Introduction In today’s market of automated homes and wired (and wireless) networking, the idea of having to drag your CD collection to every room of your home is getting as outdated as a turntable. Music servers are nothing new; chances are you already own one. With the advent of the iPod, music servers have touched almost every facet of our daily lives. The ReQuest music server is by no means an iPod, but the underlining principles that drive both products are relatively the same: to organize, store and play back music with relative ease. That is where the analogy ends, as the ReQuest line of music servers are heavy-duty tools designed to faithfully recreate music and reliably broadcast the tunes throughout your home and even beyond. The ReQuest F4.500 music server is priced at $5,000. The ReQuest looks, more or less, like a single-disc CD player measuring in at 17 inches wide by 16 inches ...

Introduction In the two decades since the Compact Disc (CD) was released, few can argue about the significant ways in which it has changed our habits in accessing and listening to music. Its durability, diminutive size and capability to be played universally in our homes, automobiles and portable players gave consumers the opportunity to take their tunes virtually anywhere. This had a phenomenal plus side over the previous dominant format, the vinyl LP, with its limited durability and restricted playback options. Unfortunately, the CD’s additional flexibility created the potential problem of having your music scattered throughout a multitude of listening environments and devices. Personally, I've struggled for years to keep all of my CDs organized and easily accessible. My collection has had a large amount of attrition due to lost and loaned discs, not to mention the mysteriously disappearing CDs that I keep buying repeatedly. As mentioned in a previous review, I have used computers to archive ...

Introduction Escient’s Fireball SE-80 is their latest entry-level music server offering. The SE-80 features an 80 GB hard drive, as well as an internal CD-RW drive, which can be used to load music onto the hard drive, create music discs from the music stored on the hard drive or as a CD player. Like the E2 and other Fireball units, the SE-80 also has a built in Internet radio receiver, file sharing and web server capabilities, all for the slim price of $995. The SE chassis and industrial design is consistent with the rest of the Escient family and measures 17-3/8 inches wide by four-and-five-eighths inches high and 11-7/8 inches deep. The chassis is finished in the same attractive brushed black aluminum as the E2 and other Fireballs. The front panel features a curved accent stripe, an oval CD drawer and a row of transport control buttons. The back panel of the SE is quite ...

Introduction Convergence is a terminology and process that seems to have permeated every facet of our daily experiences. Convergence technologies will eventually be ubiquitous in every aspect of our lives. So what is “convergence technology”? It all depends on the type of application. It includes, but is not limited to, the popular act of taking pictures with a cell phone or surfing the Web on a television. More sophisticated uses include wireless and wired voice and data transmissions, various forms of security, voice over IP and data networking technologies, all converging to create a seamless integration and solution for our personal and professional needs. Nowhere is this more evident than the merging of consumer electronics and personal computers. There are a plethora of companies that are providing unimaginable functionality that was science fiction a mere decade ago. One exciting new entry into the arena of personal computer and home music convergence is the Sonos Digital Music ...

Introduction The Fireball E2-300 is yet another high-tech solution from Escient to the ever-growing problem of media management. The E2-300 is a hard drive-based digital music manager with a large internal 300GB drive. It also serves as the brain or control center for up to 1200 compact discs in a daisy chain of players. The E2 controls CDs by managing up to three of Sony or Kenwood’s 400-disc changers, which can be routed through and switched by the E2. The E2 also has an internal CDR-W drive which can be used to load music onto the hard drive, create music discs from the music stored in or controlled by the E2, or even as a CD player. Like the other Fireball units, the E2 also has a built-in Internet radio receiver for more increasingly good music choices. The E2-300 retails for $3,999. The E2 is the same size as other units in the Fireball family, ...