Logitech Squeezebox Boom All-in-One Network Music Player / Wi-Fi Internet Radio Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I am a radio nut (going back to the tube days)and the Squeezebox Boom is my third internet radio. I have a Roku Soundbridge R1000 and Sangean WFR-20 as well. All have their strengths, but the Squeezebox Boom is without a doubt a significant step up; it sets a new high standard in performance, capabilities, and ease of operation.
For wireless streaming of your music collection from a PC or Mac, the Boom is best. It can handle more formats (nearly anything except DRM protected iTunes files) and works well without crashes or delays. In this the Roku is #2, and the Sangean ranks 3rd(crashes and stutters a lot).
For internet radio, they all work well. The Sangean is the only one that natively handles RealAudio Streams (like BBC) but has problems with clear channel stations. All of them pick up the stations I want without problems, so I rate this a tie.
If you want to interface with online music services like Rhapsody/Pandora/ MP3Locker etc, the Boom works great, with far more capacity than the other two. The Slimdevices/Squeezebox folks also update and improve their software far more frequently than the other two, so I expect it to remain in the lead in features and available services.
In sound quality, the Roku and Boom are both outstanding, with the Sangean good, but clearly a step lower. The Roku's subwoofer seems to go a bit deeper in my room, but the Boom is perhaps a bit more smooth and musical. The Boom uses the same woofers and tweeters as the highly rated Logitech Z-10, but with better bass (because of a larger cabinet and new amp/equalizer circuitry). They both sound absolutely great and play quite loud.
Ease of initial setup: If you are starting from scratch, I think the Sangean is the easiest to set up, if you do NOT want to stream audio from your PC...that is a real hassle. Both the Boom and Roku require a bit more work.
Ease of Use AFTER set up: Boom is best BY FAR. Not only do the menus make real sense, but the illuminated controls make it the only radio you can use easily without turning on the lights. The big control knob and back lit function buttons get you through all of the functions fast.
As a Clock Radio, the Boom has more options than the others, and the display has a huge adjustment range so it will not disturb light sleepers.
All of these radios are a lot of fun. The Boom does most, and does it best.

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Logitech Squeezebox Boom all-in-one network music player with integrated speakers. Plug it in. Turn it on. Rock the house! The all-in-one network music player that combines award-winning squeezebox functionality with an integrated amplifier and speakers to deliver your digital music to any room in your home. Enjoy the music and content you love, with crystal clear sound.

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iLuv Internet Radio with Dual Alarm Clock (Black) Review

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(More customer reviews)There was so much potential although I just find myself saying "BUT" way too many times.
They emphasize the clock display is remarkably large BUT it really isn't.
It is a nice looking unit, BUT you can't appreciate how large the case is until you see it and realize it will take up most of average sized night stand.
The sound quality is quite good if you play it at 4 to 5 or higher BUT the quality goes down at the lower volume level where most people realistically would use at the bedside. I haven't found any adjustments for things like bass and treble.
Customer support is terrible. They give you a phone number BUT it just sends you to voice mail. They give you a way to send a message online for express service BUT it is not "express" or helpful. I asked some simple questions while I was waiting for the unit to ship and it took two days for them to respond. They didn't actually attempt to answer my questions at all BUT just sent a .pdf of the manual and told me to read it. Not one of my questions was answered in the manual they sent (simple stuff like does the unit support WPA2, have a place for a 9 volt backup battery, etc.). The manual is very brief and does not go in-depth on any technical details like networking. There are many menus of options on this system that are never discussed in the manual. (Update: they did send me a second email a week later that did attempt to actually answer a few of my questions, and yes, it does support WPA2 but keep on reading).
The biggest killer to me, unless customer support can't advise me otherwise (waiting to hear from them), is that any time your wireless router is turned off OR the security key does a rolling change of the key AND you are using a wireless connection to the router, the iLuv is not able to reestablish a connection on its own. It will try BUT fail. When it fails, it starts the network wizard again AND DELETES YOUR KEY/PASSWORD! You have no choice and no way of stopping it. Even if you try to bypass the wizard and manually configure things, it will wipe out all of the network settings (it keeps the station presets, etc.) and require you to redo things. Oddly, when you manually reenter the key (the same key as you inputted the first time), it will reconnect on its own just fine. If you have a "strong" key for your system (like you should to be really secure), it takes forever to re-enter in the key. You would not believe the arcane method to enter in data via the buttons on the front panel.
This means whenever your router rolls/changes the security key (this is often multiple times an hour for security reasons) the wifi connection will drop and it cannot reconnect. Additionally, any time you turn off your router for an approaching storm, have a power outage, change any setting on the firmware of your router that requires it to reboot itself, etc., you are going to need to reenter your many-charactered key. Router power downs and reboots are just a fact of life. Using a router without a password would bypass this problem BUT that approach is not smart/safe. All of my other wifi devices can reconnect without a problem, so the issue is with the iLuv radio.
This brings up anther flaw. When you plug this unit in via Ethernet (which works well), there should be a software application provided on CD from iLuv that allows you to do all of the programming via your PC versus through the keys on the front of the radio. This is a serious oversight by iLuv.
UPDATE: After about another week (some "express" service, eh?) iLuv finally got back to me in regard to my second email about the dropped wifi connection issues. This is their one_sentence answer to the wifi disconnecting problem: "This problem will not happen after reset iNT170 & re-connect to internet every time user changed the password." I am sorry, but what a lame attempt at a guess/reply after a week of waiting.
I wanted to keep this thing... BUT I just am not feeling the "luv" at this point. The industry is now on the second generation of internet radios and I expected more. Maybe iLuv will release an updated firmware to fix the flaws. The radio is being returned today :( .


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Aluratek AIRMM01 Internet Radio Alarm Clock with built-in WiFi (Black) Review

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(More customer reviews)Think about the humble clock-radio. Everybody has one. They've scarcely changed in the last two decades. They have poor sound quality. Are usually in a bedroom where radio reception can be poor--and are usually given only a crummy wire antenna sticking out the back. With some, you can play a CD, just as CDs are being superseded by other digital music. Few can access the wealth of programming on satellite. Not a twenty-first century device.
This device brings the clock-radio into the 21st Century. It connects to your Wi-fi at home, and delivers almost any radio station you want from around the world.
NPR junkies can choose from a brace of stations, and the worldwide selection is superb--let me recommend Radio National and Directions in Groove from Australia, KQED and WNYC (the AM version; you'll get AM radio in hi-fi!), Deutsche Welle in English, Radio Netherlands, and of course, the BBC. Living in a non-English-speaking country, it's a real life-line for me.
It solves an issue that has vexed me with conventional clock radios I've owned. Reception problems. With an internet radio, the signal is as strong as your home wi-fi.
No need for an integrated CD. You can play music wirelessly from your computer or a USB stick.
And for a small speaker, the sound is remarkably good. You can plug it into your hi-fi if you wish, for even better sound.
It gets five stars, but not without a couple of glitches. The radio updates the station list automatically, but if a station changes its website in between software updates, you might miss out for a while. The menus are elaborate and can be a bit complex until you get used to them--and that includes the one you use simply to turn the alarm on. And the backlighted time displays ONLY when the radio is actually on; though I expect that glitch to be fixed in a software update.

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Denon S-32 Internet Radio with Built-in Speakers and 2-Alarm Clock Review

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(More customer reviews)I did a lot of research before I got this unit. It came down between the Philips Streamium and the Denon S32. I decided to go with the S32 because of past experiences with Philips - they make awesome products, but they have the nasty habit of canceling production AND pulling all support (Many years ago - 14 to be exact - I had a Philips Nino PDA, and all of a sudden: bye-bye! from the company!) Unlike other folks, I did read the description of this product, so I did not expect a CD nor a DVD player (weird!)
The pros: Internet radio, ability to create favorites lists - so it adds a semblance of organization to the thousands of radio stations that you can end up with! News from around the World, in their original languages. I speak several languages and this is a great way to keep the practice up! Deep rich sound, not over bassy like other systems. I love the high contrast white led display - I can read it from almost any angle (while in bed - perfect!) and you can always dim it if you think is too bright. I also really like the sleep function, I like to read before going to sleep and this function serves as a reminder!
The cons: no Mac support! What up with this???!!! Even though it says: "Plays audio stored on PC or Macintosh computers..." NOT true... I read the instructions, top to bottom and unless I missed something (or I was having too many drinks!) I did not find any mention whatsoever of Mac, anywhere, at all! - that's the 1st star off. The 2nd star off comes because of poor WiFi reception. It comes with a bitty 3db antenna, come on, for the price, they could've thrown in at least a 7db antenna! I have a "Chumby" ([...]) which is also a WiFi radio player (of sorts) and this bitty thing has much better reception than the S32 unit; I solved the problem by getting an Airport Express and extending the coverage of my Airport Extreme... kind of disappointed about the reception issue (but solved by spending $100 extra!) Another fact, but I do not consider it a negative (more or less) is that I cannot charge my iPhone on the S32 - kind of silly, when almost all iPod products coming out these days CAN charge the iPhone - but then I appreciate the peace and quiet of not having a phone in my room when I go to sleep!
Overall: Highly recommend it!

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The Denon S-32 wireless network music system with built-in speakers and 2-alarm clock, one of Denon's first two networked audio products, delivers a smart way to play music from your computer throughout the home. The WiFi certified S-32 offers the ability to stream music either via Ethernet, or wirelessly, from internet radio sources and other network attached storage devices such as PC or Mac computers on the network. The S-32 built-in speakers were targeted to have internationally accepted sound reproduction that is excellent for music with a powerful bass response. Its mono-out allows the use of separate subwoofer of one's choice if ever required. The S-32 comes with a clock with two alarms with auto clock set-and-adjust via internet, and FM/AM radio as well as a built-in dock for iPod for easy drop-in functionality.

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Revo AXiS Wireless Internet Radio with iPod Dock Review

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(More customer reviews)I am thrilled with my axis radio. I have programmed in my favorite internet stations and there are lots more stations to find and listen to. I like that it has a touch screen and that I stay connected and never have a problem with streaming. It's a blast to listen to radio stations from all over the world. I am planning to purchase another one for a gift.

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CC CWF WiFi Internet Radio Review

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(More customer reviews)I bought this radio despite reviews complaining of its reliability. It worked right out of the box and offers, for the price, far more presettable stations than its nearest competitor, a remote and an ethernet connection in addition to its wireless feature. It is also one of the smallest of the table top sets and will sit neatly in a little corner without drawing attention to itself - an appealing feature to those listeners for whom appearance places a far second to content. I found its setup well thought out and mostly intuitive. The front panel offers only three pre-sets so do not lose the remote which replicates all radio controls and has a 100 pre-set capacity. The loudspeaker offers better than average fidelity of table top models.
This radio operates using the reciva internet radio website, which the Grace radio also uses. Registering the radio with that site allows the listener to select using reciva those stations of particular and recurrent interest and save their locations in the actual radio. These stations can then be accessed from a menu labelled MY STATIONS on the radio - a very nice convenience. Of course wifi radio is only as good as your wireless connection and the streaming rate of the actual service providing the signal. In addition, if your wireless network is in use by several computers or other devices while you are using this radio you may experience bits of silence at times - especially noted with broadcasts from foreign stations that are otherwise flawless. Most, but not all, American radio stations use servers providing reliable output to the internet, as do the government supported stations of Europe, Russia, China and Japan. However, if your cup of tea is Upper Volta or the Falkland Islands for example, well, the sometimes large gaps in the sound are not the fault of this radio. Having more than a casual interest in world news and having listened to shortwave broadcasts for many years, I have found that wifi radio offers far, far more foreign stations than shortwave these days without requiring a subscription fee (except, of course, the cost of your internet connection) and seems to be largely replacing shortwave broadcasts to the very well developed world. I found this radio an affordable and, so far, easy to use, trouble-free way of listening to what inhabitants of other parts of earth have to say about themselves and us, without a fade any time of day.

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