Novation scores a win with its portable and robust Ableton Live controller, but is it an Akai APC killer? Read our comprehensive Launchpad review and find out!
>>> FULL REVIEW
ATI is trying to enhance their industry reputation by developing versatile audio utility products that will appeal to studio owners on a budget.
>>> FULL REVIEW
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../ TestDrive: Novation Launchpad
Novation recently released a dedicated Ableton Live Controller to compete against the Akai APC range for the fervent Live user base. Although both share the grid paradigm, Novation took a slightly different tact in their Launchpad design that we feel paid off during our long term test. >>> Novation Launchpad Review
../ TestDrive: Audio Technologies, Inc. ADAC-2
Audio Technologies, Inc. recently released a 24 bit / 192kHz, two-channel sample rate converter with three independent A-D, D-A and SRC
signal paths. ATI is trying to enhance their industry reputation by developing versatile audio utility products that will appeal to studio owners on a budget. >>> ATI ADAC-2 Review
../ TestDrive: Livio Radio
For $199, the Livio Radio is certainly not cheap, but you get what you pay for here: a good-looking, easy to use product with solid build
quality that we can easily recommend to our readers who like their Internet radio not tethered to a computer. >>> Livio Radio Featuring Pandora Review
../ TestDrive: Dangerous D-Box
Combining professional monitoring and switching, analog summing, and talent recording capabilities in one compact, elegantly designed unit,
the Dangerous D-Box is the obvious choice for the discriminating producer/engineer... >>> FULL STORY
../ TestDrive: Violet Wedge
The Wedge is somewhat of a departure for the company with a provocative new design concept that is meant to appeal to engineers who are looking
for a hyped condenser Ñ a popular sound right now. Unfortunately, for an $800 microphone, our testers found that the Wedge often fell short in
critical situations at that price point. >>> Violet Wedge Microphone Review
../ TestDrive: Akai APC40
We recently had the opportunity to spend some quality time with the APC40, and have determined, for the most part, the controller lives up the hype.
But, don't call it a controller. What Akai has produced in some ways is really more of an instrument, than merely a MIDI controller. In fact, the
APC40 brings back Live to its roots as a performance application, and not a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW), a moniker that Ableton tried to adopt
in order to shoehorn the dynamic application into a retail product category... >>> Akai APC40 Review
../ TestDrive: Stanton SCS.3d
Stanton is back. After years of lackluster new product announcements, strictly cosmetic product polishing and recovering from
their very public breakup with Native Instruments, the seminal DJ company finally has something to smile about, their new SC.3d... >>> FULL STORY
../ TestDrive: Arturia Analog Factory Experience
After putting Arturia's Analog Factory Experience through one of our longest product tests to date, we have concluded that there is a
lot to love about their economical hardware/software virtual analog solution. Although it is rare to put the words economical and quality
in the same sentence these days, Arturia's Analog Factory Experience can easily be described as such, and at a retail price of $349 this
could be one of the biggest bargains currently on the market. >>> FULL STORY
../ Ghost In The Maschine
Native Instruments had long been rumored to be working on some sort of hardware controller for electronic musicians, and most industry watchers
believed this would come in the shape of a MIDI DJ controller that would perfectly integrate with Traktor... >>> FULL STORY
../ TestDrive: Sony PCM-D50 Digital Recorder
Whether or not Sony was planning to debut a more budget minded recorder, or is now responding to this vibrant sector, is unknown, however, the Japanese
company recently launched the PCM-D50, an affordable 24-bit / 96-kHz recorder with built-in condensor microphones and 4 GB of internal Flash memory.
The PCM-D50 also features a Memory Stick Pro HG-Duo slot for additional storage, S/PDIF digital I/O, high-speed USB 2.0 connectivity, and standard AA
battery power, as well as many savvy and sophisticated technical features... >>> FULL STORY
../ TestDrive: RapcoHorizon LTI-1
Some companies have even developed dedicated emergency kits just in case a cable goes bad, or an adapter is needed for connectivity to the house PA.
However, if your sound card decides to take a dirt nap just prior to showtime, you're reduced to running all your audio action out of your laptop's
minijack output, which just isn't going to cut it with many of today's sophisticated club systems. >>> FULL STORY
../ TestDrive: Ecler EVO5 DJ Mixer
After falling in love with Ecler's NUO4 a couple of years back, you can imagine our reaction when the Spanish concern announced that they would be debuting
a new flagship mixer. Could the new EVO5 top the excellent ergonomics, handsome design and quality sound of the NUO4? >>> FULL STORY
../ Commentary: Trying To Buy An Apple iPhone 3G
Looking back, I'm not quite sure how I become the FutureMusic iPhone 3G Guinea Pig, it's all kind of a blur right now, but here's what I can tell you.
During a staff meeting, I brought up the notion of performing FutureMusic TestDrives on the slew of new iPhone Music applications that have just debuted
on the Apple App Store... >>> FULL STORY
../ Mini TestDrive: Socket Sense
One of the biggest problems that project studio owners face is the dreaded "wall wart." These oversized adapters have a tendency to take up two or three plugs
on a surge protector, making them highly inefficent, and creating a tangled web of wires. Enter Socket Sense... >>> FULL STORY
../ EKS Readies OTUS MIDI DJ Controller
We discussed EKS and the new OTUS with Sulevi Seppänen, Sales Director, to find out more about this innovative controller and the company that's driving
its development. EKS is very focused on its "future-proof" brand message and applying the company's forward-thinking philosophy to not only hardware and software,
but to dance music's evolution as an art form... >>> FULL STORY
../ TestDrive: M-Audio EX66 Monitors
M-Audio recently sent over their EX66 nearfield monitors for us to TestDrive. Although the monitors have been around for about a year, the EX66's push M-Audio
beyond their budget monitoring options and into a new price point for the concern. It's obvious that M-Audio wanted to make a statement with the EX66's. Not
only do they incorporate provocative new technology and features, but they also utilize a dual woofer design that has lost favor with other manufacturers. >>> FULL STORY
../ TestDrive: Glyph GT 062 External Hard Drive
After the umpteenth drive of ours decided to wet its bed, we contacted Glyph. Glyph has been around for 15 years providing hard drive solutions for
the audio and video markets, and they claim that not only are their hard drives more reliable than their competitors, but they also put their money
where their mouth is by backing it up with a device replacement and data recovery policy... >>> FULL STORY
../ TestDrive: Black Lion Audio MicroClock
Black Lion Audio, a small concern known primarily for their mods of popular audio interfaces, recently released their first product, an external word
clock dubbed the MicroClock. Black Lion made the decision to develop their own dedicated master clock because they felt that most of the solutions
available were of poor quality and contained features that many project studios never used. When BLA boasted on their website that the MicroClock
"will provide a wide, separated soundstage and add smooth, neutral clarity to your digital conversion," we decided it was time for a TestDrive... >>> FULL STORY
../ TestDrive: JazzMutant Dexter
JazzMutant's remarkable Dexter is a compelling digital audio workstation controller that showcases the future of computer music mixing. The extremely
well-built device features several dynamic and provocative methods for working in the digital age, however there are many areas where the Dexter misses
the mark, and that this price point that shouldn't be the case... >>> FULL REVIEW
../ TestDrive: XtremeMac MicroMemo
I've always tried to come up with a snappy slang term for those people you encounter in everyday life who think their "singing" along with
their iPods, but in reality sound more like they don't have a tongue... >>> FULL STORY
../ Will New Laws Force ISPs To Police File Sharing?
UK Legislators Threaten ISPs
The UK record industry's equivalent of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is trying to strong-arm the country's Internet Service Providers
(ISPs) to begin policing their networks for illegal file-trading. If successful, the results could have major ramifications for the rest of the world... >>> FULL STORY
../ TestDrive: KRK VXT8 Monitors
KRK Systems recently sent us a pair of their new VXT8 monitors for a TestDrive. The new VXT line is based on KRK's premium Exposé series
and consists of three models — the VXT4, VXT6, and VXT8... >>> FULL STORY
../ iClones Threaten Apple's iPhone Rollout In Asia
Chinese Counterfeiters Take A Bite Out Of Apple
In Taiwan, you could buy an "iPhone" six months before the official debut of the much-anticipated multimedia mobile in the United States. The iClones,
as they have become known, sell for about $250 dollars in Taiwan, and only $125 in mainland China and Hong Kong... >>> FULL STORY
../ Are High Priced Cables Worth The Money?
The Internet has been a disruptive force to many entrenched industries and market segments in its brief history. So, it was only a matter of
time before it focused its eye on the audio and video cable industry. Ever wonder why salespersons push cables so ardently at music and electronic
stores? Unknown to many, audio or video cables have the largest profit margins. Using the "don't you want the best quality" pitch, a savvy
salesperson can rack up hundreds of dollars of pure profit on cables alone when a customer buys a television, stereo, or mixer. >>> FULL STORY
../ Music Trends: MySpace Popularity Doesn't Sell Music
MySpace vixen, Tila Tequila, has failed to turn her immense popularity into sales for her much ballyhooed, but mediocre MySpace
promoted single, "I Love U." Tequila hoped to leverage her 1.7 million MySpace friends into substantial iTunes profits, but
preliminary reports indicate lackluster numbers. >>> FULL STORY
