MetaEfficient Reviews » MP3 Players

iPod Stereo Receivers: Listen To Your iPod In The Car

benjamin — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 20:21:36 +0000

Listen To iPod in The Car

If you’re a music lover who spends a lot of time on the road, you don’t want to fumble with an iPod’s controls to enjoy your music. So what’s the solution? An iPod stereo receiver for the car. And there’s no need to break the bank – here are four of the best options available for under $150.

(more…)

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The Best Wireless Earbuds For iPods

Justin — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 01:57:27 +0000

The Best Wireless Earbuds

Wireless earbuds allow you to listen to an iPod or MP3 player without a tangle of cords. They are particularly useful for listening while active.

There are two types of wireless earbuds: those that transmit wirelessly via an iPod adapter, and those that attach directly to an iPod shuffle. Most of the transmitting wireless earbuds use the Bluetooth protocol, but a few high-end earbuds use a different wireless protocol called Kleer for CD-quality audio. Bluetooth transmits music fairly well, but if your are looking for high-fidelity sound you choose a Kleer-compatible device. The iPhone supports Bluetooth headphones reasonably well, but split-second interruptions can sometimes be heard in playback while an app is loading. iPod audio continues to be almost perfect when running even device-taxing games, but there are occasionally similarly brief interruptions. This will depend on the app.

Here’s our round-up of the best wireless earbuds currently available: (more…)

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Best Portable iPod & MP3 Speakers

benjamin — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 22:09:43 +0000

Best Portable iPod and MP3 Speakers

A few months ago, MetaEfficient profiled an energy efficient home speaker system for the iPod. But what if you want to bring your music with you on the go – and share it outside your headphones? You’ll need a set of portable speakers that are just as mobile as your MP3 player. Following are six of the best portable speaker systems on the market, in a range of sizes and offering a variety of features. All of them feature a self-contained power source, and some offer an iPod dock as well as a standard 3.5mm mini-jack connection.

(more…)

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“Indestructible” MP3 Player: Monolith Premium MX7000

Justin — Thu, 29 Dec 2005 22:33:05 +0000

Yes — manufacturers — make more devices like this one. The Monolith MP3 player is fused into a solid 1.5mm aluminium casing — not stuck together with glue or screws. It’s a unique manufacturing process pioneered by the manufacturer, Estar Laboratories. Testers have run the player over with a car, shot the player with a BB gun, thrown the player against a brick wall — all without breaking the unit. It has 512 MB memory and an internal lithium-ion rechargeable battery (featuring over 19 hours of playback time).

It can be recharged through a USB port (or purchase the optional AC Power Adapter) and the player will be fully primed for action in 3 hours time. The Monolith Premium’s audio heart is a 24bit Wolfson sigma delta DAC, driving an impressive 28mW of sound output per channel (combined output of a market leading 56mW).

Available from Advanced MP3 Players for about $155.

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Boomtune Mini: Portable Speaker Tripod

Justin — Thu, 04 Aug 2005 07:28:07 +0000

The Boomtune Mini is a portable speaker system that incorporates a tripod design and has a 2 x 1W output. It runs on one AAA battery.

Boomtune Mini can be used with almost any MP3 player. It appears to only be available in Japan. More information at Yanko Design – thanks for the tip.

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Car CD Player with USB and SD Memory Slot

Justin — Fri, 08 Jul 2005 23:33:33 +0000

This CD player for your car also features a USB port and a SD Memory Slot for MP3 playback. Made by H&B, it seems to be only available in the UK for about £78. A CD player by Pyle, available in the US, seems to do similar things, since it has a “Universal USB 2.0 Card Reader”.

Via Red Ferret

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MP3 Boombox

Justin — Sun, 27 Mar 2005 02:53:07 +0000

This MP3 playing boombox stores 256MB of music. It connects to a computer via USB, and includes a headphone socket, alarm clock feature (wake up to music), FM radio, and travel pouch.

Update: We’ve heard this MP3 player has poor sound quality.

Available from: JR.Com
($149.99)

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Subaqueous: Waterproof MP3 Player

Justin — Sun, 21 Nov 2004 20:16:59 +0000

This waterproof casing goes on top of a iRiver. There is also another waterproof MP3 player by Finis that uses bone conduction to produce sound underwater.

Available from: H2O Audio

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An Efficient Portable Amplifier: The Boostaroo

Justin — Mon, 30 Aug 2004 19:25:23 +0000

The Boostaroo is a pocket-size portable amplifier for your earphones. It amplifies the sound coming out of your iPod or MP3 player by 100%. I’ve tested this device, and it certainly does amplify quite well, and two AA batteries it uses last for weeks.

It also functions as a splitter and allows you to share your music with two other people (3 mini-headphone jacks total).

It increases the battery life of your MP3 player, because the player does not have to function as the amplifier. It does not distort the frequency response of the audio (the specs are: 20 to 20,000Hz +/- 2 dB).

Home Page: Boostaroo.

Available from Amazon for $26.

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Pendant-Style MP3 Players: The Most Portable Music Machines

Justin — Wed, 04 Aug 2004 17:40:16 +0000

Sony has released what it claims is the smallest pendant-style mp3 player: Sony AD-EMPZ. It weights less than half an ounce and has 256MB memory (8 hours of playback). It runs on a rechargeable battery and costs $184.

The Aiwa Flush also has 256MB and can play for up to 11 hours, using AAA batteries. It costs $349.

We also noticed this 256MB player available from Gadgeet for only $109.95, making it the most inexpensive we’ve seen. It plays for 8 hours and weighs just over an ounce:

Thanks to Popgadget for the lead.

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