Livio recently released the Livio Radio Featuring Pandora, Five of FutureMusic’s staffers took the Livio on a TestDrive to see how it worked as stand-alone Internet radio, as well as a music discovery tool….

More information on our Livio Radio review

Violet Designs, a boutique microphone manufacturer from Estonia, recently sent us their Wedge large-diaphragm condenser microphone for review. Violet has been in business for a little over 13 years and has made some nice headway in the market by providing well-constructed microphones with quality components.

Violet Designs aimed for a mass-market, large-condenser with their new Wedge microphone, but missed the target trying to be quirky and popular at the same time. More!

Read the entire Violet Wedge Microphone Review.

The new APC40 from Akai and Ableton has caused quite a stir within the tight-knit community of Live users since it was first announced at the 2009 NAMM show. We recently had the opportunity to spend some quality time with the APC40, and have determined, for the most part, the controller lives up the hype. But, don’t call it a controller. What Akai has produced in some ways is really move of an instrument, than merely a MIDI controller. In fact, the APC40 brings back Live to its roots as a performance application, and not a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW), a moniker that Ableton tried to adopt in order to shoehorn the dynamic application into a retail product category… More!

Read our entire Akai APC40 Review.

Stanton is back. After years of lackluster new product announcements, strictly cosmetic product polishing and recovering from their very public breakup with Native Instruments, the seminal DJ company finally has something to smile about, their new SC.3d. The 3d, also known as DaScratch, is an economical, multi-touch MIDI DJ controller.

The 3d is a well-conceived, lightweight DJ controller that easily connects to your Mac or PC with USB 2.0 connectivity. Measuring just 5″ x 8.5″ x 1.5″ – you can easily drop the 3d into your gig bag without having to hire a sherpa… More!

Read the entire Stanton SCS.3d Review.

After putting Arturia’s Analog Factory Experience through one of our longest product tests to date, we have concluded that there is a lot to love about their economical hardware/software virtual analog solution.

Although it is rare to put the words economical and quality in the same sentence these days, Arturia’s Analog Factory Experience can easily be described as such, and at a retail price of $349 this could be one of the biggest bargains currently on the market… More!

Read the entire Arturia Analog Factory Experience Review.

TestDrive, our gear reviews section, has cooked up another extensive evaluation. This time we’ve turned our attention to the Sony PCM-D50…

Whether or not Sony was planning to debut a more budget minded recorder, or is now responding to this vibrant sector, is unknown, however, the Japanese company recently launched the PCM-D50, an affordable 24-bit / 96-kHz recorder with built-in condensor microphones and 4 GB of internal Flash memory. The PCM-D50 also features a Memory Stick Pro HG-Duo slot for additional storage, S/PDIF digital I/O, high-speed USB 2.0 connectivity and standard AA battery power. However, what makes the PCM-D50 a standout is the savvy and sophisticated technical features… More!

Read the entire Sony PCM-D50 review.

With more and more DJs and electronic musicians employing computers in their live rigs, emergency backup solutions have become mandatory.

Some companies have even developed dedicated emergency kits just in case a cable goes bad, or an adapter is needed for connectivity to the house PA. However, if your sound card decides to kick the bucket just prior to showtime, you’re going to need a stereo interface that will work with a club system. Enter the Rapco LTI-1… More!

Read the entire Rapco LTI-1 Review.

After falling in love with the NUO4 a couple of years back, you can imagine our reaction when the Spanish concern announced that they would be debuting a new flagship mixer. Could the new Ecler EVO5 best the excellent ergonomics, handsome design and quality sound of the NUO4?

The Ecler EVO5, part of a completely new line, is a sophisticated DJ mixer that seamlessly bridges the gap between the analog and digital realms. In its simplest implementation, the EVO5 can be utilized as a 4-channel analog mixer for CD decks and turntables. It can also be used solely as a full-on MIDI controller with every knob and fader able to send MIDI data. In its most advanced application, it can be used as both a MIDI controller, and an analog mixer at the same time. This not only gives the EVO5 enormous versatility, but also allows the adventurous DJ to push the mixing envelope. With this much power and flexibility, every single DJ will approach the EVO5 in their own unique way. So in order to fairly review the EVO5, we’ve embarked on our most ambitious review to date…

Read the entire Ecler EVO5 review!

One of the biggest problems that project studio owners face is the dreaded “wall wart.” These oversized adapters have a tendency to take up two or three plugs on a surge protector, making them highly inefficent, and creating a tangled web of wires.

Enter Socket Sense…

Read the entire Socket Sense review.

M-Audio recently sent over their EX66 nearfield monitors for us to TestDrive. Although the monitors have been around for about a year, the EX66’s push M-Audio beyond their budget monitoring options and into a new price point for the concern. It’s obvious that M-Audio wanted to make a statement with the EX66’s. Not only do they incorporate provocative new technology and features, but they also utilize a dual woofer design that has lost favor with other manufacturers.

So how do the EX66’s sound? Every one of the evaluators noticed that the EX66’s produced a surprising amount of noise. We contacted two retailers about the issue who confirmed the problem with a simple “this isn’t the first time we’ve heard that…” and M-Audio acknowledged a certain level of audible hiss. The problem appears to stem from the internal DSP processing, as well as the A/D and D/A conversion. Although, the issue never became a serious irritant when mixing, it definitely needs to be addressed by M-Audio… More!

Read the full M-Audio EX66 Review.