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/11874/ Hi everyone. I thought I would post this because I hear so many people driving around that obviously don't know how to do this. When setting up your head unit(radio), the goal is to have all of your speakers playing at the Thu, 18 Aug 2005 14:59:10 -0400 http://ecoustics-cnet.com.com/4660-3179_7-6257546.html?part=ecoustics-cnet&part=ecoustics-cnet&subj=video The latest DVDs and PC games back up their amazing visuals with all-encompassing 7.1 surround sound. Want to get an earful? We'll show you how to replace your PC's antique sound card with a 7.1-enabled version, and we also have tips on how to set up your new 7.1 speaker set. Fri, 01 Jul 2005 00:00:00 -0400 http://ecoustics-cnet.com.com/4660-3179_7-6257626.html?part=ecoustics-cnet&part=ecoustics-cnet&subj=video The latest DVDs and PC games back up their amazing visuals with all-encompassing 7.1 surround sound. Want to get an earful? We'll show you how to replace your PC's antique sound card with a 7.1-enabled version, and we also have tips on how to set up your new 7.1 speaker set. Fri, 01 Jul 2005 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/tl/11474/ I leased a 2005 Audi A6 today. I was amazed at all of the gadgetry that they are putting into cars. Of all of the cool buttons and levers in the car, one of the coolest for me was built-in Bluetooth integration which allows me to make and receive phone calls through my car stereo.Let me describe how this works. I started the car and turned on Bluetooth on my Treo cell phone. I clicked on "setup devices" on my phone and it automatically found the Audi's bluetooth connection. Within seconds, it recognized my cell phone.I used my phone to call my wife at home. After a brief delay, the phone call showed up on the car's main screen, my CD stopped playing and I heard my wife's voice on the car stereo speakers. It was beautiful. Even cooler was when I ended the phone call by pressing a button on my steering wheel and my CD continued playing from right where it left off.I can't wait to go for some more car rides so I won't have to fumble with my bluetooth earpiece anymore. I love it! Tue, 28 Jun 2005 17:21:22 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/tl/11336/ While a thermostat may seem like a pretty mundane consumer electronics device, it was a great addition to my home theater. The thermostat in my family room is mounted on the same wall that my home theater system is on (TV, speakers, components, etc.). The thermostat is less than 12 inches away from my amplifier, which has been known to put out a little heat from time to time. This would wreak havoc on the temperature in the room. When the amplifier was on, the room was too cold. If I adjusted the thermostat to compensate, the room would be too warm when I had the amplifier off.Of course, the obvious answer would be to move the thermostat. However, the only interior wall (which is where all thermostats should be placed) is the wall my home theater system is on, and it takes up the entire wall. Instead of attempting to rewire the thermostat to a new location (and patch the wall where it was moved from), I turned to technology for a solution.There are a couple of remote control thermostats on the market for residential use. The one I purchased is Carrier branded thermostat. However, I believe I ... Thu, 09 Jun 2005 23:39:47 -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/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/10276/ There are many different types of surround sound systems - 5.1, 6.1, &7.1 configurations as well as other products that only use one or two speakers. So many configurations make it difficult to determine the right number of speakers a surround sound system should have to give you a rewarding surround experience.The Facts about Surround SoundThere are many products that claim surround sound performance out of one or two speakers. Though some of these systems do a reasonable job of fooling listeners, do not consider any of them as surround sound systems. In order to be a surround sound system, you need to have sound coming from behind or the side of the listener. Single or two speaker systems can use certain techniques to simulate the surround experience, but the results can vary widely based on certain factors, such as room shape and acoustics. For this reason, these systems are often referred to as simulated surround systems. It can be compared to simulated driving in an arcade machine versus hopping into a real car and driving on the expressway. The simulated experience just isn't the same as the real thing.The remaining options are actual surround sound systems, consisting of ... 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