When we were kids, we had a pair of Jamo speakers that were probably the worst we have ever owned. Maybe just a notch above some speakers that came shrink-wrapped to a magazine bought in Spain a few years ago. These kinds of early impressions are hard to overcome but always eager to feed our readers with new tech info, we accepted a recent halloween audition invitation from Jamo. My, how things change.
Oh headphones, how we love thee! To listen to music in one's own little world on one's own little terms is pure auditory bliss... if done correctly. We here at Unplggd Audio Labs are on a constant search for the perfect tools for listening and today we have another candidate for evaluation.
Let's talk a bit about Panasonic. They have been in the biz for a long time without any icons of note. Sure, they have their Lumix cameras, as any lummox will tell you, but what have they invented or pioneered? (feel free to chime in in the comments if you feel there is something we missed...)
Earbuds are often painful in both the way they deliver sound and the way they fit your ears. Most of us just deal because they are small and they come with the player. If they get lost or broken, we don't feel as bad because we can just replace them with another pair that we steal from a friend or small child. What happens when you want to take a step up, though? Where do you start?
If not for the $4 licensing fee that all 3rd party manufacturers must pay to Apple to use their connectors, iPod docks would actually be a dime a dozen. There are so many to choose from at such low quality levels, that one would think these companies would just give up. It takes a sound, good company to put together a dock that delivers good sound. Vers has erupted onto the scene with their unique and conscientious apporoach to building a brand.
We have a little design fetish here at Unplggd.com. We love all things bright and beautiful, as long as they do something that enriches our lives. We've noticed a trend recently in design that we think is one of the most exciting things to happen since Carrot Top got his own show in Vegas. Though admittedly not directly home design related, we recently got an unusual, but welcome invitation to get a behind the scenes look, ride and lesson about how even the realm of automotive design pulls from architecture and furniture design for inspiration. How could we say "no" to that?
An out-of the-gate success, Vers Audio has come onto the market at a time when docks are a dime a dozen, and sound quality is subverted by cheap manufacturing processes. A company that takes true sustainability seriously even when they can’t, Vers is going beyond sustainability to giving back more than they take. Today we speak with founder and partner, David Laituri…
It seems there is no end to the fabulous, tiny products from Firestone. We have talked a lot about them over the past few months and this week we audition the Fubar 3 DAC and headphone amp (which isn't f.u.b.a.r. at all...)
We are very into internet radio. It is a great way to hear music you might never have chosen on your own, but that you end up loving anyway. No matter how much music you own, the collection eventually will go stale. On a laptop, nothing makes for a more complicated workflow than having a bunch of windows open so you can have work, research, email and music open at the same time. What if you could connect to the internet for music, but you didn't have to do it through your computer?
It's been a while since I've written about this amp and I figured it was time for an update. I am actually looking for suggestions on the finishing color, so feel free to chime in in the comments.
Firestone has been kind enough to send us a few of their products recently and today we take an in-depth look at a new digital amplifier. The Big Joe 3, as its numerimacality suggests, is the third generation of a series of small, yet powerful amplifiers.
Hello again:) In our last installment, I turned some scrap aluminum into a backplate and heatsink for our iPod dock. The leftover MDF was cut to the same size as the original speakers and we soldered up our new amp. This week we spring a few surprises and start to tie it all down...
Hi. Last time I went over some of the reasons for creating this dock and went through some of the initial cutting and rough stuff. I cut some mahogany, routed out some speaker depressions, and framed up the overall shape of the box. Now on to some refinement...
We have tried out a lot of docks here on Unplggd. We love the variety that's available out there in terms of quality, price, functionality and design. So there is really no reason to do what I have begun doing. I suppose you could say that I am compelled to build. Maybe I can't stand to see good materials go to waste. Maybe I just want to try something that no one else has done or create something so amazingly specific, that I would never find it out on the market. Maybe I just need a dock and don't have the extra cash lounging around to buy one.
We love our mobile tech here at Unplggd and since we are on the topic of travel for the month of July, why not talk a bit about how we get around?
Cars are clogging up our city streets. If every one of those cars were to be switched to electric, we would still have the same number of cars on the road- we would probably have more since electricity is cheaper to run. The fact is, cars can adapt to multiple usage scenarios and that is why we use them... but is there another way?
Ok, we officially have a tube fetish. We have always appreciated the magic of old tyme sound and even enjoy mono from tyme to tyme. We have admired Firestone's products from afar for a couple years now without thinking they were real. Seriously, just look at this little amp- is it not super cool looking? Who would have thought to put those incredible graphics on the front? And what marketing department would let that happen? Well, we are here to tell you that this stuff is real and there is more to this little country than cutting edge good looks.
© 2009 Apartment Therapy
