Review: Monster iSoniCast Wireless Audio Bridge for iPod

I just received a Monster® iSoniCast™ Wireless Audio Bridge for iPod, and after just one day of use – its a winner.

It’s priced at $100 from www.shopallmonster.com. Direct Product Link

Here’s a picture of the base, and the transmitter connected to my iPod:

A picture of the receiver, showing its simple connections:

The iSonicast allows me to use my iPod as an input source to my home stereo.
No big deal you say – its easy enough to run drop the iPod into a dock, connect the dock audio output to a stereo input, and you have music. Yes, and this is how I used to have it connected.
The issue is that then I’m on the couch, and my iPod is across the room sitting in the dock. So thats why you use a remote – either the Apple remote, or something like a Harmony. And this is exactly what I used to do – use my Harmony remote to control the iPod.
But, the control was limited. I lost the great UI that the iPod itself brings to the party.

One of the gret things about an iPod is its interface. Easy to browse and scroll music, make playlists on the go, etc.

With the iSoniCast, I get both. I still get to use the great iPod interface, and it plays through my stereo.

The iPod has a small transmitter that fits into the base of the iPod. This transmits the sound in the 2.4 GHz range at 4Gbps to the base. The base receives the signal, turns it into an analog signal which is sent through the cable into the stereo.

It’s simple to hookup.
1. Connect the output from the iSoniCast base to a stereo input. The iSoniCast comes with a 7-foot cable for doing this.
2. Connect the power adapter to the base and plug it into an AC outlet.
3. Connect the transmitter to the iPod

That’s it. 2 minutes of work.

Now I can sit on the couch, or even outside on my back deck, and control my music.

I haven’t fully tested the range yet, but I will soon.
It seems to drop the signal if I was walking around my backyard with it. But as soon as I stopped and stood in one place, it seemed to regain its connection just fine.

Using the transmitter did seem to drain the iPod battery quicker, which I would expect. Although some of that may have been by my constant scrolling through the music collection looking for songs. More on this later as I continue to use it.

Bottom line: Great piece of equipment. I love it.