Home > Consumer Reviews > Crosley CR32 CD Cathedral Radio with CD - Paprika

My husband is an audiophile, and laughed at me when I said I wanted this CD/radio. Unlike him, I don't really care that much about sound quality. Not that it doesn't matter to me at all--it's just that HE has the big, nice sound system already, so I was happy to get something that would look nice in the living room and could play in the background while I was reading. I don't need or even like to play music very loud, so something small and pleasantly retro like this was just what I wanted.(We don't all care for 15 shelves worth of audio equipment and a gigantic subwoofer.) I was so excited!

As other reviewers have stated, it's a little difficult to tune in the radio. That was disappointing, but my CDs sounded nice enough, and the radio/CD player made me happy even to look at. It just seemed RIGHT to listed to Louis Armstrong through it, as if the beauty of the retro cathedral style cabinet made the sound more authentic. It was lovely! I was even considering getting another Crosley product for a different room, having fun paging through the catalog and anticipating what I would ask for for my birthday. I was SO happy.

... for about 7 months.

Then the right speaker blew. (Sound doesn't come out of the front speaker-looking area, but is stereo from the sides.) That it would blow surprised me, seeing as how I never, never listen to it at top volume, nowhere near. The guarantee that comes with this item is limited, and wouldn't cover the problem. Reasonable person that I am, I still wasn't too upset--I was just disappointed a bit. After all, my husband is an audiophile, as I mentioned, and he could replace the speakers for me if we could get replacements.With that happy thought, he wrote Crosley to find out if they sold replacement speakers, or if they had recommendations for replacements. He never heard back. He wrote twice, responsibly checked his spam folder just in case, but NOTHING.

So... I wrote. This is the third time they had been contacted by us. Keep in mind we were both polite: simply explained what had happened, and asked if there were recommended speakers so we could take care of the problem ourselves. I don't care about sound quality that much as I said, but it is unlistenable with all the static in the blown speaker.

Was the third time the charm? No. I got no response, either. Even if Crosley had no recommendations, it seems to me it would be polite to write back. Is this an indication of the quality of their customer service, or the quality of their product... or both? That is, after having looked for speakers ourselves, we don't seem to be able to locate any that will fit. We can find the correct wattage and so forth; however, there is not much clearance inside the case. Every speaker we looked at--and we have spent considerable time looking--seemed to be too deep to fit. So far as we can tell, the speakers are a proprietary make and substitutions that will fit can't be found elsewhere.

I loved this item while it worked. However, unless you are the type of person that can pay $80 or $100 every few months to get a new one ($80 if you get it on sale), don't buy this product. The quality is apparently so poor, the manufacturer, Crosley, is embarrassed to respond even to polite inquiry. I was their perfect target customer--someone who didn't care so much about perfect sound, but who preferred instead the vintage look with just acceptable sound quality--and I am terribly unhappy with them. I'm so unhappy, I'm wasting a lovely Saturday morning writing this review.

Shame on them. I certainly won't be buying another Crosley product for a different room as I had once fondly planned, and I hope I have saved you the trouble and expense of buying ANY Crosley product.

For shame.

The CD player in the Crosley CR32 Cathedral Radio With CD Player is a good, solid transport. The playback quality is good considering the small speakers, but the 1/8" stereo jack output on the front works great for routing the output to powered PC speakers or headphones, and with that setup, it sounds much better. Two minor issues: The radio tuner dial is not centered in the window so the vertical reticle does not line up with the frequencies on the dial; and the FM antenna wire could stand to be be another foot longer. In short, it's worth the price.

This radio has proven to be a conversation piece in our dining room, as it does look rather cool and elegant. And when you play older recordings, say some Bing Crosby on Decca or Billie Holiday on Columbia, it does a fine job and seems to match the period it's trying to represent.

When you play a newer recording, say the new Michael Buble CD, however, it falls majorly short and flat. This has probably the worst sounding stereo sound I've ever come across on a unit like this. Those who like to listen to newer music should look elsewhere. I am just lucky I like to listen to the older stuff, and for that it works just fine.

I love the antique look of this radio. I have it in my kitchen and I use both the radio and CD player. The sound quality is good.

The radio itself is attractive, works well and is a perfect size and design for my small cottage. However, it is quite difficult to see the control labels. I have to memorize what the various buttons do and then hope I hit the right one.