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| Manufacturer:
First International Digital Disclaimer: The manufacturer provided NewTechReview with a unit of this product for review. Reviewed by Scott R. Garrigus | ||
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My Kia Rio is a very economical car. As such, it only came with the basics including a lowly FM stereo radio with cassette player. Well, as far as I’m concerned, cassette is dead. I use a portable MP3 player to listen to my tunes. But what if I want to listen to my tunes in the car? Sure, I could record them onto cassette and play them that way, but I don’t have time for that. This is where the irock! 300W from First International Digital comes into play (no pun intended). The irock! 300W is a wireless music adapter. It allows you to play music through any FM radio without the need for wires or clumsy cassette adapters. Is it magic? No, but it’s the next best thing. To use the 300W, you plug its 1/8" stereo mini plug into the headphone or line-out jack of any audio source (such as a portable MP3 player). Then you choose an FM frequency using a small switch on the side of the 300W. There are four frequencies to choose from: 88.1, 88.3, 88.5, or 88.7 MHz. Then you tune your FM radio to the chosen frequency, and turn on the 300W by pressing the power button located on the front of the unit. Start playback from your audio source, and abracadabra! You have full stereo audio being ‘beamed’ from your audio source to your FM radio. Basically, the 300W works like a low-power FM transmitter. It takes the signal from any audio source, converts it into FM stereo radio waves and transmits the signal to any nearby FM radio that is tuned to one of the four previously mentioned frequencies. The operating range is stated to be anywhere from 10 to 30 feet, and it runs off of 2 AAA batteries, which typically last about 20 hours (although this depends on the type of batteries you are using – some last longer than others). My tests of the 300W revealed that the product worked very well. I first tested it inside my car, of course. I set everything up as per the owner’s manual. Then I was on my way with tunes blasting, and for the most part, I found that the 300W worked like a charm. I did get some interference at times depending on where I was driving, but that’s typical with FM radio signals. My tests didn’t stop there though. The 300W is much more versatile than simply playing tunes while traveling. It also works great at home. For example, what if you have a huge music collection just sitting on your PC’s hard drive waiting to be played? But who wants to sit in front of their PC to listen to music, right? Just plug the 300W into the line-out jack of your PC’s sound card, turn on your FM stereo or boom box, and you’ve got tunes anywhere in the house. I tested the 300W with my PC in one room and my radio in another (both on the same floor) and the signal came in loud and clear. Not only that, but I tried moving my radio to an entirely different floor and the signal still stayed full and clear! I’ve tested other similar products that included both a transmitter and receiver and used an isolated frequency range for wireless audio. But those products cost at least $100 or more, and they weren’t portable. The irock! 300W gives you both home-based and portable playback with FM stereo quality and easy setup/operation. This low-priced, pocket device lets you transform any audio source into a wireless music playback system. |
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