I touched on it in my previous post, and after having one for a while now I don't think you need stereo separation in a what is ostensibly being sold as a high-quality, crystal-clear bedside radio. The radio is camped on a bedside table near either your left or right ear depending on sides. That hardly qualifies as even a reasonable place to offer separated channels. As a component device, sure - you can appreciate the separation in your living room as it's a large and often well set up sound stage.
As far as value goes, I don't have a problem with the couple of hundred dollar asking price for mine. It offers DAB+ digital channel selection, an 802.11g wifi connection to the Internet for podcast and Internet radio delivery and even ethernet connectivity if you don't have wifi. There aren't too many other true bedside audio devices that can deliver Swinburne astronomy lectures when I feel like it.
