Media Players
Harmon Kardon GLA-55 Desktop Speakers
Those looking for a stylish unique compact and powerful set of desktop speakers for your PC iTunes or iPod need look no further than the Harmon Kardon GLA-55 2.0 Speaker System
The way the audio controls and jacks are integrated makes this a beauty to behold (see photo below).
The GLA-55 speaker system delivers 110W (55 per channel) and near-reference quality audio performance throughout the frequency spectrum. More than a pretty face Harmon Kardon made sure that this system shares the DSP and high-end speaker components found in their line of audiophile speakers. Harmon Kardon is never known as ‘cheap’ but with all this punch laying below the surface you may be hard pressed to find regular boxy 3-way speakers with this combination of price performance and size, much less ones that look this cool.
Read more from Amazon.
Ultimate Headset for Sports Workouts and … Breakdancing?
Your b-boy/b-girl craving for an active and music-based lifestyle has probably run you into the Extreme Sports Conundrum. Namely the difficulty keeping headphones in place while you’re mountain biking, snowboarding, running, skiing or just straight up breakin’ to the beat of Buffalo Gals by Malcom McLaren. Yeah you know who you are.
Along comes Coosh with special-built headsets, promising you can get your shred on and never miss a beat. Heck, you can even be on a call with your iPhone while catching some serious air. Coosh has a series of “crash test” videos showing the headsets in action:
Let’s Play Some Hoops
Coosh recruited industrial design wizards Pensa (Brooklyn, NY) and Astro Studios to create headsets designed specifically for the active lifestyle crowd. Together they researched the Extreme Sports Conundrum and designed a new style of headphones with a special “hoop” that encircles the base of the ear. The hoops are removable too so the ‘phones can be used in more ordinary situations. Like waiting for the doctor to reset your broken leg.
Knowing their audience well, Pensa & Coosh knew this was a non-starter if they couldn’t deliver good sound quality too. And of course they can get uncomfortable with all that motion. That’s a lot to deliver.
Reality Check – How Did They Do?
We found Coosh did a surprisingly good at their mission. When doing some rugged mountain biking we could not jar them loose. The ‘phones delivered strong audio for both music and phone calls. And most surprising to us, the hoops were comfortable because of they are made from a soft & flexible silcone material. We’ve had our share of problems getting comfortable normal headphones – the fact Coosh nailed comfort, sound quality and ear-stickiness is impressive. As a bonus these things are inexpensive too – less than $25.
- understated but hip look
- excellent sound quality, with good base and accurate overall sound
- 65 Hz to 20Hz frequency response
- built-in mic on handset with answer/mute buttons
- available in black, white and pink (pink not available for iPhone version)
- soft and flexible silicone hoop material
- hoops can be removed when not breaking
Where To Get Them
You buy from Coosh.com direct or smart shoppers should check out Coosh Products (Amazon)
If there’s any disappointment here it’s the fact Coosh didn’t see fit to include Breakin’
Blu-ray Revisited – Is HD Video (finally) right for the Home?
We dream of a Blu-ray Christmas
Blu-ray is nearing 3 years old, and getting toward a year past the demise of its only competition – HD-DVD. HD-DVD called it quits early 2008 but few homes have made room for the HD Blu-ray format in the living room. While high-quality LCD’s and Plasma’s continue to get snapped up at record pace ahead of the holidays, most homes lack a true HD-quality video source. We take close a look at the Blu-ray landscape and find a lot of things to like as well as some recommended products if you’re looking to get started.
Blu-Ray Format
Blu-Ray has a number of strong capabilities and it has also become quite a bit more affordable. A few years ago you could expect to pay $600 or up for a player. Today you can get a good one for just over $200. (There are options under $200 but come with too many issues for us to recommend at this time.) Here are some of the top benefits of Blu-Ray:
- Only HD optical format supported industry-wide
- Markedly improved resolution and video quality compared to DVD
- 50 GB per Disc
- Over 9 hours of HD video per disc
- Wide range of popular video and audio formats (Dolby Digital, Dolby TrueHD, DTS, etc.)
- Support for downloading additional dynamic content if internet connection available
- Blu-ray readers and burners can be purchased inexpensively for PC’s and Mac’s (See popular Blu-ray Drives for PC/Mac)
It once was the case that Blu-ray discs were hard to find, but today popular video services like NetFlix and Blockbuster Online will send a growing number of Blu-ray titles right to your house and of course the local video store is likely to have them as well.
Playing The Blu’s
Blu-ray can make your favorite movies (our current faves on Blu-ray are The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
or The Ultimate Matrix Collection
There are two paths – either gets you to the best video and audio playback to take advantage of your LCD or Plasma.
First, you can get a standard player. Many people prefer this method as it’s traditional, fits well into existing home theater cabinets and is “plug and play” (put the disc in, it plays, done). Prices have dropped incredibly and now some pro-quality Blu-ray players can be had under $300. In our research, we have identified two to consider:
Panasonic DMP-BD30K Player
Sony BDP-S350 Blu-ray Player
One additional player option is worth considering, especially those with children in the house (or children-at-heart). The Playstation 3 Console
The major downside of the PS3 comes right from one of its benefits. For the non-gaming home or the traditionalist set, all those extra features could make simpler activities like watching a Blu-ray movie Friday night an exercise in frustration. Although the PS3 auto-plays Blu-ray discs on startup, there are a number of menus and a traditional remote control must be purchased extra (you can of course remote-control the PS3 with the included gaming controller).
Summary
The home theater format war over – at least for now. Tons of Blu-ray titles are available at retail and from rental services. But perhaps as importantly, Blu-ray players are finally getting to be a sensible choice for those looking to make the most of their home theater investment. If you have already purchased great speakers and a crystal clear LCD/Plasma, do yourself a favor and spend a few hundred more so you can get the most of it. Blu-ray is the uncontested king of video formats today. Many will continue to be satisfied with DVD and it’s not going anywhere of course. But the home theater enthusiast/fence-sitter should seriously consider if this holiday season there’s going to be a Blu-Christmas.
iPod Touch Review
iPod Touch - Digital Media Player Supremo
The iPod Touch is the world’s best digital media player. While the iPhone is an amazing piece of kit it’s also way more than many need in an age where everyone already has a mobile phone. To get the iPhone’s GPS voice and wireless data features you’ll pay $200-$300 for starters plus 2 years of voice+data from Cingular for a total cost of nearly $2,000 ! The iPod Touch has all the iPhone’s best features – the same crisp 3.5″ screen, the butter interface and the awesome web/media capabilities at a fraction of the cost. And with a nearby WiFi connection you can use all Mobile Safari and the growing number of iTunes App Store data features too.
Browse iPod Touch Models & Learn More
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