I read this article on LifeHacker.com over the weekend about using a jar or drinking glass to boost the sound of an iPod or cell phone's speakers. Why would you need to amp up your device's sound, you ask? If you're the type of person who uses their cell phone's alarm to wake up but frequently still sleeps through it, or just wants to share a song with friends out loud on a iPod, this trick can help.
I tested this trick with a stainless steel mixing bowl, a two-gallon sun tea pitcher and a ceramic, almost beer stein-ish mug. The songs I used were an acoustic version of the Eagles' "Hotel California" from their Hell Freezes Over tour, Journey's "Don't Stop Believin,'" and just for fun, "Man of Constant Sorrow" by the Soggy Bottom Boys from the "Oh Brother Where Are Thou?" movie soundtrack.
The clear sound winner for me was the mug. It really, really amplified my cell phone's ringtone. It was boosted loud enough that I could clearly hear it from another room. As for the music, this could get you through a tight spot but won't replace traditional speakers. My iPod's built-in speakers distort the sound when the volume is up to the max, and all of my test vessals just increased the distortion. The bowl just made the sound very metalltic, the sun tea pitcher sounded like I a put an iPod in a bucket, but the mug did increase the volume enough to notice a difference. "Don't Stop Believin'" sounded the best - the mug really "sweetened" the sound of the synth opening - but vocals, drums, and everything else seemed to be drowned out. Anything acoustic, like the other two songs, just merged into a mess of noise.
Have you ever tried this trick? What jars, mugs or drinking glasses worked best for you?
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