TrulyObscure - article - gadgeteer - sounds - The New Future of Radio? Myine Ira Wifi Radio Pairs Up Nicely With Logitech's Z520

Posted by Greg May Nov 10, 02:56 PM to gadgeteer : sounds -

It’s all too easy to succumb to the tyranny of the local- depending on the radio for your music means dealing with a very limited worldview, listening to a fraction of the music available or a small number of perspectives on news and events. That’s one of the main reasons that we’ve been fans of internet radio devices big and small, and covered some of the major services in our original look at the Future of Radio.

Unlike the Squeezebox Boom or the C. Crane model that we’ve tested, the Myine Ira doesn’t come with built-in speakers. That can be a boon or a burden, depending on your setup, but it’s the single most important thing to know about this cute and easy-to-use internet radio adapter. It’s also why we’ve paired it up today with a set of Logitech speakers that we’ve been using to test the Ira out.

Now, the Ira has nothing to do with retirement accounts. In fact, it does only one thing- serve as a handy interface for getting internet radio stations connected to any set of external speakers. No computer required, but you’ll need to have wireless internet access (and a decent speed helps). There are no monthly fees or setup charges but, as usual, audio quality and performance are only as good as the radio station you select. Thus, the Ira lives and dies on it’s interface, and luckily it’s pretty decent- a fairly large bright screen, and a pretty decent included remote round out the device. We had it setup and running on our wireless network in just a few minutes, and it’s easy enough for folks who wouldn’t know FM from Last.FM. With a small footprint and good looking case, it was easy to add the device to our existing home theater system.

Unfortunately, the audio output is RCA-only or mini-jack via the included adapter- good enough for most, but certainly a far cry from optical connections that we would have enjoyed. The screen is nice, but isn’t interactive, meaning that if you lose the remote you are in trouble. Oh, and it doesn’t offer Pandora or Last.FM, or any other services for that matter, which is quite a pity. At a price point of $125 or so, it’s hard to recommend strongly. But if you can find one on sale, love internet radio or simply don’t get radio reception but already have a good speaker system, then the Ira is for you. Available primarily online.

And if you have the Ira, you’ll need speakers. Heck, consider getting yourself speakers as a holiday gift if you are using any sort of built-in speakers or the cheap ones that come with most desktops- you’ll thank us later. The Z520s from Logitech are certainly inexpensive enough to fit almost any Christmas budget as well, at around $110-$120.

We’ve tested quite a few speaker systems as of late, including our current favorites (and most expensive set), the Axioms. But Logitech is well-known for affordable audio quality (witness their excellent iPhone and iPod docks), and while the Z520s won’t knock anyone’s socks off, they do a fine job for a 2.0 system lacking a separate subwoofer. There isn’t a separate control or remote, but the volume knob is easily accessible. The system is both small and attractive, easy to set next to most any computer, and does offer a convenient auxiliary input for your iPod or other device.

This isn’t a great set of party speakers, and won’t fill a room with sound- but does deliver crisp, clear notes thanks to the upward-angled design. We hope more systems will take their cue, and with any luck, offer some level of adjustability- more and more, our testers are finding that angle can make all of the difference and that even a few degrees matter. We liked the Z520s, especially in conjunction with a source not meant to be pumped up to 11. For those in need of a bit more bass, we can suggest the (untested) Z523s which offer a separate sub-woofer in a larger and admittedly less-attractive package. Available widely online and in stores.