Alright, so the Outlaws have said that this thing'll be able to play MP3's off web lists, right? Since I would be connecting this, as I assume MOST buyers would, to a LAN in my home, would I be able to play a list of MP3's off one of my home PC's?

According to the last newsletter, the Outlaws had checked on the ability to have the IR1000 behave as a "thin client" that would play MP3's from your PC and found that it just wasn't made to do that, so the answer looks like "no" I'm afraid.

------------------
Gonk

Take a look at the Audiotron: http://www.audiotron.net/audiotron/producthome.asp

It will do that and it's the same price. Can't comment on the audio quality of the one versus the other, but my guess would be that the quality of the stream would be the deciding factor, not the unit.

Yup, you got it. You can have all the fancy parts and casework you want but the basic theory still holds: crap in, crap out.

------------------
Nigel Pond
SMR Home Theatre
SMR Forums
SMR Group
HighFidelityReview

It kind of surprised me, actually, when the Outlaws came out with a product which has less features than the competition, the same price, and in a market where they're unable to differentiate themselves with higher quality sound. The Outlaw credo has pretty much been "costs less, sounds better" and I don't know that either will be true with the IR1000.

The IR1000 confused me too when I first heard about it, and it still seems like an unusual choice for them. From an e-mail exchange I had with Outlaw about it a while ago, I get the impression (reinforced by comments in the press release and newsletter) that they had an opportunity to experiment with some new technology and create a niche product -- something that people will either absolutely love or find very useless. It's not really the same as the Audiotron (although the similarities are striking and comparisons will be made) -- the Audiotron requires a computer (which also means computer software that must be installed and configured) while the IR1000 is intended to just be hooked up to some sort of Internet connection. The Audiotron offers more flexibility, to be sure -- it can be an MP3-based CD jukebox of limitless size (assuming you have the hard drive space) as well as an Internet radio tuner. But it also requires some computer savvy -- and I think everyone reading this forum knows people who lack that savvy and probably remembers a time when they themselves lacked it (fess up, folks, you know it's true ). Initially connecting the IR1000 may be tricky for people who are not familiar with computers and networks (which would also be true of the Audiotron, possibly even more so), but after that it's just a radio with hundreds of stations. (A good manual similar to the ICBM's should be able to cover the few different ways to connect the IR1000.) That is the difference that I think Outlaw is hoping to use to make a niche for the IR1000.

I really like the idea behind the Audiotron, probably because of the high "gadget" factor, but my listening habits don't really mesh with large-scale MP3 playback from a PC even if it would be fun to play with. My wife would probably make use of the "radio" side of it, as she prefers to listen to the radio over CD's when seeking background noise, but at that point the IR1000 would satisfy her needs without tying up a computer (and possibly offering a less complex interface? -- a good thing). While it still seems like an odd choice to me and I suspect that it will always be something of a niche product in Outlaw's line (perhaps the family "black sheep"?), the simplicity of the concept may work.

------------------
Gonk

Since I own an audiotron.. I think I can comment.. LOL


Exactly. Stream quality will be the ONLY factor. The outputs of both should sound the same, or pretty darn close.. When you have a bad internet connection the streams WILL skip.



Somewhat.... You don't have to install any software on your computer to make an audiotron run. The audiotron, much like the IR1000 is network appliance. It sits on your network as a node/point. You can either hand enter or configure DHCP to give you an IP. Once they get an IP they can be seen on the network. They both run Windows CE as their operating system. Since I have never seen an IR1000 up close I can only speculate some things. You can configure the audiotron through its web interface. It has its own built in web server to allow you to configure it, much like the way linksys has its web interface to configure their cable/dsl routers. You can configure the audiotron directly from the front of the unit itself, WITHOUT a computer at all. I know, I had to do it. When I first purchased my audiotron they did not have the web interface. A bit coumbersome, but it can be done. The web interface is a convenience. Turtle beach upgrades Firmware alot, so they are always making improvements.. The latest firmware boasts an alarm clock/sleep timer as well as an API for programmer types.

I would bet if you could hook up and make work an IR1000 you could easily hook up an Audiotron. Niether one of these products are for the networkly challenged. You will need to know *something* about computer networking in order to make them work. If you get that far, finding MP3's on your computer hooked up to the network is just as easy as finding the IP number of your favorite stations. Both are very niche products and you will need a computer to help you out with either one. (Where else are you going to find streams??)

I do believe the Outlaws dropped the ball on this one though, no digital out and it doesn't stream MP3's. To make matters worse it's at a price point with an established product that already does.

Jeff

I too own an audiotron...it was easy to setup and the sound quality would rival any outlaw product...it just sits on my home LAN, plays ANY mp3 file on ANY computer on my LAN...and also streams internet radio. Outlaw should have taken lessons from Voyetra on this one!!!!

TK-

As far as Audiotron vs IR1000, I can't see anywhere that the IR1000 comes out on top. As an Audiotron owner (you can have my Audiotron when you pry it from my cold, dead hands! ) I know that it doesn't need a computer to function, and without a computer anywhere it will function in a similar capacity to the IR1000, with internet radio only, but the Audiotron supports MP3 and WMA internet radio formats.

In addition to that, the Audiotron has a TOSLINK digital output.

With all of the current worries over internet radio (the new heavy license fees that the RIAA wants to charge webcasters), the possibility of of buying the IR1000 only to have 99% of all the internet radio sites shut down, leaving your $300 purchase useless isn't too appealing. At least with the Audiotron you can play music from a local computer.

So what, if any, are the advantages of the IR1000 over the Audiotron, given that they're not only the same price, but I picked mine up at a local retailer for $299 (which is a huge advantage to me)?

- Mike

The Audiotron doesn't have a green power button.

------------------
Matthew J. Hill
matt@idsi.net