Audio, Sound & Speakers News - Page 12

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.

I still remember my brother and I fighting as kids and being the idiots we were bet each other that who won the fight would eat a single cat biscuit, it wasn't poison or bad for you but we knew it would taste disgusting. Guess who won? Yes, that's right bro it was me (hopefully he reads this). But in reality, it is no Apple freakin' AirPod like a man did in Taiwan.

The Daily Mail reports that Ben Hsu "fell asleep with the pair of wireless headphones still in his ears but woke up unable to find one of them. Using an iPhone tracking feature he discovered the device was still in his room and heard its beeping sound following him around. He said: 'I checked under my blanket and looked around but couldn't find it - then I realised the sound was coming from my stomach'".

Hsu went to the hospital and after an X-ray was told that he did indeed ingest it, and that surgery was an option but the doctors waited and the situation solved itself -- yes, he waited and pooped the Airpod out. After the pooped-out AirPod made its splash down (hopefully not literally) it was cleaned and dried and still worked. Hell, the battery was still at 41% with Hsu saying "it was incredible" and his experience with ingesting and pooping out the AirPod was "magical".

Kingston subsidiary HyperX released the HyperX QuadCast two weeks ago, and we have gotten our hands-on this new all-inclusive microphone. HyperX was showing off this microphone at CES earlier this year, but just recently started shipping the finalized product. Like other HyperX offerings, the QuadCast matches the style and color palate with a sleek black design and red accents.

The HyperX QuadCast microphone itself is made of a mix of a softer plastic, and metal with a foam insert, with a solid build quality. The unit comes with its own metal stand and anti-vibration shock mount allowing for a quick installation. HyperX has included a mount adapter which fits both 3/8" and 5/8" thread sizes and is compatible with most third party stands and boom arms.

Two of the features that we were impressed by when we were first introduced to the microphone, are the ability to know the active status of the microphone from the LED indicator, and the "tap-to-mute" feature which allows the prevention of broadcasting accidents.

HyperX today announced an exciting new innovation in audio tech: a headset made out of Cup Noodles.

Outfitted with Nissin's famous Cup Noodles and patented Microphork technology, HyperX's new Cup MIX-IN headphones bring that classic "I'm broke" cosplay style to high-end audio in an exciting new way. To capture that distinct flavor and bring maximum comfort, HyperX has woven noodle fibers into its earpads to "deliver the silky soft caress of ramen noodles."

The high-performance gaming gear manufacturer and beloved instant ramen brand, Nissin Cup Noodles, have designed headphones for gaming and grubbing without interruption with a powerful set of innovative features:

CES 2019 - EVGA impressed with its new Z390 Dark motherboard but surprised with the announcement and launch of its first-ever sound card with the new Nu Audio sound card pushed this week at CES 2019.

The company partnered up with UK company AudioNote for the Nu Audio sound card which features a 6-layer, gold-plated PCB for what is to be expected great gaming audio.

Inside, the card packs AudioNote capacitors and resistors, while a Texas Instrument power regulation circuit keeps the juice under control. The main part of the EVGA Nu Audio would be the XMOS xCore-200 DSP that will process the audio, and remove processing power away from the host processor.

CES 2019 - This year at CES, HyperX is showing off their highest end gaming headsets to date. This morning they revealed the Cloud Orbit and Cloud Orbit S gaming headsets. HyperX has partnered with Audeze, and Waves Technology to produce these high-fidelity gaming headsets.

The Cloud Orbit headsets are the first HyperX gaming headsets powered by Audeze's patented 100mm Planar Magnetic Drivers for clear and realistic spatial audio. Audeze planar magnetic designs utilize extremely thin-film speakers and powerful custom magnets, allowing you to accurately hear where your opponent is located. Feel completely immersed in the field of play with high resolution audio clarity and wide sound stage.

Waves Nx 3D audio technology brings an immersive cinematic audio experience to gaming. The Cloud Orbit S includes Waves Nx head tracking technology to deliver a high quality hyper-realistic 360-degree audio environment where the users head movements bring the room to life 1,000 times a second. The technology precisely tracks your slightest head movements and intelligently creates an acoustic environment that you can move through, with pinpoint accuracy and perception.

Samsung has officially unveiled its new Galaxy Note 9 smartphone but that wasn't all the South Korean giant unveiled during its NYC-based Unpacked event, with a new standalone smart speaker unveiled.

Galaxy Home is the latest smart speaker to join the ranks dominated by Google, Amazon and others and it looks radically different, but still feels like home. Samsung's new Galaxy Home kind of looks like a mini-BBQ or fireplace, with a mix of a cauldron that a witch would use to make spells to hurt iPhone sales. But don't let its unique looks deceive you, it's what's on the inside that counts.

Inside, Samsung's new Galaxy Home features AKG, full-range speakers and a subwoofer that will give you some great bass. Samsung has designed the Galaxy Home for wherever-you-go music, where it will use SoundSteer to direct the music towards you. For your convenience, Samsung is tapping not just Bixby but Spotify to keep your audio listening experience at its peak.

Logitech has announced it will be acquiring Blue Microphones for a cool $117 million in an all-cash deal, which will see the microphone maker behind Snowball and Yeti joining the ranks of Logitech.

The company took a blog post and said: "For Logitech, this is a new space. But, at the same time, it's not at all. Gamers are already using our Logitech G webcams to stream. People are video calling with friends and family thanks to Logitech every day. And in business, our audio and video know-how is apparent every time a video meeting takes place at the office. Joining up with Blue and their microphone lines is a logical adjacent opportunity with great synergies".

Blue Microphones was founded in 1995 and make microphones starting from $60 right up to studio-grade microphones worth a huge $4000. Blue is infamous with musicians, podcasters, streamers, and everyone in-between who want high-quality microphones that blow their built-in microphones away. Logitech secures one of the best in this acquisition, so it'll be interesting to see what they do from here.

SteelSeries has just unveiled two new high-end gaming headsets in a family of "Arctis Pro" products, with the Arctis Pro family consisting of three variants.

The flagship SteelSeries Arctis Pro gaming headset rocks 96kHz, 24-bit "Hi-Res" audio quality if you're plugged into the included GameDAC breakout box. The flagship Arctis Pro gaming headset also includes RGB lighting, and will work on both the PC and PS4.

SteelSeries has a base Arctis Pro model that doesn't include the GameDAC breakout box, and knocks the audio from 96kHz down to 40kHz, but still includes the Hi-Res audio side of things.

Qualcomm has just unveiled the next leap in wireless earbud technology with their new TrueWireless Stereo and TrueWireless Stereo Plus products, packed with the latest in Bluetooth tech.

The new TrueWireless Stereo products are completely wireless, with the two earbuds connecting to each other over Bluetooth, versus other wireless earbuds that are connected to each other with a cable but wireless to your smartphone.

Qualcomm's TrueWireless Stereo will connect to your phone and blast L+R audio to the first earbud, and then use Bluetooth to transfer the second channel of sound. TrueWireless Stereo Plus on the other hand blasts the signal in half to each individual earbud.