Let me tell you about Elana’s radio. (Yup, that’s it in the clip.)
Elana cooks… a lot! and when she does she listens to the radio. Sometimes she listens to music, but often she chooses talk radio. And she listens to it on an old-style Sony radio. The thing hasn’t changed since I was a kid. It has one speaker and sounds… well… it sounds horrible.
I have asked Elana if she wanted me to set it up so her MacBook could drive speakers in the kitchen, but she didn’t want the hassle or expense. So for YEARS I have heard this static-filled, terrible sounding radio on a daily basis.
Fortunately the good folks at MYINE were kind enough to send me an IRA Internet Radio to review. And Elana was finally willing to consider coming into the new century.
Let’s take a look.
The Internet radio comes simply packaged and contains almost everything you need in order to listen to free internet radio to your heart’s content.
In the package you’ll find the radio itself, a remote, a power adapter and cables for connecting the radio to your speakers. Yes, that is why the unit “contains almost everything you need”… it captures the station but you need to supply your own speakers if you actually want to hear anything.
The radio itself is quite simple…
The front is smooth black plastic (read “fingerprint magnet”). The plastic screen is flush with the rest of the face.
The back has a spot for the power adapter and outputs for the left and right channel. Thankful the unit comes with an adapter that allows the left/right channels to become a single plug. Depending upon the speakers you choose to use this is rather important.
The top of the radio has no controls.
The result, obviously, is that you will need to use the remote exclusively in order to use the radio. That, unfortunately is a bit of a bummer since the remote is not the most responsive or intuitive I have seen.
With apologies for the grainy image (the screen resolution is low and trying to capture it was a challenge) here is a look at the interface…
We have set the device up to offer shortcuts to a number of Elana’s favorite radio stations. Unfortunately the one she listens to most often isn’t available (a station choice not the fault of the device). That means that while she will likely use the Ira much of the time once I get a proper speaker setup in place I still will have to hear WOR Talk Radio in the kitchen in all its static-filled AM radio glory.
The MYINE Ira does exactly what it says- it gives you access to over 11,000 internet radio stations without ever needing to pay a dollar for a subscription. It offers good sound, a small size in a sleek design. If you listen to a lot of music via the internet it is definitely worth a look.
What I Like-
Sleek design, decent sound, a super selection of listening options. once favorites are set up it is easy to use
What Needs Improvement-
Only controlled via the remote, cumbersome interface, need to spully your own speakers
The MYINE Ira is available from MYINE for an MSRP of $149.
MYINE Ira Internet Radio – Review: Click here to view the embedded video.
Let me tell you about Elana’s ra.. http://bit.ly/20YIZu