Garden Retreat
Looking to add some music or light nature sounds to your garden or backyard sanctuary without noticeable speaker clutter? Look no further than Polk’s Atrium outdoor speaker system. Easily tucked away among your plants and flowers you’ll soon forget there’s speakers there… well, except for the music… and you know the audio quality will be top notch always.
Press Release
DENVER, CO, September 2, 2008 - Polk Audio today announced its new Atrium outdoor speaker system, which combines legendary Polk Audio sound with an appealing visual design that adapts seamlessly into any exterior landscape.
The Atrium Sat 30 satellite speaker and Atrium Sub 10 subwoofer combine to bring true high performance audio to outdoor settings, with a near-limitless palette of placement options.
The Atrium Sat 30 is perhaps the most versatile outdoor speaker system on the market, resembling an outdoor light fixture in shape and style. The satellite can be mounted in the ground, on a deck or gazebo, or even suspended from a porch or cabana ceiling. Elegant and unobtrusive cosmetics allow them blend into virtually any outdoor landscape design, while included mounting accessories such as a security ground spike and pendant hanger provide maximum placement options.
The Atrium Sub 10 subwoofer is shaped like a plant stand or pedestal table, and is robust enough to be used as such all year round. Both the satellites and subwoofer are constructed from sealed, weatherproof designs, with stainless steel and brass hardware that will deliver years of trouble-free, weatherproof service.
Polk Audio’s 20 years of sub-sat experience led to the Atrium Sat 30 and Atrium Sub 10 setting a new standard in outdoor audio, providing genuine high fidelity in nearly every application. The subwoofer’s 10-inch long-throw driver gives authoritative bass response down to 50 Hz, while the acoustically-matched two-way satellites provide smooth, vivid sonics out to an impressive 18 KHz, resulting from Polk Audio’s use of a 3 ½” midrange driver and ¾” dome tweeter. Thanks to superior sensitivity characteristics for both the subwoofer and satellites, installers will enjoy more flexibility with amplification and cable runs.
“The Atrium Sat 30 and Sub 10 are designed to create a ‘Swiss Army Knife’ sub/sat system for installers and consumers,” says Polk Audio Product Line Manager Al Baron. “They can mount almost anywhere around a pool, a deck, a walkway or even a garden without upsetting the outdoor design, all the while giving customers premium sound quality from a name that they know and trust.”
The Atrium Sat 30 and Atrium Sub 10 will begin shipping in January, at suggested retail prices of $179 each and $329 each, respectively
Beyonce: I Am…Sasha Fierce
Beyonce also has new album being released on Tuesday, November, 18 2008, but you can preorder the standard album or the deluxe edition right now.
This album show the two sides that Beyonce calls “the side that only people who know her see” and the work hard, performance side which she calls “Sasha Fierce.” Read her Bio here and enjoy both Beyonces’.
David Cook
American Idol mania fast approaching and with that said, David Cook’s self-titled debut album is now available for preorder and is set to be released on November 18th, 2008. Produced by Grammy winning Rob Cavallo, David Cook is a quality album full with radio hits. Cook co-wrote 9 songs from his debut, along with songwriters like Chris Cornell, Brian Howes & Cathy Dennis. The 1st single “Light On” was co-written by one of rock music’s most influential innovators, Chris Cornell, lead singer and songwriter for Soundgarden and Audioslave, and acclaimed producer / songwriter Brian Howes.
Amazon Artists Stores
Amazon has launched Artist stores where music lovers can find a comprehensive way to music. The stores are central locations to find CDs, MP3s, vinyl, videos, photos, merchandise, discussion forums, and so on for your favorite musicians and artists past and present. Read the press release below or just head on over to Amazon to check it out.
SEATTLE, Nov 17, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) — To help customers more easily discover music in any format, Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) today launched over 100,000 new artist stores (www.amazon.com/artiststores). The stores feature comprehensive artist content, including full album discographies, CDs, DRM-free MP3s and vinyl catalog selection along with community features like artist images, artist biographies and related products — all in one place. To celebrate the launch of the artist stores and Amazon Music’s 10th anniversary, Amazon is releasing a limited-edition “Amazon.com 10 Years of Music” (www.amazon.com/10yearsofmusic) CD compilation featuring:
* Jewel’s “Hands”
* Backstreet Boys’ “I Want it That Way”
* ‘N Sync’s “This I Promise You”
* Dave Matthew Band’s “The Space Between”
* Norah Jones’ “Don’t Know Why”
* Sarah McLachlan’s “Fallen”
* Maroon 5’s “This Love”
* Coldplay’s “Speed of Sound”
* Dixie Chicks’ “Not Ready to Make Nice”
* Bruce Springsteen’s “Radio Nowhere”
A portion of the proceeds for each CD sold(1) will benefit the GRAMMY Foundation(R), a nonprofit organization established in 1989 by The Recording Academy(R) that provides opportunities for young people to explore careers in the music industry, and leads efforts to safeguard contributions made by musical icons to our cultural heritage.
“We’ve always understood that our customers want to listen to their music when they want it, where they want it and in whichever format they want it,” said Peter Faricy, vice president of music and movies at Amazon.com. “We’re music lovers here at Amazon, and we created the Amazon Artist Stores for everyone from the casual enthusiast and occasional gift-giver to the seasoned music junkie. These stores allow our customers to easily find and discover the music they love in any format along with a variety of artist content, like exclusive music videos and behind-the-scenes footage, all in a single place.”
The new artist stores serve as one-stop destinations for all things related to musicians and their music. Customers can learn about their favorite performers through images and biographies, easily discover music in any format, listen to song previews and even contribute to artist profiles. Additionally, Amazon Artist Stores have more than just music, featuring related merchandise such as concert shirts, rare posters, books, concert DVDs and more so fans can easily get their fill of memorabilia. As part of the launch customers can also check out exclusive music video debuts from Robin Thicke, “Dream World”; Il Divo, “The Promise”; Copeland, “You Are My Sunshine”; and Alison Krauss, “Shadows.”
Among the over 70,000 newly launched artist-dedicated stores are fan favorites, including the:
* Coldplay Store (www.amazon.com/coldplay) featuring:
o A pre-order for the band’s new EP, “Prospekt’s March”
o “The Coldplay Story” - a timeline of this influential band’s rise in the music world
o A photo gallery of the band
o A variety of books and DVDs
* Bob Dylan Store (www.amazon.com/dylan) featuring:
o His recent exclusive music video debut on Amazon.com of “Dreamin’ of You”
o A photo gallery of the artist throughout different time periods in his life and career
o Career biography and timeline of the legendary singer, songwriter
o A variety of books and DVDs
* Andrea Bocelli Store (www.amazon.com/bocelli) featuring:
o A new Amazon Exclusive video from his latest release, “Incanto,” along with a collection of other videos
o Career biography and timeline on the Italian opera singer
o A special note from the artist remembering his friend, Luciano Pavarotti
* Il Divo Store (www.amazon.com/divo) featuring:
o A sweepstakes for customers to win tickets to an Il Divo concert in London
o A new Amazon Exclusive video from their latest release, “The Promise”
o Career biography and photo gallery of the quartet
To browse the full selection of Amazon Artist Stores, visit www.amazon.com/artiststores. To order a copy of “Amazon.com 10 Years of Music” and help celebrate Amazon Music’s 10th anniversary, visit www.amazon.com/10yearsofmusic.
(1) Amazon.com will donate $1 for each CD sold less credits, returns and refunds.
Interesting use of a MacBook
This unique use of the Macbook to compose music as individual instruments to create a orchestra intrigued me. The salad bowl speakers are a nice touch as well. What do you think? You can read an excerpt of the article from Apple’s website.
Stanford Laptop Orchestra (SLOrk): Musical Macs
By Dustin Driver
When composer/researcher/programmer Ge Wang looks at a MacBook, he sees more than a computer. He sees a versatile platform for creating custom electronic instruments-the perfect tool for transforming lines of code, user input, and even gestures into music.
Wang is the man behind the Stanford Laptop Orchestra (SLOrk), an ensemble of student computer scientists and musicians that uses 20 MacBooks to compose and perform new music. It’s an experimental fusion of portable computing and live performance that harnesses the notebook’s plug-and-play compatibility, state-of-the-art sensors, and raw processing power.
SLOrk director Ge Wang conducts the ensemble.
“We use the MacBook itself as an instrument,” says Wang. “We tilt the notebook and use its built-in accelerometer to expressively control sound. We use the trackpad as a kind of violin bow. We use peripherals like USB game pads and even Nintendo Wii Remotes. Sometimes we modify code directly to generate sound and musical gestures. You can make some wild, diverse music with the MacBook.”
SLOrk generates an avant-garde synthesis of sound: computerized clicks, chimes, and bleeps dance over the drone of string instruments, square waves, and clean electronic tones. Wang conducts the orchestra, leading his musicians through acoustic landscapes as they perform electronic chamber music and compose freestyle melodies.
The music fits right in at the Stanford University Center for Computer Research in Music (CCRMA), the orchestra’s home, where Wang is an assistant professor. “Our goal here is to figure out what computers can enable people to accomplish musically,” says Wang. “With SLOrk, we’re pushing the boundaries of how people make electronic music. For us, the MacBook is at the center of that goal. It enables everything we do.”
Smule
Wang has begun experimenting with music-making applications for the Apple iPhone. In 2008, he co-founded a company called Smule to explore sonic applications on the device; the first product, Sonic Lighter, is now available via the iTunes App Store.
“One of our newest apps, Ocarina, lets you play an ocarina on the iPhone by physically blowing into the microphone, using multi-touch to control fingering, and leveraging the accelerometer to modulate the sound. Furthermore, there is a globe visualization that allows the user to listen in on people playing around the world in real time. We aim to push the boundaries of what’s possible on the iPhone with sound and interaction.”
XM Everything Plus the Best of SIRIUS: Complete Channel Lineup
XM’s new lineup is a mix-up/mish-mash of (some) past XM channels (many are gone) and new “Best of SIRIUS” channels. Love it or hate it, satellite radio will never be the same. Check out the press release below for more details. Read more
Hellboy II: The Golden Army to Feature Revolutionary 4D Audio Technology
Hellboy II, which is available now, will offer 4D audio localization, which is touted as true 360-degree spherical sound. It’s the first home movie to offer this feature. All you need to benefit from it is a 5.1 or 7.1 capable surround sound system. Read more
Alpine Audio/Video/Navigation
Since this is our first post on alpine I’ll throw out their new all-in-one audio/video/navigation solution. The IVA-W203/P1.
This head unit has almost everything. It brings you audio, video, navigation and is Bluetooth enabled, Ipod ready, Satellite Radio ready, HD Radio Ready, not to mention a basic AM/FM tuner.
Audio
This thing will play your CD’s, your MP3 files from your Ipod via the dedicated source, accepts HD radio signals, is Satellite Radio ready, and is Bluetooth enabled for hands free talking on your cell phone. You will of course need to purchase separate accessories in order to take advantage of the Satellite Radio, HD Radio and Ipod capabilities. It pumps all this out a 50wX4. The full specs are below.
Video
What can I say really, but I plays your favorite DVD’s on a high quality 6.5 inch screen.
Navigation
The navigation feature is simple to use with easy to follow menus and clear maps with turn by turn voice commands also. The removable drive allows you connect to your home computer via USB to update maps and points of interest.
All in all the IVA-W203/P1 looks like a killer piece. It ought to be for the $1,200.00 suggested retail price, but it does have just about everything. I would have like to have seen a USB port to access music files from a flash drive and if you want satellite radio, HD radio or to be able to hook your Ipod to it you will have to spend extra, but I guess most other players out there require extra gear too. Visit alpine-usa.com to learn more. Read more
Harman International Selected as Exclusive Audio Systems Supplier for BMW 5 Series in China
Harman, who already provides audio components the likes of Mercedes, is now the exclusive provider for audio gear for the BMW 5 series (in the Chinese market). This probably doesn’t mean much to me or you, but it gives me a good excuse to ogle over the 5 series for a bit.
I wonder if we can get a review sample . . . hmmm. Anyway, the press release follows. Read more
