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Customer Reviews for Grace Digital Solo Wireless Radio Receiver
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Grace Digital Solo Wireless Radio Receiver
Model: GDI-IRA500
SKU: 1016836
UPC: 893153002393
Listen to Pandora, Sirius XM internet radio, Live365, NPR, and over 17,000 AM/FM/ HD radio stations on your current home stereo. The Grace Solo has built in wi-fi 802.11g (compatible with all 802.11b/g/n routers). Wirelessly connect your Grace Solo to your broadband network, pllug in the RCA cables and enjoy everything the internet has to offer on your current home stereo in 5 minutes.
Average Customer Rating:
3.3
out of 5
(18 Reviews) 18
Rating Snapshot 18 reviews
5 stars
4
4 stars
5
3 stars
3
2 stars
4
1 star
2
72% of reviewers would recommend this product to a friend
(
13 out of
18)
Customer Reviews for Grace Digital Solo Wireless Radio Receiver
Review 1 for Grace Digital Solo Wireless Radio Receiver
Love it
Customer Rating
5.0
Value for Price
5.0
Sound Quality
5.0
Ease of Use
4.0
Features
4.0
What's great about it: You can receive radio stations from all over the world
What's not so great: A little difficult to set, but once you get the hang of it works good
Receiving the streaming audio from a station in another city was important to me. The Grace Digital Solo Wireless Radio Receiver interfaces to my audio system perfectly. The preset buttons are another good feature. I liked the radio so much that I went out and bought 3 more for my house and a friends house.
The control knobs have a lot to be desired. They should be easier to turn.
This product has... Good multi-zone capability
About me... Technically challenged
I would recommend this to a friend!
0points
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Review 2 for Grace Digital Solo Wireless Radio Receiver
Even better than I expected
Customer Rating
5.0
Value for Price
5.0
Sound Quality
5.0
Ease of Use
5.0
Features
5.0
What's great about it: It works as advertised
I wanted to access music and radio from the Internet without going through my computer. This is the answer. The alarm clock function was what worried me, but it works better than my "real" alarm. Sound is great. Music that I can't find anywhere else is in there, and easy to find. Pops right on. 10 presets, 99 stations can go in a folder for easy connection. When it is unplugged, it reconnects to my internet automatically and resets the time when plugged back in. In short, I love it .
About me... Tech savvy
I would recommend this to a friend!
0points
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Review 3 for Grace Digital Solo Wireless Radio Receiver
Decent product if you buy at half price!
Customer Rating
3.0
Value for Price
3.0
Sound Quality
3.0
Ease of Use
3.0
Features
4.0
What's great about it: Access to radio stations all over the world
What's not so great: Volume control and tuning knobs are ridiculously difficult to turn
At $129 this product is way overpriced. Buy the Grace radio instead. But at half price ($65) it was a fair deal to provide radio access when I'm at my home in Mexico. The tuning and volume knobs, however, were a pain in the butt to turn. Why not use normal knurled knobs that stick out a bit more from the radio.
As with most of these internet radios, they sometimes lose stations when the Wifi signal is not extremely strong.
Also, tuning to find a new station is more complex than necessary. Why don't the manufacturers look at what people actually want to do with these internet radios???
About me... practical, Tech savvy
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Review 4 for Grace Digital Solo Wireless Radio Receiver
It will do.
Customer Rating
3.0
Value for Price
3.0
Sound Quality
4.0
Ease of Use
4.0
Features
3.0
What's great about it: Easy to use, even fun to try out new stations.
What's not so great: Not sure if it stays connected to wi fi or if my wi fi is weak.
I needed a stereio for my restuarant, this fits the bill perfectly. HOwever the Grace radio doesn't always stay connected to my internet access point. I can't tell if it's my wifi or whether it's Grace Radio. So not knowing I can't give it a great rating as of yet. Maybe later. But it works pretty good overall.
This product has... Easy to use controls
I would recommend this to a friend!
0points
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Review 5 for Grace Digital Solo Wireless Radio Receiver
You could spend more. . .But why?
Customer Rating
4.0
Value for Price
5.0
Sound Quality
3.0
Ease of Use
3.0
Features
3.0
What's great about it: Good for the price
What's not so great: User-interface could be better
I was looking for a low cost way to add internet radio to my living room stereo system. When I saw the Solo on sale at Best Buy, I decided to give it a try.
The Solo found my WI-FI network right away after being plugged-in. I then hooked up the left and right channel cables to my stereo receiver. The whole setup process took only a few minutes.
The user-interface, while not difficult to use, could be a little more user-friendly. Manually tuning-in an internet radio station by its call letters requires you to go through a menu and individually type-in each letter. But once the radio's push-button presets are entered, selecting a pre-set station is the same as on a car radio. For some users, 10 presets might not be enough, but for me, this number is sufficient.
By signing up on the internet, Pandora and other popular internet radio services can be used with the Solo. Some are free and some cost money. Pandora works just fine for me on the Solo.
The physical size of the Solo is really small. It is shaped differently than a traditional stereo component, but is tiny enough to be tucked beside or between existing components. I placed it on top of one of my loudspeakers.
The Solo allows me to listen to Chicago radio stations that are a little too far away from my Milwaukee area home to be received via an ordinary FM tuner. For me, this is the greatest benefit.
And, I like not having to turn on my computer or internet-connected Blu-Ray player when I just want to listen to music. While it is possible to use these devices to listen to streaming audio, using the Solo is easier - more like using a traditional radio tuner.
There are better internet radio tuners available with more features. But it is difficult to justify spending more money given that the Solo works and sounds as good as it does.
This product has... small size, works well
About me... Audiophile
I would recommend this to a friend!
+1point
1out of 1found this review helpful.
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Review 6 for Grace Digital Solo Wireless Radio Receiver
Nice - waiting for next FW release
Customer Rating
3.0
Posted by: Onno
from IL
on 02/16/2012
Value for Price
3.0
Sound Quality
4.0
Ease of Use
4.0
Features
4.0
What's great about it: small, good audio quality, good wifi reception
What's not so great: Firm Ware is slugish, coming out of stand bye takes a while
Over All it's nice.
It's good for Pandora and stuff like that.
As for home sharing of files - it's a bit more tricky but eventually does the job.
My problem with it is that it will hardly ever come out of stand-bye in a reasonable time. It's sometimes faster to unplug it.
A reset button at the back would have been great!!
It's good for Pandora and stuff like that.
As for home sharing of files - it's a bit more tricky but eventually does the job.
My problem with it is that it will hardly ever come out of stand-bye in a reasonable time. It's sometimes faster to unplug it.
A reset button at the back would have been great!!
One thing that totally puts me off is the sharp destructive noise this unit emits while connected to audio amp and powering up (not from stand-bye)
I would by it again but expect the guys at Grace Digital Audio - to speedup the next Firm Ware version.
This product has... Easy to use controls
About me... practical, Audiophile, Tech savvy
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Review 7 for Grace Digital Solo Wireless Radio Receiver
so far impressed
Customer Rating
4.0
Posted by: familyman0f4
on 12/20/2011
Just bought this for Christmas and did a test run to get it set up on my network. Took a bit to set up since it didn't automatically detect my network. However once on the network it worked well. The android app works awesome for controlling the unit. Haven't tried the remote or setting up many stations but so far I am happy with it. Well sorbet the money for $90
I would recommend this to a friend!
-1point
0out of 1found this review helpful.
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Review 8 for Grace Digital Solo Wireless Radio Receiver
Good Solution
Customer Rating
4.0
Value for Price
4.0
Sound Quality
4.0
Ease of Use
3.0
Features
4.0
What's great about it: Good alternative to wireless transmitters if you want streaming music
What's not so great: Setup might be challenging for those who aren't tech literate; a little pricey, but not bad compared to wireless setups
We were looking for a way to stream Pandora to our dining room without having to run wires or fool with a wireless transmitter system. After doing some research, I took a chance on this unit (some of the reviews were not charitable). You won't need to be tech savvy, but you should know how to access your home network to make this work correctly. We simply hooked it up to a bookshelf stereo system, powered it on, followed the directions for accessing our network and we had it working flawlessly. Audio is very good (just be sure to turn down the volume on the Grace unit itself#. And, we are lucky to have a good network and decent bandwidth for our internet connection, so you might need those to get the most out of this unit. After registering the unit on the Reciva website #Grace's streaming site# we have access to all of our own Pandora channels. Also, exploring some of the different internet stations was fun #Middle Eastern Pop was cool). We also linked up to our music collection on Windows Media Player easily, too. Be sure to have decent bandwidth and a good wireless router and you'll be in luck. So, a great solution for us. I hope it works as well for you. p.s. I will say it's a little pricey, but cheaper than a $200 wirless setup.
About me... Tech savvy
I would recommend this to a friend!
+3points
3out of 3found this review helpful.
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Review 9 for Grace Digital Solo Wireless Radio Receiver
Cheap Quality for a High price tag.
Customer Rating
2.0
Value for Price
1.0
Sound Quality
4.0
Ease of Use
2.0
Features
3.0
What's great about it: Concept
What's not so great: Cheap.
Great idea, but weak radio overall. First take into account this product is at about 90 to 130 bucks.. That being said, the Display is cheap looking and small. Remote is very cheap and small. The display and onscreen navigation was archaic. The app for android in my opinion was the best way to control the unit, but even the app had a couple hang ups, not many. I could never get it to stream from my PC, on setup it always found my PC and my pogoplug but did some weird scanning thing and gave me an error every time it connected to a device. The remote was god awful, and cheap. I loved the access to the world wide Internet radio. I thought Pandora sounded really good through it better than my Evo did, i tested that one... I like how the android app could control all 3 functions, int radio, media streaming, pandora. Overall this thing is too expensive for what it is. It is worth 50 bucks, if I could get the audio streaming to work 60 bucks. If Grace improves the display, the remote, polishes the app up. This thing would be sweet! I returned mine but I do miss it. I miss the world stations, and not having to connect my dang phone every time for Pandora.
I would recommend this to a friend!
-5points
0out of 5found this review helpful.
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Review 10 for Grace Digital Solo Wireless Radio Receiver
Never got it to work....
Customer Rating
1.0
Value for Price
1.0
Sound Quality
1.0
Ease of Use
1.0
Features
1.0
What's great about it: Nothing
What's not so great: Does not work. Could not register on website.
Looks cool and sounds like a great idea, but we could never get it to work. Connected to our network OK, but we could never register successfully on their website. After two days trying, gave up and took it back. If we could rate it ZERO we would.
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
-4points
2out of 8found this review helpful.
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Review 11 for Grace Digital Solo Wireless Radio Receiver
Great internet radio when used with iPhone App
Customer Rating
4.0
Value for Price
5.0
Sound Quality
5.0
Ease of Use
3.0
Features
4.0
What's great about it: Price, iPhone App, ease of setup, full access to internet radio
What's not so great: Radio interface and controls awkward, no reboot button.
This radio does everything it says it does with great sound quality. The interface is old fashioned and the on radio controls akward. The remote is easier to use, but the best way to control this radio is with the iPhone App. Not sure I would have bought it (own two actually) if it were not for the iPhone App. Network setup is a breeze. Ocassionally looses network connection, but a quick reboot fixes that. A huge enhancement would be a reboot button on the radio, as you have to unplug it and plug it back in to reboot it. Use both radios to stream music from computer, listen to Pandora (you can thumbs up and down easily with the App, not as easy with the remote), and internet stations. 10 internet stations can be programmed into the radio. Overall for the money when used with the free iPhone App, these radios are an exceptional way to stream your computer music and access internet radio.
I would recommend this to a friend!
+2points
2out of 2found this review helpful.
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Review 12 for Grace Digital Solo Wireless Radio Receiver
Worse Piece of garbage ever
Customer Rating
1.0
Posted by: Zugzug44
from Zugzugville
on 04/15/2011
What's great about it: Throwing it out the window
What's not so great: Trying to listen to it
This doesnt work at all Piece of S....t. I bought it to listen to music and all it does is buffer and lose the connection to my router ,....ALWAYS
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
-11points
1out of 13found this review helpful.
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Review 13 for Grace Digital Solo Wireless Radio Receiver
Grace GDI-IRA500 starting...
Customer Rating
2.0
Posted by: whatever1
on 01/13/2011
bought two from Best Buy. First one I returned as just says starting..., second one did the same thing. Just shows "starting..." and does nothing else. Grace support told me the fix is this: open up back (four screws) re-seat what looks like an antenna/receiver or thumb drive that is plugged into the usb port, I re-seated and put a rubber bumper under it to hold it in place and keep it parallel to the board behind it. works!. may also be a reason why signal or connection drops in and out for some people. other than that I was rather ticked best buy charged me 129 for then two days later when went to return first one, was onsale for 89. thats rather wrong to drop the price that much on someone in just two days but, I don't care and glad the first one didn't work as I saved quite abit on the second one. For the most part has nice features, sounds good, is alittle cheaply built thats for sure but what can one expect from something that small. anyways, thats my three cents.
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
-7points
2out of 11found this review helpful.
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Review 14 for Grace Digital Solo Wireless Radio Receiver
Little more than a dim digital clock
Customer Rating
2.0
Posted by: Grubstache
from Organ
on 01/12/2011
Value for Price
2.0
Sound Quality
3.0
Ease of Use
1.0
Features
1.0
What's great about it: Shows accurate time, nice selection of stations around the world.
What's not so great: Does not work as advertised, if at all.
I also purchased this radio for the sole intention of streaming .flac files from my audio collection. While it streams audio okay some of the time, the radio had difficulty maintaining a network connection, meaning it had little functionality beyond displaying the time. I have several network devices that work flawlessly all the time, so I pin the blame on Grace - even moving the radio slightly seems to lose the connection, and my router is less than a foot away. I wouldn't bother with this device unless you use mp3s exclusively and have nothing else on your network, i.e. don't use your computer when you listen to the radio.
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
+1point
4out of 7found this review helpful.
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Review 15 for Grace Digital Solo Wireless Radio Receiver
works as advertised...sort of.
Customer Rating
2.0
Value for Price
2.0
Sound Quality
4.0
Ease of Use
1.0
Features
1.0
What's great about it: sounds good, small footprint
What's not so great: doesn't stream anything but MP3s without interruption
I purchased this with the sole intent of streaming FLAC files from my PC to my stereo. It buffers. A lot. You can't listen to an entire uncompressed CD-quality FLAC file without the song cutting out and buffering several times. The internet radio stuff works fine but that's not why I got it. I will be taking this back and getting something that actually works, like an Airport Express or Squeezebox Radio.
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
0points
4out of 8found this review helpful.
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Review 16 for Grace Digital Solo Wireless Radio Receiver
Setup is slow, but it works GREAT!
Customer Rating
4.0
Value for Price
5.0
Sound Quality
5.0
Ease of Use
3.0
Features
4.0
What's great about it: Tons of music options
What's not so great: the old school user interface.
The controls and User Interface are a bit clumsy, but it wasn't very hard to setup. I was able to go online and setup my Pandora account to work with the device, and BANG, I was jamming out in no time. We use ours for in store music. Works really well.
I would recommend this to a friend!
+4points
5out of 6found this review helpful.
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Review 17 for Grace Digital Solo Wireless Radio Receiver
Perfect!
Customer Rating
5.0
Value for Price
5.0
Sound Quality
5.0
Ease of Use
4.0
Features
5.0
What's great about it: Everything
What's not so great: The "old-fashioned" menus and screen display
Bought the Solo this week after trying different streaming devices from my PC, including the Apple Airport Express and the Creative XMod X-Fi. The other devices were limited in functionality and interference (the X-Fi). The Solo met my needs perfectly and to date I have not been disappointed. I have used it to listen to Sirius, Pandora, internet radio stations (from my home town) and podcasts. Sound quality is dependent on the source but in general it's very good. I've had the odd "Buffering" issue but that's usually resolved by just re-selecting the station (from a preset, for example). Highly recommended
I would recommend this to a friend!
+5points
5out of 5found this review helpful.
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Review 18 for Grace Digital Solo Wireless Radio Receiver
Grace Digital Internet Radio With Remote 5 Stars!
Customer Rating
5.0
Value for Price
5.0
Sound Quality
5.0
Ease of Use
5.0
Features
5.0
What's great about it: Quality, Features, Portability
What's not so great: No FM/AM Built in tuner.
More radio stations than you will have time to listen to in your entire life! listen to radio stations from ANY country in the world in the best available quality available, stream audio from your PC over your home network, listen to Pandora, Sirius and other radio services with superb quality, definitely a nice buy!
The only downside (Not a big deal taking into account that this is a INTERNET RADIO) is that it does not have an FM or AM tuner, so even though you CAN listen to your locals, because it automatically locates the area you live and categorizes your area stations, your local stations must broadcast and have internet streams in order for you to be able to listen to them on this radio, but who buys a radio like this to listen to local stations ah?
I would recommend this to a friend!
+10points
12out of 14found this review helpful.
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