People just love the idea of waking up to their favorite internet radio stations. The Sangean RCR-8WF lets you set an alarm to wake up to Internet radio, and also has an FM/RDS tuner built in allowing you to be able to access any local FM stations with or without RDS provision. In addition it incorporates all of the advanced features found in other Sangean clock radios. Set your favorite 10 stations using the preset buttons or the "favorites" category on your radio. Any needed firmware upgrades are available through the Internet. Play your CD player or iPod through the Aux-In socket and connect your recorder or additional equipment to the Line Out sockets--and if you need some extra sleep time the sleep control and snooze timers provide that extra control. Plays all the popular digital music codecs such as MP3, AAC, WMA, Real Audio and others.

User Reviews about Sangean RCR-8WF Internet Clock Radio

First let me say that it is a joy to get my morning AM news station CLEAR without all the buzz from living in the shadow of the Bourne Bridge (Cape Cod) and the crackle-pops when bad weather is moving in. It's also fun to Dx through the 2200 or so internet stations.

That said, there are more cons than pluses here. The radio's controls are as poorly thought out as all the other internet radios. Instead of trying to reinvent the wheel, why can't a single one of these "engineers" take one of the easiest to use standard clock radios as a template (Magnavox CD-stereo clock radio or Proton--hell even Sony!) and build the controls around that control layout?

The manual for this product stinks, so don't go there for help. Customer support is non-existent--I e-mailed them asking how to keep the panel light on permanently during the night(if the radio isn't running,I can only find out the time by fumbling in the dark and pushing the left top button to briefly light the display)--I NEVER got an answer, and that was 6 weeks ago!

Also, I stated the sound is ClEAR, I didn't say anything about fidelity-- for $150 I would expect it to sound better than a $17 Sony clock radio, but it doesn't.

So, bottom line, I tried all the HD radios, and several of the $100-200 internet radios and this one was the best I could find, but the only reason I am keeping it is that it gave me a clear signal, most of the stuff on it works, and my wife got sick of my testing and returning radios! It fits nicely on the nightstand, looks "normal" unlike some of the monsters available, and does the job we wanted, oh, and I got it on sale for $50 off.

UPDATE 4/26/10: I just saw the Denon Internet Radio, which I felt was so superior to this one that I feal I wasted my money on this one--I know my wife would kill if I brought home still ANOTHER radio, or I would. The Denon sounds like $200, this Sangean sounds like $18! I'm sure there are peculiarities in the Denon's operation too, but none like Sangean's! -- Update

This review is for the Sangean RCR-8WF Internet Clock Radio.
[...]
A little about me/my history to qualify my statements:
OK, for the last few years I have bought at least 5, probably more, clock radio alarm clocks. I have spent anywhere from from [...] on each of them. I have bought RCA, Timex, Sony, Emerson, and another that escapes me at the moment. The features I focused on were, dual alarms, easy/auto time setup, battery backup for time and settings during power failure, FM radio, nap timer, sleep timer, some other audio(CD, MP3, HD, Internet, Weather). It didn't have to have all those audio formats, just one that worked. Most of the alarm clocks worked ok for the alarm settings, but all of them failed in FM radio reception. I had tried both internal and external antenna models. I had 2 different CD models, both of which failed before 1 year usage. Other features are different on every model. If you have looked, then you know what I mean. I never got an HD radio model, this internet radio just seemed more flexible. So I broke the bank when I bought this alarm clock radio. I thought, maybe my expectations were just too high for less than [...], so I splurged. WOW am I surprised, in a very positive way!
The Review:
I don't know if you can find an alarm clock radio that works this well, for less, but I can tell you this alarm clock radio works very well. This alarm clock radio is doing everything it says it will. The FM reception is excellent. The wireless(wifi/802.11) internet radio reception is excellent. (I have a good, but run of the mill, wifi network in my home connected to a cable mid tier broadband service). I was able to connect to internet radio, knowing a local radio stations call letters, without ever using my PC or using the free Reciva service. I also tried the free Reciva service and it worked fine also, and provide an easier method to search and try out all kinds of internet radio. I can also play my MP3 audio collection stored on my computer, with excellent reception. The time automatically sets to internet time and has setting for any time zone. It has 2 alarms that can each be set individually for FM/Internet/buzzer for weekends/weekdays/specific days of the week. I mean, it is so flexible and works so well, I am just totally amazed. Yes, it is a little geeky and the menu's are not as intuitive as they could be, but going through the included manual, I was able to figure everything out without major issues. The LCD is kind bright, but it is adjustable. Problem I had is adjusting it so its not bright at night, makes it too dim for viewing in day and visa versa. I don't know if there is a light sensor that I can turn off/on to help, its not that big a deal for me. This probably won't work well for audiophiles as I think there is only one speaker. But it has good sound and is loud enough to fill a large bedroom with good quality sound. The only big problem with this radio is the price. To have to spend [...] to get an alarm clock radio that works well, is kind of ridicules, but I will recommend to buy this one to anyone who asks. Again, its the best alarm clock radio I have ever played with in a store/seen at friends/or bought myself, and I recommend it, even at the high price. -- The Best Clock Radio I haver ever purchased or seen!!!

I have had this radio for about 3 weeks now, have used it extensively, and it has some great potential, but unfortunately it is let down by its still immature software. There are freezes and restarts and there are some usability features where things should be better thought out (eg: the Sleep function that the other review points out).

I believe that you should consider the following:
- if your priority is to be woken to Internet radio: hold off a little until new firmware is available and fixes some of the issues
- if your priority is an alarm clock with the HWS system (Humane Waking System): you should purchase another one of Sangean's alarm clocks - eg: the higher rated RCR-3

The other advanced alarm clock to consider is the American Innovative Neverlate alarm clocks which are even more customizable. -- Great potential, but needs a firmware update