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Ferguson Hill's FH008 designer subwoofer shipping soon
Our adoration for earth-moving drivers should already be quite apparent, and considering that Ferguson Hill's forthcoming FH008 was designed specifically to complement the highly-regarded (and highly priced) FH007 mini-system, it's probably worth a listen. The admittedly Apple-centric attitude lends itself to being quite the eye-catching piece of kit, and while we doubt it'll deliver on the same level as a 20,000-watt snow horn, the cutely boxed woofer should certainly fill in the lows to your subwoofer-less system. Packaged in a container which will likely be proudly displayed rather than hastily recycled, the bass machine within will sport a front-firing design, but sadly, the finalized specifications are still under wraps. Still, this thumper is slated to start shipping sometime in April, and even though we've no idea how much coinage will be required to claim one of your own, that little unknown shouldn't bother those who can actually afford it.[Via AudioJunkies]
Vibe's Space Gate 38,800-watt bass tunnel
Staring into the negative space of the Vibe Space Gate, your sad, pathetic little human life flashes before your eyes. What will happen when you walk into the arch of 36 Space II subs on 16 amps? Will it suck all of the oxygen out of the room? Will your heart realign beats to match the thump of the track? Will your skin melt off? Most importantly, will this finally be enough bass to make our 2 Live Crew remasters sound the way they were truly intended? We just don't know, but something tells us stepping through it will take you StarGate-like into a new universe of hearing loss -- ready?
Music thing: The Sixty Inch Subwoofer
Each week Tom Whitwell of Music Thing highlights the best of the new music gear that's coming out, as well as noteworthy vintage equipment: Yes. It's a Sixty Inch Subwoofer. No, it's not new, and it's certainly not coming to a car near you soon (not even the new Renault with three iPod docks). This is a one-off custom unit built in 1997 with the help of a physicist from Georgia Tech: "The cone moves 6 inches peak to peak under full-tilt output... Unfortunately, Tim and his crew didn't realize just how much acoustical power the sub could generate, and didn't build the vehicle to contain it appropriately. Even at less than 1/2 output, the doors were blown off the tracks, and the entire vehicle ballooned in and out several inches."For car audio freaks, bass is a weapon. Search YouTube for 'subwoofer' and you'll enter the slightly alarming world of extreme bass - clips of girls' hair blown up by the bass, and speakers catching fire under the load. For audiophiles, bass is expensive. The biggest subwoofer in the world is an underground chamber containing 16 eighteen-inch speakers, built underneath what they call "the greatest audio room for private listening in the world". Incredibly, the sixteen speakers are all driven by one eleven-watt tube amp. That's eleven watts, not eleven kilowatts. Awesome.
Preview of new Guitar Hero II co-op mode
In case you missed it on Friday, IGN posted a pre-E3 hands-on preview of Guitar Hero II's new co-op mode. It's a departure from the first game's multiplayer mode in that the two players have to depend on each other a lot more to pass each song and thereby make beautiful music together.While the old multiplayer option will still be around in the sequel, the new mode mixes distinct lead guitar and bass or rhythm parts where each player affects the other in various ways, whether by failing if either performance slips (as in DDR), sharing the same Rock Meter (with mistakes from either player resetting the score multiplier), and needing to both go vertical at the same time to activate the shared Star Power. Thankfully, different difficulty levels can be assigned to each player.The Joystiq team out in L.A. will probably find something to do until they get their sweaty paws on a guitar controller or two on the E3 show floor (maybe one of those wacky press conferences will help pass the time), but we're sure the wait to try the latest build of this rockin' series will be worth it. The seven songs available at E3 are listed below.[Thanks, murph]
