Interesting news/reviews/deals from the portable audio market
Theater Research/Elite Audio = Buyer Beware…: Josh Ray, on a Chinese company that sells terrible speakers with fake specs and awards. They’re using direct marketing (have the speakers loaded on a white van that goes around town…) to sell these at “ridiculously low” prices.
From the “budget-conscious” department—SonicFlare’s most outrageous loudspeakers of 2005: “2005 was a big year for audio and what better way to sum up the craziness than a roundup of the most outrageous new speakers of the year. Ranging from $1,299 to $250,000, these speakers are on the cutting edge of technology and audible design.”
The [...]
Review: Usher Audio Technology S-520 loudspeaker: “I’m glad I had a chance to experience Usher Audio Technology’s S-520. Over a wide range of music, the Usher S-520 satisfied me during the many weeks it visited my system, and I found its modern white cabinet attractive. The Usher S-520 is an excellent value with many [...]
Guide to iPod accessories: iLounge has written some introductory texts for the various categories of iPod-related accessories. The most noteworthy are:
microphones and microphone adapters
remote controls
speakers
Green House’s portable speaker for the iPod shuffle: you just attach the GH-SP-125W to your Shuffle and wear it around your neck, letting the world know how much you love those bass-heavy tunes. 2AAA batteries power the 2.5W speaker for 12 hours. Expected in December (Japan only? simultaneous US release?), ~$25.
From the “probably useless but noteworthy, plus you never know” department: presenting Trust’s USB speaker set, the SP-2930p [via].
In the form factor of a USB key, and with a convenient clamp to attach them to the screen of your notebook, we’ll give them props for nice design, all right. But whether these’ll be able “to [...]
Deal: Factory refurbished Klipsch iFi speaker system for $199: a pretty solid offering from Klipsch, these can be used with any MP3 player (not exclusive to the iPod) as long as you got a stereo mini-plug to stereo mini-plug cable. Original price: $400. 19 available at the time of this offering. The first batch [...]
Logic 3’s i-Station shuffle [via] (dudes, that dash is totally killing the iFad) is another cool speaker system for the iPod shuffle. It recharges the Shuffle when it plays. You get 3 watts of power and a USB port which helps recharging the Shuffle when it plays. You can use the included AC adapter to [...]
From their website:
Hand built, magnetically shielded, two-way, ported bookshelf speaker system that delivers stunning sound in [...]
Creative announces the I-Trigue L3800 speakers: 2.1, going for $150, and the most interesting thing about them is that the IR remote control can be used to manage your Zen Vision/Sleek(+Photo)/Micro(+Photo) once they’re plugged in to the speakers’ port. If you like that enough to buy them, fine. But with a 80dB SNR, they’re far [...]