Streaming Device Reviews

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Leslie Shapiro  |  Dec 27, 2011

Long gone are the days when the kids sat with their parents, gathered around a single television set in the living room, all watching the same broadcast show. Today, TV is a whole different deal. There are a lot more ways to watch it. It seems you only have to wish for a cool new way to view TV, and BAM! - it magically appears. Here's a peek at two of these new products.

Mark Henninger  |  Apr 03, 2023

Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE $1,349 (Juke-6) / $1,499 (Juke-8)

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Plug-and-play upgrade
Simple and reliable
Low cost per zone
Expandable
Minus
Only 20 watts RMS per channel
No EQ

THE VERDICT
The Juke is a simple, affordable way to retrofit an existing multiroom wired architectural speaker system, or power a new one. It provides high-quality sound and is easy to use.

Multiroom streaming audio is a fun and affordable way to upgrade your home. Juke Audio's six-zone or eight-zone (12- or 16-channel) smart amplifier is a quick, easy, and reasonably priced way to get started. Leveraging AirPlay/AirPlay2 and Spotify Connect, it communicates directly with a wide array of supported apps.

Leslie Shapiro  |  Dec 29, 2011

As entertainment options become more and more plentiful, so do the variety of ways to access and enjoy them. Even without cable, the possibilities seem practically endless. Could there be one box that takes all these options and makes it simple, easy and fun to access it all?

Geoffrey Morrison  |  Jan 29, 2012

As an unabashed fan of the Kindle Fire, anything that adds to its usefulness I'm instantly interested in. 

Already available for iOS, Android, and other devices, the $30 SlingPlayer app for Fire is the second part of the Slingbox system. 

How well does it work? I was as interested as you. . .

Michael Berk  |  Feb 29, 2012

If you're a Boxee Box owner, you probably noticed the revamped and streamlined main menu in the latest iteration of the OS, Boxee 1.5. The company's new USB stick goes that one better, adding live TV to the do-it-all streamer's ever-expanding repertoire.

Daniel Kumin  |  May 22, 2012

Who wouldn’t want to play their growing horde of audio files – the same ones that feed the iPod and iTunes — on the “big” system, with big-system volume, quality, and impact?

Nobody, that’s who.

John Sciacca  |  Jun 05, 2012

Elite is Pioneer’s premier home audio line, much like Lexus is to Toyota. That means you can expect better build quality, a longer warranty, step-up features, and premium performance. New to Elite this year are two network audio players, the N-30 and N-50, that stream audio (including high-rez files up to 192-kHz/24-bit) from a computer, play Internet radio, and use Apple’s AirPlay for easy wireless networking with iOS devices. When it comes to basic features, the two are essentially the same. But there are several key performance differences between the players that make it easy to argue the case for the N-50’s $200 price premium.

John Sciacca  |  Nov 20, 2012

Casa means “home” or “house” in Spanish and Italian. So a casa full of tunes — or housewide audio — is a pretty sweet thing. Of course, housewide audio is nothing new, but accomplishing it in the past has meant a rack full of sources, amplifiers, and control gear, with wiring spider-webbed out to various rooms, control pads, and speakers.

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