Grace Digital Mondo Elite Duo Smart Internet Radio, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, 7-Day Alarm – Microphone Free (Black Ash)

So, first the bad:From 2016 until 2022, I was the happy owner of an earlier incarnation of Grace's Internet Radio. It had rich sound and the price, comparable to what it is now, was justifiable because it was so reliable -- it could play for hours on end and it was good-looking and substantially made. And then, the company inexplicably stopped allowing models older than the more recent 2022 (?) models connect to the internet, let alone play music, effectively bricking them. (In fact, this became so notorious that they have a special link on their site that connects you to customer support for a coupon for a new radio. At the time of the new radio's purchase, a few weeks ago, this discount only equalled the total price of the radio on Amazon, so I purchased the latest radio on Amazon.) I'm making a point of mentioning this because Grace is a messy company that puts out nice, rather high-quality products and then undercuts these products with finicky, poor business decisions, destroying their reputation for supposed reliability. (Also, their customer service is no longer accessible and thoughtful. It's pretty bot-y, which is disappointing for a small business.) All of this is really a warning that the company could fold in the future and brick this model as well.So, why did I invest in the current product, the Grace Digital Mondo Elite... ? Because of the quality of their original product for the years they allowed it to function. And because, for the $200 - $300 price range, Grace is really the only place to go for a decent internet radio (unless you want something generic and ultimately crappy). So, I gave them a second chance and I am (mostly) really happy with the Mondo Elite.The good:While not astounding, the sound is warm and rich, probably enhanced by the wooden build of the radio, which is another notch in Grace's belt -- their builds are always really solid. It more than serves my purpose of adding music from Sirius XM to my bedroom without having to reply on my phone to stream. The connectivity is strong (once you fumble your way through one of the clunkiest WiFi / station set-ups ever). And there are some nice bells and whistles: they've added Bluetooth to this model, which was missing before, and though I don't use it, it's nice to know it's an option. There's a pretty good remote with this one. And they've also added a surprisingly robust EQ option that is as impressive as it is inaccessible, unless you really understand frequencies and sound physics (I'm not being sarcastic, it's pretty cool...just a little unapproachable -- and there are also a few preset EQs that are fine alternatives). Really, it's possible to stream almost anything through this radio, which is why I ultimately have given it 5 stars, even though I still hold a serious grudge against Grace.

A good-sounding internet radio! It's great to draw in virtually any radio station or provider in the nation. I ❤︎ radio, Spotify, all of them. Old-time radio, westerns, comedy, crime, they all come to life for you. Like podcasts? Get the ones you love. Clear screen, good-looking, great reception, easy-to-use (once you read the manual). You will love this radio!

The media could not be loaded. This radio looks and feels like quality. It has a good, solid weight to it. The sound is great. It's not excellent, but it's a very nice, rich sound when in your kitchen or bedroom. I went into the sound settings and did a custom option, putting each option on 20, and that sounded much better. I have it on a shelf in my kitchen for listening to Christmas music while I bake this year. I agree that the setup was pretty much a pain, and I'm pretty good at this stuff. However, it was worth it. It came with an offer for 3 months free of serious XM, with a website to go to. When I entered the website, my phone went crazy with some scam or virus, so I turned off my phone right away and after that, my phone was fine. I logged into serious XM on my own, and found another deal for new subscribers, which was actually better. All in all, I really love this radio, which gets over 100,000 stations and offers 100 presets. It is definitely a little learning curve, but worth it once it's set up.

My main reasons for choosing this model were1) the media player which plays FLAC files and handles M3U playlists.2) Customizable EQAfter having used this for a while, I’ve updated my rating to 4 stars and have had a change of heart regarding performance.The radio has some nice features, like the various included music services and 100 presets, with more available if you sign up on line.Most internet stations are 128kbps MP3, which are not great, but that is not a fault of the radio. There are a fair number of stations at higher quality, and quite a few with AAC compression.As stated previously, treble is a bit lacking, and I have customized the EQ settings to maximize the high frequencies. There is a good amount of thump on the bass end, and the radio gets plenty loud for my bedroom.The main attraction for me was the media player. I was initially disappointed in that it would not handle my playlists properly. But I found a workaround using Media Monkey on my PC to copy the files from each of my playlists, and automatically rename them into seperate folders with sequential numbers and the track name, so they will play in the same order as the playlists. However, I discovered that there is a maximum of 999 files per folder recognized. I had to split the folders with more than 999 files. But that works, and the FLAC files play fine. I’ve got about 18,000 hi res FLAC files on a Micro SD card in a USB adapter.There are buttons on the radio itself, and a set of 5 variable buttons that change functions based on the mode of operation. Some operations are clunky or non existent using the radio buttons, like no random play in media player. This was one of the drawbacks that initially bothered me.It wasn’t until I downloaded the app that using the radio became much more user friendly. You see everything in the app, and can scroll much quicker through presets, or media folders. You can even shuffle songs and repeat songs in a folder.There are preset EQ settings and a 6 band customizable EQ setting.The radio settings can also be made much easier and quicker through the app. A new version of the app was released a few months back.At this point, I am now satisfied with this device. But the one issue I have is with the wireless charging port. It doesn’t consistently charge properly. I have to fiddle with placing my iPhone 13 Max on the charger to get it charge. But, throughout the night I keep hearing the “connect” sound that is played when you plug the phone in to be charged. It keeps connecting and disconnecting. It doesn’t really charge any higher when leaving it on the charging port all night. I just don’t use it to charge my iPhone.

The radio has an excellent, rich sound and registered on the wifi network quickly and efficiently. Had to contact Grace Digital customer service and Sirius XM customer service to get that service working - password issue with Sirius XM. Easy to use and has the feel of a real quality product.