Category: Audio

Learning English by using audio books broadens the vocabulary, helps understanding rapid speaking but more than all it is the only method that helps you learn the right pronunciation. Key words : audio books, harry potter audio books, audio books on cd, books on tape, audiobooks , free audio books, audio books free, audio books free downloads, download audio books.
My children’s knowledge of the English language is far better than their friends’. The only reason for it is the fact that they are using audio books for learning English. My elder son has just finishing listening to the last Harry Potter audio book. Of course he became a great fan of the story. I bought him the original script along with the audio book so he can search for words he can not understand within the book. this Harry potter audio book was a book on tape and consisted of several 30 minutes audio book cassettes.
Students all over the world are learning English using audio books. Audio books are the most effective way of learning English. It is well known that the best way to learn a new language or to improve the existing knowledge of a language is listening or talking the language. Learning English by using audio books broadens the vocabulary, helps understanding rapid speaking but more than all it is the only method that helps you learn the right pronunciation. Using audio books to learn English is quite easy. You should only get audio books on Cd, books on tape or download audio books (You can even download free audio books). You should find an audio book that best suits your needs. If you are a beginner, The speech should be clear and slow. I also recommend getting an audio book with more than one speaker.

I consider myself as a good English speaker. Yet, listening to the English audio book version of Crime And Punishment by Feodor Dostoyevsky was not easy. I listened to each of the three audiobook cds at least a couple of times. I enjoyed broadening my vocabulary with rare words and listening to the british accent.

Henry James wrote : “Summer afternoon, Summer afternoon… The two most beautiful words in the english language” so get your children the harry potter audio books on cd, get out for the summer afternoon and let him enjoy learning english using audio books.

In the latest installment of our ‘How To’ guides we take a look at using audio samples like you’ll find here on DMS in Apple’s Logic Pro sequencer. Logic can handle both standard WAV (.wav) samples and AIF Audio (Interchange File Format .aif).

There are two ways to import WAV samples (.wav or WAVE files) into Logic. Audio can be used either directly on audio tracks in the Arrange window, or used in the EXS24 sampler, which gives a high degree of control over the sample allowing you to play the sample from your MIDI keyboard, as well as access to the sampler’s filters and envelope controls.

1) Audio Track Import.

To import an audio file directly onto an audio track in the Arrange window create a new audio track by clicking the (+) button on the top left of the window. From the New Tracks dialogue box select Audio and then choose Stereo from the Format drop down menu. This will create a new audio track for you.

You may now drag and drop from an OS X Finder window directly onto the new audio track or use Logic’s Media Browser (located on the right hand side of the screen.

Quick Tip: If you’re using looped wav files then make sure you set Logic’s tempo to matches that of the audio loop. If you’re unsure of the tempo of the loop set your cycle locators around the loop and from the Options Menu select Tempo and then choose ‘Adjust Tempo using Region Length and Locators’. This will give you the option of adjust Logic’s global tempo to that of the loop.

2) EXS24 Sampler Import.

Create a new Instrument track and insert an EXS24 Sampler. From the EXS24 front panel click the Edit button (on the top right of the EXS24). This will bring up the Instrument Editor. Now choose your audio sample and drag and drop into the Instrument Editor window. If you know the musical key of the audio sample enter it into the Pitch section of the Editor. This will ensure that the sample is played in the correct key. The fastest way to save your new instrument and get playing is to click the Close button on the top right of the Instrument Editor window, this will bring up a Save dialogue box allowing you to give the new Sampler Instrument a name and save it into your Logic Sampler Instruments folder (this is the default location).

Where Is the Arrival Point of Audio Cables Cable Asylum
Ozhan Atalay

Majority of the audiophiles are agreed that one of the most critical factors in a hi-end system is the connection cables. There is no doubt about it. Different cables provide different testing and enjoyment. A good sounding cable in a system may not sound good in other system or a good sounding cable may not sound good if one of the units is replaced. Good is also relative to each person, that’s why I believe that it is not possible to pretend one cable betters then the other if both are good cables.

As a person who changed so many cables, I would like to share my own judgements with others. My aim is not to offend anybody or to break somebody’s heart but humbly contribute to the craziness of cable industry, contribute to consciousness and prevent buyers to be abused.

Some cable producers use the thinnest wires to eliminate skin effect. Some uses thicker ones to eliminate DC resistance. Some prefers silver due to open and rich sound, some finds silver sounding thin, un-natural and they use pure copper to achieve body. Some uses platinum, carbon and other stuff, some combines them or alloys them. Some producers attach importance to shielding, some are against to shielding but use braided designs. Some uses ribbons, some uses litz (various independent insulated wires). Almost all pretend their design as the best in the world.

Above list can be enlarged. This situation at least for me is the clear evidence that THERE IS NO COMPROMISE ON CABLES FROM THE ENGINEERING AND THEORY POINT OF VIEW.

Following me, the cables, particularly the interconnect cables are the most degenerated and misleading part of the audio industry. The biggest income ratio in audiophile word is generated by the cable industry. An amplifier that consist of various elements, labour, engineering, design, (consists of good silver cables too) can be purchased to 5.000 but a poor interconnect cable costs 2.000 or more. Most of the brands are imitation of the other. They provide various colours, thickness and nice appearance and pretend to be the best one in the world at list in their price categories. I found 137 different interconnect producers (listed below). Unfortunately the human nature of “how expensive or how big, the better is” belief, guides one to misleading. Such belief motivates the first sales, and followers continue by thought that “if the other purchasers are idiots!”

One thing should be considered that I never mean such cables are not bad sound; actually they are mostly the good ones. Problem is a % 1 better sounding cable is sold to % 1000 price of the other. After the promotion and acceptance of a very reputable cable, another one comes to market even by the same company to claim to be better and price is 3 times more. Price increase in cable industry is going geometrically by the crazy multiples.

Last year, Stereophile made feature with Caren Sumner, the president of Transparent Cable. I picked up below sentence;
“Up to last year, the thickest cables and the biggest boxes on cable were on demand. If the cable was thicker or the boxes on the cable were bigger, the perception was such cables should sound better. So they sold in better quantities. But nowadays WAF (Wife Acceptance Factor) is more involved in it and the wives don’t like to see bigger and bigger things corrupting home decoration. As a matter of fact, we tend to produce thinner cables and smaller boxes in future.”

At least such sentence gives clear leak that the product is not thicker or bigger due to technical aspects but due to marketing technique.
I was curious one day to break the box of my M..T interconnects to look inside. There was a very simple coil occupied only 1/10 of the box. I also broke the same brand power cord’s box and realised only two ferrite rings that sold to 50 Cents each at the electronics shop. Another story is that ; a cable producer makes actively shielded cables. If you break the solid protected shielding unit, you see one resistor and one capacitor that can be purchased to 1 $. The price you have to pay for that unit is 420 USD. You may think it is proprietary or invention but it is not. The concept was built on the design of Pierre Lourne’s DC Polarised Shielding Technology and used in professional audio industry for years.

According to me, a cable should be listened enough and alone prior to purchasing. If the critical listening is done with other people, physiology factor will act and people would tend to choose the most reputable one. If the difference is subtle, it should be thought again. Before coming to conclusion, other audiophiles should be called for critical blind testing. Cables should be tested without knowing which one is in connection. If blind test is done, every party should make careful and realistic observations. If they don’t have clear tendency, it will not be logical to buy that cable.

One friend brought me a well known digital reference cable that sold around 1500 $. My cable was also a reference cable but reasonably priced (Illuminations D-60). We were three people and listened both of the cables properly. The other two immediately observed that the other cable was much better. It did not make the same effect on me. Mid sounds, vocals became softer and more natural but the bass became so slow and muddy. The energy and the slam at treble were gone. So it was and exchange but not additional. I had a feeling that physiology factor was in mission. I wanted to make blind test. My aim was not to degrade the other but just to find the answer why I did not hear the same thing with them. We made a blind test. Eventually both of them were decided and agreed on D-60. The discussion was over.
Why they had the tendency to choose the most expensive or reputable one !
Forget about it was worse, assume that they are the same, why the other cable cost 10 times did not clearly bit the other.
May be my system was not enough revealing to stimulate that cable but if this is the case, I would pay 1500 $ unnecessarily as agreed by my friends.

Such cable producers generally target the people that don’t have any problem with money. Such people are basically located in New York, Far East, Hong Kong, Japan and such places.

Producers also follow up, sales volumes of most expensive electronics and penetrate their cables accordingly. They assume that “a person who spends 350.000 $ for an amplifier will never use a cable of 500 $”

My thoughts are not to offend cable producers, if there is a demand, somebody has to supply with no doubt.
I wanted to design an interconnect cable for my own curiosity. I am not an electronic an. I used my all theoretical knowledge as a hobbyist and made a DIY interconnect cable. I pretend my cable is at the same class with the reference cables sold up to 1500 $. It will cost you around 50$ plus the Plugs that’s all. Difficult to make but it is worthy. Hearing is believing. I shared the entire steps with you. Give it a try DiyE.htm. You must use the best available connectors and silver solder but not the budget ones. That cable cost me 200 $ together with Home Grown Audio’s LOK RCA Plugs or WBT Top Of the lines.

How come that cable worked extremely well, for me better than the others ! I had no experience, no production plant, no engineering, research and development but it works. May be the answer is hidden in somewhere else, may be the other cable producers use the same method, design, listen, if works, claim and sell

February 2004 Ozhan Atalay www.nonamehifi.com

LIST OF CABLE PRODUCERS
1 Accoustic Zen
2 Acoustic Research
3 Acrotec
4 Alpha Core
5 Analysis Plus
6 Apex
7 Apogee
8 Argento Audio
9 Audience
10 Audio Magic
11 Audio Note
12 Audio One
13 Audio Tekne
14 Audioquest
15 Aural Symphonic
16 Aural Thrills Audio
17 Ayre
18 Bear Labs
19 Bel The Wire
20 Better Cables
21 Black Mountain Cable
22 BMC
23 Bogdan
24 Canare
25 Cardas
26 Celtic Silver
27 Chang Lightspeed
28 Chord
29 Clarity Lab
30 Coincident
31 Concierto
32 Creative Cable Concepts
33 Crystal Clear Audio
34 DH Labs
35 Dimarzio
36 Discovery Cable
37 Dunlavy
38 Echochrome Cables
39 Ecosse
40 Elco
41 Electraglide
42 Empirical Audio
43 Ensemble
44 Esoterika
45 Fadel Art
46 FIM
47 FMS
48 Granite Audio
49 Gutwire
50 Harmonic Technology
51 Hms Cables
52 Home Grown Audio
53 Infinity Audio
54 Ixos
55 Jena Labs
56 Jm
57 JPS Labs
58 K A S Audio
59 Kharma
60 Kimber Kable
61 Krell
62 Lat International
63 Lieder Cables
64 Linn
65 Luminous Audio
66 MAC Wire
67 Madrigal Audio Labs
68 Magnan
69 Magwire
70 Marigo
71 Mas
72 MIT
73 Monster Cable
74 Moon Audio
75 Music Metre
76 Naim
77 Nbs
78 Nirvana Audio
79 Nordost
80 Oehlbach
81 Omega
82 Orbeck
83 Outlaw
84 Perpetual Technologies
85 Primo
86 Prisma Cables
87 PS Audio
88 Pure Note
89 Purist Audio Design
90 Red Rose
91 Revelation Audio Lab
92 Ridge Street Audio Designs
93 Rosinante Audio
94 Scott Nixon
95 Shunyata
96 Signal Cable
97 Silent Source
98 Siltech
99 Silver Audio
100 Silver Dragon
101 Silver Sonic
102 Silversmith Audio
103 Sonance Audio Video
104 Sonic Frontiers
105 Sonic Link
106 Stan Warren
107 Stealth Audio
108 Straight Wire
109 Synergistic research
110 T. G. Audio Labs
111 Tara Labs
112 Tekline
113 Tg Audio Lab
114 Tice
115 TMC
116 Tone Audio
117 Transparent Cables
118 Tributaries
119 Ultralink
120 Vacuum Reference
121 Vampire Wire
122 Van Den Hul
123 Vantage Audio
124 Verastarr
125 Violin by Concierto
126 Virtual Dynamics
127 Wasatch Cable
128 Wicked Cables
129 WireWorld
130 XLO
131 Yamamura
132 YBA
133 Z Cable
134 Zocore Cables
135 Z-Squared Audio
136 Zu Cable
137 Eichmann

The iPod is a music and movies player, but people can listen to audiobooks and other spoken-work content, while commuting, jogging or exercising. Audiobooks are either complete or abridged recordings of books, which are read out loud and recorded. Sometimes the author himself reads the book, like Bill Clintons My Life, and the late Douglas Adamss Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. Others are read by famous actors, like John Lithgows reading of Michael Crichtons Disclosure and Joe Mantegnas readings of Robert B. Parkers mysteries.

Usually, these are read by professional readers whose purpose is to make a book sound as compelling as it is on paper. After purchasing CD audiobooks, you can import them into iTunes and listen on your iPod like other digital audio. The Ipod audio books from the iTunes Music Store or Audible.com are created as one or two files lasting ten hours each, making them easier to listen and manage in your iTunes Library.

Buying audio books on-line

It is good to know your options as these can be expensive, costing more than paper books. Audible.com provides the same quality of audio book content that the iTunes Music Store sells, apart from Audibles broader selection of non-book audio programs and its monthly subscription that includes either one book a month for $15 or any two Ipod audio books for $22 a month.

You can only buy individual titles from the iTunes Music Store. Fans of audiobooks will view this as a great deal; you spend more than that for most individual audiobooks on CD or from the iTunes Music Store. Yet, if you only want single audiobook without a monthly subscription, check both places: on some books, the iTunes Music Store is much cheaper than Audible.

You can rip audiobooks from CDs to use in iTunes and iPod. For maximum benefit, you have to choose a format for importing, join tracks on the CD, and make the files able to be bookmarked. When you sync audio books to your iPod, they appear in one of two places. If they are bookmarked, they appear in the Music > Audiobooks menu automatically, though they are not in that genre. They also show up by genre, artist or “song”. If they cannot be bookmarked, you will have to search for them from these latter menus.

You play Ipod audio books like other audio files, but bookmarked audio books give you an extra advantage. This is going to the iPods Settings menu and selecting Audio books which let you choose a different speed for the playback or change the speed of a droll or hyper reader: Faster or Slower. The played files speed changes, not the voice. The distortion noticed is not a problem.

This change can also be made as youre listening to Ipod audio books. After they start playing, press the Select button thrice. Run your finger around the scroll wheel clockwise to make it Faster; scroll the other way to return to Normal, or to change it to Slower.

One of the best things about the online audio books industry is that companies and websites can offer free audio books because they do not have to buy music literature materials for production. With downloadable music books, there are no products to purchase, which in turn gives online companies the opportunity to offer free downloads.

This is not only helpful for the company, but it also opens up a wider selection of books for consumers who are otherwise hesitant about purchasing titles in genres that they are not accustomed to reading. A great place to get a number of free audio books is free-books. Like other music literature websites, you can log on to their page and download a wide variety of free books for personal and educational purposes.

If you are looking for titles from classical literature, the website provides free MP3 downloads from over 200 titles in their selection. You can also find European history titles and various other selections. For adults looking for educational books, free-books offers many books that you can listen to and come away with information you may have not had before. “The Autobiography of Charles Darwin” is an example of one of the downloadable audio books free offered to people who might find this an interesting listen. For more mature kids, the site also offers free trial audio books like “Jane Eyre”, “Huckleberry Finn” and “Robinson Crusoe”. Children music literatures are a wonderful and exciting alternative to the popular video games or television programs that have flooded homes today. They not only help stimulate the imagination, they are more productive and educational than many other forms of entertainment.

You can find free music books online to satisfy any of your listening needs. If you like history, you can find historical works on websites that offer free music literatures. If you enjoy Charles Dickens or Emily Bronte, you can find free audio books of their writings as well. You can add a large number of audio literatures to your audio book library just through websites that provide free audio download. You can expand your library even further if you are willing to buy music literatures because many of the newer best sellers are available for a discounted price.

Ordering and downloading these books is instant and hassle free. It is a simple as entering your name and the email address where you want the audio books to be sent. Your privacy will be protected and you do not have to worry about receiving any spam in future. Keep a list of the books you have purchased or downloaded free in the past in your library.