I have the original PAL, not the iPAL. They are, I believe, essentially the same except for the iPod connection.
When I bought my PAL, I compared it with a Songbook. Both were at the same location in the store. The sound of the two was comparable; however, the difference between the tuners was dramatic. At their location, with the antennas extended fully, the PAL pulled in many more stations cleanly than the Songbook. It wasn't even close. Analog won out handily, so I bought the PAL. I've never been disappointed with its tuner performance, not only because of its sensitivity, but also because it locks onto stations so well, making it extremely easy to tune. And while I know this is only a matter of personal taste, I prefer the shape of the PAL to that of the Songbook.
Soundwise, my 5-star rating takes into account the size of the radio and its speaker. While it doesn't quite sound as good as the Model 1, the sound is, for its size, truly remarkable, from the lows up to the highs. And it plays loudly enough that I can use it with no problem in my backyard with a fair number of guests talking.
If the radio has one fault, it's the battery charging system. At one point Tivoli changed/upgraded the battery and it is the newer one I have; however, sometimes when I charge the unit, the green light, which is supposed to stop blinking when the battery is fully charged, does not stop regardless of how long the unit remains plugged in. I have no explanation for this; I simply now know that if it doesn't stop blinking after about 3 hours, I can assume there is a full charge.
This radio was a bargain when it first came out; now, it's still a great radio, but at its current price, not so much of a bargain as before.