Audio, Sound & Speakers News - Page 11

Awhile ago rumors were circling around that Apple were planning on releasing a second variant of the popular AirPods, the AirPods Pro.

Obviously, if Apple was to release the AirPods Pro they would arrive with a more hefty price tag, but what about color options? A new report out of Economic News Daily claims that Apple is actually in the process of developing the AirPods Pro but not just in one color option, but eight.

These color options would coincide with the new iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max color themes. The report also talks about the rumored specs for the AirProds Pro, and according to the report the new version of the pods will come with noise cancellation. How much would these AirPods Pro cost and when would they release? Rumors say that they could cost $260 and that they would release before the holiday season arrives.

Spotify is back at it again with another giveaway, this time round they will be handing out free Google Home Minis to all new and old Spotify Premium subscribers.

Spotify has said that these giveaways will only be occuring to Premium subscribers in the United States and will only happen "while supplies last". It seems that as Google is gearing up for the release of the Nest Mini, they have selected Spotify to clear out the 'old stock' of the previous generation. But who doesn't like free stuff right?

The partnership between Google and Spotify to get more smart home devices out into the public is certainly a beneficiary idea, as both companies are working towards accessibility in the fashion of getting users the music they want when they want it. As Assistants progress in technology and become even better, more users will be more inclined to purchase a smart home system. Especially if Spotify and other music streaming applications are abundantly producing reliably good music. All Spotify and Google are doing is getting out ahead of the curve.

Corsair has just announced the latest members of its VOID gaming headset family, with the new VOID ELITE and HS PRO series of gaming headsets.

First up we have Corsair's new VOID ELITE gaming headset which has all of the bells and whistles, with Corsair cramming in improved audio, a redesigned Discord-certified omnidirectional microphone, dynamic RGB lighting, low-latency wireless technology (ELITE WIRELESS), and custom-tuned 50mm neodymium audio drives with an expanded frequency range that sits between 20Hz and 30,000Hz.

Corsair has designed the new VOID ELITE gaming headset from the ground up to provide the best audio quality it can, as well as immersive 7.1 surround sound that will throw you into the middle of the battle field... and hopefully get you some of those delicious wins in your favorite game.

Have you joined the crowd of wireless headset users? Or are you still wired and waiting for the right headset to come around? We have used several headsets and have experienced several options from wireless units that last a mere few hours in heavy use, to those that can last days before being tethered to a cable. There are even options such as the Steelseries Arctis Pro Wireless, which has swappable batteries, so you are offline for seconds during a critical battery swap to keep on gaming.

Sennheiser has announced today what can only be described as a potential game-changer, and yes, that pun was intended and justified. The Sennheiser GSP 370 is the newest in the Sennheiser lineup and comes with quite a lofty promise of up to 100 hours of battery life.

The Sennheiser GSP 370 comes with a broadcast-quality microphone, and from my experience with Sennheiser in the past, you can bet while the claims may be lofty, the quality will do a good job of bolstering it.

Amazon has revealed yesterday during their annual hardware event that a line of updates will soon be hitting Alexa's worldwide.

These updates bring new features to the virtual assistant which ultimately allows users to adopt the iconic voice of Samuel L. Jackson. Users can purchase two versions of Jackson's voice, one explicit and the other non-explicit, both will just be $0.99.

You are probably wondering how Amazon got hold of every voice line possible by Jackson. Well its not like he stood there and said everything possible into a recording Alexa, instead Amazon used neural text-to-speed technology to replicate his voice. Since the replication is being sold you can assume that it would be pretty damn close to the original, which makes me think that Jackson is just the first celebrity voice to hit the Alexa market.

A massive part of the push for the ever-growing technology industry is undoubtedly the want for the most convenience possible. So how about some wireless earbuds that can unlock your phone via reading your ear canal.

A team out of the University at Buffalo noticed that most of youth that was walking around campus started adopting wireless headphones, which made them wonder what else could be done with this technology. Computer scientist Zhanpeng Jin who is an associate professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering in the UB School of Engineering and Applied Sciences said "We have so many students walking around with speakers in their ears. It led me to wonder what else we could do with them."

So Jin and his team took the earbuds and came up with something that has been called EarEcho. EarEcho is a biometric tool that uses modified wireless earbuds to authenticate users' smartphones, which is done through the reading of the users unique geometrical ear canal. According to this month's Proceedings of the ACM on Interactive, Mobile, Wearable and Ubiquitous Technologies journal, the prototype EarEcho had a roughly 95% success rate on the users it was tested on.

Wireless earbuds are all the craze in the audio market right now, as big companies like Apple and Samsung are pushing the takeover from wired with their flagship mobile phones.

If you don't want to go out and spend $200 on a pair of wireless earbuds and are after something more budget-friendly, then the Cleer Ally True Wireless Earbuds might just be what you pick up. These new earbuds are currently available on Amazon, and will be able to give the user a HUGE 2 weeks or even longer on a single charge if you are only listening to music for a couple hours a day.

The earbuds will last for 10 hours of battery and the case comes with an additional 20 hours of charge, adding up to 30 hours of music streaming enjoyment. At the moment the earbuds are 20% off on Amazon, head over to the product page here if you are interested in picking them up. There is dot point specifications about the Cleer Ally True Wireless Earbuds in the entirety of this article.

If you need a new high-quality microphone then you might want to check out Blue's latest USB microphone -- the new Yeti X. Check out the overview video below:

Blue's new Yeti X has one new superpower: its new real-time LED metering on the microphone itself, which will show you when your gain is too low during a livestream or recording. The huge knob on the front of the Yeti X is the new command center, where you'll be able to tweak it between its three internal modes.

You'll be able to hold the knob (sounds weird, but you know what I mean -- get your head out of the gutter) for two seconds to flex between modes, while the other controls the volume. You can also use blend mode, which will balance between gameplay audio and your commentary, both requiring different voice pitches and levels.

News has surfaced online regarding Google's next Home Mini receiving a decent upgrade all round when it is re-branded as the Nest Mini.

According to 9to6Google's sources, Google will be releasing a sequel to their Home Mini product, but instead of it being a Home Mini 2 it will have its name changed to Nest Mini. Not only is there a change of name but Google will also be upgrading basically all of its features as well. According to the sources, the Nest Mini will arrive with a built-in wall mount, upgraded sound, louder and better bass, increase in max volume and a headphone jack.

While these are just rumors for the time being, if they are true Google could be waiting to reveal this product alongside their upcoming announcement of the Google Pixel 4. The announcement of both the Nest Mini and the Pixel 4 is believed to be scheduled for Google's annual hardware event this October called Made by Google 2019.

Gamescom 2019 - HyperX just revealed its new $130 Cloud Alpha headset that rocks virtual 7.1 surround sound for more immersive gaming and entertainment experiences.

HyperX's new Cloud Alpha S resembles the original Alpha design, which in itself is basically akin to the excellent HyperX Cloud II model. It's a wired headset that features dual-chamber tech for more realistic sounds across multiple frequencies, but the main selling point is the virtual 7.1 surround sound coupled with some nifty additions like on-the-fly base adjustment sliders.

Like the former model, the Cloud Alpha S sports a built-in mic with noise-cancelling tech and a comfortable design, complete with foam ear cups. It also sports an external sound card box just like the Cloud II, and can detach to plug directly into devices like mobile phones.