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Sangean WFR-20 WiFi Internet Radio & Media Player | 
 enlarge | Brand: Sangean
Category: CE
Buy New: Too low to display
New (47)
Avg. Customer Rating:  51 reviews
Sales Rank: 2054
Color: High-gloss piano black
Media: Electronics
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Batteries Included: No
Shipping Weight (lbs): 11.8
Dimensions (in): 8.5 x 11.5 x 4.5
Legal Disclaimer: Warranty does not cover misuse of product.
MPN: WFR-20
Model: WFR-20
UPC: 729288029106
EAN: 0729288029106
ASIN: B000X1XP3U
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Features:
| • | Wired or wireless connection | | • | Infrared remote control | | • | Large, easy to read 3 line display | | • | High quality full-range stereo speakers | | • | Play your music collection from your computer |
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| Accessories:
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| Similar Items:
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
The Sangean WFR-20 Wi-Fi Internet Radio offers direct access to over 6000 Internet Radio stations (and 21242 on-demand streams) in 250 locations from 60 genres. This allows you to drill down your search quickly and conveniently from your radio or by using your favorite web browser and a computer you can search for specific stations with the convenience only the internet can provide and upload those stations to your radios "MY Stations" folder allowing for quick and easy access to only the most desired stations. Don't find your favorite Internet station on the list? Just submit the station to the website and it will be researched and added to the list, available for all of the current 14,000+ subscribers!Don't have a computer? Not a problem with the WFR-20. It still provides you access to the same Internet radio stations and is designed to work as a completely independent stand-alone unit anywhere in your home, office or dorm. All you need is a broadband Internet connection and a wired or wireless router.Used in conjunction with your wired/wireless networked computer and Windows Media Player you have full access to your digital media library using the UPnP Server, or simply your Microsoft Shared File Folder function in MP3, AAC, WMA, FLAC, Real Media, and AIFF formats.
Amazon.com Product Description
The Sangean WFR-20 Wi-Fi Internet Radio offers direct access to over 6,000 internet radio stations and 21,242 on-demand streams in 250 locations from 60 genres. This allows you to drill down your search quickly and conveniently from your radio. You can also use your favorite web browser and a computer to search for specific stations and upload those stations to your radios. The "MY Stations" folder allows quick and easy access to your most desired stations. Don't find your favorite internet station on the list? Just submit the station to the website and it will be researched and added to the list, available for all of the current 14,000+ subscribers. Don't have a computer? Not a problem with the WFR-20. It still provides you access to the same internet radio stations and is designed to work as a completely independent stand alone unit anywhere in your home, office or dorm. All you need is a broadband internet connection and a wired or wireless router. Used in conjunction with your wired/wireless networked computer and Windows Media Player you have full access to your digital media library using the UPnP Server, or simply your Microsoft Shared File Folder function in MP3, AAC, WMA, FLAC, Real Media, and AIFF formats.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 46 more reviews...
 this is an amazing radio October 23, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
If you haven't checked out wi-fi radio yet, start here.
This is my favorite new gizmo.
The Sangean model 20 is a table radio, small but hefty, black. It has only one button and an LCD readout that doubles as an easy-to-read digital clock. It has a remote too, one of those small ones. (I found a better, larger, smart remote with back-lighted buttons at Amazon for another $20.)
What's the big deal?
I like radio, mostly talk radio and, by extension, shortwave. At home, especially at night, I get virtually nothing on the AM band and there's not much in my small local FM universe that appeals to me. I looked at adding a big outdoor antenna to my receiver but that was too expensive and too annoying and, best case, I could only hope to "match" the limited reception that I get out in my car. That's not really much of an upgrade.
But, in doing research on antennas, I found out about wi-fi radios.
You don't need wireless internet but you do need a high-speed connection of some kind, like what you get from your local cable company.
That's it. It was literally plug and play. In less than a minute, the radio offered me a menu of thousands of free radio stations on the LCD screen.
I have 6 presets that I can juggle and a folder where I can stash as many station presets as I want.
What kind of stations?
Anything you can think of, anywhere in the world. Unlike that weird mood-specific niche programming that you find on Sirius and XM channels, this is real radio, commercial radio, live, warts and all.
For example...
My presets right now include WMAL (DC), WBAL (Baltimore), WLS (Chicago), WABC (New York), the BBC (there are about a dozen BBC outlets alone to sort through) and Radio Netherlands.
There are hundreds, thousands of live, free radio stations from every part of the world and in every language that you can think of. You can follow any sport, any event, any news, from any perspective, at any time.
Yes, you can hear Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck. No, you can't hear Howard Stern (Sirius) and Oprah Winfrey (XM).
Best of all:
1) There is absolutely no static on any station.
2) It uses the same "connection" as your computer but is in no way connected to your computer (unless you want it to connect, like if you wanted to use this box to also play music or pod-casts that are stored on your computer, for example).
3) It is Goon-Proof. You don't have to understand the technology to use it.
4) Once you buy the hardware (some sets at Amazon are cheaper), there are never any fees or taxes or contracts or third-party monitoring of what you listen to.
Tell Santa!
ps: Definitely consider upgrading the remote. You'll be using this radio a lot and big, back-lighted buttons are a real ergonomic upgrade.
ps: It's a nice looking box too, much nicer than you might expect from the picture.
my favorite toy October 19, 2008
Easy to setup once you get the idea of the single knob and how to traverse the menus. Took all off 10 minutes to get onto my secure wifi and be listening to my favorite station out of Chicago. I've got a solid DSL connection (up to 1.5Mbps) and never have any problem with cut outs due to buffering once my station has connected, even while I am using my PC for other surfing. Been using it for a month so far.
The box also has the option to upgrade its firmware built into its menus, though I don't know of a reason why I'd need to upgrade it at this point. Solid box for a decent price.
 Great self-contained tabletop internet radio October 4, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Sangean WFR-20 WiFi Internet Radio & Media PlayerI purchased mine a month ago and have been well pleased. For certain genres and "one of a kind" unique radio stations you won't find OTA with a terrestrial radio from any market, it is a must if music is your thing.
Outstanding radio September 17, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I've been a radio "nut" since I built my first crystal radio when I nine years old. Since then, I've become an amateur radio operator, worked as a maintainer for aircraft radios, and been a shortwave listener for years.
That's my "radio" background.
So what about this Sangean WFR-20 wifi radio?
I've had my radio for a few weeks now and I am very pleased. Set up was accomplished in minutes. It's user friendly even if you have the slightest aptitude for computers/radios etc. Nothing tricky at all.
Now I can receive, in clear digital audio, 30,000 radio programs from all over the world. No static, no drift, no radio buzz if my neighbor decides to use his electric saw. Searching for stations is easy through the decision tree on the display, i.e., locale, genre, my stations etc. Pick one and go through the stations.
In addition, I've programmed, via the easy to use Reciva site, all my favorite talk shows, news programs, music stations. I found excellent stations I never heard of before.
You have to get used to the one dial set up. That takes about 30 seconds to figure out. Big whoopie. The only "negative" I can come up with is that the "tree" you go through to get from one station to another is a little awkward, but no big deal at all.
The radio is convenient enough for me to use it in the basement, in the kitchen, outside in my workshop. Comes in great everywhere on my property.
I don't know about other brands of wifi radio, but I do know that I really like my radio a lot. Should have bought one earlier.
 Style over substance: Great sound and good looks mask a functional horrorshow September 13, 2008
11 out of 12 found this review helpful
I believe this is the US branding for what in the UK is known as the Roberts WM201 wi-fi internet radio. The below review references the Roberts branding, but it may be that the technology is actually Sangean's. The differences between the two I believe are limited to the default vaultage and default equalisations settings. Otherwise they're the same radio (see the Amazon.co.uk site)
Roberts radios command a good deal of loyalty, which is the only explanation I can give for the preponderance of glowing reviews on this site. The WM201 isn't the worst radio ever designed (that was Roberts' utterly moronic Gemini 9 CRD-9 DAB radio) but like the dreadful Gemini the WM201's interface is poorly thought out.
Keeping it positive, these are the good points:
* Looks great: the piano gloss black finish is certainly pretty, and with the single knob it has a pleasing economy of design.
* The sound is lovely: rich, mellifluous and detailed, BBC Radio 4 (predominantly talk) sounds wonderful and accentuates Jon Humphrys' baritone Welsh and Jim Naughtie's Scottish brogue.
* It certainly picks up a ton of stations, as you would expect an internet radio to do. Great being able to listen to WNTN in Massachusetts or Newstalk 2ZB in Wellington New Zealand (especially when the All Blacks are playing)!
Internet radio is inherently better quality than the heavily compressed sound of DAB which, despite frequent claims to the contrary, is pretty lousy (rather like a 54kbps MP3), and additionally is likely to be superseded by (incompatible) DAB2 within a short number of years. Hence the tremendous allure of the internet radio: not only a far wider range of available stations, but ythe format is preternaturally immune from obsolescence and delivers in far better sound quality. But that's internet radio in general, not the Roberts per se.
Enter the Roberts WM201, a leader in the field and a classy looking and sounding one at that. You would think that that would be all you need from a radio, so five stars would be a done deal. Not quite.
Firstly, the additional componentry is poor, or at any rate has been poorly designed - listening to the headphones is a trial: the display backlight causes significant interference to the headphone outs, yielding a high-pitched whine, and there is additional interference/degradation to the headphone signal which is not apparent in the main speaker output. I suspect poor shielding or a missing capacitor or something (I confess, radio experts: I'm no electrical engineer); at any rate it makes the headphone jack effectively unusable. Since the backlight can't be turned off entirely, the problem never goes away but can be minimised by turning it down.
Secondly, as mentioned, the backlight can't be turned off, and can't be dimmed sufficiently either. Even at its lowest setting it exudes an ethereal blue/white radiance across the room at night, which might be nice in the living room, but on a bedside table, at 2 a.m., is tremendously irritating. (The Gemini 9 was worse: it broadcast a sickly orange glow bright enough to keep the neighbours awake)
Thirdly, the software user interface is incredibly clunky, and in places just plain stupid. For example:
* While the radio is idle, there is a nice big clock display (though it glows eerily in the middle of the night). However, the moment the alarm kicks in, the WM201 does two stupid things: One, it turns itself on (good) but instead of just getting on with it, presents a dialogue: "Turn Radio On? (Y/N)". That is stupid. For one thing, the radio already *is* on, so asking the question is rather shutting the door after the horse has bolted. Secondly, I have deliberately programmed it to come on; *of course* I want the radio on. Infuriatingly, selecting "Y" overrides the alarm (programmed to turn off after a stipulated time) meaning that you have to manually turn the alarm off when you've finished listening to it. But selecting "N" turns the radio off altogether. Not helpful. The only way of having the alarm come on and then go off at the pre-requested times is to ignore the dialogue, which means that the display displays the dialogue rather than any information about the radio station or the time. Very stupid. The same effect could have achieved by simply having no dialogue screen at all. Awakened by John Humphrys' mellifluous tone, should one not want to hear it, one would turn the radio off.
* Which brings me to another point: There is no intuitive way to "snooze", as there is every other alarm clock/radio I've ever come across (including the idiotic Gemini 9)
* But the display problem gets worse: Once you've made the decision that you do indeed want the radio on, you are then given only a rolling screen display of the station and its content. Not the time. The nice big clock on the display disappears. Even if you use the (tiny and fiddly) remote to display the time, it will disappear after a few seconds. Now the one time the time display is utterly essential is that sacred waking hour between radio coming on and reluctant exit from bed - i.e. the alarm going *on* and the alarm going off. So just when you most need the clock, you don't have it.
Fourthly, the hardware interface is horrible. The single dial requires an elaborate combination of pushing a twisting to get even simple tasks done, and the remote unit is tiny, fiddly, has no backlight and is impossible to read in low light (such as that cast by the eerie glow of the clock display). Turning on a real light to read it at 2am is verboten in my household.
Fifthly, the media streaming is very hard to set up and, even where you do get it set up, virtually impossible to use. I have a number of digital music sources linked by Wifi: an iTunes library on a Mac, a Windows Media library on a PC and a Napster subscription service. Using UPnP (the windows streaming option doesn't work at all, as even Roberts seem to acknowledge) I have managed to at least locate the media on the Macintosh and cue them for playing, but never have they actually played. UPnP can find the PC alright, but neither the WM Library nor the Napster subscription on it. I concede this may not be entirely the WM201's fault - the elaborate arrays of firewalls and passwords around the network may intercede in the process, but all the same the WM201's user interface is so poor that it offers no help or suggestion as to what the problem might be. So again, a failure to adequately consider the user in the design.
For all these failings, I would be bound to say, Roberts has previous form (e.g. the shameful Gemini 9). Roberts makes good traditional radios, but it has not grasped what consumers want out of their digital media facilities. Much of this might be fixable by a firmware update, but to date I've not noticed one. A missed opportunity.
Olly Buxton
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