Sangean WFT-1 Internet Radio Component Tuner
 |   Publisher : Sangean Company : Sangean |
Features
- Access over 16,000 Internet radio stations
- Play music stored on your computer
- 20 FM station presets
- FM-RDS shows you track and artist info during FM radio playback
- Remote Control included
Product Description
Add new excitement to your existing entertainment system with the new Sangean WFT-1 WiFi Component Tuner. Select from over 16000 Internet Radio Stations, plus enjoy any of your local standard favorite FM stations using the WFT-1's built-in FM tuner. Upload your FM presets or any internet station to your tuner's My Station folder allowing quick and easy access to play through your entertainment center. Computer turned off? Not a problem. All you need is a broadband internet connection and a wired or wireless router. Complete your entertainment system by adding your own Digital Music Library with the revolutionary new Sangean WFT-1 Component WiFi Tuner.Customer reviews
Close, but no cigar Sangean 
I must concur with the consensus of reviews here: this unit's interface is clunky and its instruction manual is beyond inadequate, BUT...this product is by itself right now in occupying its niche as a component tuner, and if you can get by its shortcomings, it works.
Two caveats: 1) the unit never quite powers down. The "Power" button just puts the unit in standby with the display still active. I noticed this morning after a night of this standby condition that the cabinet was warm. I take from this that I should believe the manual when it cautions to unplug the unit when it's not going to be used for a while. 2) since this unit connects to an internet wifi portal web site to obtain its station lists, when that portal is down for maintenance or whatever you're out of luck.
Overall, I applaud Sangean for its innovation, and I suppose for a first generation unit this is a good product. Be prepared to fiddle with it.
Simply wonderful!! 
Bought this Sangean on the advice of a friend who was happy with his own.
Frankly, I could not be more enthused. It was quick and easy to set-up and within fifteen minutes I was listening to just a few of the many incredible stations that are available from all over the globe. Goodbye XM Radio!
Meets the need perfectly
I have a typical component stereo system and wanted Internet radio without all the hassle associated with a computer. Lucky for me Sangean came out with the WFT-1 right when I started looking for something and it was an obvious fit. Wireless setup was simple and easy and I have yet to use the hardwired connection. The RCA cable plugs right into the AUX port of my amp. The user interface clean and direct. For the most part I use the "Last Listened" to menu item to shuffle between the 10 stations or so I listen to throughout the day. One nice thing about the WFT-1 that might not be immediately obvious is that you can get HD stations and they sound great!
Could be a little more user friendly
Specifications and chips used in the WFT-1 set my expectations for this internet radio to be best in class. It may be if you could get past the rather clunky user interface and barely adequate user manual. If you have a wired ethernet connection everything is pretty straight forward and the device can be configured without incident. Setting up wireless connection is a different story. 1.) If you use wireless security and you happen to have down rev WFT-1 firmware the radio makes a nice door stop. For example, you try to enter a 26 character (128 bit) WEP key you find the display does not show the whole key value past a certain number of characters and the method to set the characters by using the tuning knob to select from a list of possible characters stops working as the display software / user interface has a bug(s) in it making it impossible to accomplish this task. Did anybody test these features?
If you are able to connect the WFT-1 using wired network access - you can get a newer copy of WFT-1 firmware which seems to fix the key entry and display bugs I mention. I still cannot connect successfully via wireless - why I am not sure - I don't think its operator error. You won't get any clues from the user manual if you happen to be that rare individual who actually reads product manuals. A couple of calls and an email to tech support in the USA, I was able to get a name and leave a message - no instant resolution and no useful FAQ or support information on the SANGEAN WEB site. Hopefully I'll be able to talk to someone knowledgeable .... soon!
The WFT-1 has an ethernet and USB port - it would be great if you could connect a computer to either port and configure it from there, at least to get the thing up and running. Another possible improvement is the IR remote which could be used as a keypad to enter and navigate the various configuration modes.
If SANGEAN fixes these product bugs it will be a nice and useful WiFi radio to own. Its other features and the Internet radio website www.wifiradio-frontier.com all work to make this a pretty cool way to find and enter internet radio stations and access all that content. I may be critical but these are core features and its a lot of money to pay for a "prototype" product. I did not exhaustively test the various configuration modes and features the radio has. I believe SANGEAN owes its customers a significant improvement in the quality of its firmware. The unit has been shipping for a while and it should work out of the box as advertised. If its fixed I'll be happy to revise my review - no problem - I think they have the makings of a great product.
Sangean WFT-1 Internet Component Tuner
Arrived much faster than the estimated delivery time. Product really is what i was looking for! A nice addition to my HiFi Stereo. Thousands of channels to listen to. Pure pleasure nice product. A+ from me
No comments:
Post a Comment