When it comes to internet-enabled radios, it takes a lot to stand out from the crowd. Today we’re taking a look at the Grace Digital Encore, a beefy little Wi-Fi radio with huge sound, dead simple setup, and even smartphone support. Read on as we take a tour and put it through the paces.
当谈到支持互联网的收音机时，要脱颖而出需要花费很多。 今天，我们来看看Grace Digital Encore，这是一款功能强大的小型Wi-Fi无线电，具有巨大的声音，简单的设置甚至是智能手机支持。 继续游览时，请继续阅读并逐步进行。
什么是Encore？ (What is the Encore?)
The Encore (full product name: Grace Encore Wi-Fi Music Player, model#: GDI-IRC7500) is tabletop internet-enabled streaming radio intended to be used both as a stand alone unit or hooked up to a larger stereo system that has an MSRP of $199 but typically retails for $170. The Encore is capable of connecting to practically any streaming source or local file format you can throw at it (it supports HTTP/S, RTSP, WSMP, and Shoutcast streaming protocols as well as local and network-stored files in AIFF, AIFC, WAV, CAF, NeXT, ADTS, MP3, AAC, and WMA formats) which, translated from acronym-jargon means you’d be hard pressed to find a streaming radio station/online audio source or file on your computer that you can’t play through the radio. In addition, the radio has an index of 50,000 radio stations (with the ability to add your own), Pandora, iHeartRadio, Live365, and SiriusXM Radio (a subscription to the satellite radio service is required). Local playback is available via USB port located on the back or by connecting to a UPnP server located on your home network.
Encore(完整产品名称：Grace Encore Wi-Fi音乐播放器，型号＃：GDI-IRC7500)是台式互联网流媒体广播，旨在既可以用作独立设备，也可以连接到具有立体声系统的更大的立体声系统。厂商建议零售价为199美元，但通常零售价为170美元 。 Encore几乎可以连接到您可以使用的任何流源或本地文件格式(它支持HTTP / S，RTSP，WSMP和Shoutcast流协议，以及AIFF，AIFC，WAV中的本地和网络存储文件，CAF，NeXT，ADTS，MP3，AAC和WMA格式)(从首字母缩写词翻译成术语)意味着您很难在计算机上找到无法播放的流媒体广播电台/在线音频源或文件通过收音机。 此外，该广播电台具有50,000个广播电台(可以添加自己的广播电台)，Pandora，iHeartRadio，Live365和SiriusXM广播的索引(需要订阅卫星广播服务)。 可通过背面的USB端口或连接到家庭网络中的UPnP服务器来进行本地播放。
The physical radio is quite sturdy with dimensions a little over 12 inches wide, nine inches deep, and four inches tall and weighing in at 8.5 pounds. Although we didn’t take a screw driver to the unit in order to inspect its guts, we’re confident most of that weight is thanks to the large 12w Class D amplifier and the accompanying stereo tweeters seen on the front of the unit and the large woofer hidden under the unit. In an age where devices grow ever smaller and lighter, it’s nice to feel the heft of the Encore: it’s a pleasant weight and you certainly won’t need to worry about it sliding around whatever surface you place it on.
物理无线电非常坚固，尺寸略宽于12英寸，9英寸深，4英寸高，重8.5磅。 尽管我们没有带螺丝起子来检查其内脏，但我们有信心将大部分重量归功于大型12w D类放大器和在设备前部以及机身上看到的立体声高音扬声器。隐藏在设备下方的大低音扬声器。 在设备变得越来越小，越来越轻的时代，很高兴能感受到Encore的重量：它的重量令人愉悦，您当然不必担心它会在放置于其上的任何表面滑动。
The unit features a 3.5″ display screen that, while a touch difficult to photograph well, was quite clear and crisp when viewed by the eye; it’s no retina display but it doesn’t need to be for the task it performs. To the left of the screen there is a standard 32 ohm headphone jack (which means you can plug in any old headphones without worrying about using a headphone amp). To the right of the screen is a small port for the IR receiver the physical remote control uses. The top of the unit features a button and dial interface that we found surprisingly pleasant to use.
该装置具有一个3.5英寸的显示屏，虽然难以很好地拍摄触摸效果，但是用肉眼看时却十分清晰明了。 它不是视网膜显示器，但不需要执行它的任务。 屏幕左侧有一个标准的32欧姆耳机插Kong(这意味着您可以插入任何旧的耳机而不必担心使用耳机放大器)。 屏幕右侧是用于物理遥控器使用的IR接收器的小端口。 该装置的顶部具有按钮和拨号界面，使用起来令人惊讶。
The dials serve both for simple adjustments (like changing the volume with the smaller knob and the station with the larger knob) and for interacting more precisely with the unit via the on-screen keyboard. The buttons are delightfully tactile: each one has a firm travel distance with a sharp click indicating the button is engaged. We didn’t realize how much we missed devices with tactile buttons (instead of smooshy membrane-style buttons) until we started playing around with this unit. In addition to the basic buttons like the power button, home/back buttons, and the expected skip, pause, play type buttons there is also a snooze bar (although a bit big for a small nightstand, the Encore has a built-in alarm function), a spread of preset buttons (which you can use for radio stations, Pandora and the like, and podcasts alike), and an additional set of blue icons above existing keys. These blue icons indicate Pandora-only button functionality that is enabled when the Encore is tuned to a Pandora radio station. (The play/pause and skip buttons retain their functions, the stop and back buttons become the thumbs up/down buttons so you can rate songs with a button press).
拨盘既可以进行简单的调整(例如，使用较小的旋钮更改音量，也可以使用较大的旋钮更改电台的位置)，并且可以通过屏幕键盘与本机进行更精确的交互。 这些按钮具有令人愉悦的触感：每个按钮都有稳固的移动距离，而尖锐的咔嗒声表明该按钮已接合。 直到我们开始玩这个装置之前，我们才意识到有多少东西错过了带触觉按钮(而不是带粘性的薄膜式按钮)的设备。 除了电源按钮，主页/后退按钮和预期的跳过，暂停，播放类型按钮之类的基本按钮外，还有一个贪睡条(尽管对于小型床头柜来说有点大，Encore带有内置警报器)功能)，一系列预设按钮(可用于广播电台，潘多拉(Pandora)等以及播客)，以及在现有键上方的另一组蓝色图标。 这些蓝色图标表示仅将Pandora用作按钮功能，当Encore调谐到Pandora广播电台时会启用。 (播放/暂停和跳过按钮保留其功能，停止和后退按钮成为拇指向上/向下按钮，因此您可以通过按按钮对歌曲进行评分)。
The same button structure is more or less replicated on the included remote (sans the dials and with Pandora getting its own row of custom buttons). In addition to the physical remote the unit can also be controlled by smartphone using the free Android/iOS remote apps (which we’ll explore later in the review).
相同的按钮结构或多或少地复制在随附的遥控器上(不使用拨盘，并且Pandora拥有自己的自定义按钮行)。 除了物理遥控器之外，该单元还可以通过智能手机使用免费的Android / iOS远程应用程序进行控制(我们将在本评论的后面部分进行探讨)。
The back of the unit features a physical power switch, the power-in port for the 12v transformer, a USB port that can be used both for plugging in a flash drive or MP3 player to enable local music playback (the USB port also supports the Grace Digital USB-to-Ethernet adapter if you wish to hardwire the radio to your home network instead of using Wi-Fi), and a set of stereo RCA jacks. The left set is for auxiliary-input (to pipe music into the unit) and the right set is for line-out (to send music to a larger stereo/speaker arrangement).
装置的背面配有一个物理电源开关，一个12v变压器的电源输入端口，一个USB端口，可用于插入闪存驱动器或MP3播放器以启用本地音乐播放(USB端口还支持如果您希望将收音机硬连线到家庭网络而不是使用Wi-Fi，请使用Grace Digital USB转以太网适配器，以及一组立体声RCA插Kong。 左组用于辅助输入(将音乐输入本机)，右组用于输出(将音乐发送到更大的立体声/扬声器装置)。
如何设置？ (How Do I Set It Up?)
As pleased as we were with the physicality of the radio, the part of reviewing any keyboard-less piece of tech we’re reviewing that we look forward to the least is the setup. Although we were braced for a very-not-good-time setting up the Encore (and you can hardly fault us for assuming the setup for a device with pause/play buttons and dials would be a huge pain) we were pleasantly surprised by the whole process. Once you have the Encore connected to the internet, there is very little that can’t be adjusted via remote control.
就像我们对收音机的物理结构感到满意一样，在审查我们正在审查的任何无键盘技术的过程中，我们最不希望看到的是设置。 尽管我们为Encore做好了非常不好的设置(而且您很难以为设置带有暂停/播放按钮和转盘的设备感到非常痛苦)，但令我们感到惊喜的是，整个过程。 将Encore连接到互联网后，几乎无法通过遥控器进行调整。
Before we dive into actually setting the unit up, however, we feel compelled to give a nod to whoever was responsible for writing the manual that came with the Encore. Most user manuals are awful but the manual included with the Encore isn’t just filled with clear step-by-step instructions, it also includes informative bits that explain why you may wish to set up the radio one way or another. For example, on page 48 of the manual in the section devoted to explaining how to use the USB drive/local playback feature they actually took the time to explain the limitations of the FAT32 file structure and the ARM processor that drives the unit (and why if you have thousands of tracks you wish to load it’s better to use UPnP in order to lessen the strain on the radio’s processor). The whole manual is filled with that kind of clear (and informative) instruction. If there’s anything you want to do with the radio if it can be done it’s explained clearly in the manual. Let’s get the thing set up to show you just how easy it is.
但是，在深入研究实际设置装置之前，我们感到不得不向负责编写Encore随附手册的任何人致以致意。 大多数用户手册都很糟糕，但是Encore随附的手册不仅包含清晰的分步说明，还包含内容丰富的内容，解释了为什么您可能希望以一种或另一种方式设置无线电。 例如，本手册第48页专门介绍如何使用USB驱动器/本地播放功能，他们实际上花了一些时间来解释FAT32文件结构和驱动该单元的ARM处理器的局限性(以及原因)。如果您要加载数千条轨道，最好使用UPnP，以减轻无线电处理器的压力。 整本手册中都包含了这种清晰(信息丰富)的说明。 如果您想对收音机做任何事情，请在手册中清楚地说明。 让我们进行设置以向您展示它是多么容易。
To setup the Encore plug it in, flip the physical power switch on the back, and let it warm up for a minute or so. It will scan for Wi-Fi nodes automatically (if it doesn’t, and you end up at the main menu, turn the large knob until “Settings” is selected, click the knob in, and select “Wi-Fi Network and Settings” then “Scan for networks”. Select the network you wish to connect the radio to.
要设置Encore的电源，请翻转背面的物理电源开关，并使其预热一分钟左右。 它将自动扫描Wi-Fi节点(如果没有扫描，您将进入主菜单，旋转大旋钮，直到选择“ Settings”，单击该旋钮，然后选择“ Wi-Fi Network and Settings” ”，然后选择“扫描网络”。选择您想连接收音机的网络。
This is the point in most hardware reviews where we’re groaning: the point where you’re stuck putting a long Wi-Fi password into a device with no keyboard. The Encore’s interface solution is surprisingly smooth given the limitations of the physical user interface. When it’s time to put the password in an on-screen keyboard pops up and you select the letters by rotating the large dial atop the radio and clicking it down when you’ve selected the appropriate character. Because the dial has such large travel distance per rotation it’s actually really speedy and pleasant to use. We were thrilled to see we wouldn’t have to click the buttons over and over again to move the little cursor around. Enter your password. Sit back and let the unit download updates and flash the firmware if necessary.
这是我们在抱怨的大多数硬件评论中的要点：您难以将长的Wi-Fi密码插入没有键盘的设备中。 鉴于物理用户界面的局限性，Encore的界面解决方案出奇的流畅。 是时候将密码输入屏幕键盘了，您可以通过旋转收音机顶部的大转盘并选择适当的字符后将其向下单击来选择字母。 由于转盘每转的行程如此之大，因此使用起来确实非常快捷，愉快。 我们很高兴看到我们不必一遍又一遍地单击按钮来移动小光标。 输入密码。 坐下来，让本机下载更新并根据需要刷新固件。
如何使用？ (How Do I Use It?)
Once the radio is connected to the Internet you can immediately start using it. Go ahead and use the large dial to select a radio station (it should automatically detect your location based on your IP address, you can set it manually in Settings menu). Before you sit down and start playing around with the unit, however, we’d recommend you link it to Grace digital web portal and set up the free smartphone app as these two things make it really easy to configure and control the device.
无线电连接到Internet后，您可以立即开始使用它。 继续并使用大拨盘选择一个广播电台(它会根据您的IP地址自动检测您的位置，您可以在“设置”菜单中手动进行设置)。 但是，在您坐下并开始使用该设备之前，我们建议您将其链接到Grace数字网络门户并设置免费的智能手机应用程序，因为这两项使配置和控制该设备非常容易。
Click the home button and then select Settings -> Get Registration Key. With the registration key displayed, visit myradio.gracedigital.com. Plug in your registration code on the main page to start the process and then select a username and password. Once registered you’ll have access to the control panel (seen above) where you can search for radio stations (and add them to hotlists on your radio), rename your radio (if you have more than one unit), link the radio to your Pandora, Rhapsody, and SiriusXM accounts, and add streams and podcasts to your radio unit. It’s worth noting that neither the radio unit nor the website will archive actual content on your behalf so if you wish to both listen to and archive your favorite podcasts you should subscribe to them with another tool also (like iTunes or Downcast) in order to archive them.
单击主页按钮，然后选择设置->获取注册密钥。 显示注册密钥后，访问myradio.gracedigital.com 。 在主页上插入您的注册码以开始该过程，然后选择用户名和密码。 注册后，您将可以访问控制面板(如上所示)，在其中可以搜索广播电台(并将其添加到广播的热点列表中)，重命名广播(如果您有多个装置)，将广播链接到您的Pandora，Rhapsody和SiriusXM帐户，并将流和播客添加到您的广播单元。 值得注意的是，广播电台和网站都不会代表您存档实际内容，因此，如果您希望同时收听和存档自己喜欢的播客，则还应该使用其他工具(例如iTunes或Downcast)订阅它们，以便进行存档他们。
To install the smartphone remote (and if you have a smartphone, we insist you do, it’s fantastic), search for “Grace Digital” in the app store; it’s available for Android and iOS. The smartphone remote app can handle every function the physical buttons and remote can (and it displays album art just like the on-device screen). The only thing the smartphone remote can’t do is control attached media devices or stereo equipment or shutdown the unit fully like the manual power switch on the back. It can, however, do nearly everything else like wake the unit from standby, navigate the on-device menus remotely, set presets, etc. The only function we found was missing was the ability to browse attached USB drives; if you have a playlist for the songs on the drive you can select the playlist and launch it but you can’t manually browse the files to select a song that isn’t already in a playlist. That’s a minor oversight we assume will be corrected in the near future.
要安装智能手机遥控器(如果您拥有智能手机，我们坚持要这么做，那就太好了)，请在应用商店中搜索“ Grace Digital”； 它适用于Android和iOS 。 智能手机远程应用程序可以处理物理按钮和遥控器可以执行的所有功能(并且可以像显示设备上的屏幕一样显示专辑封面)。 智能手机遥控器唯一无法做的是控制连接的媒体设备或立体声设备，或者完全关闭设备，就像背面的手动电源开关一样。 但是，它几乎可以执行其他所有操作，例如将设备从待机状态唤醒，远程浏览设备上的菜单，设置预设等。我们发现唯一缺少的功能是浏览连接的USB驱动器的功能。 如果驱动器上有歌曲的播放列表，则可以选择播放列表并启动它，但是您无法手动浏览文件以选择播放列表中尚未存在的歌曲。 我们认为这是一个小疏忽，我们会在不久的将来予以纠正。
好的，坏的和判决 (The Good, The Bad, and The Verdict)
After playing around with the menus and doing quite a bit of listening, we’re ready to report on the Encore and whether or not it’s a worthy addition to your home setup.
在浏览完菜单并进行了大量聆听之后，我们准备报告Encore，以及是否值得将其添加到您的家庭设置中。
好： (The Good:)
- Setup is far simpler than one would assume given the limitations of the button/dial hardware interface on the machine. 鉴于计算机上按钮/拨号硬件接口的局限性，设置要比假定的要简单得多。
- The remote management dashboard makes it very easy to find radio stations and add them to the unit, as well as link premium services (like Pandora). 远程管理仪表板使查找广播电台并将其添加到设备以及链接高级服务(例如Pandora)变得非常容易。
- The unit sounds great. Any sound quality issues we had were directly related to the quality of the source material and not the physical capabilities of the radio. It sounds great just by itself and it sounds even better when linked to a larger stereo system. 本机听起来不错。 我们遇到的任何声音质量问题都与源材料的质量直接相关，而与收音机的物理功能无关。 它本身听起来很棒，当与较大的立体声系统连接时听起来甚至更好。
- Quality construction. The case is sturdy, the components are hefty, the buttons have a nice tactile click to them, and the knobs are smooth and responsive. The lowest quality component of the entire build is the screen and even then, in fairness, it’s the highest quality screen we’ve seen on an internet radio (and it’s more than easy enough to read it). 质量建设。 外壳坚固，组件笨重，按钮具有很好的触感，旋钮光滑而灵敏。 整个版本中质量最低的部分是屏幕，即使如此，公平地讲，它也是我们在网络广播中看到的质量最高的屏幕(而且阅读起来也很容易)。
- The onboard interface (buttons/dials), the included remote, and the smartphone remote control all work great. Whether you’re sitting at the desk with it or on the other side of your home or office, you’ll always be able to control it effectively. 板载界面(按钮/拨盘)，随附的遥控器和智能手机遥控器都可以正常工作。 无论您是坐在办公桌旁还是家中或办公室的另一侧，您都将始终能够有效地控制它。
坏处： (The Bad:)
We’re pretty disappointed that the unit doesn’t support plain old shares (like Windows SMB shared folders) and requires UPnP for network-based music sharing. UPnP is a pretty cruddy and insecure protocol; given that the unit can browse local USB files, we can’t image it would be very difficult to implement access for simple network shares.
我们非常失望的是该设备不支持普通的旧共享(例如Windows SMB共享文件夹)，并且需要UPnP才能进行基于网络的音乐共享。 UPnP是一个非常粗鲁和不安全的协议 ; 鉴于该设备可以浏览本地USB文件，因此我们无法成像，很难实现对简单网络共享的访问。
- The smartphone app needs to replicate every function on the unit (we really want the ability to browse local files properly). 智能手机应用程序需要复制设备上的所有功能(我们确实希望能够正确浏览本地文件)。
判决： (The Verdict:)
After enjoying the Encore, what do we have to say about it and is it worth your hard earned money? It’s nowhere near as cheap as just plugging your phone into your stereo or listening to music on your computer but given the build quality, the ease of setup, and the ease with which you can enjoy a very wide range of music, radio, and podcasts (and control it all very easily with the onboard interface, the remote control, and the smartphone remote control) the Encore offers a whole lot for around $170. In fact the only reason we wouldn’t buy the Encore at this point is if we wanted a rack-mount form factor for a home theater system (and even then we’d buy the Encore’s slender sibling the similarly priced GDI-IRDT200).
享受Encore之后，我们要说些什么，值得您辛苦赚来的钱吗？ 它的价格远不如将手机插入立体声音响或在计算机上听音乐便宜， 但考虑到构建质量，安装简便性以及轻松享受各种音乐，广播和播客的便捷性(并通过板载界面，遥控器和智能手机遥控器轻松控制所有功能)，Encore提供了很多功能，价格约为170美元 。 实际上，我们目前不购买Encore的唯一原因是我们是否希望为家庭影院系统提供机架安装的外形尺寸(甚至在那时，我们还是会购买Encore的纤细同级产品GDI-IRDT200 )。
1972
被折叠的 条评论
为什么被折叠?
到【灌水乐园】发言
