Following up on yesterday's review of the AudioCast M5,  I am reviewing today two NEXUM music receivers which really pack a punch! They are called TuneBox2.0 (TB20) and TuneBox2.1 (TB21) and allow you to turn your old speaker system into a very smart one. Both TB20 and TB21 are pretty similar, though the TB20 supports digital output audio output, while TB21 supports 3.5mm cable analog audio input from a source like a CD or vinyl player.
Inside the box you get a USB AC adaptor, a micro USB cable for powering the unit, a 3.5mm to 3.5mm audio cable, a 3.5mm to RCA audio cable and a user guide.
Both TubeBox2s have a nice build quality with four round anti-skid pads at the bottom and a nice detailed cutting aluminium housing that is covered by leather. Both TB20 and TB21 feature an indicator LED light below the NEXUM logo in the front.
They both also feature a "Party mode" button, a Power button, a Reset button, a micro USB power port and a RJ-45 network port, as well as a 3.5mm analog audio input (for the TB21) and a digital optical AUX and coaxial audio outputs (for the TB20).
The "Party mode" feature is one of the main features that makes the TuneBox2 stand out. What the "Party mode" button does when you press it, it allows multi-room audio play for up to 10 TuneBox2s, simultaneously synchronized.
You don't need software to run the TuneBox2s as they are plug and play, though if you download the NEXUM App on your smart device, you will be able to control remotely features like the Party mode and volume as well as change the stereo left and right channel output and rename each TuneBox2 (The NEXUM App is available at Google Play Store or App Store).
If you are big fan of Spotify Connect, you will love TuneBox2 as you can stream non-stop Spotify music all day long (even if your device is turned off) as TuneBox2 fetches data directly from the Spotify server.

With the TuneBox2 you get a Wi-Fi range of  50 meters  Line-Of-Sight (LOS) coverage, as well as great sound quality as the audio is not compressed like with Bluetooth. Also, TuneBox2 supports iOS, Android, Mac and PC (even AirPlay works great on iPhone and iPad).
TuneBox2 also incorporates Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) technology, which means you can also watch music videos with the TuneBox2 without any lag (the audio syncs with the video perfectly). Most Android devices have a built-in DLNA feature, but if yours doesn't you can install a third party APK from the Google Play Store.
TuneBox2 has a built-in sample rate conversion (SRC) and uses the ESS9023 (Digital-to-Analog Converter (DAC) chip, which means you can enhance the TuneBox2 from 16bit/48kHz CD sound quality to 24bit/192kHz high-resolution audio.

TuneBox2 also acts as a WiFi  access point (wireless AP), which means you can extend your current WiFi network without having to add a second router. You can connect the TuneBox2 wirelessly via your home router or pair it via Bluetooth to play music and stream it to any TuneBox2 in any room in your house.

The Verdict
NEXUM TuneBox2.0 and TuneBox2.1 are wireless audio receivers that provide a hassle free way to play your music from a mobile device to a speaker system. Simply connect TuneBox2 to your speaker system via S/PDIF (Sony/Philips Digital Interface Format) or 3.5mm stereo audio cable, turn it on, connect your Apple or Android device to TuneBox2, and you're ready to go!


Technical Details

• Protocol: AirPlay for iOS / DLNA for Android / WiFi SoundCard for Windows PC
• Compatible OS: Apple: iOS 5.0 or later, iTunes 10 or later / Android 4.0 or later / PC: Windows 8/7/Vista/XP
• Wireless: Wi-Fi: IEEE 802.11 b/g/n
• Power Input: DC+5V / 0.5A
• Connection: S/PDIF / AUX Out / micro USB
• Audio Format: MP3, WAV, WMA, AAC, m4a, AIFF, ALAC
• Material: BEECH: Wood Material / Black: Plywood Material
• Dimensions: 88 x 88 x 30 mm