The Boston Acoustics Recepter Has Gone the Way of the Dinosaurs

The Boston Acoustics Recepter,  which I tauted about a year ago  and which I still use in my kitchen, is one of the best tabletop general purpose radios I've ever had. Sadly, it's no longer on the Boston Acoustics Website. I wrote a few  favorable reviews of the BAR, including THIS COMPARISON TO THE TIVOLI SONGBOOK. My only real complaint is that the BAR doesn't have a headphone jack, so it doesn't make a good bedside radio for couples. My gushing praise of the BAR's replacement, the Horizon Solo,  has been rethought as there have been several bug and defect reports coming in.  If you want a more reliable BAR, there are still some available on the Internet, starting in the low $100 range. They probably won't last long.

Comments

[Mike Walsh]

Hey, Jeff,

I think A/B comparisons between similar radios are the most informative type of reviews, and I appreciate the ones you've posted here.

What surprises me is that you haven't done a one-on-one between the closely-matched BA Recepter and the Sangean WR-2. Obviously the presets go to BA and the headphone jack to Sangean. Apparently which has better audio quality depends on how much bass the listener prefers. I gather that FM reception is at least a little better on the BA radio. But what I am wondering about is AM reception specifically?

[herculodge]

I did indeed compare them. I'll get you that link when I return from work. Indeed, the BAR has better FM reception and I think the speaker is more powerful. Also the AM sounds better and that is saying a lot since the WR-2 has great AM.

[Mike Walsh]

Yeah, I was going by memory on that one and knew I might be mistaken. I don't want to seem like I'm nit-picking here, but I am wondering about the two models specifically as AM receivers rather than how they sound on AM.

[Jeff McMahon]

I'd give the edge to the BAR on reception because I get less background noise on 710 AM, a weak sports station. The other AM stations are comparable in terms of reception strength.

[Mike Walsh]

Thanks, Jeff, that clears up my last remaining doubt about the two models, and I may try to pick up a used BAR cheap on eBay.

On the other hand, with a Satellit 750 on back-order at Amazon, and this rumor of a new Sangean AM/FM coming in May, maybe I should just sit it out for a while longer. I'm just sick of waiting. Last year it was the Redsun 3000/3100...it's as if the product cycle has shortened to the point that they don't even bother with the product itself anymore...

[Jeff McMahon]

I agree. They use a product teaser just to give general attention to their other products. If they cry wolf too often, people will stay asleep.

[Joe Marshall]

Question:

Has anyone tried the Cambridge Soundworks 705? It's been on semi-permanent "sale" at Cambridge's site for a while. The reviews I've read have been mixed, but the feature set and price are appealing (to me, at least).

[Cyril]

I was looking at that a few days ago but did not find one to try, only a comparative review at http://www.epinions.com/content_400254013060 .

Also the Cambridge Soundworks 735 seems to be interesting. At 180$ from some places it is only marginally more expensive than high-end mono radios, but it has stereo. Don't know how useful that is in such a small package though.

[Jeff McMahon]

I've read that the Cambridge has lousy AM.I'm not even sure if the Cambridge 705 has an internal ferrite AM antenna or if it relies on a lousy external one. I should check.

[Tom Welch]

Here's an article that compares table radios on the market today, click http://www.dxer.ca/content/view/58/1/ to read.

[Jeff McMahon]

Thanks, Tom. It's good to see that my pick of the WR-2 over the Tivoli Model One has been affirmed and vindicated.