sound

NICASIO, Calif. -- Growing up in the 1960s, Ben Burtt was such a big "Star Trek" fan that when he went off to college at a school where he had no TV, he had his father record the audio from each week's episode and mail it to him.

Sitting in his dorm room, Burtt would listen to the shows with headphones on, taking in each new episode with no pictures. But he didn't need the video to understand what was going on. "It was so vividly portrayed with excellent sound effects," Burtt said, "… Read more

Bird Sounds Free allows users to learn more about the birds they are looking for, at least sonically-speaking. It's easy to use and provides crystal-clear bird calls.

Bird Songs Free is a fairly basic app, providing a very basic interface and limited features beyond the basic functionality promised in the title. It opens with a grid of bird pictures. None of the birds is labeled, so unless you know your way around a chart of bird pictures, you'll be largely tapping at random. There is no way to know the accuracy of the bird calls in the chart … Read more

No one can deny the popularity of sound bar speakers, but I've always been frustrated by their sound quality. There were exceptions; the $899 Atlantic Technology PB-235 and $699 SpeakerCraft CS3 are quite good, but in the more popular $300-to-$400 range the 'bars weren't all that great. Granted, they were a big step up from TV speakers, but their sound was still a compromise, compared with what's available from the better $300-to-$400 Emotiva and Audioengine self-powered stereo speakers (they get hooked up from your TV's stereo analog jacks).

A few weeks ago I spent … Read more

Nearly every sound bar claims it can create faux surround sound without extra speakers, and with a few exceptions, those claims are always overhyped.

The Vizio S4251w-B4 ($330 list) is one of the very few sound bar systems on the market that can deliver true surround sound, precisely because it augments the traditional sound bar/subwoofer configuration with two rear speakers. The combination delivers some of the best sound we've heard from a budget sound bar, and nothing at this price competes in terms of immersive home theater sound. The rest of the package is polished, too, with a … Read more

I've said it many times: the very best audio is frighteningly expensive, and so are the world's best cars, cameras, clothing, boats, and so forth. The good news is there are really pretty spectacular finds at the other end of the audio rainbow. I love it when I come across an over-performing budget-priced speaker, and lately, I've found quite a few. Here's a newly revised list of standout designs.

Since this list covers a broad range of speaker types, there's no ranking order; each one is exceptional in its own right. I have spent time … Read more

If glasses are adjusted for varying eyesights, why isn't the same logic applied to our ears? Today, most music players (that's probably your phone) are designed with a one-size-fits-all standard -- the manufacturer adjusts the audio tone and left/right balance to what might suit most people.

It turns out, however, there are differences in our hearing, including unique nuances in balance and processing.

Some phones do let you dig into accessibility settings to adjust left/right balance, but the Galaxy S4 might be the first phone that actually adjusts the audio output to your needs automatically.

Buried … Read more

SoundCloud is a compilation of different tools and features that you may be familiar with in different settings. Designed as a mobile social network for music and audio creators (and their listeners), the service serves as a great way to share your sounds while discovering new ones from friends and artists alike. While its hybrid nature leads to a few limitations, it is ultimately an engaging, exciting way to interact with music and podcasts.

After registering for a new account or logging in with your existing account, SoundCloud takes you to your home screen where you can start recording your … Read more

The sheer volume of options and tools in SoundHound is impressive, if nothing else because it really does its best to immerse you in your music as people tend to listen to it now--live and socially. The tool, itself, is designed to recognize tracks playing in the background and help you find the artist or album in its database; but it goes beyond that, providing music headlines, a list of the recent charts, popular music from its users, and a Twitter stream of top songs.

If you love music, you will love SoundHound. The app is designed to be as … Read more

If sound bars are the everyman's home audio system, the Sony HT-CT260 feels like the everyman's sound bar.

It starts with excellent sound quality, topping last year's sonic champ, the Haier SBEV40-Slim, and holding its own with the best we've heard this year, too. There's built-in Bluetooth, making it easy to wirelessly stream audio from just about every tablet and smartphone, and it throws in decoding for Dolby Digital and DTS for good measure. It has a signature, geometric design that's compact enough to unobtrusively sit under most TVs, but it also has a … Read more