As much as I like to think I’m a high-tech guy, I admit here and now that I’ve never played with or used an internet radio (which is surprising since I listen to Pandora over 100 hours a month). I’ve always had the impression that internet radios were painful to use and sounded crappy so why bother when you can use your computer? So when Tangent sent me a sample of their Quattro ll table radio, my expectations were pretty low.

And what did I think? Wow. What I wrote earlier about being hard to use and sounding crappy? Disregard. The Tangent Quattro ll has made me an enthusiastic internet radio fan!

A few seconds after plugging it in, it found my network (wirelessly). Painless. Then I turned the dial to choose the country. I’m pretty sure that it lists every country in the world (many I have to admit that I’ve never even heard of). Select the country and then pick genre and you’re listening. Not only is it easy, it is a blast. Pandora required the additional step of registering (free) with www.reciva.com but once done, my Pandora channels instantly showed up on my Quattro. Sweet.

And the sound quality of the Quattro ll? Overall, amazing, especially Pandora. Some were better than others but that is also the case with listening to internet radio on my computer. The sound is lush and full. Bass has surprising (and satisfying) extension, especially when placed next to a wall so the tuned port in the back can load with the wall. I was also impressed with it’s connectivity: it has an aux input so you can attach your iPod or iPhone; a stereo line output so you can play it back through your stereo and a stereo headphone output.

I’ve always admired Danish manufacturer Tangent Audio. They have a reputation for building great high-end audio products. While far from inexpensive, their stuff is really impressive. And the Quattro ll is no exception. They’re cabinets and hand-built and hand-finished and they’re simply gorgeous (my hobby is woodworking). My sample is gloss red and the lacquer work is as well done as any I’ve ever seen.

The bottom line is that the Tangent Quattro ll has made me a believer. It delivers an inexhaustible number of radio stations, is easy to use; sounds great and looks beautiful. Sorry Tangent but you’re not going to your samples back…my wife commandeered the Duo and I the Quattro

Best, Brian

PS – Like so many companies, Tangent Audio has been effected by the sluggish economy. They had too many Duos & Quattros and I made a (rare) deal with them: The Quattro ll retails for $349 and usually sells for $299. While supplies last, enter coupon code WOOTRADIO and you’ll get $100 off bringing it down to $199 in your choice of finishes! And as always at WiredForLess, shipping is just $5 regardless of how many you buy. Remember…Christmas isn’t as far away as you think and everyone on your list would be thrilled to get one of these radios!

My wife Susan loves to cook and spends almost as much time in her kitchen as I do in front of a computer (ok, maybe not quite that much time). I’ve asked her numerous times if she would enjoy having a radio in the kitchen and she has always declined saying that she isn’t interested in giving up the counter space. I even surprised her with an Onkyo iPod dock/radio but it was rejected (too big). But when she saw my Tangent Duo sample with it’s gorgeous walnut cabinet, it was love at first sight. In fact, my sample now resides right next to her beloved orange Le Creuset pot. While she loves it’s amazing sound and clarity, it’s the simplicity and ease of use that she most appreciates. And when she wants to listen to a podcast of Splendid Table while she’s cooking, she grabs the cable stashed behind the unit and simply plugs here iPod Nano in. I’m pretty sure that I’m never getting my sample back.

One of the most clever features of the Duo is one that I stumbled upon by accident. I was transporting the Duo in it’s box and it starting beeping…and of course it wasn’t plugged in. Turns out the clock and alarm operate from a single AA battery so if there is a power outage or interruption, the clock keeps perfect time and the alarm does it’s thing on time. What a clever feature.

As you can likely tell, both of us are so impressed with this little Danish radio. It is beautiful to look at with it’s real walnut cabinet and it’s a pleasure to use. It has a big, rich sound that defies it’s size. The Tangent Duo is proof that less really is more.

Best, Brian

PS – Like so many companies, Tangent Audio has been effected by the sluggish economy. They had too many Duos & Quattros and I made a (rare) deal with them: The Duo retails for $219 and usually sells for $199. While supplies last, enter coupon code WOOTRADIO and you’ll get $100 off bringing it down to $99 in your choice of finishes! And as always at WiredForLess, shipping is just $5 regardless of how many you buy. Remember…Christmas isn’t as far away as you think and everyone on your list would be thrilled to get one of these radios!

Ok, I’m not a daredevil or extreme sports kind of guy so this isn’t for me.  But a lot of you are into mountain biking, mountain climbing, or motorsports and you’ll want this awesome action cam so you can show friends your death-defying exploits.  It’s waterproof, shock resistant and includes mounting hardware.  But get your own helmet because you can’t have the one shown.  For just under a hundred bucks, it should be in every adventurers backpack!  Check it out here.

My first appointment at CES was at Rockford Fosgate’s booth in the Palms Hotel Ballroom.  Erick Gunderson, Director of Advanced Products filled me in on the many unique aspects of the new RF buds (Erick knows his stuff…he formerly was with respected in-ear monitor manufacturer Etymotic).  The new RF buds use unusually large 15mm diaphragms that really seem to make a difference.  In addition to being one of the best sounding earbuds I’ve ever heard, I found them to be very comfortable.  I also noticed that their performance didn’t change at all regardless of how I had them positioned in my ear canal (I’ve experienced huge performance differences in other manufacturers products depending on how they’re seated).  I was also impressed with their super flexible, tangle-free flat cable. They come with a nice travel case and several different sized silicon plugs.

At $99, they represent a very good value based on other models available on the market.  They will be available to purchase at the end of February.  But I’m taking the first pair that I get my hands on!  (In the spirit of full disclosure, I worked for Rockford Corp for 15 years and was VP Sales when I left in Augus of 2008)  BC

Back in the day, Altec Lansing used to be a company respected for it’s state of the art Voice of the Theater speaker systems.  They and JBL were arch-rivals and both produced awesome loudspeakers.  Then they went through a number ownership changes and started to churn out cheap products with substandard performance…a far cry from their heyday.

Last week, I was strolling past their CES booth and heard something that made me do a double take.  They were doing a demo of their very cool looking Expressionist Ultra 200 watt computer speaker system.  And I have to say that I was really impressed.  It delivers great bass and plays loud.  Very loud.  The system sells for $199 and given it’s performance, cosmetics and fit/finish, it is a good value.  I immediately added it to my product assortment and you can check it out here.  As always, shipping is only $5.00!  BC

Update  5/14/2010 – Check out the review of the Altec Ultra 2.1 System at Appletell!