Audio, Sound & Speakers News - Page 19

Computex 2015 - Alongside the Ripjaws series of mechanical keyboards and the Ripjaws MX780 RGB gaming mouse as covered by us yesterday, G.Skill also has on offer some interesting new audio additions to its peripheral arsenal.

In comes the SR910 and SV710 7.1 digital surround sound models, said to be released in Q3 2015 by G.Skill in a recent press release.

Complete with a circumaural earcup design, these SV710 boasts Xear 3D technology to help with sound positioning, leatherette lined ear pads and built-in environmental noise cancellation (ENC) to help you focus at live events. Alongside the in-line control pod, there is included software including a 10-band equalizer and customizable surround sound positioning features located within.

Apple is recalling more than 220,000 Beats Pill XL portable wireless speakers in the United States, following a fire risk, according to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). So far, eight suspected cases of overheating speakers have been reported, though Apple didn't offer a statement on how many complaints it has received.

"Because customer safety is the company's top priority, Apple is asking customers to stop using their Beats Pill XL speakers," according to a public notice from Apple. "Customers who purchased a Beats Pill XL speaker should visit www.apple.com/support/beats-pillxl-recall for details about how to return their product to Apple, and how to receive an Apple Store credit or electronic payment of $325."

Beats first introduced the speaker in November 2013, and Apple purchased the company in May 2014 for around $3 billion.

Computex 2015 - Connected to your PC through PCIe, PowerColor has announced its own addition to the sound card world, the Devil HDX. We've recently covered what ASUS has to offer with its high-end STRIX line and now the Devil HDX takes the spotlight.

Featuring a C-Media CMI8888 native-PCIe processor and a Wolfson WM8741 primary DAC, this card continues with a 124 dBA SNR for your headphones and front-out channels, coupled with a TI LM4562 OPAMP swappable amplifier.

Also boasting 600Ω impedance headphone support, this product further supports stereo RCA out and 7.1-channel optical SPDIF output ports, drawing all of its power from a single 4-pin Molex plug.

Computex 2015 - STRIX is something you're going to see much more of in the future as it seems this family is ASUS' new series of champion products. The latest addition to this lot is that of these three high-end 7.1 channel audio cards.

Named the STRIX RAID DLX, the STRIX RAID Pro and the STRIX Soar, these cards are all fairly similar in specification with slight differences.

All three cards are based on one design, with the DAC component containing a native-PCIe multi-CODEC audio controller connector to an ESS SABRE 9006a DAC, dedicated to the front audio port with 116 dBA SNR and a 110 dBA SNR DAC connected to your main headphone amplifier.

Consumer electronics company SOUL Electronics has introduced the Run Free Pro, Bluetooth-powered in-ear headphones designed for athletes. The waterproof in-ear unit also includes wind noise reduction technology to help eliminate wind interference, which often times can ruin audio quality.

The custom design is guaranteed to stay in your ears using an interchangeable lock system, so athletes and active users don't need to worry about earbuds falling out. The Run Free Pro uses Bluetooth 4.0 and is now available with a $129 MSRP.

"The Run Free Pro exemplifies an audio accessory that perfectly complements hitting the streets for a run or sustaining an active lifestyle," said Jerry Lai, Marketing Manager at SOUL Electronics. "This means as someone is running and, often times, earbuds will fall out, the lock will securely keep the earphone body tight and in place. We wanted to create more products for the fitness and active lifestyle, with the goal to maintain the same SOUL Electronics brand identity."

Hewlett-Packard has dropped Apple-owned Beats as an audio partner, and will now work with Bang & Olufsen on future products. The partnership will bring the Danish company's audio expertise to PCs, laptops, tablets and other electronics, starting this spring.

HP is the No. 2 global PC manufacturer, and hopes its deal with Bang & Olufsen helps usher in a new era for audio-centric functionality on devices. Beats may be a recognizable name, however, Bang & Olufsen provides high-quality audio products.

"HP and Bang & Olufsen will custom tune each notebook, desktop, tablet and accessory for precise sound," a press release from HP notes. "In all HP devices that carry the Bang & Olufsen or B&O PLAY brand, a dedicated audio island isolates the sensitive audio circuits from other signals on the motherboard. The headphone jack limits the amount of metal parts to reduce ground noise to help further perfect the audio experience on HP devices."

You may have seen this argument somewhere on the internet recently, it's a real growing trend. As soon as someone offers up the suggestion for Beats by Dre to be added to an audio collection everyone is up in arms about the sound quality and mostly the 'paying for the brand' experience.

These headphones that generally enter the market at $380 for higher graded models and have often made people wonder - how much 'brand cost' is actually associated with this device.

Well in case you missed it, All Hiphop released the news last year that Dr. Dre's magical sound devices cost an estimated $14 to produce.

RZA started working with Boombotix back in mid-2014, announcing to the public that he wanted to make something a little more special than most, stating "I just had a bigger idea than sticking my logo on something. I thought we could make this great product a little greater" in an interview with Gizmodo. His idea is apparently to feature exclusive music along with the device.

RZA has already released a collaboration item with Boombotix, which was received to high critic acclaim. The next product to come out will be the gold hexagon and it's currently in a prototype form. said to work as a music player alongside a speaker platform - Boombotix claim that you can load music of your own onto the device.

RZA and Boombotix look to do more than the general old advertising campaigns as seen through most celebrity collaborations in this day and age. Imagine if you could get an exclusive sneak peak into Wu-Tang's new album just by purchasing their speaker? That would certainly be different and pretty cool.

CES 2015 - You heard it here first ladies and gentlemen - measuring sound in distance is the new big thing! However, in all seriousness, this speaker has some pretty crazy reach for such a small package.

Rapoo have just announced their new A200 speaker at CES 2015, featuring a range of colors and 360-degree sound emission and the ability to project sound up to 33-feet away, this product has been designed with the outdoors in mind.

Most portable speakers available today don't contain many rugged features, so Rapoo have gone all-out by providing a durable design and brightly-colored exteriors so it will last and also be easily found.

CES 2015 - Looking slightly similar to the Blue Snowball, Samson's new Meteorite microphone claims "professional-quality recording and improved communication" as per their recently issued press release.

Claiming to bypass the "computers standard mic capsule and noisy sound card, in favor of the Meteorite's studio-quality 14mm capsule and dedicated audio conversion path," this product will hit the shelves at a price of $39.99 - the same pricing as their new mini-microphone.

Connected to your computer via USB, Samson claim that this device is best suited for Skype, FaceTime and other VoiP software implementations.