Mondo Elite Classic Smart Internet Radio Bluetooth Wi-FI Qi-Wireless Fast Charger 7-Day Alarm – Microphone-Free (Walnut)

Easy set up . Good sound. Happy with the internet radio. Still learning the functions

I have owned Grace Internet radios for years (there isn't much competition in this market I guess). I just set it up this morning, and as per typical Grace radio fashion, set up is a piece of cake - very, very easy and straightforward. Make sure to have your wifi modem's password handy, as you need to enter it during set up (this part is the most involved step, and this only takes 1 minute at the most - very simple). Grace does have some nice touches that their limited competition does not feature, such as a USB port for flash drives and external hard drives (it doesn't work if you try to use more a 5 TB external drive), and RCA stereo lines both in and out. This is really nice for integrating into a classic stereo receiver's AUX inputs/outputs, though it works fine as a stand-alone unit - the built-in speaker (while not in stereo) is rich in depth and full of bass. The included remote control is also a nice little bonus. Also, they have removed the "rabbit-ears" style wifi antennas and replaced them with a more powerful internal one that seems to work much better (considering my radio is almost 50 feet from the modem, and is separated by two interior walls). For those who cannot live without their i-phone/android, it has an induction charging pad on top of the radio. I do not know how that works, as I have an old-school flip phone. My internet usage is strictly via this unit, my Roku TV and my laptop. The only time I use my phone is to make or receive phone calls - nothing more, nothing less. The radio is very well built - very substantial (it takes 2 hands to lift and move it safely; it's rather heavy, several pounds, which is not a bad thing, I'm just mentioning it in passing). Another kind of positive thing is that the cost of these big units seems to have gone down. When I bought my previous Mondo Elite Classic, I paid around $299 for it. This once (of course I bought it on sale) was $199; a significant difference in price I would say. Good value for the money. My only gripe that I have had in the past with Grace products is that there products seem to have a planned obsolescence, especially after a couple of years of firmware updates. There have been some snags with some of the updates in the past. I do not know if they have improved their software updates or not, but if you want a table-top internet radio receiver, then it's a possibly you may just have to live with. I love the whole concept behind Internet radio. As a fan of world music - Asian, Middle Eastern (especially the music of India) and Mexican/South American music, as well as news and talk from other exotic places that I will probably never get to visit in person, it just such a cool thing. I live in Missouri, and I love to listen to English Premier League soccer radio. And once you own the receiver, and keep up the payments on your internet service, most all of this really cool stuff is free!! Now, if you want to use any of the premium services (SiriusXM, Spotify, Pandora, etc.), then of course you have to pay for those. If you can afford the price of the receiver, and your curiosity is aroused, then give it a try. It is an amazing world of listening - it is waiting for you to listen, all you have to do is tune in!

This is my fourth Grace radio, starting many years ago with their first model. This one has much to recommend it over the predecessors. 1. It is heaver. This is important for me as the radio is on my bedside table. With all the previous radios if I would lean over from the bed to press a preset or the power button, often the whole radio would slide on the table and make it necessary I use a hand to hold the radio steady. This may seem to be a minor point but it is important on the basis of daily use and convenience. 2. It is more attractive with the wood appearance instead of plastic. Also the buttons are now easier to read because of the contrast of black on light tan instead of the prior gray on black. These improvements make the radio much more functional and easy to use. 3. The Mondo Elite models now integrate Pandora, as the earliest models did. The previous model, the Mondo+, allows casting Pandora to the radio from a smartphone or other source but the absence of an integrated Pandora is not user-friendly. Grace indicated it was a major effort to add Pandora to the Mondo Elite due to complex coding. I asked tech support if they were going to add Pandora to the Mondo+ models but they did not reply to this question. 4. The sound quality is rich but has too much bass for my 69-year-old ears. I adjusted the sound with the equalizer which helped some. Still I prefer the sound of the plastic models. Again, this is probably due to hearing loss or changes that occur when one ages. 5. The interface is very much like previous Grace radios, especially the Mondo+. Grace has added functionality in many small ways. I especially like how easy it is now to quickly adjust the sleep time with the large button on top. 6. The wireless charger is a bonus. It was not a determining factor in my decision to purchase the radio but since it is present I do use it. 7. I like the opportunity to set separate alarms for each day of the week, plus weekend and weekdays. Previously one could just set them for weekends and weekdays. One option that I use is to set overlapping alarms. If I want to get up at 7:00am to my local NPR station, say, I set an alarm for 6:50 for a new age channel at soft volume. I also set an alarm at 7:00 at normal volume. Then I awake gently. All in all, this is the best Grace radio I have owned.

This is my fouth Grace Digital radio. An absolutely amazing product. With the Bluetooth you can stream stations directly from your phone. You can play mp3 files from the flash drive in the back. Even if you want to add a missing station, you can do it through their website. If you know how to find the streaming url of a station, you can create the missing station yourself. You can even add your preferred picture to go with the station' s name. The new equalizer is a bit better than the previous version. It is getting very difficult to buy Grace Digital radios outside of the US. I want to buy the Alto but from their website you cannot choose an address outside the US and it is not available to buy anywhere else. Pity. Oh well, we have to make do with what is out there.

I can finally sit back, tune in, and enjoy listening to my favorite radio station on iheart 680 am WRKO @ 6am with my Morning Coffee! Radio works crystal clear, and it is sharp! The set up is so easy and offers lots of preset stations or you have the option to manually tune in. You can also select podcasts! The remote control is also user friendly. I did a lot of research before purchasing and thus far I feel I made the right selection! The cabinetry and size fits great in my home! If you are in the market for a nice looking and sounding radio for a fair price this is the one! I highly recommend!