Play your PC music collection all around your house wirelessly and with superior sound!, August 31, 2007

The Xmod Wireless comes in 2 parts, a transmitter and a receiver. The transmitter connects very simply to your PC via USB and it functions as a USB soundcard, applying X-Fi sound enhancement to any sound or music that is passed through it. Compressed audio like AAC, WMA and MP3 files are upscaled to 24 bit quality and surround sound effects can be added.

You have to experience this to appreciate it. It really does make your music sound better. Sometimes the improvement is more subtle than at other times, but the quality X-Fi provides really shines when you connect the receiver end of the Xmod Wireless to a good set of speakers that you might have in your theater or family room.

So, on to part 2 of the package. The wireless receiver. This enables you to control and listen to your music anywhere you place the receiver in your house. Your PC music collection is streamed around the house with top notch quality and fidelity. I have my receiver connected to my theater setup and the sound is fantastic. You can purchase additional receivers if you’d like to play your music in multiple rooms.

Cool things about the package overall. The range is great and there is no lag. Plus, it just works. You don’t need to have your own network or anything running already. Just turn on the receiver and transmitter and away you go, nothing to fuss with. If you do have a network running, this won’t interfere with it at all. I think both units are stylish as well. They fit right in with high end equipment and they are pretty small.

You also get a remote for each side and there are inputs so that you can connect an MP3 player. With the remotes, you can skip tracks, pause tracks, turn on and off the X-Fi features, etc.

I don’t really have any negatives other than the price, but I still think it’s worth it. Sonos has products with similar features that cost up to 00. Xmod Wireless gives you what you need with better audio technology for a lot less. It would also be nice to have a small display on the receiver unit so you can see what you are browsing.

Overall, Xmod Wireless is highly recommended. The unique combination of a driverless and simple to use USB soundcard with a high quality streaming device is an excellent way to introduce your PC to your home theater setup or to any room of your house.

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Works great on a Mac, too, July 23, 2008

By 

Charles Reiss “http://linguistics.concordia.c… (Montreal) – See all my reviews

  

None of the spec sheets mention mac and an email inquiry to Creative resulted in them telling me that it was not mac compatible, but I ordered it anyway and it works great. In fact you can plug anything into it to stream to a receiver–iPod, etc. I have a mac mini running leopard.
Make sure you use the remotes, so you can turn off the Crystallizer effect if you like. There is no software interface—again, making it OS independent.

Here is my set-up. The mac mini connects to the USB input of the transmitter (so then you don’t need the separate power adapter–use this only for an iPod, etc). That’s enough to stream to the xmod receiver across the room, which is attached to a set of powered speakers.

However, I also wanted to play through the speakers attached to my stereo tuner/receiver, which is near the computer. So I have the audio out from the xmod transmitter connect to one of the inputs on the stereo tuner/receiver—I use the VCR-input ports. (This was a mini to split RCA connection.) If you have a Phono input that is probably better since it accepts a weaker signal—if you go into VCR or CD you need to crank the volume. I tried using a pre-amp, but my pre-amp was causing distortion–I originally blamed the xmod, but that was not at fault.

Finally, I want to be able to stream the radio from the stereo tuner to the xmod receiver. No problem, I pluggeed the VCR-output ports on the tuner into the RCA audio-input port on the xmod transmitter. Just be careful switching the stereo tuner/receiver from VCR (playing, say iTunes on the computer) to radio, since the volume is cranked up to compensate for a weak input.

So far, I m very happy with this product.

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Does what I want while others can’t, July 12, 2008

By 

D. Cook (Long Beach, CA) – See all my reviews

  

This gizmo allows me to play the same music in several different locations at once.

With airport express you can only connect to one reciever at a time and only while using iTunes. I also tried Sondigo Siracco which not only has the limit of one reciever but is technically challenging. I would have to reboot the PC several times to get it to work and then it would have buffering issues causing the music to cut out.

The Xmod works great. Easy to set up in the control panel and so far I have been able to connect to three different receivers at the same time including one that is poolside – about 75 feet away out doors. (I believe the limit is 4 recievers at one time.) I am not sure what will happen if my neighbors start using a set.

I also can play music in my office at the same time by connecting my powered speakers to the audio out of the transmitter. This works great for when we have parties.

I don’t have much use for the remote controls can’t really do much with them other than adjust volume and their range is not very big. It would be nice to have digital audio outputs.

Finally, a wireless gizmo that allows me to play music through out my house and outdoors. It is extremely easy to use and sound quality is good.

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A problematic system, May 9, 2011

We just moved into an older house that had a 20 year M&S Intercom System. I saw that M&S made a retrofit unit and bought the DMC3-4 system to modernize the intercom. It has been very disappointing. The music quality is much worse due to the fact that the speakers are tiny compared to the original system. The sound reminds of a cheap 1970′s transistor radio. We have also had a lot of problems with “squawking” noises and other types of noise interference that has made this system not very usable. The tech support from the company is very limited. They blame the existing wiring but offer little ideas or help on how to troubleshoot. I think the engineering quality of this product is very poor and I would not recommend this system.

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Amazing Product, August 28, 2010

This intercom is amazing! I have a child with multiple life-threatening allergies. I need intercom in various areas of the house so that I don’t have to follow him wherever he goes. I set my kitchen, office, master bedroom, and master bathroom stations on “listening” mode all the time. So I can stay in those rooms, carry out my usual chore and still be able to hear what he’s doing. I can literally hear my child scratching! The sound is that clear. I max’ed out the total number of stations allowed per master and it’s still that clear. The system is so versatile. I can turn certain stations off from “monitor” or “intercom” mode, but when I need to, I can still press a whole-house talk button and everyone can hear me. This feature is unique to this product. Other intercoms don’t have this feature, so that I can not communicate to those in rooms where the intercom stations are set to the “monitor” mode. Individual stations can set to “privacy”, then that intercom/room won’t get disturbed. I’ve done so much research and this is the only system that has the versatility I need. The intercom system is better than the phone network system, in that, you can leave any number of stations on ALL the time. With the phone system, you’d have to “call” a particular phone to talk to that person in the room. Worse yet, you can’t leave the phone off the hook ALL the time.

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M&S DMC1/DMC 3-4 is the system to go with, June 14, 2011

First of all, I need to tell you I know this intercom system like the back of my hand after having installed it myself in my home. I have the DMC1, which is the excact same system, it’s just made for new construction rather than retrofit. I actually installed the DMC1 into an existing home that did not have an intercom system. It was challenging yet fun to install it throughout my home. We are a family of 6 and the way our home is designed, even yelling doesn’t get the message across (and we don’t like to yell anyway). This system is well designed and unlike another review stated, the sound is AWESOME for being monoraul. You almost cannot even tell the difference. The other reviewer who commented on the lack of sound quality probably has a connectivity issue because the sound really is awesome in terms of intercoms. I have the CD player with mine and the sound comes through clear, crisp and powerful throughout all the stations. You should know before purchasing this system that it is an ‘all call’ system. That means, when you speak into the master station or any of the sub-stations, your voice will come out through all of the stations (that are turned on). This is especially helpful to us as we have four young children who could be in various areas of the home (including outside on the patio) so when the call for dinner is made, they are likely to be within earshot. I have stations installed in each bedroom, in the basement bathroom, in the media room, in the master bathroom, and have the master in the kitchen. I also have a station located at the back patio and a front door stations. The front door station is a must especially when my wife is home alone. She feels much more secure knowing she can speak to someone who rings the bell (which sounds through all of the stations) rather than having to approach or open the door. You can have a coversation from any station to any other station or to the master. You can also have options at the master control whether a station is turned on, whether any music goes to it or if you want just intercom only. You can also select one or more rooms to monitor (this is useful for our 11 year old who sleeps in the downstairs basement alone. We can monitor her from our bedroom upstairs (or where ever we happen to be by a stations that we have on). This system is not difficult to install. It does require some basic technical know-how and some patience, but if you can hook up an audio or computer system, you shouldn’t have too much of a problem connecting this system up. You have to make CAT 5 runs from each station to the master. The cat 5 ending to the master is connected to a plug. That is then plugged into the corresponding plug-in on the master station. WARNING! Please be sure to have surge protection on the power source of your M&S intercom. We lost a master station due to not having one. Living in Missouri, lightning is notorious in these parts and our master was fried by a nearby lightning strike. It happened about a year after the two year warranty expired and so it wasn’t covered. I ordered a new master and added surge protection to the power line going to it. An expensive lesson learned! All in all, this is a great intercom system that has clear, crisp sound, is very reliable and simple to use. If you don’t have a CD player you can still listen to radio and (if you run a cable from the rear master) have an I-pod connection for it and play your IPOD. We use our intercom all of the time with a housefull of so many children. It saves us from having to make trips down the stairs and it’s so handy, when I just step out of the shower and the door bell rings, that I can answer it from the privacy of my master bath. You just can’t beat the convenience of a home intercom/music system. M&S intercoms. I highly recommend them!

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Versatile Internet Radio, June 18, 2011

By 

Edward T. Wilson (Cincinnati, OH USA) – See all my reviews

  

This was my first Internet radio, so I didn’t know exactly what to expect, but the user reviews were good, so I bought one.

This is sort of a “triple-threat” radio. To use it, you must have a wireless router. With just the router on, you can 1) listen to Internet radio; or 2) listen to Pandora. With your PC on as well, you can 3) play music and other audio material via Windows Media Player.

As others have observed, the initial set-up is kind of a pain, but it’s just a one-time thing [Grace: a little mini-keyboard instead of the wheel would be a huge plus]. Internet Radio: It’s useful to know in advance the call letters of the stations you want to listen to. Up to 10 pre-sets are possible. Pandora: You must be a member [it's easy and free], and it’s a lot easier to define “stations” using a PC than via the Grace radio. [Once the stations are defined, just scroll through the list on the radio and select the one you want to listen to].

Windows Media Player: “Share” your files to the Grace radio. On the PC, when you set up sharing, a “Grace” icon will appear. The playlists that you’ve defined in WMP will show up on the Grace radio–like Pandora, just pick from the list of available playlists.

The radio sounds good; navigation takes a little practice, but it all makes sense. I’m glad I bought mine.

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Excellent micro system, May 18, 2011

I love this little radio. It has great sound, a simple interface and thousands of stations. I also own the Logitech Squeezebox but this radio is a much better value in my opinion. The software interface is simple and logical (unlike the slick Squeezebox) but is very functional. It even has a retro on/off toggle switch. Clearly, the design folks at Grace digital audio are big radio/music fans.

Highly recommended.

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Fantastic Product, Well Worth the Price, March 22, 2011

Since buying this product, I have shifted from watching TV to listening to the radio as my way to relax after work. I had the radio up and running within 20 minutes and could not help but be overwhelmed by the amount of radio stations available to me. My SiriusXM and Panadora accounts were easy to integrate and sound great on the included speakers.

One thing I was particularly impressed by is that Grace Digital allows users to submit music streams that aren’t among the thousands currently offered. If the stream passes the initial quality examination, it is added to available list for all radio owners to tune in.

For someone who can’t get enough music to listen to, be it from your local FM stations, a station from across the globe, internet radio, or anything in between, give serious consideration to this radio. You won’t be disappointed.

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Versatile Internet Radio, June 18, 2011

By 

Edward T. Wilson (Cincinnati, OH USA) – See all my reviews

  

This was my first Internet radio, so I didn’t know exactly what to expect, but the user reviews were good, so I bought one.

This is sort of a “triple-threat” radio. To use it, you must have a wireless router. With just the router on, you can 1) listen to Internet radio; or 2) listen to Pandora. With your PC on as well, you can 3) play music and other audio material via Windows Media Player.

As others have observed, the initial set-up is kind of a pain, but it’s just a one-time thing [Grace: a little mini-keyboard instead of the wheel would be a huge plus]. Internet Radio: It’s useful to know in advance the call letters of the stations you want to listen to. Up to 10 pre-sets are possible. Pandora: You must be a member [it's easy and free], and it’s a lot easier to define “stations” using a PC than via the Grace radio. [Once the stations are defined, just scroll through the list on the radio and select the one you want to listen to].

Windows Media Player: “Share” your files to the Grace radio. On the PC, when you set up sharing, a “Grace” icon will appear. The playlists that you’ve defined in WMP will show up on the Grace radio–like Pandora, just pick from the list of available playlists.

The radio sounds good; navigation takes a little practice, but it all makes sense. I’m glad I bought mine.

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Excellent micro system, May 18, 2011

I love this little radio. It has great sound, a simple interface and thousands of stations. I also own the Logitech Squeezebox but this radio is a much better value in my opinion. The software interface is simple and logical (unlike the slick Squeezebox) but is very functional. It even has a retro on/off toggle switch. Clearly, the design folks at Grace digital audio are big radio/music fans.

Highly recommended.

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Fantastic Product, Well Worth the Price, March 22, 2011

Since buying this product, I have shifted from watching TV to listening to the radio as my way to relax after work. I had the radio up and running within 20 minutes and could not help but be overwhelmed by the amount of radio stations available to me. My SiriusXM and Panadora accounts were easy to integrate and sound great on the included speakers.

One thing I was particularly impressed by is that Grace Digital allows users to submit music streams that aren’t among the thousands currently offered. If the stream passes the initial quality examination, it is added to available list for all radio owners to tune in.

For someone who can’t get enough music to listen to, be it from your local FM stations, a station from across the globe, internet radio, or anything in between, give serious consideration to this radio. You won’t be disappointed.

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Versatile Internet Radio, June 18, 2011

By 

Edward T. Wilson (Cincinnati, OH USA) – See all my reviews

  

This was my first Internet radio, so I didn’t know exactly what to expect, but the user reviews were good, so I bought one.

This is sort of a “triple-threat” radio. To use it, you must have a wireless router. With just the router on, you can 1) listen to Internet radio; or 2) listen to Pandora. With your PC on as well, you can 3) play music and other audio material via Windows Media Player.

As others have observed, the initial set-up is kind of a pain, but it’s just a one-time thing [Grace: a little mini-keyboard instead of the wheel would be a huge plus]. Internet Radio: It’s useful to know in advance the call letters of the stations you want to listen to. Up to 10 pre-sets are possible. Pandora: You must be a member [it's easy and free], and it’s a lot easier to define “stations” using a PC than via the Grace radio. [Once the stations are defined, just scroll through the list on the radio and select the one you want to listen to].

Windows Media Player: “Share” your files to the Grace radio. On the PC, when you set up sharing, a “Grace” icon will appear. The playlists that you’ve defined in WMP will show up on the Grace radio–like Pandora, just pick from the list of available playlists.

The radio sounds good; navigation takes a little practice, but it all makes sense. I’m glad I bought mine.

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Excellent micro system, May 18, 2011

I love this little radio. It has great sound, a simple interface and thousands of stations. I also own the Logitech Squeezebox but this radio is a much better value in my opinion. The software interface is simple and logical (unlike the slick Squeezebox) but is very functional. It even has a retro on/off toggle switch. Clearly, the design folks at Grace digital audio are big radio/music fans.

Highly recommended.

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Fantastic Product, Well Worth the Price, March 22, 2011

Since buying this product, I have shifted from watching TV to listening to the radio as my way to relax after work. I had the radio up and running within 20 minutes and could not help but be overwhelmed by the amount of radio stations available to me. My SiriusXM and Panadora accounts were easy to integrate and sound great on the included speakers.

One thing I was particularly impressed by is that Grace Digital allows users to submit music streams that aren’t among the thousands currently offered. If the stream passes the initial quality examination, it is added to available list for all radio owners to tune in.

For someone who can’t get enough music to listen to, be it from your local FM stations, a station from across the globe, internet radio, or anything in between, give serious consideration to this radio. You won’t be disappointed.

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Easy to use, July 2, 2011

Very simple setup and install. My only complaint is that the pins on the back are very delicate and require extra care when taking on and off the front cover. Overall a good product, works well and does what it is suppost to.

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Easy to use, July 2, 2011

Very simple setup and install. My only complaint is that the pins on the back are very delicate and require extra care when taking on and off the front cover. Overall a good product, works well and does what it is suppost to.

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Easy to use, July 2, 2011

Very simple setup and install. My only complaint is that the pins on the back are very delicate and require extra care when taking on and off the front cover. Overall a good product, works well and does what it is suppost to.

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Easy to use, July 2, 2011

Very simple setup and install. My only complaint is that the pins on the back are very delicate and require extra care when taking on and off the front cover. Overall a good product, works well and does what it is suppost to.

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Easy to use, July 2, 2011

Very simple setup and install. My only complaint is that the pins on the back are very delicate and require extra care when taking on and off the front cover. Overall a good product, works well and does what it is suppost to.

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