Are you considering putting in a surround sound system on your personal computer? If that’s the case, you are really in luck. Audiophiles and system fanatics as well can love the results of surround sound, whether they’re enjoying music, doing recordings, or participating in a video game.

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!

We have done some research, and it appears than the rumors of iPhones exploding all around the world—”world” as in “France, UK, and Belgium”—are greatly exaggerated. Here are all the known cases, and Apple’s official answer. Updated

In France

• 26-yo security guard Yassine Bouhadi claims that his iPhone exploded when he was texting his girlfriend. He claims that “a little bit of screen hit me in the eye and I had to remove it with a tweezer.” Obviously, Yassine Bouhadi is a pseudonym for Chuck Norris.

• French teen Romain Kolega’s mom claims that her son was also hit in the eye by a piece of glass from the handset, when it “suddenly broke.” Reportedly, Romain’s mom had an affair with Chuck Norris.

• A young guy called Raphael claims that his iPhone exploded too, but he was not injured. Allegedly, he watched a Chuck Norris movie once. Or maybe it was just a Steven Seagal one.

• 80-yo Roland Cauffman claims that he was injured too, according to this report. Perhaps the shockwave from the explosion broke his hip.

• The same happened to Valentine, a Parisian girl who claims her iPhone cracked when she was writing a text message. Maybe the phone self destructed after Valentine used LOL and XXXOOOXXX for the last 542 messages.

• Unlike Valentine, supermarket manager Fabrice Lerebourg got the same effect while—attention, s’il vous plaît!—downloading an iPhone app.

• Frank Benoiton says his iPhone 3G’s screen broke suddenly while using it. One moment it was ok. The next, broken. Such is life. One moment you are here, the next you are gone.

• 40-yo Olivier Milano said that his iPhone “self-destructed” in his hand. Unconfirmed sources point that Milano likes to be called James by his friends.

• 20-yo Edward—in Marseille—says his screen broke too, also automagically.

• A teenage couple said that their iPhone’s screen did the same after doing a “crackling” sound. One of them also got a glass shard in his eyes. His name was Richard. I call him Richard the Fake One-Eyed Pirate.

• Finally, a cellphone seller working for SFR claims that he has seen two iPhones imploding. Somehow, the iPhone owners managed to create black holes inside their handsets.

One thing is clear from all these cases: The iPhone hates French people. And really, who can blame it? I know I can’t—but then again, I’m Spanish, and we hate them by default*. Like the rest of the European countries.

But that aside—looking at all these reports—it seems that a lot of people are trying to get free replacement iPhones following a media craze. At least, according to the Agence France Press, who has reported on Apple and the French consumer affairs minister’s statements on the matter.

Talking to the AFP, Apple France declared that the reasons for the alleged “explosions” in this country is not the battery, but “external forces”:

To date, there are no confirmed battery overheating incidents for iPhone 3GS and the number of reports we are investigating is in the single digits. The iPhones with broken glass that we have analysed to date show that in all cases the glass cracked due to an external force that was applied to the iPhone.

Apple France’s commercial director Michel Coulomb met Herve Novelli—the French consumer affairs minister—to talk about the investigation by the state’s consumer safety agency. According to Novellin, it seems that initial findings give the reason to Apple:

The first results show that the iPhones weren’t damaged by a battery defect leading to an explosion, but that there had been a prior shock that cracked the screens.

So at least in France, the exploding reports seem like utter bollocking. However, we don’t know yet about the following yet:

In the UK

• A girl said that her iPod touch exploded and Apple offered money to zip it. Obviously, she didn’t. It’s unclear if she asked to be a page 3 girl in The Sun. Oh, you little minx you.

In Belgium

• A boy called Salvatore said that his iPhone exploded “inside” when he was making a call. It’s like when I eat too much pizza. Something always explodes inside. Then I poop it out. In his case, the iPhone kept it all inside, making the screen black.

Looking at all these cases, it doesn’t seem like iPhones are exploding all over the world. More like there are a couple of alleged cases, and a bunch of people whining.

In other words: You don’t need a bullet-proof vest to operate an iPhone or iPod touch. Carry on, people. Nothing to see here.

* OK, not all the French. Just the snotty ones.

Update: Check the inside testimony from an iPhone Tier 2 support agent here.

Back when I was a kid, vinyl records were the vehicle used by diehard music lovers to listen to their favorite songs. Eight tracks were going out of style really quickly and the latest thing was the cassette tape. Even with the passing of the eight tracks and the appearance of the cassette tape, scores of music lovers, such as matt nathanson, stuck to the long-established vinyl records for their listening enjoyment.

We have come a long way since the hay day of vinyl records. CDs are all the rage now with good reason. The audio quality is truly pure and you almost feel as if you are in a sound-proof room when you focus your listening skills on the CD player. You can simply sit back with an xs energy drink and enjoy the songs. The clean sounds are a big improvement from the vinyl records that crackled as they played.

However, it is that crackling sound that is only offered by the vinyl records that I find so pleasing. There is something about that sound that is so fun to listen to especially when I’m in a wistful mood. Maybe it is because the crackling sound is tied so intimately to the songs I loved when I was a young person. I just can’t seem to separate the two.

I discovered my love for the one of a kind antique sounds of the crackling vinyl records accidentally. A close friend of mine offered free disc jockey services for my wedding. Of course I did not refuse the nice wedding gift. There was a catch. My friend plays vinyl records, nothing else.

This was not actually a hindrance for me. I wanted to forego all of the stylish pop-chart music of today and focus on older dance music and classic songs available on vinyl records. My friend started playing dinner songs at the reception. He chose traditional Irish music for the wedding meal. It’s not hot new music, but it’s pretty.

The entire reception hall fell silent during the prayer. Once the prayer ended, the DJ placed the needle on the record and the quiet room filled with soft crackling sounds followed by lovely Irish music. The transition was magnificent and the memory of the moment the crackling sounds overtook the reception hall still gives me chills. You simply could not duplicate that with a compact disc.

Technologically, we have come a long way when it comes to music. However, we should not altogether let go of the little gems from our past. The haunting sounds of the crackling vinyl records help us truly touch the past even if for just a flash.