Logitech Wireless Music System for PC Review

And over this 2.4Ghz frequency, Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (aka. A2DP) is the only option to transfer stereo audio from the USB transmitter to the receiver. Short of messing around with XP's Bluetooth stack, which lacks A2DP support, Logitech opts for a better solution - a self-contained Bluetooth connection wrapped by friendly USB. Their marketing label this setup as 'Music Anywhere'.

Streaming Tunes Across the Room
To get this thing rolling, you first need to plug the USB transmitter to either Windows XP or 2000 SP3 and then connect the receiver to a boombox or HiFi via the bundled RCA cables. On the back of the receiver, you'll also find a 3.5mm jack and a switch for toggling between 'Fixed' and 'Variable'. The 'Fixed' position boosts full-strength, line-level signal. While this is the ideal setting for a HiFi connection, make sure that you switch back to 'Variable' if you're going to put on your headphones. Otherwise, your ear drums will take some serious damage. The 'Fixed' position disables the volume control, so you would still need your speakers' remote.

I didn't have to spend more than a minute to pair up the two nodes. I pressed the 'Connect' button on the transmitter; the connection between the units was established as soon as the LEDs on the nodes turned from solid red to blue. Then I installed the Music Anywhere 1.1 software, allowing me to select the sound output device between onboard audio and the Logitech wireless for each media player individually. This will come in handy; for example, your folk can enjoy his AACs on iTunes through the computer speakers when you listen to your WMAs from the WMP10 library upstairs.

As of this writing, I couldn't get iTunes 6 to work with the software. The only way I could stream MP3s/AACs wirelessly was by forcing the Logitech to become the default audio for ALL Windows applications. Another note, Logitech lets you add 9 more receivers, but only 1 of them can be used at a time. Each of them can be renamed in Music Anywhere software.

Forget About DRMs
As far as media compatibility goes, the Logitech Wireless Music is basically a discrete sound system that still relies on PC's software to handle the decoding; therefore, it is immune to any DRM restrictions. There are several things to keep in mind. For starters, you'll need to keep the media player open and to pick your favorite playlist prior to leaving the desk for your sofa. For some surprise, you may want to enable auto shuffle within the software player. Second, the receiver lacks a display of any kind to tell you the song on air. Lastly, navigation controls are very primitive; all you can do is skipping to the next or previous track.

Bluetooth 1.2 A2DP transmission is digital rather than analog. Its adaptive frequency-hopping improves resistance to interference introduced by WiFi, cordless phone or maybe a nearby microwave. If you walk out of the 330 ft. range (specs), you'll most likely hear audio break up from the Logitech audio stream rather than statics on USB FM broadcasts. There's a iPod version with a limited 33 ft. range probably due to the transmitter's power conservation. Subjectively speaking, my MP3s at 320kbps sounded like what they are supposed to, and Mozart's Turkish March from my CD didn't lose any fidelity over Bluetooth. I didn't have a chance to really max out range, however. When I was 100 ft. away with the receiver, music was still streaming flawlessly.

The Bottom Line
The Logitech Wireless Music System for PC is appealing to those who don't want to struggle with setting up WiFi encryption, understanding the politics behind the DRMs and upgrading firmwares on some of the more sophisticated media receivers. Given its $149.99 (list) price tag, possible additions of a 2-line LCD and a digital output would be nice. All in all, you are exchanging functionality for simplicity, and it's now up to you to assess whether the Logitech will work for you in the long run.

By Ian Chiu, Managing Editor