I've recently reviewed most of the contenders for the world's best headphones: the Audio Technica ATH-W5000, Denon AH-D7000, Sennheiser HD 800, Grado PS-1000, Ultrasone Edition 8, and the best headphones I've heard so far, the Stax electrostatic SR-007Mk2. I listened to the Stax with the Woo Audio WES headphone amplifier. If you want and can afford the best, go for the Stax-Woo combination.
The HE-5. real wood earcups, innovative technology, and awesome sound quality!
(Credit: Hifiman)But now I have yet another headphone to check out, and this one is a very different-sounding design. Oh, and it's less than half the price of the least expensive of those models!
It's called the Hifiman HE-5, and it uses planar-magnetic drivers to create sound. A planar magnetic driver is a large, flat Mylar diaphragm, coated with superthin aluminum, suspended between rows of slender bar magnets. The HE-5's diaphragm is therefore driven over its entire area, which dramatically reduces distortion; conventional dynamic headphone drivers are "driven" by a voice coil on the outer edge of the diaphragm, so the inner portion is more likely to distort.
The HE-5's driver is similar to the Stax electrostatic 'phones in that way, but the HE-5 doesn't use the bias charging scheme that all electrostatic headphones use, which also means the HE-5 can be used with standard headphone amplifiers. The Stax cannot.
The HE-5 is incredibly detailed sounding, but at the same time it's very smooth and laid back. Swapping between the HE-5 and the Sennheiser HD 800--considered by many to be the world's best dynamic headphone--the two headphones are opposites. The HD 800 is brighter, crisper, with more apparent treble detail; the HE-5 is softer, warmer, and more natural-sounding.
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The HFI-2400 headphone.
(Credit: Ultrasone)Germany has the high-end headphone market covered, as Beyer Dynamic, Sennheiser, and Ultrasone are all headquartered there.
Ultrasone is the newcomer of the group, but it's hardly new. It was founded in 1991 in Tutzing, close to the Alps in southern Germany. The headphones are manufactured in the U.S., Germany, Austria, and Taiwan.
Ultrasone has just announced a new flagship model, the HFI-2400 ($329). It features Ultrasone's S-Logic technology that promises to create "natural surround sound" by reducing pressure on the eardrum up to 40 percent. The new headphone also features ULE-technology that reduces electro-magnetic radiation by 98 percent compared with conventional headphones.
The HFI-2400 is a foldable, open-backed design that delivers a wide soundstage to the listener. The headphone comes with a removable 10-foot cable, a velvet carrying bag, and an Ultrasone demonstration CD. The HFI-2400 will be available in late October or early November.
Besides releasing the Alias 2, Samsung on Monday announced the availability of its Magnet messaging phone for AT&T. Unveiled last month at CTIA, the Magnet is a very affordable $19.99 with service and a $30 mail-in rebate.
In case you don't remember, the Magnet has a standard candy bar design in bright orange. It's positioned as a low-end messaging phone and in many ways it looks the part. The display sits above the large navigation array and full alphabetic keyboard. Features include a camera, a personal organizer, and a speakerphone. We'll post a review as soon as Samsung sends us a sample model.
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Samsung is never one to be a wallflower at CTIA, but this year it arrived in Las Vegas with all cylinders firing. On Monday, two full days before the show began, Samsung announced not only the Propel Pro, but also its new Impression SGH-A877 and Magnet SGH-A257. Both offer full keyboards for messaging and e-mail. Check out our Samsung CTIA photo gallery for the beauty shots.
The Impression offers a candy-bar design with a large 3.2-inch touch-screen display. Samsung says that the Impression is the first phone in the United States with an active-matrix organic light-emitting diode (AMOLED), which results in a bright and clear screen. We'll have to see it in person to gauge if that's true.
Tip the Impression on its side and slide it up to expose the the full keyboard. It looks spacious enough and it offers arrow keys for navigating through the menus. Other features include a 3-megapixel camera, a full HTML browser, Bluetooth, Samsung's TouchWiz interface, 3G support with access to Cellular Video and AT&T Music, a personal organizer, AT&T Navigator, and a speakerphone.
The Magnet has a standard candy-bar design in bright orange. It's positioned as a low-end messaging phone and in many ways it looks the part. The display sits above the large navigation array and full alphabetic keyboard. Features include a camera, a personal organizer, and a speakerphone.
Pricing and availability for the Magnet were not available on Monday, but the Impression will be available April 7 for $200.
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Silverman at the controls.
(Credit: Steve Guttenberg)Mastering engineers, like Alan Silverman of Arf! Mastering, make music sound better.
Of course, by the time the mastering engineer gets to hear the music, it's already been recorded, mixed, and fussed over by at least one recording engineer, record producer, and the band for weeks, months or even years.
The mastering engineer brings a fresh set of ears to the project and (hopefully) the necessary skill set to eke out the very best from the music. Silverman has mastered music by Norah Jones, Keith Richards, Dolly Parton, and Rufus Wainwright.
When I visited Silverman a few weeks ago, he was finishing work on Medeski, Martin, and Wood's upcoming CD, "Radiolarians 2." I'm a big fan of MM&W's free-form funk jazz, and these guys always make great-sounding recordings. It figures Silverman is involved with the upcoming CD.
I heard from friends that Silverman's newly updated playback system is not only super accurate, it sounds like an audiophile system. That sort of truth and beauty are a rare combination so I brought along some of my reference recordings and was thrilled by the sound. Silverman uses Revel Ultima Studio2 speakers and a McIntosh MC252 power amplifier.
Of course, in the real world just a handful of people are listening over a system like that. So for Silverman, "It's about how the music 'translates.'" A great mastering engineer knows how to make the music sound the best it can over all sorts of systems, played back in differing environments: headphones, car audio, plastic computer speakers, and high-end audio systems.
That's why Silverman hopes he will soon be doing multiple versions of a recording: a highly compressed mix for iPod or car, an uncompressed CD quality version for home listening, and a high-resolution one for audiophiles.
But now that so many bands are recording themselves mastering engineers play an even more crucial role in making the most of the music. When I asked if recordings ever come in that are so awful Silverman turns them away, he said "No, not at all, although in rare cases one of the best things you can do for client is advise them to do a remix. In general, though it's easier to make a poor recording sound better than improve a recording that's already really great. With those you worry if you're really making them better or just different. In those cases sometimes even the smallest tweaks add extra dimension and life to the music." Toby Wright, 3Doors Down's producer, uses Silverman and raved about his work: "So much better, it's silly."
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EPISODE 116 |
Sheruken Magnets (thanks Shalin!!)
Bellysonic speaker pouch will soothe you and your pregnant belly
New baby storage concept: Wall mounting (thanks Shalin!)
Snore Pro to help frazzled wives
Remote, sound-emitting anti-barking devices
For the romantically inclined: Thermal leak detector
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(Credit:
Magneat)
The Magneat headphone organizer provides a solution to the most annoying accessory attached to your music player: the headphone cord.
The industry is a few years away from offering high-quality, inexpensive Bluetooth earbuds, so for the time being we're left untangling and tripping over long wires. As a matter of fact, just today I was walking into the bathroom (keep reading, it's OK) and my headphones got caught in the door handle. My headphones nearly pulled me to the floor and strangled me to death. Granted, Kimmy Gibler and I share a similar center of gravity, but my to-do list is long enough; I don't need to add "wired asphyxia" to the end.
(Credit:
Magneat)
Save me, Magneat! It's actually very simple, as all great ideas tend to be: you clip the device to your shirt, coat, or jacket via magnetic fastening and simply wind your headphone cord around the cylinder until it runs taut, eliminating excess cordage and preventing tangles. And that's it!
Rest assured that the Magneat isn't nearly powerful enough to erase your player and certainly won't leave any marks on your garments. The device is available now in a variety of colors and designs for $10 each.
(Credit:
Thumbs Up UK)
The preponderance of digital photo frames has been a standard rant in this space, and for good reason. Not only are they overproduced and overmarketed in every iteration, from keychains to cubes, but they can also be found in practically every size imaginable.
Yet here's one that may prove to be a good idea despite its original pedestrian concept: a tiny digital magnet for the refrigerator door. Rather than having a virtually useless display all of 2.4 inches and 320 x 240 resolution, we've got a far more practical application. If you're trying to lose weight, you can post photos of your most unflattering depictions as a deterrant to the munches. Or, if you're an optimist, you can program a slide show to track your progress as you shrink down to a manageable size.
And if that doesn't keep you from ripping the door off its hinges, there's always the "Fridge Alert" as a second line of defense.
(Credit:
iStik)
This is a must-have accessory for the music lover who can't stand to be apart from the iPod but doesn't have any pockets. The "iStik" is a plastic case with four magnets that attaches to a corresponding set mounted on a plastic plate that goes underneath your clothes, so you can literally wear the player.
How much of a demand is there for something like this? We have no idea, but it's probably not a good sign that the iStik is available only for the second-generation Nano, as iLounge says. You could also get a case with an armband or clip, of course, but that would be too easy. Just be careful where you place it if you have a pacemaker.
D-Wave Systems has received $17 million to see if it's possible to compute complex equations by studying the behavior of molecules.
International Investment and Underwriting of Dublin led the round, which was the third round of funding for the Vancouver-based company. Draper Fisher Jurvetson (which always seems to be involved in wacky sorts of companies), GrowthWorks Capital, BDC Venture Capital, Harris & Harris Group, and British Columbia Investment Management also participated. Previously, the company raised more than $30 million.
These coils of wire generate a magnetic field for computing.
(Credit: D-Wave Systems)Quantum computers, which researchers have experimented with for years but which haven't yet existed outside of the laboratory, are radically different than today's electronic computers. D-Wave's computer is based around a silicon chip that houses 16 "qubits," the equivalent of a storage bit in a conventional computer, connected to each other. Each qubit consists of dots of the element niobium surrounded by coils of wire.
When electrical current comes down the wire, magnetic fields are generated, which, in turn, causes the change in the state of the qubit. Because scientists understand how niobium will react to magnetic fields and calculate the exact pattern and timing of the magnetic fields created, the pattern of changes exhibited by the niobium can then be translated into an answer that humans can understand.
Because of its inherent properties, D-Wave's computer is optimized for running complex and oftentimes consuming simulations--for example, what happens when different variables are changed in an ornate financial model, or how different proteins interact with various synthetic, simulated pharmaceuticals.
IBM is also examining ways to harness the power of atomic-level magnetic fields for computing.
D-Wave demonstrated its Orion about a year ago at the Computer History Museum and later at a supercomputing conference in Reno, Nev. And it has to be stated that D-Wave has some severe skeptics.
"Over the last year, rather than answering scientists' questions about what, if anything, they've actually done that's novel, they seem to have descended ever further into the lowest kind of hucksterism," said Scott Aaronson, assistant professor of electrical engineering and computer science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in November.
