Grace Digital GDI-IRDT200 Hi-Fi Internet Radio Tuner

If anyone cares I am a ham radio operator (50 years) and a former IT instructor. I do know my way around electronics and computers. My listening is mostly classical with some folk, vintage rock, jazz, and chorale thrown in at times.I was in the process of updating my audio system having had 2 devices fail (a hybrid CDP and a integrated hybrid amp). I secured a Rega DAC (digital analog converter) and mated it to a vintage Luxman R-1050 I had been using as a stand alone tuner. I needed access to internet radio broadcasts which I had been using my computer to do. There were only two choices I could find, and the Grace easily out-speced the other. However not knowing the Grace brand I was unsure about it. I picked up a refurbished one (more later on this) for about $100 delivered on Amazon directly from Grace. The unit looked brand new. Hookup was very easy. I connected the digital output to the DAC via a standard digital cable and then connected the DAC to the receiver using upgraded interconnects. I also connected the analog output to the receiver to see if there was a difference in presentation. I connected my Sennheiser HD 600 headphones to the headphone jack on the Grace unit and also to the jack on the receiver to evaluate the difference in performance. It required about an hour or so to set things up, partly because I had to decipher the owner's manual.The Good: This radio (I'll call it a tuner) is outstanding. Once it was properly connected and programmed, it performed beyond my expectations. The sound quality is very good for an internet sourced music component. There is a difference in presentation between the digital and direct analog outputs. The digital is clearer and emphasizes the treble end of the spectrum from both the internal DAC and my external DAC. Some would call this "bright." But it is not overly so. The analog seems more subdued with less detail but with that nice analog "warm" sound (more bass emphasis). I prefer the bright so I use the connection to the DAC. Stations sync with my lite DSL line (8 mbps) within 10 seconds (usually a lot less). The tuner's DAC is remarkable. While not as good as the Rega it was 90% of the way there. I highly recommend that users obtain a quality set of headphones and plug them in. Great sound. The headphone volume is adjustable and more than adequate unless you are a rocker. A note about the sound. You have to remember that the broadcasts are typically using compressed (mp3) sourced material and as such some fidelity is lost. Also stations stream at different bandwidths. This unit is not for critical listening but is more for enjoying the pleasure of music. The unit can be controlled with the remote or with panel buttons. Nice if you lose the remote.-The Bad: This unit has only 10 presets. That IMO is a major oversight in this world of 30,000+ internet stations. There is a firmware fix (stacking) used by other electronics firms using this type of menu system, but Grace has failed to implement it. However, the tuner "remembers" the last station played and it is accessed when the unit is reactivated. The menu system as others have noted is arcane, but not unusual. It is poorly organized (for example Pandora is not located in the same submenu as other internet services such as I heart) and understanding it will take time. Once the logic (?) is figured out, it is easy to navigate. The information is sort of in the manual (along with some glaring and misleading errors), but the best way to learn is to just start at the top menus and work your way through each submenu to see what is there. I contacted tech support on other issues and was impressed with their timeliness, patience, and apparent knowledge. Realize the reps are not native English speakers so have patience also. Be warned that the height listed in the specs (1.9 inches) is incorrect. The unit is 2.75 inches high. This caused my having to change the planned location of the unit. The search feature on the menu sometimes misses stations especially if the exact information is not entered (like KING for CLASSIC KING). However there are subcategories (like College and NPR stations) that can quickly reduce the need to scroll through thousands of stations. The tuner is powered with a wall wart which I and others consider to be a poor design for this type of audio equipment.The Truly Ugly: The manual. Several errors and misstated information. No, the unit does not go to network scan on initial start-up. You'll need to go to a menu item to do that, and the prompt is buried in a submenu. What you need is there, but you'll need to decipher it. Once you get the unit going you'll see the truth, but that is not what a manual should do. There is hope. Read the reviews here as many of the issues are addressed or call tech support. My experience was excellent with them unlike that of some others.A few more notes: There is an old expression in the computer world that is applicable to this device. When all else fails reboot. I have found that well over 90% of the connection problems I have encountered (usually lock-ups) were overcome by simply throwing the off and on switch on the rear and restarting the tuner. If you can wait, buy a refurbished unit. There is a 30 day return and seriously most electronics fail within 30 days of activation if they are going to fail. Even if if there is no warranty, the charge is a set fee of $32.50 to repair which includes return shipping in the USA. Grace figured out that this is a throw away electronics society as it is usually cheaper to buy a new one rather than have it fixed. Get a set of good, burned in interconnects (they do make a difference) if you connect to an outboard amplifier. You can usually check out a set a local stereo shop to audition or get them (not burned-in) from an online store with a no questions asked return policy.At $100 this tuner is a bargain. Even at retail it is still a buy. I highly recommend it as long as you have patience and are willing to explore and learn by doing. Again get a set of good headphones (over $100) for listening nirvana. Happy listening.

I have a grace audio "solo" which I was trying to upgrade. The Grace Tuner Pro has ( and the solo does not have):- wired internet (wireless only)- FM Tuner- optical out- fixed pre-outputs- headphone jack- some other stuffBut the "Tuner Pro" was NOT an upgrade for me because the analog pre outputs sound worse than the solo's outputs.Also, the solo's outputs are variable which is nice because I can adjust the volume from my iPhone. To do that with the Tuner Pro, I would have to plug into the headphone jack on the front panel and run a line to the back of my receiver. Ugly.To be fair, I didn't listen to the headphone outputs, I only heard the fixed pre-outputs and they sound muffled in general and especially in comparison with the Solo. Another reviewer said the Tuner Pro sounded "veiled", I agree. Like a sheet or thin blanket is over the speakers.I wish I had an outboard DAC so I could hear the great sound others are talking about, but even then I would not have the ability to control the volume with my iPhone for my outside speakers.So although I really hoped the turner pro would have the same sound as the solo and I could upgrade to get all those features, The sound is essential, without comparable or better sound, features mean nothing.BTW, the solo has an EQ too and a decent 5 line display.The Tuner Pro has a really crappy 2 line display. Which I knew when I bought it, but man, it's a struggle even though I already know the menus by heart.Also, it crashed one me once. During my 2 hours of use. No biggie, unplug and reboot. And, the iPhone App did not show Radio presets, it showed my internet presets. So in radio mode, all the presets were Mis-labeled. But the radio presets still worked. A bug? Idk. But I do know it made FM selection almost unusable from the iPhone.Bottom line. If you want good sound get an outboard DAC.So why not 1 star? This thing has Soooo much potential. And would be great if they could1) fix the display, more lines of text2) get a decent DAC installed ($30)3) work out the bugs in software4) write a new manual that includes all the various menus.Come on Grace Audio! Fix these things and would gladly pay more to buy another one. Or come out with a higher priced "Super Pro Tuner" that addresses these issues. I really want an upgrade and I love the Solo. If the sound wasn't muffled, I would have kept it.

I've struggled for 5 years with figuring out the reported internet access on my Pioneer tuner. I discovered it is limited with restricted access to Sirius and Apple applications. As I'm not a Mac user or have a smart phone this isn't at all what I expected. I wanted unlimited access to the thousands of stations worldwide, i.e. Venice Classical Radio for starters. I found a blogger who finally provided a cogent explanation on how to go about it and recommended this Grace Digital Internet Radio gateway. It is easy to set up even for a mature adult resistant to technology changes and who doesn't text or use social media! I was able to locate my favorite station and now am becoming more agile in locating other stations. I am thrilled to listen to the music I love all day, all night, and stream it on my fantastic sound system, not just on my computer. I've registered the unit on the Grace Digital web site but haven't discovered how adding stations to my folder online connects to the tuner hardware. I've only had the unit for two weeks, still, I am a very satisfied customer. The cost of the unit will pay for itself eventually if you factor in the cost of a subscription to Sirius. The man in my life is equally impressed with my purchase and plans to purchase one for his home. Perhaps he'll think of a way where he won't have to. :)

I replaced my conventional hi-fi tuner with this unit to receive a cleaner AM signal from local stations (which I pipe throughout the house via multiple speakers from the stereo receiver). The Grace tuner performs this function admirably, and is a perfect physical fit for the old tuner. It is a bonus which I am now only starting to exploit that I can also easily tune into my favourite New Zealand radio stations, etc., as well as the myriad internet radio and podcast feeds and music from my networked computers. The main downside is fairly cumbersome procedures for finding and tagging stations, but this is greatly assisted by operating from my tablet using the Android app.

I bought the tuner despite reading the widely differing reviews on this web site. I have been looking for such a device for some time and have to say that so far, I am well pleased with the results. I had no trouble setting it up & it is giving me hi fi quality sound through my system - just what I wanted. The app set-up also worked & still works (this is after about 3 weeks) as advertised. It would be great to have more than 10 pre-sets - 50 would be ideal. The only other negative is a function of the internet - some stations are more prone to drop out than others. I have even asked for an station to be added to the list & that was done very quickly & efficiently.

From day one this looked like the real deal. Then it started to loose connection with one of my stations I had added under my presets. It just got worse after this, it would drop stations being played and the only way to get them connected again was to fiddle with the tuning knob, the remote is kind of useless in this event, or to unplug the power and let it reboot. It has gotten to the point that in order to listen to music etc, each morning I have to unplug the power and let it reboot. It worked fairly well from that point on unless you turned the Tuner off and then chances are that you have to go through the power down routine to get it going. Thats a bit much for the price I paid. Support from Grace is only via email and getting any help, well there was none really.

Lot's of stations and options including satellite radio. Wifi is kinda weak. Works great on wired link. Interface kinda sucks, phone app needs refining. A little pricey, but worth it because terrestrial radio sucks. Works best wired.