Customer Reviews

Myine Electronics IR001 WiFi Internet Radio Adaptor

5 star:		(83)
4 star:		(42)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

This little internet radio device is jumping-up-and-down cool! Five minutes after opening the box I was listening to a newscast from France (in French, course) then jazz from Australia, rock from Iceland and later opera and classical music from Italy. How cool is that?

The device doesn't have any speakers of it's own, but comes with and RCA jack that you connect to your receiver, TV, boom box or even a little clock radio. There's an adapter included with a smaller plug for the later. There's a little LCD screen that you operate with a small remote control that's also included. The first thing I did after I connected it to my receiver was to turn it on and go through the menu and set the date and time and hook up to my home WiFi network. It came with a manual which is very well written and understandable, but I didn't even need it. When I clicked on "Network" the name of my WiFi network popped up, I selected it in the menu, entered the password, and it connected in about 15 seconds and it was ready to go. It was super easy. And since it uses Wi-Fi to connect, you don't need a computer. This goes directly to your receiver.

The IRA is classy looking, even though it's made of plastic. I posted some photos of it. I set mine of top of the Blu-ray player in my stereo cabinet. The display screen is easy to read and the menus easy to navigate. You can search by country, genre of music, stations, or new or popular stations. There is an automatic software update feature through the Wi-Fi network or you can check yourself to see if there are any updates available. It also has volume control on the remote.

The sound is crystal clear and since I connected it to our home theater system, I could hear the bass booming out through the subwoofer and music through all the speakers. I also tried it with the adapter, plugged into a little clock radio and that worked fine too. Connected to the receiver the stations I've listened to so far were CD quality. I could imagine this at a Caribbean themed party, playing reggae music directly from that part of the world, or a romantic French dinner with music from France. No matter what your taste in music, there is something here for everyone. And if you're learning a foreign language, what better way than to listen to a newscast from that country?

I love this thing! It's a great addition to our home entertainment system.

The press release from Myine Electronics states "Myine's Ira Wireless Internet Radio is designed to harness the universe of radio broadcasts available on the Internet and to allow user enjoyment anywhere a wireless internet connection, a speaker system and power sources are available." And that pretty well sums it up - and it does a great job at it too!

The general point of the unit is to not only give you access to the world of internet streaming radio and podcasts, but to do it easily, quickly, and without having to know a whole lot about what's going on with your network or connections. "There is a lack of good products available for people who are not tech savvy or just busy," said Jake Sigal, Principal and Founder of Myine Electronics. "Ira doesn't have any unnecessary bells and whistles, and sets up automatically right out of the box without a computer. We believe that with potentially confusing electronics, less is more."

When you first break the Ira out of the box, you'll see that it comes with the unit itself, a power cable, and a remote. It relies on WiFi being available to access the internet, and this is the first caution I would give potential buyers - make sure you have WiFi in your home, and that it is strong in the area you intend to put the Ira. The Ira seems very sensitive to interference and distance, so don't expect it to work as consistently and quickly as your laptop card does.

After plugging it in to the power and a set of speakers or a receiver, the next thing you'll need to do is configure it to access that WiFi broadcast. Although the Ira is geared towards `low-tech' users, it will definitely take some knowledge of networking and network configuration (plus a fair amount of patience) if you have any security enabled. Although it picks up the SSID if you are broadcasting that, and will tell you what type of security or encryption protocol, you'll need to be able to enter the passcode. If this is a WEP secure connection, this means you'll need to use the arrows on the remote and a pseudo keyboard on the screen to plunk out the 16 digits/characters/symbols - and unfortunately the Ira will not save incorrect configurations meaning you'll have to do it all again if you get one of the numbers wrong! It saves it if you get it right, so this may not be a big deal, particularly once you're past it.

Once you've got it all set up, you really start seeing the value and power of this unit. Users can filter by location or genre, and there are literally thousands of stations available. There are you're your typical shoutcast internet only stations, but also streaming live stations from around the globe. You've also got access to podcasts (including yours truly) and audio presentations, though you may find some of the more obscure ones missing. Myine selects the podcasts and stations that it will display through some mechanism that wasn't revealed to me. They did add podcasts that I requested (e.g., TechTalk on WRLR) without any questions or hesitation however, so I don't see this as a big hit.

If you're familiar at all with listening to radio or streaming audio on your laptop or desktop, you'll "get" this product immediately. What's really neat about it for me is how portable it is - I can listen to tunes up in my bedroom, then take the little unit downstairs to our porch outside, plug it into some speakers there and keep listening - without having to drag my laptop with it's rather junky soundcard all over the place! It's even small enough to throw in a jacket pocket and take to someone else's house to show off.

One area for future development and a feature that I really missed on the Ira is the lack of song information. Most stations broadcast the track and artist info with the song, but oddly the Ira unit does not display it. You can get a lot of other streaming and audio info, just nothing about the current track playing. The Ira software does have the capability to get updated over the wifi connection you use, so I would expect to see this fixed in a later release.

Overall Rating - 3 out of 5 Chips. It's a fantastic little product and idea, with portability and ease-of-use in the forefront of internet connected audio players (plus the benefit of not paying for XM or other similar options!). The lack of song tagging and weak reception strength make it just a little tougher to use than it should be however, and drops it down a notch. The price point is a touch high but still definitely within reach at around $130.

For more great topics and reviews like this, check out the weekly TechTalk show on WRLR 98.3 FM in Chicago, or listen anytime via iTunes or at our website:
techtalk.wrlr.fm

I setup the unit and connected it to my stereo. Now it was time to connect it to my wireless network. Wait, the remote doesn't seem to be working. Wonder if its DOA or battery not connected. Fast forward several minutes later and I notice that something seems backwards on the remote. With the remote in my hand I press the menu buttons to try and navigate the menu system but no response. Then I realize that the buttons seem backwards as the infrared window is pointing back to me when I have the remote correctly in my hand. Now I'm wondering if the top of the remote was installed backwards. I take a gamble and start pealing back the top of the remote (basically a sticky top with metal connectors that connect to the board to engage the buttons.) Thats when I realize that yes, the top of the remote was put on backwards and once I pealed it off and turned it around and got it to stick back on correctly the remote now works. Just a quality control issue at the factory so hopefully not something many will see but the Myine company should make note in case its happening to others.

Once I got the remote working all was well, i could navigate the unit and set it up on my wireless network. It found the different radio stations and it played over my stereo. Easy to setup if you are familiar with your typical wireless network setup. One thing I think they should change is that when you want to manually enter in IP address information etc you have to hit the button on the remote once for each ip number you want to move up or down. When you are in the 192.168 range this can get old. They need to change it so when you hold down the up or down button on the remote it scrolls through the numbers rather than having to hit it each time you want to move up and down.

One other item of note that I haven't figured out yet. I have a number of wireless and wired devices on my home network. I notice that once I turn on the Myine radio I see activity on all my wired adaptors, as if the Myine is broadcasting something across all IP's on the network. I thought it might be my router so I hooked up another router and still see activity on other network adaptors when I turn the Myine on. Will have to do some research to see what its broadcasting and why. No reason for it to broadcast something out to all devices as it just pulls a stream from the internet to the device.

For these reasons I can only give it a 3. Granted its a first version and it can be updated via the internet so maybe the vendor will resolve some of these issues. As for the device itself, it does what its intended for and it allows me to cancel my XM Radio that I had at home as this device offers the same quality and variety in music in my mind.

To me, "Internet Radio" implies that this unit would have a built in speaker. This is really an "Internet Radio Adapter" which is what the initials IRA stands for. You will need a stereo system in order to hear anything. There is no headphone jack either.

Compared to the Grace WiFi radio that I bought for my parents, this has improvements and drawbacks. It is easier to setup (good for older parents) but it doesn't have access to the Pandora network which gave me more stations. In addition, the Grace WiFi radio lets you set up a channel that plays music from 1 artist... so I was able to set up a "John Denver" station for my parents. You don't have that flexibility with the IR001 IRA.

CONTROLS
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The IR001 IRA does not have any buttons on it at all. So don't lose the included infrared remote (there is no cradle or anything on the unit to store the remote). The remote does feel a bit cheap considering this is the only means of controlling the IRA. The buttons are dome-shaped bubbles and don't have the smooth rubbery feel of most remotes. The buttons are also identically shaped meaning it is easy to press the wrong one. The current price of the IR001 IRA is $150 and it seems like the remote could not have made up more than $5 of that retail price.

Even though the Grace WiFi radio that I bought doesn't have a remote, I prefer its use of a dial for scrolling/selecting instead of the up-down-left-right arrows on the IRA remote.

SIZE
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The face of the IRA is smaller than an old VHS video tape. So it won't take up much space on your stereo system.

SETUP
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This unit was very easy to set up. It immediately found my wireless network (which uses the older Apple airport for WiFi). All I needed to do was input my password since my network is secure.

STATIONS
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It has thousands of built in stations and you can mark off your favorites with the remote. As noted at the start of this review, there isn't access to the Pandora network, so there are fewer stations. This probably isn't an issue if you're listening in the US. But if your stations are international, that may be a different story. I noted that I only had access to one Hong Kong radio station compared to the 12+ stations I could access with the Grace WiFi radio.

SOUND QUALITY
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Music is CD quality. But this will also depend on your stereo system as well. Again, there is no headphone jack or built-in speakers.

CONCLUSION
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This is a decent WiFi Radio adapter if you have a stereo system handy. It is easy to set up. But if you want more stations, a built-in speaker, headphone jack, and buttons/knobs on the unit instead of a cheap remote, then I would recommend the Grace WiFi radio for $30 more.

If you have a stereo system, or at least a set of powered speakers with auxiliary input;

If you do most of your listening in one place;

If you don't want to spend lots of time tinkering with software;

If you don't need fancy "kitchen sink" features like photos and album art, alarms, downloadable app settings;

If you want access to thousands of radio feeds in beautiful, superb quality stereo;

If you don't want to pay monthly subscription fees;

If you just want something that WORKS--

This is the Internet radio for you. I have this unit, as well as a Logitech Squeezebox. I love them both, but no way would I give the Squeezebox to my grandmother--It's got a lot more bells and whistles and a steep learning curve to go with it. Grandma can have the Myine up and running in ten minutes (assuming she has WiFi and knows her wireless password).

Plug it in, hook it up to your speaker system (It has no speakers of its own), power it on and you're in business. Your sound system never sounded so good.

The display isn't fancy...but it's informative enough. Press the Menu button on the remote and choose from stations by Genre, by Location, by Most Recently Listened To, by Favorites (after you've chosen some, of course) and there you go.

Commercial stations from all over the world are available, so when news happens in London or Hong Kong or Sydney or Toronto you can go right to that city and pick up an all-news station in the center of the event (Most major cities worldwide have English language news outlets you can listen to at any time). If you speak the local language you can probably find a dozen stations available to keep you posted minute-by-minute.

Music feeds? Don't get me started. You like jazz? Smooth jazz? Electric guitar? Piano jazz? Big band jazz? Modern jazz? Dixieland? You'll find it. With commercials (Internet feeds of broadcast stations) and without.

Any kind of music you like is sliced and diced in every way imaginable by Internet feed. And the ease of finding/tuning in what you want is wonderful on this receiver.

My only caveat: The display is small. You really do need to be close to the radio to make and read changes. For me, that's no problem because where I use it I mostly just turn on a station and leave it there for the evening while I read a good book.

The written User Guide is VERY good. Brief, but detailed enough to get you (or Grandma!) up to speed very quickly.

If you're an early-adopter tinkerer type, you might want to try one of the other radios (like the Squeezebox). But if you just want to listen to wonderful audio without a hassle, the Myine fits the bill.

I received the Myine IRA a few days ago and have found it to be excellent in all respects;the sound quality is first rate and it is very user friendly. I had read that the unit did not keep the favorites in memory if the tuner lost power. This information is erroneous as I experienced a prolonged power outage today - over two hours - with no loss of my favorite stations list. The unit has a flash memory which will hold stored information indefinitely unless the reset button is used. All in all I am extremely pleased with my purchase and feel that the unit is very reasonably priced.

When I was a kid I used to play with the dial on my radio at night to see which clear channel stations I could bring in, and I was so pleased when I'd find one a few hundred miles away. Now I have easy access to radio from around the world. Myine Ira makes it simple to select a region (Africa, Asia, Caribbean, Central America, Europe, Middle East, North America, Oceania, or South America); then you can select a country and view all its available stations, or select by genre. The variety is amazing and the sound is crystal clear.

Naturally you can listen to internet radio on your PC. There are sites that try to consolidate various stations, from a few to a few thousand. The Ira device claims to offer over 11,000 choices, and I have no reason to doubt the claim. There was nothing I could think of that I couldn't find easily. Within minutes I was listening to a tango station in Argentina, a classical music station in Austria, and a big band station in the USA. The choices aren't limited to music. There are also a staggering number of podcasts, which can also be selected by genre or location.

So why use an external device? I like internet radio, but my PC has limited resources. Now I can work on things that require a lot of CPU power and continue to enjoy internet radio on the side. A second advantage for me has been not having to turn on the PC at times when I just feel like having the music. There are no subscription or additional fees for these stations.

The Ira itself isn't a radio. It's a receiver for internet radio. I'm using the included RCA connectors to hook it into my home stereo system. There's also an RCA to 1/8 (3.5 mm) adapter included if you want to use the aux jack on a smaller boom box or portable speakers.

Ira is a compact, elegant looking device - a high gloss black, plastic case with a small screen. Although the screen is small, it displays plenty of easily readable information. Depending on the angle you're viewing from, information appears in either white font on a blue background, or black font on a very light background. There are no controls on the receiver itself. All functions are handled via a very small, thin remote control. The command keys are not actual buttons, but more like raised bubbles. The remote feels a bit flimsy, but it does the job. Just don't lose it - it's the only way to access the Ira's functions.

Highly recommended!

Spent all day testing this and my conclusion is that it is an excellent value for the money. I have several other internet radios and this one by far was the easiest to setup. Entering the wireless code was so much easier than the Denon S-52 I have which costs four times more. I was up and running in under 5 minutes without ever referring to the well written manual. The menu design of the Myine Ira is excellent and very easy to get used to. This unit provides an excellent relatively low cost solution for adding internet radio capability to an existing audio system. It includes all cables needed.

So what are the "problems" found? The Power Adapter because of its design takes up 2 outlet positions on most power strips. Had its prong orientation been rotated 90 degrees it could have been built to take up less space. The other thing I noticed was the included stereo connector cable(3 ft) is too short for some installations where the unit as in my case must be connected to a set of rack mount equipment. If it was only a foot longer it would have worked perfectly. In conclusion though this is nitpicking. This is an outstanding unit and highly recommended. By the way the unit includes provision for firmware updates via the internet and it would not be hard for its maker to add even more features in the future.

This is a very fun product. Zero frustration right out of the box easy to set up, except to use the device as a "free standing" player you will need a cheap female to female adapter (Radio Shack) for 3.5mm jack. I connect the MYINE to a set of old PC speakers using the adapter and viola. You can also use headphones/earbuds. Of course connecting to your home stereo is really the way to go and a cinch to wire up. The world of internet radio is opened up with this cool device. Most reviews comment negatively about the chintzy (it is) remote control. But hey, it works fine (but don't lose this thing as the device is controlled only by the remote). You don't need a PC, or laptop to receive something like 13,000 internet radio stations and podcasts but you do need a wireless WiFi router. The device works well from anywhere in my house. For the money, this is about as rewarding a technology buy as I have ever made. If you have eclectic music taste or want to explore, here is your chance. Many businesses (retail/restaurant) would get a lot out of this device as you can set store ambiance with just about any music format imaginable including in foreign languages not likely available in local market broadcast radio. Most of what I listen to is commercial free.
This would make a great (and resonably priced) gift for most anybody. I am glad I made mine MYINE (oh, brother).

This is an attractive, inconspicuous little component that, as described elsewhere, is quite easy to set up, configure and use. It's a MUCH better solution than those $200-$400 devices out there, when all you want is to stream internet radio. But keep in mind that when you push low-quality content (i.e., music ripped mostly at 128kbps, or less) through your high-end stereo system, you shouldn't kid yourself -- you WILL get (and you WILL hear) the reduced audio fidelity. And there's nothing you can do about it because you can't change the source content AT ALL. Internet radio sounds fine on computer speakers, just as your own music collection ripped at 128kbps sounds fine on your ear buds. But it's not so hot on higher-end A/V and speaker systems. I still use the Myine IRA, of course, but I'm not as eager to turn it on to listen to all the great ambient, classical and jazz stations I was planning to stream. Now, when internet radio moves to regularly-available 256kbps, THEN I'll get excited.