Wall of Sound defines iPod overkill

Sometimes a cigar is just of cigar, and sometimes a "Wall of Sound" is just a... wall of sound. At over 3 feet wide by 4 feet tall, the Brothers Wall of Sound is one of the largest iPod docks on the market, and at almost $4,500, it's certainly one of the most expensive.

This massive slab of speaker boasts 28 different drivers producing a range of 40 Hz to 20 KHz, powered by a built-in 125-watt tube amplifier. Each Wall of Sound is hand-crafted, which contributes to the speaker's hefty price tag.

A/V Support: Playing An iPod Through Aux Input

Question: I have an older high-end Marantz receiver, which I now use with my iPod. Unfortunately, the receiver doesn’t have a dedicated iPod input, so I use the auxiliary jack instead. The playback volume is lower than from other sources. Is there any loss of fidelity playing an iPod through the auxiliary input? I know that newer receivers have dedicated iPod inputs. JEFFREY S. BALOG / VIA E-MAIL

B&W floats out the Zeppelin Mini iPod dock

It doesn't look nearly as dirigible-esque as the original B&W Zeppelin, but Bower & Wilkins' new Zeppelin Mini still sports an impressive pedigree. Its black and silver frame was designed by the same team that made the first Zeppelin.

Underneath the Zeppelin Mini's angular, cylindrical exterior is a pair of 3-inch, full-range drivers powered by a 18W-per-channel stereo amplifier. Its specs are dwarfed by the first Zeppelin's 100W total power output and three stereo-plus-bass drivers, but as a much more compact, desktop system it still packs enough juice to fill a room. Its pivoting arm lets iPhone and iPod Touch users turn their players sideways for using the Cover Flow feature to browse their music, and its audio and USB ports can accept virtually any media player or computer connection. It also features the same digital signal processing as its big brother.

Speaker purse puts some boogie in your bag

Designer Yoshihiko Satoh has put together an iPod speaker and a purse and made a surprisingly fashionable iPod speaker-purse. According to e-select.st (and Google Translate), this kicky, wooden bag packs a 3-inch speaker that can handle up to 30 watts, and accepts any device with a 3.5mm stereo jack (which means it's ready for an iPod). Of course, with those electronics, it leads one to wonder exactly how much space is in that bag for holding other stuff. At 31,500 yen (almost US$340), it's not the cheapest purse out there, but what can be more fashionable than a strange handbag imported straight from another country?

— Will Greenwald

[Source: Gizmodo]

Geneva Sound S dock coming to luxury stores

Stylish audio company Geneva Sound is rolling out a new iPod dock, with a hefty price tag and an impressive retail pedigree. The Geneva S is the company's newest product, a 9-inch-wide glossy black, white, or red box on a removable metal stand that sports some relatively impressive specs for its size.

The dock is a stereo speaker system, with twin 2-inch by 3-inch full-range drivers powered by an internal 30-watt amplifier. It features built-in DSP for processing compressed music, a built-in FM radio tuner, a stereo line-in port, and a dozen different iPod dock adapters to handle virtually any Apple media player. It also doubles as a clock. It's the smallest and lightest sound system in Geneva Sound's entire line.

Despite its small size, the Geneva S has a somewhat daunting price; at $329, the dock is no impulse buy. It's available at luxury fashion and decor stores like Barney's, Conran, Fred Segal, and Design Within.

— Will Greenwald

iHome's new iP1: Minimalist style, maximum power

No, that's not a demo for in-wall or car speakers, that's a finished iPod speaker dock. It's the iHome iP1, the company's new flagship iPod speaker system. iHome showed it off last night at a press event on Manhattan's west side, where it capped the company's impressive selection of 22 iPod/iPhone speaker products.

Love it or hate it, iHome's iP1 iPod speaker system certainly makes an impression, with its transparent, smoke-colored chassis that does nothing to hide its components. The system's two 4-inch woofers and two 1-inch tweeters are in full view, bare grills/drivers mounted in large black cans, seemingly floating on a smokey acrylic plate. With 100 watts from a built-in class D amp driving it, the iP1 is iHome's most powerful audio device. It might not rattle any walls, but for an iPod dock it's pretty impressive.

What's on Richardson's iPod?

No, not the Richardson you're thinking of. This is Tony Richardson here, the younger son of Ken. I'm writing this from my dad's office because today is Take Your Sons & Daughters to Work Day.

Now, I realize that usually this event is for the younger generation. But even though I am 17 years old, go to high school, and am a licensed pilot (more on that later), I'm still participating because it's my last chance to do so.

The music on my iPod is probably not what you're thinking of either. Just take a look at my first playlist:

The Doors’ “Break On Through (to the Other Side),” Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Green River” and “Fortunate Son,” Rare Earth’s “Get Ready,” Deep Purple’s “Hush,” Count Five’s “Psychotic Reaction,” the Bob Seger System’s “Ramblin’ Gamblin’ Man,” Jefferson Airplane’s “White Rabbit”

That playlist is called "Vietnam-Era Music." It may be hard to imagine a teen in 2009 listening to music from way before he was born, but I remember listening to Oldies every morning since I was 10 years old. I grew up hearing the rebellious songs that first came out during the Vietnam War, and I still like them today. They all have a good beat for any occasion, whether it be driving or flying.

Speaking of driving, here are some of the songs on my playlist called "Driving Music":

Zeppelin sells 100,000. (This is not a '70s story.)

The economic climate doesn't seem to be having a deleterious effect on dirigible-inspired iPod sound systems. Bowers and Wilkins has just sold its 100,000th Zeppelin iPod system, an impressive feat for an iPod dock that's only been on sale for a year and a half (especially since that year and a half has seen a rather abrupt shift in global economic outlooks).

The thoroughly British-sounding Bowers & Wilkins shares many traits with Led Zeppelin, appropriate considering the successful iPod system. Both the band and the company were borne out of England in the 1960's, and both have been delighting music fans for decades. Also, legend says that the company's founder John Bowers was quite fond of suits with dragons on them.

— Will Greenwald

Apple iTunes Video Could Get Streaming - iTunes Replay

It's great that iTunes has so many great selections for entertainment. The problem is, how do you store all this material once you've downloaded it. A high-def video file is huge, and even if you don't buy it, renting requires you to have large amounts of storage available.

The Apple Insider is hinting of a new option besides downloading or renting: streaming, via Apple iTunes Replay. Brilliant. You'll still have the other options, but this is a great option, especially for storage-challenged iPhone/iPod users. The video you purchase can be viewed anywhere, on multiple devices.

Streaming should give Apple a boost as it gets pushed out by services such as Amazon Video-on-demand and Netflix's Roku.

This could be bundled into the upcoming iTunes 8 update. What will you do - buy or stream?  --Leslie Shapiro

Apple Insider

Pool Party Speakers

Plenty of companies make outdoor speakers or waterproof speakers that can go near your pool.  What about speakers that go in the pool? Don't have a pool?  Replace your rubber duckie in the tub with these too.

These speakers are wireless, obviously, and they come with a transmitter that plugs into the headphone jack of your portable audio player. It will transmit the signal up to 150 feet away, so you can keep your iPod nice and dry while the splash-dance party begins.

You can buy one here for about $55.00 --Leslie Shapiro

Unplggd