Audio/MP3

Rhino's compilation CD box sets are are not only amazingly consistent; their creative packaging and superb music programming satisfy neophytes and seasoned collectors. Their latest offering from the ever popular Nuggets series, "Love is the Song We Sing: San Francisco Nuggets 1965-- 1970 " is a trip through the era's psychedelic and ragged glories. You get a healthy dose of greatest hits, gems like the Jefferson Airplane's "White Rabbit," and Santana's "Evil Ways" mixed with less heralded but truly stellar tunes like Kak's "Lemonaide Kid." I swear I'… Read more

If you're into cars you've probably have read a million stories about guys who invest tons of money and time restoring cars. You know the type, a baby boomer in Texas buys a '65 Mustang for $3K, and then over the next five years drops $30K to make it look brand new. But it's still a 42 year old car and no matter how pretty it looks, it can't compare, performance-wise, to any decent modern car, or for that matter, a brand new Mustang. The new one could blow the doors off the original, but it … 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

I'm back at my favorite record store and I see a guy approach the owner with a proposition: "I want to buy music to put it on my iPod and then resell the disc to you." Intrigued, I jumped into the conversation, egging the guy on. "That's a great idea. Buy new or used DRM-free CDs, burn 'em to iTunes, and what the hell, burn a CD to keep, and resell the disc." The technique won't be cost effective on every title, but say for example you bought a used copy of Smashing … Read more

Fact is, all of the wireless speakers I've reviewed for CNET still use speaker wires to do what speaker wires always do, deliver audio signals from power amplifiers to the speakers. And since wireless speakers have built-in power amplifiers, they need to be plugged into an AC wall outlet. So where a standard speaker has one wire, the wireless speaker has at least two! The "wireless" part refers to the system's ability to wirelessly transmit audio signals from the front of the room to the surround speakers.

The two wireless transmission systems, infrared and radio frequency, … Read more

Power Downloader's life is not always spent catching criminals and traveling the world. Every once in awhile, Power has to do tedious tasks like processing documents, adding content to a database, and organizing files. When repetitive work needs to get done on his computer, Power likes to listen to his favorite music to pass the time.

There are several good music applications to choose from, but some are stronger at certain things than others, and Power knows that not everyone uses the same program. Most people's music applications change over time and according to specific needs (like iTunes for managing music on an iPod for example), but one classic program has always been high on Power Downloader's list of favorite music applications: Winamp.… Read more

The New York Times reported today that three of the four original members of Led Zeppelin--Robert Plant, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones--will play a charity concert in London on November 26. Jason Bonham, son of Zep's original drummer John Bonham, who died in 1980, will fill in for his father.

The show will be a tribute to Ahmet Ertegun, founder of Atlantic Records. Zeppelin sold 100,000,000 plus records on Atlantic, so it's kinda nice the guys are showing respect for the man who believed in them from the start. The single performance show also includes … Read more

One-foot cube subwoofers are all the rage, but if you really want to feel the bass, size still matters. These three uber subs at last week's Custom Electronic Design & Installation Association (CEDIA) Expo in Denver, Colorado really shook me up.

Eminent Technology's TRW-17 Rotary Woofer ($12,900) will blow you away. Instead of a conventional woofer, it uses proprietary technology to create ultra deep bass, deeper than the largest and most powerful subs. Sure, it looks like an industrial strength fan, but the TRW-17's fluttering blades generate bass frequencies down to 1 Hertz (standard $1,000 … Read more

The Audiophiliac has been prowling the Custom Electronic Design & Installation Association (CEDIA) Expo in Denver over the past several days, looking for the latest and greatest audio products.

McIntosh's MT-10 turntable ($8,000) caused a stir. The turntable's bearing uses opposing magnets to "float" the platter and keep noise low.

I was blown away by Definitive Technology's new Mythos ST speakers ($3,600/pair). The skinny speakers somehow deliver truly deep bass, and the midrange and treble ranges were also exceptional.

Krell's iPod dock on steroids, the KID (Krell Interface Dock, $1,500) … Read more