i2! Stream Two Pack

All articles on this site are by Harry Skevington unless otherwise noted with another byline

i2i® Stream Two Pack
Nifty for the Right Audience
The i2! Stream Two Pack intrigued me when I first saw the press release. Living under the threat of hurricanes in Key West my wife and I have often had to share a set of ear pods or headphones while sitting I the dark after all electrical has failed. We listen to any station we can find on an old battery tape recorder/radio hoping to hear when or if we will have lights, TV, and phone restored. The i2! Stream two pack seemed like a good replacement to go with the new Sansa Fuze MP3 player that includes an FM radio. It does work for that. It also has many other applications. Mostly those who live and die by their music and want to share it with friends they hang out with. I did find some applications for the i2! Stream Two Pack that expanded the abilities of my MP3 and other audio products. All that is required is a 3.5 mm audio out jack or a converter cable that will make your player jack compatible.

In The Box
2 i2! Streams
2 12” Audio Cables
2 28” Audio Cables
2 USB charging Cables
2 Neck Lanyards
2 Belt/Pocket Clips
User Guide

FROM THE i2! SITE

I tried charging both units using the USB cable. When both units were plugged into USB connections on the Dell I received a message that adding the second one overloaded my USB capacity. I do have many other USB driven items connected to the computer so I understand the overload issue. Charging took about five hours for each one. The battery will last about 5 hours before it needs to be charged again. Pressing the on/off button will turn the unit off to save battery time. Auto off will come into play after a few minutes if no broadcast sounds are played from any attached source.

DETAILS AND CONNECTIONS

After charging I connected the larger plug on the 12 inch audio cable to my MP3 Player and the smaller plug to one of the i2! Stream units. Your personal headphone needs to be connected to the plug at the top of this i2!. This one is considered the “Broadcast Unit.

Holding down the volume/power/mute button on both units turned them on and a red button next to the power button of each indicated the amount of battery power left by flashing. (See manual for details.)

The receiving unit/s only needs to have headphones of any type (3.5 mm jack) and be tuned to the same channel as the broadcast unit. You get this match by pressing the channel button until the color on all units match. You can have many receiving units tuned to the same broadcast unit. There can be up to 3 broadcast units as long as they are all broadcasting to a different colored channel with a number of receiving units tuned to any of the broadcast units they want to hear. Receiving units can move from one broadcast unit to another until they find a channel of music that suits their taste. This, of course, requires them all to be within 30 feet of one another. In a group with multiple broadcaster and receiver units a broadcaster can press the receive button to change from broadcaster to receiver at anytime. If all broadcasters move to receive there will be no music available.

Other tests and uses
I connected the receiver unit to a powered portable stereo speaker set and received good sound from the broadcast unit when connected to my Sansa Fuze MP3 Player. This included FM radio, Audible.com books, and music. I then connected the broadcast unit to the Lenovo ThinkPad. Reception was fine.

The i2! Stream is an innovative way to share audio with friends. Coverage up to 30 feet allows for much activity while sharing with friends. At $119.95 retail it is a more costly but less restricting sharing solution than one side of a set of ear pods or, for that matter, a Y cable that will connect 2 sets of headphones to your MP3 Player. The i2! Stream Two Pack can be purchased at their website or at various retailers.
FOR MORE DETAILS SEE THE WEBSITE