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Abstract
The PDX-11 could not be less complicated to operate. It has three push-button controls on top, facing the dock - two for volume, one for on/off - and two status-indicator lights. The green tells the user the PDX-11 is powered on. The red means you-know-what. A small remote duplicates those controls and also has navigational powers over the iPod's/iPhone's menu.
You'd better with the PDX-11. Getting it too close to the action, whether a basement workshop or a beach volleyball game, risks damage to the iPod/iPhone and the dock connector. And watch where you're walking; the low-flung PDX-11 is only about 8 inches wide and slightly less than 9.5 inches high and deep.
The PDX-11 is so simple that Yamaha built in no input switch even though the user can engage either the dock or another device through a minijack connector on the back panel. For a time, I had it connected to an iPod Touch and, via the minijack, a cable box. With both playing simultaneously, out came a bizarre combination of HGTV's "My First Place" and Jimmy Scott's "This Bitter Earth."