| Choosing An MP3 Player (NAPSA)—Consumers looking for MP3 players may welcome some sound advice. Experts say that focusing on three key areas can help people find the bestsounding MP3 players, for the best price. Try these tips: Music Formats Find out what types of digital music files different digital audio players can handle. Popular sound file formats include .WMA, .MP3 and .WAV. Generally speaking, .WAVfiles take up a lot of memory, meaning a digital audio player that only holds .WAVfiles can probably hold fewer songs than one that holds .WMA and/or .MP3files. Remember, the more types offiles your player can handle, the greater the variety of songs available to you. No matter what file format you use, they all are digitally compressed music files, which can negatively affect sound quality. Now Hear This Most digital audio players come with a pair of standard earphones, which can vary from poor to decent sound quality. These are typically incapable of reproducing the deep bass found in the original music. If you plan to upgrade your earphones, considerthis: * Smaller ear buds are better for people who use their players while being active (going to the gym, running,etc.). * Larger headphones known as ear speakers are great for people who plan to relax while listening to music. * Wireless headphones are also an option, but while they can eliminate tangled wires, audio quality can suffer and selection is limited since they are so new. Makecertain to ask if audio enhancement technology is avail- You can get big sound from little MP3 player, thanks to SRS WOW technology. able in the player before buying. No matter what style you pick, you want to make sure you’re getting the best audio possible. Improving Sound When music is digitally compressed, sound quality can suffer. MP3 players featuring an audio enhancement technology called SRS WOW*restore much of the original audio dynamics lost during digital compression. As a result, the players that are enhanced with SRS WOW can deliver a more natural bass sound —oneof live, concert-like quality. The technology dramatically enhancesthe perceptionofbassfrequencies from speakers and earphones, which typically cannot produce these low frequency sounds, making the most out of what you’ve got. Taking advantageofthis builtin feature can be a simple way to get the most out of your musiclistening experience. MP3 Players that include the SRS WOW feature can be found at major retailers, including Target, Wal-Mart, Best Buy and Circuit City. For more information or to hear an online SRS WOW demo, visit www.srslabs.com/MP38sound.asp.
