SIRIUS Conductor vs. Sonos ZonePlayer
SIRIUS has taken a cue from the digital music company Sonos with the new Conductor home audio system. People want to see what’s playing wherever they are, and they don’t want to leave the couch to change the channel.
While the Sonos controller is much more advanced (and much more expensive), the Conductor is a notable step in the right direction, bringing joy to SIRIUS enthusiasts who have struggled with a means to control their SIRIUS home-tuners remotely.
It would have been great if SIRIUS had went with WiFi (versus RF) and a better interface, but I guess you really can’t complain for $150.
The CNET Blog has a writeup on the Conductor as well as the above photo.
Excerpts:
Hot on the heels of the Stiletto 100, Sirius has announced the Conductor, a home satellite-radio system consisting of a small tuner, an indoor/outdoor antenna, and a supercharged universal remote. Developed by Universal Electronics/UEI (the same folks behind the One For All Kameleon and Nevo remote lines), the remote has a three-line LCD display that shows you the channel, artist, and song you’re listening to. The 6-in-1 remote can be programmed to control other products in your home-theater system, and because it offers both infrared (IR) and radio frequency (RF) communication, it can communicate with the base station through walls and obstructions–up to 150 feet away, according to Sirius. The system also includes an IR blaster, which presumably means you’ll be able to control other parts of your home theater from afar–such as adjusting the volume on your receiver or switching over to your CD player–even if they’re in another room or in a concealed cabinet. And just as you would be able to with a standard Sirius tuner, you’ll be able to program up to 30 presets right from the remote.
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