The ability to take your music or audio files anywhere is great. Sometimes though, listening to them through tiny speakers or a headset does the sound no justice. The iRock! 300W Wireless Music Adapter aims to help you get past this sound barrier by creating an easy, hassle free way to broadcast your audio over any FM radio. Does it do what it claims, or is it all a bunch of static?
Appearance
The 300W comes in a simple looking, small semi-circular design. The outer casing of the device is made of a sturdy plastic and seems to be shock resistant, which should help those who tend to drop things a lot. The casing is colored in two tones of grey, which matches well with most portable entertainment devices. It fits comfortably in the hand and is very light at a mere 2.5 oz. Sprouting out of the end of the 300W is a flexible 7” antenna that can plug into any 1/8” (3.5mm) stereo jack. The antenna, when not being used, can be conveniently plugged into a small hole that is in the bottom of the device.On the front of the 300W is a grey, oval-shaped power button. Just above it is a small clear plastic display that glows red when the power is on. On the side is a four position switch that allows you to choose from one of four different FM frequencies to beam your audio to.
Setup
The setup is incredibly simple. After ripping the 300W out of its packaging, (which, by the way, is one of those “it takes fifteen minutes to open” because it is vacuum-sealed) you remove the back of the casing and insert two AAA batteries. After snapping the case back into place, you plug the antenna into the stereo jack (usually the headphone jack plays this role) on the device you want to listen to. Hit the power on the 300W and your portable audio device, flip your FM radio to one of the four frequencies displayed on the frequency switch, set that switch to the matching channel and you are off and running, listening to your music.Performance
Using the 300W to listen to music and vocal audio was generally a pleasant experience. The sound quality does vary somewhat, depending upon the following factors:
- Distance: This is the most important factor. The claims of iRock! are that the 300W can broadcast from a range of 10-30 feet. Tests showed that the best sound was generated under 10 ft, as the signal is much stronger at that short range. The further it was carried from the FM receiver, the weaker the signal was and the more static was heard.
- Strength of the FM receiver: This is simple – a car stereo will have better reception than a small, portable radio.
- Richness of the audio: This plays the least into the overall quality, but still is important to consider. Vocal audio (i.e. audio books) will not sound as good as music, as it is generally not optimized for stereo sound.
- Region: With four FM frequencies to choose from, you are given a good degree of broadcast range. In more populated areas, such as San Francisco, you will need it. The 300W does a solid job of taking over the selected channel, but a locally broadcast station on the same frequency may still interfere and be heard in the background in some circumstances.
