Audio - Page 13

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.

CES 2015 - Being pushed to the market for a low price of $39.99, Samson have just announced the release of their new Go Mic Direct to the public. This portable microphone solution connects to your PC or Mac via USB technology, said to be small enough to not block surrounding ports on laptop devices.

Coming with Samson's Sound Deck Noise Cancellation software for PC and Mac, this product is designed to be small enough to carry everywhere you go - stating in their recently issued press release that "With Go Mic Direct, you'll never want to use your Computer's internal microphone again."

I don't think that statement is too far from the truth. My laptop microphone sucks, as does the one in my girlfriends All-in-One Toshiba PC - if this microphone is as small and well-performing as they state, I'll be picking up a couple for myself.

CES 2015 - Audio maker Divoom has unveiled its Voombox-Party wireless speaker during CES, a weather-resistant product that can be used outdoors.

The Voombox-Party has a 3" built-in subwoofer with dual passive radiators, 2" full-range drivers, and can deliver 20 watts of sound. The NFC-enabled device allows for easy pairing with smartphones, tablets, and other mobile electronics. Owners can expect up to eight hours of battery life, and can recharge the Voombox-Party via micro-USB.

The Divoom Voombox-Party is scheduled to launch by the end of January with a $119 MSRP.

CES 2015 - Audio maker Scosche publicly launched its sportCLIP collection of earbuds for athletes and active people. The company showed its sportCLIP BT Bluetooth headset and sportCLIP 3 with tapIT remote and mic during CES 2015.

The earbuds promise good quality sound with integrated controls so wearers can play/pause music, skip tracks and adjust volume directly with controls located on the cable.

The Scosche sportCLIP BT and sportCLIP 3 will be available during Q1 2015 for $79.99 MSRP and $34.99 MSRP.

CES 2015 - Sennheiser has launched its URBANITE XL Wireless headphones during CES 2015, offering the new headphones to deliver high-quality sound.

The headphones make use of the apt-X codec and has Bluetooth and NFC support to mobile users. A touch control panel is located on the right ear cup so wearers can easily adjust volume, skip tracks, and receive and make phone calls. Voice prompts also are available.

With the Sennheiser URBANITE series, we've created a range of headphones that deliver an emotional, powerful club sound on the movie," said Dr. Christian Em, director of product management at Sennheiser. "But the generation of Millennials knows more and demands more. Now we can offer the URBANITE design including wireless freedom."

CES 2015 - Audio company A-Audio has unveiled the Rose Gold Lyric On-Ear Headphones during CES, the first addition to its LUX line.

The headphones have a diamond-quilted leather band and octagonal bezels located on each ear cup. The ear cups have memory foam padding to better isolate sound and still feel comfortable. A-Audio also provided dual jacks so owners can share music with friends, along with 40mm customer drivers and anti-vibration aluminum.

The headphones will be available for early-access in February, sporting a $199 MSRP.

CES 2015 - Optoma announced it acquired NuForce at the end of 2014, and didn't waste any time before adding to the NuForce line, launching the NE750M and NE800M earbuds. It's good to see Optoma decide to continue expanding the NuForce product line in 2015, and launching something so quickly after the acquisition.

The NE750M are made up with an aluminum body that was designed to be comfortable and durable. Owners can answer and disconnect from calls directly through the earbuds, along with navigating their playlist.

The NE800M are made from carbon fiber, promising reduced vibrations that help provide a clearer sound quality. With a frequency response from 10Hz to 40kHz, there is a bit of additional sound quality delivered when compared to the NE750M.

NFC is a fantastic addition to any audio or technology device, unless you own an Apple product. All you've got to do is enable it, tap your phone on the system and you're connected and good to go in a matter of seconds. Don't believe me? Take a look at our overview of the Artic S113BT and see how easy it is on my Samsung Galaxy S4.

Patriot's BeatStreet has this great feature, but you can also connect it to your device through general Bluetooth methods or even a 3.5mm AUX cable, enabling you to listen to your tunes as you please. As with most of these products, it's charged via a microUSB port located at the rear of the device and features the ability to work as a hands-free device for your smartphone.

Daring to be a little different, the Patriot BeatStreet also doubles as a clock, giving you a white light display at the top of the product.

CES 2015 - HDTV and display maker Sceptre has unveiled the SoundBase TV Audio System, a mix between a Bluetooth speaker and sound bar. Powered by Bluetooth 4.0, the SoundBase allows users to connect devices and stream audio wirelessly directly to the unit.

The SoundBase supports HDTVs up to 55-inches and under 65-lbs, with four speakers and subwoofer combing for 75 watts of surround sound audio.

"The SoundBase is a two-in-one speaker with the power to immerse you into a movie and wirelessly stream your favorite songs via your cell phone, tablet or computer," said Cathy Chou, VP of operations of Sceptre. "Our SoundBase gives users the ability to enjoy high-quality sound without having to purchase expensive and unattractive home theater speaker systems."

CES 2015 - Speaker and audio company ECOXGEAR is now working with SunCore, a semiconductor solar-based product company, to develop the ECOXGEAR high-density solar panels. The lure of solar-powered outdoors products isn't necessarily new, but was rather inefficient until recently.

The PV panel technology utilizes a solar panel made with a 3D crystalline structure, so light is captured more efficiently during daylight hours. The SunCore solar panels are more efficient than traditional panels, so ECOXGEAR HD solar panels will be able to save more energy each day.

"By exclusively utilizing SunCore's impressive solar technology, we will be able to give our users an untethered experience like no other," said Greg Fadul, ECOXGEAR co-founder. "Our devices will harness the incredible power of the sun at all times of the day, literally making the brightest star in the galaxy your power plug."

CES 2015 - Set to provide gamers with immersive and deep sound quality, ROCCAT's last installment to their CES 2015 onslaught is the Kave XTD 5.1 Analog headset.

Designed with noise cancelling technology build into their dual-mode, in-cable remote means full immersion without distraction. ROCCAT proudly states that sound quality is paramount when designing their Kave models, stating that "our tweaks based in part on customer feedback and our own sound engineering goals have catapulted the XTD 5.1 Analog's audio to new heights."

Alongside increased sound performance, ROCCAT claims that 25 percent of the total weight has been taken from this headset, when compared to previous Kave models.

CES 2015 - Using Las Vegas as their platform, Turtle Beach have sent out a press release commenting on their Spring 2015 release of the Stealth 500X and Elite 800X Xbox One compatible gaming headsets.

Featuring DTS 7.1 surround sound and set for retail at the $200 mark, Turtle Beach are wanting to blow away the competition with their new Elite 500X offering. This headset is a world's first, by offering this 7.1 surround sound with Xbox One compatibility.

This release is followed by news of the Elite 800X, bringing even more world firsts to the table. Alongside containing DTS 7.1 surround sound, this headset comes with cool features such as customizable presets, a magnetic charging stand and swappable speaker plates - with Turtle Beach claiming this is the most optioned headset to be available on the market.

CES 2015 - Audio maker Sennheiser has expanded its Momentum headphones line, including new Momentum wireless and Momentum on-ear wireless models. The new models have increased wearing comfort and a new foldable headband design.

Sennheiser included NFC technology so pairing the headset to a mobile device is even easier - with the Apt-X codec helping deliver better sound quality. The wireless headphones also make use of NoiseGard active noise cancellation, with ambient noise monitored and blocked. Calls can be answered directly through the headphones, and music volume control is integrated.

The new Momentum headphones will be available starting in January, with support for Google Android, Apple iOS and Microsoft Windows devices.

CES 2015 - Patriot Memory today announced its BeatStreet Bluetooth Speaker, an affordable wireless speaker that features Bluetooth and near-field communication (NFC) connectivity.

BeatStreet has a rechargeable battery with up to four hours of playback time, along with a microUSB port to easily recharge the unit. The integrated volume and track control button at the top of the speaker gives users the chance to browse their music collection without using their smartphone or tablet. It's possible to also answer and take phone calls.

The Patriot BeatStreet Bluetooth Speaker will be available later this month with a $34.99 MSRP.