Gramophone’s Favorite Things

Cute Sound? B&W PV1 Subwoofer

I don’t often pair the words “cute” with “great sound”, but even I have to admit that Bowers & Wilkins mastered both in the PV1 subwoofer. The PV1 takes all the old principles of a subwoofer and turns them on their head, beginning with the adage that a subwoofer should be a boring box. The PV1 is round, like a small silver bowling ball. And it owes both its unique shape and its performance to advanced engineering. The “PV” stands for “pressure vessel.” B&W claims this unique spherical design creates a near perfect environment to maximize internal volume. The result is a subwoofer that’s also a conversation piece. It might just be the perfect addition to any contemporary room.

Enjoy,
Brian

Quality Travel Companion: Tivoli Songbook

Now you can access music and news when you travel without sacrificing audio quality thanks to the Tivoli Audio Songbook. A sensitive digital tuner delivers FM and AM programming in high fidelity sound, in a suit-case friendly size. A rubberized coating protects it for traveling and of course it has all the built-in extras you need for travel: alarm clock, headphone output, sleep timer and built-in battery charger. Now you’ve got no excuse to go without one.

Enjoy,
Brian

Go Bananas for Your Next Photoshoot: Gorillapod Tripod

I take my digital camera everywhere. And I’m no professional photographer, but I appreciate getting a good shot. Now it’s a lot easier thanks to Gorillapod. This cool little portable tripod attaches to most any camera and lets you stage a shot virtually anywhere. Its fun, flexible legs let you dangle it from a tree, balance it on rocks, or perch it on a precarious ledge. The Gorillapod’s feet rotate 360-degrees and have rubberized tips to grip onto any surface. And it’s so small, it’s easy to stash in a suitcase or bag.

Even if you’re just an amateur snapping pics for fun, a Gorillapod will open up a whole new world of possibilities.

Enjoy,
Brian

A Scrapbook for the Digital Age?

Sony HESV1000 Home Entertainment Server

When I first heard about the Sony Home Entertainment Server, I was non-plussed. Sure, I like the way it stores up to 200 DVDs including the new Blu-Ray high def discs so you can access your movie library through one location. And, it’s great that it can store up to 2,000 albums. But we’ve seen this kind of thing before. The Kaleidescape system (featured HERE on the blog) does almost all of this even better so long as you’re willing to pay the price. But here’s what got me to say “Wow!” about the HES-V1000: besides being a very conveninet way to manage movies and music, it’s the coolest management tool for digital photos I’ve seen to date. Margey (my wife) has this on her Christmas list and she says she hates technology.

You can load up to 20,000 digital photos on this server, then create custom slideshows using supplied graphics and backgrounds, all synced with music from your own digital collection. Then you can display your slideshows directly on your compatible TV. It’s really nifty, and it gives me a place to stash all the photos from the digital cameras my entire family takes everywhere.

Your kids will have hours of fun creating digital scrapbooks of themselves and their friends complete with their own soundtracks. And it’s great for us to create custom shows for family and friends. And here’s the ultimate: at the touch of a button, you can burn any of your slideshows right to a disc to present to your guests and friends. Finally, Sony’s created an end to the digital photo black hole.

Enjoy,
Brian