Archive for the ‘Audio’ Category

Three questions:

1. Are you one of those mobile audio freaks who can’t rock out without drumming the steering wheel, the dashboard and the passenger beside you when you cruise down the road with some phat tunes blasting?

2. Are you a drummer who’s sick of hauling heavy equipment and setting up an elaborate kit every time you want to play your music someplace new? (I mean, transporting a dusty rug? Are you kidding me?)

3. Have your neighbors ever (be honest) complained about the noise you made practicing the drums, rather than just being appropriately grateful that they were exposed to the sickest rhythms they’d hear all day?

If you answered yes to those questions, this article is for you.

In case you haven’t guessed, I am a person who would answer yes to those questions! I could not even roll forward downhill in my car if I didn’t have mobile audio, and it would be humanly impossibly for me to listen to the sweet sounds being emitted by my car audio speakers without pounding out the beat.

Anyway, I have compiled my own TOP TEN list of tips for practicing the drums anytime, anywhere, and (most of them) without making the people around you crazy.

1. Chopsticks. Ha. Anytime I’m out for Chinese or Thai, I take the opportunity to practice drumming.

2. Pot lids. Heck, yes. Just like in the movies.

3. Garbage cans. A variation on pot lids, I know, but have you seen some of these guys set up on the street or in the subway stations? They’re awesome.

4. Finger strengthening: squeeze a hacky sack ball while you’re on the phone with your mom. It helps.

5. Push-ups, pull-ups or rock climbing. Upper arms and forearms, man. The stronger you are, the longer and harder you can hit the drum skins.

6. Use a soundproof practice room at a school or university. Make nice with a security guard or a band teacher.

7. Get an electronic drum kit. I have one (Electric Thunder PED02M, if you must know all my secrets) that has an MP3 recorder on it. Sweet. It feels like real drums, but all the noise goes into your headphones. Plus, how rad is it that you can record it and play it later in the car? For that matter, how rad is it that it’s like the easiest thing to carry in the car if I do want to go play a gig without carrying my whole freaking kit?

8. On the other hand, I don’t have to carry anything at all in the car if I don’t want to. What’s wrong with good old dashboard pounding while I’ve got the mobile audio turned up? Isn’t that what stoplights are for?

9. Toothbrush. Live with someone? Borrow theirs to make it even. Don’t tell them, though. Especially if you practice tossing them and it lands in the toilet. People are sensitive about that.

10. Visit the music store, man! Practice on the stuff you dream of owning someday! Best thing is, you don’t have to dress up, since all the real rich rockers look just like we do, ripped jeans and T-shirt. All they have to do is check out your arm muscles to know you’re for real.

In conclusion, may I say: party hard but respect your neighbors. And most of all…drum on!

Did you know that by just upgrading your speakers you can totally change the way your music sounds? Most of us today will just continue listening to our music collection with the same old speakers we got when we bought our stereo system. Most of us don’t even realize that all you need to do to change the way your system sounds is to swap out your old speakers for new ones. By changing our speakers we can greatly enhance the sound of our system for little cost. Some of the bookshelf stereo speakers on sale today offer far better quality of sound than the speaker which came with our system. Most of these speaker brands have advanced sound technology which is very noticeable even on our old albums. Most people can’t believe the change in the sound quality when the best audio speaker set is installed. Most will look for the best surround sound speakers when upgrading their system and these can be found by just reading many of the bookshelf speaker reviews which are online right now.

many of today’s best sounding bookshelf speakers will have some very high tech specs installed. They are more focused on the clarity of the bass. Some of the best surround speakers will have a sound reproduction of up to 50Hz and some will also come with a 3 ¼” Enhanced H.O.P. Cone – Mid Driver which will make all the difference when it comes to getting the most out of your speakers sound. When you finally decide on the best audio speaker for you and your system you should shop around first. Some of these high tech marvels incorporate an 8″ Newly Developed Kevlar H.O.P. Woofer and 1″ Nano Fine Balanced Dome Tweeter technology which are surprisingly cheap for all the audio technology they offer. Some of the best sounding bookshelf speakers are magnetically shielded for distortion free placement so you can place them near your computer monitor or television set which comes in real handy if you live in an apartment and are stuck for space.

Many of the best bookshelf speakers will have custom designed .75-inch, ferro fluid-cooled dome tweeter for extended high frequencies which will enable you to hear every sound coming from your favorite music collection. You’ll be amazed when you listen to your old albums and hear sounds you never heard before. many of the best bookshelf speakers have advance technology like a two way sound output which will use a one inch soft dome tweeter and a six and a half-inch deep channel design woofer with graphite injected polymer woofer cone which will be very affordable. Most people wanting to improve their audio will invest in the best speakers for the money but they wont buy substandard speakers, they will want a frequency of at least 55Hz to 23kHz / 3decibles and at least 85 watts.

Generally speaking, you don’t have to be a professional audiophile if you want to improve your speakers system. Many who choose to update their speakers will usually go for bookshelf speakers as they offer the best sound quality for the least price. You could just buy a brand new stereo system but why bother when the vast majority of sound improvement is going to come from the speakers themselves. Remember that most of today’s modern home audio speakers have more technology than the stereo system itself so if you want to improve your overall sound then investing in the best sounding bookshelf speakers is for you.

I’d like to let you in on a new system that makes it possible for you to instantly get audio speaker drivers and you won’t even have to search on the net’! Locating the correct driver(s) for your computer’s various peripheral devices can be very frustrating. Look over the next few paragraphs – they’ll greatly benefit your quest to find any driver you want from almost any possible manufacturer.

Click here to get audio speaker drivers now!

It’s not uncommon that the general public, without knowing any better, rely on outdated drivers, which may seem harmless enough, but may actually bring about numerous and varied system troubles. Whenever you search for a driver on the web, be very careful that you always download a certified and most current drivers you need. In case this is new to you, let’s define the term: a driver is simply a program that relays necessary data between windows and a component – every device on your pc has its unique driver. The last time i searched the web for a driver i happened upon a great tool – a driver(s) locator which effortlessly locates a compatible version of any possible driver in just seconds. A tool such as this one will not just track down your desired driver(s) – it even brings up to date your motherboard, usb and wireless device(s) driver, etc.

Don’t forget the fact that producers of hardware and software frequently come out with new versions of their drivers. You will soon discover that you’ll be set up with the right drivers for your pc when you need it, or before you need it, without wondering what you should download. However you get your drivers, it’s a good idea to keep a backup of your drivers on an external device of some sort- you never know when you’ll need it.

I’m sure that, in terms of time and convenience, a lot of users (like me!) would choose to get audio speaker drivers by using such a solution and not by the usual web-surfing. Overall, these tools are the way to go for computer users everywhere, especially for those who aren’t that comfortable with technical issues like this. There’s no harm in trying, so why not put it to the test and prepare for it to detect your drivers – there’s so much to gain and nothing to lose. Who isn’t delighted when they find brilliant solutions such as the one described here that transform the tedious and frustrating into something easy and even enjoyable. Regardless of your maintenance strategy, it is highly recommended that you conduct a search for drivers that may need updating; your pc will thank you for it – by performing much better!

• AA Battery Bass Amplified subwoofer system
• Inline bass level adjustment
• 6.3mm home stereo adaptor included/Airline adaptor included
• Soft touch leather earpads
• Travel pouch

Product Description
The Skullcandy Skullcrushers Subwoofer Stereo Headphones in Black Pinstripe will literally pump the music right into your head! These power packing headphones feature an adjustable in-line bass amplifier and speakers with industry first built-in vibrating subwoofers. You can adjust the amount of bass effect with the in-line control wheel. The Crushers are ideal for MP3 Players, portable DVD, bass heavy music, and are the ultimate for any gamer…. More >>

Skullcandy SCS-SCBP3.5 Skullcrushers Subwoofer Stereo Headphones

• XBS port increases bass response
• Comfortable open-air design with wide headband
• Frequency response 16Hz-22kHz
• Neodymium rare-earth magnet for rich and powerful sound
• Large-diameter driver units 30mm (1-3/16″)

Product Description
Panasonic RP-HT21 Lightweight Headphones with XBS Extra Bass SystemAmazon.com Product Description
Take your music on the run with Panasonic’s lightweight, low-cost RP-HT21 over-ear headphones. Their large, 30 mm diaphragms offer full-bodied sound free of the harshness and discomfort that usually accompany earbud-style earphones. The headphones’ open-air design minimizes adverse resonances, and Panasonic’s XBS acoustic ports naturally emphasize bass freque… More >>

Panasonic RP-HT21 Lightweight Headphones with XBS Port

Did you ever double click on a audio or video file in order to open it but were warned that the format of this file is not correct or you need to download the corresponding codecs? Do you believe that you can play almost all audio and video files with just one player? Yes you can! Here are some excellent audio and video encode decode tools I have used, they are: Advanced WMA Workshop, Advanced Encode Decode Tools, Windows Essentials Codec Pack and K-Lite Codec Pack. Following are the summary features and functions of them.

Advanced Encode Decode Tools supports only Hi-Fi sound compression algorithms, unique AC-3 decoder, WMA, Ogg Vorbis, Mpeg Audio Layer 3, WAVE file formats. Features include a user-friendly, easy to understand interface (XP style) and also an Audio CD grabbing function that allows us to “rip” CDs and convert them into any of the supported audio formats.

Advanced WMA Workshop is digital audio converter with Windows Explorer-like interface, allowing us to encode WAV, MP3 and OGG files to WMA 8 (Windows Media Audio format with variety of format settings (from 8000 to 48000Hz, up to 192kbps), convert WMA,MP3 and OGG files to WAV PCM format, convert WMA files to MP3 format using LAME encoder, and convert WMA to OGG Vorbis format. Audio formats conversion is performed directly, without any temporary WAV files, this fact means higher converting speed and economy of hard disk resource. Advanced WMA Workshop internally supports WMA 8 format, WMA 8 encoder improve quality of encoded audio of 30 to 50 percent over WMA 7. We can encode and decode audio files one by one, results in increased performance in case of mass encoding/decoding. We can also edit ID3v1 Tags and copy it from MP3 to WMA file while recoding. Also we can fast and naturally transcode Audio CD tracks directly into any of WMA 9 format, OGG Vorbis, MP3, WAV PCM, APE or FLAC format, using jitter correction to compensate reading errors.

Windows Essentials Codec Pack is a collection of the most essential Audio and Video DirectShow Codecs and Filters for Windows, that enables us to play and view almost all music and video files downloaded from the Internet. It adds support for (S)VCDs and XCDs as well as 3GP, AAC, AC3, APE, AVI, DivX, 3ivx, DAT, h.264, x264, Nero Digital, DTS, FLV, FLAC, HD-MOV, MPEG-1/2, M4A, MP3, MP4, MO3, MOD, MKV, OFR, TTA, OGG/OGM, S3M, Vorbis, VOB, XviD, XM, WV, UMX and many other formats. Essentials Codec Pack also includes Windows Media Player Classic. An integrated auto-update can automatically check for updated codecs. We can stay up to date with the latest codecs with the Audio/Video Codec Update Service, and eliminate the many conflicts and errors caused by using multiple codecs to decode the same file types. Windows Essentials Codec Pack is designed as a user-friendly near complete solution for all our video and audio needs, with it we can play any video/audio file with our favorite DirectShow media player or with the (included) Media Player Classic.

K-Lite Codec Pack (Full) includes 99% of all the audio and video codecs we will ever need. Just install this pack, and we will be able to play just about any media file out there. It includes DivX, XviD, x264, MPEG 1/2, MP3, Monkey’s Audio, Media Player Classic, On2 V6/V7 and many others. The installer lets us choose which codecs to install, or we can use the default profile which installs all of them. K-Lite Codec Pack also provides access to configuration options for each codec whenever available.

If we want to gain high quality of audio and video, Advanced Encode Decode Tools is a good choice. Advanced WMA Workshop has a Windows Explorer-like interface; even beginners can master it soon. Windows Essentials Codec Pack and K-Lite Codec Pack support almost all audio and video formats. Windows Essentials Codec Pack features essential audio and video DirectShow codecs and filters. It is an ideal solution for advanced users. Why are you still reading? Download a powerful audio and video encode decode tool and enjoy your audio and video now!

One of the great advantages of satellite radio is the fact that the programs are not interrupted by commercials. This is because the provider’s income comes from listeners and not from advertisers. Satellite radio services offer around 70 programs of commercial fee music channels each and you have a great variety of choices, from mainstream rock, hip-hop and dance music to folk music, opera, blues and many more.

Another great thing about satellite radio is the absence of static. You can be driving from the West Coast to the East Coast in the United States of America and you will not get any static at all on the way. The satellite radio signal is digital, which means that you will get crystal-clear sound wherever you go.

Satellite radio tuners receive, along with the actual radio programs, an influx of metadata that consists of information regarding song title, artist, radio program and radio channel. This means that your satellite radio receiver will display all the necessary information about what you are listening to. For instance, if you hear a great song and you want to know which artist sings it, you just look at the receiver’s display.

All satellite radio programs are uncensored. This is one of the reasons why artists like Howard Stern chose to move their shows on satellite radio. You can also listen to your favorite hip-hop songs without the interruption of those annoying ‘beep’ sounds.

Satellite radio programs also offer information about local traffic and weather conditions. The information is very detailed especially for those who live in big cities. If there is a major national calamity and other terrestrial radio stations will not work, you can always count on getting accurate information from satellite radio program. You can also listen to satellite radio online on your computer.

If you still are not convinced on why you should pay money for something that you can get for free, think about how much time you have wasted listening to commercials and all kinds of other boring stuff on terrestrial radio programs. Traditional radio is not free, despite the popular belief. It is time-consuming and irritating because you have to listen to five minutes or more of commercials so that you can finally hear a song you like. The satellite radio subscriptions are very affordable and, for around 13 dollars per month, you get exactly the programs you want, which you can listen to wherever you are, at the best sound quality at http://www.reviews2.info.

Satellite radio is great for you especially if you travel a lot. If you are traveling across the United States of America, for example, you can listen to the channel or channels you want during your whole trip, without losing signal or getting static. If you have a traditional radio, you will have to keep changing channels every hundred miles, but if you are using satellite radio you do not have to do that because the geographically availability of programs is not a problem. Satellite radio subscribers will soon get the chance to watch video programs as well. Both Sirius and XM services have announced their intention of introducing in the near future a variety of video satellite channels that will have some of the great advantages that are currently available to satellite radio: commercial free programs, great quality of sound and vast geographical availability.

If you’ve chosen your dream car audio system, and are ready to turn your basic stereo into a full-blown mega-sound system, you’re going to need to be able to install it properly. Even the best, most expensive car audio equipment won’t sound up to par if something wasn’t installed properly. The speaker’s sound depends on the car audio amplifier and the type of enclosure. The amplifier depends on the current, and the current depends on the alternator and the wiring. All of it is connected and if one area wasn’t installed properly, the rest can’t succeed.

Speakers: The first thing you should do is figure out where you want to place the speakers. Car audio speaker placement is crucial to the quality of the sound. Generally, it’s best to leave the distance between the left and right speakers as small as possible. Some have better luck placing the speakers on the floor, but with this position comes the risk of sound emanating from beneath your feet which can be distracting to some people. When starting the installation process, try placing the speakers in various locations as a trial and error process, to determine which one works for you before you go to the trouble of installing them permanently. After you’ve found the right place for your speakers, you’re going to need some material like Dynamat or something similar to stifle the vibrations.

Cables: Next is cable installation. How you connect the speaker cables as well as their location is vital to achieving that top-notch sound you’re after. Some people choose to install huge amplifiers to get the best sound, when in actuality, all you need are quality, properly installed cables.

Car Audio Amplifiers and Head Unit: You can opt to use the factory wires or you can give the head unit a separate circuit with other wires. If your car stereo has quality existing factory audio you shouldn’t really need an additional circuit. Again, use high-quality cables and don’t skimp on clamps and distribution blocks. During this time, you can also install filters. Noise filters get rid of unwanted inline noise in your car audio setup caused by interference from your car’s electrical system.

Next you will need to build a speaker enclosure. There is no definitive rule on what type of enclosure works best with specific car audio systems. You should just choose the type of enclosure that will maximize the level of sound you desire. Feel free to experiment with different shapes and sizes until you find one that produces the sound quality you’re after.

Installing your car audio system is a highly personal and rewarding experience. It is a great accomplishment to have the finished product complete and ready to rock, but don’t be discouraged if it takes you a few tries to get it where you’d like it to be.

• Pair of compact headphones for use with portable audio devices
• Sport clip design fits neatly around each ear (eliminates the headband!)
• Titanium-coated high-polymer drivers deliver accurate sound reproduction
• Neodymium iron boron magnets offer deep bass performance
• Cord measures 4 feet long; 3.5 mm plug; limited lifetime warranty

Product Description
Product Name: KSC75 Titanium EarphoneMarketing Information: The KSC75 Titanium Earphone delivers unbelievable sound reproduction while clipping comfortably over the ear. Soft, foam ear cushions, guarantee an open, hear-through sound-perfect when you want to stay connected to your surroundings. A 2 mil. titanium coating on its diaphragms increases the rigidity of the element, minimizing mechanical distortion and ensuring exceedingly accurate sound reproduction. Oxyge… More >>

Koss KSC75 Portable Stereophone Headphones

No one car speaker can handle every frequency. That’s why car audio experts use more than one type of speaker. Connoisseurs of music and car audio systems will employ speakers that will recognize the lower frequencies, as well as the higher.

You’ve probably already come across subwoofers which are large speakers that play lower frequencies, usually bass. These consume a high amount of power, which often needs to be regulated by an amplifier, so that there are no power spurts.

Subwoofers enable you to hear the lower frequencies, which are around 30hz or 30 sound waves per second. However, subwoofers cannot adjust to higher frequencies, which can reach up to 20,000hz or twenty thousand sound waves per second. There is a vast difference between the frequencies and no car audio speaker is able to handle both.

So to handle higher frequencies, manufactures came up with the tweeter – a very small speaker that is only around two to three inches and can handle the higher frequencies of instruments and singers. This mini but powerful speaker is unlike the subwoofer, mainly due to its size, since it is highly efficient. Unlike a subwoofer, you can increase the volume without draining much power either! Combined with a subwoofer, your music system will drastically improve the quality of sound.

Mid-range speakers also exist. These fill in all the frequencies that the subwoofers and tweeters cannot touch. Between the sizes of the two at around 5 inches, mid-range speakers essentially cover the range that is not covered by subwoofers or tweeters. They also come in a range of shapes, which make them ideal for fitting into cramped corners.

Mid-range speakers are also combined with tweeters in a two way or three way speakers. This is mainly done to save space and wiring time. Each cone of a speaker is set to handle the frequency range of either mid-range, or a higher frequency.

Adding subwoofers, mid-range and tweeters to your system will drastically improve your car audio’s frequency range, meaning you can hear all of the music, rather than bits of it. Subwoofers will allow you to hear the bass, but if you solely use a subwoofer you’re likely to miss out on the higher notes of the singer’s voice.  Combine all three speakers to hear all of the frequencies and enjoy your music to its full extent.

Interested in looking at car audio systems? Have a look at www.caraudio4u.co.uk