These days, virtually every new gadget that comes to market strives to be the latest and greatest "all-in-one" digital performer (cell phone/camera/music player/garage door opener. It's refreshing to know that there is still a company that continues to produce stand-alone products that are built with quality -- not quantity -- in mind. Boston Acoustics has taken its two decades of high-performance engineering and created an AM-FM clock radio that has few rivals. The Boston Acoustics Receptor Clock Radio is an AM/FM radio with alarm clock features that's been designed to deliver sound comparable to the finest radios ever made.

The Boston Acoustics Recepter Radio delivers high-fidelity AM/FM radio for home or office use. View details.

The Receptor offers 20 presets for your favorite AM/FM stations. View larger.

Boston Acoustic's stylish radio is small in size, but big on sound.

The Heart of the Receptor: BassTrac Technology
At the heart of the Receptor is Boston Acoustic's BassTrac technology, a proprietary Boston-designed circuit that tracks low frequencies and prevents audible amplifier distortion. Unlike conventional "limiters," BassTrac doesn't merely chop off the tops of the distortion-inducing signal peaks. Instead, it actually preserves the waveform's shape so the fidelity of the signal is maintained, while preventing distortion.

For those of us who can't explain the difference between AM and FM to a room full of first graders, this basically means that the Receptor is designed to give you all the bass without any of the distortion. The result is a full, pleasing broadcast at any volume for any type of music. In other words, the Receptor will give you a rich and smooth sound, whether you're cooking to fusion jazz or waking up to the traffic report.

Ideal for either home or office use, the Receptor features a high-sensitivity digital tuner that "locks in" distant AM and FM stations that other radios can't find. With its purpose-built Boston speaker driver, the radio is capable of receiving a wide range of frequencies and has a unique ability to pick up even the weakest of signals. With its precise digital tuning, stations are cleanly separated for maximum clarity.

An Ideal Bedside Companion
The Receptor weighs in at about four pounds and measures 7.625 x 4.25 x 6.125 inches (WxHxD) -- the ideal size for a bedside (or kitchen) table. The radio includes 20 presets for 20 stations, and the dual independent alarm clocks can be set to music, buzzer or both. Like any good clock radio, the Receptor includes a built-in snooze and sleep functions. And a battery back-up stores both the presets and the alarm settings during power outages, giving you the peace of mind that you'll never have to worry about getting to work on time.

What's so refreshing about the Receptor is that there is nothing ordinary about its functionality or design. Small enough to fit anywhere in the house, it's nevertheless powerful enough to create an exceptional presence in any room. And while it's technology is more advanced and complex than you'll find in most any other table-top radio, its controls are simple and straightforward. A wonderfully easy-to-read LCD display that indicates time, station, and alarms makes operation a breeze, and two large old-fashioned knobs (volume and tuning) are as easy to use as it gets without compromising on control.