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Roku Soundbridge M1000 Audio Bridge
Introduction
With the growth of the personal MP3 market, people everywhere can be seen with the ubiquitous iPod or one of the many other personal players from a plethora of other companies. Portable MP3 players are great little gadgets. They can be very handy and almost everyone should have one, but what do you do when you want to listen to the music with a little more oomph? Maybe you want to use that expensive stereo system you have hooked up to the home theater rather than your pc speakers which are sitting in another room? What you need is an audio bridge - a device which will interface with your network and play music from your computer on your expensive stereo system. Today I have just such a device in front of me. The M1000 from Roku labs allows the user to bridge their network using either wireless or wired Ethernet and output to standard RCA or optical audio jacks, allowing users to listen to their MP3 collection, iTunes and even Internet radio anywhere in their house. Just how well does the M1000 perform? Let's find out.     First Looks My first impression of the Roku M1000 is one of style. Honestly, it looks like a piece of table art, not a network MP3 player. The silver tube has a slight textured feeling and is completely round, so watch it when you take it out of the package, this sucker likes to roll. The included stand is there for a reason and I'm sure the nice VFD display does not react well to sudden impacts with the floor or other hard surface. From the outside, you wouldn't believe this device has a built-in wireless either as there is no apparent antennae protruding from it. On the rear of the unit you will find only a few things which interrupt the smooth design. These are a 10/100 Mbit Ethernet port, power adaptor port, and the audio out connections. The 3 audio ports are digital optical, digital coax, and analog outputs. The M1000 comes with a standard analog cable for connecting to most standard audio equipment. You can also use a set of powered speakers if you want to keep the size down and the style high.         Also of importance is the diminutive size of the power adaptor. Normally, I don't give adaptors a second glance, but this one looks as if some thought was put into it. The shape enables you to plug it into a standard outlet without covering everything up. The elongated size will interfere with some power strips, but it really depends on what you have. Turning on the M1000 will reveal a very nicely lit display with green lettering. The display was very easy to read although a little bright for my liking, but that is why you have a brightness button on the remote, isn't it? Speaking of the remote, it is also very small with minimal buttons. The remote is nicely rounded on the bottom which makes it very easy to hold. The larger directional buttons are right at your thumb and should be a breeze to manipulate.
Page 1: Introduction / First Looks
Page 2: Installation / Testing Page 3: Quality Check / Conclusion 
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