Recent Article on 3rd Party technologies in CE devices:   http://www.eetimes.com/design/audio-design/4216325/Improving-today-s-multimedia-products-with-3rd-party-audio-IP-solutions?Ecosystem=audio-design

I would appreciate your thoughts and any feedback on the article’s Point of View (POV).  

Thanks for listening!

What do I mean by today’s topic?    The other day, I picked up my Sony TV remote and began playing with the menus.   Guess I was bored!    As I found my way to the audio menus, I notice that there were many audio settings configured in ways that I would not have preferred, as they actually detracted from the real performance of the unit.  (Not going to get into the details of the user menus or ease of use factors today…maybe in a later blog!)    I then realized that in my haste to set up the new TV, I had followed the traditional “Quick Start” set-up process offered by the manufacturer…which to my surprise deactivated many of the cool audio features that I would have normally selected and had paid for in the purchase of the TV.    Yes, I am embarrassed to say that I took the fast path to setting up the TV as my family was excited to get the new Sony unit operational so they could watch a “big screen” movie.    Problem was that I never went back and invested the time to reconfigure the audio menus.  My family has been listening to the TV using only 25-30% of the features!    After spending about 20 minutes resetting the audio options on the unit, it struck me:  “As consumers, how many of us actually use the “quick is better” set-up process in an audio device and then simply forget about it?”  Are we a “Set it and Forget consumer electronics society??”  

Think about it:  In the minds of the OEM’s they want to create an easy to use, fast to set up out of the box experience for the consumer.  I do understand that point.   But to do this, they must pre-select “normal user applications and use cases,” especially for the audio performance.    What does that mean?     Simply put, most users that follow the quick start process are paying for features that they never know exist in their products and are not really getting the best experiencing from the audio.  More fundamental than that, OEMs are adding material costs (Bill-of Material for the financial types) for features that are not adding any value to a majority of the quick start set-up users.    Are the manufacturers doing us a service or an injustice in this approach?    Would manufacturers be wiser to offer a set up process that steps consumers through a series of questions or menus that can then configure the product for that specific consumer’s preference or use case??   Would consumers take the extra few minutes to “customize” the audio performance for their application, if they knew what they were missing?   With most audio / video devices today, it does seem logical that they could quickly and easily step the consumer through environment and use case questions to optimize audio performance for the end user application?      I think so…. As that would allow them to promote the “custom set-up” as a value add to the product!  After all, in the competitive consumer electronics, market differentiation is a key driver for attracting consumers.    But that is a different subject…maybe a future blog as well!   

In closing…stop and think about you own use of audio devices!     Are you a “Set it and Forget consumer …or are you a going to hear what you really paid for type consumer?     After my TV was reset with the enhanced / preferred audio options, my family kept asking me…”What did you do?  It sounds so much better!!”  I simply said that it was “All a matter of menus!!”     So, tonight when you turn on your TV, Car Stereo, Cell Phone, Docking Station, Portable Music Player, etc take a few minutes and explore the menus…you might be surprised at how good the unit can sound with just a 5 or 10 minute investment in the audio menus!  

Thanks for Listening!

This weekend I was sitting in a friend’s living room and he decided to turn on some music, as he knows that I am in the audio industry. He picked a CD of Classic Rock from the 60s & 70s, however it became obvious that what he really wanted to do was demo his new stereo system.    His system of choice was a Bose “Lifestyle V” home entertainment unit that he had recently purchased.

http://www.bose.com/controller?url=/shop_online/home_theater/51channel_systems/component_systems/lifestyle_v_class/index.jsp  

He started to rave about how good the system sounded and how much he really appreciated the “technology” that Bose has included in this system.     I was struck with an overwhelming desire to launch into a debate on the real “audio quality” and actual technology that Bose was using in the unit he had just purchased, but decided to let him continue his “one-on-one” marketing speech.     For 15 minutes he moved from track to track working hard to point out the audio benefits of his Bose unit. He then went on to explain how his Bose unit surrounded and immersed his living room with good sounding audio.

I decided to explore what he would say about multi-channel audio that accompanied a movie and asked if he had listened to any surround encoded movies with his Bose system.   He then switched to his cable box to find a movie that he could “use to impress me” and Terminator Salvation happened to be playing.    We did not get to the even more pressing question:  How does it sound with compressed iTunes type of material.     

Please note that my friend does not work for Bose, is not in the audio field and is not professionally associated with audio products or services… actually, he is in finance.     All said, he was a walking, talking ad campaign promoting his new Bose audio product.    It was clear that he had done some research and got a serious education on Bose at a local big box retail store where he spent thousands of dollars for the system.

When he was done, I did not have the heart to tell him that in my opinion the audio quality from his Bose unit lacked any real audio punch, was not that immersive, delivered muted (at best) voice reproduction and seemed to me to simply be a bass and treble boost of the audio content.      It did not matter if the audio content was stereo based classic rock-n-roll music or a recent high-definition, multi-channel movie content. It was simply not that impressive!     And most importantly, based on what he said, he may have paid too much for the system. Yet….he was happy!! So I was happy for my friend as well…..sort of!

After leaving my friend’s house (yes… he is still my friend), I began to ponder how Bose was able to establish such a loyal fan and create the perceived market value of their audio reproduction systems.     The reality was sitting in front of me:  “Bose is a high-performance marketing machine!”      They have created a market image with many consumers that their audio systems represent the latest in technology, and consumers (like my friend) are willing to pay big money for the privilege of owning a Bose audio system.

So my questions to “The Sound Room” members:       At what point does marketing overwhelm technology performance in consumer electronics products?     How many of you agree that Bose is more of a marketing organization than a technology innovator or leader?     Do you own a Bose system?    And finally…Why?

Thanks for listening!

First off, with all of the excitement around the new iPad 2, I was wondering if anyone has received their unit and would like to comment on the quality, from a consumer point of view. Clearly, the new device is being promoting by Apple as a productivity tool, a communication instrument, as well as an entertainment device to you and me ….the consumer. I happen to own the original iPad and find that the device delivers on many of the marketing promises…except one! The audio quality is average sounding at best, and falls below acceptable levels especially when listening to compressed content or a movie sound track. For my personal listening, I have purchased a set of Sennheiser-headphones (Model CX 980). When using the iPad, I am routinely disappointed with the music playback quality as well as the dialog in movies…the voice seems to get lost in the mix. Moreover, the single speaker in the iPad unit leaves a lot to be desired…no bass response, mono output and the sound is very thin from an audio perspective. As the new iPad 2 is even thinner, I assume that the audio quality is “about the same or worse” as the previous model.

So does anyone have an iPad 2? So how does the new iPad 2 sound?? If you have an iPad or iPad 2, please share your impressions of the audio with The Sound Room’s (TSR) team?? Do you think the audio is good? Good enough?? Great? Net-Net: What is your consumer perspective or judgment of the audio quality of the iPad products?

Now, changing the subject a little bit from Apple to Android, another recent release caught my attention recently. The second consumer electronic product I would like to discuss is a new mobile phone: the HTC Evo 3D This phone was launched at the CTIA tradeshow.

As I am reading reviews about the phone, the marketing is all about the 2D and 3D viewing of the screen (with and without glasses) and the latest Android O/S, both of which seem very cool, however nowhere in the review is the audio quality discussed. Let’s face it…an immersive 3D viewing experience is only as good as the audio that accompanies the content that is being viewed. While it seems that HTC and Sprint are focused on the visual aspect of the consumer experience, audio is a fundamental and emotional connection for consumers that they’re missing!! After all, it is one of our five senses……

So as a consumer, I wanted to ask our TSR audience: What is your listening experience with iPads and mobile phone products? How would you rate your personal audio experience when listening to voice, music or videos?? Look forward to hearing from you…

Thanks for listening!

Welcome to The Sound Room (TSR for short)!!

I am excited to open the door and invite you in, as we freely discuss the world of audio and audio quality, as it is related to consumer electronic devices.   TSR is open to Global Semiconductor companies, Equipment Manufacturers (ODMs), and Branded Consumer Electronics companies (OEMs), as well as the very important consumer…you and me!!

First off: There is no right or wrong answer when it comes to the subject of “audio quality.” I think we all will agree that audio quality is very subjective.  Each one of us makes decisions on audio quality based on our view of what is acceptable to our listen preferences.  How?  With our wallets!  By downloading audio and video content via the web, purchasing the next DTV for our home theaters, selecting noise canceling headphones (for airplane flights or to buffer loud neighbors), acquiring the latest Personal Computer, Netbook All-In-One, Tablet device, selecting new speakers for indoor or outdoor use, upgrading to a new Mobile Phone, or through purchasing any multimedia entertainment product . Through such actions, we are stating that “This product delivers what I am looking for (or willing to accept) in my entertainment experience.”

I know, I know,…. “Audio Quality” is hard to measure, – don’t take me wrong! I am not talking about how loud a device will reproduce audio, the distortion that is produced, or any other quantifiable measurement that can be determined with an audio meter or analyzer. Instead, I am referring to audio quality from a subjective standpoint… more specifically, “What makes a product sound good to you and me!”  

We all have different listening preferences and hear audio differently. I do realize that this is not a new perspective, but maybe in TSR we can share ideas and thoughts on how we would address the subjectivity of audio quality for the consumer multimedia devices we all own. As a consumer, we are constantly challenged to find products that really deliver an audio experience that sounds real and life-like – what I usually refer as the “sizzle” factor. The reality is that audio quality is impacted by small speakers, ultra-thin industrial designs, the ever decreasing speaker sizes and audio cavities, data compression to the “Nth level”, etc.  There is no doubt that “thin is in”, when it comes to consumer multi-media devices. But, “thin and in” may also mean that “audio quality is out!” Agree??

Well for my first question from inside TSR:
“At what point does audio quality impact our decision, as a consumer, to buy a multimedia device?”

Looking forward to hearing from you soon…yes another audio pun!!!

Thanks for listening…sorry a third pun not intended!! 

Regards, Michael