{"id":22576,"date":"2016-12-02T23:34:21","date_gmt":"2016-12-03T03:34:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=22576"},"modified":"2016-12-02T23:34:21","modified_gmt":"2016-12-03T03:34:21","slug":"john-responds-to-the-wired-com-review-of-the-como-audio-solo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2016\/12\/john-responds-to-the-wired-com-review-of-the-como-audio-solo\/","title":{"rendered":"John responds to the Wired.com review of the Como Audio Solo"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"como-audio-solo\"<\/a>Many thanks to SWLing Post<\/em> contributor, John Figliozzi<\/a>,\u00a0author of The Worldwide Listening Guide<\/a>, who comments with this critique of the Wired.com review of the Como Audio Solo<\/a>:<\/p>\n

I wonder how experienced this reviewer <\/a>is with this class of audio devices.<\/p>\n

First he states that the Solo receives AM. I doesn’t. (Unless you count receiving AM stations via their Internet streams.)<\/p>\n

It does receive FM, although its sensitivity to fringe signals is a bit substandard comparatively, even with the built-on rod antenna. He notes a disappointing audio performance at higher volumes, but fails to distinguish between sources. Lower bit rate digital audio does reveal its insufficiencies with increased volume, but that would be true regardless of the speaker ratings.<\/p>\n

A 30 watt RMS driver\/tweeter speaker combo in a box this compact bespeaks a pretty efficient and powerful digital amplifier that would shine if fed audio of sufficient “heft”. With so much compressed digital audio out there–especially on Internet radio–it’s hard to judge what the objective limits of this unit aurally truly are.<\/p>\n

He also doesn’t seem to be conversant with the set-up process, which is quite intuitive, or the fact that the unit comes with a remote.<\/p>\n

At $300 MSRP<\/a>, it is premium priced and will be too rich for the blood of some. Furthermore, its Internet station list as provided by Frontier Silicon seems a bit more limited than others I’ve experienced. But it is beautifully designed and presented and is quite versatile. Then again, as much as I like it, I can’t see myself populating my home with one in every room. There are other products out there that do this more efficiently and affordably.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, John Figliozzi,\u00a0author of The Worldwide Listening Guide, who comments with this critique of the Wired.com review of the Como Audio Solo: I wonder how experienced this reviewer is with this class of audio devices. First he states that the Solo receives AM. I doesn’t. (Unless you count receiving AM […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3,26,4652],"tags":[5512,5158,5546,703],"class_list":["post-22576","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","category-radios","category-wifi-radio","tag-como-audio","tag-como-audio-solo","tag-como-audio-solo-review","tag-john-figliozzi"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-5S8","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":22572,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2016\/12\/wired-com-reviews-the-como-audio-solo\/","url_meta":{"origin":22576,"position":0},"title":"Wired.com reviews the Como Audio Solo","author":"Thomas","date":"December 2, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Jeff McMahon, who shares this review of the Como Audio Solo: Here\u2019s a $300 internet radio review from Wired: https:\/\/www.wired.com\/2016\/12\/review-como-audio-solo\/ Click here to view on Wired.com. I was an early backer of the Como Audio Solo and reviewed it in October. Since then, the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"como-audio-solo-table","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Como-Audio-Solo-table-1024x580.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Como-Audio-Solo-table-1024x580.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Como-Audio-Solo-table-1024x580.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":23312,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2017\/01\/muzen-audio-handcrafted-radios\/","url_meta":{"origin":22576,"position":1},"title":"Muzen Audio handcrafted radios","author":"Thomas","date":"January 10, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, John Figliozzi, who writes: This [company] was mentioned in regard to the CES show out in Las Vegas: http:\/\/www.airsmartaudio.com\/ It\u2019s a Chinese company with a rather novel approach to the design of modern radios \u2014 AM\/FM\/Internet Bluetooth, along with the use of tube amplifiers\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "AM"","block_context":{"text":"AM","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/am\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Muzen-Design-Radio.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Muzen-Design-Radio.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Muzen-Design-Radio.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Muzen-Design-Radio.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":21644,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2016\/10\/a-review-of-the-como-audio-solo\/","url_meta":{"origin":22576,"position":2},"title":"A review of the Como Audio Solo","author":"Thomas","date":"October 20, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Regular SWLing Post readers might remember that this past summer, I made an impulse purchase--and in doing so,\u00a0backed a Kickstarter campaign for the new Como Audio Solo. But exactly why did I buy this small, self-contained digital music device--? Having just completed an in-depth review of several WiFi radios, I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Digital Audio Broadcasting"","block_context":{"text":"Digital Audio Broadcasting","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/digital-audio-broadcasting\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"como-audio-solo-table","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Como-Audio-Solo-table-1024x580.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Como-Audio-Solo-table-1024x580.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Como-Audio-Solo-table-1024x580.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":21653,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2016\/10\/como-audio-solo-and-duet-how-to-add-and-organize-internet-radio-stations\/","url_meta":{"origin":22576,"position":3},"title":"Como Audio Solo and Duet: How to add and organize Internet radio stations","author":"Thomas","date":"October 4, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"This weekend, I received the Como Audio Solo that I backed in a summer Kickstarter campaign. I'm pleased the Solo\u00a0not only met delivery expectations, but I'm\u00a0happy\u00a0with the overall quality of this radio. I will post a preliminary review soon. One of the main reasons I purchased the Solo was to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "How To"","block_context":{"text":"How To","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/how-to\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"como-audio-solo-close-up","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Como-Audio-Solo-Close-Up-1024x576.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Como-Audio-Solo-Close-Up-1024x576.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Como-Audio-Solo-Close-Up-1024x576.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":51305,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2021\/12\/a-look-inside-the-worldwide-listening-guides-tenth-edition\/","url_meta":{"origin":22576,"position":4},"title":"A look inside: The Worldwide Listening Guide’s Tenth Edition","author":"Thomas","date":"December 28, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"As I've mentioned many times here on the SWLing Post, I'm something of a \u201ccontent DXer.\u201d Clearly, I enjoy chasing obscure programming\u2013\u2013news, documentaries, music, variety shows, anything the broadcasting world has to offer.\u00a0 \u00a0Even though my favorite medium for doing this has been shortwave radio, these days, I often turn\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Books"","block_context":{"text":"Books","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/books\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/WWLG-10th-Ed-Cover-1.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/WWLG-10th-Ed-Cover-1.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/WWLG-10th-Ed-Cover-1.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":38815,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2019\/08\/frontier-silicons-favorites-feature-is-back\/","url_meta":{"origin":22576,"position":5},"title":"Frontier Silicon’s favorites feature is back","author":"Thomas","date":"August 5, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, John Figliozzi, who discovered that the favorites feature is back on his Frontier Silicon-based WiFi radio and notes: Check out the screen on your Como Solo and follow the instructions. Full features appear to be back! Wrote to Peter Skiera at Como and he\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Como-Audio-Solo-Close-Up-1024x576.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Como-Audio-Solo-Close-Up-1024x576.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Como-Audio-Solo-Close-Up-1024x576.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22576","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22576"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22576\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22576"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22576"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22576"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}