Tivoli Audio PAL BT - Bluetooth Portable AM/FM Radio in High Gloss Blue/White

This little AM/FM/Bluetooth radio is nearly perfect. It has a warm, expansive, clear sound and is the ideal size to put on a table or a nightstand for a fantastic mobile high fidelity experience.Of course there are cheaper radios on the market. If all you want is to listen to AM talk, for example, get one of those. The Tivoli excels at elegantly reproducing chamber music or a symphony on an FM classical station, for example, or jazz, or another instrumental sound that rewards warmth and detail from a speaker. It's a niche product for rich people -- an Audi convertible of radios -- which means it's not for everyone.The range of customer reviews for this radio make it difficult to tell whether Tivoli has huge quality control issues or whether it may have improved problems that afflicted earlier models, but the one I bought has been pitch-perfect. Great sound, as described. Great reception -- depending on the conditions, FM comes in clearly without even extending the antenna. The Bluetooth capability works just fine for me every time, and it's implemented well as its own position on the power switch. That means no pressing and holding, or holding down a button for 5 seconds, or doing some of the other things you have to do to pair other Bluetooth speakers.The battery life on this unit deserves special attention all on its own. Mindful about some of the complaints from other users, I've kept an eye on charging and recharging and been, frankly, amazed. I'll charge the radio overnight from Sunday to Monday and use it pretty much all week with no need to recharge until the following Sunday or Monday. Part of the performance depends on the volume you use, so your mileage may vary, but for my needs as a daily news & music player, it has been fantastic.Given the range of experiences described by other users I wasn't sure what to expect from the Pal BT, but after a few months of regular use it has been a very pleasant surprise and become a favorite toy.

Some of the reviews on this product make it seem like this is a horrible radio. Its not. Its quite above par. Not stellar, but definitely better than most radios. I wouldn't say get this if the price is quite a bit more than the regular PAL, because the Bluetooth (BT) function (which is the main difference) is really annoying with iOS devices.The Good:Fully charged battery lasts quite a long time between needing to be rechargedFinish is gorgeous for being plastic, even though its not classy as all the other Tivoli radios, it holds its own quite well.It feels sturdy and has a great heftSound is excellent. I'd say I like it better than my Model 10 stereo setupThe Bad:Power cord has a huge transformer (aka wall wart), but luckily, you don't have to keep this plugged in all the timeThe Ugly:Here's where I knock off a star. I would consider dropping it two stars, but for the price I paid, I'm not going to be mean:The Bluetooth function with iOS 7.x devices isn't ready for prime-time.It took a few times to initially pair my iPhone 5S with the PAL BT. But once set up, then anytime I switch the PAL to BT mode, it does NOT automatically connect (it should if only one device has been set up with PAL).And when you try to manually connect, there's more than 50% chance it won't connect the first time. You have to keep going to iOS BT settings and clicking on BT devices to force it to connect. You are lucky if it connects second time.I'm hoping this is a iOS issue, so that a software update could fix it. But if its is issue specific to PAL BT, then we are out of luck :(I love the radio and for the price I paid, I have no regrets. But if you are on fence between the regular PAL and the BT PAL, I suggest stay with the regular one, unless the BT version is significantly cheaper.

I bought this to use in my garage. It is nice to have the portability to put the little box where I want it, then let it run. It took almost 3 weeks for me to run it down. That is not running it 24/7, but when I was out in the garage working on snowmobiles, snowblower, etc. The PAL can easily go with me or outside if the weather is nice, too. Love the tuner in this device, also. Analog, yes, but the old-school, classic tuner feel and sound is exactly what I was looking for. This replaced a digital tuner, small 'boom-box' that had to be plugged in and stationary. That old box had a digital tuner and it would have static in and out as I moved around or depending on what I was working on. The PAL does not suffer from this problem. You can fine tune it with the dial and even if you have a fringe station tuned in, the sound is great, not harsh or distracting to my ears.I have not even used the Bluetooth functionality, which was one of the main points of purchasing this for my garage. The AM/FM sound is so amazing for a small device.If you have never held or heard a TIvoli Audio radio before, give it a try. Worth the investment for a great radio. I now own two of their products (Model One BlueTooth, also). Recommend both of them highly.