This bridge nicely moves music where you want it

By Craig Crossman
Knight Ridder Newspapers

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Buying music downloaded from services like iTunes, ripping songs from your CD collection and putting all of it into your personal computer seems to be the key to the future of the music industry and how its products will be delivered to the masses.

The computer, used for balancing a checkbook in the past century, is fast becoming the music player of choice in this new millennium.

I remember vinyl records, 8-tracks and cassettes and how each was heralded as being the ultimate device to deliver music into the hands of consumers.

I wonder if those inventors ever imagined the ultimate device to transport music from one location to another wasn't going to be a physical device at all.

As millions of songs are bought and sold over the Internet, the containers that store the invisible music streams we pay for resides on computer hard drives, MP3 players that use more hard drives or flash memory and optical media like CDs and DVDs.

The latter still lets us transport our music on physical media, but maybe one day it will all be just streams of music sent to devices that play everything.

One such device designed to play your computer's digital data stream comes from a Roku (www.rokulabs.com). The SoundBridge Network Music Player lets you play your digital music stored on a computer anywhere in your home.

The M1000 and M2000 are functionally identical, their only difference being size. The M1000 is 10 inches wide and uses a 5.5-inch display. The M2000 is 17 inches wide and uses a 12-inch display.

Both are futuristically styled cylindrical devices that sport a high-tech bluish vacuum florescent display.
 
They can either sit on a desktop in a provided stand or be mounted onto the wall with the included hardware.

You connect your powered speakers or stereo system to the network player. The computer is connected to the SoundBridge via the player's wired Ethernet port or an optional wireless Wi-Fi connection ($49.95).

The song information kept within the playing music file is displayed on the player and includes a title and performing artist, track number, elapsed or total time of the song and an animated graphical display that indicates the distributed volume across the equalized frequencies.

This is one good-looking player.

Supported music file standards include MP3, AAC, WMA, AIFF, WAV, FLAC and Ogg-Vorbis. According to Roku, Apple's wildly popular iTunes playlists and songs are completely supported with the exception of the streaming of secured AAC files purchased from the Apple Music Store.

Currently, the iPod is the only device that will support this feature. However, Roku says if Apple ever allows other players to function with the protected iTunes format, its player is fully adaptable. Other formats supported will be Internet radio audio streams.

Finally, the SoundBridge features an alarm clock, which begins playing your selected songs or playlists at the time you specify. And yes, it even displays the time when it's not being used.

Both SoundBridge models work on Windows or Macintosh platforms, The M1000 and M2000 sells for about $300 and $500, respectively.

Niro 1.1 speakers

Nirotek

800-533-5617, www.niro1.com

$599, $799

I'm a big fan of surround sound, ever since I saw the movie "Midway" in the 1970s. I'll never forget bugging my dad about taking me to see the movie about the famous World War II battle because of the booming guns of the warships.

So getting that feeling at home — I have "Midway" on DVD — excites me. I'm not much of a regular television viewer, but movies on DVD hold a special place in my heart as solid entertainment.

Getting the guns to boom on the tube, however, requires adding some firepower to my TV's sound system.

That's easier said than done ,because surround-sound systems out there tend to include more than a few speakers and require way too much effort to be placed properly around the room.

Nirotek America has created a wonderful setup. Just two speakers in the Niro 1.1 Pro need to be installed (only available directly from Nirotek for $799; the 1.1 Standard, $599, has fewer drivers in the main speaker unit). This allows more time for enjoying the movie.

You basically have one 18-inch-wide speaker to sit atop the television and one massive subwoofer that sits on the floor.

Plug these into the progressive scan DVD/CD player (AM-FM tuner and digital amplifier) in the box, and you're good to go.

I clocked my installation time at 4 1/2 minutes , compared with a half-hour to an hour on other systems.

The sound from the Niro 1.1 is amazing. As long as I sat (the recommended) 6 feet from the units and the television, I thought I could hear sound coming from behind my head — as if I had put up all those speakers.

Equally important, after listening to the shallow sound of television speakers for months, I actually felt the joy of hearing a decent bass in the sound, just as in a theater.

"Midway" boomed its way across my living room. And, for once, I worried about disturbing my neighbors.

My only complaint is a minor one.

The buttons on the remote are too small and crammed together. In low light, I had a problem finding the volume buttons.

I consider the Niro 1.1 Pro a first-rate purchase for anyone who likes movies but doesn't want the hassle of putting up multiple speakers to get surround sound.

— Kevin Washington

The Baltimore Sun