Wednesday, September 27, 2006

Stereo systems are electronic devices

Would you like to find out what those-in-the-know have to say about home stereo? The information in the article below comes straight from well-informed experts with special knowledge about home stereo.

Stereo systems are electronic devices designed to reproduce high quality sound on speakers. Stereo systems can be as small as a personal CD player, or as large as a night club system. Nowadays, using a stereo system is the latest to amplify your taste in music quality, as well as jazz up the aura of your domicile. However, before deciding to buy a stereo, it is recommended that you give consideration to the specific things that you want.

Stereo systems offer an all-in-one music package composed of stereo speakers, CD player, equalizer, amplifier and a receiver. Picking out the type of system you desire depends solely on your preference and on the type of room where it will be stationed.

Those of you not familiar with the latest on home stereo now have at least a basic understanding. But there's more to come.

More often than not, stereo speakers can be classified into two types -- component speakers and full range speakers. Both encompass a number of pluses and minuses. Basically, full range speakers come in different sizes, made up of the tweeter, woofer and super tweeter. However, if you desire the best possible audio quality, then component speakers are the best choice.

You need to think over several factors to get the sound quality that you desire before purchasing stereo speakers. Apart from the type of speaker, other vital factors to consider are the speaker’s efficiency, frequency response and maximum power. These three things are interrelated with each other, and the absence of one may affect the entire sound frequency. The speaker’s frequency response must be superior and broader to achieve improved sound control and simulation. The efficiency of the speaker should also be taken into account. Keep in mind that the greater its efficiency, the better the result. Last but not least, maximum power must also be assessed for a long-lasting quality audio sound.

Hopefully the sections above have contributed to your understanding of home stereo. Share your new understanding about home stereo with others. They'll thank you for it.

Monday, September 25, 2006

quality of home stereo

You should be able to find several indispensable facts about home stereo in the following paragraphs. If there's at least one fact you didn't know before, imagine the difference it might make.

Today, I can fire up my media player software, choose a radio station, and sit back at my computer (or work on other things) while beautiful, CD-quality music pours from my speakers or into my headphones.

The diversity of music genres is also gratifying. My own tastes are quite eclectic, but thanks to Internet radio, whenever I tire of reggae I can jump straight over to a Motown stream, or perhaps to an all-British Invasion station. Electronica, hip hop, bluegrass, r&b, Latin. honky tonk, easy listening, metal, doo wop, disco, folk, Americana, New Wave -- the musical spectrum can now be sliced as thin as anyone might desire.

How can you put a limit on learning more? The next section may contain that one little bit of wisdom that changes everything.

At one time, you could be certain of hearing classical music on almost any public radio station you tuned to. But over time, even these stations began shifting away from classical to more popular music forms such as folk, bluegrass, Celtic, blues, etc. Or, they became more talk-oriented.

Nowadays, though, classical music fans can breathe easier. As long as they are connected to the Internet (or have a satellite radio subscription), they can find an abundant choice of classical music stations to enjoy. I found the XLNC link through a Web site that listed and described 100 Internet radio stations whose programming is wholly or in large part devoted to classical music.

Now that wasn't hard at all, was it? And you've earned a wealth of knowledge, just from taking some time to study an expert's word on home stereo.

Thursday, September 21, 2006

All about home stereo

The following article includes pertinent information that may cause you to reconsider what you thought you understood. The most important thing is to study with an open mind and be willing to revise your understanding if necessary.

XM Satellite Radio, the most popular satellite radio station in North America, offers two different options for those in the market for a digital radio alarm clock. The first is to purchase a plug and play receiver for your digital radio alarm clock. A receiver such as the Audiovox Xpress offers the user with the versatility to plug it into the car for road trips or a home boom box like device to act as an alarm clock. All you have to do is set the alarm time, the channel and go to sleep. If your daily commute does not involve a car, perhaps a portable XM receiver like the Delphi MyFi is the best option. This portable receiver can be carried around during the day like an iPod or Walkman and then placed into a home stereo device at night. Once it has been placed into its cradle, the MyFi can act as a digital radio alarm clock, awakening you whenever you want.

You can see that there's practical value in learning more about home stereo. Can you think of ways to apply what's been covered so far?

If you're a music lover, you probably already have a home stereo. Use it to listen to your MP3 music files! However, take note that Like car stereos, conventional home stereos will not be able to play back native MP3 songs. You will need a newer home stereo set with MP3 playback capability. New models from Kenwood, Panasonic, Pioneer and Sony usually have MP3 support. With the optional home kits available for any of the Sirius Satellite Radio receivers, nearly any receiver can be used as a digital radio alarm clock. The beauty of the Sirius designed satellite receivers lies in the similarity of the technical specifications which allows nearly every add-on to be compatible with nearly every receiver. All you need to do is purchase a receiver and a home system, plug one into the other and set the time for your alarm. It’s that simple. With products like the Sportster, you are able to use your receiver in your car or as a portable device if you take the train, bus or subway to work.

Now that wasn't hard at all, was it? And you've earned a wealth of knowledge, just from taking some time to study an expert's word on home stereo.

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

wondered what exactly is up with home stereo?

Have you ever wondered what exactly is up with home stereo? This informative report can give you an insight into everything you've ever wanted to know about home stereo.

Here’s your problem. You have a ton of music on your computer. Your computer speakers sound ok but music from your Itunes software would sound a lot better playing through your nice home stereo in the other room. If you run a cord all that way from your computer to your home stereo your house won’t be featured in Architectural Digest because it won’t look aesthetic. Solution? Connect an AirPort Express Base Station to your home stereo and play your Itunes music wirelessly. Sound difficult? It really isn’t. I connected one for a customer of mine some time ago.

There has been a revolution taking place in the home entertainment and electronics field in the past decade that will change how we view and listen to entertainment forever. Not long ago, you watched TV and listened to stereo music separately. But increasingly audio and video sources have become combined and now we have a multitude of audio/video devices that we can choose to enjoy including dvd players, camcorders, video games, HDTV, and more. And with this audio/video consolidation the home stereo receiver has had to keep up with the times. For most modern uses though, you will need a receiver that can handle both digital audio and video inputs and then routes the signals to the correct component like your TV and speaker setup. On the video side look for receivers that have enough video inputs to support all the video devices that you plan to use, and also be sure that the connection types match up between the video devices you have and the receiver inputs. On the audio side, if you plan on using the

The best time to learn about home stereo is before you're in the thick of things. Wise readers will keep reading to earn some valuable home stereo experience while it's still free.

digital surround sound capability that much of today's entertainment is going to, your receiver should be able to decode both Dolby and DTS 5.1 surround sound and then support at least 5 speakers and a subwoofer to distribute each channel's sound to the appropriate speaker.

Since Apple’s website does not tell you, I had to call to find out that the airport does not come with the cables you need to hook it up to your home stereo. To connect the Airport to your stereo, you’ll need either a mini stereo to RCA cable or if you’re stereo has the input, a toslink to mini digtal fiber optic cable.

There's a lot to understand about home stereo. We were able to provide you with some of the facts above, but there is still plenty more to write about in subsequent articles.

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

home stereo competitors

The following article presents the very latest information on home stereo. If you have a particular interest in home stereo, then this informative article is required reading.

The cost of a satellite radio installation is broken down into two different groups, the startup (installation costs) and the monthly subscription to either XM satellite radio or Sirius satellite radio. Receivers and mounting hardware, the cost of activation are all start up costs. Recievers are available for your car, your home, your computer and now portable receivers are available. So how much does satellite radio installation really cost?

Satellite Radio installation costs are broken down as follows:

Activation costs are the amount that both XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio charge to start service. Activation costs vary, where $5.00 with Sirius and $9.99 with XM will get you ready to go. Telephone activation is $15.00 with Sirius and $14.99 with XM. Monthly subscription costs then play into the cost, but these depend on some factors. Recent media campaigns are dramatically dropping the cost of installation and activation, both XM and Sirius are offering free activation in some instances. Further Detail at: www.TopSatelliteRadio.com

Think about what you've read so far. Does it reinforce what you already know about home stereo? Or was there something completely new? What about the remaining paragraphs?

A typical cost of a car satellite radio installation can vary depending on whether you use a Satellite radio which is dedicated only to satellite radio reception or if it also can play CDs.

Exclusive talk shows, news, sports, cultural and educational programs. From Howard Stern to Martha Stewart, there's something for everyone. The data transmitted includes the name and artist of songs and programs, as well as the channel. With this feature you can easily choose what you want to listen to.

Although some may question why they should pay for radio when they can listen to free FM and AM stations, more and more people are choosing satellite radio subscriptions. With so many choices of music and programs to listen to and the virtual commercial free environment, they consider it well worth the price.

It never hurts to be well-informed with the latest on home stereo. Compare what you've learned here to future articles so that you can stay alert to changes in the area of home stereo.

Sunday, September 17, 2006

Know more about home stereo.

The following article includes pertinent information that may cause you to reconsider what you thought you understood. The most important thing is to study with an open mind and be willing to revise your understanding if necessary.

We all know what a CD is, we use it to play music in our cars and home stereos. By definition it is an optical disc used to store digital data, usually 80 or 120mm in diameter. It was introduced in 1982 and is now the standard playback format for commercial audio recordings. An audio CD consists of one or more stereo tracks of audio, stored using the 16 bit PCM (Pulse code modulation), with a sampling rate of 44.1 kHz. Originally the first audio CD was going to hold 1 hour of audio, with a disc diameter of 11 ½ cm. The final length of the CD was bumped up to 74 minutes. Some say that this was because Sony’s vice-president suggested it, so that it would be able to fit the full recording of Beethoven’s 9th symphony. But this is most likely untrue, although it sounds pretty cool! In 1988 the CD-R (also known as the CD-WO (CD Write Once)) was introduced. It retained all the functionality of the CD, plus it added the feature of being able to store both music and data. Let’s take a deeper look into the world of the
CD-R disc. The Epic T60 treadmill offers a 3HP commercial grade continuous duty motor, walking deck up to 20” x 60”, PWM controller, 2-ply commercial belt, adjustable cushion deck, 2 cm MDF with 2-sided phenolic coating, 6.3 cms rollers (front & rear), incline up to 12%, six LED window displays, digital controls, feedback displays to speed, time, distance, incline, calories, pulse, 10 preset programs, 2 pulse programs, 2 use defined programs and 350 lbs user weight capacity.

A couple of concern for the Epic T60 treadmill could be the keypad which seems to give some Icon models trouble. The deck coating in this Epic treadmill model is considered to be thin. Epic T60 treadmill uses the cheaper rollers. Users while buying an Epic T60 treadmill should get an extended warranty from Universal technical Services (UTS).

I trust that what you've read so far has been informative. The following section should go a long way toward clearing up any uncertainty that may remain.

Epic T60 treadmill is a commercial grade treadmill offering range of features so as to achieve the performance and workout needs of users. Users can achieve their body results and fitness by exercising on the Epic T60 treadmill.

Now that you have a better understanding of how CD-Rs work and how they differ from regular CD media, you should have no trouble burning your own CDs. This article is definitely not a full explanation or analysis of CD-R media, but it contains some very important information that all computer users should know. I really hope this makes your next burn project a lot easier and more fun!


Knowing enough about home stereo to make solid, informed choices cuts down on the fear factor. If you apply what you've just learned about home stereo, you should have nothing to worry about.

Thursday, September 14, 2006

Mustek launches Paragon tabletop and tower iPod home stereo systems

Imagine the next time you join a discussion about home stereo. When you start sharing the fascinating home stereo facts below, your friends will be absolutely amazed.

Pros: The most inexpensive Bluetooth stereo audio kit yet released for the iPod, combining a wireless transmitter with a stereo audio receiver that connects to your home A/V system via included RCA cables or a self-supplied fiber optic cable. Allows you to use iPod as a wireless remote control/jukebox for home stereo. Delivers nicely balanced audio without compromising on bass, very powerful broadcasting range. Great value.

Cons: Audio signal includes slight distortion, which when combined with old Bluetooth 1.2 audio standard doesn’t output quite the clean level of audio one would hope for from a device with optical audio output; picky listeners won’t be thrilled, except for the price. No iPod volume adjustment.

You may not consider everything you just read to be crucial information about home stereo. But don't be surprised if you find yourself recalling and using this very information in the next few days.

Yes, the glut of new iPod-friendly products continues (and we've not finished yet) with Mustek's new Paragon range of iPod home stereo systems, avilable as either a compact tabletop model (DT260) or in a large tower design (TW450), both available in black and white.

As you'd expect, both incorporate the iPod universal docking cradle for plugging in Video iPod, iPod nano, iPod photo, iPod mini or earlier FireWire iPods. The systems recharge your iPod while it plays your tunes through the three-way shielded speaker system and built-in subwoofer. A wireless infrared remote lets you navigate your iPod music library, as well as to advance and rewind tracks, mute the sound, or control volume and power.

When word gets around about your command of home stereo facts, others who need to know about home stereo will start to actively seek you out.

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

home stereo: Preparing Your Audio Master For CD Duplication Or Replication

When setting up your CD duplication or replication project, you obviously know that you must provide the duplication house with a master copy of your CD audio to duplicate from. This should be a carefully burned copy of your final, edited and mastered audio recording. Since this master copy is going to be used as a blueprint for all your CDs, it is the most important piece of the pie. While most people think that you can take your final recording, burn a copy from your computer, and have it be done; this is not always the case. There are a few different things to take into account when preparing your master for duplication or replication. These are the things we will be discussing today in this article.

1. CD-R Media

For CD masters, you will need to use high-density, Red Book approved CD-R media. A few of the most widely accepted brands are, HHB, Mitsui, Maxell, Taiyo Yuden, and Apogee. You will want to ask your duplication house which brands they recommend, as the preferred brand of CD-R tend to vary from house to house.

2. Burn mode

Most all duplication facilities will ask that you burn your CD master in Disk-At-Once mode. This is because in the Disc-At-Once mode, there are no gaps placed in the audio data. When you burn your discs in the Track-At-Once mode, a gap of 2 seconds is added in between each song. These gaps will be read by the duplication house’s machines as errors or glitches in the audio, and may cause problems during the duplication process.

3. Burn speed

The optimal burn speed for your master depends on your CD burner’s drive speed. The optimal burn speed setting for your master discs will be 15 to 30 percent of your drive’s maximum capacity. I.E., if your drive’s max capacity is 52X, you’ll want to set the burn speed for your master to be 12-16X.

4. Labeling

Most duplication houses recommend that you do not use a Sharpie to label your discs. This is because the xylene or toluene in Sharpies may damage the data you have recorded onto the discs. If you need to label your discs, it is recommended that you use either a water-based permanent felt tip marker, or label it with a sticker type label made for CD-R labeling. This will ensure that your data is not damaged and will be just as it was when you burned it to the disc.

5. Testing

Make sure that after you’re done burning your CD-R, that you test it out on your home stereo. I usually test mine on a boom box, my home stereo, and my car stereo; just to be sure.

These 5 things are generally the most important factors when it comes to burning a master in preparation for CD duplication and replication. But please do not treat this article as the final authority on audio CD master preparation. You will want to contact the company who is doing your duplication and ask them about their CD master standards, as they vary from house to house. I hope this article shed a little light on the dark and mysterious subject known as preparing your audio master for disc duplication.

Jason Cole and DiskFaktory offer great tips and information regarding CD Duplication. Get info about DVD Duplication as well by visiting http://www.diskfaktory.com/tips/CD-duplication-tutorials.asp

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jason_Cole

Sunday, September 10, 2006

home stereo: Amazon Unbox attempts to take PC into living room

By Stan Beer
Monday, 11 September 2006


It’s what Microsoft has been aiming for since it released Windows Media Center. However, the release of Amazon Unbox, is a true test of whether consumers are ready to make the PC part of the living room entertainment set up.

Some consumers will want to watch movies on their notebooks. Fewer will want to watch full-length movies and TV shows on portable players with 4-inch screens. Even fewer will want to watch movies or TV shows on their PCs in their home office sitting at a desk.

Since Amazon Unbox does not enable users to burn movies to DVD, the only viable option that will give home consumers the sort viewing experience comparable to what they already get from renting or buying DVDs is if they hook their computers to the TV.

Amazon makes the point that you can watch the downloaded video on a TV if you can connect your PC to it using a “standard” s-video connection. You also need to use the audio system of the PC or connect it via the audio out to a home stereo system for sound.

According to Amazon, an average 2 hour movie is about 2.4GB. So a 1.5M DSL connection will take about 1 hour to download. However, the Amazon Unbox system has a progressive download feature that allows you to watch your video while you download. So theoretically, you can be up and watching you movie within a few minutes while it’s still downloading.

As far as price is concerned, taking the movie Office Space as an example, since it’s one of the biggies being advertised right now, the price for a download at US$13.45 is exactly the same as the price that Amazon sells the DVD. It can also be rented for 24 hours for US$2.99.

In order to accomplish all of this, you need to first download the Amazon Unbox Video Player software, which is copy protected using Microsoft’s PlayForSure digital rights management (DRM) system. Don’t even think of trying to play a downloaded video from Guba, CinemaNow or Guba using the Amazon Unbox player because it won’t work.

As for Apple Mac, well Amazon reckons you may be able to use its system with a Mac running Windows but doesn’t guarantee the results. No doubt if Mac releases its own video downloads this week, Mac users won’t care.

The bottom line of all this is that the emerging video downloads space is bringing the video DRM issue to a big white pimply head. Forgetting the Apple space for the moment, there are now a number of video download sites, all of which are protected by PlayForSure, most of which can be played on portable devices and notebook computers. Amazon has gone the extra step of trying to lock users into its own system by not allowing downloads from other sites to be played on the Amazon Unbox player.

It is fair to say that video downloads have not exactly become an overnight sensation and probably the main reason is that the PlayForSure DRM precludes users from burning their downloaded videos to DVD. For rentals, it is understandable. For downloads costing the same price as a DVD, it is sheer madness, given the ubiquity of DVD players.

Looking at the music downloads space, both the Microsoft and Apple DRM systems enable users to burn tracks to CD. It makes sense given that most consumers have CD players in their homes, on their computers and in their cars. Likewise, most consumers now have several DVD players in their homes and on their computers. To expect them to buy into a video downloads system that leaves their DVD player out of the loop simply does not make sense for consumers.

It will be interesting to see what Apple comes out with this week at its media briefing. The chances are it will also preclude DVD burning. Is it a coincidence that the new iMac includes a model with a 24 inch monitor?

Friday, September 08, 2006

home stereo: Review: M602 iPod speaker system offers solid sound in compact design

Altec Lansing’s M602, an US$199.95 iPod speaker system for the home, is a portable, good-sounding unit. It won’t replace a home stereo, but then I’ve never listened to a portable speaker system that could (including Apple’s own iPod Hi-Fi; sorry, Steve).

Actually, though it’s touted for the iPod, it has a universal MP3 cradle that creates a stage-like docking system for a variety of MP3 players—though I own none except iPods. For those who own 5G (video enabled) iPods, the M602 comes complete with a composite video output that conveniently lets you watch iPod videos on TV.

One of the niftiest things about the M602 is its portability. Less than the size of a MacBook—more specifically, it’s 14 inches wide, 5.4 inches deep 8.2 inches high and weighs five pounds—it can be carried from room-to-room. My latest “honey-do” chore from my lovely wife Laura is working with my son and father-in-law to build a sun room on our house. A lot of the work is tedious, but playing my iTunes on the M602 has helped make the tedium more bearable. You can also mount the speaker system on a wall with a kit available for free on Altec Lansing’s web site (well, free except for the $3 for shipping and handling).

A top-located control panel offers fingertip adjustment of the M602 operations, including treble and bass. LED indicator lights, located behind the grille, provide instant visual of master volume, treble and bass levels. The lights fade after adjustments are made. The M602 has a wireless remote that you can untuck from its caddy and use from a distance (which I did repeatedly during my sun room work). The remote handles most of the iPod functions, including play/pause and back/forward.

Setting the base/treble settings was a little tricky. In order to adjust the bass and/or treble levels, you have to hold down the corresponding button, then press the plus/minus volume button to raise and lower levels. This isn’t exactly intuitive.

The M602 is a good-looking system. Its silver-and-white motif matches well with all iPods, especially the white models.

The speaker system boasts two 3-inch full-range drivers and two 1-inch silk dome tweeters and built-in XdB bass enhancement technology. The latter offers more bass oomph than I expected, and good treble and midrange sound, though, like most speaker systems of this sort, the M602 has little in the way of stereo separation. And if you crank it up all the way, there’s some distortion. The M602 is AC powered with 60 watts total RMS. It would be great if battery power were an option considering how compact and portable it is.

The Altec Lansing unit doesn’t quite dislodge the JBL On Time as my favorite iPod speaker system—see our April 27 review—but it’s $100 less expensive, sounds almost as good and is certainly worth the price tag.

Macsimum rating: 7.5 out of 10

Wednesday, September 06, 2006

home stereo: SanDisk offers dock for MP3 players

posted 9:31am EST Tue Sep 05 2006 - submitted by Brian Osborne
BLURB


SanDisk is showing it's not just a flash memory company, having launched a base accessory for its SanDisk MP3 players. The Sansa Base Station can be connected to a home stereo or powered external speakers. The base is compatible with the company's e200 line of MP3 players as well as the more recent c200 series.

It is an easy way to connect your MP3 player to a stereo system and the docking station hooks up to your PC to allow for quick transferring of music. Making things even nicer is the included remote control that also rests in the docking station, making it easy to change music without having to use the controls on the MP3 player. The Sansa Base Station will retail for US$69.99 and will be available by October in the U.S. and Europe.

MP3 players are great, but what makes an MP3 player nice is accessories. Being able to quickly access your music while at home through a docking station with a nice remote control makes the SanDisk MP3 players a nice option. I'm sure that's partly behind SanDisk's intention to market its MP3 players more by offering more accessories.

Monday, September 04, 2006

home stereo: iTunes Movies... and New Media Device?

Monday September 04, 2006 07:49 PM EST
Posted by arn


Appleinsider reports that Apple is ready to introduce the iTunes Movie Store at the upcoming September 12th Media Event.

They expect that Jobs will announce that movies from at least one major studio will be available at $9.99/download with additional studios following. Appleinsider, however, also claims that Apple has been working on their next killer device. Instead of a video iPod device to drive movie sales, they believe a video streaming device is in the works:

Jobs many months ago commissioned an elite group of Apple engineers to get the ball rolling on an intuitive hardware solution that would more closely tie the company's digital media strategy to the living-room.
....

Insiders can only presume the device will take up the form of a video-enabled version of Apple's existing AirPort Express wireless base station, which lets users stream their iTunes music tracks from their computers to their home stereo receivers. It also acts as a wireless 802.11 router and printing hub.

Details are scarce, and the rumor site also reports that the release could still be delayed.

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