Entries tagged with “review” from O'Reilly Digital Media Blog

Wondering which handheld digital audio recorder to buy? Guitarist and recording engineer Mark Nelson just compiled this helpful comparison chart based on his detailed reviews. Mark is one of the few people on the planet to have used each of the top recorders extensively, recording everything from Hawaiian surf to wild coyotes, so he has an especially deep perspective. As...

After several years of daily jostling in my pocket, my Olympus WS-200S stereo voice recorder started distorting in one channel. So I cracked open the case and discovered this scary dust-bunny invasion. Perhaps it was shorting out the mic? Grabbing an old toothbrush, I flicked off most of the linty debris. But then, with a sickening snap, I accidentally severed...

Sony just unveiled an affordable version of its $2,000 ultimate handheld recorder, and we just got our review unit. Which features do you want us to scrutinize?

The Canon G9 is incredibly compact, considering its pro features such as Raw, custom functions, 6X zoom lens, image stabilization, face detection, and FlexiZone AF focusing. At 12.1 megapixels, it has plenty of resolution for photo quality 13"x19" prints. And the large 3" LCD makes composition and viewing a pleasure -- all of this for less than $499 US. Is...

My Dad says he told a group of his friends that he just bought a $25,000 computer. Understand that these friends were a bunch of computer scientists. Everyone thought my father had bought some really macho heavy digital iron. Completing the punch line, my dear father said, describing his Toyota Prius, "and it even came with a steering wheel and...

I've been away from the blog for a while due to many different factors in my life ... but I'm back now and I bring you a great deal on namebrand compact flash. J&R Photo World is offering the Sandisk 16GB Extreme III Compact Flash card for $289.99 with a $130.00 Sandisk rebate making it only $159.99 Offer expires May...

Ever since I started my podcast, I've been searching for ways to improve the quality of the voiceover, and today I finally made a breakthrough. Realizing that every show has been slightly better, I analyzed the changes I'd made along the way. Changing mics made a big difference; the Rode Podcaster I'm using now puts out better highs and lows...

The description in the press release for this gadget was so bizarre that I immediately requested photos. Can you guess what it is? Hint: The SRS button "creates a wide and full sound stage with deep rich bass and adds a definition control for realistic clarity and significantly enhanced sound quality." Hint 2: Here's another photo, showing accessories:...

Stephen Johnson checked in to say he was back from Antarctica, I went looking online to see if any photos were posted yet. (I'm partial to penguins.) But I ended up engaged by this report from the trip's organizer Michael Reichmann about how various pieces of equipment fared under the extreme circumstances. I have a similar fascination with Derrick's anecdotes...

People ask some revealing questions when they hear that I review music technology gear. "Do you get to keep it?" "Don't advertisers get better reviews?" "Do manufacturers ever tuck a $100 bill in the box to influence you?" Canadian music journalist Kyle David Paul wondered about these issues and more after reading my article "The Secret Life of a Product...

I gave the Logitech Z-10 interactive speakers high marks for audio quality, but was disappointed with their lack of Mac compatibility. An independent developer, Marc Liyanage, has fixed the problem with his terrific LogitechLCDTool. Marc's story is an interesting one, and if you'd like to know more about his process for figuring out how to write this app, take...

I just finished testing the SanDisk 4GB Extreme IV CompactFlash Card with FireWire reader against my previous favorite, the Belkin 15-in-1 USB 2.0 reader, and the SanDisk uploaded 386MBs of data in 29 seconds compared to 49 seconds for the Belkin. And it seemed even faster as I watched the upload indicator on the screen of my Mac. The...

There is a small ON light (actually it's an LED) and I appreciated getting that feedback. It let me know the mic was connected and powered via the USB port.

I was really pleasantly surprised to find that this mic has a built-in headphone amp. This offers zero-latency, real-time monitoring, with level control. The 1/8″ jack allows you to plug phones right into the mic body.

Last year I tested the Logitech Z-3000 speakers and was quite taken with their full-bodied, boomy performance. I decided to give the new Z-10 Interactive Speaker System a spin based on the Logitech track record for good sound, stylish looks, and this model's innovative approach to tabletop speakers for your computer. When I first unpacked the Z-10s, I was...

One of the great things about working for O'Reilly is that I get to check out the latest books. Yesterday I got a PDF copy of iPod: The Missing Manual, 5th Edition, by New York Times Circuits writer J.D. Biersdorfer. My mission: to extract some of the tips and present them in HTML so you can see them too....

UPDATE, 2007-08-02: Our in-depth MR-1 review is now online. We also have a new discussion area at the end of the review, so please feel free to continue this conversation over there. Breezing through the AES show press room last Friday, I saw something that made me want to rush down to the exhibit floor: a palm-size recorder with 1-bit,...

(Click to enlarge.) One of the best audio investments I've made was a pair of Sony MDR-V6 headphones. I bought my set for about $80 back around 1988 after noticing renowned recording engineer Roger Nichols checking mixes on his in the big L.A. studio where I worked. (I couldn't afford the glorious Meyer HD-1 powered monitors Nichols was using,...

My two favorite things about these panels are their portability and flexibility. They're easy to move around. They have a sturdy carry handle attached to the hinge and Clearsonic also sells specialized carrying cases that help protect the panels when being transported.

I recently set up a ProTools studio. The Digidesign documentation is very clear that ProTools sessions should not be saved to the same disk that hosts the ProTools application. So I used this opportunity to go out and buy some new external Firewire 800/400 hard disk drives. I tested the One Touch Maxtor One Touch III Turbo Edition 1TB drives, the standard LaCie Big Disk Extreme 500 GB drives and the G-Technology 250 GB G-Drive.

They say that there are ten reasons to buy a new piece of recording gear and the first nine are lust. Once in a while a piece of gear comes along that proves that point. I am talking about a piece of gear that will turn your head until it's nearly clean off your neck - "Exorcist" style. The Sony PCM-D1 is that piece of gear. In just one week, I've grown to realize that if any piece of remote recording equipment is worth $1900, this is it.