Admittedly a pretty wide open subject, but one worthy (at least IMHO)
of some back and forth.
I've had experience with the following to some extent or other:
Acoustic Energy AE-1 (discontinued, no longer available new)*
Com One Phoenix***
Revo Pico WiFi* (discontinued, available in the U.S.; replaced
elsewhere by Pico IR)
Tangent Quattro MKII*
Tivoli NetWorks**
Pure Evoke Flow**
CCRadio WiFi*
Sangean WFR-20*
*Reciva chipset
**Frontier chipset
***other proprietary chipset
All of these have plusses and minuses, IMO. I've yet to find one that
does everything well or even "as it should".
Since my primary motivation for owning one is internet radio (as
opposed to DAB, FM or as a music player from hard drive), I'll
confine my observations to that aspect.
In comparing these, I found that only the Phoenix, Pure and Revo
products have the ability to run on batteries. Portability is a radio
essential in my view (even taking into account that wifi is not
ubiquitous by any means, in the way that terrestrial analog radio
is.) Pure wins on this score by being able to run between 10 and 15
hours in wifi mode; the others only 3-4. The ability to immediately
add stations or streams to one's radio is important where the list
supplied on each manufacturer's "captive" web site is found to be
somewhat lacking. Reciva--even with all its repeat and dead links--
seems to have the most comprehensive list, so that function is not as
important. The Phoenix has a neat interface that allows for immediate
gratification on this score. NetWorks and Pure require a "blessing"
from tech support that can take days. So, Reciva-based radios and the
Phoenix get the full marks on this capability. NetWorks, Sangean and
Tangent sound superior to their counterparts on their own on-board
speakers; whilst the others do less well to varying extents on their
own (but can be enhanced if need be through connection to more
dynamic outboard speakers.) Acoustic Engergy, Pure, Tangent, Revo,
Sangean and CCRadio units allow users to pause, rewind and fast
forward through BBC Listen Again programs and podcasts. Phoenix can
do this also, but does not have Listen Again functionality, a major
deficit! Tangent, Revo and Phoenix can display some metadata; the
rest can't do this (to my knowledge/in my limited experience with
some units).
All of the above appear to be able to play the most common (and even
some uncommon) streaming formats without difficulty. One
disappointment with all of these is the infrequent generation of
firmware enhancements or upgrades, which is supposedly one of the
primary benefits of owning one of these. Another is the uneven
technical support and response rate to consumer reactions/requests.
The best of these when it comes to customer interaction/response is
Tivoli who are very consistent; the absolute worst is Com One who
almost never reacts or responds. Pure and CCRadio is on the plus side
of this continuum as well.
It's all a bit uneven, in my estimation. I currently own and use
Tivoli NetWorks and Pure Evoke Flow units. I still own my Com One
Phoenix but rarely use it. To some extent, I'm still searching,
though I like the Flow for its elegant interface/design, superior
portability and decent audio for a unit designed to be portable; and
the Tivoli for its simple, elegant design, superior audio response
and faithful customer interaction.
John Figliozzi
Halfmoon, NY
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