Why I Sold My Tivoli Model One and Model Three

What a shame I had to sell my Tivoli Model One and Model Three radios. I truly wanted to love them. There was so much to love: great look, gorgeous sound from the speakers, ease of use. But for all their appeal, they are phony radios and failures. Why? Because their FM signal drifts and is substandard, especially when you consider the price. If you want the "Tivoli experience," there are a couple of Tivoli radios I CAN recommend because they get good FM reception: The Tivoli Songbook  and the Tivoli PAL. As I post this, the PAL is going for $220 on Amazon. For me, that's way overpriced. I bought mine 4 years ago for $130. Two excellent radios that get superior reception to the Tivolis and cost LESS THAN HALF and are highly recommended: The $70 Sangean PR-D5 and the$85 Boston Acoustics Horizon Solo. For all my radio reviews,CLICK HERE. 

What a shame I had to sell my Tivoli Model One and Model Three radios. I truly wanted to love them. There was so much to love: great look, gorgeous sound from the speakers, ease of use. But for all their appeal, they are phony radios and failures. Why? Because their FM signal drifts and is substandard, especially when you consider the price. If you want the "Tivoli experience," there are a couple of Tivoli radios I CAN recommend because they get good FM reception: The Tivoli Songbook  and the Tivoli PAL. As I post this, the PAL is going for $220 on Amazon. For me, that's way overpriced. I bought mine 4 years ago for $130. Two excellent radios that get superior reception to the Tivolis and cost LESS THAN HALF and are highly recommended: The $70 Sangean PR-D5 and the$85 Boston Acoustics Horizon Solo. For all my radio reviews,CLICK HERE. 

Comments

[Wals]

While still popular, I get the sense that the Model One peaked about three years ago and you are going to see a considerable decline soon.
Sundays J&R ad on the back page of the NYT/Arts had one radio present, not a good table model, but an iPod dock/alarm (Timex TI700). I think this stuff seems to be what markets are demanding: iPod oriented equipment.

[Carrie]

The best iPod radio I know of is the Boston Acoustics Horizon Duo with iPod Cradle. The tuner is sensitive and the speakers are great.

Jeff

[Cyril]

iHome's iH14D (http://www.ihomeaudio.com/products.asp?product_id=10189&dept_id=1006), although it is not a particularly interesting radio, gives an idea of what an iPod-ready model 1 could be.

For some reason, however, this does not strike me as fitting very well into the Model 1/2/3 design. For an update of this series I'd rather have a baby "NetWorks", ie without the wifi (and the price tag). And with an iPod dock attachment if they really have to...

[jeffrey McMahon]

The Tivoli Networks WiFi is my favorite looking Internet radio but way too pricey for me.

[Cyril]

I actually meant to ask you a question about this post: On the Tivoli, did you use the provided FM antenna (pigtail, but stiffer) or just the default (which must use the power cord or some internal mechanism)? I find that the provided antenna improves reception slightly (it may still drift a bit, although the only cases of "drift" I have experienced with this radio could just as well have been due to changing reception conditions).

I'm with you on the Tivoli NetWorks price tag. Another sign that the economic climate is not harsh for everyone.

[jeffrey McMahon]

I used the provided pigtail and still got drift. The default was worse.