Radio gives you the world

July 15, 2012 at 12:00a.m.

Q. I’m looking to bring music into my kitchen and family room, and I’m looking for advice. I think I would like a tabletop-size system that can connect to Internet radio and my iPad.

-D.R., San Jose, Calif.

A. The last time I wrote about tabletop music systems I mentioned a 20-percent-off sale for the Cambridge SoundWorks i765, which promptly sold out. I am happy to update readers that you can now use a “Notify Me When Available” link at www.cambridgesoundworks.com to receive 20 percent off upon ordering when the radio is back in stock.

It is at this website you also will find my recommendation for you. It is the first new product introduced by the new owners of Cambridge SoundWorks, and I was sent the first unit seen by anyone outside the company.

The great-sounding Cambridge SoundWorks Ambiance Touch World Radio ($399) sports an attractive design with a color touchscreen. I compared the Ambiance Touch to the i765 but quickly came to realize it was apples and oranges. As good as the i765 is, it represents the past while the Ambiance Touch represents the future by embracing the Internet and wireless technology. (A wired Ethernet connection also is provided.)

Music can be streamed from PCs directly to the Ambiance. If you want to stream from a Mac and iTunes, you can do so with an Airport Express unit connected to the auxiliary input.

Though the radio features AM/FM, an integrated iPod dock and a host of processing choices to optimize sound quality, what I found to be most exciting is the way it brings the nearly endless variety of Internet radio (over 65,000 stations) to you with effortless ease.

The touchscreen menus quickly connected the Ambiance Touch to my wireless network, and I decided to see how easy it was to tune in news radio in Japan. The answer: startlingly easy.

Using the touchscreen, I selected Internet RadioStationsLocationAsiaJapanNews UpdatesNHK World Radio English, one of 19 languages listed for NHK World Radio. Just tap, tap, tap and I was listening to news from Japan. A few more taps and I was listening to dance music from Finland. A few taps after that I was listening to a station in Indiana broadcasting local sports news. I can see the Ambiance Touch becoming a big hit with sports fans that can’t listen to their favorite team because they are in another city.

If you have a Pandora account, it can be linked, and multiple user accounts are supported. The Pandora screen shows album art and track information, a nice touch.

The only downside I found was the radio offers perhaps too many choices for adjusting the sound quality. I had to adjust a good bit to get things to sound just the way I liked it.

Most users probably will be happy with one of the preset modes, but audiophiles should count on a bit of tweaking.

After listening to music from all around the world with the Ambiance, when I went to the AM, FM and iPod sources, it seemed, well, rather quaint. At $399 it is not inexpensive, but the quality and all the free content you receive makes it worth it. I don’t know of a better way to enjoy Internet radio.

Contact Don Lindich at www.soundadviceblog.com and use the “submit question” link on that site.

2012 McClatchy-Tribune News Service