Use & Enjoy Your A/V Gear : iPod

Car stereos that bypass your iPod's built-in digital-to-analog converter

Jim R — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 13:03:00 GMT

For some time now, we've been offering two tips to people who want to get great sound when they connect their iPod to a home audio system: Import (rip) your music at a higher bit rate , preferrably in the Apple Lossless format. Bypass your iPod's built...(read more)

Two ways to turn your iPod into a multi-room music source

TaraW — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 13:59:00 GMT

I listen to my iPod through the stereo in my car and through headphones while I work and exercise. But what if I want to listen to my iPod throughout my house, too? After all, the speakers in my home are the best ones I own. Fortunately, working at Crutchfield...(read more)

Better car audio, Tip #12: Select a lower level of compression for your music files

Jim R — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 13:38:00 GMT

Yes, you can store more music files on your iPod ® or other MP3 player with more compression, and they'll sound OK when you're listening through earbuds. But you lose some high- and low-frequency information when you compress your music, along with some...(read more)

Will lossless files work in your car stereo?

Jim R — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 20:38:00 GMT

Selecting higher bit rates when ripping digital music files gives you better sound quality. The trade-off, as we've discussed , is that the files are bigger, and fewer of them will fit on whatever storage medium you choose - an iPod® or other MP3 player...(read more)

3 Benefits of Using USB to Connect an iPod to a Car Stereo

KenSpike — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 16:15:00 GMT

My old iPod® mini died a couple of weeks ago. No need to mourn, it had a good life. But when I purchased a new 8GB iPod nano , I realized something important about car receivers and iPods. My car receiver, a Pioneer DEH-P7000BT , has a USB input that...(read more)

Better home audio, Tip #2: Less compression = Better sound

Ralph — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 21:03:00 GMT

We continue our series of tips for better audio with a simple fix for your MP3 player . Select a lower level of compression — or better quality — for your music files Compressing digital sound files is a great way decrease file size, but it comes at a...(read more)

Fill 'er up: Autofilling your iPod shuffle

Jim Ralston — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 14:15:00 GMT

Recently, I found myself getting ready to mow the grass on an unseasonably warm weekend afternoon, and I decided I'd rather listen to music than the drone of a lawnmower engine. (My Klipsch in-ear headphones help tremendously with this kind of thing....(read more)

What Kids Love

Chris E — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 15:50:00 GMT

A few months ago, I blogged about some of the electronic gear Crutchfield folks would like to have . It led me to wonder about another group of tech-savvy people — middle schoolers. I asked my daughters what electronic gear they couldn’t live without...(read more)

A Vacation Accessorized with the Bose SoundDock

Dave H — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 18:55:00 GMT

I recently took some much-needed time off. Williamsburg, Virginia isn't exactly the vacation capital of the world, but it's a nice town with a lot of available activities. Among them, the one thing I did the most which I could never do at home in Charlottesville...(read more)

The Genius of iTunes 8 has much to learn

Ralph — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 20:44:00 GMT

iTunes 8 has several new features, including Genius . Highlight a song and click the Genius button, and a playlist is instantly generated from your library of other songs that relate to your selection. And if you open the Genius sidebar (the button in...(read more)

Buying an iPod Speaker?

Chris E — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 18:13:00 GMT

This picture shows how we used to share music. Then we gave our daughter Abby a portable iPod® speaker . It folds up into a book-shaped package and protects her iPod inside itself (great for trips). And it opens into an A-frame stand with the iPod dock...(read more)

iTunes Tune-up 13: Crossfade and pick up the pace

Ralph — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 19:10:00 GMT

As I listened to my iPod the other day, it occured to me that there was something wrong. The song selection was excellent, of course -- after all, I'd hand-picked every tune loaded into the library -- but there wasn't much excitement. Was I *gasp* getting...(read more)

It’s cold outside, but it’s toasty at the gym

Deb G — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 14:55:00 GMT

A few days ago, I started to go for my usual morning run but something stopped me on my way out the door ... a wind chill of 15 degrees. I run in the rain, the snow, the heat, and even the cold, but I have my limits. There’s just no getting me on the...(read more)

Selecting headphones? Consider the source.

Ralph — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 14:01:00 GMT

I recently had an opportunity to do some side-by-side comparisons of Shure's line of in-ear earbud headphones . But this post isn't about the headphones -- it's about the importance of sound file quality. We were doing the tests with an MP3 player, and...(read more)

iTunes Tune-up: Managing Holiday Music

Ralph — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 15:30:00 GMT

In olden times my parents kept the family's holiday music in a separate part of the record cabinet. The LPs came out in November, and went back in early January. We carried on the same tradition with CDs, until I ripped them all into iTunes. But changing...(read more)