AR ARIR200 Tabletop Wi-Fi Internet Radio with Alarm (Black) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This radio is the same as the RCA Infinite Radio RIR200 which Amazon stopped carrying in favor of this Acoustic Research ARIR200, so I encourage anyone who is thinking about buying this products to ALSO read the reviews at the following link:
RCA Infinite Radio RIR200 Internet Radio with Wifi Connectivity and Slacker Personal Radio
In case the link does not work, put this number (a product number) into the search box: B0016OK5O0 (cut and paste because those are both O's and zeros). You can also look at the reviews for the RIR205 which is the same unit but it also includes a basic router for those who want a simple way to hook up their unit to the internet. Search for B0016OI1BY to get info on the RIR205
Some of the issues brought up in those reviews are still valid (e.g. the odd ergonomics of the controls, too bright illumination, etc.) and some issues have been fixed by firmware updates. Unfortunately, sometimes when they fix one issue in the firmware they seem to also "break" another.
I give AR/RCA credit that they are at least supporting the product with firmware updates (as of 3/2009 they have released a version during 12/2008 and 3/2009). Right now, in my experience the product is a bit buggy with the current version of the firmware and I have been experiencing some random crashes where it either locks up or reboots itself. This is a real pain because it loses the security key for the WiFi when this happens and thus it has to be reentered. There is also a base level of white noise through the speakers, even after turning the radio off, that I find annoying (hint: after going standby, turn the volume dial all the way down and it will disappear with a pffft - then spin the volume back up to the normal position so that you have volume the next time you turn the radio portion on). This unit is better than the iLuv unit I reviewed elsewhere and could be quite good if they ever get a good version of the firmware going.
One of the best resources for information on these radios is the message archives at the following group at Google groups: Acoustic Research ARIRC200 Internet Radio . Just do a search at Google Groups and you should find the group (I don't think Amazon will let me include the link, but here goes: http://groups.google.com/group/acoustic-research-arirc200-internet-radio?hl=en )

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Acoustic Research introduces the next generation of audio entertainment with the ARIR200 Wi-Fi internet and AM/FM radio. The ARIR200 gives you access to thousands of global music and talk stations with its built-in Wi-Fi and Ethernet connectivity. It features a clock radio with alarm functions that allow you to wake to your favorite music or radio stations. Activate your free account with Slacker Personal Radio to access millions of tracks, hundreds of genre stations and over 10,000 artist stations. Slacker displays the next upcoming artist and provides the ability to pause or skip at any time. Other free accounts include Personal Portal and WeatherBug to receive local weather forecasts and emergency alerts. Preset six of your favorite stations per source into the radio so that you can save and retrieve your favorite stations with the push of a button. You can connect your mp3 player or flash drive into the USB connection to listen to your personal music files or save up to 10-hours of music onto the 512MB internal memory.

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Audiovox XM XMFM1 FM Direct Adapter (Black) Review

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(More customer reviews)If you are installing an XM radio in your car and thinking about utilizing the XM radio's ability to broadcast music to a specific channel on your car stereo - FORGET ABOUT IT!!! Just assume you will NOT be doing it that way, and buy one of these instead. This unit doesn't require any external power hookup, won't require you to string thin fragile wires from the front of your car to the back, is fairly small and easy to install, and sends wonderful, static-free sound to your car stereo. On your XM radio, you will still have to select a specific FM channel for reception of XM music, but you won't get any static even if you select a strong local FM channel. And, if you turn your XM radio off, you will be able listen to the FM channel normally. The FM channel is only blocked out when the XM radio is turned on. Check to see if your car stereo has a non-standard antenna input that will require inexpensive adapters. My car, which has a Blaupunkt radio, required "Volkswagen style" adapters. All these do is change the shape of the plugs that connect to the car radio and antenna. Note that I say "adapters" (plural) because, if you DO have a non-standard antenna input, you will need 2 adapters: 1 to mate the Audivox plug to your non-standard car stereo antenna input, and another to mate the antenna wire that used to plug into your car stereo but now needs to plug into the Audiovox adapter. The Audiovox unit goes between your car stereo and the end of your existing antenna wire. So, you will need a standard-to-nonstandard adapter + a nonstandard-to-standard adapter.

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The Audiovox XMFM-1 FM Direct Adapter for Xpress XM7 Satellite Radio Receiver is designed expressly to turn the internal FM transmitter in Audiovox's XM7 receiver into a wired FM modulator. This unit plugs directly into the vehicle radio antenna jack in your car stereo, and connects to the XMC-10 cradle via the docking station's audio line-out jack. This is especially useful for when you are taking advantage of your XM7 XM satellite radio receiver's FM transmitter because your vehicle's car stereo does not have an audio line-in jack accessible, and you are driving through areas with strong FM radio signals that are interfering with your car's reception of the XM7's FM transmission. In order for this unit to operate, your XM7 receiver must be set to FM On in the Xpress XM user's menu.

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Acoustic Research Arir201 Internet Radio Review

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(More customer reviews)I received this as a Christmas gift and I couldn't get it to do anything. Note that I am a pretty technical person (I use lots of complex electronic gadgets, and I'm a programmer, so not exactly computer illiterate).
I followed the quick start instructions provided in the box to the letter: I plugged it in and a splash screen for acoustic research came on the display. And that's all this giant paperweight did.
It did not respond when I pressed the power button or when I attempted to follow the instructions for disabling demo mode (1 snooze 6). Unplugging the device did not change anything and neither did holding down the power button for 10 seconds as suggested in the troubleshooting. This unit appeared to be basically DOA.
I contacted Acoustic Research customer service and they said it would need to go in for repair. Apparently they need two tries (at least) to get this to work out of the factory.
Acoustic Research could have had a chance to get me to like this unit (clearly it had a glitch and I understand that defects can happen even with high quality products), but their warranty policies would have required me to send the unit in for repairs at my expense. No, thanks! Luckily Amazon has a good return policy for defective items. I decided, after seeing the other one-star reviews, that it wasn't worth the risk to get a replacement unit, so I just got a refund credited to my husband's account.
Additionally, the buttons were super cheap and felt like they were going to break very quickly. Totally unacceptable for a clock radio at this price point.

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Acoustic Research introduces the next generation of audio entertainment with the ARIR200 Wi-Fi internet and AM/FM radio. The ARIR201 gives you access to thousands of global music and talk stations with its built-in Wi-Fi and Ethernet connectivity. It features a clock radio with alarm functions that allow you to wake to your favorite music or radio stations. Activate your free account with Pandora Radio or Slacker Radio. Slacker Personal Radio to access millions of tracks, hundreds of genre stations and over 10,000 artist stations. Slacker displays the next upcoming artist and provides the ability to pause or skip at any time. Preset six of your favorite stations per source into the radio so you can save and retrieve your favorite stations with the push of a button. You can connect your MP3 player or flash drive into the USB connection to listen to your personal music files or save up to 10-hours of music onto the 512MB internal memory.

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