When I first got involved with stereo, some of my main concerns were: Does my receiver need a loudness switch? What are the optimal mid-range crossover frequencies? What is the tracking weight of my tonearm? Should I buy a conical or elliptical stylus? Will my paper route pay for all this? Now, my biggest question is, what is my stereo’s gender?
My first piece of decent audio gear was a hand-built (by me) Heathkit AA-21D amplifier. Solid-state! Twenty-eight transistors! I had a lot of questions about my first amplifier, but it wouldn’t have entered my mind to ask about its gender. It wasn’t sentient in any way. It wasn’t going to have progeny. It was completely dumb. It was only an amplifier.
Today’s smart speakers are smart to the point of seeming almost human. And as they assume human qualities, they naturally have assumed a voice. And that voice assigns a gender to the speaker. Early smart speakers used a female voice. At least according to one study at Indiana University in 2017, both men and women preferred a female voice, finding it welcoming, warm, and nurturing. The United Nations begs to differ.
Denne historien er fra August - September 2021-utgaven av Sound & Vision.
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Denne historien er fra August - September 2021-utgaven av Sound & Vision.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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The Big Clean
Chances are you probably do not think about the state of your electronic devices too often. Oh, you might think about all the upgrades you would like to make; where you would put those new tower speakers, or how a second or third subwoofer would really tame those bass modes in your room, or how much more cinematic a larger screen would be. Sure, you think about that part of your system. But how often do you think about the well-being of your system?
Planar-Magnetic Attraction
THE DIPTYQUE DP 115 speakers are a new model 2-way, ribbon, and planar magnetic driver dipole \"isodynamic\" speaker system designed and built in France.
Full-Featured 4K
THE QN95D is one of two televisions we went hands-on with on a recent trip to Samsung's New Jersey QA Lab, the other being the S95D quantum-dot OLED.
Party Animal
FOR ANY party, the Soundcore Boom 2 Plus Outdoor Bass Bluetooth Speaker is an essential invite.
It's the End of the World. How About Popcorn and a Movie?
Attention all preppers! Today's column is right up your alley-or, more precisely-your tunnel to your underground bunker.
Bridging the Analog-Digital Gap on a Recliner
When I shopped for a motorized recliner, I rejected models with their own Internet Protocol address and built-in speakers. No need. I had already placed a smart speaker on an étagère beside the space where I had planned to put the chair. I'd have a smartphone in my hand and the room would be bathed in Wi-Fi.
BACK TO THE GARDEN
AN AQUARIAN EXPOSITION in WHITE LAKE, N.Y.
Big Sound, Small Price
DOLBY ATMOS, once a costly premium, is enjoying a surge of popularity across a range of new audio gear.
Classic Sound with Streaming Smarts
THE TWENTIETH century had its Roaring Twenties; welcome to the twenty-first's Streaming Twenties.
Stand and Deliver
IT DOESN'T seem all that long ago that SVS first entered the audio scene.
