Philips NP2500/37 Network Music Player is a pretty attractive and moderately functional internet radio interface. You can access online music services such as Rhapsody and your PC music library. You will need to have a set of speakers to hook this up to, unlike the
Philips NP2900/37 Network Music Player which has integrated speakers but also costs about $100 more. In terms of the basic functionality of an internet radio interface to your home audio system, the NP2500 does the minimum that you would expect from it. Where it falls short is in a few more subtle areas of functionality.
HITS
** The international features of this device are excellent. Those in multi-lingual homes have 7 or 8 on-screen language options including Italian, French, Swedish and German. You can use international standard dates and military time too, which were both features I was looking for. You also have much better flexibility in terms of how to search for music by location of the station. Kudos again.
** The ease of hooking up to networks via both wireless and wired Ethernet connections is very good. I tested connections with both using several networks and had no trouble connecting and connectivity stayed strong. Just make sure that the wireless connection is your own. By default it will grab onto the easiest network to connect to.
** The standard inputs and outputs are mostly integrated. In addition to a headphone / line-out 3.5 mm jack, there are traditional RCA speaker inputs and outputs for standard connectors and a nice optical output.
** The screen on the unit itself is nice, and the integrated clock is automatically updated via the internet. The clock is very easy to read, unlike some other devices I own. Some may take this for granted, but this is a very nice feature!
** The compact size of the unit allows for more flexible placement compared to fully integrated speaker radios like the Phillips 2900 or the Logitech Squeezebox Boom. Newer units like the Squeezebox Radio, Grace and Mint are offering integrated speaker options in almost as small a size. But the sound quality of those units is limited. If you have high quality speakers, you can fit this display into a tight area and wire it to your speakers elsewhere.
** The list price of this unit is definitely reasonable considering what you get. While there are a few quirky shortcomings, in my opinion, to this device, at least the price isn't as inflated out of the box leading to an almost immediate need to mark it down. Kudos to Philips for pricing this model right.
MISSES
** While there is an integrated clock (that is very easy on the eyes) and alarm, the alarm feature does not seem to function for all audio outputs. For whatever reason, when connected via headphones the unit powers on without sound output.
** It is inexplicable that a simple line-in jack was not included on this model for connecting MP3 players. For those that want to use this device without using their computer's media library, this seems like a huge missed opportunity considering there are only more and more MP3 players being used to store music collections. Some will be surprised that there is not a standard serial port to connect an iPod dock. Even if they weren't going to include that, a simple 3.5 mm line-in jack has become a requirement for all home audio devices.
** There is an integrated folding cover that has gaudy advertisements on it. While most surfaces have protective plastic that is easily removed, this advertisement seems to be very difficult to remove. Did Philips really want people to keep this adhered to the top? And if this is meant to double as a fold down cover when transporting this unit, why did they integrate adhesive strips into it instead of some kind of slots for holding it in place? And did nobody else think that this gaudy advertising was in poor taste?
** The remote has an unnecessarily large click-wheel for accessing menu options, but the buttons and the text above them are all unnecessarily small. Not to mention, all the buttons have printed text instead of backlit text. Those with poor eyesight will have trouble with this remote, which is very busy with buttons and seems over-designed.
** Unfortunately, the screen seems less well designed for actually seeing information about what is currently playing. Few people have their home entertainment systems within a close distance from where they usually access it. So for those who need this to hook up on their desks, they will have an easier time reading the screen. There seems to be almost no options for changing the formatting of the view, which is entirely based upon how different internet radio stations map to the devices screen properties. That means some sites look good but many have text that seems to over-flow onto itself and is not very readable. Once again, this will be less important for some but for me this is almost a deal breaker.
** Once you can set up your personal music library with this device, track information displays well and the response time is good. However, ease of installation for certain features is better than others. I think that those who are primarily going to use this to connect to internet radio have a fairly pain-free installation ahead of them. Those who primarly want a unit to connect to their computer media library will have to set aside some time to work through an installation that will seem quirky to those who are not tech savvy.
** The sound quality is as good as one would expect. There are equalizer settings for a few music categories. This seems strange given than this device is essentially optimized for 2.0 sound. It doesn't include all the available digital audio codecs for surround sound and advanced features. Those who would want true equalizer settings will have to route this unit's output through their receiver to make equalizer changes if they are expecting them to mean anything. So audiophiles who are demanding in terms of sound should not expect much more than serviceable sound from this unit.
** The selection of internet radio stations is limited compared to what is out there. Navigating through them is cumbersome. If you like to explore a variety of internet radio stations, this unit seems to have the array of options artificially limited. Some stations are also blocked from playing on this depending on what country you're in. That defeats the purpose of what internet radio is supposed to be.
** The subscription options are limited. If you are a hardcore Rhapsody subscriber, this unit is designed for you. But for those who are subscribers to one of the many other services such as Pandora, this unit is not flexible enough. I hope that Phillips will expand their support for other alternatives in future releases.
** The durability and build quality leave a lot to be desired. Mine came with a loose power connection that resulted in it constantly turning itself on and off. I will update this review if and when I can get this problem solved. Suffice it to say, this unit's construction will not inspire confidence.
THE ALTERNATIVES
I'm happy to a degree with the improvements of this unit over the prior Streamium products. But if I had to choose between this unit or competing devices like the
Logitech Squeezebox Duet Network Music System or the
Logitech Squeezebox Boom Network Music Player with Integrated Speakers, I would probably still choose either of those over this one. I think that those who need the clock feature will find the Philips NP2500 to be better than the Logitech alternatives. But in every other area, the Boom seems better able to access my media library. In the case of the duet, the fact that the screen is on the remote may make more sense for a home theatre user. Even though the screen is smaller and, arguably, not as nice, it is easier to read since it is at your fingertips.
The Philips NP2900 seems to offer a good compromise between all these devices. Though I still feel like the software is not as good as the Logitech Squeezebox Boom's software, the integrated speaker on that unit overcomes the issue with the alarm not working on this unit under certain setups. It also has the nice integrated LCD screen, which the Boom does not have. Once again, while the Philips design includes a few more features, Logitech's brand is just a little bit more reliable in my mind so it's a toss up. I would advise anybody debating whether to spend the extra $100 for the NP2900 to do so. The NP2500 is good, but the few extras you do without in this model really seem to be a problem after time.
Newer units like the
Logitech Squeezebox Radio,
Grace Digital Wireless Internet Radio GDI-IR2000 and the
Aluratek AIREC01F WiFi Internet Radio also have to be considered. Many of them offer better price points, more subscription options, integrated speakers and other advantages.
CONCLUSION
I will revisit this product after a few more months of use.
Read more ›
