range

In real life a folk singer isn't as loud as a rock band, but once her recording is compressed she might be as loud as Metallica. Of course, with most types of music the sound isn't turned up to 11 all of the time.

There are quiet passages, and only the loudest parts, like the hardest drum hits, are really loud. We have the technology to accurately record music, but few record companies choose to make lifelike recordings.

The Loudness Wars refers to mixing and mastering techniques that squash music's natural soft-to-loud dynamics. Obviously, you can control … Read more

At this point, Fisker Automotive has been showing off various incarnations of the Karma series hybrid sedan at various auto shows for about four years now. It's practically done at this point. Not wanting to show up at the 2011 International Auto Show in Frankfurt with the same song and dance, the automaker slapped a hatchback onto its mustachioed Karma and dubbed it the Fisker Surf.

This week, the Surf shows off its shooting brake design in a B-roll video released on the Web by Fisker. Check it out below. There's no music, but if you crank your … Read more

With a limited driving range and charging stations that are few and far between, electric vehicle (EV) drivers have good cause to worry that they may not make it to their final destinations. But for many drivers, the mental stress known as "range anxiety" disappears after just three months of real-world zero-emissions commuting.

A study by the U.K.'s Technology Strategy Board (TSB) of 340 ultralow-emissions vehicle drivers--many of which are EV early adopters--found that after three months of driving an EV, range anxiety dropped by 35 percent (PDF). Before the study began, 100 percent of the … Read more

Most of today's music on CD, LP, or download is compressed to sound loud all the time. The engineers, producers, and record labels are afraid not to make music sound as loud as possible.

Dynamic range compression isn't new, it's been used by recording, mixing, and mastering engineers for decades. A little bit of compression is fine, but the unnatural onslaught of dynamically compressed sound obliterates musical nuance, delicacy, and emotional power. Compression's loud-all-the-time nature sucks the life out of music. The overuse of compression has become known as the Loudness War.

Before we go any … Read more

Kitchen appliances that have the ability to hide away will always find a place in the home. Sometimes they even hide away so well that they become part of the home. Unlike some compact countertop appliances that can find their way into the back of the cupboard--unintentionally fading into the woodwork--some low-profile appliances actually do their intended job while hidden from view.

Disappearing behind the cupboard over the stove, the Airone Aida range hood is designed to operate on the down-low. Offering a choice of motors with a wide range of power (800-m3/h to 1,780-m3/h), the range … Read more

The U.S. is creating a virtual version of the Internet--this one designed as a testbed to help the nation hone its defenses against cyberattacks, according to Reuters and other sources.

Known as the National Cyber Range, the virtual testbed would be set up by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the same agency that kicked off the Internet itself more than 40 years ago. The new simulated mini-Internet would give Washington the opportunity to carry out virtual cyberwarfare games as a way of testing different scenarios and technologies in response to cyberattacks.

To work on the initial development … Read more

Most of the music people enjoy doesn't sound very good. That's not to say it isn't good music, just that it doesn't sound great. I'm not picking on digital or contemporary music; most of my favorite Motown and Stax soul music from the 1960s and 1970s sounds like crap. Most rock music from any decade sounds cruddy; that's just the way it is.

A lot of today's best bands, including alternative darlings Arcade Fire, make awful-sounding recordings. I'm specifically referring to their Grammy Award-winning "The Suburbs" album from 2010; it'… Read more

Microwaves are no strangers to convenience. They are perfect little appliances when it comes to meal-making magic; just take a food product out of the freezer, follow the directions that were so thoughtfully printed on the wrapper and--just like magic--a ready-made meal appears. Even for those who prefer to actually cook a meal the old-fashioned way, the microwave can be a useful tool for more than just heating up leftovers.

The Bertazzoni KO 30 PROX Ventilation Microwave Oven offers something for everybody. The double-duty microwave, styled to match Bertazzoni's Design Series and Professional Series appliances, installs over the range, … Read more

Central to any kitchen is the cooking. But when speaking specifically of appliances, that begs the question of what kind of cooking. Not too many appliances are geared to tackle a variety of different methods of preparation. Finding one that does it all and delivers it in an attractive package can really make the kitchen shine.

The Thermador 48-Inch Pro Grand Steam Range combines convection baking with steaming, expands the gas burner cooktop, and throws in a griddle and a warming drawer for good measure. No less than six burners and two ovens provide all this fire (and steam) power.… Read more