audio

iPanda audio system un-bearably cute

If you're not one for cute and cuddly audio systems, read on at your own peril.

Speakal, which not long ago brought us the iPig speaker dock system, is expanding its grip on animal-themed audio devices with the iPanda, a similar product in a less pink skin.

As its name suggests, the gadget broadcasts audio and charges iPods via a precious panda bear. Specifically, it has five speakers, including a 4-inch subwoofer, that deliver 25 watts of sound in 360 degrees. The compact iPanda connects to all iPods, plus other MP3 players, gaming consoles, mobile gaming devices, cell phones, … Read more

Sony XDR-F1HD: The best home HD Radio we've tested--and it's less than $100

As someone who's never been a big fan of AM/FM radio, I never really saw the advantage of HD Radio. At first, the all-digital format promised little more than CD-quality digital transmission of existing stations. Then the broadcasters added multicasting, offering "HD2" stations that weren't available at all on analog hardware. They even sweetened the deal by temporarily reducing or suspending commercials on those HD2 stations (though that program has recently ended).

But the thing that most retarded the growth of HD Radio adoption was the price of the hardware. The earliest tabletop HD Radios, for instance, cost upward of $500--not exactly an impulse purchase. In the years since, prices have tumbled: tabletop and in-car models hit $200 last year, and newer HD-enabled clock radios can be found for less than $100 now. Still, as far as in-home options go, none of the models we'd tested had really blown us away.

That's finally changed with the Sony XDR-F1HD.… Read more

What's the best midpriced AV receiver?

Update (February 12, 2009): Check out our follow-up story, with full reviews of all the products mentioned here.

I receive a lot of e-mail asking why we haven't reviewed many AV receivers in recent months. First off, let me say: mea culpa. Reviews coverage of this category has suffered, mostly because AV receivers are among the most time-consuming products to analyze (because they now need to be examined in detail for their audio and video performance). But enough of the excuses; here's what we're doing to remedy the situation. … Read more

Skype wirelessly with Drone Bluetooth adapter

Most new laptops have built-in Bluetooth these days, but if yours doesn't, you might want to get what CallPod introduced on Thursday, the Drone.

The Drone is not a regular Bluetooth adapter. It's a high-powered device that offers a range of up to 300 feet; that's 10 times the range of regular Bluetooth devices.

Designed mainly for audio purposes, once plugged in, the Drone is recognized by a computer as a speaker. The Drone's built-in firmware then streams the computer's audio feed to Bluetooth headsets or speakers.

For this reason, the device is perfect for … Read more

How to convert AAC to MP3

Even if you don't own an iPod, it can be easy to get sucked into the AAC trap. It's the default format used by the popular iTunes Software to rip CDs, and the program will prompt you to convert WMAs to AACs upon initial use if you have the Windows format living in your music folder. That's not to say AAC--or WMA, for that matter--is a bad format to use; in fact, some users prefer it to MP3. Plus, more and more portable devices are adding AAC support. However, MP3 is still the most widely supported file … Read more

Amazon.com has the Memorex MMP3780 1GB Digital Audio Player with Voice Recorder for $25.64, after $14.31 savings.

Save $14.31 on the Memorex MMP3780 1GB Digital Audio Player with Voice Recorder from Amazon.com >> Regular price is $39.95 >> Sale price is $25.64 >> Savings $14.31 (35.82%) >> Click here for deal

Best Buy gift cards with built-in speakers

Opening gift cards is always a bit of a letdown. They're great gifts--I'd much rather get a gift card than some expensive gadget that I don't want or already have, and which I'll have to return for store credit. But the moment of revelation itself? Oh, a plastic card. Kind of boring.

Until now. Beginning Tuesday, Best Buy is selling $50, $100, and $200 gift cards with a built-in mini-headphone (one-eighth-inch) jack, connecting cable and speakers. Why? Because they can! Plug any MP3 player into it and you'll be able to rock some tunes around … Read more

Lossless audio will come to portable players eventually

The great draw of portable MP3 players is quantity.

I remember when my wife and I took a six-month backpacking trip back in 1999. We never even considered bringing an MP3 player, which might have had a whopping 64MB of flash memory, enough for about a hour of audio compressed at 256kbps. Instead, we brought a Discman and about two dozen CDs in a soft case. We grew extremely bored with those CDs and ended up jettisoning or trading most of them.

Today, you'd laugh if somebody told you they were considering bringing CDs on a trip--why would you, … Read more

All-American hi-fi for Obama's White House?

America may not make world-class cars anymore, we don't build plasma TVs, or iPods, cameras, or all that much technology of any sort, but in high-end audio, we rule!

Come 2009 I'd love to see the best of the best American audio installed at the White House. The sort of system that the President could, after a hard day's work solving the world's problems, use to kick out the jams with a few James Brown or Parliament-Funkadelic tunes.

I'll volunteer my services to assemble such a system (donated by the manufacturers), with the following components:… Read more