Orb | Wireless Music | Network Music Player
Network Music Player
Digital audio is the wave of the future. It’s everywhere.
Accessing worldwide radio stations is easy through the Internet. Music subscription services provide unlimited music. It’s even possible to store gigabytes of MP3s on the hard drive of your computer.
The challenge isn’t necessarily accessing all this digital audio. The challenge is finding a way to enjoy the music outside the tinny-sounding speakers of your computer or without the use of your iPod or MP3 player.
That’s where digital audio streamers come in. They’re often called network music players and can be called a variety of other names as well. These systems work by allowing you to listen to the music from your computer through the big speakers of your home stereo. And they allow you to easily listen to your choice of music from different rooms in your house.
Types of Network Music Players
Manufacturers are recognizing that consumers want to listen to their digital music outside their computers, MP3 players or iPods. Many have created products to try to meet this need.
Here’s a look at a few different types of network music players available.
Orb MP-1 Music Player
This is one of the more affordable digital audio streamers. According to users, it’s also one of the best, especially for the everyday user who simply wants better sounding music without using a cord to attach his computer to his stereo.
“It’s an all-in-one gadget that pretty much does everything” says one user mentioning that it only took her 10 minutes to set up the entire system.
This network music player is easy to use and set up, according to CNET, and has very good sound quality. Other features this network music player has include mobile access to media, Sirius and Pandora support and supports Windows and Mac OSX platforms and iOS and Android platforms.
Orb MP-1 allows you to access Pandora, YouTube, iTunes, Internet Radio and an assortment of other streaming music providers.
The player is the size of a think hockey puck and has two connections: a 1/8-inch headphone jack and a mini USB for power.
Sonos ZonePlayer S5
This network music player is one of the more elaborate and more expensive on the market today. Most units cost nearly $500 if you buy all the equipment. The manufacturer is also a big name in the network music player production business.
“Wired equipment is necessary,” says one user, “and the speaker wireless connectivity is only about 60 feet.”
Although most users say the sound is good, they acknowledge that the speaker of this player is bulky.
CNET says that the sound is impressive for the size of the unit, but there’s isn’t much stereo separation and a $99 wireless bridge accessory in necessary if you don’t want to use a hard-wired connection.
Oxx Digital Tube
This digital audio streamer provides much of the same features as any other unit. But at over $300, it tends to be more expensive.
CNET says the unit provides exceptional bass -- more so than many other digital audio streamers -- which makes it sound better on bass-heavy music. It has no auxiliary input, has a large, bulky design that takes up lots of space, is difficult to navigate and doesn’t have additional music streaming services like Slacker or Pandora.
Some users like the bulky design and consider it attractive.