Audio
Engineers from one of the main players responsible for the development of the MP3 codec, the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS, have taken a similar approach in an effort to provide telephone calls and video conferences with sound quality approaching that of direct communication, while at the same time cutting delay times that often sees both speakers talking over each other. Their solution is a new audio coding technology called Enhanced Low Delay Advanced Audio Coding – or AAC-ELD – that they claim results in long-distance communications that appear almost as if the participants are sitting across from each other. Read More
Combining lighting with audio by using a light socket to power a wireless speaker is a two-in-one approach that appears to be gaining traction and this latest example - the Sound of Light speaker - grabbed our attention on both the functionality and aesthetic fronts. The Sound of Light system uses a Texas Instruments 2.4 GHz Purepath Digital Signal Transmitter to set up a wireless link between an audio device such as an MP3 player, smartphone or tablet and up to four speakers within a 300 ft range. Read More
If, like me, you've often wondered what would happen if you took a diamond drill to a glass vase and then fed in some audio - the answer we've been looking for takes the shape of the Glass Speakers from Whamodyne. A set of Logitech S120 computer speakers have been stripped apart, the components forced into a pair of glass vases, each of which have then been mounted at a slight tilt on a hand-made birch plywood base. They're not as powerful or as slick as the precious-looking GLA-55 touch-sensitive speakers from Harman Kardon, but they are about a tenth of the price. Read More
Renowned computer generated music innovator Max Mathews has died at the age of 84. Back in 1957 Mathews wrote the program that enabled an IBM 704 mainframe computer to play a composition lasting 17 seconds – an achievement recognized as one of the first examples of digital synthesis of music on a computer. For the next 54 years Mathews pioneered the field of digital audio research and devoted most of his life to learning how computers could aid musicians in performance. Read More
The relentless march of technology has delivered much of the audio quality once available only in a professional recording studio into the hands of the home recorder. For those who desire a return to the classic mellow warmth of the golden age of terrestrial radio and broadcast television, MXL is about to introduce what is said to be the world's first USB ribbon microphone. Given a vintage look reminiscent of the classic RCA 77-DX model from the late 1950s, the MXL UR-1 cardoid pattern microphone offers CD-quality analog-to-digital conversion and comes bundled with Mixcraft LE recording software. Read More
Call me old fashioned if you will, but there's nothing more pleasing than the soft, natural and warm sound produced by a tube amplifier. The Block amplifier by industrial designer Mateusz Glówka is as much a visual treat as a sonic one. The somewhat harsh geometric lines are offset by the gratifying glow of the half dozen tubes on display outside the stainless steel and aluminum housing and, in a novel twist, the main sound board is attached with hinges so that it can be raised for dusting the electronics. The tube amplifier is a working prototype at the moment, but the designer told Gizmag that he expects production models to be available soon. Read More
My first encounter with the tremolo guitar effect was on the breathtaking sixties rock anthem I Had Too Much To Dream by the Electric Prunes. Most people will be familiar with the effect from Gimme Shelter by The Rolling Stones, or Green Day's Boulevard of Broken Dreams for the more youthful among us. This rapid wobble to the groove has now been given a futuristic update with the release of the Tremvelope from Pigtronix. The new effects unit mixes up classic tremolo effects with envelope sensing to produce rotary effects that evolve and change based on what's being played. Read More
Handheld portable recorders with XY microphone configurations are great for tight stereo imaging but if you want to capture a wider ambient sound then an AB configuration would probably be better. With the forthcoming release of its DR-07 MkII recorder, both methods are brought to the one device. A host of new and useful features have been added to the update of Tascam's best-selling portable recorder, including overdub and reverb. Read More
While LG might be best known for its consumer electronics products, the South Korean conglomerate has plenty of strings to its bow with around 40 subsidiary companies in areas including electronics, telecommunications and chemicals. One such subsidiary is LG Hausys, which is Korea's biggest building and decorative material company. Its products include a solid surface material called HI-MACS and to demonstrate the "limitless design possibilities" of the material, LG Hausys teamed up with Korean architect Shi-hyung Jeon to create Horn, a hand-made iPod speaker dock featuring the smooth, curved shape from which it gets its name. Read More
Pioneering audio engineer Owsley 'Bear' Stanley dies at 76
Owsley “Bear” Stanley, pioneering audio engineer for the Grateful Dead, died in a car crash near his home in Australia on March 13. The sound designer, artist, and counterculture icon was perhaps best known for producing massive amounts of LSD during the psychedelic 1960s. But it was his groundbreaking sound work that may have the most lasting effect on rock musicians and audiences. Read More
