Review: Roku SoundBridge Radio

The Roku SoundBridge Radio may not look much on the outside, but it provides wireless audio for small rooms from your PC as well as offering an AM/FM radio and Internet radio player. (PCMag.com)

The Roku SoundBridge Radio ($399 list) may not look like much on the outside, but it works surprisingly well. Its a one-piece 2.1-speaker system that can grab music from your PC via Wi-Fi (802.11b/g), as well as play AM/FM radio and Internet radio.

Music software support is very broad, and the sound quality is impressive for such a small box, reminding me somewhat of the Bose Wave system.

Setup can be a bit tricky depending on how your wireless network is configured, and the device doesnt currently support WPA security. The SoundBridge Radio wont replace a multispeaker stereo system, but its certainly a viable solution for a den, bedroom, or kitchen.

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Housed in a single 11- by 6- by 6.5-inch black plastic cabinet weighing about 5 pounds, the SoundBridge Radio looks like a large clock radio, consisting of two full-range speakers (each powered by a 20W RMS amp) and an upward-firing subwoofer (powered by a 30W RMS amp). Buttons along the top control presets, audio source, track skipping, and various alarm functions.

Theres also a large volume knob that puts the SoundBridge in standby mode when pressed. On the front, theres a 280- by 32-pixel vacuum fluorescent display (VFD) screen with adjustable brightness and text size.

On the back, there are ports for AM and FM antennas, and theres a 3.5mm headphone jack and a Secure Digital media slot on the right side. The whole thing looks a bit retro, but the technology inside is very modern.

Read the full story on PCMag.com: Roku SoundBridge Radio

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