Very Exclusive Gadgets & Gizmos

It may not be the world’s most expensive amplifier, but this Universal Power Amplifier from NBS commands an asking price of $80,000 each for its universal design and operation. The unusual amplifier designed in a mono-block has three separate sections — a short one in the middle that fits as the power conditioner, and two tall ones that house the power supply and audio circuitry. To ensure the best possible functioning, the amplifiers can operate perfectly well with any AC voltage from 85 to 265V and have huge load tolerance, safely delivering 600W to the speakers.

We actually featured the Parrot Zikmu audio system almost a year ago, when Philippe Starck first crafted this sculptural stereo sound system. However, these have been around in the market for quite some time now and also with a new addition - color. But, that’s not it. Philippe Starck have also announced some upgrades like a new web interface with browsing mode to select music in the iPod along with an equalizer that offers pre-settings according to the chosen music themes.

The Seoul based Green designers, Design Hara has extended their ecological ideas to introduce a luxury green HTPC. Based on the environmental driven concept, Design Hara’s green HTPC features a recyclable chassis, handcrafted cypress wood or rose wood side panels and a front cover made from natural sheep leather. Giving a deep thought to save the planet from e-waste, the internal segments of the PC are connected by a bolts and nuts to make it a lot easier to separate recyclable e-waste.

The problem with 2.1, 5.1, 6.1 and 7.1 sound systems is always what do you do with the .1? Well Yamaha have an idea, they’ve stuck a subwoofer into their amplifier receiver, eliminating the silly rumble box on the floor. The Yamaha YHT-S400 is a 2.1 sound bar system that fits in front of most televisions. The sound bar is also compatible with a universal iPod dock and a Bluetooth A2DP receiver dongle. US$599.95

Many car manufacturers have started to include USB plugs in their car stereo systems to accomodate connecting MP3 players. That’s a cool thing, but the driver still has to deal with the quandry of where to put the iPod? Check out this new car stereo system which not only lets users sync their iPods for playing iTunes, but also has a pull down iPod Dock to store and charge it at the same time. Very cool.

Mention Bang & Olufsen in the same breath and chances are you would feel a lump form in your throat as you know full well that you aren’t able to afford purchasing anything from this brand, even if it is a souvenir item with its brand name emblazoned across it. Well, the same applies for Bang & Olufsen’s latest release, the BeoVision 7 which comes with a new 55″ screen size, upping the ante where its previous 40″ model left off in North America.

Are you musically inclined? If so, how many gadgets out there are musical enough for you, or are you one who wants to have something very different apart from the standard piano and drum kit? Enter the Stylophone Beatbox which opens up a whole new world of percussion goodness.

Microsoft first came up with the Zune to go up against the Apple iPod, but their initial outing wasn’t spectacular in any way, and was by far a failure in terms of sales comparison figures. The iPod has been established for quite some time already, and it doesn’t look too easy to knock it off its perch anytime soon – just ask the slew of manufacturers who churn out portable media players and they’ll agree with you. Funny to see so many people slugging it out for second spot.

This free Xion Audio Player offers a super skinnable interface, a shed load of audio format compatibility and plugin support for your further listening pleasure. I’ve got to say, that as music players go, this puppy looks and sounds gorgeous. And it’s Aussie too. G’day.

The SDJ-2 is an SD card powered DJ console. According to the blurb, there’s no external hard drives required, no software needed and no external MP3 players required. All that beings said however, if you want to add external drives or iPods, then go right ahead as it has a front-mounted USB port. The SDJ-2 reads the high capacity SD cards, it has a pair of balanced outputs, a built-in 2 channel mixer with mic controls, a pair of LCD screens and folder search on your MP3 files.