Review of Russound TCH1 RNET Touchpoint System
Reviewed by Fred Harding of Capitol Sales
Russound TCH1 RNET Touchpoint System
The Touchpoint system wirelessly controls RNET multiroom audio systems via iPhone or iPod touch.
Overall Rating: 8.2 out of 10
Features
The new Russound RNET Touchpoint provides direct access and remote control of a Russound CAA66, CAM6.6, CAV6.6, MCA-C5 or ACA-E5 multiroom audio system from an Apple iPhone or iPod touch.
Touchpoint System users can access their audio system by pressing the Russound R logo on their iPhone or iPod touch. They can then select what zone to control and what source inside that zone. Once the source has been selected, the TCH1 will present metadata for any of the RNET supported devices.
- The user can, depending on what devices are attached, can see info from the following:
- FM, AM, XM, Sirius Satellite Radio
- iPods
- Mac Minis
- Russound SMS3 Smart Media Server
If the audio system has non-RNET sources attached, the iPhone or iPod touch will still have transport controls available to directly access channels, skip discs, etc.
I like the system's ability to offer a single remote point of contact to the whole house. In the past, installers could achieve that only through external control systems that were more powerful, more complex and more expensive, like the Pronto TSU-9600 remote control.
Rating: 8.5 out of 10
Ease of Installation
Installation is done by placing the Russound TCH1 controller on the home's local network. You'll want to locate this device in proximity to the audio system.
It's best to use a hard wired connection between the router and this device, but if that's physically impossible, a Wi-Fi connection can be made. A supplied USB-to-serial adapter cable connects to the RS-232 port. A power supply plugs in to the mains.
Once the physical connection has been made, the installer programs the system using IP, Subnet and Mac addresses. Installers can then label rooms to corresponding devices and zones. The final step is to create a button on the home page of the iPhone or iPod touch.
Rating: 8.0 out of 10
Reliability
The Russound RNET Touchpoint is a relatively new product, thus the hardware reliability has no track record at this stage. Russound provides a one year warranty.