HughBaun

Make your iPhone/iPod/iPad sing for less than $100

hughbaun — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 23:59:24 +0000

If you’ve only listened to your portable media player (e.g. iPhone or iPod) with the stock earbuds, you don’t know what you’re missing. There is untapped audio performance lurking within that little device that those cheap white earbuds simply cannot deliver to your ears. You don’t have to break the bank to replace them with quality “in-ear” ‘phones that will give you pure audio bliss – for less than $100.

You might want to know; How are “in-ear” phones different than earbuds, like the pair that came with your new iPhone? They’re mainly different in that they form a closed seal within your ear canal rather than resting loosely at the opening. This gives you a distinct advantage over earbuds in that it isolates unwanted, outside environmental noise – in some cases this means up to 35 dB of passive noise reduction is achieved. That’s a good thing, because with a much lower noise floor, you will hear more of the music at a lower volume setting. If you’re keeping score, that’s a win for your iPhone battery, a win for your peace of mind, and most importantly, a win for your long-term hearing health. One downside is that there might be an initial adjustment period for first time users. The in-ear phones may feel a bit uncomfortable at first and they won’t sound “right” until you find the correct seal in your own ears. Once you do, you’ll be rewarded with that “ahhh… moment” and then you’ll be hooked.

Personally, I like in-ear type earphones because they reward me with a high level of musical intimacy – with very little weight and expense. That is to say, they allow me hear inner details of recorded music on the go, that is hard to achieve otherwise without the use of my much more expensive and highly resolving home hifi stereo system. So, for very little relative cost, you get an entry into the audiophile world.

The under $100 pricepoint is a sweet spot for in-ear phones and this market segment is fairly crowded with quality offerings from a number of different manufacturers. That means you have wide range of options that will give you a whole lot of bang for your buck. Here is a short list of in-ear phones that make you stop and LISTEN like you’ve never listened to your portable music player before:

thinksound ts02 MSRP: $79.99, but can be found online for as low as $72.00. Here’s a review by Stereophile Magazine’s Stephen Mejias.

MEElectronicsA151 MSRP: $74.99, but can be found online for as low as $72.00. The Audiophiliac (CNET audio blog’s Steve Guttenberg) loves the A151 in this brief review. Also mentioned is the Nox Scout and the thinksound ts02.

Nox Audio Scout MSRP: $79.99, but can be found online for as low as $69.00. The Audiophiliac also gives the Scout a thumb’s-up here.

Head-Direct (HiFiMan) RE0 MSRP: $79.00, sold only through Head-Direct. Anythingbutipod reviews the RE0 here.

Monster Turbine In-Ear Speakers MSRP: $179.95, but can be found online for as low as $87.97. Here’s a review from TouchMyApps.

There are a host of other the great in-ear phones by respected manufacturers such as Shure, Audio Technica, Denon, Ultimate Ears, Westone, NuForce, Etymotic (who make my personal favorite in-ear phone, the ER-4 – but it’s price keeps it off my list here) among others. Check out the Head-Fi.personal audiophile commmunity at http://www.head-fi.org for more discussion. They are my favorite resource for headphone and personal audio related, information, reviews and exchange. Additionally, here’s a very useful buying guide for the whole range of in-ear phones: http://media.avguide.com/earphones_buyers_guide.pdf

coming next: how go get music from your iOS device to your home hifi without losing fidelity

a moment of silence please, for a dearly departed malt beverage

hughbaun — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 19:30:10 +0000

Zima, I hardly knew ya….

From the Denver Post this morning.
www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_10768112

MillerCoors ends production of Zima
The Associated Press
Article Last Updated: 10/20/2008 11:43:11 AM MDT

MILWAUKEE—MillerCoors LLC says goodbye to Zima.
The joint venture between SABMiller’s U.S. unit and Molson Coors Brewing Co. told distributors in a letter Monday that production of the malt liquor beverage was discontinued as of Oct. 10.

Chief Marketing Officer Andy England says the decision was due to weakness in the “malternative” segment and declining consumer interest.

He says distributors can get remaining Zima inventories most likely through December.

Distributors are being asked to put products from alcoholic energy brand Sparks on retail store shelves to make up for Zima’s absence.

The brand came to the joint venture from Molson Coors, maker of Coors Light and Keystone.

Sarah Palin as a post turtle

hughbaun — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 18:05:09 +0000

Got this funny little piece from a friend of mine at the NPS :)

While suturing a cut on the hand of a 75 year old rancher, who’s hand was
caught in the gate while working cattle, the doctor struck up a
conversation with the old man. Eventually the topic got around to Palin and
her bid.

The old rancher said, “Well, ya know, Palin is a ‘Post Turtle’”.

Not being familiar with the term, the doctor asked him what a ‘post turtle’
was.

The old rancher said, “When you’re driving down a country road you come
across a fence post with a turtle balanced on top, that’s a ‘post turtle”.

The old rancher saw the puzzled look on the doctor’s face so he continued
to explain. “You know she didn’t get up there by herself, she doesn’t
belong up there, and she doesn’t know what to do while she’s up there, and
you just wonder what kind of idiot put her up there to begin with”.

silly wabbit, creeks are for kids…(in progress)

hughbaun — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 05:22:00 +0000

On a typical Sunday morning in north Oakland Ca, you’ll find a couple hundred or so people gathered at the Temescal neighborhood Farmer’s Market sifting thru an array of fruit and vegetables, standing in line for Blue Bottle Coffee, and meeting friends and acquaintances.

It’s a great place to shop for locally grown organic produce and hear live music to while mingling amongst other neighbors. But for me, the real story of the Temescal Farmer’s Market is the creek wedged between the two parking lots.

Temescal Creek kids

nice win for Cal – not so nice Cal fans

hughbaun — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 06:29:07 +0000

I’m back from my climb up the hill from a nearly full Memorial Stadium (70,000) after a relatively close, nail-biting victory and I am reasonably happy about the win…

…but not so happy about the Cal fans’ treatment of Nate Longshore. In fact, it embarrasses me a little to be associated with mature adults who boo their own.

Fellow Golden Bears, show some comportment and good sportsmanship!!!

Cal 38 - MSU 31, August 30, 2008

don’t buy an Iphone if you need to use it as a phone

hughbaun — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 19:40:32 +0000

I’ve had this fancy little attention magnet for about a month now – got the new Iphone 3G after succumbing to the overwhelming onslaught of hype. I’ll be the first to say that it’s a pretty little thang with a very high fiddle factor, and while fiddling is important to me, as a PHONE, THIS THING TRULY SUCKS.

My old old Sony-Ericsson performed a yeoman’s job, making and receiving calls for five whole years while I subjected it to lots of abuse. It didn’t do much else, but it was dependable in fulfilling the primary function for which it was built. My new Iphone, conversely, repeatedly drops calls when I stop speaking, locks up and freezes to the point where I dread making an important call with the thing.

Occasionally, I listen to sports talk radio while working (yes, I am admitting to this aural vice – but that’s a topic for another blog). On two separate occasions, while listening to different radio shows (one in Charlotte, and one in Seattle), I listened to reporters disappear from the airways, only to return and blame their new Iphones for the interruption…

Same irritating problem I’ve been having, even after returning my first phone to the Genius squad at the Apple Store.

My buddy, Christopher, who writes a blog on the Iphone tells me the first generation version was much sturdier and more stable, and that the new 3G has been cheapened by the folks at Apple (of course the price was nearly halved) so even he regrets moving to the new, latest and not-so-greatest model.

To sum up my feelings on the 3G , using the words of the inimitable Christopher…

“Not impressed: FAIL “

Check out his blog to read more on the topic

Perivision

are you ready for some Cal football?

hughbaun — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 22:40:03 +0000

College football kicks off this Labor Day weekend, and my California Golden Bears open their 113th season on 5pm Saturday, Aug. 30, against Michigan State down in glorious Strawberry Canyon for what might be their final season in rickety old Memorial Stadium as we know it (tree sitters be damned!!!). The game will be nationally televised on ABC. The Bears are looking to string together 7 consecutive winning seasons under coach Jeff Tedford. They play 7 home games this season with a pretty tough out-of-conference slate that includes two BCS opponents and a trip to Maryland.

This season, we”ll be sitting in the GoldZone at the north end of the stadium which is “family territory” after a move from reserved section QQ – because, In the “good ole days”, we could roll into the stadium and settle our butts down into any place we wanted on those battered and splintered benches with ample room to recline and get a late summer tan. After years of spreading out and watching series after series of three-and-outs – and rooting for the punting team, we’re now packed in like sardines with 10′s of thousands more front-running fans but a competitive top 25 team….

Hey, I’ll stop complaining, cause I like winning as much as the next guy…

So, come Saturday afternoon, when I roll down the hill, you’ll find me about and hour or so before game time in the FunZone, applying sunscreen, putting down a tasty, locally brewed beer and getting my game “ass” on 12 inch long splinters, here we come!!!!!!

Can I get a “C” …“A”… “L”?

GO BEARS!!

Pandora may pull the plug

hughbaun — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 15:27:53 +0000

Pandora is one of the sites I use most frequently, while working. I stream music from a vast number of genres that I tailor by inputting my own preferences – As the music plays, I simply give songs a thumbs up, or a thumbs down (or do nothing) and Pandora feeds me a constant stream of music based on those choices. Then, I can bookmark these songs, learn more about the artist, etc. or click thru to purchase and download the tunes.

Now It appears that the greedy (and short sighted) corporate bastards have dipped their dirty hands into this cookie jar and Pandora (as well as other FREE web radio services) might go the way of the dodo bird unless some kind of a deal is brokered to reduce the astronomical fees that will be imposed on streaming web radio content providers.

I wonder if SoundExchange, the organization that represents artists and record companies, realizes that sites like Pandora are for a great many of us, a fantastic resource for discovering and BUYING NEW MUSIC!

I have made numerous download purchases from Amazon.com’s MP3 portal as a result of new music discoveries on Pandora.

Check out this link in the Seattle Times:

Lid on Pandora? Web radio service may go silent

Beijing Olympics Closing Ceremony

hughbaun — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 05:05:07 +0000

So, the 2008 Beijing Olympics have come and gone. I am both glad and a little sad. I loved watching the opening ceremony. It was an amazing visual spectacle and the Chinese raised the bar for such a presentation higher than anyone could have imagined…

I also enjoyed getting the opportunity to see the video, scenes and images of China, in and around Beijing…not a place I was too familiar with, and I was left with a generally positive impression of the place – more so than I would have thought…

but, I just finished watching the closing ceremony – cheeesy!!!

That whole Jimmy Paige & Leona Lewis performance was over-the-top, kitschy and felt like a “superbowl halftime show”

ugghhhh….

Well, I guess I am glad the USA wasn’t involved in that mess

Photosynth 3d micro environments with your pics

hughbaun — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 21:06:44 +0000

As a geography nut, I have been a Google Earth junkie from the days when it was called Keyhole (pre-Google). The ability to make virtual trips at my desk/laptop to any locale on a whim is one of the highlights of the information age for me. It also serves for me as a tool to visualize and present environments for my model architecture created in Google SketchUp.

Another technology that just went live this last week is MS Live Lab’s Photosynth. This program arranges your photos in 3dimensional field to create the effect of maneuvering in real space…I’m having a ball with it now and looking forward to exploring the possibilities of integrating my work with this new tool.

Check out this simple photosynth I made:

my backyard