Showing posts with label network audio. Show all posts
Showing posts with label network audio. Show all posts

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Aluratek AIRJ01F USB Internet Radio Jukebox Review

Aluratek AIRJ01F USB Internet Radio Jukebox
Average Reviews:

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It's pretty straight-forward: it lets you listen to thousands of radio stations that broadcast on the Net. As I write this review, I am sitting here, on the US East Coast, listening to some Icelandic rock station. In the past couple of hours I browsed through radio stations based in France, the Philippines, UK and, I believe Thailand. Pretty cool, eh?
But, let's summarize:
Installation: super-easy. You stick the USB thing into the proper port and you get prompted to allow for the software to install on your computer - at least that's what Vista does.
Interface: you get 2 top-10 lists that can be expanded to top-100, by region or by genre. The tops are not too useful, unless you really believe that the number one talk station in the world is broadcasting from Bulgaria but, it's fun to have them there. The categories are usually hit and miss - you are almost as likely to find music on a 'talk' station as your are to find actual talk but... it's no big deal, believe me. The stations are also classified by Genre and Location and, within each of these, you can sort them by 'country' - not all stations have a country assigned to them and Kansas and Kenya are both viewed as 'countries'. You can include individual stations on your favorite list and you can vote them up or down. There is also a 'history' section, a 'help' section and a link to the maker of the product. Oh, the bottom of the window is reserved for advertising but, I bet, you are NOT likely to stare at the Aluratek windows while listening to the radio so it's not bothersome.
Reception: each station shows a number of bars, telephone style - 4 bars are supposed to be the clearest and no bars you probably can't get. The quality of your connection is, without a doubt, dependent of your own bandwidth. Depending of it and depending on many other factors, your connection may break from time to time or you may not be able to connect at all but, so far, I am happy with what I get.
Why I almost took out 1 star?
- The interface could be improved. What I definitely miss is the ability to enter my own little notes to the stations that I mark as 'favorites'. The way they appear now - which could be something like 'WKZR' or maybe a string of Chinese hieroglyphs - is not always descriptive enough.
To summarize: if you spend a few hundred $$ for your laptop, I can't think of any good justification for not spending $20-30 on this little device.
______________________________
October 2, 2008 Update
I learned from a related discussion thread that there are 'free' sites that allow access to thousands of radio stations with some search capabilities. http://www.vtuner.com is one of them. Some may prefer to use such a site for their radio listening and save some money. Personally, having purchased this device, I am more likely to use IT than Vtuner but this is my personal preference only.

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Saturday, July 21, 2012

Sirius TTR1 Tabletop Internet Radio (Black) Review

Sirius TTR1 Tabletop Internet Radio (Black)
Average Reviews:

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I'll answer the two big questions first: Howard Stern? yes. Do you need to keep clicking a button so the radio doesn't shut off? no (see comment below). At least, as of right now. The radio is capable of both software and channel updates.
update: As of now, the Sirius website requires a human click every 90 minutes for streaming audio. This particular radio will play for hours without intervention but will eventually shut off. These features may be updated at whim by Sirius through software updates.
How does it sound? It sounds exactly as described - it's meant to be a tabletop boombox. It's the perfect companion for garage, laundry room, or kitchen. Don't expect real high fidelity sound out of these speakers. It has both a headphone jack and line out jack so it's possible to use amplified speakers or route the output into your home stereo system. When the line output is fed through my home stereo system the sound is wonderful. However, when I plugged my iPod into the aux input I was not impressed with thee quality, which I fault the iPod for.
I've been waiting for a gizmo like this ever since I subscribed to Sirius. I am an apartment dweller with no means for an outdoor antenna. Sirius works great in my car, but the only way I can listen at home is by being chained to my computer. Sirius has always made possible streaming audio from their website. But, every 90 minutes you need to click on the dead man's switch to keep the music flowing. This radio works exactly the same as the Internet streaming but is self-contained with a beautiful display. It also functions as a clock radio, although it's a tad big for the nightstand.
Before purchasing, it's best to become familiar with how streaming audio works on their website. You will need to purchase Internet streaming ability from Sirius in addition to your radio account. Be sure this is all working first.
The radio connects to your local area network via wired Ethernet or wireless with an external 802.11 antenna. You have all the settings available to you - enter the IP address of your choice or select dhcp via wired or wireless. I had a small gotcha, which was it wouldn't connect via WAP so I needed to configure my router for WEP. Everyone is tending to move away from WAP so this was a necessary evil. I entered my ASCII key and it connected just fine. My Sirius username and password worked right away. If you have MAC address filtering, you can retrieve the address via the menus.
The tuner works similar to that of a dashboard radio with a turn and push to click dial. Menus are accessed fairly easily, but it took a little while to get into some of the settings. The first thing I wanted to set was the clock and DST. Be advised that automatic time setting is on by default. The first day, I had to wrestle a bit to get it on the right hour of the day - so, don't set any alarms until you work all this out or put the clock into manual settings if you don't trust it. It's all configurable.
The display has a wonderful signal strength indicator so you can place it for the best reception or switched to wired Ethernet. There is no option for batteries, so you will need an AC outlet and the radio is amazingly heavy for a small box. It has automatic or manual brightness and a remote control, plus an input jack for a CD player or iPod, but no interconnection cables are provided. The display presents the channel name and song name with a nice volume control knob.
If you have Sirius and you're looking for speakers for your iPod or iPhone, get this radio instead of amplified speakers. I'm extremely happy that I can finally listen to Sirius in any room at home without an antenna. You'll need a solid, reliable broadband connection to operate this radio else you will hear dropout's and interruptions. This is not the fault of the radio. Again, test out the streaming audio on your computer first.

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The SIRIUS Tabletop Internet Radio (TTR1) is stylish and convenient way to bring SIRIUS XM's Premium Online content to the home or office using a wired or wireless high-speed Internet connection. The full-featured TTR1 is easy to set up and use, offering a complete listening solution for subscribers who want to use their high-speed Internet connection to access SIRIUS XM's online channels without the need for a computer. The TTR1 has a unique interface that includes a network connection wizard that walks users through a few simple steps to set up and access the Premium Online channels through their wired or wireless high-speed Internet connection.

Premium Content Bring SIRIUS XM's exclusive commercial-free music, plus expert sports analysis, news, talk and entertainment to any room in your home with SIRIUS Internet Radio.
Powerful Sound Enjoy powerful, full-range sound with high fidelity speakers and user selectable sound equalizer settings.
Dual Alarms Two alarms allow you to set multiple wake times to your favorite channels. Hit snooze if you're not quite ready yet. Also features sleep timer for drifting off to your favorite programming.
Favorite channel presets Save and enjoy fast access to up to 10 of your favorite channels. Each favorite channel can be assigned to a number button.
Display Brightness The TTR1 features automatic display brightness, which automatically adjusts to the light available in the room.
Connection Options The TTR1 features a headphone jack for personal listening, and an output for connecting to a stereo or other device.
There's also an auxiliary input for use with external audio devices--listen to your MP3 player using the TTR1's speakers, for instance.
Programming Information View artist name and song title on the large display, along with the clock and station info.
Internet Clock The TTR1 grabs the time automatically over the Internet.
Easy to Use Plug it in and go--no computer required. All you need is a high-speed Internet connection, wired or wireless (supports 802.11b/g networks with WEP, WPA & WPA2 security).
Remote Control Included Control the radio from across the room with the full-featured, credit-card-sized remote.
What's in the Box TTR1 Radio, Remote Control, User Guide, Quick Start Guide

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Sunday, March 25, 2012

Denon S-32 Internet Radio with Built-in Speakers and 2-Alarm Clock Review

Denon S-32 Internet Radio with Built-in Speakers and 2-Alarm Clock
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I did a lot of research before I got this unit. It came down between the Philips Streamium and the Denon S32. I decided to go with the S32 because of past experiences with Philips - they make awesome products, but they have the nasty habit of canceling production AND pulling all support (Many years ago - 14 to be exact - I had a Philips Nino PDA, and all of a sudden: bye-bye! from the company!) Unlike other folks, I did read the description of this product, so I did not expect a CD nor a DVD player (weird!)
The pros: Internet radio, ability to create favorites lists - so it adds a semblance of organization to the thousands of radio stations that you can end up with! News from around the World, in their original languages. I speak several languages and this is a great way to keep the practice up! Deep rich sound, not over bassy like other systems. I love the high contrast white led display - I can read it from almost any angle (while in bed - perfect!) and you can always dim it if you think is too bright. I also really like the sleep function, I like to read before going to sleep and this function serves as a reminder!
The cons: no Mac support! What up with this???!!! Even though it says: "Plays audio stored on PC or Macintosh computers..." NOT true... I read the instructions, top to bottom and unless I missed something (or I was having too many drinks!) I did not find any mention whatsoever of Mac, anywhere, at all! - that's the 1st star off. The 2nd star off comes because of poor WiFi reception. It comes with a bitty 3db antenna, come on, for the price, they could've thrown in at least a 7db antenna! I have a "Chumby" ([...]) which is also a WiFi radio player (of sorts) and this bitty thing has much better reception than the S32 unit; I solved the problem by getting an Airport Express and extending the coverage of my Airport Extreme... kind of disappointed about the reception issue (but solved by spending $100 extra!) Another fact, but I do not consider it a negative (more or less) is that I cannot charge my iPhone on the S32 - kind of silly, when almost all iPod products coming out these days CAN charge the iPhone - but then I appreciate the peace and quiet of not having a phone in my room when I go to sleep!
Overall: Highly recommend it!

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The Denon S-32 wireless network music system with built-in speakers and 2-alarm clock, one of Denon's first two networked audio products, delivers a smart way to play music from your computer throughout the home. The WiFi certified S-32 offers the ability to stream music either via Ethernet, or wirelessly, from internet radio sources and other network attached storage devices such as PC or Mac computers on the network. The S-32 built-in speakers were targeted to have internationally accepted sound reproduction that is excellent for music with a powerful bass response. Its mono-out allows the use of separate subwoofer of one's choice if ever required. The S-32 comes with a clock with two alarms with auto clock set-and-adjust via internet, and FM/AM radio as well as a built-in dock for iPod for easy drop-in functionality.

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Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Grace Wifi Radio with iPod dock GDI-IR3020 Review

Grace Wifi Radio with iPod dock GDI-IR3020
Average Reviews:

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This product is the synthesis of everything I've been looking for! I have long been a radio fan and in recent years subscribed to Sirius Radio, listen to stations on iTunes and love internet radio stations, especially Pandora. This little baby combined all of my interests into one small clock radio. While the sound of the speakers won't blow you away, add a small set of speakers (I am using an extra set of Logitech Computer speakers with sub that only cost me $40) and you have a great sounding system (depending on the station you listen to). The construction is ok, although for over $200 I would have liked it to be a bit sturdier, but it is a clock radio so it isn't going anywhere. This model also has an iPod dock - great for listening, but it won't charge your unit. Overall I am extremely happy - iPod, Sirius (although you have to upgrade your on-line account for $2.99/month to use with this), Pandora and over 16,000 internet radio stations! One of the big advantages of the Grace radio is 99 presets - most other radios I looked at had alot less.
My biggest problems these days is trying to figure out what I want to listen to first!! Highly recommended.

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