Logitech FreePulse Wireless Headphones Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)PROS:
1. Works in a nearby room or directly above/below the room with the transmitter.
2. Able to hear outside sounds, if you don't want to be completely isolated from your surroundings.
3. Nice to be able to adjust the volume by touching the shell of the right earpad, which acts as a toggle switch.
4. Comes with a short cord in case the dongle won't fit in your unit's audio jack.
CONS:
1. Sound quality is muddy. If you like rock music, you will not hear much of the cymbals or other high notes. It is fine if you listen to spoken voice. The stock earbuds with the Nano 2G are a little better than the Logitech, but with less bass. My Sony MDR-V6 closed-ear cans sound *exceptionally* good with my 2nd Gen Nano. I'll give the Logitech headphones many additional hours to break in, but I had hoped they would sound much better out of the box.
2. Headband is not adjustable and sits close to your neck. Tilting your head back, even slightly, bumps the headband. Wearing a collared shirt also causes your shirt to contact the headband. The around-the-ear part of the headband takes most of the impact. The earpads will move a little. Some collar brushing comes through to the earpads. I think exercising would not go well.
3. Comfortable on the ears for less than an hour.
4. Little if any difference in bass boost and normal.
5. Comes with 6 iPod interfaces, but the Nano interface does not work with the 2nd Gen Nano. You can still plug the dongle into the headphone jack, but without the end cap for the dongle, there is a 2mm gap.
6. It's just more than twice the width of the Nano 2G. It is also slightly offset, left-to-right when looking at the Nano + dongle from the front.
7. I generally had to try to set the connection twice before it sync'd up. Then I needed to start the player right away, because if I waited 30 seconds, it shut itself off.
I posted a couple of pictures if you click on the link at the top of the page.

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With Logitech's FreePulse Wireless headphones you can enjoy your music without being tied down or tangled up. Integrated volume controls and Bass Boost mode let you take control of your music, while advanced Bluetooth 2.0 with Enhanced Data Rate wireless technology ensures clear, interference-free audio with up to 33 feet range. Extended life rechargeable batteries provide up to six hours of playtime. The high carbon spring-steel headband is lightweight yet rugged and the soft-touch comfort rings provide a secure fit. The FreePulse Wireless headphones are compatible with most audio players and include custom-fit iPod adapters.

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Logitech Z Cinéma Advanced Surround Sound System--2.1 Speakers Review

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(More customer reviews)Logitech Z Cinéma Advanced Surround Sound System--2.1 Speakers
Logitech's Z Cinema Advanced speaker system is an incredibly designed high performance product. I own several Logitech speaker products, as well as others by Creative Creative GigaWorks T20 2.0 Speakers, Altec Lansing Altec Lansing FX5051 5.1 powered speaker system with USB connection, Klipsch Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 THX Certified Computer Speaker System (Black), Harmon Kardon Harmon Kardon SoundStick II 3 Piece Speaker System, and others. I can honestly say, this is a very impressive unit that is well designed for its task. If you have a media center PC setup, this set will make you very happy. Not only is the speaker system ridiculously powerful, the included software is a huge improvement over previous Logitech entries. The included remote rounds out the system and puts virtually all your audio and video applications at your fingertips.
This speaker system will fill a key market niche. The integrated satellite speaker and subwoofer design has more components than meet the eye. Each one-piece satellite speaker has an integrated mid-woofer and tweeter. So these are much more than traditional 2.1 bookshelf speakers. And when you position the speakers as directed and turn on the software surround sound, the sound quality coming out of these approach that of 5.1 systems.
Pros
+ Control your media center PC with a great all-in-one solution and awesome remote
+ Great performing speakers with a ridiculous 35 watts of RMS power per channel, 180 total RMS output
+ Beautiful black and silver speaker and body design
+ Two tweeters and mid-woofers deliver surprisingly crisp sound with or without surround
+ 110 watt subwoofer is simply monstrous and easily fills large rooms with good acoustics
+ Awesome included remote with media center controls and great features
+ Nice integrated support for apps like iTunes, WinAMP, RealPlayer, Yahoo Jukebox, Pandora and Picasa
+ Remote can be configured to work with any multimedia app or to launch a different media player
+ Very sturdy cables and housing are designed to last a long time
+ Power converter integrated into subwoofer so you can connect with a regular power cable
+ Good looking orange back-lit volume and surround indicators on the right speaker
+ Very nice price point for fully integrated media center speaker system and controls
+ USB cable connection is clean and easy - requires on-board port connection
+ Included standard ports for headphones and auxiliary connections (3.5 mm)
+ Simple instructions and plug and play performance for basic use
+ Very modest hardware, hard-drive space and memory requirements for Logitech software
+ True 24 bit digital audio
+ hardware warranty
Cons
- Perhaps overly sleek minimal design could have been improved with physical power and volume controls
- Very heavy system requires extreme caution and should be installed with care and help if needed
- No simple volume controls on the remote, instead included in adjustment wheel
- Would have been ideal to include a few more ports, such as HDMI and S-Video, on the subwoofer
- Satellite speaker cables, while very thick, could have been longer for more configuration options
- No real expandability of the system is apparent; no obvious ports for other satellites or devices
- Many people still demand RF remote capability, this one is only IR
- Those who don't need the remote for Media Center PCs may opt for 5.1 systems at this price
Installation
Installing this guy is simple based upon the included quick start guide. What's cool is that even before the Logitech software is installed, once you make your connections and turn it on it's automatically recognized as a regular speaker system. You don't need Windows Media Center for this to work as a speaker system. This is awesome, and amazingly a lot of the Media Center buttons still work too.
But just note that in order to really take advantage of this guy you will want a Media Center capable PC, with either XP MCE Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 SP2B for System Builders, Vista Premium Windows Vista Home Premium with SP1 or Vista Ultimate Windows Vista Ultimate with SP1 installed.
Installing the Logitech software allows you to have desktop control of the speaker settings, including enabling surround sound. It also allows you to see the options to toggle between the different media applications, including iTunes and WMP among others. You can change settings and really get some control over your MC PC.
Physically installing this guy can be a challenge. First of all, this is a very heavy unit, mainly because of so many integrated components built into the subwoofer body. This is probably a sign of good construction, but handle with care.
The satellite speaker cables are long but could have been longer. The included diagrams give you the impression this was really well thought out for desktop or workstation installs. However, if you have a component center or cabinet for your stuff, you need to be patient and creative to get this set up.
The speaker cables could have definitely been longer to accommodate more setup possibilities. However, in terms of durability and shielding, these are some of the thickest strongest cables I've had come with a speaker system.
The subwoofer body has a silver rimmed front-piece that is not flush with the body housing. It's not a huge deal, but you have to kind of set it up either with the front piece hanging off your component shelf or rested up at an angle. Perhaps this was intentional based upon the lower configuration location noted in the included diagrams.
Sound
The power level output of these speakers is sick, to say the least. Some will be hung up on the "simulated" surround sound feature, a gimmick that has been tried before. Still, even though I was initially unsatisfied, I learned that if you set these up in the right acoustical setting it does perform well. There are two possible setups. For the basic workstation setup where you are literally seated at your media center PC, it works awesome. For those, who like me, want to set this up at an entertainment center, you have to center the system in a somewhat square room with unobstructed walls. Then you can get the surround sound feature to properly bounce in your room.
The total RMS power of 180 watts includes a 110 watts RMS Subwoofer with each satellite speaker producing 35 watts of RMS output via the mid-woofer and tweeter pair. That means your total power output is something like 400 watts, which is really in AV power range.
But the sound is clean. The built in amplifier is well tuned for multimedia sound applications, including gaming. If you have a good on-board sound processor, you should be fine. If you experience any sound effects, definitely take a closer look at your hardware and setup.
Some may feel that you can only get surround sound out of 5.1 Logitech Z-5500 THX-Certified 505-Watt 5.1 Digital Surround Sound Speaker System or 7.1 Onkyo SKS-HT540 7.1 Surround Sound Speaker System systems. Still, I prefer 2.1 system with high quality components over 5.1 systems with small and disappointing satellites. There's a lot of nice 5.1 systems out there, don't get me wrong. I own several. Still, this system sounds better than a lot of those. Definitely have to test drive it to hear the difference.
Features
The power adapter is nicely integrated into the subwoofer, so you power up via a standard plug, no power bricks so many people hate. The speakers have right and left noted on the bottom. The right speaker comes to life when you turn it on with the remote. It has a nice orange read out that shows when it's on, the volume level and surround sound setting. The right speaker also includes jacks for headphones and auxiliary connections.
I really wished they would have also added physical volume and power control buttons and knobs. That way, when I want to hook up one of my MP3 players, I wouldn't need the remote to turn it on.
The Logitech software is actually vastly improved for them. I've not always liked some of the integrated software in the past, but this one was a huge improvement. The only minor negative I can give it is that it is automatically included in the startup folder even if you install the software with the option of not turning on at startup. So you have to manually remove it from your startup if you don't want it on all the time, a minor inconvenience.
The remote is the nicest part of this set functionally. For those with Universal remotes, you may wonder why you need this. This remote allows you to access your multimedia apps seamlessly. You can set up 4 presets, though it's less than intuitive.
You've also got some basic navigational buttons that allow you to go back to your previous app. There are included buttons for shuffle and repeat plays, and...Read more›

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Logitech Z-4 2.1 Speaker System with Subwoofer (Black) Review

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(More customer reviews)I cannot possibly imagine what the other reviewers expected. These are $70 computer speakers, not a multi-thousand dollar audiophile surround sound speaker system. For what these are, they deliver truly impressive sound - smooth, room vibrating, bass, crisp highs, and a midrange nearly perfect for computer games. If you prefer music, the midrange can be improved with only minor adjustments in a graphics equalizer - available in Windows Media Player (under "Enhancements" of the "View" menu) and any other decent media player. With a little equalizer tweaking, these speakers deliver exceptional music performance and are a true pleasure to listen to (rock, classic rock, jazz, or country).
Don't overdo the bass. If you're using an equalizer, leave the bass control centered on the remote (use this control to tweak individual songs) and adjust the bass up a very tiny amount with the equalizer. Many move equalizer sliders much too far, resulting in grossly inaccurate sound. Anyway, the bass should balance with the remaining sound, not overwhelm it (or steal power away from the mid-range, resulting in, surprise, muffled sound). In most listening environments, to add punch to the bass, the middle bass should be equal to the very lowest bass setting. If the bass is set correctly, the mid-range usually requires no adjustment. However, many listening environments also benefit from a tiny amount of additional treble (again, not too much - balance). All that should get you in the ballpark. From there, you can adjust for your preference, environment, computer's sound card, and connection (speaker or laptop headphone outputs). None of this should require anything more than gentle tweaking, not huge adjustments.
Are these speakers perfect? Of course not. I have over two thousand dollars invested in the speakers for my home entertainment system, with two 250-watt amplifiers driving those speakers. Now that is a system I expect near perfect sound from (but even it is tweaked with an equalizer). These $70 computer speakers, on the other hand, sound just fine for $70 computer speakers. Indeed, they sound better than anything else tried in this price range. My local store has speakers hooked up to allow for comparison testing. Nothing in this price range sounded better than the Logitech Z4. In fact, the only speakers with better sound were one costing about $160 and another costing just over $250. Obviously, neither of those sounded as good as the multi-thousand dollar surround system either.
One reviewer mentioned (in the subject line) that the speaker is not that loud. Again, I can't possibly imagine what was expected. These speakers are so loud, one would have to scream in the loudest voice to be heard anywhere in the vicinity of these speakers. These speakers are obviously not disco speakers, but, again, are very fine computer speakers.
The Logitech Z4 speakers are very easy to hook up. The only connection to the computer is the audio output - the speaker output of a desktop or earphone/speaker output of a laptop. Everything else plugs into the back of the sub-woofer (floor placement under a desk recommended). The satellite speakers sit on either side of the computer display, with the wired remote control located for convenience. The only controls, overall volume and bass volume, are on the remote. The entire system is powered directly by a wall outlet (no adapters). There does not appear to be a multi-voltage version available for international use.
The sub-woofer housing is made of particle-board wood (painted black with plastic silver trim) with a black metal screen on the front. The satellite speakers (black with silver speakers, trim, and base) are plastic balanced on a sturdy metal base. There is no cover over the satellite speakers. There is a single blue light on the power button (no flashing light gimmicks here). Finally, there is a headphone jack and audio-in jack (for MP3 players or whatever) on the front of the remote control.
All in all, I'm very satisfied with these speakers. Clearly some have different sound preferences, but I suspect most will enjoy these speakers as much as I do.

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2.1 Speaker System - 8.5W per Satellite, 23W Subwoofer, 40W, 80W

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Grace Digital GDI-IRD4000 Portable Wireless Internet Radio Featuring Pandora, NPR and SIRIUS Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)In mid 2008, I purchased another Reciva-based product that was more expensive. I still like that one very much, but it has some glitches that are more or less permanent. Some of them are due to the design, and some are due to a lack of support from the brand. I was expecting rough edges from this radio, but my experience with it has been smoother. In short, it has the tried and true feature set common to Recivas, without the glitches of my old unit.
Positives:
Streams, Podcasts, UPNP/DLNA.
MP3, WMA, AAC, OGG, FLAC, Real.
Customizable menu entries via Reciva website.
Differences:
Missing from this is a wired Ethernet jack and a USB port for Mass Storage Compliant devices, but the MSC feature on the other radio was half-implemented anyway. The old unit couldn't run on batteries. The wi-fi bars on the old unit's playback screen have been replaced by a clock.
Knocks Cured:
More robust power cord from "brick" to radio.
Mute works with headphones.
Hardware power switch on back of radio.
More responsive menus.
Wider field of regard for remote control sensor.
More robust remote control.
Remote control takes AA batteries.
Fewer, but easier-to-use presets.
Display backlight can turn off.
Redundant entries removed from station listings.
Station listings have subcategories.

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Crystal Clear Streaming Wherever you Are AM and FM radio stations all over the world stream their audio content over the Internet. Grace Digital Audio's Allegro Wi-Fi radio allows you take advantage of this massive amount of free content, as well as a variety of subscription Internet radio services conveniently and efficiently wherever you are. Setup is simple, all you need is access to a broadband Internet connection via a wireless router. Acting like any wireless device, once configured to the Wi-Fi signal(s) available and its security, if any, the Allegro provides quick access to literally thousand of Internet radio stations and podcasts without having to fire up a computer. Users can listen to the hottest premium online music services like Pandora, Live365 and Sirius* utilizing either standard AC power or via battery power in the form of either 6 AA batteries or a rechargeable NiMH battery. In addition, the Allegro facilitates even further audio functionality by allowing you to stream audio files directly from your PC or Mac to the device's speaker. Supported formats include: audio - AIFF, AIFC, WAVE, CAF, Next, ADTS, MP3, AAC, Ogg Vorbis, FLAC, WMA; playlist - ASX, M3U, PLS; streaming protocols - HTTP, HTTPS, RTSP, WSMP, Shoutcast. Users can also utilize either the full function remote control included, with its 10 presets, search and song skip functionality, or control the unit via iPhone / iPod Touch. Totally portable yet easy access to thousands of free and premium Internet radio content streams. View larger.

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Grace Digital GDI-IRA500 Wireless Internet Radio Adapter Featuring Pandora, NPR and SIRIUS Review

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(More customer reviews)The Grace Solo internet radio does a great job connecting the world of internet radio to my home stereo.
The Solo is good looking and connects simply out of the box. Plug in the power, connect the standard rca cable to your stereo, turn it on, choose your home network and within 5 minutes you are listening to Pandora or one of the 17,000 radio stations. While Grace has many models of standalone table top radios, I like the Solo because it connects directly to my home stereo (or even powered speakers). The solo even has a headset jack.
When you first take the Solo out of the box, you see the Solo internet radio tuner, a power cable, manual, remote and rca cable to connect to your stereo. It uses WiFi to access the internet. Make sure you have Wi-Fi in your home, and that it is strong in the area you put the solo. The Solo does have a built in Wi-Fi signal meter to see how strong your Wi-Fi is. So if you put it on the bottom shelf of your stereo system and notice a weak signal you may want to put it on a middle or top shelf. The Solo works with any 802.11b,g or n router and has a built in 802.11g receiver.
After you connect to your wireless network (you will need your wireless WEP or WPA password to do this) and set the time zone on the clock, the Solo remembers everything (including station presets) when you unplug it. That is nice because no one wants to type their wireless password in more than once.
Once you are set up you can start searching for stations by genre or location or type the call sign of the station directly into the radio. You can do this via the remote control or directly on the unit itself. I like Pandora. In order to listen to Pandora you have to register your radio at Grace's web site [...] . After you create a Grace account you enter in your Pandora user name and password on the Grace site and the radio is linked to your Pandora stations. Within a minute your Pandora stations are on the Grace radio in the `personal radio' folder. Pretty cool. You can create stations on the Grace Solo, although I prefer to do that on the Pandora web site. Grace plays SIRIUS and Live365 as well but I do not have SIRIUS or Live365 VIP accounts so I can't comment on that.

I really love the Grace unit. I get all my local radio stations #my FM reception is bad at my house but my favorite FM stations - most do these days - broadcast over the internet .. so I get those, Pandora, NPR and I even started listening to the BBC 4 which is kind of cool#.
Obviously I give this a 5 star. The only negative I would say is that on a few random stations they do not show the song metadata (they all show the station metadata). I'm not sure if that is because the station is not sending it or what. You get the station and song metadata for Pandora which is the most important for me. Oh - you can even thumbs up or down Pandora songs .. very of cool.

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Convenient Access to Online Music in Your Home AM and FM radio stations all over the world stream their audio content over the Internet. Grace Digital Audio's "Solo" product line of Wi-Fi Receiver and Media Streamers allow you link this massive amount of free content, as well as a variety of pay Internet radio services, conveniently and efficiently to your stereo or home entertainment system. Setup is simple, all you need is access to a broadband Internet connection and a wireless router. Acting like any wireless device, once configured to the Wi-Fi signal(s) available and its security, if any, the Solo Wi-Fi Receiver provides quick access to literally thousand of Internet radio stations and podcasts from your home stereo without having to fire up a computer. In addition, users can listen to the hottest premium online music services like Pandora, Live365 and Sirius*. Easy access to thousands of free and premium Internet radio content streams without using a computer. View larger.

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Logitech Squeezebox Duet Wi-Fi Internet Radio Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)It's hard to review the Squeezebox Duet without comparing it to the Sonos system, current ruler of this class of products.
Since there are already many excellent reviews, I thought I would focus on a comparison of the two, to help you decide which system best fits your needs.
Controller
----------
Both controllers are responsive, pleasant to hold and operate. They are well built, and their LCD screen of excellent quality and easy to read.
Squeezebox: thin, light, easy to operate with one hand, excellent battery life, battery is user-replaceable, comes with charging stand. It also features an infrared blaster and a headphones port, which will be supported at some point in the future (although Logitech makes no promises there have been demonstrations of prototype firmware using both features), as well as a 3D accelerometer (yes, like a Wii remote).
Sonos: bulkier, designed for two-handed operation, battery life could be better, battery is not user-replaceable, charging stand optional.
Networking
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I did not compare the two systems in the same location, but they both operate well with a range sufficient for most medium-size houses.
Sonos: uses proprietary mesh networking that requires to plug one of the players into the wired LAN. Other players act as repeaters.
Squeezebox: uses standard 802.11g networking. Can hook up to an existing wireless network, or the player can be used as an access point for the remote.
Players
-------
Sonos offers two players: the ZP100 has a built-in amplifier and the ZP80 doesn't (but it offers a digital output missing from the ZP100). Both players feature an Ethernet hub and an audio input.
Squeezebox: on top of the inexpensive player bundled with the Duet, the Squeezebox system is also capable of controlling all other Squeezebox devices (excluding the first generation models).
Audio quality is comparable, although audiophiles may be attracted by the compatibility with the Squeezebox Transporter.
Server
------
This is where both systems differ radically. Sonos connects to existing SMB shares whereas Squeezebox requires that you install and run the SqueezeCenter server on your computer. SqueezeCenter is open source and runs on Windows, Mac and Linux.
Sonos: less intrusive, no software to install, works happily off a lowly NAS. But: if your music collection is larger than 30,000 tracks, you may hit the limit of the indexing capabilities, a problem with no easy workaround.
Squeezebox: requires simple installation of server software, so you have to have a computer always on. Server is too CPU-intensive to run properly on a low-power NAS such as the D-Link DNS-323
Internet radio
--------------
Sonos: Napster, Rhapsody, Audible, eMusic, Zune Marketplace, Sirius, Pandora, all configurable from the controller
Squeezebox: Rhapsody, MP3Tunes Locker, Radio IO, RadioTime, Slacker, Live365, SHOUTcast, Sirius, most must be configured and authorized from a computer using the SqueezeCenter web interface.
Support
-------
Both companies offer spectacular support through their on-line forums.
Summary
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Price: Squeezebox. A three-zone Sonos system will cost you about twice as much as a three zone Squeezebox system.
Capabilities: tie
Ease of setup: Sonos
Ease of use/WAF: Sonos. The Squeezebox interface is beautiful, but Sonos is more logically organized and simpler.
So, should you get Sonos or Squeezebox? It depends. Both systems are excellent.
If you're a tinkerer and want a solid, inexpensive system, the Squeezebox is for you. If you don't mind the added cost, want the best, simplest, friendliest user interface around, Sonos is still the ticket.
One thing is for sure: Sonos finally has some serious competition.

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Listen to the music you love in any room in your home with the Logitech Squeezebox Duet. Play songs stored on your computer, tune in to thousands of Internet radio stations, or connect to online services such as Pandoraand Rhapsody . Plus, the multi-room controller with 2.4-inch color display and scroll-wheel navigation makes it easy to browse, select, and play music from the palm of your hand.

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

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(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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Logitech Squeezebox Radio Music Player with Color Screen (Black) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I am a long time owner of Squeezebox products and was pretty excited to find out about the little table top Squeezebox Radio model. I picked one up and thought I would share my thoughts.
The first thing you notice is how much heft this little player has. It is really well built and the fit and finish is superb. It has plenty of weight and solid rubber feet so that it won't skid around on your night stand or table top. The screen looks great and all of the buttons have a nice solid tactile feel. Compared to many other cheap wireless network streaming radios, this device feels an entire order of magnitude better in its construction quality. The only disappointment here is the lack of back lit buttons, for using the radio in low lighting. It's also worth noting that the entire radio has a high gloss finish that will be a magnet for fingerprints. Looks great though!
The biggest challenge for most consumers with this device will be the initial set up. You need to create an account at [...] in order to set up your new Squeezebox Radio. The device uses this connection to play free internet music services as well as download software updates, etc, to the Radio. I already had a Squeezebox account so this was not a huge challenge for me, but it might be for some people who might be confused that they need to set up an account before they can use the device. There is an option to set up the account from the device itself. Don't do this (it is slow and tedious)! Go to the website and set it up in a few seconds and then just type your login and password on the device.
Other than the laborious task of entering my full email and password for [...] the rest of the setup is very easy. The Squeezebox Radio supports push to connect wi-fi set up which is common on many newer model wireless routers. It's similar to programming a garage door opener. Simply point the Squeezebox Radio at your wireless network and for 120 seconds it will try to connect with the push to connect functionality. Then just push the connect button on your router and it's automagically all set up.
Once set up the Radio will update its firmware and reboot, a process that takes a few extra minutes. After that you are good to go.
In addition to the many built in free online services, you can also play your own music through the Squeezebox Server application. I run the Squeezebox Server application on my HP EX495 Windows Home Server but you can also run Squeezebox Server on any Mac, Windows PC or even Linux box (there are even installable distributions for many Network Attached Storage units). This allows the Squeezebox Radio (and any other Squeeze players) to access all of the music on my home network. It's absolutely wonderful to be able to take the little table top radio anywhere in the home and listen to your entire music collection.
Sound quality is very good, easily enough to fill a small to medium sized room. It gets quite loud with little to no distortion and the controls are easy to use to change tracks, change volume, etc. Wireless strength is superb. I get a full signal anywhere within about 40 feet of my router, and the radio works anywhere on my suburban property with no audio hiccups or dropouts.
In addition to the intuitive controls such as "home", "play", "stop", "back", etc, the unit also features six programmable "preset" buttons similar to what you have on a car radio. Setting these up is a bit more of a challenge than you would expect. You are supposed to be able to hold these down on any song, album, playlist, etc, that is being displayed in the radio menu and have it added as a preset. Unfortunately some items don't add correctly and must first be programmed as a "favorite". It turns out that you can only add favorites for some items (such as playlists) from the Squeezebox Server web based menu, which is quite inconvenient. I don't doubt that Slim Devices (the arm of Logitech that makes these devices) will fix this soon enough.
Other minor glitches include some weird alarm behavior (it will show the time of the alarm when it is going off but strangely won't show the current time, which is annoying if you have hit the snooze button a few times and need to know what time it is), some auto dimming issues (the auto dimming works great but gets almost TOO dim in a dark room to see the radio) and a few other very minor nits.
Slim Devices have a long history of enhancement and improvement of device firmware, so I would expect a lot of these issues to be worked out in the coming months. Additionally there will soon be a battery pack and small infrared remote for the Squeezebox Radio available as a $[...] add on purchase. Personally I think at $[...] the Radio should include these items, but considering the great sound of the radio, the high quality screen and the superb fit and finish it is justified that this device costs as much as it does.
Also worth noting is that if you have an iPod Touch or iPhone you can get the iPeng application $[...] from the Apple App Store which makes controlling and programming your Squeezebox Radio an absolute breeze. iPeng is really a must have if you have these devices and want a wonderful pocket control that works from anywhere in your home. Beats the pants off of what Sonus has to offer!
//Update 1 (Nov 2nd 2009)
Yesterday my SB Radio lost all of the preset buttons which is most annoying. It also turns out that many of the requests for fixes around the alarms functionality have not been addressed and don't appear to be scheduled to be addressed in the next release or two of the software. If your primary use will be a night stand alarm clock I would recommend holding off for now until Logitech addresses alarm functionality issues. If the issues are not resolved I will reconsider my four star rating as it should then be a three star product.
//Update 2 (May 13 2010)
Logitech has not only not fixed many of the initial annoyances with the SB Radio, but newer firmware has in fact made the product less stable and reliable. It still does an admirable job of playing your local music library if you run the SB Server on a PC or Mac in your home, but the network streaming functionality seems to be having issues and I've found the alarm to be terribly unreliable. I would now under the current circumstances rate this only 3 out of 5 stars. It's really a shame too, as the "Slim Devices" that originally brought us these problems was very open and communicative about issues and what was being done to fix them. Logitech has little interest in relaying useful information to its beta testers, err, customers and instead gives us the run around with if and when issues will ever be remedied.

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Logitech Squeezebox Radio brings a world of music—free Internet radio, subscription services, or your personal digital music collection—to any space in your home, over your Wi-Fi network.

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