Brent Butterworth

Sort By: Post Date | Title | Publish Date
Test Report: Dreamvision Starlight LCoS Projector Page 4
Brent Butterworth  |  Sep 16, 2010  |  0 comments

Lots of companies make cars. Lots of companies make video projectors. But when you look under the hood of either product, you'll realize that not many companies make engines - i.e., the piston engines that power cars and the light engines that power projectors. That still leaves plenty of things to do like add a body, decide which features should accompany the engine, and sometimes tweak the engine to better suit individual needs.

Continue Reading >
Other Tech
How To: DIY Audio Measurement Page 3
Brent Butterworth  |  Feb 09, 2011  |  0 comments

Do you trust your ears? I don't. By that I mean I don't trust my ears. Frankly, though, I don't trust anybody's. I've heard laymen enthuse about systems that had little more to offer than a few notes of booming bass. I've heard audio veterans trash impeccably engineered speakers - and praise speakers that showed glaring technical flaws.

Continue Reading >
Other Tech
How To: DIY Audio Measurement Page 4
Brent Butterworth  |  Feb 09, 2011  |  0 comments

Do you trust your ears? I don't. By that I mean I don't trust my ears. Frankly, though, I don't trust anybody's. I've heard laymen enthuse about systems that had little more to offer than a few notes of booming bass. I've heard audio veterans trash impeccably engineered speakers - and praise speakers that showed glaring technical flaws.

Continue Reading >
Headphone Amp/DAC Reviews
Tangled Up in Bluetooth Page 5
Brent Butterworth  |  Oct 27, 2011  |  0 comments

The iPod just turned 10, and I sure feel sorry for my old standby. It's still working fine, but I know I'll never own another one. Since I got my Motorola Droid Pro smartphone, the iPod lives in a drawer.

Continue Reading >
Headphone Amp/DAC Reviews
Tangled Up in Bluetooth Page 6
Brent Butterworth  |  Oct 27, 2011  |  0 comments

The iPod just turned 10, and I sure feel sorry for my old standby. It's still working fine, but I know I'll never own another one. Since I got my Motorola Droid Pro smartphone, the iPod lives in a drawer.

Continue Reading >
Tech2
Review: House of Marley TTR Destiny Noise-Canceling Headphone Page 2
Brent Butterworth  |  Feb 01, 2012  |  0 comments

When I first encountered the Exodus from House of Marley, during our test last fall of celebrity-branded headphones, I didn't expect much. I assumed the company had put all its effort into the Exodus' stunning styling, and little into sound quality.

Continue Reading >
Tech2
For a Song: The $59 Headphone Roundup Page 3
Brent Butterworth  |  Apr 02, 2012  |  0 comments

I had always assumed that all $59 headphones sound about as refined as Ski Johnson. That is, until I happened upon a marketing crew from House of Marley at my local Fry's Electronics. Encouraged by our experience with the company's $149 Exodus, I tried the $59 Positive Vibration - and was shocked to hear that much of what I loved in the sound of the Exodus was evident in the Positive Vibration, too.

Which got me wondering: Are there other good headphones available at this price point? Could those who have only three Andrew Jacksons to their name actually get a decent set of cans?

Continue Reading >
Review: NAD Viso 1 Wireless Digital Music System Page 2
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.

Continue Reading >
Tech2
Review: Klipsch Image X7i in-ear headphone Page 2
Brent Butterworth  |  Feb 05, 2013  |  0 comments

To most people, a high-end in-ear monitor costing hundreds of dollars doesn't look much different from the $10 IEMs you buy at Walgreens. But usually, the difference is huge. Perfect example: the $199 Klipsch Image X7i.

Continue Reading >
Tech2
Review: Torque Audio t103z tunable in-ear headphone Page 2
Brent Butterworth  |  Mar 12, 2013  |  0 comments

When testing headphones with multiple listeners-our standard practice at S+V-I've learned that perceptions of a headphone's tonal balance can differ among listeners. Of course, individual taste in sound varies, too.

One solution to this problem is a headphone that can be tuned to the user's taste, a feature we've encountered on in-ear monitors from AKG and Phonak. Both have interchangeable filters that can alter the headphone's tonal balance. But the former costs $1,299, and the latter uses extremely tiny filters that require a special tool to change.

A new company named Torque Audio has what looks like a more practical approach.

Continue Reading >

Pages

X