Audio Reviews

Great PDA, I'm a medschool student and it helps a lot in the hospital and in the classrooms. A lot of free medical software to download from the web. The camera it's awesome, it has a slow shutter function that allows you to take pictures even in dark rooms; the resolution (1.3MP) it's good and I can take pictures of patients, X ray films, CT scans and more with nice quality.
The battery lasts for at least 5 hours of continuous work, and the integrated keyboard helps a lot when you're tired of using the stylus. The internal memory it's quite short, but I bought a 256 MB Lexar MS (not too expensive) and don't have any problem.
I do recomend this PDA for medschool students because it's a helpful tool in the hospital (specially the camera). The free software I found on the web includes drug guides, medical calculators, diagnostic and tratment tools, medical news software, etc, etc, etc.

I Heard Of This PDA In Circuit City. Everytime I Go There, I Practice Graffiti On The PDAs All The Time. When I Went There With My Mom, I Took A Picture Of Her With The Built-In Digital Camera That's Included On The PDA. I Heard About The Highest Resolution It Goes: 1,280 x 960 Pixels. When I Bring It With Me Everyday To School, I Can Take Pictures Of My Friends That Are Girls. I Also Heard This Has A Built-In MP3 Player. Then I Be Able To Listen To Music On This Thing. Then I Have Both iPod And Sony NX80V To Listen To Music To. But I Have To Store My Music On A Memory Stick. But The Memory Sticks Are Kind Of Expensive. But, I Still Can Afford The Memory Sticks In The Store. I Don't Know You Can Carry Around Your Neck If It's 8.0 Ounces.

This is my third PDA, the priors were Palm IIIvx, Sony Clie 610C. I really use my PDA all day, so I could justify paying a bit more for a nicer PDA. I have friends with CE based machines and they really don't use them nearly as much as I use mine.

Pros:
Too many to mention all of them, but the all add up to great usability. I really used a lot of the features that I thought were just bells and whistles. The flip display is great because you don't need a case unless you are trying to keep the unit pretty. The camera was a life-saver for shooting white boards before they get erased and showing tech support problems that were hard to describe over the phone/email without a picture. The voice memo took excellent notes even at conference meetings (much better than my friend's Palm Tungsten 2). Additional apps such as a mileage log (Trip) have been so important to me that I replaced the hard-wired button for notes with it. The Silk Launcher has a mode that adds more app buttons to the graffiti area.

Battery life is very good. I would often go for 3 or 4 days between charges, regardless of the display brightness. If I reduced the brightness, I could go for a week of light use between charges.

Cons:
A tad big. Too heavy to tote around for MP3s at the gym.
After well over a year of heavy use, the Power/Hold slider button died, making the unit unusable (Fortunately, I sync'd up just a few hours before it broke!).

Decision Time:
Sony want's $150 to fix it. For double that, I can get a new one, and since no other PDA surpasses the UX80V, I think I will do that. I have been very rough on my Clie, but it really is a workhorse for me.

Installation on a WindowsXP machine was as simple as simple can get. Simply plug the USB device into the machine, then plug your desired cable into your home theater a voila... music is sent to your theater as it should.

This product performs exactly as advertised. Only downside is that all computer sounds get sent to your home theater, so if you are listening to music at a high volume and you get mail... everybody knows.

This solved my problem of how to get digital sound out of my laptop and into my stereo setup (Panasonic receiver and 6.1 speaker set). I was pleasantly surprised that the Windows XP installation is true "plug and play": plug it in a USB port and seconds later it's recognized and ready to go. All sound goes out the link when connected, when unplugged reverts back to my sound card/internal speakers.

All included cables are high quality 30'. I opted for the Toslink optical; also included are a co-ax (rated at 75 ohm) and two RCA. There is DVD software as well I opted to not install.

This was a little pricier than I was looking, but I really have no complaints about it's performance and consider it worth the cash. According to the manufacturer it will pass on a Dolby Digital or DTS 5.1 signal with the DVD software; I did not test this ability.

ONE NOTE: If you are planning on plugging it into a USB hub, ensure the hub is a USB 1.1 spec powered hub.

This product is very simple and does exactly what it says. It plays all my mp3's on my receiver in digital format. There's not really any software associated with the device itself (but dvd playing software is included). It's just a usb device. I've never had any problems at all with it's reliability. However, at first I thought the sound was a little tinny. But I adjusted the Eq settings on my computer and now the thing bangs.

At first I was going to use the digital output on my soundblaster audigy. But I heard in some messageboard that this output was not meant for receivers because it was a different voltage than the digital coax a receiver would accept. That was the main factor in my purchase. Plus I didn't want to use a crappy Y-cable.

Pros:
- Play mp3's all day long with digital quality
- Simple setup (just plug-in and change sound device)

Cons:
- Must adjust Eq settings
- More expensive than a Y-cable
- All of your computer's sounds (not just mp3's) play through your sound system

Granted, Creative makes the de facto standard of sound cards. Anyone remotely familiar with computers knows that. What you may not know is it's almost impossible to tell the difference between this card and a $10 no-name sound card unless you use very expensive speakers (i.e. Klipsch ProMedia) or run a line to a high quality home theater system. Anyone who says otherwise is wrong and I challenge them to prove otherwise. If you don't have or plan to buy at least a 4 or 5 speaker system, there's no reason you should buy this card over a Soundblaster 16. Even the included games are selling at bargain prices now. Save your money.

I ran into difficulties installing this card due to limitations of not enough free IRQ spaces. I don't have a lot of extra peripherals, just a CD-ROM, a CDRW, a NIC card and an extra hard drive. (Wasn't Win95 supposed to eliminate this problem anyway?) I was finally able to get the card to work under Win98, however the software-based DOS emulation drivers still won't load correctly. Make sure you have free spaces as the installation software won't point this out to you beforehand and it became a real nightmare to install.

The main reason I knocked it down a couple stars is because of the card's unreliability. The old Soundblaster cards used to be rock solid. However, the first Live card I bought started losing one of its speaker channels within the first month. Fortunately I was able to return it for a replacement. The replacement I've owned less than a year, yet again I'm losing the right side. While there is a 1-year warranty, chances are it'll probably be more hassle than it's worth to return it to Creative and I'll probably have to throw it away. It's unfortunate quality control has pretty much gone out the window.

I've been using Creative Labs products since the Sound Blaster Pro I bought in 1993, and still they astound me. I purchased a new chip/MB, and it had all AGP and PCI slots, so my ISA SB AWE64 had to go; I replaced it with this, and after hearing the incredible quality and effects that this card had to offer, I'm certain I made the right choice. If you are into gaming or just high-quality audio in general, this card is the way to go - it's expandable to the nth degree, with both proprietary items (FPS2000 speakers, LiveDrive) from Creative and more standard things such as DVD drives, TV cards, and multiple speaker systems. And you HAVE to hear the immersive 3D sound this can generate in games like Thief and Unreal Tournament. You could always buy a 16-bit generic PCI sound card, but this is worth the money.

O MY GOD! this card is the best card i have used in a long, long time! You plug it in and it works. Its that simple. The software installs fine, and it is Live!Ware compatible, which means you can add new features to your card later. The software itself is worth the price. I bought this card elseware, which means that I paid $100, and I thought it was a great deal then. This card has 2 disks of software for the card itself, and 5 for the games! There are so many features to this card I haven't even found them all and I spent an entire weekend playing with it. And it has support for 5.1 surround sound, so you can FEEL the games when you play them. BUY THIS CARD NOW! IT IS THAT SIMPLE! You wont regret it.

when i just bought it, its compactable size seemed to be its biggest advantage. however,its battery life isn't that good as it could only last for at most 2,3 days. sometimes, lesser than a day if many pictures were to be taken. also,its metal finish ain't that good as it is scratchable easily.Not good if you were prepared to have it with you for the rest of you life.thus, i find that only its size and mp3 function is a big plus for this little camera, without the fact of its poor quality of pictures. but hey, wad can you expect from a 2 megapixel camera...

The camera is extremely nice.. its small.. light weight.. the picture quality is nice.. even though while taking the picture using digital zoom just blows it up and makes it blurry.. other than that the quality its fine.. transfering files to and from the camera is easy..once its hooked up.. its detected as a removeable disk.. where you can preview all the images, delete, edit, and store.. you can also put mp3s on it.. there is already a seperate folder where you can put the mp3s... the battery life of the camera is fairly decent.. i was listening it for about 5 hours and it used only half the battery... while taking pictures... about 50 pictures with lcd and flash on will take almost half the batterys power.. the power button and the shutter button is very easily distinguishable and wont be that easily pressed unless you have enourmous fingers.. overall this camera is worth the money

I have this camera/MP3 player for a month now and I take it anywhere. the most usable feature for me is the MP3 player !
the camera is for fun and play.
I like to take lot of pictures and taking an expensinve camera in my pocket is not an option, so when I saw exilim I was amazed. this was what I was looking for and finding that it could be am MP3 player was a big bonus. later I found out that it was the other way around.
after recieving this camera, I started download MP3 from the internet and finally I had time to listen to the kind of music that I like, and not what you get on the radio or in music stores, so a whole new world has been open for me. by the way, the ear plugs are great too and you get a controller too.
the pictures are great, I work in many factories so I take pictures of the machines that I work on and the lighting are usually very bad, but on maximum resolution the pictures are great and the color definition is great too, I did not use even once a color enhance filter on the images.
so, if you like multimedia, this is a must!

I'd read a lot of good things about these earphones so I plunked down the hundred to buy them. It was definitely money well spent and they do exactly as advertised. I used them mostly just with my ipod and now I hear things in songs that I never even heard before. I actually went and re-recorded some of my songs at 320 kb and could actually notice a difference. They're also good for using on the tractor as an alternative to earplugs. My only complaints are that they're not AS sound isolating as I thought they would be. I can't hear people talking but I can still hear some of what's going on around me. They work about the same for sound isolating as foam earplugs do. Also, the ear pieces get pretty nasty after a while. But those are just nitpicks for what are otherwise excellent headphones. Definitely the best I've ever used.

Shure's E2c's are 'entry-level' consumer earphones (hence, the 'c') in their line of premium in-the-ear headphones. I recently purchased these at an airport after reading a CNET.com review. As stated in that review, the e2's are designed to be accurate, so dont be expected to be blown away by rattling bass, or sizzling high frequencies - they are just meant to present to you the music that is put into them.

After a bit of testing with the different sleeves, i found that the medium foam sleeves are the best in terms of comfort AND isolation - oh yeah, these go pretty deep into your ear, or else you won't get any bass at all. Before you turn on the music, everything's muffled - you can still hear anything outside, its just more subdued (some report i read said that they provide about 20 decibels of isolation). When you turn on the music, however, you won't notice any outside noise at all, unless its EXTREMELY loud.

Remember - if you want some of the best premium headphones on the market, don't need mega bass, and can take care of your stuff, then get these e2's. You won't be dissapointed. I use these with my iPod daily.

P.S. if you still can't hear quality out of these headphones, either they're defective or you need to encode your music at a higher bitrate - at least 160 for mp3, 128 for aac, and 96 for wma.

I bought these earphones for a combination of uses - travel, exercise, casual listening, etc. They are great. The noticeable background noise attenuation is perfect for flights, busy airports, mowing the lawn or anywhere you want to tune out the outside world. Bass response is very good, I'd call it neutral (which is the best thing a serious music fan can ask for.)

These earphones are very low profile and unobtrusive to wear. They do not create the fatigue I get while wearing regular headphones for a long period and the sound blows away the numerous earbuds I have tried. I use the flex fit sleeves which are very comfortable. By cinching up the sleeve on the cord, they stay in place with minimal fuss even while exercising.

I strongly recommend these earbuds to anyone who wants immersive, comfortable and excellent sound.

I bought this cable to hook up my Playstation 2 with a Promedia DD-5.1 (Digital Decoder). The Problem is that the cable I bought didn't produce 5.1 Dolby Digital or DTS, just stereo. Read the reviews for the X-box Lightwave 100 cable; they are the same cable except for the color. Some people maybe haven't figured it out yet because they don't use a Digital Decoder, but all they are hearing is Stereo sound. Im pretty upset because I sent my Digital Decoder back to Klipsch thinking that was the problem, but it was actually the cable. By the way the customer service at Klipsch is simply the best, they produced high quality equipment, not like over at monster cable. So beware! If you are paying big $ for a cable shouldn't it at least work or do what it say it does?

Your PlayStation is state-of-the-art in terms of audio quality. PS2 is equipped with a fiber optic digital audio out, enabling you to experience movies and games in Dolby Digital Surround Sound as well as listening to your favorite CDs in crystal clear digital stereo. No matter how you use your PS2, with pure digital audio connection you have access to the ultimate Dolby Digital Surround experience and the best in home audio entertainment.

Digital is the preferred high performance audio connection over analog because it has a wider dynamic range, which results in clearer highs and deeper, tighter bass, without the distortion common with analog connections. Also with digital audio, you don't run the risk of problems like hum and buzz caused by electromagnetic and radio frequency interference.

To start, this is a reasonably priced 3.3M (10ft) toslink-to-toslink cable. Compared to other higher quality and longer length optical cables and you'll see the difference in price. I use this cable but not for my connection to my PS2 since my DVD player functions far better than the console itself.

Now, if you do NOT run your Playstation2 into a receiver/home theater system, it's not a wise decision for you to buy this since it won't serve any purpose for you. (For example, if you don't use this unit to watch DVD movies or pump it through your receiver for 5.1 Dolby Digital/DTS sound. (5.1 Digital Sound has yet to be implemented in a PS2 title.)

It sounds pretty good through the supplied headphones, but it's not 5-star sound.

It doesn't skip in my normal use (daily commute), it's lightweight, so far (not quite 3 months) it's reliable. The remote is easyo use and has all the functions I need -- including a "hold" button that works independently of the hold button on the main unit.

I use the AC adapter (included) when I listen to it at work, so the batteries only get used for about 5-10 hours/week. I'm still using the last of the three pairs of batteries that are also included -- this player really does run a long time on 2 AAs.

My only nit is that the controls on the main unit are arranged in small clusters, and require a little care to use.

I like it enough, especially for the price, that I bought a second one, for my wife.

I bought this CD Player several years ago because I have a fairly long commute. The player is great, still works, but I didn't like the idea of lugging around a CD player plus enough CD's to keep me satisfied. I've since switched to an MP3 Player and gave the CD player to a friend. She has had to change the remote on the items three times already. I'm not sure if she is doing the damage herself or not, but either way it's not very durable.

I bought this Panasonic CD player for my daughter (for her birthday). She's had no complaints and uses it almost daily. I've used it myself and I like it a lot. The no skip feature is great... I've actually bumped it around a bit to see if it would jolt it - and it kept on playing perfectly. My homemade CD's play on it as well - this is nice because I know on some players they won't work. The features I like best are the X-Bass boost, the remote, and the soft case. Having an AC adaptor is key - especially when listening around the house... much easier to utilize the electricity, rather than run down the batteries. The other thing I really like is the auto "shut-off" feature - when the CD is done, it will shut the system down... again, not wasting the batteries or electricity. Good unit & well worth the price. You also get the good name & reliablility of Panasonic.

I bought this a few days ago. The first impressions are quite positive. Slick and slim. It feels like a good player.
Good stuff is written on the box, so I will focus on what is missing:

the remote cannot pause

the headphone cable is way too short, it is hard to find a place to attach the remote, it just hangs loose in the air, hence it is not comfortable since the earbuds tend to drop out when you move a lot

no word if the firmware is upgradable, support for other media types in time would be good

comes with no software for managing your music files, an mp3 ripper would be nice along with this product

overall:
I liked the product... If you do not mind the remote swinging back and forth, or buying a new pair of headphones, this is a good gadget

I was extremely hesistant on purchasing this product at first, but now I've received this, I am glad I made this purchase. The CD player itself is really slick and light. The cover of the player also acts as a mirror~

Pros: Player is very slim and light. Cover is reflective, acts like a mirror. Great battery life, and rechargable which saves a lot of money on disposable batteries. It charges while the batteries are in the player, so don't have to take them out. The little remote is very responsive and easy to use. Different EQ such as S-XBS, S-XBS+, Train, Live are great sound features. Players CD, MP3s very well, very minimal loading time for the MP3s. While playing, the button lights on the player will flash randomly, which looks cool. Was hoping to have some ligh flashing on the remote too, but no.

Cons: The remote doesn't have a pause button. The wire of the remote is a bit thick. The earphone that comes with player is not great.

I recommend the Sony fontopia EX71SL to go along witht this player, the bass will hit you so hard that it'll hurt.

I bought this CD player last month while I was visiting the US. I had irrepairable damage on my previous Panasonic mp3 player, and I was apprehensive to shell out money on this one. But I did it anyway, and I don't regret it at all! This CD player is a gem, and the included rechargable batteries are a bonus. The sound quality is excellent, and I beg to differ from some of the other reviewers about the earphones: they're really good, if not the best.

The instruction manual is comprehensive to the T, but easy to understand and follow. The remote's a really cool addition too, and for those who didn't find the Pause button: pressing the Play/Stop button once during play pauses the track. To start playing again, press Play/Stop once more.

If you have money to shell out on an mp3-CD player and aren't sure which one to get, don't hesitate in getting the SL-CT710. Its worth the price!!!

Enjoy!!!

SHAME ON SONY ! - I HAD FOR 4 YEARS MPPLAYER - MPMAN CD350 AND THE SOUND QUALITY WAS GREAT ! I PURCHASE THIS MPPLAYER AND THE INSTRUMENT ITSELF IS GREAT BUT THE SOUND ?! IF ONLY I COULD TAKE THE SOUND OF MY MPMAN PLAYER AND PUT IT IN THE SONY THAT WILL BE FINE ....
THE BASS IS WORSE THEN A 50$ MPPLAYER ! I HAVE SONY'S EARPHONES MODEL - MDR-EX71SL AND THEY R GREAT EVEN WITH THEM THE SOUND IS TERRIBLE !
DONT BUY THIS PRODUCT ... SORRY SONY THAT I'M DISAPPOINTMENT .

This player is great for playing MP3 files. It looks cool and it works as advertised. I love how you can actually see the disk spinning and then spin down when you play mp3s. The flat metal back is perfect for attaching a cell phone belt clip.

The problem is the G-shock. It cannot be turned off. As is the case with most memory buffer anti-shock systems, the music is compressed with lossy compression in order to maximize the amount of music that can be buffered. There are two settings and both are compressed. Setting 2 is compressed so much that it sounds truly bad. I suspect that setting 1 uses the mp3 codec at 128kbps and setting 2 is at 96kpbs. That would explain the problem. It is obvious that Sony designed this unit solely as an mp3 player. The ability to play normal CDs is illusory. When you try, the sound quality is truly horrible. It will make any CD sound as "dead", as "lifeless", as "flat", as an overly compressed MP3 file.

If you only want to play mp3-CDs, then I would recommend this unit for its features and its overall coolness...

The remote is definetly worth buying if you buy this player. The player has great sound and I lov the mp3 playback. I can fit 14 CD's onto 1! Its like having a virtual CD changer! It is really easy to use and the remote makes it even easier! It is very inexpensive and much better quality than the RIO version. It never skips. Infact, the CD completly stops when it is done reading. It stores it in its memory. The ID3 taging is great. It displays all of the CD information. I love the displays. It can be a little pricy but if money is not an option definetly get the C-DJ01 with the RM-MC11ELs remote control. If you do not want the remote, you do not need it, but it controls every single feature on the CD player so you do not have to take it out of your pocket when yuo want to change tracks. It is "nifty" as one of my friends said. I would definetly recommend it and it is worth all the money. I'd rate it 11 out of 10.

Where I work, we once had a discussion about Monster cables and if they really do provide a better signal than a decent less-expensive cable.

So, we injected a range on freqencies through the Monster and looked at it on both an O-scope and a spectrum analyzer. We then did the same for a cable of the same type, but not a so-called Monster.

The Monster had *slightly* less attenuation, however the attenuation was not constant and the fluctuating attenuation introduced fluctuating harmonics. The differences between the Monster and the other cable, however, were along the same lines that one would expect to see from two similiar cables from different manufacturers.

My conclusion is that Monster cables simply are not worth the price. As for the construction itself, I don't find it very durable. It gives the appearance of durability, but I was not impressed with how the connectors were applied. For as much as these things cost, there should be better workmanship.

Professional cables can be had for half the cost of Monster cables. Monster cables are high-end low-end cables, where the high-end aspect is mainly in price. Its no suprise that one wouldn't find Monster cables being used in any professional sound studio.

I believe the "better picture aspect" of Monster video cables to be attributed mainly to psychological factors.

My advice would be to get the Microsoft HD AV Pack (which is what I'm using myself) for $20 and use the $40 you'll save on a game.

I bought this cable because I've long been a fan of Monster's products. My first thought on opening the package was that the cable itself is beautiful. Then I began to pay more attention to things.
The audio and video segments are side by side which caused some dismay because I wanted to run sound through my receiver. If you pay another 40 and get the proprietary optical cable, you can wire your sound through a receiver but this would mean spending 100 on cables for your Xbox. I have no doubt that there is an improvement but I have doubts as to how detectable it will be. The package does say a separate optical cable is necessary but in my purchasing haste, I failed to notice this.

I prefered to just get the standard HD kit from Microsoft for 17.99 and then hook up my own component cables and optical cable.

I feel that a $60 cable for a game system should include an optical cable for sound. Requiring the purchase of a proprietary optical cable instead of allowing any optical cable to connect is another slap in the consumer's face.

Although, I was a bit skeptical about paying that much money for a set of cables, in the long run they have paid off. These cables, with my sony flat-screen tv, provide some of the clearest picture I've seen so far and my tv's not even hdtv! Also, buy the monster cable lightwave 100x cables because it provides the best sound possible on xbox.