- Atonemo has launched the new NTS Radio Player box
- It connects to your speakers and to online radio
- You can also stream to the box from your phone
If you find the abundance of choices on streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music a bit overwhelming, consider this new gizmo from Swedish electronics company Atonemo: its minimal design has just two buttons and a dial to connect you to curated online radio stations powered by NTS.
It’s called the Atonemo NTS Radio Player (via Deezen), and it plugs into your speaker system via a 3.5mm analog line-out port (and there’s an AUX to RCA adapter in the box if you need it).
Once connected, you can press one of the buttons to tune into either NTS Channel 1 or NTS Channel 2. The dial, meanwhile, gives you access to 16 ‘infinite mixtape’ feeds from NTS, with icons to match the mood of each one: these mixtapes include Sheet Music (the violin icon), Sweat (the water drop icon) and Island Time.
There’s a mixtape for most moods and most types of music, pulled straight from the NTS website. The device offers 24-bit / 192 kHz lossless sound quality, uninterrupted playback and a 10-band graphic equalizer accessible via the app.
Bring your own tunes too
According to Atonemo co-founder and radio player designer Noah Constantinou, the gadget follows the Japanese concept of ‘omakase’ – that’s where in a restaurant you let the expert chef choose the dishes rather than choosing them yourself.
If you don’t want the NTS DJs to choose your music, you can also stream your choice of tunes to the radio player from your phone using Google Cast, AirPlay 2, Spotify Connect or Tidal Connect. In that regard, it serves as an easy way to connect your phone to a set of speakers (which Atonemo’s standard Streamplayer also does).
“I think people miss tactile objects,” Constantinou told Dezeen. “We’ve gotten so used to putting screens on everything when in many cases it’s not necessary, and even sometimes counterproductive.”
Judging by the Reddit reactions, Constantinou is right: “such a cool idea” and “I have to have it” are just two of the many positives about this new gadget. The device will set you back $179 / £129 / AU$250 and can be ordered online now.
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