B&W MP3 speakers???

[Mark_C.]

Anyone else get an e-mail customer survey from B&W asking if you planned on purchasing an MP3 player in the next six months?
I thought it was a joke at first, but the link went to B&W's site. My answer: No Way!

[george_k]

I got the e-mail as well, if I had to speculate I'd guess that they are thinking of creating something along the lines as the jmlabs icub?

http://www.focal-fr.com/home/en/sibco/index.htm

[csuzor]

I got the email, responded. I hope they can develop some quality headphones for the mp3 / portable audio market... no cheap portable self-powered speakers please!

[audioqueso]

Yeah, I got it too. I'm assuming they want to jump into the MP3 market as well.

[george_k]

Quality headphones? Why would B&W enter an existing/competitive market, I don't see its strategic merit.

[Stoney]

Maybe they are thinking about building a high end iPod stand/amp/speaker combo.

[csuzor]

Maybe they are thinking about building a high end iPod stand/amp/speaker combo.

Exactly what some of us don't want to see from B&W... The sound is only as good as the weakest link will allow.

But that is probably their idea, you are right.

I know of at least 1 person who will probably buy 800Ds sooner or later, but also listens to an ipod (or mp3 portable player) through speakers occasionally. Maybe he can tell us how he responded to B&W?

I don't consider the quality of portable audio worthy of full range speakers, so I limit such usage to headphones. I'd buy B&W headphones if they were available.

[Fraise]

Maybe they are thinking about building a high end iPod stand/amp/speaker combo.

thats kinda like buying an HDTV to watch VHS in my opinion.

[audioqueso]

Maybe they are thinking about building a high end iPod stand/amp/speaker combo.

Just like every other company. I really hope not.

[BlazeMaster]

well, you gotta admit they do have a reputable name in the audio industry, so why not? I personally won't buy it.

[jim777]

Who still needs MP3's now with gigabyte portable devices?

I think all this means that B&W is more and more about marketing... (diamonds, XT, 40th anniv. soon)

[jim777]

well, you gotta admit they do have a reputable name in the audio industry, so why not? I personally won't buy it.

Why not? To keep that reputable name :roflmao:

Do they want to become the next "Bose" or what??

[RebelMan]

I know of at least 1 person who will probably buy 800Ds sooner or later, but also listens to an ipod (or mp3 portable player) through speakers occasionally. Maybe he can tell us how he responded to B&W?

I don't consider the quality of portable audio worthy of full range speakers, so I limit such usage to headphones. I'd buy B&W headphones if they were available.

Gee, I wonder whom that might be?

Portable audio is only as good as it's source. I don't listen to anything altered or compressed in anyway from the original. In other words, I don't use an MP3 player but a portable digital music player. I might entertain B&W made custom ear-buds or similar products. Nothing wrong with having a few extra choices available. :T

csuzor, you'll eventually reconsider your position. Digital music servers are the next step up from portable audio players for full range speaker systems. :P

[JKalman]

Exactly what some of us don't want to see from B&W... The sound is only as good as the weakest link will allow.

But that is probably their idea, you are right.

I know of at least 1 person who will probably buy 800Ds sooner or later, but also listens to an ipod (or mp3 portable player) through speakers occasionally. Maybe he can tell us how he responded to B&W?

I don't consider the quality of portable audio worthy of full range speakers, so I limit such usage to headphones. I'd buy B&W headphones if they were available.

I don't see what is wrong with the quality of portable audio if you use lossless storage, i.e. - you don't compress it which causes you to lose some of the music data. Lossless storage is the same quality as the CD itself. There are actually potential future advantages to computer/handheld/etc devices.

Using a transport or cd tray (whatever you like to call it) to read bits off a disc causes jitter. Transports read data from the disc into the buffers of the player. The disc player can run out of space and if this happens it may have to stop reading in real time (though the chances of this are extremely low). If the data, a song, or an album is preloaded into RAM this is not an issue since there is no mechanism spinning which is tied to a time constraint, and likewise there is no scratched disc either. More importantly, this buffer allows the machine to re-time the data with more reliable methods, as mechanical parts are more subject to error and timing inconsistencies than an electronic circuit which keeps time with a crystal. This gets rid of a lot of jitter. Eliminating a transport mechanism or disc tray (whatever you prefer to call it) completely is beneficial because it also eliminates the added EMIs caused by the associated mechanical elements and the electricity its circuitry uses.

I think Meridian uses a lot of this type of technology in their current players, though all players nowadays use a buffer. Meridian has three RAM buffers (if I recall correctly) placed at crucial junctures in the circuitry which keep the data from becoming too skewed by jitter as it travels through the device.

The future of music is going to be some kind of HD storage. I don't recall where I read the article, likely in Stereophile, but as audiophiles we have to hope and beg that the music industry will allow us to buy our music at resolutions we choose. It isn't inconceivable that we mght one day pay 10 cents extra per song to have the version recorded at 24-bit/192 KHz. It would actually make it easier for us to get high definition recordings since every recording could be saved at an ultimate high resolution which is then altered as it is sent to the purchasing agent, e.g. compressed as MP3, sent at lower resolutions, etc. Let us pray that this is the case, because the worst options are simply unthinkable, and 99% of the world population doesn't contemplate the sound quality of their music enough to notice the difference between MP3 and Lossless. :M

[JKalman]

I don't have a use for portable speakers for my iPod. I could however use some really nice headphones to bring with me on trips and listen to relaxing music at bed time. In particular, something that can create some type of 3D/holographic sound, or that can actually place the music in front of me with a large soundstage like real floorstanding speakers. Of course, I wouldn't expect it to shake my whole body and have anywhere near the visceral effects my 802Ds have on me, but there are huge improvements that can be made with headphones right now.

[PewterTA]

Shure E4s will probably fit your bill JKalman! Awesome headphones! Some of the best I've heard.

[JKalman]

Shure E4s will probably fit your bill JKalman! Awesome headphones! Some of the best I've heard.

Great I will check them out. I know that there are a few pairs right now that have a surround processor somehow built into them. I'm trying to find out more about them if anyone has heard of such a thing. Oh, the one thing though, I don't like the kind that go into your ears. I only like headset types that go over your ears. The other kind end up irritating my ears.

[Clepto]

Shre E5s are even better!

Here's a few wireless surround headphones:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0007XL43M/002-7125468-1961648?v=glance&n=172282

http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/eCS/Store/en/-/USD/SY_DisplayProductInformation-Start?ProductSKU=MDRDS3000