You have all this great digital music on your PC and iPod, but now your expensive stereo system feels sad and lonely because it cannot play those songs for your Sunday brunch.
It's not like you didn't try to fix things. You've used cables to plug your computer into the stereo, but then you had to run back to your PC anytime you wanted to skip a song on your playlist (say, Metallica's "Enter Sandman" in the middle of your holiday party). You've plugged transmitters into your iPod to beam songs to your FM radio receiver but the sound quality was shaky. And you've drooled over expensive, high-end systems that promise to wirelessly zap songs from your office to your living room, but -- alas -- you could not afford them.
Now there is an elegant and efficient (and affordable) solution: the Logitech Wireless DJ System ($220). It has three basic components: a transmitter that plugs into your computer’s USB slot, a receiver that connects to a stereo’s RCA input jacks and the remote control. And it’s the remote that distinguishes the Wireless DJ from previous options. Its large, backlit display lets you browse and organize all the music on your computer with the click of a few buttons. No more running back to computer to tinker with the playlist. One warning: If you have an exceptionally large music library on your PC, scrolling through on the remote can be frustrating. You can sort by artist, song title and genre, but the only way to get from, say, Abba to ZZ Top is by repeatedly thumbing the scroll wheel.
Setting up the Wireless DJ is fairly easy. You do have to install its StreamPoint software on your PC, but the system is pleasantly compatible with most popular computer music programs, including Apple's iTunes, Windows' MediaPlayer and Musicmatch's Jukebox. It'll be music to your stereo's ears.
Kenneth Terrell gauges gadgets and gizmos for U.S. News & World Report.
Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. 9(MDM3NjYwMjA5MDE1MjA1MzQ1NDk1N2ZmZQ004))