Focal XS Satellite Speakers Review

Posted February 26th, 2009 by admin No Comments »

For audiophiles out there, today might be your dream read. Because today I’m featuring what could be some of the most high quality computer speakers I’ve ever seen. Which is mostly good, but provides some negative reactions as well.

Features

  • Integrated USB connectivity
  • Dock for listening to and recharging iPod
  • iPod sync with iTunes via built-in dock
  • Active amplifier for speakers and subwoofer
  • Full-function remote control
  • Auxiliary jack for connecting other audio sources
  • Support stands for optimal positioning
  • Speaker type: 2-way shielded multimedia
  • Drivers: 3 in./8 cm paper cone midbass; 0.75 in./1.9 cm mylar dome tweeter; 6.5 in/16.5 cm paper cone
  • Frequency response (+/-3dB): 39Hz – 20kHz
  • Nominal power: 2 x 30W + 1 x 70W
  • Max. sound pressure level: 104dB SPL/1

What’s In The Box

  • Focal XS Satellite Speakers
  • Active subwoofer
  • Remote control
  • USB cable
  • Aux-in cable
  • Power cord

What I Like: I already mentioned before, that these are easily the best sounding computer speakers I’ve ever listened to. If you’re shopping around for pure sound quality, I almost gurantee you won’t find a better set of speakers than these.

The USB connectivity, and the iPod-iTunes sync dock is a nice touch. Also has optional auxilliary jacks for listening to other devices.

What I Didn’t Like: The old expression ‘you pay for what you get’ definitely rings true here. The Focal XS Satellite Speakers run a whopping $599.99. So you’re looking at a major investment if you are truly interested in these speakers.

For something that costs $600, it has a very simple, and dull design. The subwoofer is plain black, and sits on four pegs. There’s not electronic interface, or readouts. The speakers are black as well, and sit on silver stands. Again, nothing sleek or fancy about them.

Bottom Line: If you have an extravagant amount of money, or work with a lot of audio for your job then I could easily recommend these speakers. Again, the quality will send shivers up your spine. However that’s just about all the system has going for it. Which is why I really can’t recommend these for the average consumer, or someone who isn’t going to get a lot of use out of them.

Focal XS Satellite Speakers Page

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Top Free Mac OS X Apps

Posted February 12th, 2009 by admin No Comments »

One of the great things about having a Mac, is the great software that supports it. Of course, your best quality programs, and apps will cost you money. However, there are some free apps out there that definitely worth your time. Here is a list of them, and why they can be so useful.

StreamBaby

The StreamBaby app is useful if you have quite a bit of video on your Mac, that wish could be viewed in other places. It acts as a portal for streaming onto TiVo, and can doesn’t disappoint.

You can rewind, and fastforward past the buffer point, allowing for a great navigation of your videos. It has great compatibility with TiVo. If what you’re watching passed the streaming limit, it will cut off what you’ve already watched to allow TiVo to keep playing the file.

Download

Bullet

The Bullet app isn’t necessarily a very useful app. What it lacks in functionality, it definitely makes up for in pure simple fun. You can set this app to create a bullet hole on your screen every time you click it, and a gunshot sound will follow.

It can be just to use on your own, but the true joy comes from setting it up on someone and watching them click on their screen for the first time.

Download

Celestia

It’s hard to imagine, but with Celestia you can travel throughout the known universe for free. You can stick to the solar system which houses over 100,000 stars or you can go out beyond that.

Along with the main program, there are some fun and helpful add-ons to go along with it.

Download

WakeUp

WakeUp allows you to remotely wake up a machine asleep. WakeUp lets you store name and Ethernet addresses of your machines, and wake them up when needed, i.e. when you need to access a file on a distant machine whose File Sharing is on, without having to physically access the machine to wake it up.

Download

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