http://audiojunkies.com Audio news and product reviews en-us http://www.audiojunkies.com/blog/1757/new-audiojunkies-forum http://www.audiojunkies.com/blog/1757/new-audiojunkies-forum


Continue reading New Audiojunkies Forum]]> Thu, 04 Feb 2010 01:06:30 -0500 http://www.audiojunkies.com/blog/1756/ultrasone-edition-8-palladium-headphones http://www.audiojunkies.com/blog/1756/ultrasone-edition-8-palladium-headphones

There seems to be a bit of a battle going on lately between several high end headphone makers trying to outdo each other with new flagship models seemingly coming every other minute. Ultrasone's current top model, the Edition 8, is not exactly old, but that hasn't stopped them from trying to steal thunder from Grado and Beyer with the new Palladium Edition 8.

Continue reading Ultrasone Edition 8 Palladium Headphones]]> Tue, 02 Feb 2010 03:15:32 -0500 http://www.audiojunkies.com/blog/1755/naim-audio-unitiqute-allinone-music-streamer http://www.audiojunkies.com/blog/1755/naim-audio-unitiqute-allinone-music-streamer

Naim has followed up on last year's Uniti all-in-one with a new more affordable music streamer called the UnitiQute. The UnitiQute loses the Uniti's CD player and a few of its analog inputs, but retains the five digital inputs and built in wired/wireless networking support for music streaming. The UnitiQute comes in a much more compact chassis and with a more compact price - $1995 rather than the Uniti's $3750 tag.

Continue reading Naim Audio UnitiQute All-In-One Music Streamer]]> Sat, 30 Jan 2010 07:19:48 -0500 http://www.audiojunkies.com/blog/1754/fake-vacuum-tube-silliness-continues http://www.audiojunkies.com/blog/1754/fake-vacuum-tube-silliness-continues

For reasons that escape me, there are still several companies out there making terrible products based on fake vacuum tubes. The latest in this failure pile comes from Japan, and is called the "UMAZONe". (Um-azon-e? U-mazon-e? Uma-zon-e? Who knows?) The Brando Tube Delight fake tube/soundcard was a dumb idea, but the U-whatever takes things to a new level by being a fake tube amplifier/speaker.

Continue reading Fake Vacuum Tube Silliness Continues]]> Wed, 27 Jan 2010 05:23:54 -0500 http://www.audiojunkies.com/blog/1753/sennheiser-and-adidas-team-up-for-headphones http://www.audiojunkies.com/blog/1753/sennheiser-and-adidas-team-up-for-headphones

Sennheiser has partnered with Adidas to create four new headphones designed for runners and other athletes. All of the new sports models have water-resistant, washable cables. The CX-680 ($120) is an in-ear design featuring a new twistable fin designed to keep them from falling out. The MX-680 ($80) uses the same fin system with a standard earbud.

Continue reading Sennheiser and Adidas Team Up For Headphones]]> Sun, 24 Jan 2010 03:40:58 -0500 http://www.audiojunkies.com/blog/1752/iriver-k1-smart-hd-media-player http://www.audiojunkies.com/blog/1752/iriver-k1-smart-hd-media-player

iRiver's latest portable media player appears to be a little bit iPod Touch, and a little bit Cowon S9. The K1 Smart HD's party piece is support for the popular Matroska container (.mkv), which is the format of choice for HD video. Given the support for HD file formats and the name you might expect a high def screen, but you would be mistaken. The Smart HD internally scales high resolution video files down to its native 480x320 pixel 3.5" screen.

Continue reading iRiver K1 Smart HD Media Player]]> Fri, 22 Jan 2010 09:24:37 -0500 http://www.audiojunkies.com/blog/1751/running-springs-maxim-power-conditioner http://www.audiojunkies.com/blog/1751/running-springs-maxim-power-conditioner

Running Springs Audio has released a new flagship power line conditioner called the Maxim (not that Maxim). The Maxim is designed to complement RSA's Dmitri in state of the art systems, with the Dmitri handling source components and preamplifiers, and the Maxim handling up to four of even the most monstrous power amps.

Continue reading Running Springs Maxim Power Conditioner]]> Wed, 20 Jan 2010 08:18:15 -0500 http://www.audiojunkies.com/blog/1750/how-to-improve-your-sound-stage-for-2 http://www.audiojunkies.com/blog/1750/how-to-improve-your-sound-stage-for-2

An Article on Spherical Enclosures & Diffraction

Ever wonder why the midrange and tweeter cabinets on B&W Nautilus speakers are shaped like teardrops? It's not a gimmick, or some way to differentiate their pricey flagship models from competitors. Containing the driver inside a sphere that is pulled back to a point rather than a typical wide baffle box provides significant sound quality benefits. It eliminates the usual boxy problem of standing waves, and also reduces the effects of diffraction. An article called How To Improve Your Sound Stage For $2 on the DIY Mobile Audio forum does an excellent job of explaining the effect, and suggests how it can be applied to car audio installs.

Continue reading How To Improve Your Sound Stage for $2 -]]> Sun, 17 Jan 2010 07:42:50 -0500 http://www.audiojunkies.com/blog/1749/ces-lg-sound-bar-with-built-in-bluray http://www.audiojunkies.com/blog/1749/ces-lg-sound-bar-with-built-in-bluray

On display at LG's CES booth was a new sound bar with a built in blu-ray player called the LLB915. The LLB915 also features two HDMI inputs and one output, built-in WiFi, and a claimed 430 watts of power.

Continue reading CES: LG Sound Bar with Built In Blu-Ray]]> Thu, 14 Jan 2010 06:49:31 -0500 http://www.audiojunkies.com/blog/1748/ces-sonys-latest-htib-is-3d-in-a-box http://www.audiojunkies.com/blog/1748/ces-sonys-latest-htib-is-3d-in-a-box

At CES Sony released their new BDV-HZ970W home theater in a box system, which includes a Blu-ray player, HDMI 1.4 output, and this year's star of the show - 3D. The BDV-HZ970W is a 5.1 channel system with wireless rear speakers which use Sony's S-Air technology.

Continue reading CES: Sony’s latest HTIB is 3D in a Box]]> Tue, 12 Jan 2010 06:59:07 -0500