Acoustic Energy Wi-Fi Internet Radio

I have now owned 2 of these radios and although I actually love the functionality of the unit and had no problems setting everything up, the reliability is very poor.

Firstly it has a tendancy to rest it itself, which is no big deal apart from the fact that when it does it automatically turns itsself on and connects to the last radio station. meaning that at times it turns itself on at 3am and starts banging out loud music. This became so common that I had to turn down the volume every time before turning it off. My first unit just died and I put it down to bad luck and bought another one. Now 12 months on my second one has died. Its a shame because its a good radio but I wont be being a 3rd one!!

Display too bright, my Acoustic Energy Wi-Fi Internet Radio arrived with text in display on a slope, obviously poorly manufactured; background hum so useless as bedroom clock radio.

I bought the Acoustic Energy Wi-Fi Internet Radio in new condition from a thrift store for $20. At that price, it's a great deal. Don't think I'd have paid $100 or more though.

I use an Orange Livebox so perhaps if you have a different router you could get it to work.

With the increasing popularity of broadband and the webs massive choice of stations broadcasting worldwide, internet radio is fast becoming 'the' way to listen to your favourite style of music. But until recently the only way to listen to your favourite station on the web was to turn on your PC and use its audio system which in most cases is pants!

So, to make our life easier the boffins at Acoustic Energy got their thinking heads on and came up with The Wi-Fi Radio! Why didn't we think of that?

I should say straight away that this radio relies on you already having a Wi-Fi network set up in your home or office...hence the name Wi-Fi Radio! If you haven't then get one cos this little beauty is worth the effort. Out of the box you can feel the quality of workmanship that AE has put into this radio and you know that the sound quality is going to be good as AE have a great reputation for producing top notch speaker systems. Once plugged in to the mains the radio logs itself onto your Wi-Fi system (if you have security turned on you'll need to input your system password..but only the once) and tunes in (or downloads) it's database of stations from the Reciva site. This database is constsntly being up-dated as new stations come on the 'air' and you can e-mail Reciva with any stations that you would like them to add in the future. Then using the dual function rotary dial you choose either a country or genre and press select for the station you would like to listen too. Simple as that!

It's worth remembering that some of the stations listed only broadcast at certain times of the day so occasionally your AE Radio will just keep 'retrying' and not find anything. As the previous reviewer pointed out one of the best features of this radio is its ability to play the 'on-demand' shows available from the various BBC stations AND be able to pause or re-start a show at any point. If the countless internet stations aren't enough for you the AE Wi-Fi radio will also play music files stored on your PC's hard drive so your choice is quite literally endless. Reception was good anywhere around my house and even in the garden but of course that will depend on your installed W-Fi system and the building in which you're using the radio. The display was my only gripe on this radio as it's too bright to use in your bedroom as a clock alarm. AE say they have done a hardware up-date but even though I followed the instructions my display is still far too bright for use at night. When I E-Mailed AE they say they are working on the problem and another hardware up-date is due soon. We'll wait and see!

That minor gripe aside the AE Wi-Fi radio is simple to use and gives superb results. In fact it's so good that I'm thinking about selling my DAB radio and getting another to run through my Hi-Fi downstairs. Recommended!!

The Acoustic Energy Wi-Fi Internet radio uses a router's wi-fi connection to access the Internet. It can be programmed with encryption to suit the network and has a MAC for further security. It downloads a database of internet radio stations from Reciva, the chip designers, and these are sorted by genre and location - if you want a station not on the list you can post an update to Reciva.

It is easy to use, and the sound is as good as you're going to get, given that some internet radio stations run at only 32kbs. It plays WMA and Real player formats. No need for PC to be on, but if it is, it will also play music stored on your hard disk. If using the "On demand" setting for "Listen again", when you switch off and then switch on later, it will carry on from where you left off in the broadcast.