http://www.ecoustics.com/latest/articles Latest articles, updated every five minutes http://www.ecoustics.com/tl/23648/ I travel some and have a hard time hearing my music and videos on the airplanes. What I have found is that with a simple Portable Audio Amplifier I can amplify and enhance the sound quality to a much better level. There are a couple of different options when it comes to Portable Headphone Audio Amplifiers. One is the Boostaroo , which has the ability to will double the available volume from your audio player and separate the audio signal into individual stereo channels to drive 3 separate sets of headphones or speakers. Naturally it will depend on the ohm rating of your headphones, but the Boostaroo can increase the volume of your player by 100% with no more than a 0.3% harmonic distortion. If you are watching or listening to something that two or tree people want to hear I highly recommend the Boostaroo . If you are looking for something that improves the sound quality for MP3 MP4 Players Computers or Mobile Phones when using earphones or headphones and not so much into sharing the audio with others and are wanting a more quality for an awesome personal listening experience right between your ears I recommend the FiiO... Fri, 29 Aug 2008 11:45:09 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/tl/22775/ Mon, 16 Jun 2008 15:15:14 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/tl/18306/ In Parts 1 and 2 of this series, we discussed many things: the standby power supply, main power supply, horizontal and vertical deflection circuits, degaussing, and tuners. In Part 3 of this series, we will discuss the IF (Intermediate Frequency), AGC (Automatic Gain Control), sound IF, sound amplification, and the remote control circuits of the basic television set. IF (Intermediate Frequency) Circuits The most important feature of the IF amplifier is selectivity. Selectivity is the process of allowing only the desired frequencies to pass, while rejecting all others. There will be about three or four separate amplifier stages in a color TV IF circuit. By amplifying the signal in stages, the amounts of distortion in the IF signal waveform are reduced. The IF stages of a color TV set are fixed-tuned to a single IF frequency. Both the video and audio IF signals travel together through the IF amplifiers. The IF amplifiers need to have a bandwidth of at least 4.5 MHz, if amplification stages range from 41 MHz to 46 MHz. Traps through the circuits are used to attenuate transmission of the video carrier of the next higher channel, sound carrier of the current channel, and the sound carrier... Mon, 09 Jun 2008 12:30:05 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/talk/228 We are in the final countdown to this year's Consumer Electronics Show, one of the largest trade shows in the world. Here are a few products that look to be hot at the show. We will be writing more about them as they are announced next week. Automotive ElectronicsThis is where you go to see really crazy stuff. Traditionally in this part of the show they have cars that are rolling showcases of audio and video technology. In past years I’ve seen 4x4s with flat panel displays on the axils and in the wheels, cars where the engines have been removed and replaced with amplifiers, and things that looked like they once were cars but now look like some sort of mutated Transformer. Whil... Fri, 04 Jan 2008 03:00:00 -0500 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/talk/201 Some of you are really going to hate this column.           Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about my future. More specifically, I’ve been thinking about what an energy-scarce future might mean for my career as a writer and my chosen subject matter. I write about the audio/video universe: surround sound, big-screen television, and all the other products and issues that attend them. These things are products of an expansive age of cheap energy, an era when bigger is better, whether it’s your 7.1-channel audio system, your 60-inch TV screen, your McMansion, or your SUV.      &nbs... Wed, 18 Jul 2007 03:00:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/tl/18406/ From HD cables to HD discs to HD audio, discover how to get a deeper high-definition experience. When building (or adapting) a home theater for high-definition viewing, it’s best to start with the basics. In this case, the TV is the first thing that needs to be taken care of and, to be blunt, the bigger the screen the better... Tue, 22 May 2007 16:34:56 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/guide/75 You are a consumer gadget hound. You have the cool cell phone, the high-definition entertainment system, the keyless start on your new car. You also own an iPod and an Xbox 360, two top-selling products developed by rival companies Apple and Microsoft. Wouldn’t it be great if you could play some of the audio content stored on your iPod through your ... Tue, 20 Feb 2007 03:00:00 -0500 http://www.ecoustics.com/tl/14692/ You want your car to sound like a concert...right? If you want to get the best sound imaging from your car, Jexx has 4 killer tips to help you get that car audio system sounding it's very best. Read on to learn more! Mon, 16 Oct 2006 15:15:09 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/tl/14694/ This has two very useful purposes: 1) It can possibly provide a cheaper way of getting audio into your room and 2) Testing a head unit to be sure it works, and possibly even taking pics to post on ebay (I've found my head units sell better when the consumer sees that it is Sat, 12 Aug 2006 03:08:30 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/tl/11485/ Question:I recently bought an HP Photosmart R717 digital camera. I have a 256 MB memory card; the camera is 6.2 MP, and so the card holds about 80 pictures. Each time I take pictures I upload them onto my computer, but I think I'm supposed to delete them off the memory card after I upload them. I know that to print the pictures, you can take the memory card to a printing kiosk. So, if I delete the pictures from the memory card after I upload them onto the computer, at some point can I load them back onto the memory card so I can take the memory card out of the camera and print off the pictures? If yes, how do I go about loading them back onto the memory card? I know I could print them from my actual printer, but the quality just isn't as good.-submitted by janettestarAnswer:Your question is a fantastic one, and no doubt one that many digital camera owners have wondered. For those picture perfect moments, a professional printed picture usually looks better than a self-printed one. After you have finished taking pictures, you should delete them off of the card and store them ... Thu, 30 Jun 2005 17:45:26 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/tl/11477/ Many of my friends have iPods. Just about all of them have one way or another to listen to their iPods in their cars. I've tried several ways, some work better than others: Wed, 29 Jun 2005 14:05:51 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/tl/11460/ Every day it seems that MP3 players come out with more memory and are getting smaller and smaller. However, I continue to struggle with the fact that I still cannot live without two MP3 players. Here's my thinking. I've now conditioned myself that while in the car, I need to have an MP3 player with all of my music on it so I can listen to anything that I want while driving. Until hard drive MP3 players become a reasonable option built into the car, at least a 40G MP3 player that can hold most of my CDs is a necessity. Unfortunately, 40G hard drive MP3 players are still not easily carried around while working out. Mine often skips while running and it's awkward to hold even with a shoulder strap while lifting. So, the option that works best is a Flash-based MP3 player that slips easily into running shorts and holds around 100-200 songs, such as the iPod shuffle.We're getting closer, but the closest thing I've seen is the Cowon iAudio MP3 Player. But, it has no screen and although thin, is still pretty big.I think in another ... Mon, 27 Jun 2005 23:54:09 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/tl/11117/ Whenever I'm asked in the checkout lane of an electronics store if I want an extended warranty for a product, my immediate reaction is always no. And usually not just no, but no way. It's really hard for me to shell out money for something intangible, especially in a retail store. I'm spending $100 on a new device (on sale!) and they want me to spend another $30 or whatever on an extended warranty. Any way to get my money, I guess.But, when I step back and really think about what I would be buying, I realize that a warranty is basically an insurance policy. So, the questions that I ask myself before I answer the warranty question are:If this thing breaks after the warranty is up in a year or so,Will I care (because I won't be using it anymore)?Will it hurt my pocketbook to have to buy a new one?Or, will there probably be so many new features in a new product that I would want to buy the next evolution of the product anyway?In the end, for me, on any major electronic device such as a TV or high-end audio equipment that I'm going to have for ... Thu, 05 May 2005 01:28:56 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/tl/11024/ Two of my favorite activities are bicycling and listening to music. Historically, they have not been a good combination, because headphones can block out traffic noise that you need to hear to stay safe. Last year, I received a Rage helmet with built in speakers. It plugs into standard sound jacks on portable radios, CD players, and mp3 players. I first tried using it with my CD player. I was surprised at how well the speakers worked, and that I could still carry on a conversation with my husband, who was riding next to me. I do mostly trail riding which can be a little rough at times, and I had some problems with the CD player skipping. This convinced me that my new toy (the helmet) needed a new toy of its own. I bought it an MP3 player.I have been using the combination of the MP3 player with the speaker helmet for about a year now. I absolutely love it, and have loaded music specifically to help me keep a steady cadence when I ride. I find it hard to believe that there are so few helmet options like this. You can purchase the helmet at many sporting ... Tue, 19 Apr 2005 08:20:35 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/tl/10535/ As I mentioned in my article on the 2005 CES show, I'm very happy with the egrips that I added to my Treo 650. Although I don't often buy accessories for my gadgets, egrips is definitely worth the investment. egrips are form fitting grips for your electronic gadgets. They have a sticky backing that permanently attaches to your cell phone, PDA, or MP3 player to give your device a non-slide grip. The cool feature is that they are custom made for individual devices, which means you don't have to cut the material before you apply it to your device. It fits right around any external speakers, buttons, cameras, etc. egrips help you get a good grip on your device so that you don't drop it as easily. You can also put it on an incline such as a car dashboard and it won't fall off. I used to keep my phone in my lap when I drove which was troublesome, now I keep it on my console and can be assured that it won't fall off. Another alternative for holding your gadgets is a flat grip pad, much like a mousepad made by several manufacturers. However, I recommend ... Wed, 02 Feb 2005 13:32:26 -0500 http://www.ecoustics.com/tl/10531/ Question: I just bought a Memorex MMP8500 mp3 player for my son. I installed the software, but it does not bring up a Removable Disc Drive for me to use for copying songs from Real Player. Any idea how I can get that RDD to come up? -submitted by gmlarson Answer: As a note for everyone learning to use their MP3 players, not all players will prompt as a removeable disc in Windows, especially when they require a proprietary program to transfer music (Sony's NetMD MiniDisc players for example). The MMP8500 does allow access as a removeable disc drive, which does not require Real Player to transfer songs that are not copy protected. According to Memorex, both the internal memory and external SD/MMC card should be available as disc drives. If you're not seeing the device when connected, here are the possible reasons why: If you're using Windows XP, I would try removing the device driver you installed from the CD, reboot, and reconnect the device. Windows should assign its generic USB Mass Storage driver, and create a Removeable Disc Drive icon in My Computer. Memorex notes that changing the installation path of their software could interfere with ... Wed, 02 Feb 2005 00:22:42 -0500 http://www.ecoustics.com/tl/10424/ Question: I have a bunch of MP3's that, not so long ago, started playing with (bad) sound. The sound is similar to shaking a radio real hard while it is playing. Real shaky, breaking up sounds. I thought it might be my sound card, so I bought a new one and still have the same problem. Now.....I have a Radeon All In Wonder graphics card and I have the cable box connected to the computer. I can watch cable on my computer. With the same new sound card the sound is perfect. When I go back to play the MP3's the (bad) sound is back. It seems to only do this with MP3's and music videos. Can someone please tell me what the problem could be? Thanks. -submitted by jah711 Answer: Assuming that your MP3s were created from a CD that you own and that CD plays fine, your problem sounds like something that I have encountered myself several times. I suspect that these MP3s have always had this problem, but maybe you never noticed it before. It is not uncommon when you rip a CD that one or more of the resulting MP3 files end up corrupted. When played, ... Wed, 05 Jan 2005 23:51:16 -0500 http://www.ecoustics.com/tl/10334/ Playing music from a portable MP3 player in the car has always seemed obvious but for early adopters, it's been a struggle until recently. One increasingly popular alternative is using... Thu, 16 Dec 2004 09:41:11 -0500 http://www.ecoustics.com/tl/10309/ It's no secret that it takes a lot of knowledge to truly understand the world of home audio, which is littered with confusing numbers and terms. Wattage, current, distortion, frequencies, and impedance are just a few of the specifications anyone looking for an amplifier of home theater receiver is going to come across. With the thousands of choices in each category, it takes a little bit of background to use these specifications to make a great choice. In steps the watt... Evaluating and stating the wattage of an amplifier has become the single most important number to the amplifier shopper. Unfortunately, wattage is a highly misunderstood specification, which dupes people into buying products with a level of performance much lower than what is anticipated. 100 watts seems to be the magic number for most, thinking that as long as you have 100 of them, and no less, they'll be fine. However, even passenger side www on your car states that things aren't always as they appear. To be fair, wattage is an important number that can give a clear understanding of an amplifiers performance. A Watt, named after the British scientist James Watt, is a unit of power. And ... Tue, 14 Dec 2004 10:13:18 -0500 http://www.ecoustics.com/tl/10247/ Are you tired of lugging around those CDs back and forth to your car to listen to your favorite music while you drive? Do you get upset when you are in the mood for a certain CD only to find that you... Tue, 14 Dec 2004 10:13:17 -0500 http://www.ecoustics.com/tl/10047/ Why better cables?In 1979, a man named Noel Lee made a discovery. He determined that different cable materials impacted the sound when used to connect speakers to amplifiers. Noel used his discovery and crafted a special speaker wire using the name Monster Cable. This cable had a profound effect on the audio world. At the time, speakers were connected with the same wire used in household electrical appliances known as lamp cord. Today, Monster Cable has become a generic term for high quality cable, similar to the Kleenex brand of tissue. Since the inception of quality cable, hundreds of manufacturers have evolved to research and design quality interconnects for audio and video equipment. Without Lee and his efforts in the research and design of quality cables, the performance of your electronics would never be fully realized.Devices you buy for your home A/V system don't work if you just plug them into the wall. They need to be connected to the rest of your components in order to carry the output signals to where they need to go. Take a VCR for example: VCRs have an audio and video signal that goes out when you play a tape. These signals leave ... Tue, 14 Dec 2004 10:13:14 -0500