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Product: Wireless adapter for iPod
Company: Audioengine
Compatibility: iPod touch, iPod classic, iPod nano (2nd, 3rd or 4th Generation), and the iPhone (unofficially)
Retail Price: $169.00
Availability: Out now

The Audioengine W2 is a wireless music adapter compatible with the iPod (and, unofficially, the iPhone). There are two main components; the Sender and the Receiver.

Setup is very simple; connect the Sender to your iPod via the dock connector, plug the Receiver into a powered USB plug (either the included AC power adapter or a computer), and connect the included wire from the Receiver to your stereo or desktop speakers. A mini-jack to RCA cable and a mini-jack cable are included in the box for connecting the adapters to your speakers.

As mentioned above, Audioengine supports the Audioengine W2 on the iPod Classic, the iPod Touch, and the iPod Nano (2nd, 3rd and 4th generation), but not the iPhone. I tested it with my iPhone, and although I can’t guarantee similar results for everyone, it worked perfectly for me. The only thing worth noting, though, is that when you connect the Sender to the iPhone, the “This accessory is not made to work with iPhone” message appears, asking if you would like to turn on Airplane Mode to reduce interference. I was able to use the W2 successfully without turning on Airplane Mode, and did not encounter any interference while using it.

The quality is amazing, as is the range. I was able to walk down two floors away from the receiver with no audio dropouts or quality hits whatsoever.

The Sender unit requires no batteries, as it draws power from the iPod’s internal battery via the Dock Connector. During my testing, I didn’t see a significant drop in battery life performance with the Sender connected, but do expect less battery life than normal with it connected.

The quality of the W2 is consistent with that of all of Audioengine’s products; amazing. Setup is easy, they work as advertised (if not better) and best of all, they’re not overly expensive, costing only $169.

For those interested in playing music wireless from their computer, the W2 does not work for this, but you can check out Audioengine’s W1, which is designed for just that. I have previously tested them, and found them to be an amazing product as well.