[Review] Sunwave SRC-3000 remote control

Sunwave SRC-3000 remote control

With the move into a flat, and thus setting up a proper listening room, which also contains the tv and so on, a burgeoning number of remote controls was making its presence felt on the sofa (4 currently, a fifth when I get a sky box sorted).

So, time for a programmable multi-remote.

With a little research I decided I rather liked the big Marantz models. Unfortunately, I was not prepared to pay several hundred pounds for a remote control, even if it does have a colour screen and pc docking station. It simply is not worth that much to me.

Cheaper solution required. Didn't like the look of the one-for-all jobbies. Most people here are probably aware of the Cambridge Audio M1 remote (also sold as remote angel and various other names). I was also interested in this model, when I discovered the Sunwave.

Sunwave... Who? In fact, the Cambridge audio M1 is a rebadge Sunwave SRC-9100. That is rather getting on now, and the SRC-3000 is essentially a newer version of the same thing. The bonus is that the sunwave is £39.99 inc delivery and VAT from maplin, whereas the older model cambridge m1 is £49.95. That, and I prefer the silver finish and blue backlight of the SRC-3000 to the black with green backlight of the cambridge, the blue giving a higher contrast.

This morning it arrived, which was pretty good going as I only ordered it at lunchtime yesterday. It doesn't come with batteries, and takes a rather odd 3 AAAs. However, since the maglite on my keyring takes 1 AAA, this worked out.

First impression is of very surprising quality for the money. The remote doesn't creak (the marantz RC-10CD creaks and flexes.... not good enough for a £1400 CD player imo!), but there is a small rattle from a movement sensor inside the remote. There's surprising heft (the manual says it only weighs ~120g, but it's much more than that), and it feels solid and well-made.

Power "features": The remote switches itself off (screen goes blank) after 90 seconds of inactivity. However, there is a motion sensor in it which is very sensitive indeed, and simply sitting down on the sofa on which it sits (or tapping the cushion it is on) is enough to wake it up. It will definately wake up on being picked up. The screen backlighting is controlled buy a light sensor, which you can set the sensitivity of. Then, when it is darker than the threshold you've set, the screen backlight will come on. It fades very classily in and out, and remains on for a user-defined length of time after the last keypress, between 10 and 60 seconds in 10 sec increments. Each time you touch the screen there is a beep, but this can be disabled (and I have done).

The remote can control 8 devices. It has a huge number of pre-programmed codes, and it will also learn from your existing remotes. I didn't find any of the pre-programmed codes to be fully functional with my kit (and NAD and Lodos (television) aren't on the list anyway), so I programmed all the commands from my existing remotes. Thankfully, Sunwave have realised that pointing two remotes at each other is time consuming and irritating, so they put the learning sensor at the bottom of the remote so that both remotes face the same way, making it a much easier and quicker process.

The screen is very contrasty and the backlight is good and bright. One thing that I realise now could be a concern with this sort of device is the viewing angle of the screen, since it is very rare to look straight-on at a remote control, but rather you look at it at an angle from the back. They've clearly thought of this, and the screen is set up so that the highest contrast is from about a 45 degree angle from behind. It is clear up to the normal, but almost impossible to see from another 20 degrees or so to the front. There are defined "key" pads on the screen, and you can customise the title of each one to a point. There are four or five options you can display, otherwise you can just have the key outline and try to remember what you programmed it to. Generally the available options are good and pretty comprehensive, the only real omission being "Time" (for CD player, DVD player and TV). You can remove keys you aren't going to use for one particular device. Set up is very simple and intuitive and the manual is clear and concise (unlike many far-eastern products).

I haven't yet played with the macro function, but it will store macros up to 60 commands long. The remote has 512k of memory, which I guess will be the limiting factor to the number/length of macros.

There were no problems at all with getting the sunwave to learn any of the commands of my remotes, although I know that there may be issues with some cable boxes.

One thing I have done is to put a PDA screen protector onto the screen. This is a piece of self-adhesive transparent plasticy stuff with a textured top surface (that goes zzzzziiiiippppppp if you move a pda stylus across it quickly). I find that it is much better at resisting grease and dirt than a plain touch-screen as well as cutting reflections down a lot for a small reduction in contrast. It also protects the screen and can be replaced without difficulty. For users of touch-screen remotes I recommend highly.

Overall, I have to recommend the sunwave to anyone looking for a system remote. At £40 it's a bargain given the solid construction, good screen and wide range of capabilities. The amount of thought that has gone into this remote is very high, with things like the screen viewing angle, learning sensor position, etc. Having seen some of the shocking remotes that manufacturers supply with some pretty high-end bits of kit, this shows how it really could be done, and if it's £40 retail boxed then to supply it oem isn't going to be more than £5.

If you want an 8-way remote, buy this.

 

And some piccies.



You can see the light sensor forward of the screen. The remote is set to CD player page 1.



This shows the brightness of the backlight. Lighting conditions were the same, but the exposure of the second image is 1 stop less (1.25 seconds vs 2.5 seconds, both F8.0, ISO 100). Both images show the contrast of the screen. In this image, the remote is on TV page 1.

 

Isaac,
I tried the previous model from Maplin and had to send it back. I had to press each button twice to operate my Sky box and it wouldn't work my Sony DAV-s500 at all, even though I used the learning method of programming. I may try this one though and see as I'm up to 5 remotes and need the codes for my Denon tuner that didn't have a remote.
Cheers for the review - let us know how you get on with it longer term.
Donut

 

I too had previous one and i dropped a coupla times onto laminate floor and this cracked the glass which made it useless, I bit the bullet and bought the Marantz RC3200 this is more robust has smaller screen and several hard buttons inc five way pad. So be careful Isaac