Digital Trends

JBL Radial October 8th, 2006 | by Vince Veneziani

Features and Design

At first glance, the JBL Radial seems like a futuristic teleportation device (especially in Black) ala Quantum Leap. After reading the manual though, you’ll come to realize that it’s an audio/video dock for your iPod that sounds absolutely great. The dock area for the iPod is one-size-fits-all but does not include any adaptors like many other JBL docking stations do. Unfortunately, the lack of a snug-fitting dock sometimes allows audio to cut out when using the iPod. This occurs usually when you go to manually change tracks or settings on the iPod while it’s docked. Pushing firmly on the iPod makes it wobble and it almost seems as if the iPod is going to snap off the dock.

You also get a very sleek little remote with the JBL Radial. It comes with 6 buttons laid out in 2 columns that are easy to use and allow you to navigate your iPod’s content easily. The battery seemed to last forever and still wasn’t out of juice as the time of writing this article. It also gets pretty good range no matter where you are in the room.

Those of you with a 5G iPod Video can dock it and then play video through a TV with the JBL Radial. This feature is easy to setup and use and allows you to take your iPod’s movies onto a much bigger screen. You can also sync your iPod with your PC or Mac with the built-in USB 2.0 port; a handy feature if you have a laptop and don’t want to disturb your iPod.

You’ll also be able to use the JBL Radial with any other MP3 Player, Walkman, or Laptop via the Radial’s 1/8” jack adaptor; though it looks super cool when you dock an iPod of the same color in your Radial.

So what’s powering your music inside and flowing it into your ears? You get 60 watts of thumping bass, pounding mids, and high trebles that sound good no matter what the genre is. All music lovers should be able to agree that the Radial does an excellent job of handling bass-heavy songs as well as lighter, higher songs with distinct sounds. The Radial uses JBL’s Odyssey line of transducers which they claim gives this device its dynamic range.

Image Courtesy of JBL