That blurry thing under the display is the SR-H2000.
(Credit: Sirius XM)I went to Sirius XM's New York City headquarters on Wednesday to see what's new. They showed a bunch of docking units and the like, but the only new product that got my juices flowing was a new home tuner, the sleek-looking SR-H2000.
You might think a brand new Sirius tuner (not a table radio) intended to be used with a stereo or home theater system would also offer access to all XM channels, but that's not the case. Sirius subscribers can add "The Best of XM" package for a small upcharge on their monthly bill.
The SR-H2000 includes a wired 12-volt IR input, a menu-selected RS232 control, and an F-type antenna connector. By adding a SIRIUSConnect Tuner or Home Dock, the SR-H2000 can play two different channels simultaneously in separate rooms.
The SR-H2000 features a video output that can be used to display the user interface and programming information on your TV. The included rackmount hardware allows the SR-H2000 to be mounted flush with the front of a rack. You can pause and replay up to 44 minutes of live satellite radio.
No one at Sirius mentioned sound quality, and why would they? It's pretty miserable and I doubt the SR-H2000 will improve my opinion of Sirius' sound.
The new SR-H2000 will be available in the fall primarily through custom installers and specialty retailers for a suggested retail price of $349.
The Griffin Navigate adds an FM tuner and inline controls to your iPhone.
(Credit: Griffin Technology)iPhones and iPods alike famously lack FM tuners, and while apps like AOL Radio, Pandora, and Public Radio Tuner can help pick up the slack, sometimes you just want to spin the dial.
The Griffin Navigate has no dials, of course, but it does bring FM radio to your iPhone (and just about every iPod model, too). It also adds tactile playback controls, effectively solving what is arguably the iPhone's sole interface problem.
For example, when you're listening to music and want to skip to the next song, you have to fish your iPhone out of your pocket, turn it on, unlock it, and then tap the next-track button. And if you've ever tried to rewind 30 seconds in a podcast or audiobook, well, you know how much fun that isn't.
The Navigate sports Play/Pause, Volume, and Shuttle buttons. There's also a Mode button that cycles through various features (including an equalizer!), all of them represented on the gizmo's two-line OLED screen.
Of course, for navigating the FM spectrum, you may want a screen that's a little more generous, hence Griffin's forthcoming iFM app. It identifies your location and lists nearby stations for one-tap tuning. Alas, company reps couldn't say for sure when it would debut in the App Store. Best guess: "Soon."
The Navigate has a list price of $59.99, but with a little Google searching you can find it for under $40. If you've ever wished for tactile controls for your iPhone or just an easy way to tune in your local NPR station, that may seem like a bargain indeed.
(Credit:
CBS Interactive)
As someone who's never been a big fan of AM/FM radio, I never really saw the advantage of HD Radio. At first, the all-digital format promised little more than CD-quality digital transmission of existing stations. Then the broadcasters added multicasting, offering "HD2" stations that weren't available at all on analog hardware. They even sweetened the deal by temporarily reducing or suspending commercials on those HD2 stations (though that program has recently ended).
But the thing that most retarded the growth of HD Radio adoption was the price of the hardware. The earliest tabletop HD Radios, for instance, cost upward of $500--not exactly an impulse purchase. In the years since, prices have tumbled: tabletop and in-car models hit $200 last year, and newer HD-enabled clock radios can be found for less than $100 now. Still, as far as in-home options go, none of the models we'd tested had really blown us away.
That's finally changed with the Sony XDR-F1HD. ... Read More
- prev
- 1
- next
