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Alesis Pro Linear 820 DSP Powered Audio Monitors

These arrived Friday last week. They were known to be refurbished as they were discontinued last year some time. Even so, they were shipped poorly packaged and one arrived significantly damaged so I’m going to try and get it replaced.

And don’t get me started about UPS. At least in Houston they suck.

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Bluetooth Headsets And The People Who Wear Them Continuously

This post has been swirling around in my head for many months. This morning my wife and I decided to have breakfast at a nearby French cafe. In the cafe there were all manner of people. Large people*, small people, rich people, not-so-rich-people**, singles and couples. It was a typical River Oaks Houston crowd.

And then there was one guy wearing a Bluetooth headset. Huh?! It’s 9:30am on a Sunday morning and you’re at breakfast with your wife/girlfriend/mistress. What’s with the Lt. Uhura fashion sense?

I mean, how terribly important a person he must be to be that much in demand. To need such immediate access to his cell phone. Sunday. Over breakfast.

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Houston Will Get Limited Muni Wifi Despite Earthlink

When last year it was announced that Houston was to get municipal wifi network I had to applaude Mayor Bill White for his vision and drive. There are vast number of people in this city for whom the internet is not readily accessible.

Houston is a huge city with a more pronounced digital divide than many other places. It’s the kind of place where opportunity presented to low income neighborhoods can make a big difference in the lives of people.

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The Path To Whole House Audio: Part 3 – The Logic Behind Powered Monitors

Speakers + Amps = Powered Monitors

Powered monitors make sense for a lot of reasons. Except for very small models they are generally bi-amped, with an active line level crossover filter dividing the high & low frequencies before the amplifier stage. Then a separate amplifier is provided for each driver. In the case of Behringer’s B2031A, there is 150 watts for the woofer and 75 watts for the tweeter.

This approach allows the designer to tailor each amplifier design to suit the specific driver in question. Amplifier/driver interaction is one of the more complicated things in audio reproduction and optimization here can bring big performance improvements. With the amps right in the cabinets there’s effectively no speaker leads to further complicate the amp/driver relationship.

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