2. Logitech Squeezebox Radio
Now that Internet radio is totally mainstream (think Pandora and Last.fm), we compared two of the newest and most advanced Internet radio models.
$200
****1/2
PRO
+ Depth of stations
+ Color screen
+ Easy-to-set alarm clock
+ Input jack for iPod
+ Red or black color choice
CON
- Expensive
- No remote control
- Lacks AM/FM radio
Featuring a sleek design with heavily rounded corners, Logitech’s Squeezebox Radio looks like tabletop art that could just as easily get you going in the morning if placed next to your bed. At $200, it’s a bit pricey. Since it’s nice to listen to and to look at, the price premium seems attributable to the design.
With dimensions of 5.1x8.7x5-inches (lxwxh), the Squeezebox Radio is larger than Allegro, although it’s horizontal orientation and curved corners makes it look smaller. It weighs 2.7 pounds and comes in black or red.
The center of attention is its 2.4-inch color screen. Bright and sharp, it not only shows the current station and an album cover or image of what’s on at the moment, but the day and time when it is turned off. Looking at it is almost hypnotic.
A complex mix of 16 control buttons and a large dial surround the screen. There are six presets for favorite stations, a home button, alarm button and a small volume knob. There are also buttons for playing music from a networked computer.
Setting up the Radio with my WiFi router was easy. The process took 5 minutes and involved manipulating the large dial for picking the wireless network and entering its encryption code. It can work with a wired or wireless network and has a 150-foot WiFi range, more than enough for the typical home.
The Squeezebox can tap into 13 different Web radio services, from Pandora to Receiva, as well as the programming on the Sirius satellite radio network, but you need a subscription for some of the individual services. Logitech estimates that the Radio has access to at least 100,000 stations (and growing), although I’m sure there are many duplicates among the different services.
To find a specific station, you can go through the search system within the radio or find by country or genre. As you add services to the radio’s repertoire, the additional stations become available by search or under categories.
The stations are organized by county, city, as well as content type, and you can find what you’re looking for in a few seconds, or let serendipity rule. With access to everything from the BBC’s Arabic service to Sweden’s Radio Sala, the Radio is a ticket to listening to the globe.
To listen to a station, press a preset station or the Home button to tune one manually. Its dedicated Alarm button makes setting a wake up time easy. It can tap into the music on a networked computer, as well as podcasts, but you’ll need to load software from Logitech onto the computer.
Logitech offers Squeezebox apps, too, like the ability to share your music choices with friends on Facebook, as well as an input jack for playing a satellite radio, iPod or CD player through the radio’s speakers. I really like the Radio’s recessed handle in the back, but, unlike the Allegro, the Radio turns off when it’s unplugged. By March, Logitech says it expects to offer an optional rechargeable battery pack and remote control. Personally, I can’t wait.
The Radio’s 3-inch woofer and ¾-inch tweeter sound surprisingly good, but fall short of Allegro’s superior audio quality. A little expensive compared to the $170 Allegro, the $200 Squeezebox Radio sets a new standard for Web radios with a bright color screen and access to the world’s radio stations.
- 1. Tuning In To The Globe
- 2. Logitech Squeezebox Radio
- 3. Grace Digital Allegro
Hmmmm....I already use my pc to access radio stations on the Internet. Thanks to a fiber optic connection on the back of my pc I am connected to my old Yamaha am/fm audio receiver, surround speakers, and subwoofer. Why do I need another box on my desk?
I have the older Logitech Squeezebox Boom, and I love it. I don't use it as much as I'd like (my current living space doesn't leave much room for it), but it's nice to have a set-top box that can connect via wi-fi to any number of online radio stations. Especially since reception at my house is crap and I like listening to the radio (when there are good stations to listen to). I don't like to fiddle around with my web browser, have another application open or something running on my PC to do that.
True, the speaker quality isn't as good as my Razer Mako's, but they're good enough. I'm not listening to high-end music on the radio anyways.
I have a Squeezebox Boom and also the older Squeezebox Classic, which does not have speakers but plugs into your receiver via digital RCA. The Classic was recently replaced in the line-up with the "Touch".
These are great for streaming the same music from your PC throughout the house. You can sync them up, control them all with a web browser say on a netbook (or an iPhone app called ipeng) and the logitech software you need to install on your PC (to get the media streaming to these babies) is open source and runs on linux.
You can just keep adding devices. I think I'll be buying the Squeezebox Radio or maybe another boom next (the boom does have a remote control, as does the "classic")
I believe that at some point if not now already you will be able to stream your music from these devices themselves to their brethren -- without the PC. Maybe tunes from a thumb drive or USB connected HDD. Not sure on this point however, I must say I am VERY pleased with my Squeezebox setup.
Hmmmm....I already use my pc to access radio stations on the Internet. Thanks to a fiber optic connection on the back of my pc I am connected to my old Yamaha am/fm audio receiver, surround speakers, and subwoofer. Why do I need another box on my desk?
YOU don't need another box on your desk. But most people are thinking of putting one of these radios in the kitchen, bedroom, or living room--where they DON'T have a PC.
On the Logitech radio... there's supposed to be a remote and rechargeable battery pack released for in in Q1 2010 here. Indeed, remotes for the other Logitech radios (e.g., the Squeezebox Boom) do work with it, so it does seem likely this really will happen.
i may be missing something here, but why are they asking for an am/fm radio in an internet radio device?
isn't that like complaining that an MP3 player doesn't have a cassette player built in?
Not all AM/FM stations are available online. I'd love to have AM/FM radio available (and heck, even HD radio), but for me it's a geographic problem. I get no radio reception at my house. On the road, I'll use my Zune for HD radio, which is awesome because I have access to a ton of stations (almost twice the amount of just standard FM radio). So I certainly see a reason to want it.
But about the remotes, I don't particularly like the Boom's. I'd prefer something larger that isn't so easy to lose, that you can easily change stations by pushing 1, 2, etc. from presets.
To those that have a Squeezebox Boom: Are you able to receive the BBC World Service? I was able to receive it until a software upgrade a few months ago. I've contacted Logitech several times and I get a runaround, then after pressing the issue I get a response of 'the team is aware of this issue and there is no estimate for a fix'. It's very odd since I can get the station on my desktop, laptop and iPhone. What's wrong with Logitech's team that they can't fix a straightforward technical problem???
I want a system that has outputs so I can jack into my existing home sound system. Neither of these appear to have it. Or it wasn't mentioned that they do. Currently, I have my media server jacked into my entertainment system, but it would be nice to have a smaller, independent device that can sit next to the home system. At my girlfriend's house, I simply ran a 1/8" Stereo RCA cable into one of the AUX inputs on the back of her receiver. She just plugs her iPod into that and streams Pandora, Slacker, etc, or her own library of songs. That alone nearly eliminates the need for an internet radio.
Late comment, but why hasn't this review talked about the web interfaces? The most impressive thing about my Squeezebox Boom is the mysqueezebox.com and the fact I can modify the box it anywhere in the world.
Oh and the street prices of these boxes are $50 less then MSRP.
One feature that needs to be addressed is the alarm clock. It seems to be very buggy. For example, if you snooze too many times, the entire radio simply stops working. No listening to the radio, no future alarms, nothing. Same issue if the alarm goes off and you leave the radio going. I've been late to work two times last week alone. I just can't trust it. The radio has had a very difficult time connecting to stations. I've spent more time trying to get it to work than actually listening to it. I have to say that I have none of these issues with my Livio...Although that one doesn't have an alarm clock. If this Squeezebox Radio worked perfectly for all the features it has, then it would be such a winner.
It would be nice if there really were a battery pack for this item. Logitech oversold it before they made the rechargable battery pack (a $50 add-on to the $200 price of the radio). It's useless without a battery pack. What a waste.
Whats the difference between the Squeezebox Radio & the Squeezebox Boom ?