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zen crystal
turntables
Certus Turntable Makes You Choose Between Listening to Records or Feeding Your Family
Got a lot of money to spend and a fetish for obsolete technology? The Certus Turntable by Teres Audio will play whatever records you still own for the hefty price of between $13,900 and $25,500. For the annual wage of a migrant farmer, you get a “magnetic damped multi-phase synchronous drive system to directly drive a massive, heavily damped brass and hardwood platter”—supposedly some kind of technology that makes music sound amazing. Right. Call me a plebeian, but I think I'll stick with some lossless audio format and my iPod, thanks. [Born Rich]
music
Belkin BreakFree: MacBook MagSafe Cable for Your Guitar
The BreakFree is Belkin's fix for crazy rockers who can't get through a set without ripping up their amp or guitar's cord jack by flailing around too much. One part of the $20 two-piece kit fits in the axe's cord jack, while the other goes to the cord itself, and you can rock safe knowing that if you make any wild moves the plugs—which don't degrade sound quality—will snap apart without ruining your gear, a la Apple's MagSafe MacBook cable. Super extreme rockers can get another pack to use for the amp as well, but if you're that wacky on stage, you should probably just go wireless. Out in September, press release after the jump. More »
pmp
We brought you some leaked info on Creative's upcoming PMP not long ago, and now it's official. The credit-card-sized player will come in 8GB, 16GB and 32GB versions, and the larger two will support 802.11 b/g wi-fi for wireless syncing of music, video and photos and an IM chat function. It's got a 2.5-inch, 320 × 240 pixel TFT screen and a SD/SDHC slot, for a max of 32GB of expansion. There's also an FM radio, some PDA functions, and a built-in speaker to support its alarm clock option. Sound quality is given special treatment with Creative's own "crystalizer" and "expand" options. Out in Japan at first mid-July for $166, $213, $307 for the 8GB, 16GB and 32GB versions. [AV Watch]
Creative Zen X-Fi Gets Launch Timing, Price
We brought you some leaked info on Creative's upcoming PMP not long ago, and now it's official. The credit-card-sized player will come in 8GB, 16GB and 32GB versions, and the larger two will support 802.11 b/g wi-fi for wireless syncing of music, video and photos and an IM chat function. It's got a 2.5-inch, 320 × 240 pixel TFT screen and a SD/SDHC slot, for a max of 32GB of expansion. There's also an FM radio, some PDA functions, and a built-in speaker to support its alarm clock option. Sound quality is given special treatment with Creative's own "crystalizer" and "expand" options. Out in Japan at first mid-July for $166, $213, $307 for the 8GB, 16GB and 32GB versions. [AV Watch]
open source hardware
We love open source hardware, especially when it can throw some MIDI flange and fade into your party like the Aurora—a dual-channel, USB-powered DJ mixer. All the schematics, bills of materials and source code can be nabbed for free online, or you can have one built and shipped. And it can pull off a pretty mean LED lightshow...
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Super-Sleek Aurora Open Source DJ Mixer Can Be Built From a Kit
We love open source hardware, especially when it can throw some MIDI flange and fade into your party like the Aurora—a dual-channel, USB-powered DJ mixer. All the schematics, bills of materials and source code can be nabbed for free online, or you can have one built and shipped. And it can pull off a pretty mean LED lightshow...
More »
car audio
So you got yourself a fancy new stereo for your car. It's all well and good while you're driving, but when you're out of the car you know damn well that it's a magnet for ne'er-do-wells who are just itching to take a crowbar to your window and forcibly remove your fancy apparatus from your dash. What to do? Simple: disguise it with a really crappy looking stereo faceplate, complete with a half a cassette sticking out.
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Hide Your Fancy Car Stereo Behind a Very Crappy Car Stereo
So you got yourself a fancy new stereo for your car. It's all well and good while you're driving, but when you're out of the car you know damn well that it's a magnet for ne'er-do-wells who are just itching to take a crowbar to your window and forcibly remove your fancy apparatus from your dash. What to do? Simple: disguise it with a really crappy looking stereo faceplate, complete with a half a cassette sticking out.
More »
review
The Gadget: Aerielle's i2i Stream allows users to share audio from any source between two or more i2i devices using a wireless 2.4 GHz frequency. Just plug in a set of headphones and listen to the music your friends are broadcasting on their i2i Streams (up to 7 audio sources).
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Lightning Review: i2i Stream Wireless Music Sharing Device
The Gadget: Aerielle's i2i Stream allows users to share audio from any source between two or more i2i devices using a wireless 2.4 GHz frequency. Just plug in a set of headphones and listen to the music your friends are broadcasting on their i2i Streams (up to 7 audio sources).
More »
mp3 players
Images of Samsung U4 MP3 Player Surface, iPod Shuffle Shakes in Fear
This image of the Samsung U4 MP3 player appeared on Samsung's Korea site over the weekend, promising "freedom from monotony." And while there are no hard specs surrounding this rendering except that it's "coming soong," it will likely pick up where the Samsung U3 left off, which is to say it wants the iPod Shuffle's head. [YEPP via GenerationMP3 via AnythingButiPod]
shakin'
Samsung M3510 Music Cellphone to Have Shake, Tilt Control
Some information has leaked out about Samsung's upcoming M3510 music-player cellphone, and it looks like it'll have some accelerometer-driven control built-in. A bit like the ShakeSMS app for Nokia phones and the Sansa Shake MP3 player, the M3510 will let you shake it in different directions and turn it around to control the music player and other apps. Other than that it's a 0.39-inch deep candybar, with 2-inch screen, 2-megapixel camera and FM radio, and it'll cost somewhere between $310 and $390 when it's released. [Unwiredview]
noise
Thingamakit DIY Synthesizer is Horribly, Wonderfully Noisy
Weird... but I kinda want to hear more. That's roughly how I'd describe the sound output of the Thingamakit, a strange "noise monster" DIY synthesizer. I like the fact that it uses some sort of optical feedback: adjusting those tentacles affects how the sounds are generated, which then gets fed back to the LEDs in the tentacles. So it's a pleasingly tactile gizmo, and if you're really a strange-noise-machine-ophile, you'll also appreciate that you can buy it as a kit from maker Bleep Labs. [Bleep Labs via Hackaday]
HAS_PROPERTIES
USB LED Light Tube Speaker is Like Bad Sci-Fi Prop For Your Desk
This transparent, glowing USB speaker is either missing one glowing arm to make it look like a flux capacitor, or has one arm too many to be the light on top of the TARDIS. It's weird. But if you're into EL-wire PC case modding, then I suppose this blue LED-lit USB speaker from Brando might be up your street. Measuring 5.9-inches long, it takes power from USB, has an audio-in socket and costs $22. [Brando]
speakers
Gear4 BlackBox Micro is Micro Black Box Speaker For MP3 Gear
Last time we talked about Blackbox gizmos from Gear4 it was a largeish Bluetooth speaker, but this new one is different. It's wired, USB-powered and designed to be a portable companion for an MP3 player. You may think size sacrifices bass power, but apparently it's got an "SFX gel" base, meaning it uses any flat surface you stick it to to amplify sound volume and bass. It's got a normal driver too, takes line-in, and can be powered with a power-brick. Gear4's site doesn't reveal exactly how small it is, but it's out August in the UK for $40. [Gear4 and Pocket-Lint]
headphones
Loud Enough Earphones: Ultimate Ears For Your Kids
It's been a while since we brought you some news from Ultimate Ears (the cat eating through the cable to my UE Super.Fi's doesn't count, sadly). But now UE has released its newest offering, and it's for the kids: the Loud Enough earphones. "They've gone barking mad!" you might say, citing expense and the potential damage that might be done to young ears by a max-volume burst of Noddy. Well, you'd be wrong: these earbud 'phones have special volume-limiting tech built in. Plus they're $40. They've got silicon buds down to extra-small size... so I guess the only danger is what inventive kids will get up to with those. [Crave via Gizmodiva]
ipod recorder
Alesis ProTrack Converts Your iPod Into a Pro-Quality Digital Recorder
This isn't the first product to come down the pipeline offering portable audio recording capabilities for the iPod, but the new ProTrack from Alesis is definitely the most feature-rich. According to the press release, the ProTrack is "the world’s first professional handheld digital stereo recorder for iPod" with two built-in high-quality condenser microphones, a pair of combination XLR - 1/4-inch inputs and a 1/8-inch stereo output. The device should be available sometime in Q3 for iPod (Classic or 5th Generation), or iPod nano (2nd or 3rd Generation)—but a price has yet to be determined. More »
headphones
Greenhouse's New Headphones, For the "Pig Crashed Through Your Brain" Look
This strange product from Greenhouse is worth talking about, if only so I could share that headline with you. In case you're wondering, the pig is in soft silicon... to reproduce the texture of a real pig. After that news, you won't care these weird 'phones have a 20Hz to 20kHz frequency range, multi-sized silicon earbuds and 35-inch cable with a gold-plated plug. The GC-ERC-PIG's are available soon in pink black or white for just $11, but that's in Japan, pigheadphone fans. [AV Watch] More »
cars
Mercedes-Benz Integrates iPhone into Its Cars with Special Cradle
German car manufacturer Mercedes is buying the iPhone-is-God credo, and has come up with a designated piece of gear to allow Benz drivers to integrate their iPhones into the car system. The $249 gadget works with the C-, E-, CLK-,CLS-, S-, CL-, SL-, M- and R-Class cars, as well as the forthcoming GLK-Class. It connects your phone to the car's audio system via either the optionally available Media Interface or the retrofittable iPod® Interface Kit. Full press release below. More »
jewels
It's been a while since we brought you some serious gadget bling here on Giz, so now here's some... and it's serious. "Headphones encrusted with 204 real diamonds and made of white gold" kind of serious. From designer Thomas Heyerdahl, the iDiamonds are a limited edition of just 1,000 units, so you'd better rush. That's if you've got $6,400 in your wallet, of course. Serious. [Luxury launches]
iDiamond Headphones Are Forever, Sparkling on Your Little Earlobe
It's been a while since we brought you some serious gadget bling here on Giz, so now here's some... and it's serious. "Headphones encrusted with 204 real diamonds and made of white gold" kind of serious. From designer Thomas Heyerdahl, the iDiamonds are a limited edition of just 1,000 units, so you'd better rush. That's if you've got $6,400 in your wallet, of course. Serious. [Luxury launches]
pmp
