical stations sound great. My old GE was a very bulky unit with a small speaker, so I'd imagine all that extra interior room gave it more bass than today's very small and compact clock radios provide.
My only real complaint so far is with the electronic controls. I think for $150 you could get a few more features common to the cheaper units out there.
I'd like to see a third dimmer level for the LED display. I think even on "Low" the display is a little bright for sleeping. Some models out there have auto-dimming features relative to the room's light level -- that might be nice.
I'd like to see a volume ramp-up option for both the radio and tone alarms. That's pretty common out there.
Somebody else mentioned having the radio alarm shut off after only 10 minutes. My GE shut off after 60. It would be nice to have this be a user defined option.
I'd like to see a way to associate a radio station preset with the radio alarm. I might fall asleep listening to the classical station, but I want to wake up to the rock station. That doesn't seem like a big thing to ask for.
I'd like to see a way for unused presets to stay off the preset tuning dial. No need to have to cycle through 15 empty presets when you've only set 5.
Maybe take a cue from Proton and make a second speaker-only unit available that plugs into the Recepter base and provides music for both sides of the bed.
Finally, I'd like to see a way to assign radio station call letters to the presets instead of displaying the frequency. My 15 year old Pioneer receiver can do that.
Anyway, that's about it. Given the rash of new iPod based clock radios with similar price points, it wouldn't hurt Boston Acoustics to look into making the Recepter a little more feature rich. In my opinion it's a great little radio with great sound that barring a lightning strike, I hope will be around for a long long time.
PS - I've been asked to go into more detail regarding the sound quality of the Recepter. Not being an audiophile, all I can say is that this sounds superior in all respects to my old clock radio. If anything, I'd say the bass is a little much at lower volumes, but you can really crank this thing up and rock out in bed if that's your thing. I find it amazing that something with such a small footprint can generate such amazing sound. YMMV.
I've had my Recepter for only 24 hours, but like other reviewers have stated the sound and reception are both wonderful. Is the bass too heavy? In my opinion no, but with pop-rock stations that use heavy compression of their signal I suppose it can be somewhat annoying. The local NPR and classical stations sound great. My old GE was a very bulky unit with a small speaker, so I'd imagine all that extra interior room gave it more bass than today's very small and compact clock radios provide.
My only real complaint so far is with the electronic controls. I think for $150 you could get a few more features common to the cheaper units out there.
I'd like to see a third dimmer level for the LED display. I think even on "Low" the display is a little bright for sleeping. Some models out there have auto-dimming features relative to the room's light level -- that might be nice.
I'd like to see a volume ramp-up option for both the radio and tone alarms. That's pretty common out there.
Somebody else mentioned having the radio alarm shut off after only 10 minutes. My GE shut off after 60. It would be nice to have this be a user defined option.
I'd like to see a way to associate a radio station preset with the radio alarm. I might fall asleep listening to the classical station, but I want to wake up to the rock station. That doesn't seem like a big thing to ask for.
I'd like to see a way for unused presets to stay off the preset tuning dial. No need to have to cycle through 15 empty presets when you've only set 5.
Maybe take a cue from Proton and make a second speaker-only unit available that plugs into the Recepter base and provides music for both sides of the bed.
Finally, I'd like to see a way to assign radio station call letters to the presets instead of displaying the frequency. My 15 year old Pioneer receiver can do that.
Anyway, that's about it. Given the rash of new iPod based clock radios with similar price points, it wouldn't hurt Boston Acoustics to look into making the Recepter a little more feature rich. In my opinion it's a great little radio with great sound that barring a lightning strike, I hope will be around for a long long time.
PS - I've been asked to go into more detail regarding the sound quality of the Recepter. Not being an audiophile, all I can say is that this sounds superior in all respects to my old clock radio. If anything, I'd say the bass is a little much at lower volumes, but you can really crank this thing up and rock out in bed if that's your thing. I find it amazing that something with such a small footprint can generate such amazing sound. YMMV.
