speakers

From old tuba to new iPad dock

As we move further away from our analog roots and become more entrenched in digital music, what are we to do with the forgotten musical instruments of yesteryear? Austin, Texas, artist and art teacher Christopher Locke has an idea. He salvages old horned instruments to create incredible audio players for the most ubiquitous digital music devices around. … Read more

Ecoxpro waterproof speaker case floats iOS, Android, and Windows

A lot of the protective cases we cover here at CNET tend to be designed for specific devices and often iOS devices. But Ecoxgear's newly launched Ecoxpro speaker case doesn't discriminate, accepting any device that will fit inside its waterproof chamber, which also has enough space to fit other personal items such as a driver's license, car keys, and cold, hard cash.

Ecoxpro, which retails for $79.99 and is the step-up model from the Ecoextreme ($49.99), can be submerged up to 10 feet, according to its specs page, and has a built-in 3-inch forward-firing speaker. … Read more

Exclusively for CNET Members: Get a Panda Pal Speaker System and help save the giant panda

Did you know that Pandas International estimates there are fewer than 2,000 giant pandas living today? This week CNET Exclusives is pairing up with Accessory Power and asking our audience to shop to help the endangered Giant Panda. Accessory Power is hooking up the CNET audience with its GOgroove Panda Pal High-Powered Portable Mini Speaker System. The company has not only passed on a terrific deal ($16.99 with free shipping), it's also generously donating 5 percent of Panda Pal's net profits to Pandas International's Bamboo Project. Pandas International, a nonprofit organization, is working to help … Read more

Meet In2uit's stylish portable electrostatic speakers

TAIPEI, Taiwan--The Filo speaker is a portable, battery-powered external speaker that weighs just 1.5 pounds. Instead of the usual magnets, the Filo uses electrostatic technology to create sound. We've seen such technology used in clothes for wearable speakers back at CES.

In2uit's approach differs by making its electrostatic speakers stylish and trendy. The unit has an internal battery that will last 10 hours on a full charge. You can play music by streaming it from your smartphone using Bluetooth, or through the 3.5mm audio jack. The Filo will be available in July in various countries for the cool price of $249. … Read more

Iriver Blank Sound Donut looks yummy, tastes a tad pricey

O-shaped speakers are apparently in fashion these days. I recently reviewed Philips' SoundRing and now I notice Iriver is about to release its Sound Donut here in the U.S.

The speaker comes in a chocolate flavor, as well as a version that's a bit chocolate and mostly vanilla. As you might have already guessed, this is a Bluetooth speaker and it has a built-in microphone for making cell phone calls.… Read more

Get a refurbished Vizio sound bar for $59.99 shipped

HDTVs have notoriously bad speakers. That's understandable, if only because there's just not a lot of room for cones and whatnot inside those skinny LCD and plasma panels. It's also disappointing: here you spend all this money for a beautiful screen, and your ears pay the price.

The best way to improve the audio situation is to invest in a surround-sound system or a good set of stereo speakers plus receiver -- but that gets expensive.

A more affordable option: a sound bar, which is a speaker/receiver combo that sits above or below the screen and … Read more

Get a Logitech Wireless Boombox for $109.99 shipped

I love a good Bluetooth speaker -- especially when it comes with a kick-ass bonus.

For a limited time, Amazon has the Logitech Wireless Boombox for $109.99 shipped. And with that you get a $50 Amazon MP3 credit.

Update: Amazon is currently sold out of the Wireless Boombox, though it's still available via CircuitCity for the same price -- just without the $50 credit. Bummer!

The Wireless Boombox sports eight speakers for some reasonably powerful portable audio. And by portable I mean it has a rechargeable battery that Logitech says is good for up to six hours.

Although … Read more

When will we have perfect speakers?

Dome tweeters, cone woofers, metal ribbons, planar magnetic and electrostatic panels all do the same thing: They vibrate air to make sound. Those technologies have all been around for decades, but the goal of making a perfect-sounding speaker has yet to materialize, so it's pretty easy to tell the difference between a real piano and the sound of a piano reproduced over speakers. Same for drums, acoustic guitars, basses, violins, flutes, horns and voices.

Electric instruments and synthesizers should be easier to reproduce in part because they don't make sound on their own; we always hear them over amplifiers and speakers. Even so, it's next to impossible to make your home hi-fi sound like a big Fender guitar amp. … Read more

Creative unveils 'new genre' of audio device: Sound BlasterAxx

Not surprisingly here at CNET we get a ton of press releases e-mailed to us announcing new products. Most are fairly bland, but Creative's media pitch for its upcoming Sound BlasterAxx line of speakers is one of the more amped-up ones I've received lately, reading like an ad for a new energy drink. In fact, I think the PR person who wrote it had three Red Bulls before he or she started typing.

Here's a little taste. Careful, it's rich:

Creative Technology Ltd today announced the Sound BlasterAxx, a whole new generation of Sound Blaster and … Read more