Mariners rejoice, today Garmin announced a newly enhanced GPS receiver to aid in decking out your dinghy this upcoming season. Serving both practical and frivolous purposes, you can pick up this newly announced unit without the guilt associated with buying a device that only serves to entertain… if that kind of guilt affects you.
Garmin is towing the line, with the GPSMAP 640 touchscreen portable. It comes preloaded with comprehensive street and marine charts, but with a major change in the form factor. Garmin was looking to merge the look and usability of their popular Nüvi series with this highly specialized, albeit dated looking, GPSMAP portable.
For this refresh, Gamin has slimmed down the case, ditched the antenna, and beefed up the screen. The end product looks striking similar to every other PND out there, but boasts an intuitive, waterproof, 5.2” touchscreen display, with an 800 x 480 resolution, surrounded by a much thinner beveled case, and tons of tidbits for the sailor.
The docking cradles, that compliment the system, are specific to the application. Dock the unit in the marine cradle and the GPS starts up in marine mode, and vise versa for the car. This certainly beats scouring the menus to change modes.
Data presented on this meticulous monitor could save you some major headaches. Garmin’s BlueCharts has been upgraded to include shaded depth contours, port plans, wrecks, and restricted areas. Upgrade again, to BlueCharts g2 Vision, and get automatic chart plotting.
Seafarers will find endless uses for this detailed navigational information presented on the GPSMAP 640, but add the optional XM radio/weather satellite receiver, and you’ll be good to sail the seven seas endlessly - without incident or running out of tunes.
Press Release
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Monday, October 6, 2008
Seafaring Just Got Easier - Thanks to Garmin
Monday, February 25, 2008
JVC RX-D702B Audio/Video Control Receiver
Receivers are rarely sleek and slim; they usually take up a bit of real estate and weigh around forty pounds. As an alternative to these whaling behemoths, JVC has a line of sleek, powerful, smaller form digital amplifiers. They weigh in at a mere seventeen pounds. Good news is, JVC's most powerful and versatile ‘slimline’ digi amp has been out for about three years, enough time to have its price drop to near half of its original retail. Despite the stigmata, that consumerism thrives on, of not being up-to-date; this JVC has some impressive specs.
Audio Features
One of the JVC RX-D702B’s most impressive features is its ability to wirelessly connect to your computer. This seems appropriate considering many computers act as music servers nowadays. Don’t worry if you don’t have a wireless network; JVC’s makes it simple. A USB dongle plugs into your computer, installs as a generic USB speaker, and wirelessly links your PC or Mac. Any audio from the computer is now sent to the receiver. This is nice because there are no issues with DRM (copy protected) content or having to use a specific media player program.
Adequate amplification doesn’t seem to be an issue for this JVC. It provides most channels with 150 watts, whether in surround sound or stereo modes. The speaker terminals accommodate up to 7.1 surround sound or 1 center (150W), 2 front(150W each), 2 surround(110W each), 2 rear(150W each), and a subwoofer (pre-out, not powered). On-board decoders for various Dolby Digital and DTS formats give this JVC the ability to decode most digital audio formats.
No matter what set of speakers is paired with this JVC; a formidable wall of sound comes out of this amp. Choose speakers whose power handling matches the amplifying abilities of the receiver, then pair that with a high-powered sub, you’ll have a system that will shake any room. The audio stylings of this JVC digi amp won’t leave you wishing for more.
Video Processing
Breathe new life into older components, the JVC up-converts analog video to 480p. You won't have to buy all your movie titles in High Def. It outputs upscaled video via HDMI
from any input terminals: Component, S-video, or Composite.
Also, the upscaling is great for playing those embarrassing home videos from the nineties in high def glory, “and here I am at band camp”…always a sure fire way to impress a date.
Buying technology that’s been around a while is a good way to save. You also have access to a greater diversity of user reviews from products that have been put through the paces. Do your own research; I think you’ll find my recommendation a sound one.
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Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Denon’s Compact Networked Audio Systems the S-52 and S-32
These new Denons have put compact, full sound, digital source audio in its place…that place being wherever you want it to be. Their compact size and wireless capabilities, give you this new found freedom to setup these Denons just about anywhere there’s an outlet. Denon’s reputation for innovation is well founded, and their concept of ‘Whole Home Audio’ really comes to fruition with the S-52 and S-32. These dapper Dons of digital audio assert their impressive array of features from the moment you fire them up.
The new systems can do much more than play Wi-Fi radio, which they do. The S-52 and S-32 are networked audio systems, meaning they can connect to anything on your network, wirelessly, and play MP3, WMA, AAC, and WAV file formats from these networked devices. Don’t have a wireless network? It doesn’t matter; you can plug either of these Denons into your network via Ethernet. This will limit you a bit, but cords tend to do that.
Of course, they’re iPod ready via built in, drop and rock, iPod dock. Adding to ease of use is the multi-function scroll wheel; this ensures quick and intuitive navigation of the menu, music libraries, and streaming music channels. Even if you haven’t fully embraced the digital music revolution, yet, Denon gives you plenty of options.
Rhapsody digital music service has struck a deal with Denon to offer a no credit card required 30-day trial. Rhapsody is a renowned web service offering unlimited access to an extensive music catalog. If you have trouble pinning down exactly what you’re in the mood for, Rhapsody channels offers you a continuous stream of professional programmed music, which is sure to please.
Additional performance offered with the pricier S-52 includes, a slot loading CD player capable of decoding most popular audio formats, a built in HD radio tuner, and an XM mini tuner. These pale in comparison to the usability offered with the addition of a USB port which you can connect flash drives, MP3 players, hard drives, or any USB mass storage devices to the player. These mini media moguls are out now but going fast. Snap yours up today.
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Monday, December 10, 2007
Alpine Type-X: Upgrade or Absurd?
Alpine announced last week it would begin shipping the newest upgrade to their mobile speaker lineup, the Type-X Pro and Reference Speakers. Alpine’s combination of high output fiberglass cones and ring radiator tweeters, on the Pro series, are aural assassins of the highest caliber. Even so, the price jump is a bit hefty from its predecessor with an MSRP of $650 (but we'll have them for way less). This, Type-X, upgrade includes smaller neodymium magnets. So, if you’re shelling out multiple Benjamins for these fancy cans, anyway, you don’t to have to drop a bunch more cash on car interior customization just to fit them in your ride.
Type-X Pro
One thing you might want to customize is the speaker tuning. The included interchangeable ‘Phase Link’ modules are setup to cope with the most popular speaker placements, and ring radiator tweeters allow the tweeters to swivel around giving more precise control over the direction of the sound.
The SPX-17 Pro boasts 100W max and 300W peak handling power. The SPX-13 Pro holds it down with 80W max and 240W peak. Because of the size difference, SPX-13 Pro has slightly less frequency response than its bigger brother.
As the name and price indicate, these component speakers are not really for the audio enthusiast. These are for those freakish audiophiles that are a bit obsessed with perfect unabated sound reproduction or, to put it nicely, audio connoisseurs.
Type-X Reference
If the Type-X Pro series seems a bit much to you, then the Type-X Reference speakers maybe more to your liking. Type-X Reference speakers are a very slight step down, somewhat in tweeter performance, but mostly in watts pushed. You’d be hard pressed to tell the difference between dome tweeters, which the Type-X Ref uses, and ring radiator tweeters that adorn the Type-X Pro. Dome tweeters have less moving parts, and less that can brake. Plus, you’re already installing the tweeters in such a way as to focus the sound where you want, more control is overkill.
Another nice thing about the Type-X Ref speakers is, you can convert this component speaker system into a coaxial system, adding to the installation options. The wattage of these cans is a bit diminished when compared to the Pro Series. The SPX-17 REF pushes 75W max and 225W peak, its partner in thumping, the SPX-13 REF, has a respectable 60W max and 180W peak. Being the low-end of these high-end speakers the SPX-13 REF has the lowest frequency response range of the four new offerings but at an MSRP of $400 they should both be mind altering.
Are They For Real
The price for this new Alpine upgrade is, as with any product, a combination real value and branded value. The trick is figuring out which is the reason the price is…what it is. These speakers offer some impressive features, but Alpine’s pricing it out of range for many in their loyal demographic. Most people spend $50-$60 dollars on a set of car speakers, and are perfectly happy with their performance. The new Alpine Type-X is cutting edge, but taking into account the fact that you can get the current model for $200, what makes these worth the extra bucks?
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Thursday, October 25, 2007
Denon AH-D5000 Delivers Devastating Sound
Deal of the Day: Denon AH-D5000 Headphones
Your discerning musical taste deserves the very best in audio output. An important component of any headphone system is blocking out the extraneous noise. This allows you to easily get lost in the music. Denon realizes these facts. Their acoustical engineers have spared no expense developing the Denon AH-D5000, the ‘Cadillac’ of over the ear headphones. They have those same ‘Cadillacesque’ wood accents around the outside of the phones. The big difference being these bits of refined timber serve as sound resonators so they actually do something, besides exude refinement. The cord itself lets you know the Denon AH-D5000 isn’t for the light hearted music listener. This cord is cloth covered, a bit of old school technology to provide that extra level of refinement, and very high grade. DJ’s, studio engineers, and serious audiophiles, you will thank yourself for this investment. Not to mention the impression they’ll leave on your eardrums. Denon delivers superb sound reproduction, as usual.
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Wednesday, October 10, 2007
No, not the LCD...the Sound Projector
posted by Andrew Harris
Now I preface this post by asking all audiophiles not to cringe in disgust. Its another all-in-one audio unit. Yamaha, with the YSP-3000, hopes to make some multi-speaker system shoppers convert and embrace their vision of surround sound. Which is a singular sound projection unit. It uses all the latest innovations from a variety of renowned sound labs. These technologies simulate a multi-speaker system's sound, without the wires or the installation contractor.
The beams of sound shooting out the thing effectively make it true multi-channeled. What can you listen to on it? The Yamaha YSP-3000 sound projector has more connections than a Columbian drug lord...mini-jack, HDMI, XMHD ready, FM tuner, and an iPod interface(w/YDS-10 dock)all presented in a deceptively simple package.
I don't think that sound system installers are going to lose sleep over this one. Although, if you're short on space(as many city dwellers are)than this sound system could be a valuable space saver. I mean really, if you're so short on space that you're TV is two feet away from you couch...than you mostly likly don't need powerful multi-speaker sound system. So this makes perfect sense.
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Monday, October 8, 2007
Sony's Flash Recorder Surpasses DAT Quality
The Sony Professional Portable 24-bit Linear Audio Recorder is a great addition to you mobile multimedia recording studio, you know that one you carry around all day ready to fire up at the drop of a new gadget. Bloggers, podcasters, reporters, musicians, and maybe the occasional aural artist would seem to be the audience for the Sony PCM-D50.
High quality recording is no problem here; bit rates vary from 22 kHz/16 bits to 96 kHz/ 24 bits. The available recording time corresponds with the quality of the recording and the memory present. With the 4Gb that comes built in the recorder it is a formidable foe recording up to 13hrs, but add a memory stick and you're recording long after other recorders have retreated in defeat.
Signal to noise ratio is rather low producing what Sony classifies as "noise-free" recording. Due to this low signal to noise ratio first time testers have found the handling noise was greatly reduced, if not eliminated, which is not the case with some other recorder in the same price range.
The recording format is your standard .WMA with playback in the same format or .MP3. The recorder connects via high speed USB, drag and drop on Mac/Windows. The real gems of the system are the built in condenser microphones these are prefect for the on the street interview and relatively any other application, but if these don’t do it for you, you can plug an external microphone. Be forewarned, if your external microphone requires power, the Sony PCM-D50 doesn’t provide any additional power so unless you what to drop some extra cash on an adapter...stick with the built-in jump offs. The list price is $599.
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