Headphones for Jogging

It's summer and it time to get out and run, jog or walk your way to at least somewhat better health. Time to leave your $1,000 home theater system behind and get outside.

This does not mean leaving quality sound behind. It's time to break out the Tiny Speakers! Headphones.

Jogging with headphones

To be effective headphones for jogging need to fit snug in your ear canal. Some people can't stand having anything in their ears. For those folks there are earphones you could wear that would deliver reasonable sound, but to get really good bass they've got to be in your ears.

In ear monitors

Think of headphones as in-ear monitors. Your speakers on the go. If you do then spending $100-$200 is a relative bargain compared to what your home speakers likely cost.

Cheap in-ear headphones

There are a lot of cheap in-ear headphones out there and trust me, most of them are just that, cheap. When I sold headphones online I listened to dozens of headphones to try and find a decent pair I could sell for under $100 and it was very difficult.  in most cases they are not worth it.

Here are a few we thing break the mold and actually sound pretty good.
Denon AH-C560R Premium Mobile Elite In-Ear Headphones with 3-Button Remote and Microphone (Black)
Denon AH-C260R Mobile Elite In-Ear Headphones with 3-Button Remote and Microphone (Black)
Sennheiser CX300B MK II Bass Earbuds with Carrying Case (Black)
Woodees IESW100B Inner-ear Stereo Earphone with Microphone
Woodees IESW100V Vintage Noise Isolating Earphones with 3 Button Microphone (Sunburst)
Woodees IESW100L BLUES Noise Isolating Earphones with 3 Button Microphone (Black)

Surround Sound Receiver for under $250

You can't really do much surround sounding without a good surround receiver. Sony makes some pretty decent ones, as does Denon, Marantz and Pioneer. The sweet spot for most consumers is the $500-$600 price point. So when we saw this Sony on sale at Buy.com for half off we had to post it. Get a Sony STR-DN1010 7.1-Channel 3D Ready Home Theater Receiver Normally $499, for $249 at Buy.com, Valid through 07-05-2011

• 7.1-channel A/V receiver with 110 watts per channel
• 3D HDMI pass-through
• 7 HD video inputs (4 HDMI, 3 component)
• Upconvert/Upscale from analog to 1080p via HDMI
• On-screen graphical user interface for ease of use

 Sony interfaces are usually better than the competition, which may make this an excellent buy for somone who does not want to futz around a lot.

Match up with the following Speakers for a complete home theater experience
Polk Audio RM6750 5.1 Channel Home Theater Speaker System (Set of Six, Black)  $214
Klipsch HD 300 Compact 5.1 High Definition Theater system (Set of Six, Black) $272
JBL 5.1 Channel SCS145.5 Surround Cinema Speaker System $276

New Table Saw = New Speakers?

It's summer. The weather is hot and the home wood shops are open! Are you the woodworking type? Want new speakers but don't want to purchase commercially available ones? Well maybe you want to build your own speakers.

With the number of kits and parts available you can easily build your own speakers, and they will sound great. You can either build them from scratch by choosing your own wood, (we'd recommend MDF over wood) or buying pre-built cabinets and adding your own custom speaker selection.

Either way you can get some great satisfaction from building your own speakers. Here are some of the advantages.

• Choice of finish - While many prefer black speakers, sometimes the significant other does not. There may even be a mandate to have them match the rest of the furniture. No problem is you do it yourself.
• Choice of drivers - Choose the tweeters that match your sound preference rather than what the manufacturer wants to sell you. Speakers are very subjective on what sounds good and what does not.
• Choice of cabinet size & Style - By building your own you get to choose the style and size, along with the finish and drivers. Win, win, win.

If you go the pre-built cabinet route (rather than routing the speaker holes yourself!), then configuring your own custom speakers can be accomplished with nothing more than a screwdriver. If you want a custom finish, finishing small square boxes is much easier than a piece of furniture.


For a great selection of cabinets and speakers, try PartsExpress. Get $5 off on purchases of $50 or more at Parts-Express.com Use coupon code Save52010

How MDF Speakers are Made

MDF, or medium density fiberboard is used in most mid-level speakers and in many high end ones as well. Speaker companies use it because it is easy to work with, inexpensive and is extremely rigid. The rigidity and density is important so that the speaker cabinet does not color the sound as it bounces around inside the cabinet.

Do MDF speakers look worse than real wood?
In short, no. A high quality speaker company will make them look very nice. Since MDF is made from wood fibers glued under heat and pressure, it offers a extremely dense material that is, unlike wood, dimensionally stable. This gives you a very uniform material to make speaker cabinets from. Unfortunately in its native state, MDF is pretty ugly. To address this, manufacturers attach either a wood veneer (real wood) or vinyl woodgrain (not real wood : ^) outer covering on the MDF before making the speaker cabinet.

How are they Made?

1. Vinyl woodgrain or wood veneer are glued to the MDF. This is a permanent process, but of course the quality and thickness of the vinyl or veneer come into play. The thicker the veneer or vinyl, the more sturdy it will be over time.
2. A Groove Cutter cuts a V groove into the MDF right down to the vinyl or veneer.
3. The MDF is then "folded' to create the cabinet.

In better speakers a brace is usually added for extra support and to add rigidity.

Good as Wood or Better
Overall MDF speakers look and sound every bit as good as a speaker cabinet made of wood alone, probably better. In most cases they will look better, no knots or other imperfections, and sound better due to higher density and conformity of the material.

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Yahama Receiver with Built in Subwoofer

Ok, this has to go down as one of the strangest ideas I've ever seen. This is Yamaha's answer to a really low space receiver/soundbar system.

The Yamaha YHT-S400BL has a subwoofer built into the receiver, and a very skinny soundbar.

Hight Ratings

Here's the weird thing. This unit gets 4 stars from Amazon buyers. I understand the convenience of not having to have a separate subwoofer on the floor somewhere, really I can. But the design has some real flaws when you stop and think about it.

• The electronic components will be subjected to constant shaking from the sub
• The receiver will likely be in a cabinet, which will also be shaken by the subwofer
• If there is a TV sitting on the cabinet then it too will be shaken by the subwoofer

None of these things should be shaking, especially the electronic components in the receiver. There is a good reason companies like Onkyo, Denon and Marantz spend so much effort on chassis and feet design on their receivers so they DON'T shake.

If you must have a system that takes up a little space, consider one of these. They do not include the receiver so no shaken electronics but they will still move the cabinet they are in.

• Panasonic SC-HTB10 120W 2.1-Channel Slim Sound Bar System with 3D Pass Through (Black)
• ZVOX 550HSD Low-Profile Single-Cabinet Surround Sound System with Optical and Coaxial Digital Inputs

Speaker Height Placement

The height your speakers are at makes a difference in how they will sound. Makes sense right? In general speakers should be placed so the tweeter is pretty much at ear level of the listener. This is because many tweeters don't have a very good dispersion range. This means as you go off-axis on them you start to lose some volume and possibly tone. While it may be difficult to get all listeners directly in front of the speakers it is much easier to get them at ear level.



Things To Consider When Choosing a Speakers Height

• Floorstanding speakers usually have tweeters at the correct height
• Bookshelf speakers are best on an open shelf or on a speaker stand
• In general speakers should be placed with the woofer at the bottom
• If you need to put speakers on their side, position them so the tweeters mirror each other
• Do not mount rear ported speakers against a wall, it will diminish the bass output

Height Placement of Surround Sound Speakers

Surround sound speakers should follow the same rules as the main front speakers. This is usually not ideal however. Since surround speakers can be much smaller, many people opt to mount them on the wall, in the corner between the wall and ceiling, or just purchase in-ceiling speakers for the task. Surround sound speakers can also be placed on a stand. As long as the surround sound speakers are pointed toward the listening seats they will sound fine.

Speaker Safety

• Speakers mounted on a wall should be securely fastened to avoid injury if one falls
• If possible anchor speaker stands to a wall if small children are in the house

Shop Amazon.com for speaker stand sales and reviews