Audio | Imagination Works

Skullcandy S5AVGM – new women’s monitor headphones

Lets review new monitor headphones Skullcandy S5AVGM, which, as manufacturer says, are designed specially for women. And begin with the fact, that manufacturer does not tell anything about their technical specifications ( sound “specially for women” – is not a technical detail ); judging by their view, 40 mm drivers are built into them – this all, that can be said about their technical data. Information about their reproduceable sounds frequencies range, impedance, sensitivity, signal to noise ratio and maximal power input is not provided by Skullcandy. Their cable is detachable; in its volume control unit microphone and phones remote control buttons are built in. They are supplied in 3 color variants : orange, blue and black. With total lack of technical information, their price 100 USD is too big : for smaller sum there is ability to buy professional studio monitor headphones ( which are far superior, than this device ) and for 2 times smaller sum there is ability to buy very good monitor headphones of Sony, Philips and other manufacturers with very good technical details, which their manufacturers openly disclose. Wherein such devices have nice design and will fit both men and women, they can be decorated, if so needed. So, these headphones Skullcandy S5AVGM are not recommended for purchase and it is better to chose device of other manufacturers, which publish their real technical details.

ESI GIGAPORT HD+ – external sound card for 8 channels

Lets review external sound card ESI GIGAPORT HD+, which can work with 8 independent channels or with 7.1 channels surround sound and supports sampling rates up to 96 kHz and 24 bits per sample precision. Its frontal panel has : USB port, through which it is powered and communicates with computer; power, USB connection activity and all 8 channels activity indicators; 2 TRS ( 1/4″ jack ) outputs for headphones with gold-plated contacts ( one of them plays mixed sound of all 8 channels, the other one plays only sound of 1st and 2nd channels – it can be used as monitor output ). Its back panel has 8 analogue RCA outputs with gold-plated contacts.

External sound card ESI GIGAPORT HD+ ( rear view )

For sound card drivers are released for Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 8.1 and 10 with support of ASIO 2.0, WDM and MME interfaces, in Mac OS X it works without additional drivers and supports Core Audio interfaces; via these interfaces it tightly integrates with modern DAWs : Steinberg Cubase, FL Studio, Cackewalk Sonar, REAPER, Avid Pro Tools, Ableton Live and others. It is supplied with Image-Line Deckadance LE software, used by DJs. Its sizes are 120 ( width ) x 70 ( depth ) x 20 ( height ) mm, its body is made from aluminum. Package contains : ESI GIGAPORT HD+ sound card itself, USB cable, optical disks with drivers and software and user’s guide. This card is designed for playback of many independent sound channels ( for example, on concerts ) and for 7.1 channels surround sound playback; if sound card will be bought for this purpose, then this device will handle these tasks very well; if there is need in more functional studio audio interface, then it is better to buy device with such functionality of Steinberg, Behringer, Focusrite, ESI itself or other manufacturers.

Infrasonic Amon – external sound card for studio work

Lets review external sound card Infrasonic Amon, designed for studio work. It supports sampling rates up to 96 kHz and 24 bits per sample precision. Its frontal panel has : TRS ( 1/4″ jack ) microphone input without phantom power +48 V plugging in ability, its amplification level control knob and clip indicator; TRS ( 1/4″ jack ) instrumental Hi-Z input, its amplification control knob and clip indicator; USB connection indicator, TRS ( 1/4″ jack ) output for monitor headphones and volume control of sound card’s outputs. Its back panel has : USB port, through which it communicates with computer and receives power from it; MIDI input and output; and linear RCA inputs and outputs.

External sound card Infrasonic Amon ( rear view )

For it drivers are released for Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8 and 10 and Mac OS X 10.3 and newer with support of ASIO 2.0, MME, DirectSound and Core Audio interfaces, through which it tightly integrates with modern DAWs : Avid Pro Tools, Ableton Live, Steinberg Cubase, FL Studio, Cackewalk Sonar, REAPER and others. It performs analogue to digital conversion with : 102 dB signal to noise ration, 102 dB dynamic range and -97 dB THD; digital to analogue conversion : signal/noise 108 dB, 108 dB dynamic range and -97 dB THD; wherein channels isolation is 100 dB. Card’s body is made from aluminum. Package contains : Infrasonic Amon sound card itself, USB cable, optical disks with drivers and software and user’s guide. From one side : this is a good sound card, which can perform its work and has MIDI connectors; from the other : its sampling rate is not the biggest, it has no balanced inputs and outputs and digital inputs and outputs and it does not support phantom power plugging in to microphone input. So, this card can be recommended for purchase only if it costs much less than more functional cards of Steinberg, Behringer, Focusrite, ESI and other manufacturers, if it costs at comparable to them level, then it is better to buy device of one of these manufacturers.

Lets continue to push down KEF : review of new monitor headphones M400

Lets continue reviews of headphones of KEF and look on new M400 monitor model; manufacturer stays true to itself and from real technical characteristics names only following facts : 40 mm drivers are built into them ( they would have been set larger drivers for Hi-Fi basses reproduction ) and they are moved by neodymium magnets. And keeps silence about their : reproduceable sounds frequencies range, sensitivity, impedance, signal to noise ratio and maximal power input. Also it tells fairy-tales about “unique” “technologies”, that are built into them, which technical sense ( its existence is under big doubt ) is known only to manufacturer itself, and asks 250 USD for this device. This is a classical example of marketing money pumping from customers with use of Placebo effect. So, these headphones are not recommended for purchase and it is better to buy more than 2 times cheaper professional studio monitor headphones, which will surpass this device in all respects, or 5 – 7 times cheaper high-quality consumer monitor headphones of Sony, Philips and other manufacturers with known technical characteristics, which the most likely also surpass ones of this model.

Akai Professional Advance 61 – MIDI with color LCD display and full functions spectrum

Lets review MIDI keyboard Akai Professional Advance 61, which has full functions spectrum for professional music creation. It has : 61 velocity-sensitive keys with aftertouch; 8 velocity and pressure sensitive drumpads with RGB backlight; color 4.3″ LCD display with specialized buttons for instruments control; 8 large endless-rotation knobs; specialized buttons for control of drumpads sounds banks, transport and octaves; buttons for note-repeat, time-division, arpreggiator and tap-tempo; ruberized pitch and modulation control wheels; inputs for expression pedal and footswitch.

MIDI keyboard Akai Professional Advance 61 ( rear view )

After purchase there is ability to download from manufacturer’s site following sounds packs : AIR Music Tech Vacuum Pro, Loom, Hybrid 3, Xpand!2, Velvet and Transfuser; SONiVOX Eighty Eight Ensemble and TOOLROOM RECORDS Launch Packs. Keyboard is supplied with Virtual Instrument Player, to which VST plugins can be connected and controlled with use of special keyboard buttons. It works in Windows 7, 8 and 10 and Mac OS X 10.8 and newer without additional drivers and integrates with modern DAWs ( FL Studio, Cackewalk Sonar, REAPER, Avid Pro Tools, Ableton Live, Steinberg Cubase and others ), their instruments and VST plugins. Its sizes are 914 ( width ) x 293 ( depth ) x 88 ( height ) mm and mass is 5.44 kg, there are also 25 and 49 keys modifications of this keyboard. It is good MIDI keyboard, which has all functions and controllers for professional music creation, and it worth its money, especially if it will be bought with discount.

Terratec Aureon XFIRE 8.0 HD – external USB sound card with 192 kHz and 8 channels

Lets meet with external sound card Terratec Aureon XFIRE 8.0 HD, it is designed for 7.1 channel sound playback and supports 192 kHz sampling rate and 24 bits per sample precision. Its front side has : USB port, through which it communicates with computer and receives power from it, and digital optical TOS link input and output. Its back panel has : gold-plated RCA connectors for front channels and nickel-plated 1/8″ mini-jack connectors for side, rear and subwoofer/center channels. Its side panel has 1/8″ mini-jack connectors for linear input, microphone and headphones. On its top volume control knob is placed.

External sound card Terratec Aureon XFIRE 8.0 HD ( rear view )

It plays sound with signal to noise ratio 108 dB and THD ( Total Harmonics Distortion ) -90 dB; and records it with signal/noise ratio -85 dB and THD 106 dB. Card can be used for sound recording, there are even drivers released for it with ASIO 2.0 and Core Audio interfaces support for integration with modern DAWs, but it is not its main use, because its microphone input does not have phantom power +48 V and it has no instrumental Hi-Z inputs; mainly it is designed for multichannel sound playback. It has drivers for Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8 and 10 and Mac OS X 10.7 and newer; also additional software and plugins can be downloaded for it. Package contains : Terratec Aureon XFIRE 8.0 HD sound card itself, USB cable, 2 optical digital TOS link cables, RCA – 1/8″ mini-jack adapter ( with connector ), the same adapter with socket and user’s guide. All in all, this is a good sound card for multichannel sound playback, if it will be used for this purpose, then there is ability to choose between this device, similar devices and AV receiver; but if it will be used for professional studio work, then it is better to buy according device of Steinberg, Behringer, ESI and other manufacturers.

Review of new in-ear headphones KEF M100

Lets review new in-ear headphones KEF M100. And begin with the fact, that manufacturer among technical details names only facts, that they have 10 mm drivers, that are moved by neodymium magnets, and does not tell information about sounds frequencies range, that they can reproduce, impedance, sensitivity, signal/noise ratio and maximal power input. In the same time manufacturer names lots of “unique” “technologies”, which have little to no technical sense. Price, that manufacturer asks for this device, is 150 USD at the end of Autumn 2015, for 5 – 7 times smaller sum there is ability to buy in-ear headphones with known technical details ( with very good technical details there is need to note, which given model does not have ). So, these headphones KEF M100 and all other devices of this manufacturer are not recommended for purchase, because they are marketing money-pumping from customers for devices, which does not worth them and which has now technical advantages, that are adequate to their price. So, they are not recommended for purchase and it is better to buy in-ear headphones of other manufacturers, which name all technical details of their devices and do not overprice them.

Focusrite Scarlett 2i4 – external sound card with 2 inputs and 4 outputs

External sound card Focusrite Scarlett 2i4

Lets meet today with external professional studio sound card Focusrite Scarlett 2i4; it can work with 96 kHz sampling rate and 24 bits per sample precision; to its microphone inputs Focusrite preamplifiers are connected. Its frontal panel has : 2 combined XLR/TRS ( 1/4″ jack ) inputs, which can work in linear, microphone and instrumental Hi-Z modes, their amplification levels control knobs with backlight, linear/instrumental switches, and PAD switch with backlight; phantom power +48 V switch for these inputs with backlight and MIDI and USB connections indicators; TRS ( 1/4″ jack ) output for monitor headphones, their Direct Monitor function switch, headphones signal sources switch, stereo/mono switch for Direct Monitor and volume control of main sound card outputs. Its back panel has : Kensington Lock slot; USB port, through which it is powered and communicates with computer; MIDI input and output; 4 linear unbalanced RCA outputs; and 2 linear balanced TRS ( 1/4″ jack ) outputs.

External sound card Focusrite Scarlett 2i4 ( rear view )

For it drivers are released for Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8 and 10 and Mac OS X with ASIO 2.0 and Core Audio interfaces support, through which it tightly integrates with modern DAWs : Avid Pro Tools, Ableton Live, Steinberg Cubase, FL Studio, Cackewalk Sonar, REAPER and others. Noise level of its microphone inputs is -120 dB; linear -90 dB with 100 dB signal/noise ratio; and instrumental -87 dB. Dynamic range of analogue to digital conversions is 105 dB and digital to analogue is 104 dB. Card’s body is made from scarlet anodized aluminum; its sizes are 210 ( width ) x 140 ( depth ) x 48 ( height ) mm, and mass is 890 g. Package contains : Focusrite Scarlett 2i4 sound card itself, USB cable, optical disks with drivers and software ( DAW Ableton Live Lite 8, Focusrite Scarlett plugins package, software Novation Bass Station and Loopmasters sounds samples package ) and user’s guide. It is good professional sound card, it is weaker than Steinberg and Behringer devices in sampling rate respect, but it has balanced outputs and MIDI connectors; so, sound card of this manufacturer and others for purchase should be chosen, based on specific task, for which it is bought, and prices of available devices.

Review of new monitor headphones KEF M500

Lets review new monitor headphones KEF M500. Lets start with the fact, that manufacturer tells not much about their technical characteristics : they can reproduce sounds in 20 – 20000 Hz range ( which is not much for asked price ) and they have built-in 40 mm drivers, which are powered by neodymium magnets; and there is no information about their sensitivity, impedance, signal/noise ratio and maximal power input. At the same time there is large amount of loud names of different “technologies”, which mean not much in technical respect, if they mean something at all. Manufacturer asks 300 USD for this device – for more than 3 times lower price professional studio monitor headphones can be bought, which are far superior to these ones in all technical respects, and for even smaller price there is ability to buy headphones with known technical characteristics of Sony, Philips and other manufacturers. So, in respect of these headphones KEF M500 there is ability to say, that they are marketing money-pumping from customers with use of dull loud names of different “technologies”, so, this model is not recommended for purchasing and it is better to buy other headphones with known technical details for 3 times and even more smaller sum.

Review of external sound card AUDIOTRAK DR.DAC2 DX TE

Lets review external sound card AUDIOTRAK DR.DAC2 DX TE, which is designed for recording and playback of already completed audio signal. It supports 192 kHz sampling rate and 24 bits per sample precision; MUSES 8920 operational amplifiers are built into it, they can be replaced with others, if needed, and WIMA film capacitors in its analogue part; it supports 123 dB dynamic range of digital to analogue conversion. Its frontal panel has : switch button and power indicator; 2 TRS 1/4″ jack headphones outputs with activity indicator; chosen sampling rate indicators; digital input switch ( USB/SPDIF ), source switch ( analogue/digital ), outputs switch ( headphones/linear outputs ) and outputs volume control. Its back panel has : 2 linear unbalanced RCA-outputs and 2 linear unbalanced RCA inputs; power adapter input ( for SPDIF connection ); optical digital input; USB port, through which it is powered and communicates with computer; and digital optical and coaxial inputs.

PCB of sound card AUDIOTRAK DR.DAC2 DX TE

Drivers are released for it for Windows 2000, 2003, XP, Vista, 7, 8 and 10 and Mac OS X ( they can be downloaded via Internet from manufacturer’s website ). Package contains : AUDIOTRAK DR.DAC2 DX TE sound card itself, 2 RCA cables, USB cable and user’s guide. It is good sound card, that is mainly designed for playback of audio signal from digital and analogue sources; it can be used for sounds recording, but it is not its main use. If audio interface will be bought only for high-quality sound playback, then there is ability to choose between this interface or AV receiver, taking into account functionality, built-in hardware, price and power consumption; but if it will be used for wider spectrum of audio tasks, then it is better to buy device with wider functions and connectors amount, for example of these manufacturers : Steinberg, Behringer, ESI and others.

Tag: Audio