Grace Wifi Radio (ITC-IR1000B)
by Grace Digital
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Our Price: $199.99 Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Buy Used: from $74.99 (click here) Category: CE See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Grace Wifi Radio (ITC-IR1000B)
Customer Review: Great Product, and Easy Use
Summary: 5 Stars
I've not only been an electronics hobbyist for over 50 years, but worked in the electronics field professionally for over 40 years. And, I've been a licensed amateur radio (ham) operator for many years as well. The ITC-IR1000B is really a great product. I've listened to streaming Internet music on my PC for years, but decided to acquire a dedicated Internet radio. I read the reviews, and decided on this discontinued model from Grace. I bought a factory refurb unit through Amazon.com (shipped directly from Grace), and I'm very pleased with the purchase. From appearance to electrical operation, the radio seems new, no blemishes and no operational glitches. Although I do use it to scan various Internet streams, including the BBC, I primarily use it with my Pandora account. Listening to my favorite artists or genre without commercial interference is really nice.
Set-up was easy, and more intuitive than I expected from reading most of the reviews here on Amazon. It detected my WPA encrypted home WiFi network (using a Linksys WRT54GL router with Tomato firmware) without a hitch. We have a 4 level house and wherever I take the ITC-IR1000B, it links to the WiFi without any problems - even in the remotest area of the finished basement far from the router. I'm impressed.
Would I like to see some improvements? Of course... I'd like to have an Ethernet jack on the back panel, and an actual Stereo Line Out jacks, rather than only the Earphone Jack output. But, given the fact that I tend to carry this from room to room anyway, an Ethernet jack is probably no real loss.
Try it, you'll be hooked. I just hope it lasts, as I've read of some samples dying early.
Customer Review: Delightful!
Summary: 5 Stars
Grace Digital Audio Wireless Internet Radio GDI-IR1000
I've been listening to this radio for about a year and I continue to be delighted with it - for many more reasons than not having to tolerate commercials. Most of the time I listen to it "barefoot" and it sounds good enough, with good base punch but with the treble just a bit too much for my taste. So when I want great sound, I hook it up to my home stereo and equalizer through the headphone jack in the rear.
The relatively long distance I have it from my DSL modem/router has not been a problem, so the radio's little antenna does the job. I don't even need to have the antenna vertical, so it stays hidden behind the case in its horizontal position. No disconnects and it even let me update its firmware with no problem.
If you take the time to learn how to use it, the 5 button preset is no limitation at all since you can get unlimited choices once you learn how to do it and to use Reciva. Once you find your preferred music mixes, they can be with you whenever you want.
I'm somewhat of a radio design nut and the sleek, simple, and understated design of this cool little gem really appeals to me. It's pure radio, no goofy boombox, jet engine, or clock radio styling. If you think it should also have a gimmick to wake you up in the morning, buy a clock radio. Internet radio is for listening to music. If you want good sounding, always available music personally tailored to your tastes - and without buying CDs, this is the way to do it at a reasonable price.
Customer Review: So much easier than listening to radio on my laptop
Summary: 5 Stars
I have been listening to various radio stations on my laptop but this has become a drag lately as it slows down some of my other programs and is a pain in the neck to change stations quickly. I have Sirius radios in 2 of my cars and was thinking about getting a home Sirius radio, but when I saw the Grace radio on line at Amazon I decided to give it a try.
Best part- no additional subscriptions- I can now get thousands of stations at the twist of the easy to use master control knob. I am a public radio junkie and they even have a public radio filter so I can browse among all of those stations in the US. This thing gets so many worldwide stations that I never knew existed....in many different genres.....amazing. I have it set up in my kitchen with a set of computer speakers and subwoofer- sound quality is pretty much determined by the sampling rate of the station.....pretty much identical to my laptop but this thing is much easier to use (turning dials rather than opening web pages and typing in passwords). I especially appreciate the analog volume control, too. Now my computer runs a lot faster since it's not having to process my radio feed as well. The Grace radio was pretty simple to set up. The directions are kind of sparse but it's pretty intuitive. I kind of wish it would take a standard ethernet connection instead of only offering a wifi connection...but for $160 I suppose I can't expect miracles. If you like to listen to radio and really enjoy jazz, classical and interesting stuff instead of the pop drivel on most stations from FM then you will love this radio
Customer Review: excellent value
Summary: 5 Stars
Sturdy build, clean design, effective performance in this convenient gateway to thousands upon thousands of radio streams from all nations about the world gains five stars. It exceeds my expectations and has been a pleasure to install and explore. Audio quality through my media system is outstanding for the price.
Some reviewers lament that there are only five presets available. However, a feature that fully compensates for any such lack is the radio's ability to download a custom list of favorite stations that you create on the associated web site www.reciva.com . The process is automatic once you register for a free account at Reciva and also register your radio to associate your account with your radio. All stations you add to your "My Stations" list at Reciva automatically download when the radio powers up.
Be aware that Grace's antenna is not as sensitive as a lot of other wifi network devices. I had to install a Belkin wifi repeater (approx $35) to eliminate annoying signal dropouts. But I enjoy the radio so much that the extra outlay seems worth it.
My only trivial quibble, a peel-off label located on the speaker grill did not peel-off and proved difficult to remove. Applying a paper towel saturated with "Goo-Gone", letting the solution penetrate the label paper and scraping with a plastic card managed to remove the residue without marring the enameled metal grill.
All things considered, I am very pleased with the Grace Internet Radio.
Customer Review: Where has this been all my life?
Summary: 5 Stars
My satellite radio is getting a rest. I'm a big fan of old time radio, and I've found stations that play nothing buy OTR, 24 x 7. Clear reception of the BBC World Service (without the repeats you get on the domestically-provided versions), and of all the regional BBC stations are a real bonus. The classical stations are complemented by the excellent sound produced by such a small speaker.
The "on demand" features available on many stations are great -- I like being able to listen to a story when I want to, rather than tuning in at any particular time.
I haven't yet tried streaming from my PCs, which is of minimal importance (I already stream to my stereo via bluetooth), but if it works as well as everything else, it should be no problem.
The radio was simple to set up. Getting new stations added isn't as simple as just filling out the form on reciva.com, however. I'm still waiting five days later for some to be added, and they haven't yet fixed the Syracuse, NY AM station's transmission. despite my report of the error. It's supposed to be WSYR-AM, but the feed is BBC Arabic.
That's a very minor problem, however.
I LOVE this radio, and will probably buy one or two more in the year ahead.
My only wish is that I could have this in the car -- but universal wifi isn't here yet. I can dream, can't I?