Audio and Music Gadgets

You can use an iPhone to tune your guitar, learn chords, and even record new songs. But can you really replace your amplifier and effects pedals with the same device you used to book a show?

The sales guy says you need premium audio cables if you want premium sound. Is he telling you the truth, or is he just trying to make a buck?

By Patrick J. Kiger

Audiophiles are pretty divided in the debate of headphones vs earbuds. So, which type offers the best sound quality? Honestly, they may want to settle for a pair of each. Read on to find out why!

By Melanie Radzicki McManus

Can you think of an instrument more influential in modern music than the electric guitar? How about the synthesizer? From analog to digital, synthesizers have changed the landscape of sound as we know it.

By Jeff Harder

As companies dream up better audio and video standards and storage media, they also add new ways to send it crisply from your gear to your ear, and optical audio is one of them.

By Nicholas Gerbis

If you've ever wanted to eliminate some of those pesky audio cables, wireless speakers may sound like a great idea. They have some advantages, but wireless speakers still come with some strings attached.

By Jonathan Strickland

If all you do is swim in the pool and play the occasional game of Marco Polo, you are missing out. An underwater sound system could get you doing the electric boogaloo on land and in water. How cool is that?

By Robert Lamb

According to Dr. Dre, "people aren't hearing all the music" when they listen to it on the average earbuds and speakers. What kind of sound do Dre's Beats Audio products deliver?

By Patrick J. Kiger

Did you know that your bones can hear stuff? Yes, it's true. And using bone-conducting headphones instead of ear buds may be a lot better for your ears. How do these headphones do their job?

By Patrick J. Kiger

Some materials are better conductors of sound than others. Most speakers work best when you don't put anything on them. But some others are louder when you put them on another surface.

By Jonathan Strickland

Jukeboxes are a colorful slice of Americana that brought on-demand music to the masses. Find out how they work -- and how they've fared in the digital age.

By Nathan Chandler

When VHS was big, I collected movies. I had a giant collection spanning several shelves, then a new device came out called a DVD player. Learn more about how to recyclem reuse and rid yourself of VHS tapes.

By Josh Peterson, Planet Green

By now, you've probably "spotted" the newest arrival on the digital music scene. Spotify, the Swedish music streaming service that's been hot in Europe for years, is now making waves in the United States.

By Nathan Chandler

Ever wonder about that eerie-sounding music in old sci-fi flicks? Those haunting strains may come from a theremin, an instrument you play without touching. How's that possible? Find out in this article.

By Gerlinda Grimes

Music effects like Auto-Tune may have taken over the airwaves, but the talk box was one of the first devices to make musicians sound like robots. Do you feel like we do?

By Jane McGrath

If you know how to use a condenser microphone, your audio will come out crystal clear. Learn about how to use a condenser microphone in this article.

By HowStuffWorks.com Contributors

If you've ever played an instrument, you've probably had to keep time with a metronome. How do these mechanisms give musicians a steady tempo?

By Gerlinda Grimes

A guitar can come across a little thin if it's plugged into just an amplifier with a clean sound. Add a few pedals to the mix, though, and you could be stomping out some gnarly effects.

By Gerlinda Grimes

Learning how to play an instrument may be as simple as playing with blocks. You can get started with the reactable without even touching a user's manual.

By John Fuller

Ever had to answer your cell phone in the middle of a busy street? You could shout above the din or let your call go to voicemail, or you could speak clearly into a noise-canceling headset.

By Tiffany Connors

Noise-canceling headphones maximize your listening experience by removing ambient noise, all without sacrificing the sound quality of your music. But how do they do it?

By William Harris

You can use it to watch TV shows and movies, listen to music and flip through digital photos -- all while sitting on an airplane. Learn all about the latest addition to the mobile-entertainment market.

By Eric Tucker

We all know it, and it always makes us cringe -- it's that terrible howling of a PA system. Everyone calls it feedback -- what's "feedback"?

Microphones have been around in some form for more than 150 years. Modern mics incorporate fiber optics, microchips, and even lasers to suit a variety of audio needs.

By Mark Boyer & Talon Homer

Magnetic recording is the backbone of the electronics revolution. Learn how this analog technology lets you store and erase data!

By Marshall Brain