Housed in an elegant cherry wood casing, with a touch of contemporary digital and classic analog design features, the Tivoli Audio Model Satellite Sirius/AM/FM table radio further extends the legacy of the late audio designer Henry Kloss. Based on Tivoli's Henry Kloss Model Two AM/FM table radio, the Model Satellite is Tivoli's outstanding foray into satellite radio. If this unit is any indication of the potential of satellite radio, we are now officially true believers.Programming for Everyone
Sirius offers more than 150 channels, with more than 65 of them offering commercial-free music, and over 40 that broadcast news, sports, and talk shows. This essentially means that the Model Satellite gives you a station for each of your possible moods 24 hours a day.
The large LCD is easy to read and provides clear navigation. |
You can't get enough of Elvis? Simply tune into Elvis Radio. For Dead Heads and Phish Heads, there's a station entirely devoted to jams. Mainstream news radio (NPR, CNN, BBC, and FOX) sit alongside World Radio, Gay Radio, and even Pentagon Radio. Whether you're politically right, left, or center, a hip-hop or Broadway aficionado, or a talk radio or sports fanatic, Sirius has you covered. And the Model Satellite--the world's first table radio designed exclusively for home use with Sirius Satellite Radio--couldn't make tuning in any easier or more enjoyable. Testing the radio with the supplied antennas in every corner and on every floor of a three-story house, we experienced remarkably strong satellite, AM, and FM signals, regardless of the weather or time of day. Tivoli's manual provides instructions on how to aim and fine-tune the satellite antenna to optimize reception--instructions that we were happily able to ignore. And best of all, because satellite radio is essentially commercial-free, when we tuned into the blues, that's what we got--nothing but the blues.
The Tivoli Design
The Model Satellite, designed by Tivoli CEO Tom DeVesto, has a great design that is part retro, part high-tech. Its elegant cherry casing and analog tuner give it a distinctive classical air, while its easy-to-read, blue LED display adds a touch of the satellite age.
Choose to display either the analog or digital clock face. |
Tivoli's unique AM/FM rotary dial turns at a slower ratio than most other radios and is designed to pull in even weaker signals, allowing listeners to tune into stations that most desktop radios can't capture. The tuner band selection and volume dials are conveniently located in the center of the unit for easy control, and the champagne-colored buttons for the radio's presets and other functions are easily accessible. To make room for the LED display, the Model Satellite houses its three-inch driver on top of the unit. While this allows for an easy-to-read placement of the display, the downside is that the sound is directed upward, instead of directly toward the listener. However, Tivoli's outstanding acoustics partially make up for this by offering a robust, clean sound.
Small Size, Great Features
Because it features the input/output options of the Model Two, this modest-looking mono radio can be expanded into a full-blown, compact system. With the simple addition of the Tivoli Model CD Player, the Companion Speaker, and Model Subwoofer, you'll have a powerful system on your hands.
A total of 20 presets (five for each of the radio's four bands) is an essential convenience when you have over 150 channels to keep track of. A remote control allows you to manage most of the radio's functions, although you still have to change the band selection, tune in AM and FM stations, and--most inconveniently--set the volume the old-fashioned way. An alarm clock with sleep mode and an option for a digital or analog clock display rounds out the radio's features.
Pros
- Elegant, yet simple, design features
- Clear, easy-to-read, adjustable LED display
- Outstanding variety of music and news from the Sirius Satellite Network
Cons
- Volume control not included on remote
- Lettering on radio casing difficult to read
