audio

Goldmund, a Swiss-based company, announced the availability of its media room "that exceeds the quality and performance of the nation's top commercial movie theaters and director's screening rooms." They call it "perfection in an imperfect world." Goldmund competes in the ultra-luxury stratosphere of the audiophile universe.

The Goldmund Media Room has up to 128 channels of audio, individual amplifiers for each speaker, and uses proprietary technology to overcome challenging room acoustics. Using their high tech room modeling software, Goldmund's team of professionals determine the number of speakers, and designs all the signal processing … Read more

I love my Archos Gmini 220. It doesn't play movies, make phone calls, or take snapshots, but it provides me 20GB of digital music and files that I can take anywhere and transfer to any computer. It also only cost me $150 two years ago and is still going strong (with the help of one critical rubber band). It's also very solid as a lo-fi recording device for live shows.

While I don't need a portable music player that massages my back or sorts my laundry, I do need one that can shuffle my tracks randomly. Unfortunately, … Read more

Premium car audio systems from Bose and Mark Levinson are all too commonplace, so it's about time one of the world's leading high-end speaker manufacturers, Bowers & Wilkins (B&W) joined the fray with its all-new system for Jaguar's gorgeous XF sedan. At a joint press event last week in New York City Jaguar and Bowers & Wilkins showed an advance prototype of the 2008 XF model.

Unlike most car audio/auto manufacturer relationships where the audio supplier is forced to work with the "leftover" spaces to place its speakers and electronics, Bower & … Read more

If you're going to spend an arm and a leg for headphones, the last thing you want to do is have them lying around where they'd be most vulnerable to the occasional spilled beer. (Not that we would ever allow such wasteful behavior, at least where alcoholic beverages are concerned.) The Audio-Technica AT-HPS500 headphone stand has a solution that addresses this practical concern with a clean and simple design as well.

Made of acrylic and natural beech, this showcase pedestal isn't cheap at $65, according to Audio Junkies. But if you have a pair of $1,670 ebony cans … Read more

It's not too hard to remember a time when it required two hands to get a simple plug out. Things have since changed, and many manufacturers, especially in the gaming industry, are moving toward wireless peripherals, or including breakaways to remedy consumers stumbling over cords and taking the entire machine with them. The coolest one in recent memory is Apple's MagSafe power adapter, which not only makes your Mac laptop easier to plug-in, but keeps flying laptops at a minimum.

Replug is a handy product that's done the same thing for audio jacks. It's a two-part … Read more

Remember how every stomp by the T-Rex in Jurassic Park caused a puddle of water to vibrate? Now you can replicate the same heart-pumping effects at home with the JL Audio Gotham G213 subwoofer. This no-holds-barred goliath packs a pair of oversized 13.5-inch drivers powered by a meaty 3,800W amplifier. That's easily more than three times the juice pumped out by an average A/V receiver found in Asia.

Unadulterated brute muscle aside, this beautifully crafted, glossy-black piece also has a built-in audio equalization function. Dubbed "ARO" or Automatic Room Optimization, it smooths out the … Read more

Tom Hannaher of ZVOX Audio and I were chewing the fat about the state of the consumer electronics business when the subject veered over to flat-screen TV manufacturers. They're all under incredible pressure to slash prices while they load on more and more features, and it's getting kinda scary.

I've had folks in the TV biz tell me not to wait any longer to buy a flat display because the manufacturers are starting to substitute lower-quality parts to keep lowering retail prices. But long before they do anything drastic that would affect picture quality or reliability, they … Read more

CHIBA, Japan--Who said work and drinking don't mix?

A number of years ago, during an economic downturn, JVC had to lay off an engineer who had worked for the company for around 20 years. Sometime later, the engineer was in a tavern with a friend when he contemplated the squid snacks.

Why, he thought, are the squid so flexible? The bartender told him they soak in sake first.

The engineer had an insight into how to tackle a problem that had vexed acoustic engineers for years: how to make loudspeaker cones out of wood. Making speaker cabinets from wood … Read more

Like so many die-hard audiophiles I love tube amplifiers. They sound, well, tubey, that is, warmer, richer, and in many ways, more lifelike than transistor based designs. But the other thing about tubes is they look cooler than transistor based amps. Take a gander at these beauties from Emille Labs. Their stunning industrial design, gorgeous machined metal chassis, and solid build quality is altogether lacking in mass market audio components. If you enjoy living well, and like owning well-made products, by all means, check out what high-end audio companies are offering these days.