Digital Trends

JBL Radial October 8th, 2006 | by Vince Veneziani

Setup and Use

Setting up the JBL Radial isn’t hard at all. Just pull it out, get used to the shape for a minute, then plug it in and dock your iPod. That’s all. People who receive this for a gift (such as college students) can set this dock up quickly and easily in no time.

Controlling your iPod is limited to the remote control and the volume controls on the Radial. The remote does a great job of navigating through your music and has a long lasting battery. However, the volume buttons on the Radial aren’t touch-sensitive. For the price of this unit, you should get the same touch-sensitive buttons found on JBL’s OnStage II iPod dock.

The JBL Radial also comes in both black and white flavors. This is a welcome feature to those of us with more than one iPod in more than one color!

 
JBL OnTime and Radial Comparison

JBL Radial on the left and OnTime on the right

Performance

People who want to throw a party, have a decent all-in-one audio system, or just enjoy big, loud sound will absolutely love this docking station from JBL. The sound produced is of excellent quality with no distortion at higher levels. You can clearly hear every tone and sound on your iPod which is great for classical music. Those of you who enjoy dance music, trance, house, or hip-hop will be glad to know that the bass is responsive and loud. You could easily use the Radial during a party or event you’re having.

Using the Radial for watching video is nice, but not a necessary feature. You’ll be buying this for a high-end iPod docking station, not the ability to have video out. However it does work and works quite well for putting videos or photos on your television screen quickly. A great idea is to creative a slideshow with music and use the Radial next to your TV. Viewers can enjoy great sound and your photos all at once with one device.

This is a high-end audio device by all means, so you’d compare the JBL Radial to something like Bose’s SoundDock. The SoundDock and Radial have entirely different designs and shapes which of course affects the projection of the sound. Overall the Bose SoundDock tends to sound “warmer” which consumers may or may not like. The Radial is great all around and has better highs than the SoundDock. However if you’re not a fan of rock music, you’ll probably find the JBL Radial not to your liking and the Bose SoundDock more fitting.