Pioneer Music Tap - AirPlay Music System for iPod & iPhone X-SMC3-S Pioneer Music Tap - AirPlay Music System for iPod & iPhone X-SMC3-S

Pros: Typical bookshelf size unit. Pretty to look at, better to listen to.
I was able to purchase this unit for $175, and just about a year later I picked up the EXPENSIVE Bluetooth module . The streaming through wifi worked great, but I wanted bluetooth function also. Easy to set up. Very portable and sharp looking unit. Sound is really quite good , with solid base from such a small unit.

Cons: Cabinet is high gloss black, and that being said, you can see fingerprints from across the room.
Keep it covered, or touch very little. Use the remote.

Pros: Easy setup and use, clear sound for its size, nice techie features (Airplay with album art, internet radio, USB in), good design, solid construction, even includes batteries for the remote!

Cons: Album Art not full screen, clock is not attractive (but can be turned off), no native Pandora, dock is about to be outdated for iPhone, no audio out to add speakers.

Other Thoughts: Better than the Squeezebox in sound and input options; sound is not quite as good as Bose Soundwave or Jawbone Big Jam Box, but it's half the price. Very happy with it overall.

Pros: Looks great, build solidly. iPod tray is fluid and sturdy. Many ways to access media and not limited to Apple interfaces. The wireless/wired connectivity options are straightforward. I like the fact you can turn off the display and clock to have it run "dark", keeping a clean aesthetic. Great sound, but I'm not an audiophile, so look to other reviews for that type of analysis!

The Internet radio options are extensive and the menus are laid out well to search by Genre, Region, and Popularity.

Cons: Bluetooth adapter is not included and the little thing (AS-BT200) costs close to $100! Pioneer got this wrong. Why the proprietary form factor to implement a standard protocol? Nice trap. Pioneer has to make 90% margin on this nub. So if you are an Android user, beware. You'll be limited to DLNA and have to use the Pioneer remote rather than your Android device interface.

With 2 of the input functions needing Bluetooth and the system having an MSRP of $399, you had better include Bluetooth.

-2**

Other Thoughts: Definitely the right idea providing all the media access options. I'm liking the internet streaming sources, but it can be cumbersome with the plain old remote. Sounds like a job for an app or focus on the remote design.

Pros: Sound is great. Next best thing to Bose. Very easy set up.

Cons: Wish it had a handle for secure moving.

Pros: Internet connectivity at 99%. Internet Radio selection looked good. Docking works fine. AirPlay seems to work well.

Cons: Set-up involves a lot of fiddly remote selection. Seems to drop it's volume settings to 0 arbitrarily. No alarm function. Sound only Ok (and I'm not an audiophile).

Other Thoughts: I got this for slightly less than the current sale price through a daily deal and am generally happy. It delivers sound to the other end of the house, gives my iPhone a place to live at night, and generally works as advertised. I'd sort-of thought it had bluetooth built in; it does not. The little bluetooth dongles costs almost as much as the rest of the system.

If you're not an audiophile, have decent tech-savvy, and looking for a cheap AirPlay and internet radio, this is a good buy. At it's current sale price (<2C), I'd recommend it.

Pros: sounds nice, looks nice, works good. lots of internet radio to choose from and it streams without interruption.

Cons: overall its a fun device, works and sounds good. Remember this is not just a radio, so have some patience when it reboots. Not much in book on how to get your ipad or ipod or iphone to stream. I wish it was easier to switch between favorite internet radio stations..the regular FM is easier.

Other Thoughts: Set up wasn't too bad, but the manual could be better. Set the network type to "auto" so it will switch between wired and non wired automatically. For wifi, under network configuration, select wireless setting, "auto", then scroll to your network and enter in the password. If you entered it right, your in! push the sound button on the remote to select "virtual surround"..it makes quite a difference. You don't need to download any software for your ipad, ipod or iphone to stream to it. This is unit has "airplay" built in and your "I" device will work with it. Just pick a song or video on your device and play it, then look for a small triangle on the touch screen, usually near the volume control. Select this and choose the Pioneer unit in the menu that pops up. the default name is X-SMC3, but you can change that in the settings menu of the Pioneer under "friendly name". I changed mine to "Pioneer". Also, the "return" button on the remote is your friend..lol