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The new I-Sonic® ES2 includes a second generation HD Radio tuner with full multicasting. With its advanced acoustical system, Digital Signal Processing, and new HD Radio tuner technology, the I-Sonic ES2 is the highest performing self-contained HD Radio product on the market. The I-Sonic ES2 accepts all iPod models with dock connectors in its top-mounted iPod dock hidden beneath a sliding door. S-Video and composite video outputs allow the user to connect a television or video monitor to the IES2 for viewing video content stored on a video iPod. The I-Sonic ES2 introduces a new music discovery feature from Apple® called iTunes Tagging which makes it simple to buy songs you hear on HD Radio stations. The iTunes Tag button on the I-Sonic ES2's front panel and remote control allows you to "tag" songs broadcast by HD Radio stations. The I-Sonic ES2 stores information about the tagged songs to its memory and transfers the tags to an iPod* when docked. When you sync your iPod with your computer, iTunes automatically presents the songs in a new Tagged play-list for the you to preview, buy, and download. iTunes Tagging is a great way to discover new music and add it to one's collection.
The I-Sonic ES2 includes a second generation HD Radio tuner with full multicasting. With its advanced acoustical system, Digital Signal Processing, and new HD Radio tuner technology, the I-Sonic ES2 is one of the highest performing self-contained HD Radio products on the market. The I-Sonic ES2 accepts all iPod models with dock connectors in its top-mounted iPod dock, craftily hidden beneath a sliding door. S-Video and composite video outputs allow the user to connect a television or video monitor to the IES2 for viewing video content stored on a video iPod.
An elegant iPod dock with HD Radio and plenty more. Click to enlarge. |
When not in use, the iPod dock is hidden under a sliding door. |
Features S-Video and composite video outputs for enjoying your iPod video on TVs. |
Four-speaker I-Sonic Technology means no matter where you are in the room, you'll get great sound. |
Purchase songs you hear on HD Radio with the I-Sonic ES2 tagging feature and your iPod. |
Four-Speaker I-Sonic Technology
Polk's engineering breakthrough changes the rules for small
system performance. Conventional table-top systems "beam" the
sound straight towards the listener, even those with two
speakers. At best, these designs can create a stereo soundfield
for someone seated directly facing the unit. It's not at all
satisfying for any other listeners in the room. Polk's exclusive,
patent-pending I-Sonic design lets everyone in the room enjoy the
rich sound. The I-Sonic stereo soundfield is projected all
around. No matter where you are in the room, you'll get the full
I-Sonic experience.
Deep Bass from Patented PowerPort Technology
PowerPort venting technology belts out the kind of rich, powerful
bass you'd expect from much larger stereo speakers. Bass ports
redirect the sound created by the back of the speaker cone into
the room. But conventional bass ports lose efficiency and create
distortion because of air turbulence at the mouth of the port.
PowerPort vastly reduces air turbulence at the port mouth thereby reducing distortion and increasing bass output. This is the same technology used in Polk's legendary $10,000 Signature Reference Theater system. In the I-Sonic ES2 PowerPort delivers sound that is rich and warm, making all of your music and movies sound life-like and satisfying.
Advanced Digital Signal Processing
Built into every I-Sonic ES2 is a Digital Signal Processor (DSP)
with the processing power of a small computer. Polk engineers
have programmed the DSP to ensure that you hear incredible sound
at every volume level in every spot in the room. First, a Dynamic
Loudness Contour automatically adjusts bass and treble response
to account for your ears' frequency sensitivity at low volume.
You'll hear rich, well-balanced sound even at late-night
listening levels. The DSP also prevents distortion at high volume
with its Dynamic Compression. Go ahead, crank up the volume and
play air guitar to your heart's content. With I-Sonic the sound
will always be crisp, clear and clean. Finally, the powerful DSP
controls the time delay and frequency shaping that is behind
Polk's exclusive and patented I-Sonic four-speaker technology.
You'll hear full-bodied, huge stereo sound in every spot in your
room.
HD Radio Technology
Radio stations all over the country are converting to digital HD
radio broadcasting. The chances are very good that your favorite
radio station is or will shortly be broadcasting in HD. HD Radio
brings you a host of sound quality, convenience and programming
choice benefits. Your HD radio listening will be free of the
static and multipath distortion of old fashioned analog radio.
You'll enjoy CD-quality sound from FM HD stations and FM quality
stereo sound from AM HD stations. You will never want to go back
to analog once you've heard the HD radio difference.
The I-Sonic ES2 also allows broadcasters to show information on the display screen--information like artist/program name, song title, sports scores, traffic information and stock ticker.
Conventional AM/FM Radio
The I-Sonic ES2 picks up all of the broadcast radio stations in
your area. If your favorite radio stations are not yet
broadcasting in HD you will receive standard analog AM and FM
just like ay other AM/FM radio (only better sounding of course).
Sirius Satellite Radio (Optional)
Add Sirius satellite radio with an optional add-on plus monthly
subscription from the provider. Sirius boasts over 130 channels
of digital radio, including 69 channels of 100% commercial-free
music, live performances, artist interviews, and talk shows.
Sirius is home to the NFL and over 40 NBA and NHL games a week,
plus college sports.
Big names on Sirius include Howard Stern, Tony Hawk, and Martha Stewart. The Sirius bundle has a separate screen to display channel, artist, and song names, and plugs into the auxiliary port of the I-Sonic for high quality sound.
Built-In iPod Dock
The I-Sonic ES2 has an integrated iPod dock on the top with a
universal adapter for any size iPod, including the iPhone and
iPod Touch. Listen to music or videos (Check Compatibility)
through the dynamic sound of the I-Sonic ES2 speakers.
iPod Video with S-Video & Composite Outputs
Use the integrated iPod dock to connect your iPod to the I-Sonic
ES2 and you can stream videos directly to your TV via S-video or
composite connection. Now you can watch and listen to your saved
iPod videos easily, let the I-Sonic ES2 handle the hard stuff,
you just sit back and relax.
Hear it. Tag it. Download it. Never forget it.
Now it's easy to purchase songs you hear on HD Radio with the
I-Sonic ES2 tagging feature and your iPod. Whenever you're
listening to HD Radio and hear a song you love, simply hit the
"TAG" button on the front of the I-Sonic ES2 to capture the
song's information on your iPod. Then the next time you sync your
iPod with your computer you will be able to download tagged songs
via the Apple iTunes music store. It's that simple!
What's in the Box
I-Sonic ES2, Remote Control (batteries included), Power Supply,
AM External Antenna, FM External Antennas (dipole and wire),
Owner's Guide, Online Registration Card
All high-end table radios have their failings, and so does the
iSonic 2Reviewed by J. BURGESON, 2010-03-08
This was a "sideways" move for me -- it replaced my Kloss 88 from
Cambridge, which was, and still is, a truly great, classy looking
table radio. But, I needed an alarm clock function, so I picked up
the Polk iSonic ES2.
Some early observations:
I don't like...
1. The wall wart. This was not indicated in the packaging, and it's
really huge. Why this couldn't have been incorporated inside the
unit is beyond me, If heat is the reason, it would point to
underrated and/or substandard components, which, for a $500 table
radio, would be unacceptable.
2. Parasitic drain must be a factor. It stays warm (on the
underside) even when powered down.
3. The AM antenna. I would have gone with a ferrite rod antenna
myself; I think they work a lot better than the supplied primitive
wire loop. I'm going to experiment with a 250-meter line out the
window, which is the approximate wavelength of the AM band.
4. AM reception, which was horrible. My 1956 tube-type Motorola
clock radio is about 20 times superior in this regard. Now, one
would think that a $500 radio manufactured a half-century later
would be better at pulling in clear AM, but I guess I'm asking too
much. I live in the NY metro area, so this shouldn't have been a
problem. I suspect they left the work of the AM tuner to a tiny
circuit board from a no-name electronics supplier that had the
lowest bid -- and then even managed to cut even more corners by
picking up a lot of flood-damaged ICs.
5. Lack of a FM stereo/mono switch. This is very helpful when you
want to shrink the bandwidth to improve the S/N ration of fringe
stations.
6. Display too bright for bedroom at night.
What I did like ...
1. Sound quality wasn't bad. Not great. But not terrible. I suspect
that most customers never heard a decent hi-fi, so I guess they're
happy. (I hooked it up with an external CD deck, playing CDs of
known fidelity, to check this out.)
2. FM reception was OK. (I have an external FM yagi antenna.)
3. Controls were good. It was easy to set the clock/alarm/etc. (One
little glitch -- I had to disconnect and reconnect the power cord
to get the clock to start.)
So, all things considered, the iSonic es2 was a keeper for me. But,
as with too many products, the bean counters got a crack at the
thing after the engineers had done their work, ruining what could
have been a truly great radio.
Almost PerfectReviewed by Martin C. Lipsius, 2010-02-27
I received my Polk HD (Isonic Entertainment System 2) radio two days ago and had it set up within 15 minutes. It's a very nice machine and the sound quality compares quite favorably with the Bose Wave radio. HD signals come in just fine and it works seemlessly with my Ipod classic. The entire unit is very elegent looking and in fact looks better than the photos reveal. There are only two factors which would prevent me from giving this unit five stars: The lowest of sound volumes in sleep mode is still a bit too loud. And, when you do set the sleep mode function, the time does not display. Other than those two issues, I heartily recommend the POLK if you want an AM/FM/HD radio with Ipod docking capability.
no CDReviewed by Dite Steinruck, 2010-02-15
Bought the entertainment system for my father-in-law because he wanted to listen to CDs. The review mentioned the CD quality was great but when I opened the box and looked at the unit, there was no place for a CD nor any control. Immediately shipped it back and received all my money back.
Great Sound Limited FunctionalityReviewed by Greg Kuisel, 2010-02-15
Great sound and easy to use but misses the mark with functionality. I order this unit and returned the unit a week later. In my research for a quality radio with an iPod dock for my office the Polk Audio I-Sonic unit had great reviews, much better than some other quailty names like Cambridge Sound Works. But, after getting the unit, which was easy to set up, use, had pretty good reception and very good sound, I was left wanting for more! With internet radio, internet music services like Rhapsody, satellite radio all the rage, and even a device to play my collection of music CD's and language CD's while at the desk, this radio left me with a number of big gaps. So, what do I do even though I like the sound and ease of use of the Polk Audio system? I called Polk Audio and see what options I had. They informed me they scraped a previous model that had a CD player because of design problems, then they scraped plans for a model yet to hit the streets that supported internet radio and XM. So they told me to buy something else if I really wanted those features. So, I took the their advice! I ended up buying the Dennon S-52 with sound just as good or better supports HD radio, internet radio which is great, CD's, XM radio, and streaming from your Rhapsody account. If you don't care about all these other mediums, and don't mind having two or more radios on your desk or self to support these other mediums, go ahead and get the Polk Audio unit. You will like it. But if your like me and want access to all music sources available today buy the Dennon S-52 like I have. Read my review on the S-52 for more information.
Polk was just rightReviewed by David Scott Marlar, 2010-02-01
I was extremely impresses with their Polk Audio unit, the sound is amazing and the IPod functions correctly. The digital FM sounds awesome, but needs a better antenna or place the unit on an outside wall near a window to receive the best sound.
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