Brent Butterworth

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Tech2
SoundBest: An App With a Fix for Faulty Hearing
Brent Butterworth  |  Apr 16, 2012  |  0 comments

Many audio manufacturers have addressed the changes that room acoustics afflict on our sound systems. But until a week ago, I knew of no audio manufacturers who’ve addressed the changes that our hearing causes on sound.

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Tech2
Surround Sound Shakeups
Brent Butterworth  |  Apr 18, 2012  |  0 comments

This week may be the most eventful in history for surround-sound geeks. Yesterday, one of the biggest names in surround sound — DTS — announced it had acquired another of the biggest names in surround sound, SRS.

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Tech2
Review: House of Marley Bag of Rhythm
Brent Butterworth  |  Apr 20, 2012  |  0 comments

You gotta say this for House of Marley: They keep their branding consistent. The new Bag of Rhythm iPhone/iPod dock isn’t some sleek, silvery concoction designed for some baldhead to keep on his credenza while he’s dreaming up new ways to exploit the working class. Nope, the Bag of Rhythm is built to sling over your shoulder, carry to the park, and play reggae tunes when your drum circle takes a break.

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Bluetooth Speaker ReviewsWireless Multiroom Speaker Reviews
Review: NAD Viso 1 Wireless Digital Music System
Brent Butterworth  |  Apr 25, 2012  |  0 comments

I don’t want to call Paul Barton a brilliant speaker designer, because that might imply that he lucks into occasional flashes of inspiration. No, Barton — founder and chief engineer of PSB Speakers — succeeds because he does the complicated and time-consuming work of building his products using the best science and engineering available. He doesn’t base his design decisions on pet theories, casual observations, or the latest line of B.S. circulating among online audio forums. And to my knowledge, he’s never allowed market trends, cosmetics, or form factors to ruin the sound of his products.

This is why I was so excited to find out last year that Barton was designing a new iPhone/iPod Touch dock for NAD, PSB’s sister brand.

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Bookshelf Speaker Reviews
Test Report: Atlantic Technology AT-2 Bookshelf Speaker
Brent Butterworth  |  May 09, 2012  |  0 comments

If there’s any speaker spec that’s routinely bogus, it’s bass response. You see a lot of little speakers rated to deliver bass below 40 Hz, but that measurement is almost always taken at -10 dB, instead of the industry standard of -3 dB. Even if the little speaker does hit, say, 36 Hz at some level, it almost certainly can’t deliver any usable volume at that frequency.

There are ways, though, to get legit sub-40 Hz response from a little speaker. One is H-PAS, or Hybrid Pressure Acceleration System, invented by Solus-Clements and now used and licensed by Atlantic Technology.

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Headphone Amp/DAC ReviewsAccessory Reviews
Test Report: Parasound Zphono-USB Phono Preamp
Brent Butterworth  |  Jul 17, 2012  |  0 comments

There’s some debate among vinylphiles about whether USB phono preamps need to exist, but I for one am glad they do. When I bring home my latest haul of vinyl from Amoeba Records, I love being able to plug a laptop straight into my NAD PP 3 to make quick MP3s of albums I like so I can listen to them on my smartphone. (Sacrilege!) It’s easier than making an analog connection, and it bypasses the lousy analog-to-digital converter built into my laptop.

With the Zphono-USB, Parasound brings new versatility and features to the USB phono pre concept.

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Headphone Reviews
Review: Creative HN-900 Headphone
Brent Butterworth  |  May 14, 2012  |  0 comments

Thanks to Bose’s overwhelming success in the category, most of us now think of noise-cancelling headphones as products that cost about $300. I’m sure every other headphone company would like to thank Bose for that, even if none of them ever will. But there’s really no reason that a noise-cancelling headphone has to cost so much.

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Tech2
Pet Sounds
Brent Butterworth  |  May 23, 2012  |  1 comments

Falling Skies, the TNT Network sci-fi series that debuted in summer 2011, is certainly one of the creepiest shows on TV right now. It’s creepy because of its grotesque, mysterious alien protagonists. And they’re creepy in large part because of the way they sound.

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Tech2
Test Tracks: Your Most Important Audio Tool
Brent Butterworth  |  May 25, 2012  |  0 comments

If I were forced to choose between the $20K worth of audio test gear I own or the demo CD that cost me probably 20 cents to make, I’d take the latter without hesitation. Test gear is great for telling me how well an audio product is engineered. But when I want to find out what an audio product does — i.e., how a listener will perceive its sound — the demo CD is a much better tool.

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Turntable Reviews
Test Report: Rega RP6 Turntable
Brent Butterworth  |  Jul 17, 2012  |  0 comments

It’s a ritual. You hear audiophiles claim how great vinyl sounds, but you never quite buy into it. Then you finally hear your first good turntable, and you’re hooked. In my case, it was a Rega Planar 3, demo’d by Sound+Vision contributing writer Ken Korman. Back in 1991, I spent an evening at Ken’s checking out old sides by the likes of Miles Davis and Todd Rundgren, in each case marveling at how different the sound was from the CD.

The reason many audiophiles get their start with a Rega is that Regas deliver above-average performance at below-average prices. The new RP6 is a great example.

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