A little expensive but happy with it

I am a huge fan of vintage equipment. I have a RCA console radio from 1941 I restored and daily drive, I have 3 Pioneer receivers from the 1970's that I restored. SX-636, SX-1050 and a SX-3700. I love all these old machines.The WR-12BT absolutely nails the aesthetics of 70's equipment. When I take it to work and place it on my desk, I bet my co-workers will think it is 50 years old. Until they hear it. I also have a telescoping antenna on it to really drive home that authentic look.It is heavy, solid, feels well built. On looks alone, it justifies the price tag. All of that exceeds my expectations, it's an 11/10!However, I only rate the sound an 8/10. The sound is best described as a "bowl shape" EQ curve. Bass is good for being so small, and treble is clear. Mids are subdued, I agree with others that have shared the same observation. It still sounds good. Human ears will adjust to the subdued mids.BT works excellent. I saw many mention that they didn't like how it "disconnected" when turning the unit off or selecting the radio or AUX. Hmmm.... with my Pixel 6, the connectivity is better than any other BT device I have. Yes, it disconnects when not on BT, why wouldn't it? I don't want my phone trying to constantly reconnect as I walk around a large office. When I want BT on, it re-connects faster than any other BT device I have, less than 2 seconds. I don't understand why some think that is an issue.My area has terrible OTA FM. I did compare my WR-12BT to my SX-636 tuner, and they seemed the "same". In my area, that means I still don't get great reception from either. So, it's at least on par with good gear. I wouldn't even know what to listen to on AM, so no opinion on that.I have heard many top-rated, popular BT speakers. They are all plastic. They sound good too, but the heavy wood enclosure of the WR-12BT really makes a difference in the sound of bass. You can definitely hear an advantage to the wood enclosure, the bass sounds far better than other BT speakers. I don't mean in output power, I mean it sounds warm and full. In this observation I give the bass sound a 10/10, keeping in mind the small 3.5" woofer.I like the built-in power supply and that the WR-12BT doesn't have any built-in batteries that will fail and render the unit landfill fodder in time. I can see this radio lasting decades. This unit has been out for over a decade and I have not seen any reports of failures, only complaints about "plastic knobs" and BT operation.As far as the knobs go, I don't see any issues with them. Some say they are "cheap plastic", but, to me they are totally fine on this kind of device. I like the tone controls, Sangean intentionally made them to be depressed so that they don't get in the way of adjusting the controls. very smart IMO.The "shortcomings" of the sound are only due to the midrange dip and the fact it is a small speaker. People are forgetting what a real hi-fi sounds like, and many people think some BT speakers sound "excellent". I would challenge them to listen to even a mid-level hi-fi receiver and speakers. All BT speakers hit a size wall against real equipment. But, many people have not experienced real hi-fi, and I am not talking about audiophile gear, just the hi-fi that was typical before portable BT speakers became so prevalent.I would highly recommend the WR-12BT to anyone who appreciates the 70's aesthetic. It will excel in an apartment, home office, den, work office, cabin, etc. I wouldn't use it as a substitute for hi-fi in a house or large area. That's not something 2" speakers and a 3.5" woofer could ever do.

I purchased this radio about a year ago and it's still working great. Everything on the radio still works. I like the styling and the sound quality you can adjust the bass and treble sounds great. I saw another reviewer on here that talked about signal drift. I have noticed signal drift on the internal antenna; so I just have it switched to external antenna only and it works great with no signal drift. I have also upgraded the antenna to a telescoping FM antenna and this has helped tremendously with signal drift and helped pull in more stations. Sangean stands for quality, and You don't really see these kinds of radios with this kind of craftmanship. Buy it if you're thinking about getting it you won't be disappointed. The supplied antenna wire that comes with the radio is cheap upgrade to a telescoping antenna for better signal reception.

I have been looking for an all-in-one unit like this for some time. Thank you Sangean! The built-in sub-woofer gives it rich sound you'd think would come from larger speakers. Sound quality is comparable to the late Boston Acoustic Duo-i, probably even better. Separate bass and treble knobs make for quick sound fine-tuning. Seems like radio stations all use different equalizing making for boomy or tinny sound without correction. FM Radio stations lock in very well with a telescopic antenna only partially extended. The full sound quality potential is reached when plugging in an external music source with the 1/8" stereo Auxiliary input. An older iphone or ipad with headphone connection works as a great media source providing greater sound definition than most radio stations. Classical music sounds particularly good. There isn't much available right now at this price that I could find (I caught a sale that essentially negated the tax) that performs better. An inexpensive bluetooth adapter could be used with it as an option to the darker model offering. Worth a try for sure!

I’m amazed at how good this sounds for it’s size. You can adjust the bass and treble to your liking. I have my bass set quite high and there is no noticeable distortion. Built with high quality materials, which makes it quite heavy. FM reception is excellent with the provided wire antenna. Great for listening to jazz. Bluetooth works great as well.

This is a beautiful unit. It's heavy and super high quality. I am really impressed by the look and features. The sound is also fantastic. I had never heard of Sangean before but now I'm a big fan. I used this at a remote northern cabin and the AM/FM reception is really good.

If you are a radio enthusiast this Sangean model holds appeal. With a beautiful walnut case and a backlit analog dial, the radio has a classic retro feel. Tuning is smooth, with great reception, and the tuning light, which sits atop of the tuning dial, lets you know when you’re locked in. Sound is terrific, with a nice warm tone, reminiscent of stereo consoles from yesteryear. I also purchased an FM antenna for ours. Preferred the light walnut wood to the darker brown option offered with the Bluetooth model from Sangean. Am planning to purchase an inexpensive Bluetooth receiver to use with the AUX in to expand functionality.

I have a lot of Sangean radios and thought I knew the brand. Solid no-nonsense and always exceeding expectations. This one takes that vibe to a whole new level.I use it (currently) in my home office. Spotify to a basic USB DAC to the AUX-IN.The problem is that the sound is so shockingly good I find myself stopping work and staring at it!I have played tracks that I know because I have heard them a thousand times (Steely Dan Aja and Goucho) on much bigger systems and I know the tough parts. I am in awe. This unit sails through them with perfectly balanced and nuanced room filling sound. It is simply stunning.It looks good, weighs a ton and is a little smaller than I expected.I tried the Bluetooth once and it was dropping out so need to test that further. I might not even care.The analog tuning and analog interface is the capper. The look on my 24 yr old sons face when he saw it (scoff) and then heard it (WHAT?) was worth the price of admission.

The first thing we noticed was the weight. So different from our previous plastic stereo. Once unwrapped we could see the quality in the cabinet, front controls and rear inputs. We connected it to our 75 ohm cable from our antenna for an FM dial packed with stations! Our previous stereo with a single wire antenna received about 25% of the stations our new stereo receives. The separate bass and treble controls allow for a true personal desired sound. The fact that these controls can be recessed is a real plus for easy use of the tuning dial. Nice to have a quality stereo in a smaller package. We really enjoy listening to our favorite station while enjoying our morning coffee, and oh yes it has AM as well something that is becoming more difficult to find on new stereos. We are extremely happy in every way with this product.

I have two Sangean mono radios that I love. As for this one: It looks great, it is certainly comparable for sound quality to Tivoli model one I use to own, and Bose I use to own. It misses the mid ranges often. The other thing is that you need to use the external antenna. I live almost downtown in a bigger city and without the external antenna there is interference.If you are looking for a stereo radio w bluetooth with comparable sound to Bose, Tivoli or Boston Acoustics but without the price sticker, this is a great buy.

Hermoso, llegó muy rápido, impecable.

I thoroughly enjoy this radio in my living room.DELIVERY NOTEI was surprised when it was delivered to my door in nothing but it's factory box with the shipping labels slapped on the front. There was no outer, brown box containing padding around the factory box.UNBOXINGInside that factory box, was the radio, power cord (not a wall wart), an external FM antenna & the multi-language manual.Once i removed the radio from the box, I saw for myself, it's simple, elegant styling. The radio is heavier than you might expect. You wouldn't want to put this radio on a flimsy table.The manual is well written, even though the radio is simple to operate. It helps, especially with the bluetooth setup.OPERATIONThe radio is super simple to operate. One oddity is, there is a master power switch on the back of the radio. This must be switched on for the front power button to work. Simply press the power button, select the band you want to listen to, then tune in your favorite station. Adjust the volume and your all set. There is a green LED about the tuning knob to help you tune for the best signal. The dial is lighted, but it's very dim. It's best if the room is completely dark. The AM & FM antennas are built-in, but there are connections for both external FM & AM antennas. There is a switch on the back, so you can compare FM reception from the built-in and external antennas. This switch has no effect on AM. You can connect an external audio source (tape dec or CD player, etc.) to the AUX port on the back. The bluetooth is easy to pair, but will not automatically sync up next time you go to use that feature. Pease note: This radio WILL NOT support bluetooth telephone calls.SOUNDI'm very impressed with the sound. It has a lot of bass for such a small cabinet, thanks to the woofer in the back & the bass port. There are bass & treble controls, so you can set the sound to your liking. The sound is not pretty even sounding, with the bass & treble controls set to mid point. It will certainly fill the room. If you connect the AUX input to the headphone jack of an audio source, the sound is slightly quieter that the bluetooth connection to that seme audio. I did not notice any "data noise" that some reviewers have mentioned, when using bluetooth.RECEPTIONI collect radios, & I find this radio to be the best AM/FM table radio that I've owned. The AM is very sensitive & selective to the point that you can count the stations, especially on the crowded upper part of the band. FM is incredible. It's very sensitive, as well. The selectivity is so good that strong stations don't take up any more space than weaker ones. I can even hear station clearly on either side of a strong station that is just a few blocks away.THERE IS A CONThe radio tends to drift off-frequency once it's tuned. It has only drifted once on me. Once I retuned, it stayed properly tuned for several hours.CONCLUSIONThis is a very simple-looking & operating radio, with lots of great-sounding technology under the hood.

I wish I could have kept this radio! We needed a small radio for our living/family room in our townhouse since our entertainment center is down in the basement rec room. I started off wanting the WR-22 because I fear analog tuning (I hate static!) and I wanted the Bluetooth option. Then a friend momentarily distracted me with Tivolis, and I had a feeling that my wife would prefer something classy looking like that to be out on display in the living room, rather than the blinky many-buttoned digitalness of the WR-22. The WR-12BT seemed like a great compromise (and much cheaper than a Bluetooth Tivoli), so I ordered both to compare side by side. In the end the WR-22 won her approval largely because it's a little smaller and, in piano black, matched our black IKEA Billy bookshelf that is our liquor cabinet, which it sits on. Go figure.Side by side, the WR-22 surprisingly "sounds larger" than the WR-12BT at comparable modest volume, probably because it does better with the low-mid-range sound generally associated with the "Loudness" button/setting. (I ended up turning Loudness off in the WR-22, it's too much.) The WR-12BT definitely has a lot of bass, in lower frequencies than the WR-22 hits -- but is a little thinner in the low-mids, which is probably why other reviews say the vocals can get washed out by the bass. (I also noticed that funky bass guitar licks weren't as strong on the WR-12BT as they were on the WR-22, oddly enough.) And truth be told, I very quickly set the bass knob close to the minimum and bumped up the treble a smidge to get a sound I liked.However, if you're NOT listening to this in a side-by-side comparison with a "better" radio, and you're not looking for audiophile quality, this is still a great sounding little box, even if you are going to want to stick to the left half of the bass knob settings. It's definitely capable of a louder maximum volume to fill a room than the WR-22, and the stereo sound was a nice bonus over the mono WR-22. It's definitely cooler looking! The tuning was great -- especially with even a basic single-wire external antenna and the FM set to Mono, which allowed me to pull in a lot more stations quite well. The Bluetooth connectivity was easy and high quality (although if you have the volume set on the louder end, during silence in your playback you will be able to hear a little faint digital noise from the Bluetooth connection, kind of like the mosquito buzz from a cell phone). While analog tuning isn't as convenient as the WR-22's digital with presets, it IS nice to be able to see what your volume & mode knobs are set to before you turn the system on, whereas the WR-22's digital knob and Source button can surprise you with a loud blast in the morning because you don't know the settings until it's on.Bottom line: great, room-filling, classy-looking, better-than-decent-sounding bookshelf sized sound system for whatever room isn't your primary entertainment center room but you still need music in. It ain't the greatest thing in the world, but for the price (much less than a Bluetooth Tivoli and a LOT less than a Bose Wave system), it's really darn good, and that's why I give it five stars.