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Car Stereos Trends in 2008 - iPods, Bluetooth, and Tiny Speakers

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Jan 11th 2008 at 11:41AM

Car Stereos in 2008 -- iPods, Bluetooth, and Tiny Speakers
So what can you look forward to in 2008 for your in-car media system? More integration with digital media devices (ie. iPods), better sounding compact speakers, lower prices on those high-end all-in-one units, and technologies to enhance the quality of the sound, not just the volume.

More than anything it seems like 2008 will be the year that iPod integration and Bluetooth become standard on all but the lowest-end systems. Every all-in-one system from Kenwood and Pioneer featured the abilities, and almost every standard CD player system provided iPod connectivity. Some of the more basic models have even been fitted with Bluetooth. That means you can say goodbye to those headsets that make you look like a jerk.

As for those all-in-one units that combine GPS with audio and video functions, look for prices to continue to take a nosedive. Prices start at $1,000 for units from Kenwood, Pioneer, and Alpine, but we expect by the end of the year prices will fall even further.

Meanwhile, Pioneer says it is going back to it roots: sound quality. iPods allow us to carry our entire music collections in our back pocket, but the problem with digital audio is that it's compressed in order to make the file smaller. Pioneer is using a technology they call ASR (Advanced Sound Retrieval) to restore some of the lost frequency range due to compression, and after a demo we were quite impressed.

Lastly, as with everything else, thin is in when it comes to car speakers. Just about every company that makes car speakers was showing off shallow subwoofers for those who don't want to gut or mod their car to get amazing bass.

Gallery: Car Stereo Trends



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These Aluminum Speakers Will Set You Back $140,000

by Will Safer, posted Jan 10th 2008 at 1:49PM


Muon


Our never-ending search for items at the Consumer Electronics Show that are true statement pieces continues with a visit to KEF, maker of the Muon -- perhaps ironically named since a muon is a smaller particle than a quark, yet these speakers, evidenced by the picture above, are clearly not tiny.

Nor is their price tag. At $140,000 for the pair, the Muon speakers are meant for only the most discerning audiophile, for whom price is obviously no matter.

Only 100 pairs of the speakers will be made, according to Johan Coorg, marketing director for KEF. "The one-hundred and first person who wants one will just have to be disappointed," he said.

Why make speakers like these?

"This actually started as a testbed project for our engineers," Coorg said. "British audio has always been very well respected. These speakers now are the leading edge in real cool design. It's no longer acceptable to buy a square box anymore."

Though they have a somewhat organic shape, these speakers are made of aluminum, shaped and made strong through a process called "superforming."

The result is five-hundred combined pounds of visually arresting listening delight.

From KEF.


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The Audio System That Costs as Much as a House

by Will Safer, posted Jan 9th 2008 at 3:42PM




Binghamton, N.Y.-based McIntosh, maker of high-end home theater equipment for some truly demanding audio aficionados, is showing a $190,000 home theater system here at the Consumer Electronics Show -- a set up which they call, simply, "The Reference System." That $190,000 is just under the $240,000 national average for the cost of an entire home in the United States.

Each tweeter (the speakers that produce higher frequencies) in this system has 110 drivers, for example. Spreading the sound output among so many gives a much sweeter tweeter, so to speak. But that's hard for a system to manage, and creates the need for some seriously complex (and expensive) components.

"It takes a lot of power to produce sound that gives you the same type of experience you'd have if you were in a concert hall," said McIntosh's James Ludoviconi. "Despite this, the system itself is extremely quiet, so the only sound you hear is from the source content." Each 2,000-watt amp utilizes something called "quad-balancing" to eliminate the noise a powerful piece of equipment might otherwise make on its own. Quite a feat of engineering.

Frankly, we were impressed just looking at the set up.

Better get a bigger piggy bank.

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Volcanic Rock Makes Light and Durable Pioneer Speakers

by Alon Avdi, posted Jan 7th 2008 at 1:17PM



Pioneer is going the way of Jules Verne as it journeys to the center of the earth to develop speaker technology. While yesterdays press conference at CES already had us chomping at the bit over future plasma flat screen technology, we've got to give props to Pioneer's R & D people for using volcanic rock as the material for a key component of its speakers.

Constructing the new speakers utilizes basalt technology in a process that involves polarizing the rock (to identify the correct volcanic minerals to use) and melting it at 2500 degrees. The resulting fibers are drawn and woven into fabric for a cone, which is the circular piece that houses the speakers and transmits sound. "Whoa," Keanu Reeves would say if he knew about the procedure.

There are distinct advantages to using basalt rock, as it makes the volcanic speaker material both light and stiff (easy to carry, but not susceptible to bass-induced rattle). The demand for speakers that are not too heavy but stand up to the music booming is understandable and now attainable. Our only advice besides suggesting you look into these speakers is this: Just because Pioneer went and got all 'Joe Versus the Volcano' doesn't mean you should...

Gallery: Pioneer Brings You the Volcanic Rock Speaker Cones



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Just Tell Me What to Get: Home Theater

by Tom Conlon, posted Oct 6th 2007 at 7:00AM

We're asked all the time what constitutes a great, but affordable home theater package. Unfortunately, 'affordable' can mean very different things to different people. So, we've put together two excellent home theater set-ups for two different budgets, both of which are still firmly planted in the realm of reality. In other words, you probably won't need a winning lottery ticket to afford the payments on them.

For the budget-conscious buyer:
VIZIO VX37L 37-inch LCD TV

VIZIO VX37L 37-inch LCD TV
At just $799 for a top-notch LCD, you really can't beat VIZIO. Though you might not be familiar with the name, the company has been making some noise lately for offering high-quality sets priced with real people in mind. On this LCD, you get two HDMI inputs for connecting video sources with just one cable for picture and sound -- a nice feature at such a low price. The resolution tops out at 720p, but at this size that's all you'll need for HDTV broadcasts, DVDs and gaming. (More on 720p versus 1080p here.)

Panasonic SC-PT950 Wireless Home Theater

Panasonic SC-PT950 Wireless Home Theater
When putting together a home theater, hardcore audiophiles will tell you to handpick your components and speakers separately. But, that quickly gets expensive and time-consuming. All-in-one systems, or HTIBs (Home Theater In a Box), on the other hand, give you everything you need in one convenient package – like this Panasonic kit, which includes a receiver, amplifier, five-disc DVD changer and speakers. In addition to an included iPod dock and the ability to up-convert DVDs to true 1080p resolution, the $440 system also boasts the convenience and easy setup of a wireless back speaker.

TOTAL: $1,240
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The Perfect BBQ Speakers

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Apr 25th 2007 at 7:00AM

BBQ season is nearly upon us. That means a cooler full of beer, meat (or veggie burgers) on the grill, and a five year-old portable stereo outside connected to insanely long, orange extension cord.

But this wireless outdoor solar speaker may help you say goodbye to bulky tangled extension cords forever.

The five-watt speaker has an Earth-friendly solar panel that keeps it full of juice for those long hot nights in the back yard, while a wireless transmitter plugs into your iPod or CD player to broadcast those sweet tunes up to 150 feet.

If you're having trouble figuring out what to listen to, here is a list to get you in that summer mood.


From Tech Digest

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Creative's Swanky iPod Docks

by Tim Stevens, posted Apr 13th 2007 at 7:59AM



For the classy iPod listener, Creative is releasing a series of fine-looking docks and speaker sets. It starts with the X-Fi Sound System i600, a beautiful piano-black docking station that wirelessly connects to two satellite speakers and a subwoofer. Next is the Playdock i500, an integrated solution with speakers and a remote, and then the TravelSound i, a similar, though smaller, package for hotel-room listening and the like.

Finally, there's the xDock Wireless, a $199 docking station that lets you pipe music wirelessly from your iPod to your surround sound home-theater system (you'll need the extra $99 X-Fi Wireless Receiver to do so). All have the same simple but sophisticated look that should complement both your iPod and your living rooms. We saw this last system back in January (at CES) and were impressed with the 5.1 sound coming out of our iPod.

The xDock Wireless is due out in May. Of the other systems mentioned here, only the i500 has an official U.S price: $199. However, given the announced prices for the other units in Singapore, expect the i600 to cost about $400, the TravelSound about $130, and the Xdock about $220.

Gallery: Creative iPod Accessories



From Engadget
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