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.
Just when you’re putting the finishing touches on your next masterpiece that’s going to make Madonna take notice and come begging for your production services, your hard drive decides to take a dirt nap. Nooooo!
After the umpteenth drive of ours decided to wet its bed, we contacted Glyph. Glyph has been around for 15 years providing hard drive solutions for the audio and video markets, and they claim that not only are their hard drives more reliable than their competitors, but they also put their money where their mouth is by backing it up with a device replacement and data recovery policy… More!
Read the entire Glyph Technologies GT 062 External Hard Drive review.
Røde Microphones has unveiled Røde University, an infomercial online course designed to explain the basics of Røde microphone recording applications. Now the concept is quite solid, however, as we will learn, the delivery has come up wanting.
The design of the site is effective, devoid of Dancing Baloney and other forays into non-essential elements, and allows the user to get right into the action, although you’re required to register so that Røde can send you their marketing garbage. The training videos, despite being very poorly lit, are delivered in excellent resolution for streaming video. For users who are brand new to microphone placement techniques and patterns, the video may move a tad fast, but Røde University does allow you to replay and/or rewind to video.
Røde’s entire product line of microphones and accessories are covered in the University’s videos, but you must follow a course curriculum that requires you to learn about the mics in a specific order, a major minus. (see image above) Although Røde’s thinking is that the user should learn the foundation of a microphone’s features and attributes, the reality is that the “University” is really just a long advertisement for each mic, shoe-horned into an educational format. Røde probably thinks that they’re pulling the wool over their viewer’s eyes, but they’re not fooling anyone. Therefore, the “University” would probably be much more effective, if Røde would just open up the entire grid and let users pick the mic and application they are interested in.
If you are interested in actually learning something, just click on the TechTalk link on the bottom right of the grid. Despite the obvious pimping of Røde’s own technology by Host Peter Moses, there’s a couple of interesting nuggets of knowledge to digest.
The Future: Røde University is a good foundation for a site that could be much, much more if Røde ever decides to evolve it beyond infomercial status.
More information on Røde University.
JazzMutant’s remarkable Dexter is a digital audio workstation multi-touch controller that showcases the future of computer mixing. The extremely well-built device features several dynamic and compelling methods for working in the digital age, however there are many areas where the Dexter misses the mark, and that this price point that shouldn’t be the case. More…
Read the entire JazzMutant Dexter Review
The rule of thumb when buying a proper home sound system is that you should spend half your budget on the speakers. Although, you can’t necessarily apply this formula to your studio, it does demonstrate how important a quality pair of monitors is to your kit. If you feel that your mixes come up wanting after hours of hard work behind your desk, it may be time to consider a new set of monitors.
KRK Systems recently sent us a pair of their new VXT8 monitors for a TestDrive. The new VXT line is based on KRK’s premium Exposé series and consists of three models — the VXT4, VXT6, and VXT8. The numbers depict the woofer size of each monitor.
The Exposé and VXT monitors are a complete revamp of their monitor technology, and usher in a new era for the company. For fans of KRK, the concern kept what was working, like the Kevlar woofers, and changed what wasn’t, the form factor. The difference is obvious when you first lay eyes on the VXT, all the boxy lines from past models have been softened with curves, replacing almost all perpendicular angles. More…
Read the entire KRK VXT8 Monitors review at FutureMusic’s TestDrive!
So before further ado, let’s address the elephant in the room. The Arturia JP-8V does an excellent emulation of the famed Roland Jupiter 8, albeit a hyper-present and ultra-clean version. However, if that’s all you care about, you’re missing a big part of what makes the JP-8V a killer soft synth.
Arturia obviously did their homework. The JP-8V really does sound like Roland’s 16 oscillator analog flagship — a voice that defined the early ’80s Pop music sound. The Beast, as it was known in some circles, featured eight “whopping” notes of polyphony, oscillator sync, polyphonic portamento, cross-modulation, a rocking arpeggiator and tasty resonant filters. Using Arturia’s new TAE sound engine, the JP-8V is a great showcase of their next-gen engineering muscle. More!
Read the rest of the Arturia Jupiter-8V review on FutureMusic’s TestDrive.
You’d think in today’s world finding a quality CD case that can stand up to the rigors of the road for a working DJ wouldn’t be an impossible task. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. If you explore the market, you’ll find many mediocre offerings that are extremely overpriced.
Several of our readers, feeling the pain, wrote to us asking if we run across a quality container in any of our adventures. A quick poll of the office came to the same conclusion, none of us owned a CD case that we thought was the perfect balance of quality and value. Thus, we went on a mission to find the best possible CD case for the money, and then share our findings with you, our esteemed readers. More!
Read the entire Slappa CD Case Review at FutureMusic’s TestDrive.
…One minor detractor is the Shuffle 2.0 does not have a built-in USB connection like the original. Instead, it comes with a mini dock with a triple-connect mini-plug that serves as the digital link for transferring music from iTunes to the device. Thus, you can’t simply attach the Shuffle to any USB connection for a quick charge, you must carry the mini dock…
UPDATE: Since the Shuffle 2.0 debuted, two excellent products have come to market that address this deficit…
First is Incipio, who debuted a tiny USB-To-MiniJack dock/charger dubbed the IncipioBud. The second option is the Digital Lifestyle Outfitters (DLO) PowerBug — if you’re looking for a pure charger. More!
Read the entire iPod Shuffle 2nd Generation Review at FutureMusic’s TestDrive.
When Audio-Technica, the esteemed Japanese manufacturer of microphones and headphones, decided to enter the professional DJ headphone market several months ago, our expectations were quite high. Audio-Technica has developed a number of outstanding transducer products over the years and we were hoping their new ATH-PRO700 headphones would live up to their reputation. Sadly, Audio-Technica decided to imitate, and not innovate… More!
Read the entire Audio-Technica ATH-PRO700 DJ Headphones Review at Futuremusic’s TestDrive Gear Review Site.
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