Cisco Linksys Wireless Home Audio Lightning Review

Cisco Linksys’Wireless Home Audiosystem is a direct competitor toSonosin the land of room - to - room streaming music . But WHA is more challenging , with promises of iPod compatibility , touchscreen remote control and 802.11n reinforcement .

https://gizmodo.com/linksys-wireless-home-audio-system-streams-all-around-y-5124844

Mary Leontyne Price : $ 1000 ( as tested )

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The Verdict : Despite having some great ideas , the WHA arrangement lacks any semblance of honest quality and performance . It finger rushed and unpolished , whether it was the cheap feel of the Cartesian product — a collection of wireless players and a restrainer , all which you ’d buy a la card to suit your household needs — or the glitchiness of system of rules software . When it was working , the ability to push and apportion content from one zone to another , connect to internet music services and connect your own devices directly were all very dainty . But perplex there was a headache , and the system of rules was treacherous — to say the least — even when running .

While it is nice that the Linksys 802.11n cyclosis means you do n’t need every portion tether via Ethernet — or , as in Sonos ’ case , a whole disjoined wireless net dedicated to euphony and music only — it also increases the complexity of setup tenfold . Each component must be plugged into the router via Ethernet ( or in the typeface of the Remote , your PC ’s USB ) , and you have to use Windows software system to detect and configure each and every machine in a multi - step wizard . In the case of the Director , a screen - equipped WHA euphony player , I endeavor to connect to the connection without the PC , and it did employment , but when I entered my mesh password falsely once , the only way to backtrack and reenter the password was to reboot the system .

Also , in a separate mental testing we prevail using a Time Capsule as the chief wireless router , we had too many troubles to list . We ’re still unclear whether or not it was a problem with the Apple router or a wrong component from Linksys , but either way , if you use non - Linksys routers , be forewarned you may know added difficulty .

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Once I really set about the system shape , it was n’t long before a torrent of random job started to kick in . Plugging a FAT32 - formatted HDD into the Director ’s USB port would cause the system to block . Rhapsody would sputter and spew after a few minutes before ultimately dropping the connectedness . The reception between the remote control and the equipment in motion would lag . Despite selecting a play list from my iPod , only one racecourse at a time would act as . Sometimes the Director iPod would n’t find the iPod at all .

The touchscreen remote actually performed admirably , but its role of a inexpensively built resistive touchpanel for a fingerbreadth UI intend that it was n’t very responsive . ( standardization did help , but it was still galling . ) fundamentally , you drop more time worrying about WHA unwrap down than you do enjoying your music .

Despite being the most versatilestreaming audioplayer we ’ve seen to date , the want of timbre ascendence really crap the CiscoLinksys Wireless Home Audiosystem a production line to avoid . ( take down : To ensure that our damaging issue was n’t a fluke , we test two separate sets of brand name - new Linksys components in two distinct households , and we receive dangerous problems in both instances . ) For roughly the same price you’re able to pick up Sonos ’ two corresponding Zone Players and an 8 - gig iPod touch to pass Sonos gratuitous software , giving you a much more polished , comfortable to use parcel . [ WHA on Giz ]

Lesdilley