Whilst not strictly a home cinema item, we were so impressed with the Logitech Squeezebox Radio we tested, that we just had tell you about it.
The Logitech Squeezebox Radio is a wifi enabled internet radio that will play the multitude of internet radio stations available, which include many of the popular terestrial stations such as BBC Radio 1, Classic FM and Virgin Radio to name but a few. In addition to this though the Squeezebox Radio also has a few other extremely useful features to make it really worth the money. Firstly, you can connect your iPod and play the music from it, giving you access to all your favourites with ease. Secondly, you can install applications on the Squeezebox so if you are a Last.fm user you can add the easily add the program so you can enjoy your kind of music all day. Finally, and this is where the real power come in, you can stream all the music you have stored on your PC, Mac or NAS drive and play it through the Squeezebox Radio.
If all this sounds like a lot of work, then when you first open the box and see the thickness of the instruction booklet, you could be even more alarmed. However, every language you can think of is included in the booklet and the actual English instructions are 2½ pages long, so don’t worry. The whole process is actually extremely easy and a lot of kudos needs to go to Logitech for making a potentially tricky task very simple indeed. It took us about 20 minutes to go from opening the box, to streaming music from the PC, and playing tracks from Last.fm.
The Squeezebox Radio is attractive and fairly compact and is finished in gloss black with a neat colour screen. There are a selection of simple buttons to control playback with the important large volume/input dial having the biggest presence. The single speaker is suprisingly powerful and supplies a good amount of bass and clarity that is better than you would expect from a unit this size. The volume does need turning up quite a bit to get decent volumes and this can be a little alarming at first, but the quality of sound does not degrade at the higher volumes.
The Logitech Squeezebox Radio is mains powered so is not quite portable, but there is an optional pack available that includes a rechargeable battery, and remote control, meaning you can take the radio wherever you want – even into the garden.
What to consider before you buy the Logitech Squeezebox Radio
The only thing that may put some people off is the price. But quality this high doesn’t come cheap, and as the saying goes, ‘you’ll remember the quality long after you’ve forgotten the price. Also if you intend to switch the mains power off to the device each time, it will take about 20-30 seconds from switching back on to actually being able to listen to anything again.
Why you should buy the Logitech Squeezebox Radio
Because it’s such a breeze to set up, and sounds so good, we would recommend the Squeezebox Radio to everyone. Forget DAB – this is where it’s at. Fantastic stuff. Rating: /5
Logitech Squeezebox Radio Best Prices
Read more on the Logitech website. This review is based on a Logitech Squeezebox Radio that we actually bought and use day to day so we will update the review if we find any new niggles, or improvements as a result of firmware upgrades.