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Meet the Millennials
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Dec 01, 2015  |  10 comments
I recently blogged about Millennials, the demographic that is displacing Boomers at the top of the consumer food chain. I described how Millennial purchasing will increasingly define the audio/video markets and their preferences will increasingly define the nature of those products. Predicting the future is a dangerous game, but much like watching a bunny passing through a python, we can observe demographic bulges passing through the consumer market. Let's take a closer look at Millennials.

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Meet Timbrefone: An Elegant Acoustic Amplifier
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Nov 08, 2016  |  2 comments
On one hand, an audio amplifier can comprise electrical components like resistors, capacitors, inductors, transistors, integrated circuits, power supplies or batteries, and vacuum tubes or power transistors. On the other hand, an audio amplifier can comprise a block of wood.

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Mercedes Meets Atmos
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Jan 17, 2022  |  0 comments
Serious question: Why do dogs like to stick their heads out of car windows? That question has haunted philosophers for centuries and unfortunately I don't have an answer either. But someway, somehow, it is part of the same mystery of why humans really like to listen to music while driving.

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Meridian MQA, Part 2: Does the High-Res Audio Technology Have a Shot?
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Mar 24, 2015  |  0 comments
Last time, we took a quick look at some of the workings of Meridian's new MQA (Master Quality Assurance) technology. As we observed, MQA claims to shoehorn all the fidelity of a high-res file into a standard-res file size. Terrific. But with 24/192 and lossless formats already well established, what is the incentive to introduce a new format? It turns out that there are plenty of incentives.

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Merry Christmas from 1924
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Dec 21, 2022  |  3 comments
Take a look at this photograph. What do you think this thing is? Since you're reading this magazine, you are probably technology-oriented. But unless you are 98-years old, you might not recognize that this device played a major role in the early days of radio and audio technology. Let me explain.

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Microspeakers: The Last and Greatest Frontier
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Jun 30, 2015  |  0 comments
Many of the age-old audio problems have been solved, or at least beaten into submission. Ever since Edison recited “Mary had a little lamb,” countless audio engineers have poked and prodded, pulled all-nighters, made minor adjustments, had genius-caliber brainstorms, and generally worked far above their pay grade to lift audio technology to a very high state of the art.
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Millennials: Your Soundbars Are Killing Us
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Nov 03, 2015  |  37 comments
Millennials, also known as Generation Y, are defined as the demographic with birth years ranging from the early 80s to the early 00s. In other words, Millennials are about 15 to 35 years old. I am appealing to you. You account for almost half of all audio hardware sales. More than any other single group, you are the ones responsible for screwing it up for the rest of us.

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Mozart: Pure Genius
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  May 22, 2023  |  1 comments
Mozart was a genius. Blah, blah, blah. You've heard it a million times. Well, whatever, if people say he was a genius, that's fine. But how would you like to watch a 5-minute video that shows why he was a genius? Right there – black notes on the white page – you can see exactly what genius looks (and sounds) like.

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MQA Launches Content and Teams with Hardware Makers
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Jan 05, 2016  |  0 comments
MQA (Master Quality Authenticated) is continuing its march toward sonic superiority. It announced that new partners will provide MQA content, and that HTC is demonstrating a smartphone equipped with a "proof of concept" MQA decoder.

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Mr. Redenbacher, Meet Mr. Ford
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Mar 29, 2016  |  1 comments
Depending on how long you keep your cars, it's entirely possible that your next car will drive itself. Even if you're two years into a three-year lease, given the furious development of autonomous technology, self-driving cars are a fait accompli. But more to the point, given the interests of this site's readers, self-driving cars open the door to entirely new kinds of vehicle entertainment systems. Case in point: this patent recently issued to Ford.

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Music Contra Instagram
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Nov 22, 2021  |  0 comments
Hang on a minute while I check my receiver's front panel..... Okay — as I suspected, it doesn't have a switch that limits the amount of time I can spend listening to music.

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Music Metadata Smackdown
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Sep 18, 2023  |  3 comments
Classical music has a problem. A tiny company, and the world’s largest technology company, both think they have the answer. They are strapping on their powdered wigs and stepping onto the podium. May the best baton win.
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Musicboarding: The Latest Form of Airline Torture
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Dec 05, 2022  |  1 comments
Waterboarding is a harsh interrogation technique. Most governments have disavowed and unsanctioned its use. There is a title for a Tom Cruise movie in there somewhere. In any case, waterboarding is essentially a form of torture. And a certain airline likes to waterboard its passengers. But instead of water, they use music. And musicboarding is much, much worse.
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My KEF Speakers Sound Much Better than Amazon Echo, But They Can't Save Me From Dying
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Jul 09, 2019  |  1 comments
You are asleep in your bed. You suffer cardiac arrest. Your smart speaker calls for help. It may save your life.

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My Left Foot (...and Why High Performance Cars and AV Are the Same)
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Jan 20, 2015  |  13 comments
I am shopping for a new car. For me, a car is more than basic transportation. In fact, getting from point A to point B is far down on my list. For example, I would gladly trade a practical item such as a spare tire in return for a bit more performance. Things like cargo capacity and riding comfort are unimportant, while horsepower and 0-to-60 times are critical. I’ve always appreciated slick audio/video gear. Same thing with cars.
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