Great table radio

I have been a Sirius subscriber for over almost 5 years now, and really like the service. I recently purchased the Tivoli Model Satellite to use as a kitchen table radio, replacing an old plug-and-play unit from Sirius’ early days (ca. 2003). I find the Tivoli superior in every way. Sirius plug-and-play units have their advantages if you want a radio that can be moved from one location to another, and large dedicated home units are good if you are looking for a component to connect to your home audio system. But for a good standalone table radio, the Tivoli is my choice. That said, the Model Satellite does have some quirks that you should be aware of before you buy, especially given the hefty ($300) price tag.

Size and styling: Like other Tivoli products, the Model Satellite is housed in a hardwood case that feels substantial and well-made. Mine is in natural cherry (a light-colored wood) with what Tivoli calls “metallic taupe” trim - basically, a dark brown. The satellite aspect of the unit requires a digital display and a number of pushbuttons, so the unit has a “busier” look than other Tivoli products. But it still looks elegant, especially compared to other home satellite radios. The radio is quite compact - about 4.5" tall x 8.5" wide x 5.5" deep.

To me, the great thing about this unit is that it is an all-in-one Sirius radio for home use. Using a plug-and-play unit at home requires a docking cradle, which has to be connected to some sort of self-powered external speakers, which in turn have to be plugged into a power supply. I used that kind of setup for several years, but it did involve a lot of wires. In contrast, the Model Satellite has the speaker built in, and the only wires running to the unit are the satellite antenna, the (included) external AM antenna (assuming you choose to set it up), and the power cord (which has a transformer that you can place out of site on the floor if you like).

Sound: Wonderful for such a small unit. The sound is rich and full, though a little bass-heavy. Like many Tivoli products, the unit comes with a single speaker, but it sounds so good that its hard to believe its mono. You can add a second speaker, sold separately, to get stereo sound, and can even add a subwoofer (though I find it has quite enough bass already). I connected a Tivoli second speaker and found that the stereo sound was even richer than the basic mono sound. But if you don’t want to spend the extra $50, or don’t have room for the extra speaker box, the basic mono sound is pretty darn good. If you do add a second speaker, a switch on the back of the unit allows you to select mono or stereo, and a dial back there adjusts the left-right balance.

Basic operation: The radio has a selector knob that allows you to switch between Satellite, FM, AM, and AUX (which controls the auxiliary jack in the back, into which you can plug an MP3 player, a CD player, or anything else that can be connected with a miniplug.) You turn the unit on and off by means of a small red pushbutton, which doubles as the "enter" button for various functions. Because of this, you have to press and hold the button for a second or two to turn the unit on or off - if you just press it quickly, the radio "thinks" you are just hitting "enter." Volume is controlled by turning a separate knob. There is a very small and thin remote control, which operates all the satellite functions and which turns the unit on and off, but which does not control volume or AM/FM tuning.

Satellite radio performance: Like other Sirius radios, the Model Satellite has a fairly large digital display that clearly shows the station you are tuned to, and information about the music that is playing. The display is blue, and is quite bright and easy to read, even under bright light. You can select stations by category (Pop, Rock, Country, etc.) or from presets. When displaying the lists of stations, the “Display” button allows you to toggle between channel names and what is playing on each station. There are 5 preset buttons in a row above the display, and 4 lettered “bands” of presets available, so you can store up to 20 presets total. If you have more than 5 presets, this means you may sometimes have to press two buttons to reach them - first select band A, B, C, or D, then select the preset within that band. This can be a nuisance, but you can make somewhat of a virtue of a necessity by using the bands to help you organize your presets (A for music stations, B for news, etc.), or by family members (A for mom’s favorites, B for dad’s, etc.).

Unlike some Sirius radios, the Model Satellite does not have a numbered keypad on the radio itself, so channel numbers cannot be entered directly. Direct entry is possible from the remote control, however. Even with other Sirius radios, I have almost always used presets or channel lists to find my station, and I don’t miss the lack of direct entry at all. One caveat: The buttons are quite small, and the lettering next to them can be difficult to read until you learn which button is which. I have small fingers and do not have a problem, but I would imagine the small buttons could be a little awkward for those with larger hands.

Like all Sirius home radios, you usually will have to place the small satellite antenna in or near a window to get reception, and it may only work in some of your windows. In some cases, you will need to put the antenna outside your house to get good reception. My reception with the Tivoli Model Satellite is more dependable than with the old radio I replaced, but that is probably because my old radio was from Sirius' early days. I cannot say whether reception with the Tivoli is better than with other Sirius models currently on the market.

AM/FM performance: I leave the radio set on Sirius most of the time because I like the commercial-free music. But occasionally I like listening to FM or even AM, particularly for local news and weather, and it is convenient to have such a high-quality FM/AM tuner available on the same radio. I live in a major metropolitan area and get excellent FM reception with just the built-in FM antenna. (A small external antenna is included with the radio if you need it. Or if your home has an outside antenna for FM, you can easily connect that.) AM reception is also excellent, but there is no built-in antenna for it - you have to hook up a fairly small external loop antenna. The manual advises that this should be placed in the window and away from the radio and its power supply, but I get good reception just leaving it on the floor near the power supply, where it is out of sight. If you don’t think you will ever want to use AM, you don’t need to connect the antenna, and will have one less wire.

Tuning FM and AM is like with other Tivoli radios - there is a nice, big, smoothly-geared dial that you turn until you get to the station you want. Signal strength is indicated by an amber light that gets brighter as you lock onto the signal. Tuning is easy, and it has a pleasantly “retro” feel about it. On the other hand, though fun, this analog tuning method has a major disadvantage: there are no presets available for AM and FM. Unless you only listen to one station and leave the dial set there, you have to manually tune every station, and cannot just push buttons to jump back and forth between stations at different ends of the dial. Also, the same dial is used for tuning both AM and FM, so unless your favorite AM station is located at the same position on the dial as your favorite FM station, you have to re-tune when you switch from AM to FM.

Clock: The blue display has a clock that is visible when the radio is in FM, AM, or AUX mode, and even when it is turned off. (In satellite mode, of course, the display is used for station/artist/song information, with a small digital clock underneath). You have a choice of clock formats - a digital clock that displays time in large numerals with the date in smaller type under it, or an “analog” clock that projects a picture of a clockface with moving hands and no date. I like true analog clocks, but I find this projected version to be fake-looking and hard to read, so I leave it set on digital. The clock updates itself from the satellite whenever the radio is on in satellite mode (including resetting itself when we go and off daylight-savings time), and keeps accurate time as a quartz clock while the radio is turned off. Even with the radio off, the clock display is quite bright.

Alarm and sleep functions: I use the radio in my kitchen, so these functions are irrelevant to me. But out of curiosity, I investigated them, and found both rather awkward to use. To set the alarm, and even to use the sleep function, you have to depress the menu button and scroll through various options while the unit is in satellite mode. If you want to go to sleep, or wakeup, to FM or AM radio, you have to set the alarm in satellite mode, then change the dial to your preferred listening or wakeup mode. The only sleep timer available has the radio run for 20 minutes before shutting off - there is no option to set it for 15, 30, or 60 minutes, like with many clock radios. Again, I am very happy with the Model Satellite as a kitchen radio, but I personally would find the alarm clock functions too cumbersome for daily use as my primary alarm clock.

Overall impression: I am very happy with the Model Satellite, and recommend it as a compact, all-in-one, great-sounding table radio for receiving Sirius, as well as AM and FM. My major reservation about the unit is that there is somewhat of a disconnect between the menu-oriented, pushbutton-driven digital satellite radio functions, and the purely analog AM/FM and volume functions. The remote controls works with the former, but not the latter. It feels a bit like a satellite unit tacked onto a classic Tivoli Model One analog radio. All the “functions,” such as setting up the clock, alarm, and sleep timer, have to be done from menus while the unit is in satellite mode.

The biggest problem in this regard is the power switch. Rather than having the volume control turn the unit on and off, there is a small red button that doubles as the "enter" button for various functions. You have to push it and hold it for a second or two to turn the unit on and off. This is a little awkward, particularly since the button in question is no larger than the other small pushbuttons, and is not located in the corner or some other prominent place (though to be fair, the red color does make it easier to find). A separate power button that did not have to be held down, or an on/off "click" when you turn the volume knob, would be quite a bit easier to use.

In the end, none of this spoils the unit for me, but buyers should be aware that there is some compromise here between modern digital functionality and old-fashioned analog charm. I can imagine some people deciding that they want a basic (and much cheaper) Tivoli Model One as their AM/FM radio, and a separate (again, much cheaper) unit of another brand for their satellite radio.

For me, the all-in-one convenience, and the great sound, make this the perfect kitchen radio.