MONDO VS. SQUEEZEBOX

Abstract

The Mondo, as in "The World," has a 3.5-inch (diagonal) screen with 360x240 resolution to the Squeezebox's 2.4-inch screen. Album art is easier to see from a distance on the Mondo, but type looks sharper on the Squeezebox. The bigger screen, though, will be an obvious difference-maker for some buyers.

Mondo uses the latest wireless standard (801.11n) for maximum speed potential and best signal range. Squeezebox uses the older, slower 802.11g standard. In most households, this shouldn't make much difference. The Squeezebox has a second, and likely fastest, option: an Ethernet port.

Both transform into a portable player with an add-on lithium-ion battery. The Mondo's costs $40, the Squeezebox's $50. (Both have identically styled indented carrying handles on the back.) The Mondo includes a midsize remote that's useful for volume or song changes and Pandora voting but problematic for tasks that require a close, clear view of the screen. With the Squeezebox, the remote is an option that comes with the battery pack.

Grace Digital Audio's obsession with building a better Wi-Fi music player than Logitech's Squeezebox Radio is finally over.

The Mondo, delayed more than a year while its developers retooled with the newer, faster Stingray processor, is here. As it turns out, Grace didn't exactly build a better Squeezebox Radio - it built another Squeezebox Radio.

Yes, the Mondo is almost a separated-at-birth Squeezebox, built into a bigger, contoured chassis with a bigger color display and one obvious distinction: a top-mounted volume knob that sticks out like a Frankenstein neck bolt.

Even the list prices are a dead heat, at $180. The Mondo (gracedigital.com) surpasses the Squeezebox Radio (logitech.com) in some areas, falls short in others, but it is the first genuine alternative to the SB.

That can mean only one thing: Price war!

Both music players connect to a wireless home network, play thousands of Internet radio stations (including the local streamers), feature music services like Pandora and SiriusXM and play music stored on a PC or Mac.

Both are superb, with the Mondo's operating system more stable than Logitech's when the Squeezebox Radio debuted more than three years ago. Elsewhere, the differences are surprisingly small:

THE SCREEN

The Mondo, as in "The World," has a 3.5-inch (diagonal) screen with 360x240 resolution to the Squeezebox's 2.4-inch screen. Album art is easier to see from a distance on the Mondo, but type looks sharper on the Squeezebox. The bigger screen, though, will be an obvious difference-maker for some buyers.

Advantage: Mondo

INTERNET RADIO/MUSIC SERVICES

Each has access to thousands of Internet radio stations and two top-dog music services, Pandora and SiriusXM. The Squeezebox, however, will please more music die-hards with Spotify, Slacker, Mog and iRadio.

The Squeezebox also has an information browser with text updates from sources like the BBC, The New York Times and CNET and access to Facebook updates. Grace says those features are coming, but not until mid-2013.

Advantage: Squeezebox

CONNECTIVITY

Mondo uses the latest wireless standard (801.11n) for maximum speed potential and best signal range. Squeezebox uses the older, slower 802.11g standard. In most households, this shouldn't make much difference. The Squeezebox has a second, and likely fastest, option: an Ethernet port.

Both radios have headphone outputs that, with an adapter, connect to a conventional audio system. The Mondo also has a pair of RCA outputs for direct connection to an audio system.

The Mondo's USB port gives the user options to play music stored on a jump drive or adding an optional Ethernet adapter.

Advantage: Mondo

PHYSICAL LAYOUT

Both use a rotary dial/selector to navigate the menu (the Mondo horizontally, the Squeezebox vertically). The big differences: The Mondo's erect volume knob and a snooze control on the top.

The Squeezebox face somehow looks more elegant and inviting.

Advantage: Squeezebox

ACCESSORIES

Both transform into a portable player with an add-on lithium-ion battery. The Mondo's costs $40, the Squeezebox's $50. (Both have identically styled indented carrying handles on the back.) The Mondo includes a midsize remote that's useful for volume or song changes and Pandora voting but problematic for tasks that require a close, clear view of the screen. With the Squeezebox, the remote is an option that comes with the battery pack.

Each has a free remote app that's better suited than an actual remote for small-screen music players, though with limited controls.

Advantage: Mondo

SOUND

The Mondo, despite being almost 2 inches wider than the Squeezebox, has the same-size drivers - a 3-inch "woofer" for lower frequencies, and a 1-inch tweeter for the highs. The bigger cabinet, however, allows it to play slightly louder. The Squeezebox has a more natural sound.

The Mondo played music stored on a Windows laptop and recognized, but would not play, music on a MacBook. Ironically, the files played when I activated the Logitech Media Server software. (Grace says the problem was my Apple Lossless files and that a firmware update will fix it.) The Squeezebox played all music files painlessly.

Advantage: None

My preferences would be the Squeezebox on a nightstand (and the Spotify-Slacker options), with the bigger, louder Mondo in a more open space like a kitchen or even outdoors. The tiebreaker, of course, would be price. Let's see how close each gets to $120 by the end of the year.

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Illustration

Photos (color); Caption: Grace Digital Audio's Mondo, left, and Logitech's Squeezebox Radio