MP3 Players, MP4 Players, iPods & accessories

Most iPods/MP3/MP4 players sound pretty good when listened with a pair of earphones especially when you are using a premium-grade pair. However they do not sound as good when connected to PC speakers via the analog 3.5mm connectors especially when you up the volume. Some would even 'crack' when playing music with strong bass sounds if the volume is set too high. Unless you are playing via a dock that reads digital data directly from the hard-drive or flash-drive or using a pair of good speakers, you are likely to have to settle for mediocre music outputs. A good pair of speakers is recommended for quality music to be enjoyed at home from MP3/MP4 players (without having to use the earphones). You should look for two important indicators when shopping for the pair of speakers: the total RMS power output and the Signal-Noise-Radio (SNR). Total RMS output should not be less than 6 watts per side or 12 watts total for 2 sides and SNR should be at least 80dB. You normally would hear hisses or music that are somewhat noisy when you play from speakers with no listed SNR or low SNR. Speakers between 20 watts to 30 watts would be loud enough for a bedroom. Speakers that excel for all three ranges (high-pitch, mid-range and low-range (Bass)) are normally cost at least US$90 but are worth getting as they deliver quality outputs and make listening to MP3/MP4 players a real pleasure. They could also double as speakers for DVD players and TVs. You probably would not settle for anything less once you hear the excellent audio output from a blockbuster movie; there is a quantum gap between a premium-grade and an ordinary pair....

Most MP3 players come equipted with a pair of stereo speakers. Some MP3 players also come with built-in speakers. Most people have their MP3 players packed with their favourite music as well as the latest hits. No doubt, the music sounds awesome when you listen using the pair of stereo earphones but you probably would enjoy more if you could listen to it together with your folks and friends or do not have to physically carry the player and earphones when you listen. A good pair of portable MP3 speakers could provide you with more enjoyments. Though some mp3 players come with built-in speakers, there is a big difference in sound quality and loudness between the music produced by a in-built mono speaker and dedicated pair of stereo MP3 portable speakers. The MP3 portable speakers in the market range from being able to produce 1 watts (0.5watts x 2) RMS output to 12 watts RMS outputs. They come in different shapes and sizes with the smaller ones being very compact and the larger ones being able to deliver louder musics. Some could aalso be folded for ease of transportation/carrying, some look aesthetically more appealing, while others also come with trays for containing the MP3 player. Most portable MP3 player speakers do not deliver above 3 watts per channel (max total 6 watts). If you need it to play good quality music that is adequately loud enough for 1 room, remember to get one that is could produce a minimum of 10 watts RMS output. Try to get one that also comes with an AC adaptor as it could really save you a lot from battery cost.

Your MP3 player normally contains the latest songs that you downloaded from the web or your favourite songs which you have spent time ripping from CDs and copying to your MP3 player. Isn't it nice to be able to listen to these songs from more powerful speakers conveniently like the way you listen to music from casette tapes and CD-Audios? Latest design Home Stereo Sets, Car Stereos and portable MP3 players now come with built-in SD and USB slots. Start compiling songs to SD cards and USB flash-drives (including hard-drive and flash-based MP3 players) and enjoy the best-quality music played directly from digitally stored media instead of converted* analog music everywhere whether you are in your car, at home or outdoor.

The iPod Dock Speaker System is a special speaker system designed to work with the Apple iPod. Besides being able to play out music from the iPod loud without the need for earphones, it is also able to charge its battery. Most of these iPod docks come in cool-looking designs and are much better looking than ordinary speaker systems. They are also very compact and user-friendly. Some also come with remote-control interface. The advantage of these docks is that they are more compact and could blend-in better into the environment providing the aesthetic looks as well. The dock also provides a convenient way of charging the iPods. When you just got back home and is dead-tired, you only have to leave it on the strategically-positioned dock (which is normally positioned at at least table-height level), and the next morning it would be totally charged. You would not have to take your charger from the drawer, connect it to your iPod, and bend down to plug it into the electrical socket, before you could charge the iPod or have to turn-on the computer to charge it. In short, it looks cooler and is more user-friendly and would provide you with a little more comfort than ordinary speaker-systems.

Besides the Apple iPod, some other manufacturers like SanDisk (for Sansa series) and Creative Technology (for Zen series) also have speaker docks for their own models of MP3 players.

DVD movies (or latest digital cable-box) these days are encoded with 4-channel audio tracks for theater-like sensations in the comfort and convenience of your own home. If you are still using 2-channel stereo systems, you are actually missing out a lot these years. Get yourself a surround-sound-system and start enjoying movies the way they are meant to be viewed. Believe me, there is a big difference... You would not want to watch movies at home without surround-sound once you find out the difference. It could be better than watching at the theaters especially if you have a big flat-screen TV.

A pair of speakers for your MP3/MP4 player gives you the ability to playback the songs already loaded into your player load without the need to use the pair of earphones at home. Most of the electronic items we purchase today come with more audio/video jacks than what most of us are utilizing. Some of these items to not come with the necessary adaptor cable or come with a shorter one than the one we really need. You may be missing out a lot if you are under utilizing these equipments. For example, if you hi-fi/stereo set comes with a auxilary 3.5mm audio line-in jack and your TV has a 3.5mm earphone output jack, you could actually hear better sounds from your TV sets by connecting using a stereo 3.5mm connecting cable. Likewise, your DVD player may only come with 2-RCA to 2-RCA (red/white) audio cables but your TV may only accept 1 RCA audio input, then you need a 2-RCA to 1-RCA cable in order to enjoy stereo sound. If you have to many audio/video equipments, it may be wise to invest in an audio/video switching box. If your cables are not long enough, get extra cables and/or connectors to extend them.

Your wired surround sound system may sound awesome but are the cables getting in the way? Or are you feeling that you could improve the acoustic effects if you position the rear speakers higher or place them at a more appropriate position instead of placing them on the book shelves? These are some of the problems that 5.1 speaker owners have. Solve these problems by either mounting the rear speakers on cellings/walls or mounting them on speaker stands. They definitely would improve the acoustic effects and most likely would make your place look neater. Even if the rear wires would get in the way in rooms in which the rear speakers cannot positioned ideally, you could alway place the speakers in less obstructive positions and only move them out (together with the speaker stands) when you need to watch a surround-sound-movie. Just an additional 10 seconds to set up and another 10 seconds to put them back....to fully enjoy a DVD movie....worth it, right?

Some users of audio/video systems would need to position their speakers in areas that are too far to be connected by wire. In such situations, wireless speakers would come in handy. Many users like to use wireless speakers as rear speakers of surround-sound-systems. Wireless speakers also allow audio players to be positioned in their fixed positions like the living room but heard in the kitchen.