Sangean WFT-1 Internet Radio Component Tuner

The Sanjean has been an excellent addition to my stereo system. Sure there are some quirks like not being able to add stations to favorites on the unit itself - the user must find the station on the web using a browser to add the desired stations which then appear on the unit. The interface is also clunky and un-intuitive in my opinion. The sound is good, higher end hi-fi, but not true audiofile grade. The output a bit ‘over pumped’, like a vintage tube radio, but this is actually endearing. Where the Sanjean excels is the experience. With a twist of the dial I am in Fiji at a luau, wait now I am in an underground club in Budapest, wait now I am at a symphony hall in Vienna, then I am on the beach in Rio. The access to true international content is fantastic. Sure you could use a computer with good sound card to access web radio, but you just don’t. Plus if you did, try scrolling between stations...My Sanjean has been jamming for a year now and I have had zero problems. My unit is rock solid and stable. The built in buffering eliminates the interrupted listening experience such as you get on phone and computer apps.Strong recommendation here. If my unit ever does fail I plan to replace it forthwith.

Like others have said, User Interface is clunky and the manual is skimpy. However if like me you're just interested in listening to a few stations (in my case, I'm in LA and I wanted to get BBC stations), it's perfect once you've setup the presets. Without reading the manual, and with a wired internet connection, I was able to get my stations within 10 minutes of opening the box. Searching for additional stations not listed in their list is not elegant through the UI, but found what I wanted (stations in Melbourne, Australia, and independent stations in the UK). My only gripe with the internet radio part, is that with so many stations out there, it amazes me it only has 10 presets. With the same keys on the remote, they could have made it 99.This unit can do lots of other things beside internet radio: playing music files from network drives, playing podcasts and FM radio.Playing music from network drives and playing podcasts worked fine, although it's clunky with such a limited display and I will never use it for this.The FM radio seems to be a total afterthought - Sangean FM radios are usually pretty decent, but they've stuck a telescopic FM antenna on the back, and no chance of easily plugging in a decent external antenna which limits its quality.

This radio stopped responding on the network after about 3 months of service. I had to pay to ship it to CA from PA and include a check for $8 for warranty repair. After about 4 weeks they sent back a different unit and when I tried to configure it, the front panel controls would not work. I was able to configure it using the remote control so I decided to keep it. The unit worked fine until about 2 weeks ago (about 6 weeks after the warranty expired). It acts like it is connecting and streaming but there is no audio output. I replaced it with a Grace Digital GDI-IRBM20 to make sure that my amplifier was working and now I have audio. Sangean will fix the radio if I pay again to ship it back plus a check for $135. The Grace radio was only $185 so I will be throwing away the Sangean and buying another Grace radio. One of the great things about the Grace radio is that it has a built in speaker which helps when troubleshooting.

The internet radio functions work fine. But the ability to access files from Microsoft's 'Windows Home Server' just isn't there. It can see .WAV files, but won't play them. It doesn't even see .WMA files on the server. The supplied documentation is a joke. After several conversations with the manufacturer's technical support staff, they reported they couldn't figure out how to make this advertised function work either. I requested an RMA from Amazon and they e-mailed me a return label. When they received the unit they refunded my $$. I just ordered a Logitech Duet (from Amazon), and hopefully it will perform as advertised. Great customer support from Amazon.com!

I must concur with the consensus of reviews here: this unit's interface is clunky and its instruction manual is beyond inadequate, BUT...this product is by itself right now in occupying its niche as a component tuner, and if you can get by its shortcomings, it works.Two caveats: 1) the unit never quite powers down. The "Power" button just puts the unit in standby with the display still active. I noticed this morning after a night of this standby condition that the cabinet was warm. I take from this that I should believe the manual when it cautions to unplug the unit when it's not going to be used for a while. 2) since this unit connects to an internet wifi portal web site to obtain its station lists, when that portal is down for maintenance or whatever you're out of luck.Overall, I applaud Sangean for its innovation, and I suppose for a first generation unit this is a good product. Be prepared to fiddle with it.

I used to have DMX Music Direct Broadcast Satellite service for my main music source. When their yearly invoice exceeded the cost of the Sangean WFT-1, I took the plunge and switched. I have now had it for a month and I am glad I ordered it. The amount of music that is available on the internet does not make me miss my subscription service at all.Pros:1) The Web-based User interface makes it easy to program the WFT-1 with stations of choice.2) A quality piece of equipment - excellent CD quality audio.Cons:1) Subscription streams (ie: Sky.FM 256k) can not be programmed. The free 128k stream is available though.2) No way to read the Song/Artist info of what you're listening to.Am I happy with the WFT-1? YESWould I recommend it? Yes!After a lot of research, I am glad I chose this unit!