http://www.ecoustics.com/latest/links Latest links, updated every five minutes http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/reviews/5620 The $500 price tag on Samsung’s HT-X710T system places it in the middle of the company’s home-theater-in-a-box line. Fri, 03 Oct 2008 11:12:43 -0400 http://ecoustics-cnet.com.com/Polk_Audio_RM95/4505-7868_7-32702832.html?part=ecoustics-cnet Its unusual triangular design helps the Polk Audio RM95 home theater speaker package project a spacious sound, but it can't rock out at higher volumes. Fri, 03 Oct 2008 06:15:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/pcw/reviews/151084 List: $150 Combination computer and iPod speaker set offers good sound quality and an attractive design. Thu, 02 Oct 2008 17:30:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/17924 Premium audio outfit Audio-Technica significantly expanded its headphone line-up on Monday with the release of eight new models. Spanning a range of styles and prices, the new headphones all adopt A-T’s typically high-quality drivers, and start at $60 and up. The newest batch of headphones represent three different styles: the ATH-SQ5A, ATH-CK6A,and ATH-CKM50A take on the standard over-ear form factor, the ATH-CK6A, ATH-CKM50Aand ATH-CK7A adopt the popular in-ear earbud model, and the ATH-ON3A, ATH-ES3A, ATH-FC700A and ATH-ES7 fit over thRead | Permalink | Linking Blogs Mon, 22 Sep 2008 12:30:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/17913 Making a pitch to athletic iPod Shuffle users sick of fighting with tangled headphone cables, RCA on Friday released its new S2501 Jet Stream portable media player. The smallish PMP discards both wires and Bluetooth for proprietary Kleer wireless audio transmission technology, which RCA claims offers better battery life and audio quality.The thin, 3.63-inch tall player offers a 1-inch color LCD for browsing music, viewing photos and playing video, a splash-proof body with a clip, and 1GB of flash mRead | Permalink | Linking Blogs Fri, 19 Sep 2008 13:45:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/17910 Buying an iPod dock that literally costs 10 times as much as an iPod takes a special kind of person, but luxury gadget guru David Wiener is betting that special person is out there. Wiener, who built a name for himself with high-end Ferrari-branded products, introduced the Art.Suono iPod dock on Friday, a $1,499 system that combines a heavy dose of automotive design influence with a new standard in wireless audio transmission.The dock, which basically amounts to a circular billet aluminum slab trimmed in carbon fiber, takes input from any audio source, including iPods, computers, CD players, MP3 plRead | Permalink | Linking Blogs Fri, 19 Sep 2008 13:00:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/17888 Giving notebook users one less wire leash to bind them to a desk, Creative on Wednesday unveiled the X-Fi Notebook card, which makes streaming audio to any pair of speakers easier. When combined with Creative’s Wireless Receivers, the X-Fi card can send digital music to up to four pairs of speakers.The card fits into a standard ExpressCard slot and transmits with a range of up to 100 feet, allowing notebook users to trade their tinny built-in speakers for a fulRead | Permalink | Linking Blogs Wed, 17 Sep 2008 12:50:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/17877 Ordinary PC speakers work great in situations where you can jam a computer in the corner and only worry about sound travelling in one direction, but if your room setup is a little more complicated, that might leave one side of the room woefully quiet. Logitech set out to fix this problem by creating a pair that throw sound equally in all directions: its new Z-5 desktop speakers, introdRead | Permalink | Linking Blogs Tue, 16 Sep 2008 12:40:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/17833 Audio gear maker Altec Lansing is in the process of rebranding itself, rolling out a new logo and Web site to convey the company's "rich history of groundbreaking audio innovation." We're sure that's what everyone's' going to pick out of black, white, grey, and gold…but in the meantime, the company has also unveiled a new desktop speaker system with a integrated subwoofers and three new iPod speaker systems.First up, the new eye-catching Expressionist BASS desktop speaker system look like black cones that sit on your desktop—but the bottom of those black cRead | Permalink | Linking Blogs Thu, 11 Sep 2008 12:10:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/17762 Plenty of manufacturers offer wireless speakers, but what happens when you want to save the sweet-sounding setup you already have in your living room, and take it wireless? JBL launched a simple solution for unwiring ordinary speakers on Thursday with its On Air WEM-1 wireless expansion module, which allows users to snip the cord on any pair of speakers.The On Air comes in two pieces: a transmitter to connect at source material, and a combined receiver/amplifier to hook up at the speakers. It provides 50 watts per channel, as well as a subwoofer output.  AccordRead | Permalink | Linking Blogs Thu, 04 Sep 2008 11:35:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/17718 The Brits over at Bowers & Wilkins have never been conservative with their designs. From zeppelin-shaped iPod docks to loudspeakers curled like seashells, the company’s designers like to push limits. But its latest release at IFA 2008 actually turns back the clock with a more traditional look, albeit one still drenched in B&W style.B&W has added onto its popularRead | Permalink | Linking Blogs Fri, 29 Aug 2008 13:35:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/17717 At this week's IFA show in Berlin Philips took the wraps off the CinemaOne, which the company says packs all the necessities of a home theater system—plus a CD/DVD player and an iPod dock—into a small, round container…complete with subwoofer.The CinemaOne packs a five-channel amplifier, a 4-inch subwoofer, and digital signal processing that can handle Dolby Digital, MPEG2 multichannel audio that the company saus can create a "realistic and immersive cinema sound effect" from the tiny box: it measures just 10.75 inches across and back and 6.75 inchesRead | Permalink | Linking Blogs Fri, 29 Aug 2008 13:30:00 -0400 http://news.ecoustics.com/bbs/messages/10381/511042.html Thu, 28 Aug 2008 12:01:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/17676 Pro-audio outfit M-Audio today expanded its line of studio-grade reference monitors with a pair of digitally controlled bookshelf speakers, the Studiophile DSM1 and its larger brother, the DSM2. Both use an array of digital electronic wizardry to tweak their sound for any scenario.The speakers offer dual Class D amps inside each cabinet (o Tue, 26 Aug 2008 12:40:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/pcw/reviews/150199 Microsoft wants to put an Xbox 360--and Sony wants to put a PlayStation 3--in every living room, and two gamers on every couch. Tue, 26 Aug 2008 01:02:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/ah/reviews/speakers/bookshelf/axiom-audio-epic-midi-400 Axiom Audio's Epic Midi system is a great "home theater-in-a-box killer" that starts at just $1338 and is built around the small M2 (v2) speakers. To get the most out of it, however, you'd want to opt for the much more sophisticated and powerful EP400 subwoofer - a $600+ premium that lands the system among stiff competition in the ~$2000 5.1 home theater speaker market. While expensive, the EP400 was the most impressive part of this system and stole the show as it certainly outperformed the expectations we had for what an 8-inch subwoofer could do. Mon, 25 Aug 2008 05:53:48 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/17651 Ipod docks may be getting pretty close to “a dime a dozen” these days, but that doesn’t mean you should have to buy a separate one for every room in your house where you want to enjoy music. Sony’s new S-Air Play Music system will bring music from a single iPod to every room in your house with the option of adding up to 10 wireless satellite speakers.The oval-shaped AIR-SA20PK accepts an iPod and plays music locally just like its competitors, but its dual Fri, 22 Aug 2008 15:30:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/17648 If you've ever considered getting into the DJ business with a pair if iPods, Sony would love for you to consider the newest entry in its Muteki series of speaker systems> the XROSS Fade LBT-DJ2i music system. The XROSS fade can mix and crossfade music from dual docked iPods as well as external sound sources like CD players, and push it out into a party with 450 watts of amplification.The XROSS Fade comes with a cross-fader with monitor cue and an integrated two-channel mixer, so aspiring DJs can check an upcoming track through headphones and due it up good and proper before setting it loose on a crowd. DJs can mix two songs together or blend seamlessly between two tracks. The con Fri, 22 Aug 2008 14:00:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/17630 Bose may already have one of the priciest stationary iPod docks out there with its $229 SoundDock digital music system, but the next iteration will set the bar even higher – and add a few features in the process. The SoundDock Series II, announced Thursday, will refine the original’s styling and add more player compatibility.While the original SoundDock and its succe Thu, 21 Aug 2008 11:55:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/reviews/5472 Like its predecessor, this receiver sets a very high standard in its price range. Highly recommended. Mon, 18 Aug 2008 09:37:41 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/17542 Home theater fans will tell you there's no substitute for a high-quality home theater system that's been carefully installed and tuned to a particular room. But everyday humans will often tell you that acquiring, installing, and tuning a home theater audio system is better left to another species entirely.That's where products like soundmatters' SLIMstage40 hope to get a foothold in the home theater market, offering high-quality home theater audio without requiring complicated installation or a degree in funny-colored wires and cryptic interfaces to install. The SLIMstage40 is an all-in-surround bare designed to fit neatly be Tue, 12 Aug 2008 13:30:00 -0400 http://news.ecoustics.com/bbs/messages/10381/507200.html Thu, 07 Aug 2008 17:52:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/17505 If you've ever wondered why you can't just load your video or images on a USB hard drive, plug it into your TV via USB, and put your content on the big screen…well, Iomega has the next best thing with its Screenplay TV Link. Screenplay TV Link takes the same audio and video technology in its Screenplay HD Multimedia Drive, but instead of packing its own internal 500 GB drive, the Screenplay TV Link lets users hook up their own USB storage devices, including hard drives and flash driv Thu, 07 Aug 2008 13:45:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/17492 Another day, another batch of iPod docks. Although Memorex has released share of vanilla iPod stereos in the past, its latest duo of docks step outside the norm a bit with full clock radio functionality, allowing users to wake up to their favorite tunes instead of annoying morning DJs.The company’s low-end entry, the Mi4019, features a low, squatty base with a top-side dock connector and large front display. Besides a small footprint that won’t add much clutter to a crowded nightstand, it also includes Wed, 06 Aug 2008 12:55:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/17478 Every audiophile knows the ingredients for a killer custom speaker cabinet: a pile MDF, veneer, countless finishing supplies, and hundreds of man hours. While that’s fine if you want to devote your life to your next pair of towering piano-black loudspeakers, Axiom Audio has made the process a lot easier by custom-building speakers with 2,082 different finishes, truly making them one-of-a-kind (and you won’t even have to break out the wood glue or respirator.)For those counting, that number comes from all the different speakers you can build with six differen Tue, 05 Aug 2008 13:35:00 -0400