We’ve all got that one friend who just cannot believe you’d listen to 128kbps MP3s. Well, forget the rent, slap a handful of Benjamins down, slot this AeroSystem One next to your IKEA furniture, and then continue to play those low bit rate tracks — it should drive’em nuts. Designed with a decidedly anti-regressive approach to sound quality, Jarre’s lamp-like audiophile rig is the Lady Liberty of digital music, accepting not only all generations of Apple’s iPods and iPhones, but also tunes recorded in any digital format. The stainless steel and toughened glass-made sound system, measuring about three and a half feet tall and weighing about 32lbs, pumps up those iTunes jams with the aid of two 30W satellite speakers and one 60W subwoofer. Oh, and that cost? Yeah, the sound of this music’s gonna run you 799 Euros (or ,135), but hey — a month or three of ramen never hurt anybody. Right?

[Thanks, Nick]

Jarre AeroSystem One’s music makes the audiophiles come together originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 02 Sep 2011 15:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Just what quite a few new users don’t understand is that it’s going to take more than just a top quality set of speakers along with a functioning computer to create excellent sound. A 5.1 surround sound card is usually essential. Without this, the home theater system’s speakers and subwoofer mean nothing at all.

What is a 5.1 surround sound card? Essentially, it is precisely what regulates your audio system. The 5.1 shows that you have installed all five speakers and 1 subwoofer. These 5 speakers usually are installed strategically through the entire room in your home, resulting in the desired surround sound results. The subwoofer is a vital add-on to any kind of stereo system, because it amplifies softer, lower sounds, such as bass notes or background noise.

Why is a 5.1 surround sound card very important? This is largely since this is what the sound equipment plugs into, instead of a system receiver. A top quality sound card often means the difference between crisp, beautiful sound and crackly, distorted music. Additionally , it may modify the functionality of both the computer and also the speaker system as well. Anyone who has ever suffered random fade outs, silences, and sound distortions will confirm that. It may well additionally make it hard to operate the computer as well. A 5.1 surround sound card additionally plays a part in stopping smaller quality problems as well, including tinniness, crackling, sound warps, and other annoyances.

Furthermore, sound cards also modify the quality of the headsets as well. If you have a set of surround sound earphones, then it is easy to understand why the quality of the sound card will be essential to using this device. This is because, such as the surround sound speakers, the headsets attempt to make the same music illusions, other than they are all being blared straight into your ears.

Typically, the prominent sounds are played on one side while the background noises are on the other. In many cases each side of the headphone does have it’s bass speaker or subwoofer as well to create the most intimate result. Bearing this in mind, it’s not hard to see why a poor sound card could destroy the experience of these headsets?It might be very easy to listen to even the tiniest of disturbances. Glaring audio warping can be just like a trumpet blast. Discover more today about how a 5.1 surround sound card will benefit you!

For the computer whiz, pc gadgets for your entire computer needs. Components are not only meant for audiophiles. PC gadgets for the computer crazy abound. Even a USB Desc vacuum! You cannot beat that! The boys would love to get this stuff instead of socks.

For the avant-garde, the USB bouncer can just be your thing. Nobody but nobody can get close. The bouncer is a guard to ensure the safety of your personal computer. All the little paraphernalia you have in and around your computer desk will be protected. It is battery operated and has a built-in sensor to detect movements. “You’re not coming anywhere here lookin like that.” You just have to run for your life.

Gadgets have a way making life easy and delightful. They are great buys for the great help you need. As boys toys are for the letting out of the inner child in all of the boys. Let loose the boy in you with the sling shot catapult. The trendy looking catapult equipped with softball bullet is great for indoor fun. Here you would not know how to separate the boys from the men.

All set to fly right out of the box. This RC plane is great for indoor flights. It is packed with notable achievement of micro technology. All you need is drop in 8 AA batteries and you are off. Pass zoom mop heads and piles of papers. Little boys and big boys sharing the fun. How comfortable!

The site brings in together many absolutely incredible ideas and thingamajigs for big boys and little boys as well – those who love gadgets and boys toys. And they would never have a vicarious thrill again. Wouldn’t it feel great to shoot that catapult right from your hands or fly your own plane? How about complete gizmos for your beloved computer? Life would never be the same again. It is like having your own nanny to take care of things.

Next time you buy gifts for the big boys and the little boys in your life, think fun and extraordinary. Gadgets and boys toys as gifts can send the recipients shoot up into heaven. All your guys, little or big, can share the fun of racing cars, flying planes, shooting catapults and just helping each other discover the different uses of pen gadgets, pc gadgets, keyrings and others. Oh what fun it will be!

It is like Christmas is here everyday. Since Christmas spells fun and excitement, so do the giving of gifts of gadgets and boys toys to all the men who deserve to have them. The joy and delight can never be erased from the hearts of these little big men who are just grateful of a good deed.

By Evan Ackerman

A couple years ago, we posted about some self-described “audiophiles” who pitted premium Monster Cables against soldered coat hangers to see if there was any audible difference. And shockingly, shockingly, there wasn’t. Those cables were analog, and in the world of digital signals, cables should make even less of a difference, but that hasn’t stopped companies from betting that people are rich and dumb and trying sell you on them. After the jump, check out the rest of the above graphic, which makes it perfectly clear that you only buy expensive HDMI cables if you hate starving children.

[ Mint.com ]VIA [ DVICE ]

When vinyl master discs are produced, a cutting machine with an extremely stable and heavy base is used to produce the most accurate copy of a recording. And that’s where DaVinciAudio Labs’ new In Unison MK2 turntable got its inspiration. If it’s good enough for cutting a disc, it has to be good enough for playing one back right? In addition to a stable base with resonance reduction and silent magnetical bearings, the motor and control unit are kept separate from the precision crafted platter, and the whole unit is fed stable power to ensure a completely uninterrupted playback experience.

Now the belt drive mechanism means the In Unison MK2 isn’t going to replace your 1200s when it comes to scratching, but if you add the second tonearm option the whole unit weighs in at around 160 lbs, making it pretty much impossible to carry around to gigs anyways. Not to mention the slightly prohibitive $27,800 price tag which will keep this out of the hands of all but the most fanatical of audiophiles.

[ DaVinciAudio Labs In Unison MK2 Turntable ] VIA [ Enjoy The Music ]

Originally posted at The Audiophiliac

Archos has tablets too, you guys. Let’s not forget about Archos. Whether or not the company purposely let details of the 7-inch “ARCHOS 7 Android” tablet slip out on a product page of an online retailer in the UK (that page has now been removed), you’ve got to admit that the timing is interesting.

Whatever the case, the Archos 7 Android tablet looks similar to the already-available Archos 5. You’ll get a bigger touchscreen, of course, but the 800×480 resolution has remained the same.

According to ArchosFans.com:

“Differences form the current A5 IT include a user-facing webcam, a DC charger, a sliding and locking on-off switch, either dual speakers or a microphone that is no longer situated right next to the speaker as on the A5 IT and of course the 7″ screen.

Software changes also appear to be in store for the Archos Media Center app. Song lyrics support is new and the addition of the high-quality APE codec will please audiophiles.

Still no hardware buttons, so this does not look like it will meet the current guidelines for Google Experience apps (Market, Maps, Gmail, etc.). Does Archos know something we don’t about Google changing it’s mind? It seems they’re still betting on Google changing their minds and relaxing hardware standards to let the A7 (and the A5) Android models get in on the Google App goodness.”

An 8GB model was apparently up for pre-order on the UK site but, again, it’s since been taken down. Pricing was reported as £149.99 ($242) with an availability date of March. The Archos 5 Internet Tablet is currently available in the 8GB capacity for $250 here in the US, so it’d stand to reason that the 7-inch version would be at least that much when it comes out.

Archos 7 Android: First Pics, Specs, Release Date and Pricing [ArchosFans.com via SlashGear]

This one is lower and wider, has a horizontal drawer that slides out to accept the disc, and has much more flexibility of control. Audiophiles will however be dismayed to note that there is nothing on it to adjust; there isn’t even a knob to diddle. But there are plenty of buttons.

After the unit is turned on, a touch of a button opens the loading drawer. The disc goes in label-side up, playing-side down. To close the drawer, you can push the same button again or simply select a band for playing.

They also remind you of how far we’ve come. The digital encoding of music may have lost something in the early days (some would argue has never been recovered), but the medium made possible a perfect replicability and precision that some would say vinyl lacks.

The most immediately noticeable characteristics of the CD sound are its awesome lack of background noise and its almost unbelievable freedom from strain during the loudest passages. After a while one starts to notice other things. For example, the low end seems to have no bottom limit. In fact I am willing to bet I was hearing stuff at the extreme bottom that the record producers hadn’t heard, because some of it was soft but obviously extraneous infrasonic noise—occasional thuds that were totally unrelated to the music.

I mean, when was the last time you thought, “Ahh, what a refreshing lack of background noise!”

Definitely an interesting read for anyone interested in the history of technology.

[via Retro Thing]