cheap

Hey, cheapskate! No, not you, the guy who won't spend more than $100 on what is usually a bare-bones, off-brand monitor, with no warranty and a tech support service that won't return your calls, which of course you'll need since your new monitor is dead after two days. No, not you.

I'm talking to you, the guy who, maybe can do without HDMI but still wants at least a decently performing monitor with a few extras. Yes, you, come closer. No, closer...closer. Can you hear me OK? Good. It's sub-$250 monitors!

OK, the … Read more

One of my audiophile pals, Dave King, e-mailed me the other day about his latest find, the Dayton B652 ($25 per pair). It didn't arrive in time for my Top 10 audio bargains blog the other day, or it would have surely been included.

I've known Dave for 20 years, and we've listened to a lot of hi-fis together, so I know he's got great ears. And he knows how to get my attention: "I'm certain I recently discovered the absolute diminishing returns point in hi-fi loudspeakers. They remind me a lot of Wharfedale Diamond speakers of yore, but the B652 has a 6.5-inch midwoofer instead of the Diamonds' 4.5-inch." The original Diamonds were a really big deal in the 1980s; they were easily the best budget speaker of the era, but even then they were more like $60 or $70 a pair. They were probably made in England, the Dayton B652 is built in China.

It's a mid-size, black vinyl-covered monitor speaker, 11.7 inches high, 7.1 inches wide, and 6.5 inches deep. The front baffle hosts a 6.5-inch polypropylene woofer and a 0.6-inch polycarbonate ferrofluid-cooled tweeter. Dave liked the fit and finish well enough, but he wasn't too happy with the Dayton B652's spring-clip wire connectors. I agree, clip connectors never have much grip on the wires, so they can fall out when you move the speakers. I've seen those things on $100 speakers, but on a $25 speaker you can't really complain about spring clips.

One of the Dayton B652's more interesting design features is its acoustic suspension (nonported woofer. I like that because acoustic suspension woofers tend to sound better than ported ones, and Dave was impressed by the Dayton B652's bass definition. The downside to acoustic suspension designs is the bass doesn't go as deep as ported woofers do. The Dayton B652's bass is reasonably flat to 70 hertz, and Dave likes to use subwoofers with most speakers anyway. When I pressed him on the matter he said he thought most folks would be well-satisfied with the Dayton B652's bass on its own. … Read more

If you're going to get one accessory to go with your MP3 player, make it a decent pair of headphones. This may seem counterintuitive when you consider that all such devices come with a pair of earbuds in the package, but trust us when we tell you this stock set isn't doing you any favors in the sound or comfort department.

The majority of MP3 players include a pair of hard, plastic earphones with subpar sonic capabilities. Of course, they get the job done, so we can understand not wanting to drop a grip of cash on a … Read more

My guess is that anyone reading this blog probably also watched the big game last night (congratulations to the Saints and perhaps more importantly, to the city of New Orleans--you deserve it). During the second half of the game, a 60 second commercial came on with the soundtrack "The Green Police" (a take on "The Dream Police" by Cheap Trick in case you couldn't tell) that ended with what appears to be a green police approved vehicle moving on down the road. Well, the commercial was for the 2010 Audi A3 TDI clean diesel hybrid … Read more

Service contracts may chain you to a wireless carrier for up to two years, but they also can save you some serious cash when you're buying a new cell phone. And since carriers love holding on to their customers, they're quick to offer free phones of all types. Some handsets will just make calls, but others will offer media players, cameras, Web browsers, and full keyboards for messaging.

If you're looking for a phone that won't put a dent in your wallet, CNET has pulled together a list of free phones from the major carriers. Prices … Read more

Before you shell out hundreds of dollars on holiday hits like Modern Warfare 2, Assassin's Creed II, and Uncharted 2, you could easily be enjoying some of this generation's classics for a fraction of the price.

Console games are expensive and this holiday season everyone is watching their budget. So when Black Friday arrives, resist the urge to go straight to the new releases rack and instead pick up a few of these gems for yourself or the gamer in your life. Besides, if you haven't played these epics before, they're new to you!

Click on … Read more

What's the definition of a great hi-fi? It's the one you're listening to. Not just for background "listening," but actual, focused listening.

Investing a lot of money on a hi-fi isn't the only way to get there. In fact, spending as little as possible on decent gear is the best way to get acquainted with good sound. Who knows, you might become an audiophile.

My friend Matt Calderone might be on his way. He was given a used Denon DP-7F turntable, and recently bought a Kenwood KA-701 integrated stereo amplifier on eBay and a pair of Klipsch speakers through Craigslist. All told, he spent less than $200.

Calderone is 26 years old so I was curious about how and why he wound up with a hi-fi. He says he's always been interested in LPs, and he likes listening to them over a decent stereo, not computer speakers. Calderone thinks good speakers make a big difference.

It's not just that the sound is better, music engages on a different level when heard over a hi-fi. Calderone frequently winds up just sitting on the couch and get this, he listens to entire records! The music is the main focus; vinyl has that effect on some people. Calderone is going to add a CD player soon, but for now his system is analog only.

The hardest part of buying a used hi-fi is picking the right gear. If you're new to hi-fi ask an older relative who knows audio about which brands are worthy, but for starters I'd recommend steering clear of Sony and Bose products. I like Creek, Denon, NAD, Onkyo, Pioneer, and Yamaha amplifiers and receivers; look for used Advent, AR, Boston Acoustics, DCM, Epos, Infinity, Klipsch, Magnepan, Mirage, Monitor Audio, NHT, Polk, Snell, or Vandersteen speakers. For a few hundred bucks you can put together a very listenable used system. … Read more

Sure, you can probably score a better price buying audio gear online, and it's certainly easier, but is it a smart way to go? I don't think so.

First, buying hi-fi without listening to it is a bad idea. Smart buyers compare one product to another, it's simply the best way to learn what your choices are. Granted, it's not the same as hearing speakers in your own room, but at least you're hearing them in comparison to each other under the same conditions.

Online reviews, including the ones I write for CNET and print magazines offer my opinions about sound. But reviews by me or anyone else can't predict about how, say a speaker, works with a receiver that's similar to yours. I have no idea about your specific needs, your room size, acoustics, taste in music, etc.

Use my reviews as a starting point and then try and listen for yourself.

User reviews? Hey, I make my living writing audio reviews and my opinions are drawn from my experiences with literally thousands of audio products. I can point you in the right direction, but at the end of the day, its your ears and your money. Buy what you like; just make sure you've heard it.

A good salesperson can offer sound advice based on your specific needs. That's a huge advantage online sales outlets can't duplicate. Yes, finding the right store or salesperson can take time, but that's true for doctors, lawyers, plumbers, and contractors, but once you've found a good one, their advice and council can be a huge asset. If you're spending $500 or more for speakers or a receiver try to make the effort to hear the thing. A successful salesperson has lots of happy customers, there's no other way to be successful. I sold audio for 16 years, I know from where I speak. … Read more

I request a lot of monitors from various manufacturers without always taking into account their retail costs. Sometimes, I'm just much more excited about posting a review of the latest, greatest, coolest monitor, than I am about the cheapest.

Thing is, most users simply don't care about the latest, greatest, coolest monitor. Most simply want something that's low-priced and does what it does (shows pictures of whatever they're attempting to display) well enough that they don't notice any problems.

I've gotten plenty of feedback lately requesting such information. "What is the best monitor … Read more