Ken C. Pohlmann

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Is Your HDMI-Connected Gear Ready for 3D?
OTHER TECH
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Sep 15, 2010  |  0 comments

Illustration by Raquel Chilson

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Is Your TV Already Obsolete?
OTHER TECH
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Apr 30, 2008  |  0 comments

When your TV suddenly stops working at midnight on February 17, 2009, blame Vice President Dick Cheney. Back in 2005, the Senate's vote on a spending bill that included $1.5 billion to help people buy digital-TV converter boxes was deadlocked 50-50, so Cheney flew back from the Middle East to cast the tiebreaker.

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It's Good to be Number Three
SIGNALS
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Jan 05, 2012  |  0 comments

Americans are sometimes criticized for being ignorant of the rest of the world. I guess the fact that most Americans can't locate Canada on a map tends to confirm that. (It's somewhat south of the North Pole) Along the same lines, we tend to forget that there are consumer markets other than ours. Moreover, those markets can be surprisingly different from ours.

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It’s in the Genes
SIGNALS
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Jan 24, 2013  |  0 comments

Scientists, who apparently never cease thinking of things that would never occur to me, have demonstrated that it is possible to store digital data in molecular form. As reported in Nature, a team of brainiacs stored the text of all 154 of Shakespeare’s sonnets, a photo of their institute’s building, and a copy of a paper by Watson and Crick, as DNA sequences.

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iXOOST Wants to Rev You Up
SIGNALS
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  May 10, 2016  |  1 comments
Referring to the sound of the 12-cylinder engines in Ferrari cars, conductor Herbert von Karajan said it was, "a melody that no conductor would ever be able to reproduce." Considering that the maestro was not modest when speaking of his abilities, that is quite a compliment. He was right, of course; some engines, tuned with the right exhaust, yield a glorious sound. With further tuning, apparently they can also yield glorious music.

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Jabra Solemate Mini: Good Things Come in Small Boxes
CES 2014
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Jan 09, 2014  |  0 comments
The CES can be exhausting. After awhile, after thousands of linear feet of aisles, the products start to blur. The only products that stand out are the brightly colored ones. Oh! What’s this? The Solemate Mini. Small, cute, wireless. And, it's BRIGHT YELLOW.

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JBL Charge 2: Is Two Better than One?
SIGNALS
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Sep 16, 2014  |  5 comments
When I reviewed the original Charge last year, I wrote, “Long playback time, decent sound quality, compact size, and last but not least – the ability to keep your phone charged - the Charge does it all. Amid a sea of small speakers, this one merits a look and a listen.” Apparently millions of people, well, thousands, or perhaps hundreds, or at least more than a handful, agreed. That prompted JBL to capitalize on the success of the original to bring out a successor, the Charge 2. JBL is of the opinion that it is new and improved. I agree that it is new, but is it improved?

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JBL ES Series home theater speaker system
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Jul 13, 2008  |  0 comments
JBL Classic Sound Redux ES80 JBL ES80 Having used JBL speakers in recording studios and at home for many years, there's something about them I've always found reassuring.
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JBL's Playlist and BassPro Go Give You Music at Home, in the Car, and on the Go
CES 2017
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Jan 07, 2017  |  0 comments
The Playlist (pictured) is a wireless home speaker but unlike most of its countless brethren, it has Chromecast built-in, and its D/A converter supports 24-bit/96-kHz high-resolution audio. The BassPro Go, uniquely, is designed to function as a car subwoofer, as well as a portable speaker.

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JBL’s Pulse 3 Mesmerizes with Pretty Lights
CES 2017
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Jan 05, 2017  |  0 comments
First, let’s make sure everyone knows who Franz Mesmer was. Ok – good. Now, let’s consider the JBL Pulse 3. I wanted to post a video of the Pulse 3 in action, but S&V’s crack legal staff wouldn’t permit it. It’s just too darn mesmerizing, and hence poses a liability issue for the magazine. Instead, you’ll have to be content with a photo, and my wholly inadequate description.

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