cd

It was bound to happen eventually and, in fact, it's surprising that we haven't seen this sooner.

Blaupunkt's "Melbourne SD27" is the first car stereo that shuns CDs, according to SCI FI Tech, instead playing MP3 and WMA files with a front-loading SD card. To make things even easier, there's an optional adapter that can be used for an iPod, mobile phone or GPS device.

The writing was already on the wall for car stereos to go this route, but the kicker that could accelerate the trend even faster is this gadget's price … Read more

Bryston doesn't believe automation has a place in high-end audio manufacturing. They still hand-build CD players, and their full line of preamplifier and power amplifiers at their Peterborough, Ontario factory. The BCD-1 CD player was conceived with the audiophile in mind, someone who appreciates exceptional build quality and outstanding performance.

Rather than rely on inexpensive, off-the-shelf chipsets, the Bryston player's audio circuits use "discrete" devices--individual transistors, resistors, and capacitors. Each part is hand selected and installed, every wire is cut and bent by hand, every connection is hand soldered. This strategy, while expensive to implement allows … Read more

Perhaps you like the idea of an iPod Nike or even the "Code M" musical shoe. There's just one problem: Both require physical exertion. There may be a compromise in this idea for a sound shoe, which envisions a built-in CD player and speakers, as well as a volume knob and other controls on the side, according to Slippery Brick. Given that it's only a concept, we're curious why an MP3 player wasn't included--and a beer tap, for that matter.

Why couldn't we have found this item at the beginning of summer? Far more practical than the MP3 cooler we saw earlier is Cooltone's "Mini-Fridge, CD Player, iPod/MP3 Digital Radio" (whew). We'd list the features, but the name pretty much takes care of the high points.

GeekAlerts does provide the most salient information, however: beverage capacity. And that would be 20 cans or six bottles of wine from the main fridge back home. Consider it the perfect accessory for your MP3 barbecue.

Just for the record, turntables aren't the only types of audio equipment that occasionally resemble heavy machinery. It's just hard to resist singling them out when systems start to approach $1 million.

The latest example of industrial chic is the "Eagle Neo-Retro CD Player," whose prosaic name really doesn't do justice to its unique design. We would expect no less from the site of Art Lebedev Studio, the Russian design house that's been a darling among technophiles for such groundbreaking innovations as its "Optimus" and "Upravlator" keyboards.

The turntable is … Read more

I've written about CD Baby before. It's a great way for independent musicians to sell their recordings.

For a one-time fee of $35 per album, it will set up both mail-order distribution (for which it takes $4 per CD) and digital distribution through all the major music stores, including iTunes (for which it takes 9 percent of what the store gives its artists, which is usually about 60 percent of the list price).

A couple days ago, CD Baby began offering direct downloads from its site. According to an e-mail I got from a representative, CD Baby takes … Read more

Maria Schneider is a jazz composer, but on "Sky Blue" (artistShare) her music doesn't immediately sound like jazz--it's more meditative and expansive than what you might expect--it glides more than grooves. On paper her group, which has been together since 1988, looks like a big band, but it definitely sounds like an orchestra.

I recently spoke with Schneider about her music and she said "I want to create beauty and hopefully each time you listen to the CD, you'll hear something new." Well, with arrangements as densely layered as Schneider's that's … Read more

If you haven't yet made the transition to the MP3 world, you may well need a excuse for sticking with your CDs (let alone cassettes or 8-tracks). One possible reason to give your mocking buddies: You can't bear to part with your most excellent CD player.

That might not seem plausible until they see that you have "Metaphys" player from Japan's Hers Design, as seen on Technabob. Part music appliance and part parlor trick, this prototype machine plays a CD while the disc protrudes about a quarter-inch from the bottom of the vertical drive, making … Read more

The Register has an excellent article today on the compact disc, which was first pressed for commercial release 25 years ago. If you've ever been curious about terms like Red Book or 44.1, or wondered why CDs can hold 74 minutes of music, it's worth a read.

I have little to add. Except: Dire Straits' Brothers in Arms was not only the first CD that was recorded all digitally, but it was also one of the first in which the CD had different, longer versions of some of the LP album tracks. I specifically bought the CD … Read more