sound

Monoprice wants to disrupt the home theater industry. The company got its start selling cheap HDMI cables, and has recently expanded to full-fledged consumer electronics, with a bold mission of rolling out new products only when it can charge about half the price of traditional retailers.

The Monoprice 9774 ($249, plus shipping) 5.1 speaker set is the company's most audacious effort yet: a clone of the outstanding Energy Take Classic 5.1 ($394 street) speaker system for nearly $150 less. And "clone" is barely an exaggeration. The 9774 system performs and looks almost exactly like Energy'… Read more

A quick note of appreciation before I get started today: My Internet is down this morning (thanks, Comcast), but I'm able to continue working thanks to Tether.com, which lets me share my iPhone's 3G connection with my laptop -- no jailbreaking required. As a backup tool for situations like this and a pinch-hitter when there's no available Wi-Fi hotspot, it's a bargain at $29.95 annually.

Back to business. It's one of the great ironies of high-definition TVs that they look beautiful but sound terrible. Unfortunately, they're necessarily designed with thin, rear- or … Read more

Don't believe everything you hear -- a new science app reminds iPad users that our brains like to play tricks on us.

Created by the Exploratorium museum, Sound Uncovered replicates sound phenomena experiments, using examples that test what you thought you knew -- like why we can hear our car engines -- and introduces some sounds you may have never heard before.

"It's revealing the kink in the system, how your brain works," said Jean Cheng, project director of the online engagement group for the Exploratorium. The app's creators -- a mix of scientists and … Read more

If sound bars are the ultimate "good enough" home audio solution, the Vizio SB4021M-A1 ($270 street price) feels like the typical good-enough sound bar. It's solid in just about every respect, with a sleek design, a good remote, and above-average sound quality. At the same time, it lacks a single standout quality that would put it head and shoulders above its competitors. It may be easier to enthusiastically recommend a less well-rounded sound bar that either looks or sounds fantastic, but there's something to be said for a balanced product.

The big hesitation about the SB4021M-A1 … Read more

A soundboard is a simple tool that holds all the various sounds of one particular theme and allows you to utilize them for ringtones, notifications, or simple playback. Typically these sounds are taken from a popular source such as a pop song or television show. Psy Gangnam Style SoundBoard is a selection of the popular sounds of Psy's hit. Because of the fast rhythm and catchy lyrics, "Gangnam Style" has quickly become popular, and its soundboard doesn't disappoint, either.

Psy Gangnam Style SoundBoard offers an easy installation that requires one simple extra step in order to … Read more

The Sound Recorder that comes with Windows will capture the audio stream and save it as a WAV you can edit or convert later on. But there's room for improvement, and there are more than a few choices, when it comes to recording digital audio with your PC. It's possible to spend staggering amounts of money on pro audio suites that really don't handle most users' needs any better than Free Sound Recorder by CoolRecordEdit. Like the Windows tool, it records whatever your sound card is processing, but Free Sound Recorder adds scheduling, more output formats, hot … Read more

I've always been obsessed with sound, and I've always wanted to hear my music with the best possible sound. It enhances the experience for me, because I can more clearly hear what the musicians are playing, and the subtleties in the mix, so I get more out of the music. That's true at home and for on-the-go listening, and even when I didn't have much money I still managed to put together a pretty good hi-fi. Then again, good sound is in the ear of the beholder, and that beholder may not be so sure about … Read more

LAS VEGAS--We're huge fans of Audi's Bang & Olufsen ultra-premium audio system, but the automaker is kicking things up another notch at CES 2013 with the announcement that it is developing a 3D Sound system in partnership with audio giants B&O and Fraunhofer IIS.

The automaker will be demonstrating the 3D Sound technology in its booth at the CES 2013 in an Audi Q7 playing a version of the "Iron Man 3" trailer with a sound mix that should highlight the system's abilities. The 3D Sound system features 23 speakers, each of which … Read more

LAS VEGAS--The new 808 brand headphones from Voxx International have a sleek over-the-ear design and promise to give high-performance audio at a reasonable price.

Voxx promises studio-quality materials and engineering in these full-size over-the-ear headphones featuring powerful 40mm drivers, a foldable design for easy storage, and come with multiple detachable cords and a protective travel case.

The full-size 808 headphones come in three styles including black matte, black high gloss, and white high gloss and will be available this month for $99.99. For a more compact version of the 808 line, the On-Ear 808 Drifts and In-Ear 808 Switch … Read more