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Audio Technica has announced the products that it weill be showing off at IFA in Berlin in September, with a raft of new headphones, earphones and mobile phone accessories.

Audio-Technica's new range include the flagship ATH-CKS90 earphones which take no notice of the exchange rate by being priced at €120 and also £120 (how is that fair?).

Aside from the unfair pricing, the ATH-CKS90 earphone does offer 13mm drivers for "superb clarity and a frequency response of 5-25 000 Hz,"

Headphones

There is also the ATH-CKS50 earphones with 12.5mm drivers and a high frequency reach to 24kHz as well as the entry-level headphones ATH-WS50

Last and not least is the ATH-WS70 with 40mm drivers, and priced at £129 (and €129 as well, grrr).

Next up is Audio Technica's retro headset the ATH-RE70 – finished in white with complementary dark tan leather and based on a design from 30 years ago.

There are also headsets and some lower end audio products along with a portable headphone amplifier for iPod and iPhone.

BBC 6Music is no longer set to be axed, the BBC revealed today, much to the delight of music fans across the UK who have been concerned about the future of the station since the BBC pegged it for possible closure back in February this year.

It is clearly fantastic news and the many listeners that supported the Save 6Music campaign will no doubt be overjoyed.

"The BBC Trust has rejected plans to close 6Music," said 6Music news this morning.

No case for closure

Responding the the initial the BBC strategy review, BBC Trust chairman Sir Michael Lyons said that that a case for a closure of 6 Music has not been made.

However, the BBC Trust has decided to close the Asian Network, teen service Blast!and to slash 25 per cent of the online budget.

In a statement, the Trust said: "The Executive should draw up an overarching strategy for digital radio. If the director general wanted to propose a different shape for the BBC's music radio stations as part of a new strategy, the trust would consider it.

"The trust would consider a formal proposal for the closure of the Asian Network, although this must include a proposition for meeting the needs of the station's audience in different ways."

Valuable to UK culture

David Bowie has said of the proposals to close down 6Music that it "keeps the spirit of broadcasters like John Peel alive and for new artists to lose this station would be a great shame."

BBC 6Music DJ Jarvis Cocker most recently said that the threat of the Sword of Damocles above the head of the employees was unfair. No doubt the Pulp frontman will also be happy to hear that his fellow DJs and producers and all the other employees of 6Music still have jobs, for the foreseeable future.

The BBC added that the BBC Trust had not been convinced by the case for the closure, adding that: "the station plays a very valuable role in the nations cultural life."

The number of BBC 6Music listeners has increased from around 600,000 to a million a week since the news first broke that the station may be up for the axe.

TechRadar has contacted a number of British digital radio manufacturers, including Pure Digital and Roberts Radio, as well as Digital Radio UK and other leading authorities in the digital radio industry for further comment.

Colin Crawford, PURE's director of marketing told TechRadar: "We are delighted that the passion of 6Music listeners has achieved a significant turn around and secured the rescue of such a unique digital radio service. The recent success of the digital radio amnesty also proves that more and more people are tuning into digital in the UK!"

A fully digital future

Jane Ostler, Communications Director of Digital Britain UK, the industry body charged with managing the future of digital radio in the UK, said of the BBC's decision:

"Digital Radio UK welcomes the BBC Trust's initial conclusions to the BBC Strategy Review, and strongly supports the BBC's ongoing work with Government, Digital Radio UK and the commercial radio industry on the development of a plan for digital radio.

"Digital Radio UK notes that the interim conclusions ask for a clear strategy for the BBC's investment in digital radio, and agrees that the BBC has a vital role in promoting digital radio, to ensure a fully digital future."

Tune in! DJs Jarvis, Ms. Laverne and co. are seriously rocking it.

A great day for British music. (Oh and if you are in the market for a digital radio, be sure to get a DAB+ compatible one, by the way!_

One realisation for those building a home recording studio: there are so many choices. It may seem easier to pay Noel Gallagher from Oasis to do the work.

The second most startling realisation is that you'll pay through the nose for some of the gear. One AKG microphone can cost a few thousand pounds, and audio mixing boards are horrendously expensive.

Fortunately, if you already have a high-powered PC (or know how to build one) with a dual-core processor and plenty of RAM, you already own a potential recording studio.

The inputs are there, plenty of software apps provide the necessary recording and mixing tools, and you can burn a CD or upload it to your favourite indie music store with ease.

Interestingly, music production is already PC-centric. Even the most high-end setups rely on apps such as Digi Design Pro Tools and Cubase. Creating audio loops, programming complex drum patterns, tweaking EQ settings in a final mixdown – these functions are all 'performed' behind an LCD.

The good news: you can easily patch together a fairly powerful music studio rig for hardly any cost, if you know which applications to use and have some technical know-how.

One example: Ardour for Linux and Mac OSX systems is free to download and use (although they ask for a small donation), but has high-end digital audio workstation features, such as VST plug-in support for adding instrument libraries and a non-linear audio editor for creating multi-track recordings.

Free audio tools are not crippled in any way; in fact, some of the best audio apps, such as Audacity and Fluid Synth are better than the commercial alternatives. So what are you waiting for? Noel Gallagher is a busy guy and that top-ten metalcore (or bagpipe-punk fusion) hit is just a mouse click away.

You can become an audio god in just a few simple steps: download these apps, setup your PC recording studio, break out that Fender Strat, belt out a few notes, and start dreaming of opening for Snow Patrol – or at least the pure enjoyment of working with powerful music applications, pumping out some mad tunes, and getting more bang out of your PC.

To become the next John Lennon clone, you'll need a powerful and fairly recent computer. Now, you might be surprised to learn the system doesn't need to be the absolute latest rig with an Intel Core i7 processor and 16GB of RAM.

You can use (or build) any dual-core system that boasts about 4GB of RAM. You won't want to use an older computer with a single-core operating system, because the latest apps do take advantage of dual-core processing and the hyperthreading techniques, and benefit greatly from the faster clock rates in the most recent processors.

Most PCs also have plenty of mass storage for multi-track recording. In fact, you may want to downgrade to an earlier operating system (say, Microsoft Vista or even XP) because many audio apps have not released Windows 7 drivers yet.

Now, most of the audio latency that occurs in recordings – eg., the slight delay between the sounds you are generating with an instrument and how the clip is recorded – has more to do with the external hardware you use.

Any recent PC sound card is more than adequate for working with loops and drum patterns, but to record, for instance, vocals and acoustic guitar, you'll need an audio interface such as the Cakewalk UA-1G which has -inch connections for guitar and microphone, as well as handy input and output volume controls.

The way of the DAW

Okay, you've built or borrowed a recent system with a sound card. You also have a way to record instruments with an audio interface. Now to record your next opus, you'll need digital audio workstation (DAW) software, which are essentially the heart and soul of the music studio. Any loops, drums, samples or tracks you create will be assembled in the workstation.

The best DAW we have found is called Reaper, because it's powerful enough to record and mix a real song, one that you'll be proud to share with the world. Reaper is free to download and test, but the company suggests donating just £30 if you use it regularly.

The interface is highly intuitive: to add a track, you just right-click on the main screen and select 'Insert New Track'. There are VCR controls for recording analogue instruments, such as guitar and vocals.

Because the program supports VST, if you do purchase a commercial product such as Native Instruments Guitar Rig 4 that tool will appear from within Reaper so you can use the wide array of effects.

Ardour, which is only available on Linux and Mac, is another powerful DAW we highly recommend. One of the greatest strengths of this recording tool is its stability. The app hasn't gone down once in testing under Ubuntu Studio and has some pro-level features, such as unlimited undo for track effects. This means, if you record a new guitar lick and start tweaking the sound, adding a delay or distortion, you can undo all the changes back to the original track.

Ardour also lets you create unlimited audio tracks, although you'll find the program will slow down considerably if you add more than about 16 tracks.

Note by note

Rosegarden is a stark departure from both Reaper and Ardour. Instead of recording analogue tracks to create a full band sound (think: The Killers), this free application for Linux lets you create songs note by note.

In the editing window, you can click away to create notes where you want them. Then, you can build up the entire song, change keys and tempo, and view the notations. You can then print sheet music or even publish your song through a service such as BMI.

Audacity is another good recording tool for a home studio. Essentially, this venerable workhorse lets you edit the actual sound waveform (for example, for trimming out background noise), convert from one format to another (helpful if you find a loop in a different format from the one supported by your recording software), and even change the speed or pitch of the recording.

Fortunately, even though it sounds technical, Audacity provides a visual and easy-to-understand interface for editing audio clips.

One reason to use Audacity: if you have recorded the perfect drum section or guitar solo and then realised the clip has some extra hiss or audio artefacts, you can export the track as a WAV file from your recording software and then use Audacity to see those mistakes up close and remove them as needed.

A music studio isn't necessarily just for musicians who want to record instruments and put them together into a finished song. For those who have never learned an instrument, you can still create your own music, using loop libraries and beat samples you can download from the Internet, then assemble them into a complete song.

A PC audio workstation that uses free software is a good fit for the amateur composer or enthusiast, who may not want to spend huge amounts of money (or any at all) on their hobby but still wants to produce quality music.

A good place to start is at the Freesound Project offers hundreds of free loops and sound samples. You can download a huge selection under the Creative Commons licence, which means you can use any of its audio samples you want as long as you do not sell the finished song.

Freesound has a wide assortment of loops and samples, some of them strange (aliens chirping off in the distance) and even bewildering (one loop is nothing but an alarm repeating over and over), but the key here is that you can download a sample and then tweak it using Audacity or digital audio workstation software, such as Reaper.

For example, you may want to mess around with that odd alarm sound, but by lowering the pitch or changing it to a slow tempo, it can suddenly sound more like a bass part.

Beatmatch is another free collection of music, but one that's intended more for rappers and DJs, who are looking to add repeating drum loops and synth parts that work well for certain types of music, such as dance, house and techno music.

Beatmatch offers complete libraries, all of them that are free to use, so you can mix and match loops together, find several clips that are similar (eg., a loop that uses the same synth sound, but repeats at a different rate), and to inspire you to write new material.

Beatmatch also offers only high-quality AIFF and WAV samples, which is extremely helpful, since when you add these tones to your new song you won't have to put up with any distortion or hiss.

Philharmonia is another free loop compendium, but one that consists mainly of orchestral sound samples instead of the typical beat samples and drum loops. In Philharmonia, you can find, for example, a viola or woodwind sound that you can load into Rosegarden or Reaper and create a MIDI track.

Free-Loops.com and Sound Transit also offer a wide assortment of loops and samples for free, many of them without any licensing restrictions at all.

The desired effect

It's easy to download loops and samples, and import them into your digital audio workstation software, and create a final song you can upload to MySpace or some other online repository. For those who do not play an instrument, but want to do more than just mix 'n' match existing loops, you can use free audio software to actually create original audio tracks even if you do not play a single instrument.

FluidSynth, which is primarily a Linux tool and provides a powerful virtual synthesizer you can use to create original loops. For those proficient with source code and Linux, you can download the FluidSynth code and create your own application.

A shortcut, though, is to use one of the applications that already incorporates the FluidSynth code, such as Qsynth or Z-Maestro. These apps incorporate the virtual synth into the program so you can create fantastic sounds, such as a cascading bleep or a simple piano roll.

For those who want to skip all the hip-hop loops and beat-box emulators, Sonoma Wire Works T4 is a straight-up guitar-recording program that provides a wealth of guitar amp and virtual guitar pedals for creating distortions, delays and other axe-related effects.

The free software goes the extra step of showing you a virtual representation of the amp and pedal to help you get a visual clue as to how the effect will change your tone: for example, grungy and heavy or more like a light chorus.

This application also provides a simple DAW interface for adding guitar tracks and matching them with drum loops, and you can share your final songs with other Sonoma Wire Works users.

A drum machine can help you form the basis for a song as you layer other instruments and audio clips into a complete composition. One application for creating drums is called Hydrogen and it supports both Linux and Windows.

The main strength of this program is that it's easy to get to grips with so you can get a beat down quickly. Creating drum patterns can be a laborious process that doesn't seem that creative. With Hydrogen, you just click on a graph for each drum sound, click the 'Play' button, and you'll hear the drum pattern.

When you have programmed the drums the way you want, you can export the drum loop as a WAV or MIDI file. Want to go completely space-age and mimic the strangest indie bands around? (We're not sure if The Knife or Animal Collective use this tool, but they should).

Gnaural is a tone generator that works under Windows and Linux. It's quite unlike any other sound generator, in that you start with a basic droning audio clip and tweak the audio properties, repeat patterns, pitch and tempo.

It's a way to create a highly unique sound all your own, without relying on an original loop and trying to tweak the audio.

Putting it all together

Once you have the core components in place – the PC itself, the audio interface, DAW, loop libraries and sound generators – it's time to think a bit more globally.

For a home studio, you should think about where to do the recordings. Pick a quiet place in your home where you can lock the door and tune out the world. Also, you'll need enough space for all of the cables, microphones, instruments, keyboards, and extra gear for recording.

Another consideration is that you will need access to extra disk space – such as a network attached storage drive or a portable hard disk drive – because each track in the recording process can consume disk space quickly, and you will likely want to create versions of your songs, make backups, and re-use audio clips from other songs.

You'll need space for all your loop libraries and drum loops as well. And, for the most part, you will want to keep your main system clean of any extra data that could possibly slow down your hard drive You can also expand your current hardware once you have a basic DAW in place.

For example, Roland makes the V-Drums TD-4SX set that connects straight up to your PC and allows you to record real drums. This can dramatically improve the quality of a recording, because the drum sounds take on a more analogue, live-performance feel as opposed to the more programmed drum approach most people will recognise.

Upgrading to a condenser microphone, such as those made by Audio Technica or Neumann, can also significantly improve the overall quality of your computer recordings. In the end, recording is an excellent waste of time – even if you can't tell a tuning knob from a guitar pick.

With a wide array of free recording software, loop libraries that are just a few clicks away and extra tools for creating your own loops, anyone can become an audio deity.

iPod docks are ten-a-penny at the moment, so something special has to come along if it wants to stand out from the crowd.

One company who is trying its best to be different is UK-based Orbitsound.

Created by sound engineer Ted Fletcher – who has worked with Jethro Tull and the Eagles – Orbitsound's products are based around a simple premise: 'believe your ears'.

In short, the company is looking to redefine the systems music is played on and believes it has done so with the Orbitsound T12 and T4.

Fletcher and his cohorts have taken the idea of the company's first release – the wear-round-your-neck T3 – and utilised its airSOUND technology to be used in a home environment.

While it already released a version of the T12 soundbar back in 2008, the new edition of the T12 is all ready for the digital age, with digital inputs added (something that was sorely missing on the original release).

DIGITAL ORB: The new and improved T12

Orbitsound's technology means that it can create stereo sound from just one speaker. None of this 'left and right' business, airSOUND produces natural spatial stereo from one sound source which means that, unlike stereo, the sweet spot of the speaker follows you around the room.

While this concept sounds new, the roots of the technology have been around for 80 years.

"When I first came up with the idea for the airSOUND, I couldn't believe that the technology wasn't around," said Fletcher.

"So I scoured the web and found out somebody had done something similar before – but way back in 1930. He was called Alan Blumlein and he worked for HMV at the time."

Blumlein was one of the pioneers of creating stereo and Fletcher is hoping that his airSOUND technology can revolutionise the audio industry as much as Blumlein's work did.

"The world of 3D TVs means that imaging technology has come a long way but audio has been left behind," notes Fletcher.

"Orbitsound's airSOUND technology is different and it is this difference that has made the company a talking point."

iPOD RADIO: The new T4 from Orbitsound

Originally launching at CES 2008, it wasn't until 2009 when Orbitsound managed to get itself into the CES Unveiled section of the show that the media really started to pay attention to the company.

Two launches later and a distribution deal with John Lewis, and Orbitsound managed to sell out of its initial stock of the T12.

The company's two new launches this month are the T4 Radiopod – an iPod dock and DAB radio in one – and the T12 Soundbar (mark II).

Both these utilise the technology first found in the T3, with Fletcher noting: "Porting the airSOUND technology to new products is easy. It's made in such away that you just need to make the components bigger – so you can use it for MP3 players or large arena loudspeakers."

SPEAK ONCE: One speaker creates stereo sound

Harvinder Hungin, executive chairmen of Orbitsound, is in no doubt that the technology used in the company's products is revolutionary.

"We're creating a really big problem for manufacturers like Samsung and Sony as we have proprietary technology that is game-changing.

"Although stereo has been the dominant audio force for the last 50 years, we really think that our technology is a rival, something that can be bigger. If anything, the ideal would be that stereo is used for the higher-end kits and our technology is used in the mainstream."

When asked why the airSOUND concept hasn't yet found its way into the big manufacturers' products, Hungin explained: "Manufacturers are interested in the technology, but we are also creating our own products. Companies like Sony didn't hit their stride until they created game-changers – it was the Walkman for them and the iPod for Apple.

"We have technology that is a differentiator and we have had a phenomenal response."

GAME-CHANGER: It all started with the T3

Orbitsound is hoping its new products will hit the consumer sweet-spot. But given that it is entering the iPod accessory market, which is one of the busiest around, it's not going to be easy.

Hungin doesn't seem too perturbed, though, explaining: "It's like a distributor once said to me about technology today: 'we have plenty of candy for the eyes, but not the ears'. This is what Orbitsound is bringing."

The Orbitsound T12 and T4 have a UK release date of June and are priced at £299 and £179 respectively. For more details, go to www.orbitsound.com.

Professor Fritz Sennheiser, the founder of one of the most famous names in audio, has died at the age of 98.

Sennheiser, who founded the company that bore his name in the summer of 1945, passed away in the evening of 17 May.

Prof Dr Sennheiser, to give him his correct title, had a huge influence in the development of sound transmission, with his company's offerings considered among the best in the world.

He retired from am active management role in Sennheiser in 1982 to hand over to his son Jorg.

Humble beginnings

But it was Sennheiser's insistence that innovation was the key to success that represents him best.

"Our engineers have always been given a lot of freedom. They are allowed to give free rein to their creative ideas, no matter how crazy they might seem," he once said.

"Often, it is these very ideas that result in the best developments and the best products. Any reservations expressed by financial managers who first of all had an eye on profit were thus reliably dispersed.

"After all, a company doesn't only sell products but primarily sells ideas."

With this kind of thinking, Sennheiser leaves a lasting legacy of innovation and excellence.

There's a problem with the state of Linux audio, and it's not that it doesn't always work. The issue is that it's overcomplicated.

This soon becomes evident if you sit down with a piece of paper and try to draw the relationships between the technologies involved with taking audio from a music file to your speakers: the diagram soon turns into a plate of knotted spaghetti.

This is a failure because there's nothing intrinsically more complicated about audio than any other technology. It enters your Linux box at one point and leaves at another. If we were drawing the OSI model used to describe the networking framework that connects your machine to every other machine on the network, we'd find clear strata, each with its own domain of processes and functionality.

There's very little overlap in layers, and you certainly don't find end-user processes in layer seven messing with the electrical impulses of the raw bitstreams in layer one.

Yet this is exactly what can happen with the Linux audio framework. There isn't even a clearly defined bottom level, with several audio technologies messing around with the kernel and your hardware independently.

Linux's audio architecture is more like the layers of the Earth's crust than the network model, with lower levels occasionally erupting on to the surface, causing confusion and distress, and upper layers moving to displace the underlying technology that was originally hidden.

The Open Sound Protocol, for example, used to be found at the kernel level talking to your hardware directly, but it's now a compatibility layer that sits on top of ALSA. ALSA itself has a kernel level stack and a higher API for programmers to use, mixing drivers and hardware properties with the ability to play back surround sound or an MP3 codec.

When most distributions stick PulseAudio and GStreamer on top, you end up with a melting pot of instability with as much potential for destruction as the San Andreas fault.

ALSA
Inputs: PulseAudio, Jack, GStreamer, Xine, SDL, ESD
Outputs: Hardware, OSS

As Maria von Trapp said, "Let's start at the very beginning." When it comes to modern Linux audio, the beginning is the Advanced Linux Sound Architecture, or ALSA.

This connects to the Linux kernel and provides audio functionality to the rest of the system. But it's also far more ambitious than a normal kernel driver; it can mix, provide compatibility with other layers, create an API for programmers and work at such a low and stable latency that it can compete with the ASIO and CoreAudio equivalents on the Windows and OS X platforms.

ALSA was designed to replace OSS. However, OSS isn't really dead, thanks to a compatibility layer in ALSA designed to enable older, OSS-only applications to run. It's easiest to think of ALSA as the device driver layer of the Linux sound system.

Your audio hardware needs a corresponding kernel module, prefixed with snd_, and this needs to be loaded and running for anything to happen. This is why you need an ALSA kernel driver for any sound to be heard on your system, and why your laptop was mute for so long before someone thought of creating a driver for it.

Fortunately, most distros will configure your devices and modules automatically. ALSA is responsible for translating your audio hardware's capabilities into a software API that the rest of your system uses to manipulate sound. It was designed to tackle many of the shortcomings of OSS (and most other sound drivers at the time), the most notable of which was that only one application could access the hardware at a time.

This is why a software component in ALSA needs to manages audio requests and understand your hardware's capabilities. If you want to play a game while listening to music from Amarok, for example, ALSA needs to be able to take both of these audio streams and mix them together in software, or use a hardware mixer on your soundcard to the same effect.

ALSA can also manage up to eight audio devices and sometimes access the MIDI functionality on hardware, although this depends on the specifications of your hardware's audio driver and is becoming less important as computers get more powerful.

Where ALSA does differ from the typical kernel module/device driver is in the way it's partly user-configurable. This is where the complexity in Linux audio starts to appear, because you can alter almost anything about your ALSA configuration by creating your own config file – from how streams of audio are mixed together and which outputs they leave your system from, to the sample rate, bit-depth and real-time effects.

ALSA's relative transparency, efficiency and flexibility have helped to make it the standard for Linux audio, and the layer that almost every other audio framework has to go through in order to communicate with the audio hardware.

PulseAudio
Inputs: GStreamer, Xine, ALSA
Outputs: ALSA, Jack, ESD, OSS

If you're thinking that things are going to get easier with ALSA safely behind us, you're sadly mistaken. ALSA covers most of the nuts and bolts of getting audio into and out of your machine, but you must navigate another layer of complexity.

This is the domain of PulseAudio – an attempt to bridge the gap between hardware and software capabilities, local and remote machines, and the contents of audio streams. It does for networked audio what ALSA does for multiple soundcards, and has become something of a standard across many Linux distros because of its flexibility.

As with ALSA, this flexibility brings complexity, but the problem is compounded by PulseAudio because it's more user-facing. This means normal users are more likely to get tangled in its web. Most distros keep its configuration at arm's length; with the latest release of Ubuntu, for example, you might not even notice that PulseAudio is installed.

If you click on the mixer applet to adjust your soundcard's audio level, you get the ALSA panel, but what you're really seeing is ALSA going to PulseAudio, then back to ALSA – a virtual device.

At first glance, PulseAudio doesn't appear to add anything new to Linux audio, which is why it faces so much hostility. It doesn't simplify what we have already or make audio more robust, but it does add several important features. It's also the catch-all layer for Linux audio applications, regardless of their individual capabilities or the specification of your hardware.

If all applications used PulseAudio, things would be simple. Developers wouldn't need to worry about the complexities of other systems, because PulseAudio brings cross-platform compatibility. But this is one of the main reasons why there are so many other audio solutions.

Unlike ALSA, PulseAudio can run on multiple operating systems, including other POSIX platforms and Microsoft Windows. This means that if you build an application to use PulseAudio rather than ALSA, porting that application to a different platform should be easy.

But there's a symbiotic relationship between ALSA and PulseAudio because, on Linux systems, the latter needs the former to survive. PulseAudio configures itself as a virtual device connected to ALSA, like any other piece of hardware. This makes PulseAudio more like Jack, because it sits between ALSA and the desktop, piping data back and forth transparently.

It also has its own terminology. Sinks, for instance, are the final destination. These could be another machine on the network or the audio outputs on your soundcard courtesy of the virtual ALSA. The parts of PulseAudio that fill these sinks are called 'sources' – typically audio-generating applications on your system, audio inputs from your soundcard, or a network audio stream being sent from another PulseAudio machine.

Unlike Jack, applications aren't directly responsible for adding and removing sources, and you get a finer degree of control over each stream. Using the PulseAudio mixer, for example, you can adjust the relative volume of every application passing through PulseAudio, regardless of whether that application features its own slider or not. This is a great way of curtailing noisy websites.

GStreamer
Inputs: Phonon
Outputs: ALSA, PulseAudio, Jack, ESD

With GStreamer, Linux audio starts to look even more confusing. This is because, like PulseAudio, GStreamer doesn't seem to add anything new to the mix. It's another multimedia framework and gained a reasonable following of developers in the years before PulseAudio, especially on the Gnome desktop.

It's one of the few ways to install and use proprietary codecs easily on the Linux desktop. It's also the audio framework of choice for GTK developers, and you can even find a version handling audio on the Palm Pre.

GStreamer slots into the audio layers above PulseAudio (which it uses for sound output on most distributions), but below the application level. GStreamer is unique because it's not designed solely for audio – it supports several formats of streaming media, including video, through the use of plugins.

MP3 playback, for example, is normally added to your system through an additional codec download that attaches itself as a GStreamer plugin. The commercial Fluendo MP3 decoder, one of the only officially licenced codecs available for Linux, is supplied as a GStreamer plugin, as are its other proprietary codecs, including MPEG-2, H.264 and MPEG.

Jack
Inputs: PulseAudio, GStreamer, ALSA,
Outputs: OSS, FFADO, ALSA

Despite the advantages of open configurations such as PulseAudio, they all pipe audio between applications with the assumption that it will proceed directly to the outputs. Jack is the middle layer – the audio equivalent of remote procedure calls in programming, enabling audio applications to be built from a variety of components.

The best example is a virtual recording studio, where one application is responsible for grabbing the audio data and another for processing the audio with effects, before finally sending the resulting stream through a mastering processor to be readied for release. A real recording studio might use a web of cables, sometimes known as jacks, to build these connections. Jack does the same in software.

Jack is an acronym for 'Jack Audio Connection Kit'. It's built to be low-latency, which means there's no undue processing performed on the audio that might impede its progress. But for Jack to be useful, an audio application has to be specifically designed to handle Jack connections. As a result, it's not a simple replacement for the likes of ALSA and PulseAudio, and needs to be run on top of another system that will generate the sound and provide the physical inputs.

With most Jack-compatible applications, you're free to route the audio and inputs in whichever way you please. You could take the output from VLC, for example, and pipe it directly into Audacity to record the stream as it plays back. Or you could send it through JackRack, an application that enables you to build a tower of real-time effects, including pinging delays, cavernous reverb and voluptuous vocoding.

This versatility is fantastic for digital audio workstations. Ardour uses Jack for internal and external connections, for instance, and the Jamin mastering processor can only be used as part of a chain of Jack processes. It's the equivalent of having full control over how your studio is wired. Its implementation has been so successful on the Linux desktop that you can find Jack being put to similar use on OS X.

FFADO
Inputs: Jack
Outputs: Audio hardware

In the world of professional and semi-professional audio, many audio interfaces connect to their host machine using a FireWire port.

This approach has many advantages. FireWire is fast and devices can be bus powered. Many laptop and desktop machines have FireWire ports without any further modification, and the standard is stable and mostly mature. You can also take FireWire devices on the road for remote recording with a laptop and plug them back into your desktop machine when you get back to the studio.

But unlike USB, where there's a standard for handling audio without additional drivers, FireWire audio interfaces need their own drivers. The complexities of the FireWire protocol mean these can't easily create an ALSA interface, so they need their own layer.

Originally, this work fell to a project called FreeBOB. This took advantage of the fact that many FireWire audio devices were based on the same hardware. FFADO is the successor to FreeBOB, and opens the driver platform to many other types of FireWire audio interface.

Version 2 was released at the end of 2009, and includes support for many units from the likes of Alesis, Apogee, ART, CME, Echo, Edirol, Focusrite, M-Audio, Mackie, Phonic and Terratec. Which devices do and don't work is rather random, so you need to check before investing in one, but many of these manufacturers have helped driver development by providing devices for the developers to use and test.

Another neat feature in FFADO is that some the DSP mixing features of the hardware have been integrated into the driver, complete with a graphical mixer for controlling the balance of the various inputs and outputs. This is different to the ALSA mixer, because it means audio streams can be controlled on the hardware with zero latency, which is exactly what you need if you're recording a live performance.

Unlike other audio layers, FFADO will only shuffle audio between Jack and your audio hardware. There's no back door to PulseAudio or GStreamer, unless you run those against Jack. This means you can't use FFADO as a general audio layer for music playback or movies unless you're prepared to mess around with installation and Jack. But it also means that the driver isn't overwhelmed by support for various different protocols, especially because most serious audio applications include Jack support by default. This makes it one of the best choices for a studio environment.

Xine
Inputs: Phonon
Outputs: PulseAudio, ALSA, ESD

We're starting to get into the niche geology of Linux audio. Xine is a little like the chalk downs; it's what's left after many other audio layers have been washed away. Most users will recognise the name from the very capable DVD movie and media player that most distributions still bundle, despite its age, and this is the key to Xine's longevity.

When Xine was created, the developers split it into a backend library to handle the media, and a front-end application for user interaction. It's the library that's persisted, thanks to its ability to play numerous containers, including AVI, Matroska and Ogg, and dozens of the formats they contain, such as AAC, Flac, MP3, Vorbis and WMA.

It does this by harnessing the powers of many other libraries. As a result, Xine can act as a catch-all framework for developers who want to offer the best range of file compatibility without worrying about the legality of proprietary codecs and patents.

Xine can talk to ALSA and PulseAudio for its output, and there are still many applications that can talk to Xine directly. The most popular are the Gxine front-end and Totem, but Xine is also the default back-end for KDE's Phonon, so you can find it locked to everything from Amarok to Kaffeine.

Phonon
Inputs: Qt and KDE applications
Outputs: GStreamer, Xine

Phonon was designed to make life easier for developers and users by removing some of the system's increasing complexity. It started life as another level of audio abstraction for KDE 4 applications, but it was considered such a good idea that Qt developers made it their own, pulling it directly into the Qt framework that KDE itself is based on.

This had great advantages for developers of cross-platform applications. It made it possible to write a music player on Linux with Qt and simply recompile it for OS X and Windows without worrying about how the music would be played back, the capabilities of the sound hardware being used, or how the destination operating system would handle audio. This was all done automatically by Qt and Phonon, passing the audio to the CoreAudio API on OS X, for example, or DirectSound on Windows.

On the Linux platform (and unlike the original KDE version of Phonon), Qt's Phonon passes the audio to GStreamer, mostly for its transparent codec support. Phonon support is being quietly dropped from the Qt framework.

There have been many criticisms of the system, the most common being that it's too simplistic and offers nothing new, although it's likely that KDE will hold on to the framework for the duration of the KDE 4 lifecycle.

The rest of the bunch

There are many other audio technologies, including ESD, SDL and PortAudio. ESD is the Enlightenment Sound Daemon, and for a long time it was the default sound server for the Gnome desktop. Eventually, Gnome was ported to use libcanberra (which itself talks to ALSA, GStreamer, OSS and PulseAudio) and ESD was dropped as a requirement in April 2009.

Then there's Arts, the KDE equivalent of ESD, although it wasn't as widely supported and seemed to cause more problems than it solved. Most people have now moved to KDE 4, so it's no longer an issue.

SDL, on the other hand, is still thriving as the audio output component in the SDL library, which is used to create hundreds of cross-platform games. It supports plenty of features, and is both mature and stable.

PortAudio is another cross-platform audio library that adds SGI, Unix and Beos to the mix of possible destinations. The most notable application to use PortAudio is the Audacity audio editor, which may explain its sometimes unpredictable sound output and the quality of its Jack support.

And then there's OSS, the Open Sound System. It hasn't been a core Linux audio technology since version 2.4 of the kernel, but there's just no shaking it. This is partly because so many older applications are dependent on it and, unlike ALSA, it works on systems other than Linux. There's even a FreeBSD version.

It was a good system for 1992, but ALSA is nearly always recommended as a replacement. OSS defined how audio would work on Linux, and in particular, the way audio devices are accessed through the ioctl tree, as with /dev/dsp, for example.

ALSA features an OSS compatibility layer to enable older applications to stick to OSS without abandoning the current ALSA standard. The OSS project has experimented with open source and proprietary development, and is still being actively developed as a commercial endeavour by 4 Front Technologies. Build 2002 of OSS 4.2 was released in November 2009.

Our colleagues over on MusicRadar publish in-depth music-making hardware and software reviews, tutorials and features powered by industry expert magazines Computer Music and Future Music.

This week, the MusicRadar team has decamped to the Frankfurt Musikmesse 2010, Europe's biggest music equipment trade show. As usual, this has been the launch venue for new music technology products aplenty: here's the summary.

Da Fact Karlax controller in pictures
A stunning new wireless controller for your PC or Mac

New Roland products round-up
Synths, recorders, interfaces… and an accordion

New Korg products round-up
The monotron synth, a mini workstation and more

Steinberg announces WaveLab 7 for Mac OS X and Windows
The classic audio editor goes cross-platform

Alesis announces iO2 Express audio interface
Another 2-in/2-out USB offering

Line 6 MIDI Mobilizer is iPhone MIDI recorder
Hardware interface and software app announced

Korg Kaossilator Pro review
The mini phrase synth grows up

Spotify could well be appearing on your games console in the near future, according to CEO Daniel Ek, as well as your TV and any other device that has access to the web.

Speaking at SXSWi this week, Ek noted that he would love to see Spotify on a number of web-connected platforms and that convergence is the key to making the music service work.

In his talk, he mentioned that Spotify's deal with 3 in the UK was working when it comes to mobile phones, but there is definitely more to come.

"We have been quite successful in Europe with our deals," explained Ek.

"What we have been able to do is give three-to-six months free Spotify usage with some smartphones.

"There has been an incredible take-up of this. Telia in Sweden has singled out Spotify as one of the three highlights in 2009 for the telco, which shows that they believe in us.

"We are seeing a similar sort of success with 3 in the UK, who is bundling the service with handsets only. Telia is bundling it with computers and TV access, however, and they are putting Spotify into set-top boxes as well."

Music like water

It is this bundling with other platforms that Ek sees as the future of Spotify, noting:

"We are only at the beginning with trying to figuring it out but one of the key things Spotify is pushing is people are consuming more music than ever, they listen to more music than ever with more diversity.

"If you look at the traditional way of buying music – it still works. People are buying music that they love but the vast majority of people just want access. They want to share music with their friends. Why shouldn't you be able to consume music on your BlackBerry if you pay for it?

"We want to enable your library on all these devices. Whether it is a set-top box, whether it's an Xbox or a mobile phone – that doesn't really matter for us. We want to make music like water."

This music utopia Ek wants is still some way off, though, as the service still hasn't launched in the US – something that was not missed by the largely American audience who attended the SXSWi event.

Dolby has unveiled it is using a new audio codec for Pixar's latest movie Toy Story 3, called Dolby Surround 7.1

Select cinemas will be using the audio track which has been optimised for the current crop of 3D movies.

"For 40 years Dolby has not only provided content creators with the tools to create a more realistic audio experience, but has also enabled the exhibitor to deliver audiences the ability to experience the content as the creator intended," explained Page Haun, Senior Director, Marketing, Cinema Market Segment, Dolby Laboratories about the codec.

"The release of Toy Story 3 in a discrete 7.1 mix will raise the bar for movie theatre owners and their patrons."

3D audio

While Dolby Surround 7.1 is said to give 2D movies a nice aural boost, it's on 3D content that the format comes of age as it has designed to be more immersive – matching the three-dimensional qualities of the footage.

The 7.1 surround works by having four surround zones, which incorporates left surround and right surround and the all-new 'back surround left' and 'back surround right' zones. Within these 'zones' are eight channels of audio.

Toy Story 3 is out in the UK 23 June and will be accompanied by the short film Night And Day. The short is a bit of an experiment for Pixar as it features hand-drawn character which are filled with CG goodness.

Our colleagues over on MusicRadar publish in-depth music-making hardware and software reviews, tutorials and features powered by industry expert magazines Computer Music and Future Music.

From DAWs, virtual instruments and plug-in FX to hardware synths, grooveboxes and controllers, here are MusicRadar's top music-making tech picks this week…

The 11 best DAW software apps

Based on the results of a poll voted for by the MusicRadar community, these are the most-popular Digital Audio Workstations on the market today. Read the 11 best DAW software apps to find out which one reigns supreme, or scroll down for an in-depth review of each product.

Ableton Live 8 review

It's not without its faults, but this is by far the most powerful Live yet - stunning Groove Engine, enhanced workflow, improved warping and an awesome Looper.

Apple GarageBand '09 review

Easily the best version of GarageBand yet - slicker interface, fantastic artist lessons and very decent guitar amps and effects.

Apple Logic Pro 9 review

The well-conceived audio features, amp and pedal plug-ins, time-saving tricks and massive content library make Logic Pro 9 one of the best all-round DAWs your money can buy.

Avid Pro Tools 8 review

Existing users will still have a few gripes with this DAW (LE and M-Powered versions still slightly hampered and we'd like the full AIR plug-ins to be included), but this update is definitely the most musician-friendly version yet.

Cakewalk Sonar 8.5 Producer review

Don't be fooled by the name: Sonar 8.5 is essentially a full new version in disguise and a must-have upgrade. In particular, the Percussion and Vocal Strips rock!

Cockos Reaper 3 review

Lack of audio editor aside, major DAW manufacturers have good reason to fear the Reaper: it's a viable alternative with some distinct advantages. Quick to load, extremely reasonably priced, very portable and light on resources.

Image-Line FL Studio 9 review

It's perhaps not as immediately impressive an update as FL8 was, but this is another solid step up for the fabulously fruity DAW. The new vocoder plug-in is particularly impressive.

Magix Samplitude 11 Pro review

It doesn't feel as focused as some of the DAWs here, but Samplitude remains strong in terms of power, flexibility and sound quality.

Propellerhead Software Record review

When Propellerhead launched Record in 2009, it was keen to point out that it wasn't a DAW. Yes, it can't host plug-ins, but it does enable you to produce complete audio/MIDI productions (and very easily, too) – so run it with Propellerhead Reason 4 installed for a formidable combination.

Sony Creative Software Acid Pro 7 review

Balancing ease of use and power, this is a great update (a proper mixer, at last!) to a solid app, though it's not likely to convert users of other DAWs.

Steinberg Cubase 5 review

Cubase remains a front-runner in the great DAW race thanks to its integrated VariAudio pitch editing, great virtual MIDI keyboard and time-saving VST Expression feature. Just a shame there's still no sampler included…

Steinberg Nuendo 4 review

It's expensive, but Nuendo is now a fully-functional, flexible audio and post-production system, and a genuine alternative to Pro Tools HD.

Our colleagues over on MusicRadar publish in-depth music-making hardware and software reviews from industry expert magazines Computer Music and Future Music.

From DAWs, virtual instruments and plug-in FX to hardware synths, grooveboxes and controllers, here are MusicRadar's top music-making tech picks this week…

Music-making hardware

Eventide PitchFactor review

Eventide's expertise with pitch-based effects shines through here – PitchFactor offers lots of control by hand or foot and high-quality sonics throughout. It's pricey but it's worth it.

Presonus FireStudio Mobile review

A compact and rugged audio interface – not the cheapest, but certainly one of the highest quality in its class.

Music-making software

Agile Partners Star6 iPhone app review

An iPhone/iPod touch real-time effects processing tool for loops offering a fine degree of control and, most importantly, good fun.

Intelligent Gadgets MIDI Recorder iPhone app review

This MIDI Recorder takes audio input from either the built-in mic of your iPhone or an external mic on the iPod Touch and attempts to turn it into MIDI note data. Unfortunately, while being attractive on paper, in practice, it falls short.

Progress Audio Kinisis review

A unique synth that specialises in movement using a novel and powerful timeline system. Guaranteed to thrill those seeking a fresh perspective on synthetic sound design.

Sample Logic Morphestra review

A splendid cinematic ROMpler - inspiring to play and featuring a wide range of textures and sonic 'worlds', Used in tandem with Kontakt 4, it becomes an even more powerful library.

Toontrack Custom & Vintage SDX review

Superior Drummer 2.0 gets another shot in the arm with a classy add-on that contains samples of extremely sought-after drum hardware.

An exclusive report in The Times today claims that the BBC is set to axe two digital radio stations – alternative music station BBC 6 Music and BBC Asian Network – sending shockwaves through the DAB and radio industry.

TechRadar has contacted the BBC press office this morning who could only issue us with a 'no comment', with a spokesperson stressing that the report in the Times which clearly states that the BBC will close two radio stations in an overhaul of services next month, is purely speculative.

"In a wide ranging strategic review, he [Mark Thompson, the Director-General] will announce the closure of the digital radio stations 6 Music and Asian Network and introduce a cap on spending on broadcast rights for sports events of 8.5 per cent of the licence fee, or about £300 million," reads the Times report – in language which is far from speculative.

The review was drawn up by the corporation's director of policy and strategy, John Tate, a former head of the Conservative policy unit. It is also reported that the BBC's web pages are to be halved, backed by a 25 per cent cut in staff.

Save 6 Music campaign

As a 'Save 6 Music' campaign already gains traction on Twitter - at #saveBBC6Music -6 Music DJ Andrew Collins asks on his blog today: "Is 6 Music really on death row?," adding: "Nobody actually knows for sure, and speculation and paranoid rumour have been rife for some time. But it's looking worse this morning than it did when I left the building at 10am on Wednesday.

"We all know that DG Mark Thompson is being forced to make cuts to appease readers of the Daily Mail and the Tory government-in-waiting, who think that the £3.6 billion annual licence fee is being wasted on some programmes and stations that they don't watch or listen to. The bashing of the BBC has long been a national sport among the media conglomerates who control the Rest Of The Media, corporations with fingers in multiple pies that chuck money at redesigns and failed ventures every day but are only accountable to their shareholders

"The question is - and it really doesn't matter in the broader scheme of things - how come [The Times'] Patrick Foster has read this report, which is due to be made public next month? There are jobs at stake here. This is not about me - I just freelance for 6 Music, and have been thoroughly enjoying doing so since just before Christmas - most of the people who work at the network, day in, day out, doing a death-defying job with less resources and less warm bodies than any other comparable 24-hour music network while attracting some of the biggest names in music and receiving full support of the record industry, are on staff, or contracts. I worry for these people first, and for the loyal listeners second, with my own interests a long way down the list."

Collins signs off with a note of caution, adding that, "we should all sit back and take a pinch of salt; the Times pieces is necessarily written and published from a stance of wishful thinking, and may not turn out to be gospel."

Stay tuned for more news from the BBC, DAB execs, DAB radio manufacturers and music industry insiders as we get it.

Sharp has announced the HT-SB400 soundbar system and the DK-AP8P iPod dock describing them as 'chic, affordable sound for the "Twenty-ten" generation'.

Although we're not exactly sure what the Twenty-ten generation is, the kit is more straightforward with the 2.1-channel Sharp DK-AP8P iPod featuring a built in subwoofer, HDSS, video out and SRS WOW.

The dock also has a unique detachable control panel for remote control and can be run off either batteries or the mains.

Sharp HT-SB400

The Sharp HT-SB400 is a 3.1-channel soundbar system, with subwoofer pre-out 32W RMS, SRS WOW, touch and remote controls.

The system features two front speaker, two centre speakers and two subwoofers, and is billed as an ideal accompaniment to Sharp's popular AQUOS television range.

Grace Liang, Product Manager, Audio, Sharp Electronics (UK) Ltd, said: "Both the DK-AP8NS and HT-SB400 offer our customers a great value for money proposition.

"These affordable new models will bring style and powerful sound quality to any living space."

The DK-AP8P has a UK release date of January 2010 with an RRP of £100. The HT-SB400 will be available from John Lewis from February 2010 with an RRP of £180.

Forget trying to interact with people. In such a fast-paced world we live in, everyone can find solace in donning a pair of earphones, listening to your favourite song and drowning out the world around you.

Whether it's commuting long distances, breaking up the monotony of work or trying to sneak a listen of the latest tune while your teacher is talking rubbish about equilateral triangles, there's nothing like the secrecy of the in-ear 'phones.

While they are not musical statements of intent like when you slap a pair of cans on, when you get your personal music piped to you in-ear, you want the quality to be pristine and, most of all, you don't won't the nosey world around you sneaking a listen.

Here TechRadar has selected its favourite earphones for under £100. We chose this budget as it is the price your average music listener would pay out when purchasing a set of earphones.

Not that there is anything average about the following selection, as you are about to find out…

Sennheiser CX 550

Price from: £50

In a rather crowded market-place, Sennheiser can proudly hold its head up high in the headphone market. Consistently delivering phenomenal sound reproduction in all price brackets, whether your budget is that of a banker post-bonus or a student sans loan, you should be able to find a pair of 'phones for you.

In the under-£100 range, look no further than the CX 550. A direct replacement of the C95, the CX 550 brings both style and functionality to the table. With the box boasting 'style', 'high-fidelity audio reproduction' and 'noise isolation'

It's refreshing when this does actually seem to be the case.

With 'No One Loves Me And Neither Do I' by Them Crooked Vultures used to test out the bass capabilities we were impressed. John Paul Jones' deep bass notes and the crunching guitars sounded crisp and clear and there was a real vibrancy in the audio. Even turned up to 11 (well, as far as our ears and iPod wanted to go) the noise isolation worked well. There were no funny looks from commuters and even when we unplugged them from our ears, there was very little sound leakage.

Style-wise, the CX 550 is slickly designed. They don't stand out and they are not meant to – the metal-crafted chassis sits flush to the face, featuring none of the chunkiness you sometimes expect with in-ear buds.

When it comes to the wire and the jack, both have been designed to be sturdy. The wire is thick enough without thinking it's going to snap every time you wrap it round your PMP and the jack is one of the toughest looking we have seen at this price point.

As for what comes in the box. There's a decent pouch which we'll never use but it's nice to have it just in case. There's also replacement buds in three sizes – handy if you are as clumsy as we are and lose the end of you earphones more than you should.

The cable also comes in two parts, so if you have your own remote control system then this can be easily fitted. Oh, and you get a clip. Not an accessory you would shout home about but it does round off an impressive accessory list.

Radiopaq custom tuned earphones

Price from: £30

Radiopaq released a whole set of earphones this year that had a lot of the AV world scratching their head. Essentially the concept of its 'custom tuned earphones' range is that you choose the 'phones that have been tuned to your musical preference.

In the range, the company released versions for the following musical genres: Jazz, Classical, Pop and Rock.

Being that TechRadar collectively likes a mixture of dub-step (not the 1Xtra stuff), industrial techno and a touch of skiffle we were more than a little perplexed. Then we tried them.

Put on Radiopaq's offering and you immediately feel as if you are trying something different. The zeppelin-styled 'phones take a while to getting used to but once in the ear they are more than comfortable, and the silicon buds used are among the best for comfort around.

We tried the Classical on for size and were immediately hooked on the idea of having a pair of specially tuned earphones. Although our record collection is severely lacking in classical music, we slipped on William Orbit's Pieces In A Modern Style (yes, we cheated a little but we couldn't bring ourselves to download some Schubert) and his rendition of Barber: Adagio For Strings was simply stunning.

It's in the higher frequencies that the earphones do their job; where most of the other headphones on test like to dish out the bass, the Classical Radiopaq's felt much more nuanced in their audio output. The company quotes 25 per cent extra in the mid-to-high range and this was definitely qualified in our tests.

Designed with an 11-part chamber construction, the Radiopaq's feel and sound a lot more expensive than they actually are. Although the wire is not as thick as others on trial, it felt sturdy and the addition of a gold-plated 3.5mm jack is more than welcomed. What is annoying is that the earphones are a one-piece set-up so no changing the wire for a remote control version here.

The only sticking point with Radiopaq's offering is that you really do need to be a lover of your respected genre to fork out for a pair of earphones tuned to your needs. But if you really are a one-genre music listener, then for the price you won't find much better.

Read the full review.

Sony MDR-XB40EX

Price from: £40

If you buy Sony's MDR-XB40EX range, then you are willing to make a statement. Produced for those who love bass in their face, the 'phones are some of the biggest in-ear contraptions we have seen, with Sony opting for a brushed-metal ridge down the back of the plugs, telling everyone around that you are WEARING SONY.

For those who are lovers of the brand this really isn't a problem, as we have to admit that the bass that flows from the XB40's is definitely something to be proud of.

The 13.5mm XB driver units which power the 'phones means that there is some power behind the sound that comes out of the device. You only have to look at the chassis, to see the large circular drivers are ready to blast any bass your way with some intensity.

The first time we listened to Dizzee Rascal's 'Bonkers' through the buds, we swear our eyebrow hair stood on end. Although some audio clarity was lost in the higher-range of the song, the sound was almost of a club-level.

Because of this there is a touch of sound seepage. We didn't get to many stares on the train, but if it was turned up any louder then we may have been accused of being a chav.

The only real problem with the MDR-XB40EX's is that they are not the most the most comfortable things to wear. The bass drivers dig into your ears a touch and the silicon buds don't give you enough cushion for prolonged listening.

The XB40's wire, though, is one of the toughest we have used, and it is one of longest on test – 1.2 metres, compared to an average of 0.8 metres.

The Sony MDR-XB40EX is also listed on Apple's website as a third-party earphone of choice. While it has none of the remote capabilities of the Klipsch S4i, it's nice that Apple has given it its seal of approval.

The MDR-XB40EX are one of the cheapest earphone sets on test, but with powerful bass and an intriguing design, there's enough here for the ear buds to stand out from the audio crowd.

Klipsch S4i

Price from: £80

It's not a bad thing getting cosy with Apple if you are an earphone manufacturer. While the fruit-shaped company makes one of the best phones around (the iPhone 3GS) and has a plethora of media players that are the envy of manufacturers the world over, its earphones are, frankly, a bit rubbish.

Enter the Klipsch S4i. Sporting compatibility with iPod Shuffle's VoiceOver function and the iPhone 3GS's Voice Control, the American headphone manufacturer has come up trumps with the S4i. In short, any Apple user worth their salt should be a pair of S4i's now and give you ears the holiday the quality they deserve.

Providing audio quality that's crisp and clear enough to hear the sublime mistakes in The Field's 'Sun & Ice' but with enough bass to make The Prodigy rattle your head, Klipsch's S4i's are surprisingly powerful in their audio output.

While the Apple compatibility is a real boon for the S4i's, the remote control which comes connected to the 'phones only works on the latest models of Apple products. If you don't have at least a Second gen iPod touch, iPhone 3GS, fourth gen nano, third gen shuffle or 120GB Classis, then this will be a redundant feature.

This isn't to say that it's a problem, as the earphones work just as well without the remote control, and there's nothing like a bit of future-proofing when you buy a product.

Like all the earphones on test, the S4i comes with replaceable ear buds. This time, though, Klipsch has shunned black in favour of a white, slightly see-through look. And when you put them in your ears, they seem to seal nicely around your ear canal, keeping sound leakage to an absolute minimum.

When it comes to the wire and jack, we found both to be a tad flimsy – and the jack is not L-shaped, something that irks us. It's not like the wire and jack felt like they couldn't withstand the rigours of everyday use, but there are definitely thicker more dextrous wires on the market.

Included in the package is a snap-shut carry case, something that rounds off a very good setup from Klipsch – and one which Apple lovers everywhere should seriously think about purchasing.

Shure SE115

Price from: £60

One of the biggest names in the earphone market, Shure is an American brand with a load of attitude. Although the company offers ear buds all the way up to the £300 mark, ever since we donned a pair of sub-£100 SE115's back in June (the range sits between the SE110 and SE210) we've been smitten.

Offering the smoothest sound of all the earphones on test, the SE115's deliver a decent amount of audio clarity in all the sonic ranges. Essentially this means that there's not too much bass and the phones don't overdo the treble.

Putting on Bon Iver's 'Skinny Love' (and then quickly swapping the song for The Gaslight Anthem's 'We Came To Dance' before the tears started to flow) the ear buds took any song we through at them and delivered them back with blistering results.

Design-wise, you've a choice of: black, blue, red and pink. The colour is a neat addition as it makes the 'phones stand out from the rest of the brushed-metal and black crowd.

When it comes to the cable, you'll be pleased to hear that it's a breakaway, offering you the choice to add your own phone remote device or whatever takes your fancy really.

The only real qualm of the SE115s is that the ear buds aren't the most comfortable we have ever used. This may be down to the noise-cancelling that the 'phones offer. While this is no doubt a good thing – both for you and the people around you – giving up your ear canals completely to the default buds is definitely not for everyone. We like the idea that no one can hear your music, but we always like to hear a little bit of background noise, this was something that the ear buds don't really offer.

What's really impressive, though, is that Shure has managed to shrink the Dynamic Microspeaker found in the chunkier EC2 range into the SE115's skinnier frame. What you get is sound that shouldn't come out of 'phones of this size. Couple this with the price (you can get the earphones for around £59.99) and what you have is a set of ear buds which are a, er, Shure thing.

Read the full review.

The demand for vinyl and turntables is increasing, according to a new report, proving that while CD sales are falling fast, it's not just digital downloads that are replacing them.

The old-school format trend has been particularly evident in New York, where audio outlets are reporting massive increases in the sales of both the LP and the turntables to play them.

Nielsen Soundscan claims that more than 2.1 million vinyl records had been sold so far this year in the US, up 35 per cent on 2008, and the highest figure since figures began in 2001.

Discovering sound quality

"It's all these kids that are really ramping up their vinyl collections," Rachelle Friedman of J&R Music, which carries 21 different analogue and digital turntables, told the New York Times.

"New customers are discovering the quality of the sound. They're discovering liner notes and graphics."

Sales of turntables have risen proportionately, but in many cases they're more complex beasts than the Dansette of yore. Most can be hooked up to computers, allowing users to rip the music to hard drives and portable devices.

Some are more DJ-driven, letting users mix vinyl live with music from an iPod. Some stores, such as Best Buy in the US, even now have areas where customers can test drive turntables and other DJ gear.

So maybe it really is finally time to get those old disco LPs out of the attic again.