Music System - SlashGear

‘Music System’ Stories

Chimera BC16 Mini-Synth: bizarre, flexible analog modular synth

Chris Davies, May 19th 2008 Discuss [0]

I've a weakness for odd, glitchy music makers, and Chimera's BC16 Mini-Synth looks like a perfect example of the breed. The size of a CD (only thicker, obviously), the BC16 might look like a bedroom project but it's actually being factory manufactured and finished by hand; the patch cables link up the VCO, LFO, Envelope, 24db filter, noise and ring modulator in any order you see fit, and then you can twiddle the knobs to your heart's content. First announced at the end of last year, it's taken Chimera a little longer than expected to get them ready for shipping, but word on the street is that production has caught up with preorders. Check out the video of the BC16 in action after the cut Read The Full Story

Sony Xplod in-car CD receivers with USB

Chris Davies, May 13th 2008 Discuss [0]

Sony has pulled the covers off two new Xplod in-car CD receivers, the CDX-GT920U and CDX-GT620U. Support for CD and radio is a given, but they also have USB ports for playing music stored on memory sticks and Sony's Quick BrowZer technology to speed tracklist navigation. Both have fold-down, removable face-plates, which in the GT920U's case is motorized. Read The Full Story

Vita Audio R4 luxury iPod-ready CD & DAB radio

Chris Davies, May 12th 2008 Discuss [2]

There must be something in the air; mere days after Sonoro's luxury CD clock-radio went on sale in the US, Vita Audio have announced their own hand-crafted all-in-one audiophile music system. The R4 is being described as "a traditional music player for the 21st century", complete with walnut veneer or white piano lacquer finish, and comprises a CD player, DAB radio, iPod dock and USB port. It also has Vita's unusual remote control "rotodial". Read The Full Story

Sonoro luxury CD clock-radio available in US

Chris Davies, May 9th 2008 Discuss [0]

German manufacturer sonoro audio's products will be available soon in the US. We first saw the company's cubo range of CD/MP3/radio units back at CES 2008, where sonoro revealed they were working on internet radio and iPod dock versions of the media player. The cubo will be available exclusively from saks.com priced at a rather large $349.99. Read The Full Story

Gear4 DUO iPod speaker-dock with removable speaker section

Chris Davies, May 8th 2008 Discuss [0]

It's tough to think of a new concept in iPod speaker-docks; most of the more reasonable (and some of the ridiculous) shapes have been done, and you can opt for a tiny speaker that clips like a barnacle to the bottom of the PMP or a towering plinth of musical splendour. However UK firm Gear4 have gone for flexibility with their latest DUO system. While it may look straightforward, the front speaker section actually unclips from the main body of the DUO and, courtesy of a rechargeable battery, can be used as a portable speaker setup in the garden or anywhere away from the mains. Read The Full Story

Samsung intro compact HT-BD2S Blu-ray home cinema system

Chris Davies, May 1st 2008 Discuss [0]

Samsung have announced a new, more compact Blu-ray home cinema system to accompany their existing HT-BD2T setup. The HT-BD2S uses smaller satellite speakers and has a accompanying smaller price: $1,000. What's the same is the central box, complete with its 7.1 channel, 1,100 W output. Read The Full Story

iLuv i168 & i169 HD Radio alarm clocks

Chris Davies, May 1st 2008 Discuss [0]

iLuv have announced its first two HD Radio alarm clocks, the i168 and i169, which include stereo speakers, standard AM/FM radio, an auxiliary input and, in the case of the i169, a dock for your iPod. Both also feature dual alarms, which can rouse you with the radio, tracks from your iPod on the i169, or a boring old buzzer if you're a traditionalist. The reasonably-sized displays are compatible with HD Radio's text-on-screen feature, that displays station name, track title and artist information. Read The Full Story

Naim HDX multi-room jukebox for picky audiophiles

Chris Davies, Apr 30th 2008 Discuss [0]

Hi-fi specialists Naim have released their latest assault on the wallets of audiophiles, with the HDX music jukebox attempting to persuade them that ripping CDs isn't the work of the devil. Of course, since this is Naim we're talking about, what they're actually suggesting is about as far away from MP3 as you can get while still residing on a hard-drive platter. The HDX creates uncompressed WAV files from a double-reading of each CD, ensuring an identical, bit-for-bit copy. The primary 400GB hard-drive can store around 500 CDs in this manner, cataloguing them automatically. Read The Full Story

Pioneer AVIC-F car entertainment – voice recognition, Bluetooth & XM radio

Chris Davies, Apr 21st 2008 Discuss [0]

Pioneer have released a number of high-end in-car entertainment systems for their AVIC-F range. The three models - AVIC-F700BT, AVIC-F900BT and Premier branded AVIC-F90BT - all feature XM and satellite radio compatibility, Bluetooth with conversational voice recognition that can be used to control navigation, voice control of a connected iPod and a 5.8-inch WVGA touchscreen. The latter two models also have DVD playback and a built-in MSN Direct tuner. Read The Full Story

Tactile Mp3 player with simple control

Christina Crouch, Jan 30th 2008 Discuss [0]

I wish I had an exact number of different kinds of Mp3 players there are. It would just be nice to have and throw around once in a while when you run across those people who’ve never heard of anything but an iPod. Read The Full Story

Stylophone makes a comeback

Christina Crouch, Jan 30th 2008 Discuss [0]

I’m really glad I’m not of the 70’s generation, some of things that went on during then worry me a little, and those worries are based on outcomes, rather than actually things that happened. The Stylophone was an outcome of the 70’s and though it kind of died it is making a comeback and I’m not quite sure why. Read The Full Story

Bowers & Wilkins Liberty wireless music system

James Allan Brady, Jan 21st 2008 Discuss [0]

From the makers of the CES Award winning Zeppelin iPod Dock boombox, Bowers and Wilkins are bringing you a new wireless surround sound system. What’s new here is that it outputs up to 8 channels wirelessly, a full 2 more than any other system I have ever heard of. Read The Full Story