Home Theater Built Out of Snow – Alberta resident Grahma Whatmough was missing Canada when he visited California, and upon his return he build a 20-foot tall outdoor movie theater out of snow, using snow shoes to compress the white stuff. It has a projector’s nest and a seating area for guests.
Mighty Audio on Kickstarter Brings Offline Spotify Playback – Music streaming has been the go-to method of listening to music, but problems have come up for music lovers on the go. Mighty Audio picks up where iPod shuffle left off. The tiny screen-less gadget has a minimalist control scheme. You strap it to your wrist or drop it in a pocket and your have streaming Spotify music anywhere. It syncs with Bluetooth plus has a jack for wired headphones. It’s only 1.5 inches square and under $80. So far it’s only available at Kickstarter, where you might get one for $70 with their early bird special.
B&O Meets ESS for Highest Audio Quality on LG Smartphones – The LG ES9118 SABRE HiFi System has an integrated DAC, headphone amp with output switch, and a 32-bit delivery of up to 125dB signal-to-noise with -113dB total Harmonic Distortion. In comparison with other smartphones it was found to be the very best audio quality. The phone also has B&O speakers built in. The ESS audiophile technology supports the most popular hi-res and lossless audio formats.
New Smartphone Warns You If Electronics Are Overheating – The Bullitt Group’s CAT S60, which will be available in the fall at around $500, could revolutionise home safety by detecting if electrical items are overheating and might catch fire. It can also detect heat loss around doors and windows which could save families cash on energy bills. It can measure temperatures from objects up to 100 feet away and turn the invisble heat emitted into an image. It can even by used to measure body heat and the temperature of food. “Thermies” may soon replace “selfies” when images of hot and cold spots around the home become the next big thing.
A Great Year for Downloading Audiophiles – 28 of the albums and compositions winning in multiple classical categories are available at HDTracks, most are in hi-rez, and more are available for streaming or download in hi-rez or at least CD quality from both ClassicOnline HD and Tidal. For example, the Paulus album on Reference Recordings, which we just reviewed: Far in the Heavens, can be streamed at stereo CD quality from Classics Online HD.
