Oh! Gizmo

By Andrew Liszewski

There are countless miniature speakers designed for cellphones, MP3 players and even laptops that claim to produce ‘big speaker’ sound. While I’m skeptical of their claims, if there was one company that I thought could pull it off it would be Yamaha. Their NX-A01 Cubic Design speaker is only about 3.5 inches on each side, but uses their Swing Radiator Bass technology to boost the low-end. I’m not entirely sure what SR-Bass is, but here’s the description from the Yamaha website:

The is a method of efficiently producing bass by causing a panel-shaped diaphragm with one side completely immobilized to function as a passive radiator. Causing it to move by the vibration mode of the rumbling of the diaphragm itself efficiently increases bass energy.

The speaker unit itself is a 3cm titanium cone that’s capable of reproducing the entire frequency range all on its own. But besides appealing to semi-audiophiles, the NX-A01 should also catch the eye of the design conscious since it comes in either black or white and has a set of backlit controls on top. (Orange backlight for the white version, green backlight for the black version.) Unfortunately since the audio player connects to the speaker with an analog cable there’s no device control options available, so the buttons on top only allow you to control or mute the volume and put the speaker into standby mode.

You can get it directly from the Yamaha online store for $69.95.

[ Yamaha NX-A01 ] VIA [ productdose ]

By Evan Ackerman

My current housemates would absolutely love the Reppo II backpack speaker system. It contains two full-range speakers and an amp, allowing you to broadcast exactly how awesome you are while you walk down the street. It’s perfect for the sort of people (like my housemates) who feel the need to inflict their taste in music upon everybody within amplified earshot, seeing as their wannabe hipster tunes are just too awesome not to share with the rest of the neighborhood. The backpack is hard shelled, which is good because it offers protection from the baseball bats which will inevitably be swung at you, but bad because it inhibits your running-away speed. The Reppo II is currently a functional concept in (thankfully) Germany.

[ Reppo II ] VIA [ Technabob ]

By Andrew Liszewski

This H4 ‘Handy Recorder’ has a lot of things going for it. Not only does it look cool with its wire cage protected dual electret condenser mics, but it’s also extremely compact, especially when you consider they’ve managed to cram in 2 combination XLR-1/4-inch input jacks complete with phantom power. But it’s the H4’s feature list that has me reaching for the ‘Add to Cart’ button.

You can record 24-bit/96 kHz digital audio or up to 320kbps MP3s directly to an SD card or to your computer’s hard drive when connected via USB. With a 2GB SD card you can capture about 380 minutes of CD quality sound, or up to 34 hours of stereo MP3s. Unfortunately that’s considerably longer than the 4 hours of continuous recording time you’ll get with a set of 2 AA batteries, but an AC adapter is also included. I’m particularly impressed that the H4 can even be used as a 4 track recorder when capturing CD quality 16-bit PCM, 44.1 kHz audio. While the 128×64 pixel LCD display is pretty basic, it’s more than adequate for monitoring levels and is probably easy on the batteries.

You can get it from ThinkGeek for $299.99.

[ H4 Pocket-Size Digital Audio Recorder ]

By Andrew Liszewski

As far as I know there’s no real cure for Tinnitus, but a company called Neuromonics claims to have created an effective treatment that will reduce the symptoms almost immediately and provide some level of long-term relief. At the core of the treatment is the Oasis audio device which plays specifically designed music that’s embedded with a “pleasant acoustic neural stimulus.” These sounds, which are customized for every patient based on their audiological profile, stimulate the auditory pathway to promote neural plastic changes. And over time it’s these new connections that help the brain filter out the tinnitus disturbance. So as far as I can tell the process doesn’t cure the problem, it just trains your brain to ignore it.

The treatments usually last for 6 months, and during the first 2 months you’ll need to listen to the device for about 2 hours or longer every day. During the last 4 months that duration will gradually decrease, and once the treatment is over you may never need to use it again depending on your results. The Oasis device isn’t FDA approved since it’s basically just an audio player, but you will need to be referred by your doctor in order to receive the treatments. And if it’s not covered by your health insurance you’ll need to fork out between $3,500 to $6,000 for the treatments.

If you’re curious what Tinnitus sounds like you can actually listen to some samples on the Neuromonics website. However I recommend turning down your speakers or headphones, as I’m sure listening to the samples at full volume didn’t help my hearing at all.

[ Neuromonics Oasis ] VIA [ Medgadget ]

By Evan Ackerman

This is Dead Buddy. He’s dead. He’s got speakers in his feet. He’s $40. That is all.

[ Dead Bbudd ] VIA [ Technabob ]

By Evan Ackerman

This isn’t the first time people have put Monster Cables to the test, but some guys over at the Audioholics Home Theater Forum thought it would be fun to perform a single blind listen-off between a 2 meter Monster Ultra Series THX 1000 Audio Interconnect (that’s an expensive word for “cable,” I assume) and a bunch of wire coat hangers soldered together. Needless to say, nobody in a group of 12 self-described “audiophiles” could tell when the Monster Cable was in use versus when the coat hangers were in use while listening to a high quality jazz CD. And in case you’re worried that coat hangers have some sort of previously unknown and fantastic audio properties, the same test was conducted with standard copper wiring, with the same results.

It’s sort of like the difference in image quality between Fine and Normal JPEG images, or even between JPEG images and RAW images: yes, there are differences if you blow up an image like 200% and look for them, but in the real world, pretty much nobody can tell. When it comes to wiring, the exception would be if you’ve got high bandwidth signals around a lot of interference, or if you’re running cables long distances, since that stuff can cause noticeable signal degradation. ‘Course, you’re going to pay out the ass for long Monster Cables, so why not just move all your components closer together and save yourself a couple hundred bucks out of that 80% markup, hm?

[ Monster Cable ] VIA [ The Consumerist ]

By Luke Anderson

I was born in the 80’s, so the first music format known to me was the cassette tape. I never really thought that they were all that cool, aside from recording my favorite songs off the radio (which were all missing at least a few seconds from the beginning as I raced to press record). I’m almost sorry that I didn’t get the experience of vinyl, as people that grew up on records claim that you’ll not find a better sound. Unfortunately, while it may have a great sound, your old 45’s aren’t exactly the easiest to to tote, so it might be worth your time and effort to put that music on a more portable format.

Sony has made the process of ripping music from vinyl to MP3 format about as simple as possible. Their new PS-LX300USB turntable hooks into your computer’s USB port and works with the included Sound Forge Audio Studio to bring your music into the digital age. You won’t have to spend a fortune on the equipment either, as it will only set you back $150.

[ Sony ] VIA [ SlipperyBrick ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Besides the sleek aluminum finish, the LINX B-Tube speaker should appeal to the design conscious because you can place it anywhere in your home and not have to worry about unsightly wires. That’s because the speaker uses Bluetooth A2DP to stream stereo music from a cellphone, MP3 player or even your computer. It has a range of about 32 feet and can even be used to receive calls from a Bluetooth equipped phone thanks to a built-in microphone.

As for power, the B-Tube uses a rechargeable lithium-ion battery that provides about 6 hours of playback time, so you will occasionally need to connect the included AC adapter. And if you none of your devices have bluetooth, the speaker also includes a standard 3.5mm jack for connecting your equipment the old fashioned way.

You can get it from Amazon.co.uk for about $80.

[ LINX B-Tube Speaker ] VIA [ Shiny Shiny ]

By Evan Ackerman

If you demand on the best from your portable sound system, and you don’t mind looking (and sounding) like an absolute tool, you may want to consider blowing $500 on Sony’s PFR-V1 headphones personal field speakers. Although you wear them on your head, the PFR-V1s don’t actually go in, on, or around your ears. Instead, the 21mm aluminum drivers sit about half an inch away from your ears, projecting sound directly toward them, which is supposed to somehow improve high frequencies and enhance depth and richness by keeping things separate. Bass frequencies are injected directly into your ear canal with a separate set of “extended bass reflex ducts.” The headphones (they’re headphones, get over it Sony) are powered by 2 AAA batteries and should last for 200 hours, or until the angry guy sitting next to you on the bus throws the whole shebang out the window because he’s not a fan of Devo.

[ Audiocubes ] VIA [ Crave ]

By Andrew Liszewski

I usually prefer peace and quiet when I’m trying to fall asleep, but for some people a little bit of background noise helps. However, since those amazing offers on late night infomercials can be kind of distracting, instead of leaving the TV on you might want to consider a device specifically designed to produce white noise. The Sound Screen from Marpan does just that, and is recommended for restless sleepers, infants and even people working in an office environment who are easily distracted by their co-workers. (When trying to work, not sleep.)

The tone and volume of the white noise can be adjusted by rotating the cap and collar of the Sound Screen’s housing, depending on if you just need some background accompaniment, or a way to drown out the world around you. You can find it at Edmund Scientific’s for $59.95.

[ Marpac Sound Screen ] VIA [ The Red Ferret Journal ]