I have been doing research on super compact speaker systems for quite some time now. It basically started when my wife said we needed to get some smaller speakers for the house. The ones I had previously were Infinity Reference 2000.5 three ways (mini towers at 2.5′ in height). The Infinity speakers took up alot of space and are totally over powered for the small house we have now.

A friend of mine has the Anthony Gallo Nucleus Micros, and I have been keen on the for awhile now. Since I own a house now, price is more of an issue for me than it was in the past. So, I had to find an alternate to the Nucleus Micros.

I found another high end brand called Mirage, they had a compact system called the Nano, this was an intersting setup, as its an omnidirectional system. The speakers fire striaght up and then are deflected in a 360degree spread. Any spot in your home you are listening from you get the same audio fidelity. I listened to them and was pretty much sold. But…

I did have one more more research expedition to make, to Orb Audio in Sherman Oaks. I really wanted to listen to the Orb Audio speakers. I saw them online, and read some reviews in Wired Magazine, so I figured it was worth a shot.

Well, when I got to the demo showroom, it was a very very pleasant surprise. It turns out that the president/founder of Orb Audio, Gary Pelled, was co-founder of Anthony Gallo Acoustics, and THE man responsible for the innovative globe product design for the Nucleus Micros! Gary explained that after years of working at Gallo it was time for him to start his own company.

When I listened to his speakers, I was converted from the Mirage system immediately, the Orbs sounded as rich and saturated as the Gallo Micros, if not even more so! The best part, since Gary sells his product factory direct, its a major savings for a similar high end and deep sounding compact 5.1 system.

I ended up buying a 3.1+ System (4 Orb speakers plus the Super Eight Subwoofer) and it cost me around $700! Still def. not cheap, but compared to what a Gallo system would have cost, a steal!

The Orbs really are amazing in size and sound! YOu can set up a demo for yourself at the site (they have show rooms ins LA and NYC). Check them out!

View: Orb Audio site

This just in from my musically inclined friend DJ Tony Watson, as posted on this Flickr page. Thru them I found DJ Aptems site, Cassette DJ. DJ Aptem is the Russain DJ who made a DIY Mixing Deck out of hacked together Cassette Decks (He has also made a mixer to go with the setup). I have posted a whole bunch of tracks sourced from this DIY Cassette DJ Deck. This is way cool! On the same tip as Konono NO1 (Congotronics).

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View More Photos of his Cassette Deck Rig and Gear!

via Cassette DJ

This is yet another great app to enable people on a LAN (not the Internet) to Share Music. Its a tiny footprint JAVA app for MacOSX and Windows (only 292k!), and gives you a startlingly similar interface to Acquisition or Gnutella for browsing all LAN users iTunes Libraries and then cueing MP3s for download.

ourTunes Sourceforge Project Page

Alrighty then, just when you thought you heard all the parody musical numbers you could (thanks Weird Al), they go and do RoboCop The Musical! RoboCop is like my favorite of all time Sci-Fi cult film! Kurtwood Smith is the shiznit as the villain, a far cry from the grumpy dad on That 70’s Show!

“Murphy, It’s You” from RoboCop The Musical Performed by RoboCop and Officer Lewis.

PSPDrive 1.0

Ian LLoyd - Discohop 41MB zip
Jez Proctor - Diabraham 44MB zip
October Revolution EP 25MB zip

via Fire Music UK

KONONO N°1 was founded over 25 years ago by Mingiedi, a virtuoso of the likembé (a traditional instrument sometimes called “sanza” or “thumb piano”, consisting of metal rods attached to a resonator). The band’s line-up includes three electric likembés (bass, medium and treble), equipped with hand-made microphones built from magnets salvaged from old car parts, and plugged into amplifiers. There’s also a rhythm section which uses traditional as well as makeshift percussion (pans, pots and car parts), three singers, three dancers and a sound system featuring these famous megaphones.

Konono No1 MP3 Excerpt

via Crammed (Belgium)

Buy CD from Amazon
Buy MP3s from iTunes

I checked on their website and they have a few tracks from a pending house release for your listening pleasure, WESTPARK UNIT vs. VINCENZO “SET FREE (MUSIC). I have linked to the three tracks here…

Westpark Unit vs. Vincenzo - Music (Set Free)
Westpark Unit vs. Vincenzo - Original Club Mix
Westpark Unit vs. Vincenzo - Satin Soul Mix

via Stir15 Recordings

Right now on Buy.com you can buy a pair of the Etymotic ER6i Isolator Headphones (White or Black) Pillow Pack. This includes two pairs of ear inserts, the rubber ones and the foam ones, extra filters, and the tool to change them, and a carry bag and shirt clip. All this for a mere $79.99 (they retail at around $139.99) so thats almost half off! I bought a pair today on the spot when I found this deal.

Etymotic Research ER6i Isolator Earphones $79.99 (plus Tax & Shipping).

Method Studios has many clips of their design reel.
Method Studios

PES has a bunch of his short films available as well.
PES PSP

HEAVY.com has a number of their clips available.
Heavy PSP Video Packs

ATOMFilms also has PSP short film content for viewing.
Mobile Movie Theater