I've been playing with stereo and Hi-Fi equipment for 25 years, I
remember my first Hi-Fi system I bought on a budget back in 1991 from
Douglass Hi-Fi as it was back then, the system consisted of a CD Player,
Tuner, Cassette Deck and Amplifier.
All those components were utterly dreadful - they were cheap - though I
think the memory of this first setup lingers for several reasons, the
system was the beginning of the Hi-Fi hobby for me, I was shown that
everyone's tastes were different, because I had a system mine was not
the best nor the worst but there was a whole world to explore, other
systems inspired me to strive for better quality audio and learn how to
improve sound quality where I could but most of all the system I had
could be customised and expanded to my specific tastes.
If the system I had then was in my lounge room now it would still be
useable, no I couldn't use any of the modern day digital equipment with
the system but I could at least easily stream media from my computer,
smart phone or tablet to the system and do it cheaply too, this is where
the D-Link DCH-M225 comes in.
The D-Link DCH-M225 is a small cube aboutthe the size of an AC plugpack
which - like an AC plugpack - plugs directly into a power outlet.
The unit looks totally unremarkable and almost too bland for a $50
investment, just a box with one single button, an output socket and a
LED on it, you press the button on the unit to enter WPS mode to allow
the D-Link DCH-M225 to connect to your WPS router, more on this in a few
moments.
The D-Link DCH-M225 is the bridge if you like between your stereo system
and your computer etc, you can stream your audio to it using either
AirPlay or DLNA, the D-Link DCH-M225 can also act as a Wi-Fi extender.
The D-Link DCH-M225 needs to connect to a home network and can be
connected to the Network in 2 different ways, using WPS or manually by
joining the default Wi-Fi network of the D-Link DCH-M225 and configuring
it to recognise your Home Network, WPS is the easiest way to connect,
just press the WPS button on the D-Link DCH-M225, enable WPS on your
router and wait for a couple of minutes whilst the D-Link DCH-M225 and
your router initiate a connection, that's it!
The D-Link DCH-M225 has a line-out 3.5MM minijack socket for connection
to your stereo system but doesn't come with any connecting cables so
you'll have to purchase what you need in that area for yourself.
The user can log into the web Interface of the D-Link DCH-M225 for
futher configuration, you'll need to change the default password of the
system for example. The Interface is the standard HTML type but not too
easy to get around so experience with your specific Screen Reader
certainly does help here.
Quality of audio out of this little box is not stunning but the unit
only costs $50 after all and audio quality here will satisfy most
people, you'll notice the quality factor more if you enjoy listening to
music but if you just have your music on in the background - and have a
cheap system anyway and are satisfied with what you have - then perhaps
I'm being picky. I have my D-Link DCH-M225 connected to an old stereo
system here in the Den for the specific purpose of receiving an audio
stream from my Foxtel box and I'm more than happy what the results I hear.
For those who have more expensive systems and want better audio quality
then yes, you have other options from the likes of Apple, Arcam etc.
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Those who need help are those who are prepared to help themselves
