Home Audio Hooks Up
There is a burgeoning number of streaming radio sites on the Internet. While the most common way to access these sounds is through a traditional computer, new Internet radio devices, audio transmitter/receivers and MP3 jukeboxes bring this new world of music into the living room. There is a growing number of products in these new categories and they vary in what they can do and how much they cost. So read on and we'll give you a shake down on three categories of the latest digital audio equipment:
Internet Radio Devices
The newest category of smart home audio products is the Internet radio device. These devices allow you to access streaming audio through the Internet, without tying up your computer. Products in this category do not have hard drives and they aren't recorders. Internet radio devices are actually very much like regular radio receivers. They allow listeners to tune in to radio programs streaming through the Net. They come with the hardware and software needed to decode streaming audio information. The best part is they are relatively inexpensive; costing no more than your average home stereo component.
On the near horizon is the PenguinRadio (scheduled to release in the Summer/Fall of 2001). PenguinRadio will connect to its Web site, www.penguinradio.com, which holds the content of thousands of radio stations and broadcasts them free to the receiver. It will retail for approximately $230.
The Panja Broadband Music Player (BMP) Internet radio (www.mypanja.com) has a suggested retail price of $400. Powered by MP3.com, the Panja BMP will stream MP3 music from the Internet to your home stereo system. Numerous users can set individual music preference profiles and play daily Top 40 MP3 tracks in all MP3.com music genres. You can also access the MP3 files from a connected Windows PC. The BMP 100 retails for $400.
iM Networks (www.sonicbox.com) has the Sonicbox K.O. (also sold as iRhythm) for $80. It is a "Knob Only" tuner that lets you listen to over 800 iM Band stations on your computer speakers and/or stereo. With it, you can control the tuner's software while you're away from your PC. The box uses a wired connection from your PC to your stereo. If you want to go cordless, there's the iM Remote Tuner for $120.
At this year's Consumer Electronics Show, 3Com debuted their Internet radio device, Kerbango. But all of the hoopla surrounding the Internet radio was short lived. In an effort to cut $1 billion out of its operating costs, 3Com recently announced that it was putting a halt to the production of Kerbango and was disbanding its Internet appliance division.
MP3 Jukeboxes
The biggest difference between a Net radio device and an MP3 jukebox is that a jukebox has a memory or storage medium - either hard drive or disc-based storage. Often, these operate independently of a computer as stand-alone appliances. Most of the devices allow you to download straight to the box, although some require you to transfer files to the unit's hard drive from a computer. After putting MP3s onto the jukebox, you can make playlists and catalog songs, artists and albums. Some of these products come with other features, like a CD drive for ripping CDs ("Ripping" is the term used to describe the process of compressing a CD into a MP3). Some connect to your TV, displaying a menu for playlist creation. Some display visuals that accompany the music and react to its beats.
Perception Digital's MP3 Jukebox is the PDHercules (www.perceptiondigital.com). This unit rips CDs and stores their music as MP3s on its 20GB hard drive, which can hold the music from up to 500 CDs. With its rapid upload software, the PDHercules can rip a sixty-minute CD in ten minutes. It also has the ability to transfer files to a SmartMedia Card, which is compatible with many portable MP3 Players. The PDHercules has a suggested retail price of $599.
AudioReQuest (www.request.com) offers the ARQ1-20 ($800) and ARQ1-30 ($1,200). They include CD drives, but they also have USB, Ethernet and parallel ports for exchanging music with computers and personal audio players. They can connect to the Internet via a computer and access a CD database that catalogues the information about the music you've copied onto the hard drive. The 20GB model (ARQ1-20) can hold 350 hours of music, and the 30GB model (ARQ1-30) can hold 525 hours of music (for a complete review of the ARQ1-20 see page 24).
The $899 ZapStation from ZapMedia (www.zapmedia.com) is a multifaceted entertainment system that combines the Internet radio receiver and the MP3 jukebox plus a lot more. The ZapStation connects to a consumer's home entertainment system and TV set. It includes a programmable remote control and wireless keyboard. As a jukebox, the DMC 100 has the capacity to store 10,000 MP3 tracks ripped in the unit's built-in optical drive or downloaded from the Internet. With it you can arrange your own playlists and listen to Internet Radio stations. Beyond the smart sound abilities, there are some smart television aspects too. There's a DVD player, Web browser and e-mail access. It comes with a 566MHz Intel Celeron processor and connects through DSL, Cable Modem or T1. Its 30GB hard drive enables you to store up to 10,000 audio files or twenty hours of video.
Harman Kardon (www.harmankardon.com), with ZapMedia, has developed a similar device, the DMC 100, which they call a "digital convergence component." It also includes a DVD/CD player, a 30GB hard drive and a broadband/dial-up Internet connection. Like The ZapStation, it will also retail for $899 when it is launched this spring. The ZapMedia service used by both boxes will have a monthly charge of $9.95.
Home Audio
Transmitter-Receivers
Home audio transmitter-receivers send a signal from a sound source, typically a computer, to an amplifier for playback on your home theater speakers. They consist of a receiver and transmitter and can deliver the signal either through a wired or wireless connection.
In this group we find Akoo (www.akoo.com) which makes the $100 Kima. With a wireless transmission of up to 1,000 feet, this device provides high-fidelity stereo audio signals from the base unit to the receiving unit. Not only does it work with PC and Macintosh computers, but it's also compatible with MP3 music files and players, RealPlayer, RealJukebox and RealNetwork's G2 Formats, Microsoft Windows Media Player, satellite and cable television channels, CDs, DVDs and VCRs.
Dell (www.dell.com) sells its Digital Audio Receiver for $299. The unit can connect with a PC from any room in the house using existing phone lines and it doesn't interfere with regular phone service. It can play any MP3 (or WMA) music files stored on your hard drive. You can also access playlists if you have Music Match Kukebos software that comes pre-loaded on many Dell Dimension and Inspiron systems.
Rio Digital Audio (www.riohome.com) uses the same phone-line solution for transmitting sound from the computer to its receiver. With the RioReceiver you can sort music by artist, title, album or genre. You can also customize the Rio Receiver's interface for selective viewing of track information. It retails for $350.
Another home audio transmitter is the Jensen Matrix (www.jensen.com). It uses wireless transmission to connect the receiver and the transmitter. It retails for $100. For a complete review of Jensen's Matrix see page 20 of this issue.
Music on Demand
The Internet and MP3 technology are creating a revolution in music distribution; these new audio devices are here to help you transmit and manage it. You can tune the Web's radio content into your home stereo with an Internet radio device. You can also store hours of MP3s and catalogue them with a MP3 jukebox. Or you can simply transmit audio from your computer to your stereo speakers, with a home audio transmitter. Purchasing one of these units can be a bit of an investment, but if you love music, you'll love the access they give you to the world of sounds.
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