If you’ve dropped a small fortune on a nice pair of over-the-ear headphones but are just connecting them to your laptop’s built-in headphone jack, you’re probably not hearing everything you paid for. For a better sonic experience, a dedicated DAC—or digital to analog converter
     |
Noise cancelling headphones are nothing new, but wouldn’t it be neat if there was a device that could provide an entire room with silence? You could soundproof your room, but that would be time-consuming and expensive. Rudolf Stefanich’s Sono concept device would be a godsend. You’d simply attach it to a window and it would block outside noise.
Aside from cutting down on background noise, Stefanich dreamt up Sono to also be able to let certain sounds pass through, perhaps depending on their noise level. He also imagines that the device will get its power from nearby Wi-Fi signals.
You can find out more about Rudolf’s unique concept on his website. I don’t know if it’s possible to make the Sono a real thing, but dammit if folks are already printing pizza and controlling drones with their minds maybe a reverse cone of silence isn’t too much to ask for.
[via Gajitz]
This might shock you, but for over a century scientists have been pondering why kettles whistle—and completely failed to find an answer. That’s all changed now, though, thanks to two scientists from the University of Cambridge who have worked out how it happens.
| |
That suspiciously cheap apartment you just moved into? Turns out to be right next to a deafening hourly commuter train—and since you signed a one year lease, you’re looking at either twelve months wearing noise cancelling headphones. Or desperately hoping Rudolf Stefanich’s Sono noise cancelling window device comes to fruition.
| |
Gravity is a stunner of a movie in large measure because of what it doesn’t do—it’s restrained and elegant in the way that most big space epics aren’t
| |
You know how your mom or grandma or whoever is always complaining about how "kids these days" listen to louder music than when she was young? Turns out, she was scientifically correct.
| |
We’ve sad news to report today in the world of audio: Ray Dolby has passed on. His death comes relatively soon after losing both Dr. Fritz Sennheiser and Dr. Amar Bose, and as with those two gentlemen, Dolby’s legacy will continue to impact viewers and listeners around the globe for many years to come. Dolby founded Dolby Laboratories in 1965, seeking to provide a place for like-minded engineers to “push the limits of sight and sound,” as is stated on the outfit’s homepage.
He is perhaps best known for the Dolby noise-reduction system, and in more modern times, for his company’s iconic stamp on just about every major motion picture and piece of AV equipment known to man. Dolby’s surround sound magic continues to lead the industry, with Dolby 3D and Dolby Atmos as its latest contributions. Ray Dolby was 80 years old, and is survived by his wife Dagmar as well as sons Tom and David. A tribute video compiled by Dolby Labs can be found after the break.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD
Source: Dolby, Twitter (Dolby)
If you’ve ever listened to a recording of yourself and thought you sound completely different, you’re not alone. But more than that, you were also correct. Here’s why it sounds different.
| |
Just as the Intel Developer Conference (IDF) starts, Audience launches a powerful new audio processor designed for PCs: the earSmart 320. PC have been around forever, but while the audio playback has been worked on quite a bit by companies like Dolby and others, the audio recording capabilities of our computers have not progressed as quickly. Audience plans to change that, and the earSmart 320 is designed to bring all the audio know-how acquired from the smartphone world to the PC. (more…)
Audience earSmart 320 Chip To Lift PC Audio Recording Capabilities original content from Ubergizmo. 
| |
When it comes to secrets, whispering just got outdated. Disney Research has come up with a microphone, straight out of Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, that doesn’t actually amplify your ramblings, but instead turns them into a secret signal you can transmit by touch.
| |
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
