Tips

Isoclean makes audiophile-grade gold-plated fuses. This fuse is a "tweak," an accessory that promises to improve the sound of your hi-fi.

Audiophiles eat this stuff up. We put special cones or pads under our equipment to eliminate bad vibes, plug our electronics into AC power line conditioners, and buy equipment stands to coddle our components.

Isoclean isn't the first company to offer audiophile fuses, and I can't say I'm game for these types of tweaks. They reek of "snake oil" silliness, but an audiophile buddy couldn't stop raving about the difference the … Read more

Several iPhone users are experiencing visual feedback lags when attempting to type messages on their iPhones. Symptoms include key animations not activating when keys are touched. The issue does not appear to be for a specific letter or area of the keyboard and is generally considered intermittent, though many users report a consistent problem while typing in the SMS application.

Apple Support Discussions user Delapidator relays their experience with this issue:

"On the iPhone keyboard. You know when you touch a key on the keyboard and as you touch the letter it pops up but larger? Well, occasionally when … Read more

I was like you once. After fetching my e-mail, I'd open a message I wanted to delete, tap the trash-can icon, go back to the in-box, open another message, tap the trash-can icon, and on and on.

Then I discovered a killer shortcut: From the in-box, just swipe your finger across the message you want to trash, and then tap the shiny red Delete button that appears. Talk about a time-saver!

You can wipe multiple messages even faster by tapping the Edit button in the top-right corner of the screen, tapping each e-mail you want to mark for deletion, … Read more

In the beginning of recorded sound, there was mono. One speaker, period.

Mono speakers were plopped wherever it was convenient, and that was that. Consumer audio remained strictly mono until the late 1950s with the introduction of stereo tape and LPs. Now you needed two speakers.

Home theater upped the ante to 5.1 channel surround sound--five speakers, plus a subwoofer--and setup hassles were getting tricky. Dolby's Web site offers very specific requirements for the placement of the front left, center, right speakers, and the side surround speakers. 6.1 and 7.1 systems add rear surround speakers.

It's one thing to look at a diagram, but your room probably doesn't look like the diagram. Reality sets in, so very few 5.1, 6.1, or 7.1 system buyers get remotely close to the recommended speaker placements.

I've seen countless 5.1 home theater in a box systems in real people's homes with all five satellite speakers clumped in a row under or over the TV. Some buyers spread the speakers out across their entertainment furniture, still with all the speakers in front, near the TV. Obviously, those people don't want to string wires across the room. I don't blame them.

On one hand it'll sound "fine," but the envelopment the film sound mixers worked so hard to achieve will be lost. Don't worry, the Dolby Police won't arrest you for improper placement and the certain destruction of the filmmaker's intent.

If you have all of your speakers sitting in a pile, but I've made you a little curious, temporarily move the surround speakers out into the room. Put 'em on something to get them off the floor: A chair, bookcase, furniture, and so on. Play a few big action flicks and see what's up with surround. It might surprise you and just maybe you'll be inspired enough to make the effort to find permanent, around the room locations for the surround speakers. Hey, in 5.1 it's only two skinny wires.… Read more

We previously reported that the second-generation jailbroken iPod Touch required either a hardware dongle or a computer to be booted.

Recently, the iPhone development community has resolved this inconvenient booting method by releasing a software-only jailbreak solution. As a result, the current software/firmware 2.2.1 revision has been jailbroken (full read/write access to the file system), meaning that unofficial third-party applications can be installed under this release.

According to a post on ipodtouchfans.com, this exploit had been discovered "shortly after redsn0w in early February," which means the discovery was made sometime after the initial (… Read more

Exploding batteries make headlines, but they're just the tip of the iceberg. If you've read owner's manuals, as I do, you see danger lurking everywhere. A couple examples:

"When not using remote controls, remove batteries. Do not take battery apart, heat it, or throw into fire." Curious kids do that kind of stuff all the time (I did), and the fine print in the owner's manual won't deter them. I suppose that the warnings are in there for legal reasons.

"Do not subject remote control to undue physical stress, such as striking it or dropping it." Wow, who would have thought that by merely dropping a remote, you're at risk. I guess that those of us with bare wood or tiled floors are living dangerously. Heed all warnings!

I haven't yet seen the next warnings in any manual, but it's just a matter of time before they appear.

"Do not put the battery in your mouth or swallow it." That's just common sense, but the tingling sensation of a few volts zapping your insides may...don't do it!

"Do not sit on batteries, and if you do, be aware that flatulence may pose additional risks." Of course.… Read more

Not everyone cares about audio quality. In fact, there's some evidence to suggest we're raising a generation that actually prefers the sound of MP3s over higher-fidelity recordings. Still, there will always be people who obsess over sound quality--just as there are always people with discerning taste in food, or an eye for fine art.

There was a time when fidelity fanatics wouldn't touch an iPod with a 10-foot pole, and clung tightly to formats like vinyl, CD, and SACD. Things have eased up over the years, though, as the devout have begrudgingly come to terms with the … Read more

The Audiophiliac's primary mission is turning readers on to high-quality audio products and great music, but today, it's more about super lo-fi.

Google's YouTube has loads of wacky videos on how to make cheap speakers. Check out my favorite so far, "How to Create a High-Def Speaker for Under a Buck," right. It doesn't work, but it's the most entertaining.

After that, watch "Attempting to Make a Homemade Speaker for Under a Buck." It's a response to that first one.

If you really want to give speaker building a try, … Read more

Most new AV receivers come with an "auto setup" or "automatic calibration" feature, but despite the word automatic, these features can stump AV novices. If you're setting up an AV receiver for the first time, this guide will put you on the right track.

First, let's describe what auto setup systems do.

They send test tones to all the speakers and subwoofer, and use a microphone to pick up the sound of the speakers in your room. Auto setup systems determine speaker sizes and volume levels, set the subwoofer-to-satellite crossover frequency, measure distances from each of the speakers to the listener, and confirm that all of the speaker cables are correctly hooked up. Some receivers also use equalization to balance the frequency response of all the speakers.

Auto setup systems go by different names, but they all do approximately the same thing. Denon and Onkyo feature Audyssey; Sony has Digital Cinema Auto Calibration, Pioneer Multi Channel Acoustic Calibration, and Yamaha uses a Parametric Room Acoustic Optimizer.

The exact positioning of the auto calibration microphone is crucial for achieving accurate results. Some auto setup systems work from just one mic position, which would be the primary spot where you sit when watching movies by yourself. Ideally the mic should be placed at the same height as your ears when you're sitting watching a movie.

If you have a camera tripod, use it to place the mic at ear height; perfectionists should move the couch entirely out of the way. Lacking a tripod place the mic on the back of the couch, atop the highest pillow.… Read more