Tivoli Model One radio

OK, this is a million miles from HiFi, but I'm after a radio for my kitchen and was wondering how people rated the mono Tivoli radio? I'm going to find one to listen to obviously, but going by the many great reviews the Tivoli is clearly the one to go for; is it that simple?

Cheers,

Martin

 

The Tivoli isn't bad, but its reflex port is very audible. I'm using an old valve table radio myself, which sounds a million times better.

 

I think the Tivoli is way overpriced for a simple mono radio. I compared it to a number of mini hifis and I bought this
http://www.unbeatable.co.uk/CatalogueItem_11702.html instead.

I felt that for £40 extra the additional volume, CD player, stereo speakers and perfectly acceptable FM performance was quite persuasive.

The Tivoli is a decent little radio but I honestly couldn't see the point. Perhaps the asthetics are of interest to you but for a kitchen radio I'd go for the sony every time.

 

Cheers guys. I'm not really bothered about the look of the thing, but I don't really want anything too big, so I'd like to stick to a simple radio rather than going down the micro system route. Something cheaper than the Tivoli that does the job would be good.

As for volume, I don't need loud. I've just moved into a new flat and so far have been consciously not playing anything loud and have already had a polite complaint from one neighbour . She's very nice but it doesn't bode well. It's a real pain in the arse actually since I've finally got my HiFi in a reasonable sized room but can't make the most of it. I'm going to have to do a spot of negotiating on sensible times of day, and keeping track of when they're out .

Martin

 

I have the Tivoli PAL, it has the advantage of beeing water resistent, but most of all, it has a rechargeable batery...

I use it in the bathroom, but take it ocasionaly to the pool or patio, very good sound for the size, and looks great, mine is perola, matches the walls tiles... :MILD:

 

I'm very tempted with the Tivoli PAL. I've heard one and was very impressed with the sound for its size, and as you say mains or internal rechargable....but at £130 it's a lot for a small portable. At least the PAL has stereo out if you need it the Model one is mono out only!.
Donut

 

I have both a Tivoli mono and a PAL. I love 'em. I especially like the fact that both have an external input. I've got my PAL in the bathroom, daisy-chained off the main system's tape out. Nice.

-- Ian

 

Hmmm... you've now got me tempted by the PAL - I hadn't thought about being able to take it into the bathroom if I got one of those. I think I'll resist that for now though. I reckon I'll go and have a listen to a few radios this weekend.

As for the model one radio being mono, I must confess that's absolutely fine for me. Unless I'm going to properly sit down and listen to something then I think stereo is pretty redundent. Just like the majority of people who have mini systems stuffed in the corner of their rooms with the speakers jammed up against the main unit don't care in the slightest about stereo either. (Or perhaps I should say wouldn't notice if something was mono instead).

 

Resist ??!??

Simply not allowed round here

I also have a Model One and a Pal. The Model One is perfect if you can hook it up to a good aerial source. It's the only way I can get a good reception on Radio 5 on fm so I have one in the bedroom hooked up to ntl. And, believe me, having a Pal in the bathroom at 7am makes the routine a lot more bearable. (That's a Tivoli Pal, BTW, in case anyone's wondering ).

So if you don't have an aerial connection in the kitchen the Pal might be best for you. The rechargeable batteries just make it so easy to cart around with you.

Mine's in black, like my soul... :JOEL:

Cheers.

 

Nope, no aerial connection. Isn't the in-built aerial in the Model One much good then?

 

Both Tivoli units sound great, my friends were most impressed by its capabilities and how loud it went for its size.

Much more mature looking than a LED festooned boom box too.

Love it!

 

It works for me. FM reception here is generally variable at best, but I have no problems with the Model One's bit of string.

It has a standard F-type connector, so if the string isn't good enough you could always fit something more substantial (Maplins is probably a good bet). Would look quite funny with a Ron Smith Galaxie sticking out of the back of it...

-- Ian

 

Get the new Russ Andrews catalogue for Tivoli ariel ideas.

They do some ariels for it, and a little FM booster aswell.


Of course, similar kit is probably available from radio shops for less money, but I dont know about that really.


Chris

 

Boosters are always an option, I use one with my main radio tuner (only a £100 Sony one) to good effect. I'd like to think if I paid out £90 or £100 on a Tivoli I wouldn't need to worry about that though...

 

Oh, and on the subject of RA they do have an impressive bit of marketing in their catalogue of ways to upgrade a Tivoli, allowing you to easily spend more on the tweaks than the basic kit! I'll bother for my main HiFi, but absolutely not for this.

 

I may have misled you Martin. The aerial in the Model One is certainly fine and seems as good as the PAL. As an overseas listener I can't get good FM reception for BBC stations on any standalone radio, so I need to connect to ntl. Since the Model One has an 'f' connector it's perfect for the job. (Quite unusual for a standalone radio to have this connection.)

What I was getting at was that the PAL's portability gives it an edge over the Model One (IMHO) if you're not planning to hook the radio up to an external aerial. (I reckon the Model One beats the PAL on sound with a really good signal. And you can't hook the PAL up to an external aerial. At least not with any ease or elegance, RA add-ons notwithstanding )

Cheers.

 

So I'm not the only one who have both, a Tivoli mono and a PAL...
For use in the kitchen without aerial connection I would go for a PAL though as I a) think the reception of the PAL's telescoping FM antenna gives better results than the Model One's inbuilt AM/FM antenna and b) the PAL's rubberised cabinet should not only be weather resistant but also more cooking resistant than Model One's wood cabinet...

 

Paul - cheers for clearing that up, I had missed your point I'm afraid.

mtl - excluding reception issues, how do you rate the sound of the PAL relative to the Model One?

I hadn't considered whether the radio would be cooking proof either actually, good thought. I had a friend at college whose recipe for any cake involved getting at least half the ingredients on the floor (preferably carpeted for full effect ), but I'm usually not too bad.

I'm going to check out some radios tomorrow - hopefully Southampton's John Lewis has the Tivolis.

Martin

 

Compared to Model One, the PAL is quite smaller and lighter. Thus it does not come with the Model One's 3" driver but with a (magnetically shielded) 2-1/2" driver. This and the fact that the PAL is – unlike the ported enclosure design of Model One – a closed design, makes the PAL a bit thinner and more boxy sounding than the –considering the size – incredible 'complete' sounding Model One. But still the PAL sounds better than one might expect from such a small unit and better than any other portable mono radio I've ever heard. Another plus of the PAL of course is the headphone minijack with output in stereo as mentioned before.

 

You forgot the most important, rechargeable battery...