Oh! Gizmo

By Andrew Liszewski

While many people will tell you that vinyl produces a better sound than a digital audio file, there’s no denying that an MP3 player takes the cake when it comes to portability. So the DP-200USB turntable from Denon allows you to easily convert your old records to MP3 files, before your kids go all DJ Qbert on them. (Though the belt drive motor could hinder their DJ aspirations.)

Recording an album is as easy as inserting a USB flash drive into the front of the player and hitting the start and record buttons. From what I can tell, the DP-200USB creates a large single MP3 file of the entire record, but it comes with Trans Music Manager software which will automatically split the file into individual tracks by detecting the gaps between songs. The Denon DP-200USB is available now for around $300, and comes in your choice of silver or black.

[ Denon DP-200USB Turntable ] VIA [ Pocket-lint ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Inspiration can literally strike anywhere, but what if you’re a musician who’s just come up with the next Grammy winning song and don’t have any way to document it? Well that wouldn’t be a problem with the iDea guitar from Ovation. It features a built-in MP3 player, and while the technical specs are a bit vague, I have to assume it’s got a few gigs of flash storage onboard allowing you to capture an impromptu performance at a moment’s notice.

On the side of the guitar you’ll find a control panel with an LCD display, mic input and USB connection, as well as a 4-way controller for navigating the menus and a set of basic EQ sliders covering the bass, mid and treb. You’re able to record just the guitar, the mic or whatever’s connected to an additional aux in jack, or you can mix them together for a more elaborate performance. Other features include a pitch-stable variable speed playback option, so you can slow things down while practicing a recorded song, and of course the ability to easily sync your recordings to a PC via the USB port.

The Ovation iDea Acoustic/Electric guitar is available now, and you can find it online for around $600.

[ Ovation iDea ] VIA [ Chip Chick ]

By Andrew Liszewski

The Clari-Fi is a small adapter designed to sit between your MP3 player and your headphones that will supposedly clean out any digital artifacts from your compressed sound files. Their website claims that by removing these artifacts you’re left with clearer, more natural sound, that is also less likely to damage your hearing.

The device actually uses a small bit of circuitry which draws power from the headphone jack, so it’s not just a case of it being some high-end, super-expensive cable. And while I admit I haven’t actually tried the Clari-Fi for myself, the words snake & oil do come to mind. Maybe some PR-talk about the technology behind the device will convince me of its usefulness.

At the heart of the clari-fi is a proprietary semiconductor technology developed over the past three years in San Jose, CA using custom Silicon. This technology allows for real-time compression of digital audio, removing harmful digital artifacts and ’spikey-ness,’ while retaining the music’s original acoustic tonal quality, and improving its clarity and richness.

Nope, still not convinced. But if you’re willing to give them the benefit of the doubt, the company actually sells two versions specifically tweaked for listening to music or podcasts. The Clari-Fi Music sells for $59.95, while the Clari-Fi Podcast sells for $49.95.

[ Clari-Fi ] VIA [ Wired Gadget Lab ]