Xitel HiFi-Link (Analog)

CNET editors' review

• CNET editors' rating: 3.5 stars Very good
  Detailed editors' rating
  Overall score: 7.0 (3.5 stars)

• Reviewed by:
  Eliot Van Buskirk
• Reviewed on: 07/28/2002

An update to Xitel's AN1, the HiFi-Link connects your computer's USB port to your stereo using a small converter and a 30-foot shielded cord. Many other products join PCs and stereos, but none sound as good for the same price.An update to Xitel's AN1, the HiFi-Link connects your computer's USB port to your stereo using a small converter and a 30-foot shielded cord. Many other products join PCs and stereos, but none sound as good for the same price.

Look and feel
There really isn't too much to say about the design of this simple, 4.25-by-0.2-by-0.77-inch device other than it looks like a shrunken, silver Hostess Ho-Ho with a USB port on one side and an 1/8-inch headphone-style jack on the other. In the box, you'll also find a coiled 30-foot cable, which features gold-plated contacts and shielding to avoid interference and signal degradation.

Features/connectivity
If you run Windows 98 SE, XP, Me, or 2000 or Mac 9.0.4 or later, then you probably won't have any trouble installing the HiFi-Link, as your operating system already has the proper USB audio drivers installed. Just connect the cords, and off you go. However, some vendors ship computers without these drivers. If yours is one such machine, you'll have to request the drivers from the company that sold you your computer--a hassle, to be sure.

But why wouldn't you just buy a 30-foot, 1/8-inch-to-dual-RCA cable and run it from your sound card's headphone jack to your stereo, since that would be an even cheaper approach? Well, aside from the fact that most internal sound cards don't deliver pristine audio, long cables can degrade sound quality significantly, especially toward the higher frequencies. To combat this, the HiFi-Link churns out audio that's matched to the sonic attributes of its cable, so music comes out clean and undistorted. Continue reading

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Recent user reviews

• Average user rating: 3.0 stars out of 4 reviews
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• Showing 3 of 4 user reviews

• 4.0 stars

  "Connects my laptop jukebox to a high quality stereo system."

  on December 6, 2003

• 1.5 stars

  0 out of 5 people found this helpful

  "Pops and crackles and pauses"

  on May 7, 2003

• 4.0 stars

  "Rough start but great support"

  on November 26, 2002

• See all 4 user reviews Write review