Known more for crafting well-designed, well-engineered products more than being on the cutting edge of technology, it’s no surprise that Tivoli has been hesitant to join the streaming audio party. But the company just announced the availability of the Pal BT and Model One BT radios, which both come equipped with Bluetooth streaming capabilities.
You can pair Bluetooth 2.1 audio device with the radio and stream directly. Or if you have a less advanced product (such as an A/V receiver), you can connect it to Tivoli’s BluCon dongle, which will handle the streaming burden). That said, little else has changed in the core design of either device; the Pal BT is still a portable radio with a 2.5-inch speaker that runs off battery power, while the Model One has a 3-inch speaker stuffed in a beautiful, wood-encased table top unit. They still pick up AM/FM frequencies, offer auxiliary inputs, and spit sound out of a single mono speaker. And this is a good thing, because they’re both designs that have stood the test of time.
The PAL BT, Model On BT and BluCon are all expected to hit stores later this year for $US300, $US260 and $US200, respectively. [Tivoli, 2, 3]