Specifications

review
4
WWW.AUDIOHOLICS.COM
URLs for five Internet radio stations via sky.
fm.com. Browse the Internet for more free
radio services, enter the URLs into the MCX-
2000, and presto, you’ve got free radio with no
commercials or annoying DJs. With just a few
clicks on the remote, I was soon listening to
Salsa, Jazz, 70’s and 80’s hits absolutely free.
Well, not free of compression though. Just like
XM, Internet radio is highly compressed. While
it may be unpalatable for audiophiles such as
myself, I found it mildly entertaining provided
that I didn’t do any critical listening and just
enjoyed it as background music. The Salsa
channel was very cool indeed and opened me
up to music I was unfamiliar with - inspiring me
to spend more time in the Salsa section at the
record store. I was a bit disappointed that this
Internet radio didn’t include song info such as
title and artist like XM does (as do most of the
PC Internet radio players),. I was a bit perplexed
that the 70’s and 80’s channels were being
broadcast in 128 kbps while the Salsa and Jazz
channels were at a mere 96 kbps. I’d rather
see, or more appropriately stated - hear - less
compression on the more demanding music.
XM was no different. Most of the channels
suffered excessive compression (no fault on
the MCX-2000, mind you), making the vocals
sound metallic and causing instruments to lack
any real punch. Again, if you aren’t that critical,
you’d likely be satisfied with the fidelity of these
services. At the very minimum, they expand your
listening palette to new music which you could
then purchase.
Web Browser Editor Feature
Once you’ve got the MCX-2000 connected to
your PC network, you can edit text information
in your music archive using a standard web
browser that is running on a computer within
your network. Text information including artist
name, album title, song title, playlist name, and
Internet radio station names from the preset
radio list are editable. This is a very useful
feature when you need to edit a large amount
of information. I’m guessing, though, that a
majority of users will simply opt to plug in a
computer keyboard via the front panel of the
MCX-2000 to do quick edits of music files.
To access the MusicCAST music archive from
a PC, simply type the MCX-2000’s IP address
into your browser.
Streaming Music From Your PC
The original MusicCAST MCX-1000 lacked
a critical feature for the more computer savvy
customers which was found on other music
server / HTPC solutions. This was the ability
to stream audio from a networked PC. DiXiM
Media Server software enables this ability. This
software, after being installed on your PC,
begins to operate immediately whenever the
computer is booted up to publish the content
contained in pre-specified folder(s). The content
delivered to the MusicCAST MCX-2000 is
processed specifically for delivering music over
the PC network so that the original files aren’t
actually copied onto the MCX-2000 hard drive,
but instead streamed from the linked PC on the
network. Music streaming is available for mp3,
m3u, wma and wave files.
After you load up the DiXiM software on
your PC, the software will prompt you for a
media server name. Of course I labeled mine
as “Audioholics”. It is important to label this,
especially if you plan on streaming music from
more than one PC on your network. You then
have to permit access for the MCX-2000 to
link up with your PC as seen in the picture to
the right. On the MCX-2000 simply enter the
Network menu and select the music server you
want to stream music from. One cool thing
about this software is it actually automatically
identified most of my music folders on my PC
that contained mp3 or other compatible music
files. Additionally, on the MCX-2000 it actually
retained the folder structure found on my PC
where I had the bands all categorized. With this
feature set in the MCX-2000 arsenal, the music
delivery capabilities are virtually endless. I was
loving the fact I could now rekindle some of the
old progressive rock music I downloaded to my
PC and haven’t listened to on a stereo system in
nearly a decade. I quickly navigated to my Peter
Gabriel era Genesis folder and played cuts from
Trespass, Nursery Cryme, and Foxtrot. Despite
the fact it was playing a compressed mp3 file,
I still loved Watcher of the Skies from Foxtrot,
and listening to it in PLIIx Music Mode was
simply awesome!
Music Management
After uploading a dozen or so CDs, I got all
jazzed up at the MCX-2000’s file management
system. If only I could get it to organize my office
so neatly and concisely. It correctly categorized
my music by artist, and genre and even allowed
me to perform related searches. Loading up
some of my favorite Pat Metheny CDs and
programming a compiled favorite song list for
this artist, I soon was experience what die hard
Metheny fans refer to as a Pat Attack. In fact,
the MCX-2000 will allow you to program up to
1000 playlists and will furnish you with statistical
playback habits. This is a handy feature to help
you gauge just what music you and your family
actually listen to on a regular basis.
My wife and I loaded up the MCX-2000 with
popular party music and created groupings for
Latin, Dance, 80‘s, etc in preparation for our
upcoming house warming party. Our guests
will be in for a pleasant surprise when they
hear their favorite tunes uninterrupted. Most
importantly, I don’t have to worry about anyone
fussing with the stereo gear (a big plus for me).
I even setup hot keys on my Universal remote
“ The MCX-2000 didn’t
miss a note here. The
PCM transfer sounded
every bit as good as
the original CD…”
Gene Della Sala