Review: Oxx Digital Tube blasts out the bass
CNET reviews the Oxx Digital Tube, finding that its unique design allows it to put out more bass than other Wi-Fi radios, but it takes up a lot of space, is difficult to navigate, and lacks additional music streaming services.
Wi-Fi radios come in many shapes and sizes, but the Oxx Digital Tube is in a class of its own with its jumbo, hollow-bodied design. The Tube's unique look accommodates its built-in subwoofer, and yes, we found that the radio delivers much more bass than is common on a tabletop radio, although the overall sound quality is just about average.
Like virtually all Wi-Fi radios, the Tube offers up thousands of free Internet radio stations, but it isn't exactly easy to sort through them all on the unit's skimpy two-line LCD display. We were also disappointed that the Tube lacked any additional streaming services, like Pandora or Slacker, which are offered on competitors such as the Grace GDI-IR2000 or Acoustic Research ARIR200.
If you have plenty of room and listen to a lot of bass-heavy music, the Tube does offer up a glitch-free experience at an attractive price. However, in most situations, we think buyers will be better off with more compact competitors that offer up additional streaming services.
