Home > Consumer Reviews > Boston Acoustics Recepter Radio - Clock radio

I love everything about this radio except for it's built-in tone bias. Too bad there's no adjustment for it. If there were I'd roll back the base and turn up the treble. My Delphi Skyfi Boombox sounds much better with good punchy base and crisp highs. The highs are so muted with the Receptor that listening to talk radio can be difficult. As for pulling in weak stations the receptor doesn't shine there either. The stock radio in my F-150 pulls weak stations better. Although the Receptor does have provision to connect an external AM antenna that I haven't tried.

What is right with this radio is it's controls and display. It's the best thought out, intuitive and easy to use set of controls I've ever seen since the 60s. It holds it's clock settings and pre-sets when unplugged. Tuning is rapid and precise. And the clock has two alarms which are super easy to set and use.

If I had to pick one feature to add to this radio it would be a tone control. If I could just dial in some more treble I'd give this radio 5 stars. As it is it's just a very nice, possibly the ultimate clock radio for a desk-top or night-stand. There's just too many much cheaper radios that sound a lot better to call this one a hi-fi radio.

It's so good at what it's good at I'm still keeping it just to have the Mercedes Benz of clock radios on my night stand.

I bought this radio on the basis of online reviews promising outstanding reception. I need to get good reception on a relatively weak local station. I've tried several other radios that couldn't do the job, most recently a Sony that looked great, but could not detect the desired station. The Receptor distinguishes between adjoining stations and brings in the program crisply and clearly. It's also nicely compact.

I've owned this radio for several years now, and can say that I have been nothing less than delighted with the quality and performance. I had a Wave radio for a few years before that, and was always disappointed with the quality of the tuner. I live less than 40 miles from New York City, and was never able to get any station to lock on the Wave, even with its digital tuner. I move the Wave to the basement and put a new Recepter on my night table in its place, and have never been disappointed. First of all, the size of the radio is much better for a night table - it takes up a lot less room. The sound quality is amazing - AM is clear and not muddy, and FM just shines with well-balanced sound, very full and rich. I've always been partial to the sound of Boston Acoustics speakers, and this ranks right up there with the best of them. The most amazing thing about this radio, however, is the quality of the tuner. This radio solidly pulls in stations and does not let go! I am able to receive stations that I cannot get with any other radio in the house. It has 20 presets, more than enough for me, and is very easy to use. I have an older model that does not have the auxilliary inputs, but that doesn't matter to me, as I use it only as a clock radio, and listen mostly to the news in the morning and public radio or jazz in the evening.

My only complaint with the product is that I wish the radio would play for longer than 15 minutes when the alarm goes off. I have slept through the 15 minute playing time. 30 or 60 minutes would be much better for me. That one item, though, is one small flaw in an otherwise flawless product.

I bought this primarily as an alarm-clock-radio, so sound quality was not my main concern. So why did I shell out a hundred bucks for an alarm clock?
- It has a proper user interface! To set the alarm I press one button and turn one knob (has acceleration) to choose the time. Period!
- When it wakes me in the morning and I don't feel like getting up, which seems to be most of the time, snooze is ten minutes, much better than the usual 7, and pressing snooze multiple times adds 5 minutes per press so I can really sleep in!
- The sound quality is excellent. I hesitated before buying because many reviewers complained about too-heavy bass, or bass distorting male voices. It sounds alright to me. If you do find the bass too strong plugging the bass reflex hole on the back reduces bass noticeably.
- The display has just the right brightness on the lower setting. Viewing angles are excellent.
- Auxiliary input is good to have in case I need it one day.
- Dual alarms useful for couples or if you need waking from your afternoon nap.
- Charcoal colour has a nice sober and quality look. I find the more popular platinum model looks cheap and plastic-y.
- Rarely used buttons are hidden under a flap.
- I believe the clock problems mentioned by early reviewers have been resolved.
- No battery required for battery backup, but see major flaw below...
Downsides:
- In case of power failure an internal battery keeps the time and your settings, BUT THE ALARM WILL NOT SOUND. Can you say "missed flight"? NOT GOOD.
- High price.
- The snooze button should be larger and placed closer to the front.
- Large size.
This is definitely a 5-star product, but the battery backup flaw forces me to give only four.

The sound quality from this small, bedside radio is simply fabulous. It's almost like having a home theater sound system in your bedroom. Simple to use and set alarms. Overall, a great, quality built radio.