http://www.ecoustics.com/latest/articles Latest articles, updated every five minutes http://www.ecoustics.com/hemag/articles/21395 The solution for an exceptionally large theater: towering speakers and towering amplifiers, all artfully concealed. Tue, 03 Nov 2009 03:03:11 -0500 http://forum.ecoustics.com/bbs/messages/34579/583593.html Sun, 02 Aug 2009 08:01:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/pcw/howto/168177 Calibrating your HDTV and carefully setting up your speakers will give you a great picture and rocking sound. Mon, 27 Jul 2009 01:00:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/pcw/howto/167151 Want to record the audio that's coming through your speakers? Windows XP made this easy, but in Vista it requires a little third-party help. Mon, 22 Jun 2009 20:32:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/pcw/howto/162757 No Mute button on your keyboard? Here's a simple way to transform your Caps-Lock key into something more useful. Tue, 07 Apr 2009 17:33:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/guide/228 Imagine Die Hard without explosions, Bond without the bullets, or The Matrix without kung-fu. Translation: Speakers are nice. However, if you’re serious about sound, you may want to include a subwoofer in your home setup.To put it simply, the subwoofer is the heart of the system when it comes to low-frequency sounds. While the sub...Read | Permalink | Linking Blogs Fri, 13 Mar 2009 03:00:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/guide/224 It used to be that the only way to get music to more than one room of your home was to hire a custom installer, punch holes in your drywall to run CAT5 cable from room to room, install in-wall or in-ceiling speakers, and purchase a complicated multi-zone receiver and a high-end remote control. While this is still a good way to go, however, and often offers the best quality possible for a whole-home solution, it can be costly and is unrealistic and intimidating for many a homeowner. If you fall into that group, take heart: There are many manufacturers that are...Read | Permalink | Linking Blogs Fri, 06 Mar 2009 03:00:00 -0500 http://forum.ecoustics.com/bbs/messages/34579/556241.html Thu, 05 Mar 2009 14:42:00 -0500 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/talk/285 I've been spending the last week playing World of Warcraft on my new Mitsubishi 60-inch TV, and moving music around the home. We'll talk about the TV experience in a future post, but I've been covering products that pretend to move media around the home for some time, and most turn out to be really disappointing. The biggest problem, for some reason, is the concept of a “party mode.” This is when you have multiple speaker systems playing the same song. Your parents and grandparents likely could do this in audio systems they had in their homes, why is it s...Read | Permalink | Linking Blogs Wed, 18 Feb 2009 03:00:00 -0500 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/guide/198 It's not time for a full PC upgrade just yet, but the love you felt for your once-shiny, new PC this time last year has faded. Time for the computing equivalent of a marital aid. A slick new keyboard, big bright LCD monitor, a sleek wireless mouse, a web cam, a wireless headset or a nice set of speakers can go a long way to reigniting your love affair with the erstwhile cutting-edge machine. And when it does come time for an upgrade, your new peripherals come along for the ride.LCD monitorA big LC...Read | Permalink | Linking Blogs Tue, 27 Jan 2009 03:00:00 -0500 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/guide/185 You’ve purchased a beautiful big-screen HDTV, and now you want a tuneful home theater audio system to go with it. Shopping for a surround-sound system, however, can be mind-boggling. Not only is the difference in quality across the spectrum of available speakers vast, there are several different types of systems that you can purchase – from floor-standing models, to bookshelf speakers, to all-in-one designs. Adding to shopper confusion, speakers are notoriously hard to buy because their sound depends, in large part, on the nature of your room. Finally, there are really inexpensive choices that sound terrible, but there are also some bargain systems from respected manufacturers that sound incredible (the same is true for more...Read | Permalink | Linking Blogs Tue, 30 Dec 2008 03:00:00 -0500 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/guide/148 The lights go down, the curtains part, the Blu-ray player starts to spin, and the speakers fire. Thus begins the total suspension of disbelief that results from a great home theater. To really pull it off, however, you must consider the entire experience rather than simply sticking a system in a room and hitting the play button. Taking into account the nature of your room, aesthetic details and performance tweaks will make your home theater more cohesive and enjoyable. Here are five vital tips that, though simple enough, will dramatically improve your home audio and video experience.Be Conscious of Room AcousticsHave you ever noticed that when you move into a new house or apartme...Read | Permalink | Linking Blogs Mon, 03 Nov 2008 03:00:00 -0500 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/guide/147 Serious home audio enthusiasts are in luck this year: There are plenty of great new home theater-ready models just itching to tickle your eardrums for the holidays. Want to see what you’ll be rocking out with well into 2009? Check out the following product gallery, and don’t say we didn’t warn you – these recommendations are sure to keep the good times rolling for months to come. Yamaha YAS-71, $600 Yamaha was the first company to create an all-in-one speaker that provides simulated...Read | Permalink | Linking Blogs Thu, 30 Oct 2008 03:00:00 -0400 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/pcw/howto/145154 Wireless, multiroom home audio is here, sort of. But wireless HD video is still mostly a pipe dream. Tue, 29 Apr 2008 17:20:00 -0400 http://forum.ecoustics.com/bbs/messages/34579/383998.html Tue, 28 Aug 2007 18:29:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/talk/162 In the best of all possible worlds, I’d get a chance to hear any speaker I review before I review it. In the real world—where even three major trade shows a year don’t offer enough first-hand demos for a busy, quota-driven audio editor to work with—I look at product literature and pictures instead. And the first thing I look at is size.           Would it surprise you to learn that I prefer smaller speakers to larger ones? If you assume that’s because of my workspace, you’re half-right. My 19 by 14 by 9 foot room totals just under 2400 cubic feet, making it more suitable for small and midsized speakers than... Wed, 03 Jan 2007 03:00:00 -0500 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/feature/64 A ballroom dancer, a spaceship, and a robot bartender. What do these three things all have in common? They’re on display currently at Wired Magazine's NextFest event. What is NextFest you ask? It’s a showcase of emerging technology that could one day change the world we live in.The show features over 130 exhibits and is being held this year in New York at the Jacob Javits Center for three days. The event also has guest speakers, panels, and live demonstrations of some of the coolest geek-related stuff around. We went and covered the highlights of the show so you won’t miss out if you didn’t get a chance to stop ... Wed, 04 Oct 2006 03:00:00 -0400 http://forum.ecoustics.com/bbs/messages/34579/270676.html Tue, 19 Sep 2006 06:16:00 -0400 http://forum.ecoustics.com/bbs/messages/34579/270631.html Tue, 19 Sep 2006 06:04:00 -0400 http://forum.ecoustics.com/bbs/messages/34579/270571.html Tue, 19 Sep 2006 05:36:00 -0400 http://forum.ecoustics.com/bbs/messages/34579/270547.html Tue, 19 Sep 2006 05:30:00 -0400 http://forum.ecoustics.com/bbs/messages/34579/270538.html Tue, 19 Sep 2006 05:27:00 -0400 http://forum.ecoustics.com/bbs/messages/34579/270531.html Tue, 19 Sep 2006 05:22:00 -0400 http://ecoustics-cnet.com.com/4660-10165_7-6516431.html?part=ecoustics-cnet&part=ecoustics-cnet&subj=video This course really gets into the nitty-gritty of setting up your home theater: whether to do it yourself or hire a pro, where to place speakers and furniture, and even lighting and soundproofing. Thu, 04 May 2006 00:00:00 -0400