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Experience 'Untethered' Internet Radio

The Sonos System

If you like controlling your music selections (radio and otherwise) with your mobile device or tablet, Sonos' expandable system could be the right one for you. While we haven’t tested this most recent Sonos system, we tested an older version a few years ago. Here's a review:

There are similar competing products, but Sonos is well-established, having sold more than a quarter-million systems worldwide since it was founded in 2002. You can expect to spend about $1,000 on a small system that includes a hand-held controller about the size of an iPhone, a router to connect to you computer (PC or Mac) and two “ZonePlayers.” This setup creates high-quality wirelessly transmitted sound in two different places in your home, each of which may be from the same source – say, both WCLV – or from any number of hundreds and potentially thousands of sources, all accessed through the neat little controller. So you can have WCLV on in the kitchen while you cook, while your mate listens to “Radio Classique” from Paris in the den. Very cool.

The sound quality delivered by Sonos’ hardware and software is first-rate. Most of the music streams from radio stations and other sources – which come from throughout the U.S., Europe and elsewhere – seem to be from captured digital sources. In the case of WCLV, that means you’re listening to the station’s best-sounding output – the one delivered to its digital transmitter in Avon.

The system is available at www.sonos.com.

The Grace Internet Radio

Grace Digital Audio offers several Internet Radio options at prices ranging from $129.00 to $249.00. Although we have not tested all of the models, our experience with Grace Internet Radios has been quite positive. We encourage you to check them out. You can find them at www.GraceDigitalAudio.com and other websites.

Logitech® Squeezebox™ and Transporter™
We have not yet tested this system, but WCLV has long utilized other Logitech products. It is a well-respected brand.