TIVOLI AUDIO PAL (Portable Audio Laboratory) AM/FM Radio - Electric Blue

Rating:
Summary: good, but . . .
Review: a nice little radio. rechargeable battery pack works well, and the radio does a good job of pulling in the stations and putting out a nice sound. there are two problems: 1) the exterior is disintegrating on mine (it has not been subjected to anything harsher than a gentle touch), and 2) the tuner, while good, is quite inferior to that of the Tivoli Model One. don't buy this radio expecting it to perform as well as a Model One - it will not(though perhaps it should, given the slightly higher price of the PAL).

Rating:
Summary: Quality and Convenience in One
Review: After listening to both the in-motion speakers and Tivoli's iPal, the iPal's sound quality wins hands down. I wouldn't worry much about the fact that iPal is one speaker while in-motion is in stereo since in-motion's 2 speakers are so close together anyway. If you're an audiophile, choice is easy...get the iPal. The convenience of in-motion's dock is nice, but certainly you can live without. And yes, iPal is a little bulkier, but in my opinion, not much harder to travel with than in-motion. In both cases, you'll put the speaker in some type of bag. In-motion is a slimmer design while iPal is more of a cube. Again, don't sweat it...iPal's sound and AM/FM tuner more than make up for it. Listen to both and I think you'll agree with me. I absolutely enjoy the iPal (for a mobile speaker)!

Rating:
Summary: Great Radio - Bad Battery
Review: As advertised, the PAL is the perfect porch radio. For its size and portability, the sound quality is outstanding. Reception is as good or better than any other portable I own, especially Walkman style units. But don't stray too far from the house for very long. I'm very disappointed with the battery performance of my unit. Initially I had a problem getting the battery charged. After several recommendations provided willingly by Tivoli Audio staff, I finally got the battery charged but it has never held a charge for very long. Early on, on a full charge, my PAL would play for the better part of a day (at relatively low volume) but now (the unit is about a year old) I'm lucky if it runs for much more than an hour before that battery calls it quits. I'm hoping a new battery will remedy the situation.

Rating:
Summary: iPal ("iPod white") ROCKS!!
Review: Due to price, rubberized coating, and being mono, I was hesitant to purchase the iPal. Well, I broke down after reading so many positive reviews. I just got it so I can't speak for the longetivity of the battery or the durbility of the cabinet, but if first impressions are worth anything, the iPal is great. The "iPod white" cabinet is NOT "rubberized" which no one could tell me for sure before ordering. Cleaning and wear should not be an issue. As for the battery, it is at least replaceable. I won't bore anyone with the re-hashing of all the other raves about this radio...I'll just say believe them.
I'm sitting in awe of the sound coming out of this thing right now!

Rating:
Summary: When the Best Things Come in Small Packages!
Review: I adore NPR, but I live in a little NPR-free nook between two very large NPR broadcasting stations. Try as I might, I have NEVER been able to get one of my former radios to grab the signal successfully. Until today.

I've seen this product in catalogues and thought, "Yeah, yeah, yet another designer radio." Then I saw a sedate black one sitting on a friend's kitchen counter and asked if she liked it. She gushed. I became that little bit more persuaded (still gasping at the manufacturer-regulated price).

Yesterday I took the plunge and today (normal delivery even!!) my new best friend arrived. I'm in love. Out of the package, Fast-Charged for about 2 1/2 hours (although you can trickle charge while listening with no deleterious effect on the battery) and I am at long last on the receiving end of a crystal clear, static-free aural relationship with NPR. Didn't even have to extend the antenna!

You can plug it in and listen. You can charge the internal NiMH battery and listen. You can use it with your iPod (plus one of those FM transmitter gadgets) for headset- or earbud-free enjoyment of your iPod's collection either at home or at large. There's a headphone jack. And there is an auxiliary input jack that lets you plug in a portable CD player or mp3 device and listen through the radio's speaker. Attached rubber caps protect the jack inputs when you aren't using them.

It's cute in a simple, elegant way. The size and shape suit my cluttery available spaces. It's much heavier than you'd expect ... feels as solid as a tank. Rubberized exterior? Don't think iPod skin, think something more like a velvety soft metal that doesn't show fingerprints (your finger nail tapping on the surface will say "metal"). Controls are dialable luxury, with an incredibly satisfying resistance. And the sound is absolutely worth writing home about.

Being in my Green Period, I chose the green, despite serious misgivings based on the colour my computer screen comes up with for this product. Spring Green on my system winds up looking something like an icy green-blue, sea-foamy mist colour. Fortunately, Spring Green is more on the "Forest" end of the spectrum, only a little bit softer and a little bit bluer. The knobs, however, could qualify for that mist colour!

Yesterday I was shaking my head, questioning my sanity for spending this kind of money on a radio. Today I don't regret a penny of it. Who could want for anything more?

Rating:
Summary: Tivoli + IPod = Awesome
Review: I bought this product to play MP3s through my Ipod at work. However, I also use it to listen to the radio. The tuner is great because I am now able to listen to all of the FM stations in my area. With my old radio, I was only able to get one station at work. I also bought a second Tivoli at home for the same purpose and the battery runs for a very long time without recharging. This gives me the ability to take the Tivoli into any room and also allows me to listen to my ipod without the headphones.

Rating:
Summary: Incredibly rich sound, but Mono
Review: I bought this speaker knowing full well that it was mono, but I wanted the battery, the radio, the good sound quality, and the relatively small size.

I was shocked at first at how small it was when I opened the box - (especially after reading about how big it was on other reviews) it's a dinky little bookshelf speaker - how could it possibly get good sound? But it does. Volume is controlled both on the speaker, AND on the iPod, and cranking it up all the way made it quite loud, and no hint of distortion was to be found. Very rich sound.

However, it *is* mono, and it's noticeable that the sound is coming from only one source, and it's less "dimensional" than a stereo system. A hint - the sound is better if it's coming from in front of you, so that you can hear it equally in both ears.

I still gave it 5 stars, because it's not *supposed* to be a stereo system - it's meant to be easily moveable from room to room, or tossed in a backpack (but not a briefcase), or whatever, and still provide EXCELLENT quality sound, and it delivers perfectly.

Rating:
Summary: Ranks high among the small portable speakers
Review: I have been using iPAL eversince I got my first iPod in Jun 2004. Haven't faced any issues and have been quite happy. Three stars because I expected much more volume.

The strongest points of iPAL are:

+ miniature, compact, and portable design
+ rechargable battery that lasts for more than 10 hours
+ AM/FM tuner with very clear reception
+ simple interface and ease of use
+ clear, crisp sound - especially if used in a small room
+ reliable

Not so good points:

- Not suited for a big room
- Not suited for very high volumes
- Not suited for outdoor
- Pricey (AM/FM lovers may not say that) - you get better sounding JBL speakers for $99

Features:

Back Side:
> miniplug port for audio input
> headphone output
> port for connecting the charger (included)
Front Side:
> Off/AM/FM switch - for AM/FM to be active, there should be nothing inserted into the audio input port
> tuner knob
> volume control
> LED indicator that glows green when iPAL is on and blinks when the battery is low

I have been watching all the iPod speakers but haven't found a compact speaker that competes with the sleek design of iPAL.

During the initial days, iPAL was my primary speaker for iPod. Later I got a home theatre system for the living room and shifted iPAL into the bedroom to play morning tunes.

Rating:
Summary: Review for the non Ipod user
Review: I just got this little speaker for Christmas with a creative zen touch and I am incredibly impressed with the quality and the sound. The built in extendable antenna can reach quite far and radio channels are clear with no static.

When I plugged this baby into my zen touch and turned it on, I was so impressed by the sound quality. It is almost as good as my 5.1 stereo!!!!!! I am not joking. I actually had my mom confused because she was convinced that the sound was coming from our large stereo and she couldn't find any evidence that the stereo was on. I also felt that it could get quite a lot louder then I had expected.

The iPal is much smaller then it appeared to me online, as well. It's really small! I actually felt kind of ripped off when I took it out of the box, because I had paid quite a lot for such a dinky little thing. It is very portable.

A word of caution: the iPal does NOT come with a audio to audio cord to plug a mp3 player into the AUX jack with. It really comes with nothing other then itself and a power cord.


Rating:
Summary: Best Recption I've Enjoyed in a Radio
Review: I live in Los Angeles where many stations compete and go in and out, especially with the pathetic pig tail antennas that are stuck like a joke in the back of many radios. But the Tivoli has a great antenna and is easy to use. I only wish this radio had digital tuning presets. Also don't be turned off by the one mono speaker. Its sound is clear and brilliant.