http://audiojunkies.com Audio news and product reviews en-us http://www.audiojunkies.com/blog/1332/yamaha-tss20-mini-theater http://www.audiojunkies.com/blog/1332/yamaha-tss20-mini-theater

Those looking for a tiny 5.1 channel home theater system that doesn't have the word "Bose" written on it may want to consider Yamaha's new TSS-20 home theater package. The receiver stands vertically to conserve precious space and features Dolby Pro-Logic II, Dolby Digital, and DTS decoding, as well as several Yamaha Cinema DSP modes including silent cinema and night listening. It sends 6 watts to each of the five 2" single driver satellites, and a prodigious 18 watts to the 5.1" "subwoofer". The rated frequency response of 40Hz - 20kHz should probably be taken with a grain of salt. While the TSS-20 is currently only slated for Japanese release, it will work with 100-240V power should you wish to import one.]]> Tue, 13 May 2008 15:28:50 +0000 http://www.audiojunkies.com/blog/1331/cd-turned-into-record-with-a-vinyl-cutter http://www.audiojunkies.com/blog/1331/cd-turned-into-record-with-a-vinyl-cutter

Finally I can put all of those damn AOL CDs I receive in the mail to good use. A gentleman by the name of Aleks Kolkowski brought a vinyl cutter to the Manchester Futuresonic 2008 Festival and started cutting up some CDs and DVDs for use on a record player. Aleks etched the disks with wav files for anyone that was interested at the show, no word on how they sounded though.

Too bad there isn't more info on the setup he used to etch the disks.]]> Tue, 13 May 2008 08:01:25 +0000 http://www.audiojunkies.com/blog/1330/ultimate-ears-metrofi-100-150-200-earphones http://www.audiojunkies.com/blog/1330/ultimate-ears-metrofi-100-150-200-earphones

SoundEarphones.com has the new Ultimate Ears metro.fi 100, 150 and 200 series earphones for sale on their website. The 150 and 200 both feature dynamic drivers and all three are available in Apple iPhone compatible versions for $10 more. Pricing ranges from $29.99 to $79.99.]]> Tue, 13 May 2008 07:21:48 +0000 http://www.audiojunkies.com/blog/1329/roberts-acoustics-rapide-monitor-and-vigor-subwoofer http://www.audiojunkies.com/blog/1329/roberts-acoustics-rapide-monitor-and-vigor-subwoofer

Roberts Acoustics has released information on their new Rapide Monitor and Vigor Subwoofer. The 1" thick Rapide enclosure houses an Accuton ceramic woofer and the highly regarded Scan-Speak AirCirc tweeter. The crossovers have been designed by Rick Craig of Selah Audio and utilize Goertz Copper Foil Inductors, Mundorf Supreme and Silver/Oil capacitors and Mills resistors. The speakers are also bi-wire capable with 5-way binding posts. The enclosures are finished with automotive grade metallic paints in red, black, gray or white and have Sonic Barrier dampening on all of the internal walls.

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The Rapide is rated at 8 ohms with power handling in the neighborhood of 150 watts. Sensitivity is 85dB with the low-end reaching 42Hz at -3dB. The cabinet measures 17" tall x 9" wide x 14" deep and each speaker weighs in at 30 lbs.


Currently the Rapide Monitors are being offered at an intro price of $2,399 until June 15th.


The new Roberts Acoustics Vigor Subwoofer is a 12" alloy cone driver mated with a 400 watt Hypex amplifier for power. The enclosure dimensions are 15" tall x 17" wide x 20" deep and they are finished to match the Rapide Monitors. The crossover has a Linkwitz Transform circuit that provides bass down to 25Hz at -3dB. Pricing has not been released on the Vigor Subwoofer yet.]]> Mon, 12 May 2008 16:10:05 +0000 http://www.audiojunkies.com/blog/1328/free-music-from-metallica http://www.audiojunkies.com/blog/1328/free-music-from-metallica
- Images: Metallica.com

Radiohead's brief flirtation with giving their music away online seems to have been mostly a publicity stunt for the band rather than a shift in how they feel about music distribution, as they have recently announced that they won't be doing the "In Rainbows" thing again. Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails on the other hand has firmly embraced offering free music on his website. Lars Ulrich, a man not exactly known for his philanthropy or love of file sharing, has apparently been watching the success of both the Radiohead and NIN experiments. Metallica's as yet untitled album to be released later this year will be the last released by Warner records, after which he is apparently considering a possible "pay what you want" online system for their next album. They would have to pay me to listen to "St. Anger".]]> Mon, 12 May 2008 01:12:52 +0000 http://www.audiojunkies.com/blog/1327/fake-mp3-trojan-virus-making-the-rounds-on-p2p-networks http://www.audiojunkies.com/blog/1327/fake-mp3-trojan-virus-making-the-rounds-on-p2p-networks
- Image: Unicef

McAfee has detected more than than 638,000 computers infected with the Downloader-UA.h trojan virus in the last seven days, with the vast majority of those infections in North America. The Downloader-UA.h trojan virus is spreading like wildfire over the P2P networks where it masks itself as MP3 and MPG files. Upon download and trying to play the file, users are prompted to download a file called PLAY_MP3.exe. The file is a browser controller that will display popup and popunder ads.

Since no one else has said it, I'll start the conspiracy theory here... the RIAA and MPAA are behind it.]]> Sat, 10 May 2008 05:46:05 +0000 http://www.audiojunkies.com/blog/1326/amr-ls77-reference-monitors http://www.audiojunkies.com/blog/1326/amr-ls77-reference-monitors

New from Britain's Abbingdon Music Research is the LS-77 monitor, designed to provide full-range performance without the need for a subwoofer or super-tweeter from a compact speaker measuring 10" W x 19" H x 12" D. The LS-77's enclosure is made from 3/8" to 1" solid aluminum available in either Champagne or Titanium finishes. The 10" bass driver features a 4" voice coil and a proprietary transmission line port system which allows for response down to 26Hz.

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AMR claims that the unusually steep 60 dB/octave crossover known as "OptiSlope" allows the woofer to seamlessly integrate with the 5" isoplanar tweeter. AMR also designed the LS-77 to be stackable, with multiple units forming an "OptiArray" line source for use in rooms up to 480 square meters. The LS-77 is rated at 26Hz - 40kHz (+/-3dB), with 87dB/W/m sensitivity and 8 Ohm impedance.]]> Sat, 10 May 2008 05:01:41 +0000 http://www.audiojunkies.com/blog/1325/paradigm-pdr10-and-pdr8-subwoofers http://www.audiojunkies.com/blog/1325/paradigm-pdr10-and-pdr8-subwoofers

Paradigm has released new 4th generation versions of its PDR-8 and PDR-10 subwoofers. The 8.5" driver in the PDR-8 and 10.5" driver in the PDR-10 are made from a new reinforced polymer-composite material for improved rigidity and internal damping. Both models also feature redesigned enclosures with curved edges for a more elegant appearance, a sub/sat phase alignment switch that enables users to adjust subwoofer settings for zero or 180 degrees, a bypass option on the subwoofer cut-off frequency, two RCA line-level inputs to accommodate L/R line out, sub-out, or LFE outputs, and 100 watts RMS/300 watts "dynamic peak" amplifiers. The PDR-8 retails for $250 and the PDR-10 retails for $380. Both are available in black or silver.]]> Fri, 09 May 2008 15:17:30 +0000 http://www.audiojunkies.com/blog/1324/zohan-bluetooth-audio-marketing-ploy http://www.audiojunkies.com/blog/1324/zohan-bluetooth-audio-marketing-ploy

Adam Sandler's new movie You Don't Mess With The Zohan probably isn't going to win an Oscar or set any box office records, but it is using innovative audio based Bluetooth marketing. Twenty-five Regal Entertainment movie theaters will have Zohan inspired salon chairs with Bluetooth enabled servers that will allow theater goers to download six different Zohan voice clips to their cell phones.

It seems like a pretty basic concept by today's standards, so it is surprising we haven't seen more of this Bluetooth cellphone based marketing. Regardless, expect to see much more of it in the future.]]> Fri, 09 May 2008 02:07:03 +0000 http://www.audiojunkies.com/blog/1323/john-mayer-is-a-douchebag-confirmed http://www.audiojunkies.com/blog/1323/john-mayer-is-a-douchebag-confirmed

The list of reasons why I feel that John Mayer is a complete douche bag is so long it would need an intro. Luckily for all of us, his new video confirms what I have known all along, John Mayer is in fact a douche bag.

*They drop the F-bomb a few times in the video, so you might want to turn it down if you are at work.

Link: Makin' Music with John Mayer]]> Thu, 08 May 2008 18:22:16 +0000