Great idea!! 90% of the way there...
Written: Dec 25 '02 (Updated Aug 16 '05)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Convenience of portability, compact (size & weight), multiple input sources
Cons: INTERMITTENT INTERFERENCE, cost
The Bottom Line: :-) Looks & sounds good, portable
;-( VERY adverse to surrounding interferences, pricey, low tweaking capabilities
THE BOTTOM LINE: OK alternative until Blue Tooth catches up to replace "simple" RF!!!
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| mrcycling's Full Review: Sony Walkman SRS-RF90R Radio |
;-( SEE UPDATES AT END!!!!!!!!!!!! ;-(
;-( SEE MY PERSONAL LIST OF INTERFERENCES UPDATED AT END ;-
I have just acquired this system, and was VERY excited at the prospect of 300 feet or so of peripheral "walkability" for all my different sources of music.
I live in a large Metropolitan center in an old brick house with thick plaster of Paris walls, large tin air ducts running through the walls, turn of the century huge support beams etc. I am a techno geek and have many electronic toys in the house. Long story short, there are many points of possible interference for total quality & sound from the unit.
Although I have not measured the exact distance to which I can take the receiver unit away from the transmitter, in a direct line of sight with no physical barriers I can go quite far (i.e. to the end of my backyard: transmitter to receiver, approx. 100 feet).
OK, let's get serious, here is my experience to date broken down into 8 sections!!
1. ;-) Installation time (from the box to functioning)
2. ;-) Initial "how do you..." time
3. ;-( Time spent moving the transmitter & receiver...
4. ;-) Input sources
5. ;-) Audio quality
6. ;-( Interference
7. ;-) Loving
8. ;-( Not-loving
Here it goes:
1. Installation time (from the box to functioning):
->60 seconds flat!!! No tools, no "Swedish-like" directions such as "attach the Snörmöffn to the Uttãrbhar"
2. Initial "how do you..." time:
->60 seconds (there are really no more than 4 buttons to figure out, and as a typical male I did not read the manual)
3. Time spent moving the transmitter & receiver in their respective locations by 1 millimeter to optimize reception:
->Hours!! & counting ;-(
4. Input sources:
->Plugged the system into several different sources of audio:
A) Computer: so-so performance due to the dozen or so interference points around the computer (monitor!!!, existing speaker system, DSL high speed modem, etc.)
B) Pocket PC: (i.e. HP Jornada using Windows CE) good performance
C) TV & radio: good performance
5. Audio quality:
->In direct line of sight, short distances apart, surprisingly good for the size of the unit
->Good base & tweeter sounds (highs & lows are well respected)
->I set the source audio volume everywhere from low to high & always had very respectable audio output in the optimal situations.
6. Interference:
->The manual does warn you of the possible sources, although this would have been more useful info had it been printed on the outside of the package ;-)
->By moving the transmitter & receiver around I have been able to minimize the “physical plant” interference (such as walls, wires, ducts, pipes etc.). Therefore I have identified the best spots to sit down the receiver in each room.
->”Peripheral interference” such as static from life evolving around my house is another story; I frequently hear hissing for 10-15 seconds, as well as loud high pitched “beeps” that last for a second or so & walkie-talkie or CB radio types of noises. Using the built-in reception tweaking button & 3 channels on the transmitter does not fix the problem.
->The interference noises are relatively well camouflaged if there are people talking while listening to the music, however, if you are sitting in a corner reading a book or listening to music while having a quiet romantic dinner...this interference can be very annoying.
7. Loving:
->The built in rechargeable battery
->The portability of audio (I love to just pick it up & change rooms!)
->The quality of output (in optimal situation)
->The look! Very stylish, friends & family all “awed” over the bluish hue of the plastic deflector
->The multi-input capabilities
->The ease of installation, configuration & use
->The expandability: ability to purchase additional receiver speakers.
->RECEIVER/SPEAKER unit feels very sturdy & inspires longevity as expected of a Sony product
8. Not-loving:
->The intermittent interference
->The cost
->The inability to “play & charge”: while the speaker is on & plugged in, it cannot recharge the battery. System must be off & plugged in to charge.
->Only 3 channels on the transmitter (limits ability to rid of interference)
->The inability to tweak the output sound on the speaker (i.e. base & treble; only has volume setting)
->The inability to turn off the transmitter: it automatically turns off when no sound is available to be sent out, however since I mostly use it on my computer, I have to unplug it to turn it off
->The use of RF for transmitting sound: classic radio frequencies are fine for 900MHZ cordless phones because you are always willing to live with a little phone disturbance while talking to your in-laws... I am looking forward to this type of technology being supported by something more sophisticated like Blue Tooth radio frequencies.
->The inability to sit by the speaker to read a book quietly without being distracted by the UFO’s calling planet earth, which is what the intermittent interference sounds like…-)
->TRANSMITTER unit DOES NOT feel very sturdy & DOES NOT inspire longevity (it feels a little flimsy to be honest for a Sony product)
The fact that very few of us live in the "optimal" environment for which this type of system was designed should warn you that it is possible that the little reading spot at the end of your house that you love to sit in & wish to bring the speaker to may not be able to provide good reception with this system. If you are to purchase this system, I would suggest doing the following: go to the Sony Store, attempt to bribe the manager into loaning you their floor model for a day & see if you are able to have the system accommodate your life style & surroundings. Hopefully you will be pleasantly surprised, otherwise you will be well warned of the possible shortcomings.
I have 1 or 2 regrets for purchasing the system, but still will not give it up ;-)
;-(1 MONTH OF USE UPDATE ;-(
After the initial euphoria over a new toy…
…the reality check:
A) Apparently, the speaker system does not like my microwave oven (they have had a quarrel over who gets more attention from me…), and when the speaker/receiver is near (i.e. within a 20 foot radius) of the functioning microwave, they argue in the form of loud hissing & beeping emanating from the speaker; we tried group therapy, but I guess both the speaker & the microwave oven are males; they did not communicate their feelings back to me. So now, I have learned to turn off the speaker before starting the microwave oven, otherwise, I am in for a lot of yelling ;-)
B) The primary use I had intended for the “traveling speaker” was to listen to music while I train in my basement:
Big “oops” #1: my treadmill generates static when I run on it (straight from the column of “things I never knew”), and this static is being picked up by the receiver of the speaker system, and while I am running away my X-Mas dinner, all that comes out of the speaker is “kskssssshhhsssssskkhshhkk” (you get the point)
Big “oops” #2: I bike-train using my bike attached to what cyclists call…a trainer (small device to which your bike is attached at the back wheel, creating friction against your tire). The mechanism that this “trainer” uses to cause “tension” against my bike wheel is magnetic friction…can you see where I am going with this ;-( I cannot hear the music as it is burried in static sounds.
Big “oops” #3: I have also endowed myself with a wonderful little home gym with pulleys & bars & stuff to do some weights training; this contraption is about 5 feet in diameter & 6 feet in height. As I use the different stations on the machine, I necessarily move around the metal components of it, and each movement seems to generate more static that …hey, you guessed the punch line!! Yes, the darn little speaker picks it up!!!
C) Be EXTREMELLY weary of your environment before purchasing this system; it is HIGHLY ADVERSE TO SURROUNDING INTERFERENCES, and for this I have downgraded my rating from “above average” which is what I had set when I first purchased it (I was suckered by the pretty hue of the deflector I guess) to “Average”, and if my dear wifey was writing this epinion, she would go straight to the “avoid it” rating, particularly if your house sounds a little like ours ;-)
D) List of possible interference points
Caveat: this is my personal experience with the speaker system as either the receiver or transmitter is located near or “about” any of the following functioning home appliances (i.e. turned on/being utilized), necessarily these are not scientific findings, just daily-routine dumb luck in finding these out.
In my personal experience, any and all of these will send the receiver/speaker unit screaming or hissing either momentarily/intermittently or permanently until you “remove” the interference, if that is at all possible, or simply get tired & turn off the speaker:
1. Computer monitor (i.e.: receiver too close to activated monitor)
2. Computer speaker system (same as above)
3. Computer printer
4. DSL/ADSL high speed modem (same as above)
5. Treadmill (i.e. running on a treadmill near the receiver)
6. Bike trainer
7. Home gym
8. Your neighbor’s 900 MHZ wireless phone (or yours for that matter)
9. Electric furnace (particularly forced air systems as they use air ducts which convey some of the electromagnetic charge of the furnace engine, and these ducts on their own act as a physical barrier…)
10. Microwave oven
11. Vacuum cleaner
12. Blender
13. That little dinky fan in the hut above your stove top
14. Your lovely spouse walking in the path between the transmitter/receiver to come & give you a kiss
Added March 18, 2003
15. Washing machine & clothes dryer (note: I do not own a dishwasher, however I would bet at least 8cents, no make that 9cents, that dishwashers also cause interferences).
Added April 22nd, 2003
16. Cell phone ringing near by
Added September 28th, 2003
17. Air conditioning unit
18. SWAG (scientific wild @$$ guess): ANYTHING that is electronic, mechanical or electro-mechanical that would/could/might/likely produce some electro-magnetic charge/field (that's just my uneducated & unscientific guess)
I think this is a beautiful product, it truely looks cool, and all my friends who see it could watch for hours, like a modern day "motion-less-lava-lamp". I SOOOO wanted it to be what I wanted it to be: a very well functioning, trouble free add-on to my audio system. For the last few weeks I have been trying to convince myself that the interference was not so bad, and you know, you get used to it, right? WROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG!!!!!!!!!! I cannot stand to hear the UFO callings anymore, this thing is driving me COMPLETELY NUTTTTTS!!!! I am so enthralled in trying to make it work properly that I cannot even sit through dinner anymore enjoying the company of my spouse, the good food & the wine, I am getting up every 2 minutes to reposition it or change the channel!!!! I am going back to my old ways; crank the tunes in the living room to listen to it in the dining room. (sorry, needed to vent a little here)
Okee-dokee...anyone interested in a second-hand Sony wireless speaker should keep their eyes open on ebay...I should be juuuuuuuuuust about fed up with mine in about a week or two and will be selling it at auction...I am downgrading my rating to Below Average and changing my recommendation to "No, I would not recommend it to a friend". It is uterly ridiculous that a product with such a price tag from such an industry patriarch cannot perform in what I consider to be a normal urban environment. Shame on you Sony, shame.
Final update...farewell SRS speaker!
My lovely spouse & I have opted for the following option with regards to the SRS speaker: although I suggested that alone for the blue hue reflector that we should keep the speaker, although this did not, I repeat, did not help me win the discussion, therefore the speaker is a gonner ;-(
We traded it for an original painting from my spouse's brother who is a great painter. He seemed interested in the darn thing, so, he's got the ol speaker, I got the painting!
Farewell SRS speaker (SRS ?= souds really staticky???), it's been fun writting about you!!!
Final update (take 2)...farewell SRS speaker!
Ok, brother in law realized that he was not all that happy with the speaker either, we realized we hated the painting, so we re-exchanged the darn things. I posted the speaker on eBay, reserve of 25USD was never met so I yanked it. I have now donated it to a friend who was very keen on getting his hands on the speaker, I have not heard from him since and told him that the speaker was his for him to do whatever with. Last I heard, it was a stand-in for a "motion-lesss lavalamp". Thanks for reading this far mate!! ;-)
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
mrcycling
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Member: Frederick Helmut Stoltz
Location: Canada
Reviews written: 25
Trusted by: 0 members
About Me:
Project Manager/Management Consultant, pmp/PMI, cycling nut (mountain & road), dog lover
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