Ocean Digital WR-50CD Internet Radio Tuner Wi-Fi/FM Bluetooth Receiver Stereo Outputs on Analogue and Digital Out to Connect Hi-Fi System, Micro SD, CD Player 2.4" Color Display

This unit works very well and is easy to use. Station are loud and clear with many choices of music.No problems after a year of use.

I have had this for 2 hours and it is set-up, networked in, favorite channels are found and saved. CD is tested. Sounds great! Works great! Easy! Just search for your favorite stations by call letters and select others from lists by genre or location... Easy Peasy.

CINEMIX INTERNET radio on 16 hours/day. Audio connected to home system. Works great.

The first two WR50CD units that I received were defective. The first unit had a defective remote receiving module, and the second unit had a defective CD player. Amazon’s excellent return policy had me covered on both. Having owned two Ocean Digital WR10 units (essentially a WR50 minus the CD player and card reader) for many years with no problems, I was surprised with these issues. I reluctantly ordered a third WR50CD, and I’m very glad that I did. I will focus on reviewing this product as an audio component.Internet Stream Sound Quality:I do not know what DAC chip Ocean Digital is incorporating into the WR50CD, but it sounds very good. To test its streaming sound quality, I connected the WR50CD to the analog AUX input #1 of an older high quality audio amplifier (specifically a vintage Onkyo TX4500 MkII connected to equally vintage Cizek Model 1 speakers). I then connected a smart phone to AUX input #2, and an Amazon Dot to AUX input #3. I then “A-B” tested the sound quality of all three devices by simultaneously playing the same 256kbps aac internet radio stream on all three devices at the same volume levels. The sound of the WR50CD audio stream is clearly superior with added presence, more transparent highs and tighter bass than the same streams from the connected smart phone and Amazon Dot.CD Player Sound Quality:I next tested the WR50CD CD player by removing the smart phone and Dot from the amplifier’s #2 and #3 AUX input, and connecting two single play CD players (specifically a Yamaha CDS-300 unit which uses a highly regarded Burr Brown DAC, and an older discontinued Sony CDP-397 unit which uses an in-house Sony DAC chip). I then “A-B”” tested sound quality by simultaneously playing identical CDs in the three units at the same approximate volume. Although the Yamaha unit sounds the best with more detail, the difference is slight. Given that the Yamaha CD player retails for more than twice the price of the WR50CD, this may be a somewhat unfair comparison test. But even so, the WR50CD held its own for overall sound quality.Aggregator Aggravation Issues Minimized:The WR50CD minimizes the “aggregator aggravation” issues that have plagued (and often rendered useless) other internet radio streamers in recent years. The unit uses “Skytune” as its station aggregator which is very robust by itself. But if the user wishes to bypass Skytune altogether, the user can “connect to” the unit’s memory (via IP address) using a phone or pc based web browser, and inputting the actual url stream address into one of the unit’s 99 stations presets. With this feature, the Ocean Digital unit should avoid being “bricked” if the underlying station aggregator ceases operation at a future date (as several have in the recent past)… as it is NOT wholly dependent on the aggregator to access an audio stream. There are many unhappy owners of internet radio streaming devices lacking this feature who ended up owning completely dead radios when the underlying station aggregator ceased operations and/or changed to a paid subscription service. I have examined competing (and more expensive) streamers from many well recognized brand name consumer audio manufacturers and have found that most do NOT offer the ability to “enter your own” custom stream. I very much appreciate this feature and the ability to depend on myself rather than a third party aggregator to ensure than I can continue enjoying my chosen audio streams into the future.Aesthetics:There are many internet radios with RCA stereo outputs, but most incorporate a speaker, stand high, and look like a shoebox. The WR50CD’s satin black face with silver trim and standard 17 inch wide by less than 3 inch tall dimensions match perfectly with older stereo audio components. It simply “looks like an audio component” when sitting on my shelf next to my other audio gear.Summary:IMHO, the unit’s audio quality, flexibility, aesthetics, and some very welcome “obsolescence safeguards” make the WR50CD a great way to add streaming ability to a vintage audio system. I’m sure that there are many $1000 streamers that would sound better on ultra high resolution source material, but at this price, I feel the WR50CD offers really good value. The only negatives that I have identified are the possible quality control deficiencies as it took me “three tries” to finally obtain a properly functioning unit. While frustrating, the good news here is that Amazon’s outstanding return privileges tend to completely offset that negative. I’m very happy with this unit.

Unit rejects occasional CD and halts on some tracks with others. I was prepared to tolerate this since it was only about 10%. But when some favorites behaved this way, I decided to request a repair (6 months after purchase). My first contact led to a reply that company was on holiday and would get back to me. Two months later they hadn't. I contacted them again and was told to send the unit to a West Virgina address. (The company is in Hong Kong; I'm in the US). I requested an RMA number or a contact name; none was provided after several request over a few days. I then said I would just send it to the WV address with instructions and hope for the best. The next day I received an email that a shipping label would be provided... Most vendors do this within minutes, but a day later it hasn't arrived. It's hard for me to tell whether "Cecilia" who has been writing to me is a person or a chatbot.

This unit works as well as I could ask for. Connection to WIFI has been reliable and it's easy to add and access favorite web radio stations. The CD player works, although I don't play a lot of CDs anymore, so I haven't used it much.

Cheaply made and clunky to operate. Screen is tiny. Up and running first try; 6 months later it will not connect to my wi-fi. Customer service for this product is non-existent. Got a Grace Digital "Link" to replace it, which works just fine.

So far I have tried one station out of stations. It's best to maneuver using a PC or cell phone. Works well on Android.The menu shows the artist and song title I have heard songs I never heard more. I just downloaded those favorites from another site.