Refine search for MP3

  Leave a comment      Email this to a friend TrustedReviews Newsletters

You can use the Noxon 2 as an alarm clock and you can set the alarm via the remote. You can choose between Favourites, a basic buzzer and FM radio, but you can’t choose an internet radio station or your iPod as a source, which is a bit of a shame. And no, you can’ select one of your iPod tracks as a favourite, as you can't ‘Favourite’ external media.

Overall, I was left with mixed feeling for the Noxon 2. It can do a lot of things but I’m not sure it does them well enough. The internet radio is really its main feature, but I’m not that sold on the concept. The main reason I can see for wanting access to all these internet radio stations is being able to listen to something that you can’t get in your own country. The trouble is that the bit-rates of most stations online streams are just too low. DAB has taken a lot of flack for its relatively low bit-rates but the maximum I could find online is 128k and most are merely 48k. Even DAB is better than that! Of course you can just use the FM tuner, but then if all you want is a iPod dock with a radio why buy this, when you can get something that’s easier to use, better looking and far cheaper, such has this clock radio from Philips?

Certainly if you want PC free internet radio, it’s more talented than the Acoustic Energy, which doesn’t have an iPod dock, but then it’s more expensive. And being a big fan of the BBC’s ‘Listen Again’ service, I’d rather have the Acoustic Energy.

At £200, I’m not convinced by the looks or the build quality of the Noxon Radio 2 for iPod and truth be told, the need for it either. Internet radio makes sense to me if you don’t have a radio to hand and you’re in front of your PC. But if you’re buying a box, I’d rather have DAB. If you happen to want all the Noxon 2’s abilities then you’ll be satisfied, but otherwise it only has limited appeal, at least at this price.

Verdict

An interesting concoction of music technologies, offering internet radio, FM radio, network audio, and an iPod dock. However, it has fussy looks and minor build issues and the cheap remote disappoints for a £200 product. Browsing large collections on an iPod via the remote and small screen is also something of a chore.

Add your comment