Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I wanted to be able to listen to my favorite radio stations on my office stereo, and my favorite local station often has static, plus I wanted to listen to stations all over the world with high quality sound. I originally wanted one of those systems that would communicate directly with my wireless router, so I wouldn't have to have my PC on. Those systems are fairly expensive, most over $100, and from reviews, seem to have issues. So, I thought, this is an inexpensive solution, and the one review at the time was positive, so I decided to give it a try. I don't really spend much time in my home office without the PC on, so that didn't seem to be a problem.
Anyway, this is a perfect solution if you want to listen to Internet radio on a stereo system. Sound quality depends on the station, presumably the bitrate, so it's not always great but if the stream is of good quality, the sound is wonderful. I've tried comparing the sound quality of stations I can get locally with their online versions, and you do pay a price. The depth of sound just isn't there, but the complete absence of static more than makes up for it. And for me, there's no alternative. Also, the fact that it streams audio from the PC means I can keep a large list of stations I want to access on the PC, which I think is far simpler than trying to do that on a component that communicates directly with the router.
Setup was a breeze, I literally just plugged it into a USB port, set the dip switches to the frequency I had chosen, set my tuner to that frequency, and that was it. Well, also had to adjust the volume on Windows, it thinks this is a pair of USB speakers, and the default volume was low, so increasing it meant that the volume on the stereo matched that of local radio stations. But really, it could not be simpler. Of course now all the audio from my PC goes to the stereo, it would be nice if I could confine the audio I want to go there to the transmitter and the rest of the audio to my PC speakers, but haven't figured out a way to do that. Not a big problem though. And, the audio from this decvice can be picked up on the other stereos in my home.
One quibble: The information I had at the time I ordered did not tell me what FM (tuner)frequencies could be used. I read an online review from some stereo publication on the device, where the author was actually in the UK (I'm in the US). He had said that the allowable frequencies were at the low end, around 89 MHz, so no trouble finding an unused frequency, which is necessary. When I received the transmitter, however, I found I was restricted to 5 frequencies around 107 MHz. I live one hour north of New York City, so finding an empty frequency in that range is a challenge. I had only one choice, 107.3, not used by a local station but there was significant bleed from others. However, when I plugged in the device, the carrier wave instantly overrode that noise, so it's not an issue, but I think it would make much more sense to use the lower end of the band. Someone near a big city might have trouble finding an unused frequency in the upper end. Or, add another dip switch to allow more combinations, and thus more possible frequencies.
Otherwise, I think this is a great product, and probably the best, most cost-effective solution, if you want to listen to Internet radio (or anything else from your PC) on a conventional stereo system.
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Mac PC USB Wireless FM Transmitter 4 Home Stereo AudioBrand New LINE X USB Wireless Stereo Audio transmitter .The LineX USB connects to any PC and allows the audio from the computer to be broadcast all over your home or office.That means you can listen to all your MP3's, WMA s, or streaming audio on any FM stereo.You have never seen such a simple installation, just one USB cable connected to the PC and your done.The LineX USB installs as a pair of USB speakers and uses drivers already preloaded in Windows 98SE/ME/XP/2000 and Mac OS X 10.0.4 ~ 10.1.3 and Mac OS 9.02 ~ 9.1. Use all your popular software packages to play MP3 s, VCD s, DVD s, and streaming internet audio all over your home..To use, simply connect the USB to the USB port on the transmitter and connect the other end of the USB cable to your computer.Your computer will recognize the transmitter as an USB audio device and it can be operated by the standard driver pre-installed on Windows or Mac OS.Open your favorite audio application software such as Windows Media Player and play your music.The Line X transmitter will automatically power up, with the blue LED lighting up.Adjust the FM signal on the transmitter and then do the same with your home stereo and you are all set!.Features:. Links computer music to any car or home stereo without cables or wiresTransmission of the computer music to audio equipment which has FM reception functionMini hi-fi, CD radio cassette recorder, car stereo, etc. can be used as wireless USB speaker for personal computerTransmission frequency: 88 to 108MHz7 selectable transmission frequencies, 106.9MHz to 107.9Mhz in 0.2Mhz steps, with PLL synthesizerHigh-quality stereo wireless transmissionUSB bus-powered, no battery or AC adapter requiredNo sound card requiredEasy connection by USB portBlue LED play mode indicatorSlim and lightweight designRequires no additional software installation.USB Version 1.1 which is backwards and forwards compatible with all USB versionsSize 3x 4 3/4x 1
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