Tag Archives: ipod

Reviews

Logitech Wireless Boombox

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I was in need of a portable speaker for teaching and what not. There are SOO many iPhone/iPod/iPad accessories out there, what one to get?

I decided to get the Logitech Wireless Boombox. It has proven that it performs really really well for me. You can pair it wirelessly (bluetooth) to 8 different devices. In theory that works, but it’s a little flakey in my usage of it. My iOS devices frequently forget or can’t connect to it. Luckily it’s really easy to pair it back up again. Or you can use the included adapter cable to run the audio out of your device into the Boombox. Supposedly the sound isn’t as degraded as it is over bluetooth. I didn’t really notice anything between a wired or wireless audio connection.

The Logitech Wireless Boombox has a built in rechargeable battery. It doesn’t add much weight to the device, and supposedly it lasts about 6 hours. Haven’t tested that. Though the sound quality is quite different when running on the battery. The bass goes away, and the overall sound level drops. When the Boombox is plugged into the AC adapter, it sounds AMAZING for it’s size. Great bass, loud, and generally kicking ass. On battery? Meh….it’s OK…..not great, but do-able.

Could you practice with this? Yes, if it is plugged in. Otherwise, it might not really cut it if you are playing some loud sax or something, but you really want it plugged in all the time because it just sounds a lot better. Almost night and day better.

If you are looking for a portable speaker thing, consider this. The wireless one and the one with the dock are essentially the same thing, except the one with the dock is $20 more (and I think last year’s model).

Articles

Ten Years Ago Today: iPod

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Ten Years Ago Today: iPod:’

Apple’s iPod, a 6.5-ounce MP3 player the size of a deck of cards, is one of the most exciting products to come from Apple in years. Powered by FireWire, the iPod can hold as much as 5GB of data, providing a compelling balance of size and capacity. However, this combination of features comes at a relatively high price: $399.

(Via Daring Fireball)

 

Hard to believe, but 10 years ago today was when Apple unveiled the first iPod. It was an unusual move. Apple was known for Computers and operating systems, not music a consumer good like an MP3 player. Boy, did Apple come in and change everything. Perhaps some of you don’t remember the players before the iPod. It was by far the smallest one as I remember, but it was the one that nailed how to do things. It was fast with it’s firewire interface (USB 1 was still the de-facto standard in the PC industry), and simple with iTunes 2 as the computer to device interface.

I remember being sort of “why the heck would you want that” about it. I mean, it was kind of expensive, and I didn’t see the point of it when I could burn a CD or CD-RW of songs to listen to. Yeah…..and then I got the second generation iPod…..and that opinion of mine changed and I immediately ripped all my CDs…..which took MONTHS to do, into AAC 160 format. And I have never…..ever…..looked back.

Articles

5 Ways Steve Jobs Changed Music

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Steve Jobs changed a lot of things, including music. Thanks Steve!

5 Ways Steve Jobs Changed Music | Complex:

By putting the interests of artists and fans above those of executives and corporate shareholders, Steve Jobs turned the music industry power structure upside down. Every artist, producer, DJ or blogger who leverages their own creative resources and energy against all odds follows in his footsteps. #ThankYouSteve.

He always told people to listen to their heart and follow what they loved. "You can't connect the dots looking forward," Jobs once said, "you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life."

(Via www.complex.com)

Articles

Talkin’ ’Bout i(Pod) Generation

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San Francisco Classical Voice had a great article about the iPod Generation
“The iPod (and, by extension, iTunes) not only revolutionized the world’s listening habits early in the last decade, expanding the sheer variety of music people listen to; it also changed the manner in which people think of and hear music. It’s true that not everyone has an iPod (or an iPhone or an MP3 player of some sort), but virtually everyone understands its significance. The device holds music that fits in your pocket, offering you an easy way to listen to vastly different things, even a way to juxtapose and to mash-up music or sounds that would normally seem as far apart as a Formula One racecar and a pony.

The most significant musical inventions from Apple’s iPod (and, by extension, iTunes) are the shuffle, the mashup, and the playlist.”

I think the author left out Music Hoarding…..I think that is a huge contribution to music. You now don’t have to look for an album in your collection, it’s there. And as your collection grows, it is invaluable to hear 20 versions of “Impressions” or “Giant Steps”. Playlists are nice, the mashup can be fun, and shuffling has its place but hoarding is where it is at. That is the wondrous thing Steve Jobs and the iPod brought us.

Thanks Steve……now lets create a playlist of a mashup of everything that has the word blues in it……ahhh, 5,568 songs? I guess we shall be using the shuffle on this…..

News

Peterson iStrobe is now $0.99

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By far my favorite tuner App, now for a buck.

“For a limited time, we have reduced our price on iStroboSoft to 99 cents! No promotion code needed. Visit the App Store to purchase.

Peterson Strobe Tuners popular StroboSoft tuning application for the iPod touch and iPhone. iStroboSoft™ offers the unmatched accuracy of a mechanical strobe tuner for the highest degree of precision available in a software tuning application.
Plug in and tune your electrics and acoustics quickly and easily with 1/10th cent accuracy. (External mic required for iPod touch.)

Peterson Tuners has offered tuning solutions for over 60 years and is the only company specializing in hardware and software tuning products for all levels of musicians.”

Articles

Why You Can’t Get A Pair for Less Than $100

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Gizmodo.com has a great article on why you cannot get a good pair of in-ear earbuds/in-ear monitors.

“The difference between $300 set of buds and a $400 pair is nowhere near the jump from $20 to $100. Even smaller is the difference in models between generations. The best value on the market might be a previous-gen version of Shure’s 500 series buds at a cut rate ($290), but if you can find $100 earbuds for 70 bucks, it’s even better.”

I have the first generation of the Shure earbuds, and they still work and sound way better than the ones that come with the iPod/iPhone. I’d love to upgrade at some point to a really nice set, like the Shure 500s.

News

Great Idea….Bad Timing??

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Alesis ProtrackFinally, a professional mobile solution for recording on an iPod. The Alesis Protrack sounds good…

ProTrack provides convenient, direct-to-iPod stereo digital recording to iPod in a portable, handheld form factor. Users can capture live audio anywhere and anytime with their iPod or iPod nano. ProTrack’s smart design integrates the iPod into the recorder, with included sleds to securely mount supported iPod models to the recorder.

But only records 16-Bit, 44.1kHz or 22kHz stereo, supplies 48V phantom power to inputs when wall-powered (not on the 4 AA batteries it needs), and it only records to iPod (Classic or 5th Generation), or iPod nano (2nd or 3rd Generation). The last one is the kicker. With Apple due to refresh the whole iPod line anytime, it is rumored that the Classic iPod will be dropped…..and who knows about the Nano.
If this product was released like…….two years ago, it would have been great.

News

Portable Recording Studio with your iPod?

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Belkin has a product coming out that looks rather good. Belkin Podcast Studio.

Belkin Podcast Studio is an advanced attachment for your iPod to add high quality recording capabilities. Dual XLR and 1/4-inch channels offer a solid range of recording options. A built-in mic and speaker are powered by their own battery, saving your iPod juice better used for listening to your genius later.

Engadget has some more pictures of it.
Seems no one knows if it has phantom power or not (probably not), and it seems to be 16 bit. Though, if you hook up a iPod Nano to it, and have 4+ gigs of free space, that would easily give you 6 hours of 16bit 44.1Khz recording.
Two potential problems. First, battery life. If it is iPod battery powered, who knows how long it will last. Plus, if it has phantom power on the XLR plugs, that would probably kill the iPod’s battery in no time. Recording on my Marantz flash recorder using phantom power pretty much kills 8 AA batteries if I record 3 hours of stuff.
Second problem, Windows formatted iPods. You can’t get, as far as I know, over 2 gigabyte files on a FAT formatted drive. I tried copying Pirates Of The Caribbean on an FAT (PC) formatted iPod that was 2.6 gigabytes in size. The iPod did not like that. Mac formatted ones didn’t complain.
So, it’s an interesting idea, especially since most everyone already has an iPod, but until we see it actually come out (June?), we can only guess.

Reviews

iPod “Video”

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After nearly 3 years of faithful service, my 3rd generation iPod died. It wasn’t the battery. It was the hard drive. The hard drive finally decided to check out. I was sad.

For the last 2 or 3 weeks, I’ve been going through iPod withdrawal. Shuttling my music files between home and the studio is a pain. I’ve been using a “portable HD” that I usually use to backup my stuff. Plus, those nights when you want to listen to music before going to bed? Or in the car?

So, it was a choice between an iPod Nano or an iPod (with video). The Nano is very nice. A number of my students have them. However, 4 gigs is just too small. My finale files I transfer back and forth take up nearly 500megs, plus if I wanted to put all my Aebersold play-alongs on there, I couldn’t. So, I decided to go with the iPod. Wow…..

(Update: 02/21 21:00 GMT by E :The Aebersold AACs/MP3s take up about 10 gigs. I don’t have all the playalongs, but I have 85-90% of them)

First off, it “looks bigger”. But it is not. In fact, it is the same width, and the depth is almost half that of my 15 gig iPod. It looks bigger due to the screen. And the screen is absolutely incredible. Clear, color, crisp. Man, in 3 years they have done wonders. I haven’t watched any videos on it, but I imagine they look great.

Sound quality is great. I plugged in the standard headphone and it sounds great. I plugged in my Shure headphones, and it sounds “greater”.

Two bad things. First is the case. It’s really flimsy. I am planning on getting a better case ASAP. I don’t want any scratches. Second bad thing, no dock. My previous iPod came with a nice little dock, this one comes with nothing. They will sell you one for like $40. Um. No. Not right now, thanks.

Rating. 8 out of 10. No dock and a poor case are the two points taken off. They could have at least done a clip case like what came with the 3rd generation iPod. And no dock, that’s just cheap Apple.

Update: 02/28 08:50 GMT by E :Found another interesting thing. When you unplug the headphones while playing, the iPod will put what it was playing on Pause for you. That is a very nice little thing to have.

News

Podcasting

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Two days ago Apple CEO Steve Jobs has announced that iTunes 4.9 will include integrated podcast support. The update will let users browse and download podcasts. This is big news.

What? You haven’t heard of Podcasting? It perhaps is the death of internet “radio”. It perhaps is the latest, greatest way to promote your band or tunes. Whatever it is, it’s going to be big. Podcastingnews is one sight that keeps track of what if going on. Another site, iPodder.org has a list of feeds one can get Podcasts for, including some Jazz ones.

What do you think? Is this going to be something of a hit? On demand content that is organized? Could you imagine subscribing to a Podcast from say KCSM and being able to download what they are playing? There are a lot of possibilities and issues to consider….

Update: 06/05 05:37 GMT by E :Here are some more Podcasting Sites: