Music System - SlashGear

‘Music System’ Stories

Budget Mixing Decks add annoying “scratch” sounds

Chris Davies, Dec 9th 2006 Discuss [0]

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For $39.95 these iPod DJ breasts Mixing Decks will add a variety of craptastic "digital mixing effects" to any music you pump through it - obviously they'd prefer you to use your iPod, but since other music sources do exist I guess you can route them through what is, I imagine, a perfectly standard 3.5mm stereo jack too. Then, you budding FatTong Tiestos, you'll be able to rub and scratch the discs to play up to six (read it and weep, Technics) backing rhythms and fill-in sounds, three drum-fills and three voice effects. Independent source and effect volume controls let you minimise your wretched efforts at creativity to a bare whisper, while Hammacher Schlemmer (oh yes, you knew it) also highlight that it's Mac and PC compatible via the "appropriate audio connector"... surely not another stereo cable going to your computer's microphone input? It runs on 4 AA batteries and hopefully drains them so quickly that you'll only get a few minutes of annoyance. Hammacher Schlemmer [via bookofjoe]

Top Notch, Halcro’s SSP-100 Full Audio Video HDMI Processor

Trae McNeely, Dec 9th 2006 Discuss [0]

Perhaps the baddest and most expensive audio video preamp-processors on the face of the planet. The Halcro SSP-100 is a full audio and video processor with a video scaler. If you are not familiar with Halcro, don't fret. Halcro is an Australian company known worldwide for their amplifiers, digital circuitry, and sound innovation. For starters, the unit is huge, thick, with a satin-finished aluminum panel but weight doesn't matter when it comes to high-quality sound. The large LCD screen located in the front is not joke. It's a monitor that supports 480i sources so video is a snap. The unit features USB, RS-232 connections, 10 sources (six audio/video, four video). It also includes HDMI, component, six S-video, six composite and it goes on and on with connections. The picture above is the exact model. As you can see Finding Nemo is playing on the processor's front display. The unit is professional grade so it comes rack mountable or free standing with a programmable touchscreen remote (seen below). As far as audio it features 7.1 channel balanced inputs and outputs, 4 programmable output channels which means you can literally play everything on the fly at any time. The audio features continue with the patented High Dynamic Bass (HDB) for superior, deep lows. I almost forgot it supports calibration, DTS, Dolby Digital EX, Dolby Pro Logic standards, THX, and it passed various tests to gain certifications. Read The Full Story

RF iPod remote with screen allows multi-room control

Chris Davies, Dec 4th 2006 Discuss [0]

Here's a dinky little curio bound to appeal to at least some of the distributed audio and Apple fans in the audience. Keyspan have launched their TuneView system, a dock and remote combo that allows you to control your iPod when it's connected to a hi-fi or multi-room setup. Rather than currently available remotes that offer basic transport controls and demand that you're either happy with the current playlist or can navigate without seeing the iPod's screen, the TuneView remote has a colour LCD display so that you can use it as if you were holding the DAP in your hands. Multiple dock inserts allow the use of various iPod models, and outputs for stereo audio, video and USB mean that not only can you listen to and view all of your content but also sync with iTunes on a PC or Mac too. Most surprisingly, however, is the price: just $179. Read The Full Story

Logitech’s Wireless Music Streamer reviewed

Chris Davies, Dec 3rd 2006 Discuss [0]

So you saw SlashGear's review of the Sonos music streaming system and want some of that sweet wireless audio distribution for yourself. Thing is, at nigh-on $1000 for the ZP80 starter bundle, your pockets are just too shallow for you to splash out. So do you give up, resign yourself to listening to a tinny cassette tape of Wham in your living room, weeping pathetically into the sodden rags that used to be your trousers? Or do you go out and buy Logitech's Wireless DJ Music System, a comparative bargain at $250 list (or closer to $200 if you shop around)? BlueTomorrow have taken a look at Logitech's offering and found that, aside from a disappointing lack of Mac support, it's a great way to enjoy music from your computer elsewhere in the house. If you're looking for a way to stream audio to four or fewer locations (you can buy additional receivers for around $80) then you'd be sensible to check this out before stumping up for the admittedly-delicious Sonos system. BlueTomorrow [via Gadgetell]

Retro Record Player burns your LPs

Chris Davies, Nov 29th 2006 Discuss [4]

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Trust Hammacher Schlemmer to take that USB turntable for converting your vinyl to mp3s (which has been doing the rounds recently, despite SlashGear covering it last August) and knock it into a cocked hat. "You don't need a PC" they cry, luxury voices dripping with derision, "all you need is our retro-styled LP-to-CD Recorder." And I suppose, in the correct (read:hideous) surroundings it would blend in. Capable of playing 33s, 45s and 78s, you can easily burn an entire record to CD or - making judicious use of the pause-record feature - make compilations from multiple vinyl (or just put both sides onto one disc). With an AM/FM radio for those times you can't be bothered playing DJ - oh, and with a remote control - now the PC-phobic can enjoy their old records in the car too. It's a wonderfully egalitarian society we live in, isn't it, although in this case equality costs $399.95. Read The Full Story

Rockridge Sound’s VTS-384 Tube Amp for iPod

Lynnsie Nguyen, Nov 27th 2006 Discuss [0]

When iPod was first introduced to the market, I hardly imagined that it would become the most popular in the market with tons of accessories. Now you can see devices that are designed for your iPod everywhere, but if you’re looking for something with a “classic” look, a new iPod speaker dock from Rockridge Sound is the answer for you. The VTS-384 has a trio of tubes per stereo channel delivered “full analog” sound out a pair of 2x2W (8ohm) speakers. And nothing is better than the analog sound from tubes. The kit comes with a remote for controlling the iPod, wire protectors for those tubes, and RCA and USB jacks for sourcing non-iPod music or connecting USB speakers. When it hit in February, this gorgeous dock can be yours for an expected MSRP of $604 to $777. Rockridge Sound's VTS-384 tube amp and speaker dock for iPod [via engadget]

Home Experiments in Audio/Visual Mayhem

Chris Davies, Nov 10th 2006 Discuss [0]

A true gadget-head knows that the more cryptic knobs and switches a device has, the better it is. That's why an iPod, although commercially popular, will never be as cool as this little box of tricks. The vs001 is, according to its maker, an Analogue Video Synthesiser, capable of sucking in a VGA signal together with audio feeds and mangling it all up into the artistic version of an acid trip. Read The Full Story

DIY Touchscreen Jukebox

Chris Davies, Nov 1st 2006 Discuss [2]

Whenever I think of bars I can't help but imagine bowls of much-fingered peanuts smeared with urine and the slight atmosphere of desperate, hormonal people. Perhaps instead I should try thinking of jukeboxes - flickr member ericjeff19 obviously has some woodworking skills, as he's converted an old Zenith Radio into a modern touchscreen-operated jukebox for his parent's wedding anniversary. Read The Full Story

Never mind Musical Chairs, how about a Musical Table?

Chris Davies, Oct 31st 2006 Discuss [0]

Like that cheerleader everybody fancied back at your highschool, I just can't get enough... only I can't get enough of concept tables that light up and react to stuff that gets placed on them. Rather than the football team. This is the latest, a "tangible user interface" that "constructs different audio topologies" as a "graspable flow-controlled programming language". Or, in words our gum chewing, mini-skirt wearing cheer-friend might understand, you move the toys on the table and the music gets made. Read The Full Story

Gryphon Mirage delivers audiophile distributed audio

Chris Davies, Oct 14th 2006 Discuss [2]

If you're an audiophile who wants distributed audio around the house you've got plenty of choice of manufacturers to favour. Well, Gryphon would like to add them to their list, and their Mirage amplifier is just the product they're planning to lure you in with. A pre-amp main box with detachable control section that can communicate wirelessly, as well as a chunky aluminium remote that they're insisting on calling a wand, it takes advantage of the AMX and Crestron interface software (sold separately) that Gryphon have developed to integrate as a multi-room audio system. Read The Full Story

B&O Beocenter 4600 iTunes mod

Chris Davies, Sep 26th 2006 Discuss [0]

I still feel guilty about letting my grandmother give away a huge wood & aluminium Bang & Olufsen radio a few years back. It had happily sat in her kitchen until she decided she'd rather have the space, so of to the charity shop it went; we actually saw someone buy it as we walked back to the carpark. A few years on, and courtesy of MAKE: I saw a great hack that turned that exact model into a gorgeous iPod speaker dock. One of life's little ironies, I suppose. Read The Full Story

Bose Announces New Acoustic Wave Music System II and Bose Companion 4

Vincent Nguyen, Aug 24th 2006 Discuss [0]

Bose is shipping the Bose Acoustic Wave Music System II and Bose Companion 5 on September 7. The Wave II is listed at $1079, while the Companion 5 will cost $399. The Wave II features a CD player, and FM/AM tuner, two strong tweeters, a 4.5-inch low-frequency driver linked to 80-inch tube called waveguide. There’s even an easy option for you to connect the iPod (with remote-controller) and a five-CD changer to the system. You get all these new features for the same price of the previous model. The second announcement is the Companion 5, which is a pair of small satellites and a Bose Acoustimass subwoofer. This new system is ideal for connecting your laptop or pc through the USB. Bose Makes Waves With New Speaker Sets [via Gizmowatch]