Archive for the 'Audio' Category

I’m a vinyl junkie. Whenever I want to listen to music at home, I don my spin doctor hat and let the stylus dig into the groove note to produce that rich, lush sound we’ve come to know and love about vinyl. However, I’m also a realist. One can only listen to vinyl at home. How then can you listen to those rare records if you aren’t home? Perhaps you might want to have digital backups on your computer. Maybe you want to burn them on a CD or your mp3 player. Whatever the case may be, you need to make copies or transfer your LPs to something more manageable. Is that possible?

With the ION USB Turntable, it certainly is. The ION USB Turntable is a cost effective solution for archiving and digitizing your vinyl Music collection. USB Connectivity simplifies conversion directly into your computer. You can now listen to your favorite music on CDs or portable media players. The ION even features a standard RCA line Output for connecting to your home Stereo or Home-theater system with no hassles.

The ION comes with editing software for PC and Macintosh computers. EZ Vinyl Converter for the PC and EZ Audio Converter for the Mac making the transfer process a cinch.

Steve Jobs just wrapped up Apple’s ‘Let’s Rock’ event in San Francisco. Here’s an overview of the event.

• The 80GB iPod Classic is being upgraded to 120GB, and the 160GB is being discontinued.
• Genius Playlist Creation will “automatically make playlists from songs in your library that go great together - with just one click.”

The new iPod Nano - the slimmest iPod ever!

• It’s the “thinnest iPod ever.” It has an enhanced user interface plus an Accelerometer.
• The body is curved aluminum.
• Battery life will allow 24 hours of music playback and 4 hours of video playback.
• The new iPod nano has a voice recording feature when it detects a microphone attached.
• New feature: Shake to shuffle. Shake your Nano and it starts shuffling!

New iPod Touch design. A slimmer, slicker look.

• iTouch comes with built in Nike+. No need for a receiver since it is built in.
• iTouch has a integrated volume control on the side, a speaker, and Genius playlist creation.
• New Accessories: earbuds and armbands. The buds have volume control and playback control on the side. There’s also a microphone on the back that will work with the voice recording app.
• Battery life for the iTouch is 36 hours for music and 6 hours for video.
• A myriad of games announced for download like Real Soccer 2009, Need For Speed and Spore. Can be controlled with a virtual d-pad.
• Free upgrade for iTouch owners to 2.1 from 2.0.

Check out all of the new iPod’s available for pre-order HERE.

Logitech, the company behind the highly regarded Squeezebox Duet just recently announced the Squeezebox Boom.

The Squeezebox Boom is an all-in-one network music player that comes with an integrated 30 watt amplifier and speakers.

The Squeezebox Boom system comes with 256 MB of built-in RAM and offers multiroom audio capabilities without the need for additional external speakers or wires. It uses 802.11g wireless, so it can detect available wireless home networks. This allows access to digital audio files stored on a Computer, Internet radio and subscription services such as Rhapsody, Pandora and Sirius Satellite Radio. All this is done using the SqueezeNetwork, Logitech’s free online service that sorts radio stations and songs for the user.

The Squeezebox Boom fully supports high resolution formats like Apple Lossless, FLAC and WMA Lossless. It also has an alarm clock, six preset buttons and a remote control that can be attached magnetically to the system.

The Squeezebox Boom should be available soon from J&R.

Razer is well known for top of the line gaming mice and keyboards. Well, you can add speakers to their list of top shelf products. The Razer Mako Speaker System is a 2.1 offering. It incorporates THX Ground Plane and Slot Speaker technologies; the first of any desktop speaker system. In simple terms, these speakers rock.

I heard these speakers for the first time when pro gamer, Sabian “Clamp-OK” Hayblum was here at J&R, taking on all comers in Quake 4. Now, not to toot my own horn, but i’m no stranger to high fidelity. The Mako speakers sound tremendous. The sub-woofer delivers deep, rich bass; while the satellites sound clear, crisp and precise. They no doubt sound great with games, but they can also be used for music and movies as well.

To top the it off, Razer decided to use a touch-sensitive LED dial to control the system, making usability a cinch.

All-in-one remote control pod with touch-sensitive LED dial

Anyone looking for a top of the line speaker system should look no further, the Razer Mako Speaker System is what they need.

Make sure you check out the Razer website as well.

Skullcandy Headphones sound great. While some headphones sound great but look ridiculous, and others look awesome but sound lousy, Skullcandy Works SKC18 GI Stereo Headphones do both well!

First and foremost, is the sound quality. Because really, if headphones don’t make your music sound awesome, it doesn’t matter how good they look, you won’t want to use them. They have a 41mm Superior driver, ensuring that your music sounds crisp and excellent even at high volumes. In addition to the great sound, they look awesome, coming with a winter camo pattern and a leather headwrap. Furthermore, they’re super comfortable, resting on your ears and allowing you to listen for hours on end with no discomfort. If that doesn’t meet your standards for excellent headphones, nothing will.

Check out our headphone product guide for more info what to look for in a good pair of headphones.

When implementing speakers into a home audio system, compromises are made along the way in terms of aesthetics. Nothing ruins the décor of a living space like speaker cables all over the floor. Sure, in-wall installations for speaker cables are an option, but that is an added cost and you have to make sure your speaker cable is graded for in-wall installations. Furthermore, this is not an option for people with concrete or brick walls and renters.

An option for those who don’t want the clutter of cables everywhere and can’t or don’t want to go with an in-wall installation is a wireless speaker system. Wireless systems have been the bane of audiophiles for years, and for good reason; many of them were terrible. However, strides have been made with wireless technology over the years and there are quite a few excellent wireless systems to choose from these days.

The JBL on air control 2.4g wireless speaker system is a fine choice for those looking for a wireless solution. You can use them as stereo speakers your iPod, computer or CD player. or as surround speakers in a home theater set-up. The speakers come with a 2.4GHz transmitter that allows for up to 70ft of rich, clear sound without interference. JBL is well known for offering quality speaker products, and this wireless system is no exception.

Denon, the world-renowned manufacturer of superb audio and video equipment recently released the AVR-1909. It’s an entry-level receiver that packs a whole lot of punch for the price.

The AVR-1909 has been getting rave reviews, and it’s easy to see why. Equipped with 3 HDMI v1.3a inputs, it can internally decode the lossless surround sound formats Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio. The powerful amplifier section has seven channels. Fully driven, it outputs 90 watts a channel, capable of delivering earth shattering 7.1 surround sound. Of course, 5.1 surround sound is adequate if you don’t have or want 7.1. The receiver has the option of driving a 5.1 channel system in your main room in addition to a 2-channel system in a second zone. This is a feature you rarely see in an entry-level receiver. It also does a terrific job with up-converting standard definition material.

There is an in-depth discussion on the AVSforum about this receiver. It’s worth a look for anyone contemplating an entry-level receiver with all the bells and whistles.

If you’re in the market for a new set of computer speakers, but you aren’t interested in a setup with a big, bulky subwoofer that would take up space either under or on your desk, you’re stuck with some slim pickings for quality options. Small computer speakers without subwoofers don’t pack a lot of punch, generally speaking, but you don’t necessarily need to sacrifice quality for size.

The Bose Companion 2 Series II Multimedia Speakers are some of the best two-piece computer speakers available, delivering amazing bass as well as crisp high end sounds from relatively small packages. With dual inputs you’ll be able to plug in both your computer as well as another audio source to them at the same time, letting you use these as both computer speakers and iPod speakers depending on what you’re doing. In the world of small computer speakers, they don’t get much better than this.

I’m no stranger to streaming devices. I’ve owned many different devices from Squeezeboxes to Sonos Multi-Room Music Systems. They all worked fabulously, and I would wholeheartedly recommend them. However, one thing they lacked was video content. If you only cared about music, then devices like the Squeezebox or Sonos would be all you really need. I love music, but many people are always looking for ways to integrate audio and video. Sure, that may be heresy for audio purists, but this is the real world. Devices that can multi-task and serve more than one function will always be welcome.

One device that caught my attention was the Apple TV. My only gripe with the Apple TV when it was initially released was the relatively small (for me at least) 40gb hard-drive and the lack of high definition videos and surround sound. Thankfully, Apple addressed all these issues. They released a 160gb model, and now high definition movie rentals are available, as well as surround sound.

I purchased one about two weeks ago, and the experience so far has been wonderful. Synching the Apple TV to my wireless network and to iTunes was a breeze. The set-up process took less than five minutes. In no time, I was browsing the Apple webstore, watching videos on youtube, streaming HD videos from my macbook and browsing photos on flickr.

I took some photos of the Apple TV and the interface.

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For college students, a recording of all their professors’ lectures is invaluable during finals week. And by the end of the semester all of these recordings will require ample storage space. The digital recorder that will best suit these students’ needs is the Zoom H2 by Samson Tech, which accepts SD memory cards up to 4 GB. When recording in MP3, this allows for up to 138 hours of recording time.

The Zoom H2 also works great for music concerts and personal recordings. Unlike most digital recorders on the market, the Zoom H2 records in stereo—not mono—so the sound quality is excellent. For a college student, the Zoom H2 is the perfect gadget.

* And as with any lecture, make sure you get your professor’s permission before recording.