Acoustic Research's Internet Radio Has Plenty to Offer
Regular old radios have ceased to be interesting- such a limited number of stations. Those of you who cannot go an hour without some type of noise whether it’s music, weather, or news, will find the Acoustic Research ARIR201 Internet Radio to be a necessity- if you don’t already have your needs met via iPhone docks or your computer and speakers. For those of you who aren’t as caught up in being connected, we’ll still run down some reasons you might be interested in this three pound gadget, perfect for the nightstand.
The Internet Radio is much more than a radio, as it features built-in wifi connectivity that allows thousands of talk stations with web streaming to come through live to your ears. While the design of the ARIR201 is more classic than contemporary and looks a bit bulky, we liked that the buttons were easy to read and relatively easy to see.
Setup was logical and took about four minutes to have everything up and running. We appreciated the number of choices; Pandora, MP3, AM/FM, Slacker, USB input, or even internal memory for our listening pleasure. And you can record from other sources onto the internal memory, though it’s a bit hard to get running at first. We recently reviewed the C.Crane CC WiFi Radio where the radio stations are played through Reciva. We missed the remote control, but liked the ethernet port. The clock and alarm functions are only so-so, and could’ve been a bit better, and there isn’t streaming from your PC or laptop directly (though a line in through a standard minijack allows your to plug in your iPod or iPhone or other source).
For those of you not as familiar with Slacker radio, it is a know-all, streaming content provider partner with Acoustic Research which offers customization through the use of selectable “Heart” and “Ban” buttons. Meaning if you hate Justin Bieber, you can ban him from your airwaves. That is music to our ears. And if you’re a weather seeker who has to know if Oklahoma is experiencing a tornado, or just want to hear the forecast locally, this model includes four free years from Weatherbug. Audio was good, not great, but as expected from a beside radio- a little fuzz and low-level hiss and a lack of bass come with this size footprint and price range.
You’re able to record up to ten hours of music internally (an SD card slot with an included card might be nice for the future, so that it is upgradeable). There are six pre-sets, a bit of a downside- with all the stations at our fingertips, six is an impossible number to choose. We were able to purchase from online retailers like Amazon for under $100. It’s a decent all-around wifi radio, though doesn’t cover everyone’s needs. It’s not quite easy enough for grandma, but works great for students, and folks who like Pandora but don’t want to be tied to a computer or have another device that they already dock.
