Accessories – Page 4 – Devices View

Headphones To Lure the Next Generation

February 7, 2011 - by Avi Greengart - 2 Comments.

Great article in Dealerscope on how custom audio shops can prepare for the future by focusing more on headphone sales. Money quote: "There are no new audiophiles entering our community any more," Abplanalp said. "For young people experiencing music, the art of building a stereo has lost its cachet. So selling headphones is a very important part of introducing music lovers to different performance levels…" The article also notes that Monster's Dr. Dre Beats line is a key sales driver for this demographic, but oddly undersells the ability to properly demo in-ear headphones in-store.

Accessories / Audio / Music

Slate talks about the wonders of outboard DACs, I talk headphones

December 30, 2010 - by Avi Greengart - Leave a Comment

Fred Kaplan is apparently writing for Slate now*, and he correctly points out that digital music often sounds terrible, either due to poor sampling or poor encoding. He recommends using an outboard DAC to correct the problem. It's a great suggestion for people who listen to music in one spot using high end speakers or headphones, but not at all practical for those who are mobile, using an MP3 player or a smartphone as their playback source. Aside from echoing his related note to bump up the encoding rate when you rip music or download higher quality encoded music in …

Last Minute Holiday Gift Guide

December 19, 2010 - by Avi Greengart - Leave a Comment

My Last Minute, Non-Obvious Holiday Gift Guide 2010 has been posted over at Slashgear.com and includes a Home Entertainment section.

Kaleidescape Ships Blu-ray Server (Sort of)

December 14, 2010 - by Avi Greengart - Leave a Comment

First a bit of background: Kaleidescape is a high end media server vendor. They make boxes you have a custom installer put in one spot, which connect over a wired network to smaller boxes your installer connects to each TV and projector in your home. You – or your installer – copies all your DVDs onto the big box, and then you can watch all your movies anywhere in your home. Basically, it's Sonos for movies for rich people. How rich? Kaleidescape was actually the reason I instituted a policy not to review anything I could not reasonably afford. Years …

Accessories / Audio / Computing

Onkyo <3 Apple

November 24, 2010 - by Avi Greengart - Leave a Comment

As if the iPhone/iPod touch/iPad family wasn't already encroaching on distributed audio and home automation control systems, Onkyo announced that its future A/V receivers will come with free iOS remote control apps. This is a good idea for Onkyo on several levels: it allows Onkyo to tap into Apple's marketing momentum, and gives it the ability to market a rich touchscreen remote control without having to add anything to the bill of materials for the receiver. Of course, using a phone as a remote can be problematic – what happens when someone wants to use the system and you're on …

RIP Snell, Escient

July 14, 2010 - by Avi Greengart - Leave a Comment

Not sure where I was when this crossed the wire back in April, but I was saddened – but not surprised – to learn that D&M Holdings shut down both Snell and Escient. Snell was a high end speaker brand without enough brand recognition. Selling $30,000 speakers in a recession is extremely hard. Selling $30,000 speakers from a brand that only involved enthusiasts have heard of is basically impossible, no matter how terrific they measure and sound (Snell was famous for rigorously achieving ridiculously flat frequency measurements). I suspect that the recession did in Escient, which made well regarded music …

More Inputs, Please!

August 12, 2009 - by Avi Greengart - 1 Comment

I was talking with Microsoft about the XBOX 360 earlier this week, and one of the things they said will drive consumers to their console vs. the competition is the integration of multiple features into Live, such as Netflix streaming, gaming, and other content. At Current Analysis our Digital Home service covers game consoles from the perspective of connected services; we treat a PS3, XBOX, or Wii like the fancy set top boxes (that not coincidentally also play games) that they have become. However, I thought we were a bit ahead of the curve – most consumers haven't fully embraced …

Accessories

New Logitech Products

August 11, 2009 - by Avi Greengart - Leave a Comment

A few months back Logitech sent over their PS3 Harmony adapter, and I've had a half-finished review sitting in my Typepad queue ever since (it's the sort of device that you set it up once and then forget about – in a very good way). I'm going to get that done and posted soon so I can move on to today's news: the Harmony 900, which is what you get when you refine the Harmony One and add RF capabilities to control devices behind closed doors (or, in my case, behind a motorized screen). I recommended the Harmony One in …

Accessories / Audio / Computing

Odds and Ends

September 23, 2008 - by Avi Greengart - Leave a Comment

Logitech sent over Z-5 Omnidirectional notebook speakers. They're not going to put my Klipsch THX speakers of business (not by a long shot), but you need to remember that they're powered entirely via USB and don't take up too much desk space. Simplicity is clearly the goal here; the last USB-powered speakers I looked at, Altec Lansing's XT1's were designed with portability in mind. Compared to the XT1's, Logitech's Z-5's play extremely loud and sound extraordinary. They should make a great holiday gift for the notebook user who listens to music through fuzzy notebook speakers. Logitech also sent over triple.fi …

Accessories / Industry

Blogging for Dollars

September 3, 2008 - by Avi Greengart - Leave a Comment

Blogging is strange. I can’t tell you how many times I get asked to provide links or link exchanges or even the occasional "please review our stuff and we’ll pay you for placement." Now, if this were about my day job (Research Director for Mobile Devices), it would be somewhat understandable – I am quoted by the press, and it’s my job to influence industry decision makers. But Home Theater View? Who reads this? Coverage here basically just influences my brother – my mother doesn’t even read this! Perhaps all they’re trying to do is up their Google rankings. So, …