Product Description

Whether traveling for business or pleasure, in today's world, having access to news and music is increasingly becoming a necessity rather than a luxury. SongBook delivers the wealth of programming that FM and AM has to offer, in the Tivoli Audio trademark high-fidelity sound. Add that to the sensitive digital tuner, alarm clock, sleep timer, and built-in charger for NiMH/NiCAD batteries, and you have a first class portable clock radio. FM and AM work in Europe and North America. The unique rubberized coating helps to protect SongBook from Mother Nature's elements and from everyday wear and tear. Includes a rear keyhole cut-out for easy wall mounting. And with multiple colors to choose from, you're sure to find one that suits your style. Features include a digital alarm clock with wake to music or beep tone, sleep function, auto manual tuning with 5 station presets, and auxiliary input and stereo headphone output. Its on-demand blue backlit LCD makes for easy viewing in difficult lighting conditions. Enjoy superb AM and FM performance or the go, or add your ipod, MP3 player or portable CD for outstanding portable playback. Operates using included external power supply or six AA alkaline/NiMH/NiCAD batteries or 12V source (batteries and 12V adapter not included).

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #33795 in Consumer Electronics
• Color: Black
• Brand: Tivoli Audio
• Model: SBBLK
• Dimensions: 6.00" h x 2.13" w x 7.25" l, 1.75 pounds

Features

• Outstanding AM/FM Reception
• AM/FM for North America /Europe
• Digital alarm clock and sleep function
• Plays on AC,Alkaline/NiMH/NiCAD batteries, 12V
• Weather resistant for use outdoors

Amazon.com Review
Tivoli Audio has made waves in the audio field with the retro look of models such as the Model One Henry Kloss Table Radio and the iPod-inspired iPAL Portable Audio Laboratory AM/FM Radio. The SongBook AM/FM Radio breaks that mold slightly, opting for a simple, yet fun, look and feel. And like all Tivoli Audio products, the SongBook deserves accolades for the surprisingly rich sound it is able to produce despite its compact size.

The Tivoli Design
The first thing that called our attention was the SongBook's brilliant color and unique texture. This is a radio clearly designed to make you feel happy by just looking at it and holding it. With the options of several, bright elementary colors (Black, Blue, Red, Silver, White, Green, Yellow) that make you want to reach for your crayons, the SongBook truly makes a statement. It's a radio that you'll definitely want to take to the beach, and it's a radio that makes you long for summer days all year around.

But Tivoli Audio knows that good design involves far more than color. The radio is coated with a unique, rubberized texture, and the dials and displays are all sealed so that a sudden rain shower or a little sand won't interfere with performance. We're not suggesting that you surf the waves with your SongBook, or bury it in the walls of your sand castle, but a little of Mother Nature here and there won't bother this baby.

Weighing in at three-and-a-half pounds, and with dimensions slightly smaller than that of a hardcover book, the SongBook is designed with portability in mind. The minimalist front-face design -- a round, metal mesh covering the (surprisingly robust) 2.5-inch driver, and several rubberized button and knobs are the only elements in view -- harkens back to early portable radio designs. Five presets, two tuning buttons, a rotary volume control, a function knob (OFF/AM/FM/AUX), and buttons for the alarm, sleep, time set, and back light functions are all clearly and conveniently laid out. The radio's LCD (with an on-demand blue back light) sits directly above the speaker. Meanwhile, three standard 3.5-millimeter inputs are set on the radio's side -- an auxiliary line-in port for plugging in your iPod or other music device, a port for AC/DC power, and a headphone input. All the ports feature strong, attached rubber plugs that keep out the elements when they're not in use. A rear keyhole cut-out for wall hanging is set into the back, and a single telescopic metal antenna is set into its own groove on top of the radio.

Because the SongBook is designed for the elements, the battery compartment is tightly sealed and requires a coin or screwdriver to open. Once opened, you can easily access the two switches (alkaline/rechargeable and 9k/10k) that offer options for the battery source. You can also choose U.S. or international AM reception here. The only design element missing is a handle, but Tivoli offers an optional, color coordinated SongBook Carry Bag to make up for that.

Giving it a Listen
As with other Tivoli products we've reviewed, the sound of the SongBook is remarkably strong for such a small unit. Granted, you don't get stereo sound, but competing designs that offer stereo speakers in a small package don't offer that much stereo separation anyway. Reception came in loud and clear on all the area AM and FM stations, with both AC and DC power. The only glitch, which we were able to repeat in two separate locations, was occasional outside interference that broke up broadcasts with a brief screech. All in all, though, we were happy with the sound of every genre of music we listened to, as well as talk radio. The auxiliary input was great, too, for listening to MP3s from a portable music source.

In addition to good sound quality, we found the presets, time set, alarm, and tuning/search functions impeccable. Everything was so intuitive that we barely needed to consult the manual. Another bonus we liked: The SongBook comes with a handy internal recharger, so you have the option of using rechargeable batteries without the inconvenience of having to carry around a separate recharger.

Tivoli clearly decided early on not to reinvent the wheel with respect to portable radios. Instead, they put their energies into making an easy-to-use, rugged, yet playful, radio. Audiophiles, beach-goers, and general radio listeners of the world should unite in praise.

Pros

• Rugged yet playful and colorful design
• Simple, intuitive functionality

• It's a radio with the price-tag of a much more advanced device
• Lack of a handle somewhat limits its portability

Customer Reviews

Oh My Goodness! What a Sweet, Sweet Radio!
The new Tivoli Songbook is one sweet, versatile radio. I was reluctant to order it because it was brand new model and I couldn't find any reviews, but I'm glad I overcame my reluctance and purchased this radio. I consider it expensive for an AM/FM radio so I expect serious performance for the money--I was not disappointed. It's Tivoli, so I expected sound quality and Tivoli delivers. The sound isn't quite as full as the Model One, but it's more than adequate. For talk radio, it's simply the best sound I've heard from any radio.

One reason I hesitated purchasing was because I planned to use this as a table radio more than a travel radio--the lack of external antenna jacks was a concern because I have trouble with AM reception in my area. The real surprise was the reception--this small radio locked on and pulled in signals that I have trouble pulling in with some of my better radios like the GE Superadio or Grundig Satellit 800--all while delivering a clear, clean signal. Admittedly, I'm not a DXer, and I'm not suggesting this is the radio for that purpose, but it's performance, particularily on AM, is impressive for such a small package.

Performance was great using the aux input on a Sirius tuner as well as MP3 and CD.

Overall, it has the look and feel--as well as performance--of a quality product.

One thing that you should be aware of--this model uses an outboard transformer--a relatively large wall wart. That negates some of the travel versatility, IMO, but isn't a problem for home use. One of the smart design features is the wall hang slot on the back--I promptly mounted the thing over my nightstand and cleared off the space formerly eaten up by my cheap, tinny sounding clock radio.

It's a rare day that a product meets my expectations, much less exceeds them, but this is a great radio!

The Tivili Audio PAL is a much better radio
As a long-time enthusiast for the Tivoli Audio PAL radios (and owner of four of them), I was eager to try the new SongBook. But when I tried the SongBook next to a PAL, I discovered that the SongBook is inferior in every way.

(1) The SongBook is WAY too big for a travel radio; you can't tell from an isolated picture, but the SongBook is as tall as the PAL, and actually larger (the volume of a PAL is only 85% of the volume of a SongBook). The SongBook is very easily tipped over, and hard to pick up in one hand without changing the station; the PAL is very stable, and has convenient depressions for carrying it with one hand. A PAL fits into most briefcases more easily than a SongBook. [The PAL is 82.5 cubic inches (1,360 cc); the SongBook is 94.0 cubic inches (1,540 cc).]

(2) The SongBook is also actually heavier than the PAL! I weighed my PAL against my SongBook, both with batteries installed, both without power cord. The PAL weighs 1 pound 14 ounces (850 grams). The SongBook weighs 2 pounds 1/2 ounce (910 grams). A very curious "travel radio".

(3) The legendary audio quality of the PAL has been eroded in the SongBook. The SongBook does not have the same clear sound of the PAL, and has an annoying hum (the PAL does not). I notice the hum in the SongBook particularly through headphones. (Comparisons were made with a PAL and a SongBook side by side, tuned to the same station.)

(4) A small but important design blunder is that the SongBook does NOT charge its batteries when it is turned on; by contrast, the PAL charges its batteries whenever it is plugged in, turned on or not. This means that you can run the PAL all day on batteries, and also listen to it all night while it recharges. The SongBook won't do that, you cannot listen while it charges; if you turn it on, recharging stops. You have to stop listening to the SongBook to recharge it. This is both irritating and counter-intuitive. The PAL "just works".

(5) The alarm and time functions of the SongBook are very basic; you will do better with a very small travel clock. And the display for time and alarm is far inferior to most small travel alarms. (Also, if you run out the battery completely listening to the radio, you will lose your time and alarm settings for the clock--a bad interaction of functions, since if you run out the battery while sleeping your alarm won't go off.)

(6) Other functions of the SongBook are not improved over the PAL: it has the same headphone jack, the same AUX input jack, the built-in battery charger using a cord and wall wart, the same telescoping antenna. The PAL is every bit as useful as a powered speaker for a computer, MP3 player, CD player, etc. (more useful because it's easier to move around and handle). The nice "weather-resistant" rubbery coating on the case of the SongBook (also useful inside, and easy to clean) is the same as used on the PAL, no advantage.

(7) The SongBook does allow you to save stations on five preset buttons. This, however, is partly offset by the fact that when you pick up the radio you will likely hit one of the buttons and change the station. The PAL uses a round dial to control tuning, but actual station-tuning is just as digitally-precise on the PAL (and a real pleasure).

(8) The PAL includes a special rechargeable battery, installed in the radio at purchase, replacements sold by Tivoli on the web. The SongBook uses six AA rechargeable batteries, not included, but widely available. This opens the possibility of using AA alkaline batteries in the SongBook in a pinch--but what sort of pinch makes rechargeable batteries stop working suddenly? They wear out slowly; so that's not very useful. And in order to use alkaline batteries in the SongBook, a tiny and nearly invisible switch hidden inside the battery compartment must be moved (which seems easy to overlook), so as not to damage the radio. For what it's worth, the batteries in my PALs seem to last much longer on a charge than the six AA rechargeables I got for the SongBook, even after half a dozen complete discharges and recharges (different AA rechargeables can vary, but mine are supposed to be good ones for this use).

(9) Curiously, the SongBook requires that another nearly invisible switch hidden inside the battery compartment be moved in order to change the spacing of AM stations for tuning in North America versus Europe. But I have carried PAL radios both ways (bought in North America and used in Europe, and bought in Europe and used in North America) and listened to AM stations without needing to make any such adjustment.

The Tivoli Audio PAL is such a wonderful product that it would be hard to improve on, and the SongBook definitely is no improvement. By all means, buy a PAL! You'll love it.

Buy a PAL, and along with it buy a travel clock which is smaller than 11 cubic inches and weighs less than 2 1/2 ounces. You'll have a setup superior in every way, for home, for business, and for travel.

Insomniacs need not apply...
Well, the Songbook is a great radio. But I needed a clock radio with an alarm, and it just so happens that sometimes I can't sleep and so in the middle of the night I turn on the radio--BBC and better news and all that. Believe it or not, that cancels the alarm. Once you set the alarm, that's it for the Songbook for the night. Then there's the problem that if you just leave the radio on all night, it's the radio frequency that takes up most of the readout. The time is teenyweeny in the corner of the display. I pretty much know what station I'm listening to without looking, but I might want to know what time it is in the middle of the night. Like I said, buy it for the radio, not the clock.