AV News 194 - November 2013
There are differences.
· The Music Angel has + and - volume control buttons whereas the Friendz
volume can only be controlled from the external device.
· The Friendz model has an additional 3.5mm input/output socket so a
standard 3.5mm jack lead can be used for connecting up or if desired two
Friendz can be daisy-chained using the supplied 3.5mm to USB cable.
You can't do this with the Music Angel but what else you can do is very
interesting.
· The non-Friendz model has a micro SD card slot on the back, so if you
copy some mp3 files onto a card from your PC you can entertain yourself
by playing them back on the highly portable Music Angel.
· There's no screen to display track information but you can move through
the recorded tracks with the << and >> buttons. I like that.
What's more, if you switch off it remembers the track you were playing
and resumes from there when you switch back on again.
· It also remembers the volume control settings you were using. Very
convenient.
· However the card takes precedence so you will have to remove it if you
want to use the line input.
· Either model can be charged with the supplied USB cable but they are not
interchangeable.
· I charge mine from a mains USB charger (£1.99 from ebay!) and I bought
two adapter cables, mini-USB for Music Angel and micro-USB for
Friendz. Oh, and you only get the neat black carry bag with the Friendz.
Which do I prefer?
The 3.5mm input on the Friendz model does make connecting up very easy
with regular cables but as I have no need to daisy-chain I find the mp3
playback and volume controls make the straight Music Angel the better choice
for me, especially since it's only a third of the price of the Friendz.
But whichever you choose you will be pleasantly surprised and most
certainly not disappointed.
Thank you Jill and John for bringing the Music Angel to our attention.
Music Angel Friendz - Front
Music Angel - Front
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