With a $500 price tag, you probably expect the ES2 to do a bit more than just tell time – and it does. For starters, the ES2 is an HD Radio. Unlike XM and Sirius satellite radio, HD Radio is an enhancement to terrestrial broadcasts. In addition to improved audio performance – which can sometimes border on CD quality – HD Radio allows broadcasters to “multi-cast” multiple program streams on a single FM frequency. For example, 98.5-1 might have music, 98.5-2 might have news and traffic while 98.5-3 might have sports talk. In northeast Connecticut, my HD Radio station choices are on the slim side, but there are a few and the ES2 found them all using its HD seek mode. And in case you’re wondering, the ES2 will also play standard (non-HD) AM and FM stations.
In addition to HD Radio, the ES2 features an integrated iPod dock. Like similar iPod radios, this gives you the ability to listen to your iPod instead of the usual FM, AM or externally-connected auxiliary device – while simultaneously charging your iPod. Song title and artist information appears on the ES2’s LCD and you also get control over certain iPod functions using the ES2’s infrared remote.
Setting itself apart from those other iPod radios, the ES2 is the first device to feature an HD Radio technology called “iTunes Tagging.” Here’s how it works: while listening to your favorite HD Radio station, a song comes on that you really like. Instead of searching for a piece of paper to jot down the song info, the ES2 lets you push its “TAG” button on the front panel and in an instant stores that song’s metadata in its internal memory. The ES2 can store data for up to 50 songs in this fashion. Groovy, eh? And that’s not even the best part.
The next time you place your iPod on the cradle, the ES2 transfers those songs to your iPod in the form of a playlist called “Tagged.” The final step occurs when you synchronize your iPod with iTunes on your computer. The “Tagged” playlist transfers over to your computer and you’re then able to research or purchase those songs you first heard on the radio. I tested this with several songs from a few different stations. The function behaved as advertised, but the iTunes results are only as good as the data originally broadcast by the radio station. For example, there were several occasions where I would get song and artist names, but no album name. And there were even a few times when all I got was the station name – hardly useful when trying to purchase a song. Also, the “TAG” button on my pre-production unit was rather stiff to push but I’m told this issue has since been resolved.
Yeah, yeah, but how does it sound? In a word, fantastic. Featuring Polk’s “I-Sonic” technology, the ES2 sports a four-speaker array with two speakers up front and two in back. Although stereo separation was a bit lacking, that’s to be expected when your speakers are mere inches apart. The good news is that the ES2 is able to create an incredibly full sound for its size and it filled my ample-sized kitchen without breaking a sweat. From crisp highs down to a surprisingly solid upper-bass section, the ES2 packs one hell of a punch. And if you’re still not impressed, get this: it also tells time.yy
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