sound

Big-name iPhone/iPod speaker manufacturers like Bose and Logitech have recently rolled out new products designed to wirelessly stream music from your iOS devices using...Bluetooth. Wait, wasn't AirPlay supposed to take over in this space, promising better compatibility, range, and sound quality? It was, but as good as AirPlay is, it's not a great choice for iPod speakers this year, especially with the Bluetooth alternative. Here's why.

Bluetooth works nearly identically to AirPlay on iOS devices When we reviewed LG's LSB316 sound bar with built-in Bluetooth, we were surprised at how easily the Bluetooth feature worked with our iPhone 4. It felt exactly like AirPlay, offering the same compatibility between apps, and it even uses the AirPlay icon. If nobody told you it was Bluetooth, you probably wouldn't even realize you weren't using AirPlay.

AirPlay products are prohibitively expensive so far If you really want AirPlay, you can plunk down $600 for the B&W Zeppelin Air Speaker, but that's about four times more than most people want to spend on an iPhone speaker. JBL's On Air Wireless costs $350. Even iHome, known for its budget iPod speakers, is charging $300 for its AirPlay-equipped iW1.… Read more

Though it's a sad comment on humanity, apps that play sound effects (preferably crude ones) are a popular source of entertainment. It's in our DNA. I'll bet that early cavemen invented the whoopee cushion before they mastered fire.

But if your sound effect needs are beyond the scope of your garden variety flatulence app, there's an excellent and free piece of software out there called SoundPlant that allows you transform any Mac or PC into a custom soundboard.

Honestly, the idea for this How To came to me as I was walking through my local Halloween … Read more

In the early days of the iPhone, Bose was one of the first major companies to make a big push into the iPhone/iPod speaker dock market with its SoundDock. Now the company is hoping to reach an even larger, platform-agnostic audience with a new portable Bluetooth speaker, the SoundLink Wireless Mobile.

As with all of Bose's significant launches, the company takes great care in introducing its product to the media, with a carefully orchestrated presentation followed by hands-on demos using iOS and Android Bluetooth-enabled devices. The top of the Trump Soho was the stage for the SoundLink Wireless … Read more

The first version of the Harman Kardon SoundSticks came out around the same time as the translucent iMac G3, and there's a reason why they look so similar: both were designed by Apple's lead designer, Jonathan Ive.

There are three parts to this PC speaker system: dual 10-watt satellite speakers and a 20-watt subwoofer that sits on the floor.

But even though Apple has since moved away from the see-through design, Harman Kardon retains the clear plastic transparency across the board, this time lowering the intensity of the internal blue lights so they aren't quite as distracting … Read more

Jason Scott from the Internet Archives stopped by the CNET New York office last week to tell The 404 Podcast why nothing is too small to earn a spot in cyberhistory. Jason's virtual contribution (one of many) is his collection of Netscape buttons; ditto for this "Under Construction" GIF graveyard. The Bleeoo Project is doing its part on a less serious level with a site that lets you record your best impression of a dial-up modem.

Bleeoo.com is a safeguard to maintain our memory of a time when we waited for a box to call an … Read more

A wise man once said, "Sometimes the simplest how-to is the best how-to." Or maybe it was a blogger who uttered those words. Regardless, I have the simplest of ways to improve the audio output of an iPad 2, thanks to a blog post I stumbled upon at iPad Academy. The tip is so simple I can't believe I hadn't thought of it myself. And after trying it, I can't believe how effective it is. All you will need for this tutorial is a hand.

For all the design praise heaped on the iPad 2, … Read more

As any record buyer knows, LP quality varies a lot. I'm not just referring to the dusty old records sold at yard sales; some new records have noisy grooves, clicks and pops, or they're not flat. Those imperfections are common vinyl woes; making consistently quiet records has never been easy. That's why I was thrilled to hear that Quality Record Pressings (QRP), in Salina, Kansas, employs the most advanced technology ever used to manufacture LPs. The proof is in the listening, and the sound is spectacular.

I spoke with QRP's Chad Kassem about the undertaking, which … Read more

Hot on the heels of its freshly updated lines of CD car audio receivers and mechless decks, Sony has just unveiled an iPod/iPhone integration kit for those who want to keep their car's stock head unit in place. More accurately, the Digital Link Sound System is a collection of car audio technology that has been bundled for easy purchase and optimized to work together.

There are actually two Digital Link Sound System packages available. The first is the XDP-MU110, which comes in three parts: the DSP master unit, an iPhone cradle, and a remote controller.

The DSP installs … Read more

Pandora's share price is down 50 percent from its high but is still "dramatically overvalued," says one of the leading Wall Street tech analysts.

The company's stock was trading at just under $13 this morning, down from a high of $26. But Rich Greenfield, an analyst with BTIG Research, writes that "our conviction level in our sell-rated investment thesis has increased."

In a blog post titled "Why we would continue to short Pandora stock--remains dramatically overvalued" Greenfield said the Web's top radio service is worth "at best" $5.50 per share.

Pandora enables users to choose their favorite artists and musical genres and based on those choices the company uses an algorithm to determine what music to play. That is the limit on the control Pandora users have on what they hear.

The company offers an ad-supported service that is free of charge to users but limits them to 40 hours of free listening per month. Another service, called Pandora One, costs $36 annually and offers unlimited commercial-free listening. Since most of the users choose the free-of-charge service, advertising is vital to Pandora and lately it seems that the company is selling more of them.

One problem with that is throwing too many ads into the listening experience means Pandora risks alienating users, especially when YouTube and Vevo enable visitors to listen to music free of charge as well as the ability to listen to the same song over and over again, fast forward or reverse, and do so often without being pestered by any ads at all.

Pandora's real problem though is that the business model doesn't appear to scale well. Pandora must pay SoundExchange, the company that collects royalties on behalf of music creators, each time someone listens to a song. The larger Pandora's audience gets, the higher its costs.

In June, a SoundExchange spokeswoman explained Pandora's position this way "Because the rate they pay is based on per-spin, more listeners doesn't make them more profitable. It doesn't solve their problems. They have to make each listener more profitable." … Read more