Turtle Beach AUDIOTRON - Ethernet Only Dig Music & Internet Radio Player

I bought this gadget three weeks ago, just before ...

Strengths: Controls via WEB inerface. Good sound quality. Turtle radio.

Weaknesses: Music library system needs to be improved. Static noise with headphone jack. Not very useful manual.

Summary: I bought this gadget three weeks ago, just before they lowered the price by $100. Kind of feeling unlucky but I still think it worths the money I have (over)paid.

Here are what I observed:

1: Hardware setup is very straight forward. You connect it to your receiver with the supplied RCA audio cable and/or a toslink optical cable(not supplied), to your home network with the supplied RJ45 cable, plug in the power cord and it is ready to go.

2: Network setup is simple too.

--- It is DHCP capable and automatically connects to you home DHCP network upon power-up. (good)

--- It then attempts to scan ALL of shared volumes on the network to find music files and build up an indexed music library. This default feature may be good for many others but not for my home net with more than 7 PCs. It just takes too long and, besides, I simply don't want all my music files to be scanned and indexed.

3: No password, no entry.

You are able to change this (and many other) default behavior through its web interface. This is very nice. But to do so, you need to know a username/password pair which is NOT provided in the manual. I eventually found it on their website, but, eh, what an overlook.

4: Music library.

This is the main thing I want to complain about. The Audiotron automatically scans your shared volumes(all volumes by default or just the ones you specify) and build up a local ID3 based index for each music file. This I suppose works OK for songs where a single file represents a whole piece of music, but it is not good for classic music. For example I ended up with an album entry of "Piano concerto number 1" with 18 "songs", each representing a chapter in a concerto but the 18 titles in whole is a mix of Grieg, Bizet, Beethoven... (I do mean "mix" as Audiotron breaks apart each concerto and put all allegros together in sequence!)

One can use a playlist to hold a symphony together but it is not convenient for at least two reasons: (1) no tool, though available from internet, is supplied for batch treatment; (2) playlists are not indexed by Audiotron, so there is a delay between hitting "play" and the sound.

Also, the music library is not editable once it is built.

(What a pity). You can delete and rebuild one though.

5: Turtle radio is very good. The Audiotron plays music directly from internet beautifully with no glitches.

6: Sound quality is good both with RCA and optical connections. Sound through headphone is contaminated with a low but noticeable static.

7: Control through WEB.

The Audiotron has a web server built-in. It's web interface is very primitive but the idea that one can control the Audiotron via http interface from ANY computer(Windows, Linux, pocket PC, Mac) without needing a server software is great. As far as I know, Audiotron is the only digital receiver,pending Roku Soundbridge, featuring this (and this the exact reason I bought it among others.) I tried to use a 802.11b capable pocket PC to control it, and it works just fine. It works for my Linux machine too.

8: Other good things.

--- It sets its own clocks directly from internet.

--- It is absolutely quiet when not playing, not powerline noise.

--- It works with 802.11 wireless bridges so it can be wireless too. (I am currently attaching a Dlink 801+ on it).

--- The TurtleBeach website offers tons more useful documentation than supplied with the box.

--- It is cheaper now.

9: Other not so good things.

--- The music library is lost if there is a power cut. (why? flash memory is so cheap now!)

--- The display could be larger. It is not very readable from 3+ feet.

10: Desired features.

--- Instead of (or in addition to) the current ID3 tag based index, the Web interface should provide a representation of the file structure of each shared volume. You open the folder, see the music file you like to listen and click to play it. Just like most MP3 player do.

--- A dynamic upload mode would be nice. You have a music file you want to listen to in one of your PC, you open Audiotron's web interface, upload the file, off it plays. No need to build an index file, no change in existing library.

--- A built-in 802.11b would have saved me $70.

Summary:

It is a decent machine with a great idea--- universal web control. Hardware quality is good. Firmware can be improved. It worths $200 as it is priced now.

I wouldn't buy another one with current musics library firmware. But once they improves it, I would buy two more.

Thanks.

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The AudioTron is a fantastic product that's hard t ...

Strengths: Simple yet powerful, great sound, incredible flexibility

Weaknesses: Analog audio output not quite perfect; instructions don't cover complicated networks well (but online forum help is awesome!)

Summary: The AudioTron is a fantastic product that's hard to describe because it is a new KIND of audio equipment. Get creative: what would you want from a box that's easy to use, pulls audio from the web and/or your home computers, and has both a web server and programmer's interface? AudioTron can pretty much do whatever you imagine, and more.

A few tidbits to whet your appetite:

* Choose music from any web browser, wireless PDA, or WAP phone

* Next party: allow guests to queue up their favorite music from web browsers scattered around... a 21st century jukebox!

* Almost unlimited capacity: over 30,000 songs indexed, using your existing storage space!

Overall, it's almost this simple:

* Install with your other stereo/home theater equipment

(or just an amplified speaker system)

* Plug the output into your amp/receiver/speakers (it has both stereo RCA out, and optical S/PDIF digital surround out). The digital quality is amazing, but has no volume control.

* Plug the input (RJ45 ethernet in this case) into your LAN... or crossover cable to a PC... or to a wireless hub.

* Register online for your free TurtleRadio account that lets you manage your collection of Internet Radio stations -- they supply a bunch, you can add/chg more as you like.

* Turn it on. Most likely, it will automagically figure almost everything out!

* Connect to it with a web browser. Now you can fine tune everything, (including the ability to provide your TurtleRadio account info.)

There, you're done!

Now you're listening to digital music and digital radio. Remote controlled along with your other hi-fi equipment... and no need to mess with computers, etc unless you want to.

Notes:

* We have a complex network; it took some playing to get it working right:

--- The AudioTron (AT) was fine, but the PC setup software couldn't find the AT until I simplified my network mask.

--- If your music files are not stored in the default place, you need to learn how to specify the shared drive(s) and folder(s). The instruction book and built in web instructions are not quite clear enough.

* Some people get a hum through the analog (RCA) out. Apparently, the wires inside sometimes "flop" too close to the power transformer. Help/suggestions available online.

* The built-in firmware is frequently updated with new, more advanced features (and bug fixes)...

* Free add-on tools from third parties make it more powerful. A "table of contents" tool creates an index that speeds up the entire system...

* There ARE other products somewhat similar to this, but nothing that easily replaces it unless you are a super-techno Linux hacker :)

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