Product Reviews

Despite its name, and the fact that Logitech doesn't advertise this as a Mac product, the Wireless Music System will stream music wirelessly from your Mac to any amplifier, stereo system or speakers with either a line in or RCA phono inputs.

The System comes in four parts: a transmitter that plugs into a USB port on the Mac; an extension cable with USB dock that allows you to place the transmitter up to 175cm away from the Mac; the receiver with media controls that connects to your preferred output device; and a remote control unit.

Setting up the Wireless Music System is easy. Plug the receiver either directly into a USB port on your Mac or hub, or plug the extension cable in and slot the transmitter into that. At the other end, connect the receiver to your amp or powered speakers using either the supplied RCA phono cable or a 3.5mm mini jack to mini jack cable.

All that's needed after that is a quick visit to the Sound pane in System Preferences to set the Mac's output to the Logitech device and you're ready to roll. A successful connection between transmitter and receiver is signified by a blue LED on both units. If the light is red or flashing you have a problem, but the troubleshooting guide in the manual should be able to help.

There's no Mac driver software so there's no way to tell your Mac to route only

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the audio from your chosen application to the Logitech unit. It's a good idea, therefore, if you're not using your Mac, to close all applications other than the one you're using to listen to music. You can get around this problem with Detour, a free application from Rogue Amoeba that allows you to route audio from different applications to a specified output.

We found the controls on the receiver and on the supplied remote control to be very hit-and-miss. Volume and mute worked, after a fashion - although changing volume caused audible interference. Playing, pausing, skipping and stopping didn't work with iTunes, however. Even that's not as big a problem as it might seem because even if these functions did work, there would still be no way to view playlists and track details while navigating. Better to use this system in conjunction with something like the excellent Salling Clicker 3 and a compatible mobile phone or PDA as the remote control. This will allow you to take full control over iTunes over either Bluetooth or Wi-Fi and view playlists, menus and artwork on the screen of the phone or PDA.

The Logitech Wireless Music System uses RF to transmit an audio stream as opposed to systems like Squeezebox. The result is that you can listen to all the music in your iTunes library, including protected content downloaded from the iTunes Music Store.

The audio quality is on a par with FM radio, so it's not for you if you're an audiophile. But it's fine if you're more interested in convenience than fidelity.

At £100 the Logitech Wireless Music System isn't cheap, but it costs a lot less than the Squeezebox and systems from Roku. And while it doesn't provide some of the features of these other systems, when used in conjunction with Detour and Salling Clicker (which costs $24), it is an excellent solution for streaming music from your iTunes library to any input-enabled music system in your home or office.