Audio - Page 3

The new Alienware Pro Headset, designed in collaboration with over 100 esports pros, including Team Liquid, blurs the lines between minimal stylish ANC streetwear and premium wireless PC gaming audio. In the works for over 18 months, the Alienware Pro Headset is the company's most advanced gaming headset.

At the heart of the new headset are the 50mm Graphene Coated Drivers designed to support and enhance directional audio, crucial for competitive games that rely on intricate sound design in shooters like Call of Duty and Counter-Strike 2. In addition, you've got Two-mic Noise Cancellation that will only pick up your voice while disregarding background audio.

In addition, it features Hybrid ANC for active noise cancellation, comfortable memory foam leatherette earcups, and a stylish design reminiscent of premium over-ear headphones.

The new Turtle Beach Stealth 700 series is here, and they represent the company's latest premium wireless gaming headsets for PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Steam Deck, and Switch. The hardware maker touts "massive upgrades" with the updated line-up, which includes the brand-new CrossPlay dual wireless transmitters.

As the name suggests, CrossPlay includes two wireless USB transmitters that allow games to switch between different audio sources with a button press. It's a very welcome quality-of-life upgrade for those who jump from PC to PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X when gaming. No more plugging and unplugging and then plugging in again - that's very cool.

The Turtle Beach Stealth 700 (Gen 3) also supports simultaneous low-latency 2.4 GHz wireless with Bluetooth 5.2, so players can stay connected to their smartphone while gaming.

When we reviewed the Logitech G ASTRO A50 X wireless gaming headset, it was a revelation regarding sound quality, broadcast-quality microphone, and comfort. However, upgrading the base station to turn it into an HDMI switcher for PC and console gaming raised the price tag accordingly.

Well, for those wanting an upgrade for the ASTRO A50 that remains true to previous models, the new Logitech G ASTRO A50 5th Generation Wireless Gaming Headset and Base Station is for you. The base station's HDMI switching capabilities are removed, and instead, a more traditional USB approach is used for connecting multiple devices.

This not only lowers the price to match the previous non-X A50 release at $299.99 USD, but it retains all of the new features of the A50 X - including PLAYSYNC AUDIO, the same quality, comfort, and award-winning 24-bit wireless sound.

Apple has hosted its unveiling event for not just the new iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max smartphones, but slightly upgraded AirPods Max headphones have been unleashed.

The new Apple AirPods Max headphones don't do anything new technologically, but the company has removed the Lightning port and upgraded to USB-C connectivity for the new AirPods Max headphones. Those wanting some upgrades -- myself included, as an AirPods Max owner, the only Apple product I own -- will be disappointed, but the move to USB-C is welcomed.

Apple's new AirPods Max headphones also receive support for Personalized Spatial Audio, which will arrive with the upcoming iOS 18 software update that will unleash Apple Intelligence onto the iPhone, ready for the new iPhone 16 family of smartphones. Inside, there is reportedly no upgrade in hardware with the same internal components as the current-gen AirPods Max headphones.

Logitech G's latest isn't hardware but new software aimed at PC gamers and creators. MIXLINE is described as an easy-to-use audio mixing solution, and best of all, it's free. Available now for Windows 10 and 11 users, it's designed to make dealing with more than one audio source a breeze.

"If you have more than one audio source while streaming, gaming, or even just wearing your headphones, then MIXLINE is for you," said Daniel Bowen, Senior Global Product Manager for MIXLINE.

An audio source can be Spotify, Google Chrome, Counter-Strike, Discord, etc. With MIXLINE, audio inputs are on the left side of the UI, and outputs are on the right side. This gives you direct control over routing and choosing where each signal goes. For creators with speakers, headsets, and output streams, it's a great tool to keep all their audio on track.

Dyson is primarily known for creating high-quality cyclone vacuum cleaners, space-age fans, and hair dryers - but the company's latest product is a first for the company as it won't suck or blow. Jokes aside, the new $499 USD Dyson OnTrac headphones represent the company's first-ever audio-only device, noise-canceling headphones sporting a funky and unique design.

This isn't the company's first foray into audio. During the height of the global pandemic, Dyson announced a strange-looking mask, air filter, and headphone head that looked like leftovers from The Dark Knight Rises set. Dyson OnTrac is purely an audio device with a high-fidelity frequency response of 6Hz to 21kHz and noise-canceling that can reduce background noise by up to 40dB.

Dyson is touting "best in class noise-cancellation" for the OnTrac headphones, where the noise is canceled 384,000 times per second - with the headphones still delivering up to 55 hours of battery life with ANC turned on.

Soft velour-covered ear pads and cushions are usually a sign that you're dealing with high-end headphones, which is precisely what you're getting with the new beyerdynamic MMX 300 PRO gaming headset. It features the same studio-grade, 45mm high-performance STELLAR.45 driver found in the company's pro audio headphones, tuned here in a design custom-made for gaming.

According to the company, the closed-back design and high-end sound quality are perfect for those "long, focused gaming sessions." They focus on delivering powerful bass, clear mids, and crisp and detailed high frequencies. The headphone frequency response is impressive, listed as 5 - 40,000 Hz. More than double the range most headset drivers offer.

Hopefully, we'll go hands-on (or ears-on) with these as soon as they sound impressive. beyerdynamic's MMX 300 series is its premium gaming headset, and the PRO is its most impressive version to date.

A new report from an industry analyst and renowned Apple insider Ming-Chi Kuo states Apple is preparing to add infrared cameras to its AirPods line-up.

Kuo's report cites a supply chain survey that points to Apple using these upgraded AirPods with Vision Pro goggles will enable a more lifelike experience in spatial computing environments (Apple's virtual/augmented reality). Kuo wrote the new AirPods would feature infrared sensors similar to those present on current-gen iPhones, which are used for the facial recognition feature, FaceID.

In addition to improving the Vision Pro experience, the next-gen AirPods could enable in-air hand gestures. A February report from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman stated that Apple began an investigation into cameras being implemented into AirPods under the codename B798 and that investigation started in 2023. A team was tasked with fitting low-resolution camera sensors into earbuds about the size of today's AirPods.

SteelSeries announcing a new gaming headset is not uncommon, nor is it strange for them to impress when it comes to audio quality and comfort - check out the SteelSeries Arctis Nova 4X we recently reviewed. This week, SteelSeries has revealed a new entry in the Arctis Nova line-up, the SteelSeries Arctis Nova 5.

Designed for PC, Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo Switch, the Arctis Nova 5 supports both low-latency 2.4GHz wireless and Bluetooth technologies, Neodymium Magnetic Drivers for a high-end audio experience, and a new ClearCast 2.X Mic with a new high-bandwidth chipset for 32KHz 16-bit audio for in-game chat and communication.

The new SteelSeries Arctis Nova 5 also offers 60 hours of wireless gaming with fast USB-C charging that delivers 6 hours after only 15 minutes. This is all great stuff, but the most exciting part is the new Nova 5 Companion App for smartphones or any compatible iOS or Android device.

Siri might not be the best digital assistant in the world, but it's definitely work knowing that you can at least use it. Siri is available on iPhones, iPads, Macs, Apple Watches, and HomePods and it's also available on a few third-party smart home devices as well. Now, it's also available on a select number of Denon smart speakers. Not that you likely know that, after the audio company apparently launched the feature months ago and didn't tell anyone.

Seemingly ashamed of the partnership that brings Apple's ailing digital assistant to its speakers, Denon started to roll the new feature out back in December, HoemKit News reports. Getting access to Siri is achieved by updating the speaker's software via the HEOS app. Once updated, enabling Siri on the speaker is pretty simple we're told, but notably, you'll need to have a Siri-enabled speaker to hand as well. Why? That's the interesting part.

As HomeKit News notes, these speakers don't actually have Siri themselves but rather act as outputs for Siri on other devices. In other words, you'll need a HomePod or HomePod mini on which Siri will handle the heavy lifting before essentially throwing its voice to your Denon speaker - as if it were some kind of ventriloquist speaker.

Hot on the heels of reports that some people's iPhones are currently not correctly making sound when an alarm goes off, a new report suggests that another Apple device is also having problems with something as simple as the time of day. This time it's the HomePod and HomePod mini, with the Siri digital assistant reportedly having problems with a simple request that does nothing more than ask the time.

According to a MacRumors report asking Siri what time it is can lead to the assistant being unable to answer and instead it chooses to direct users to an iPhone. Such things often happen when something needs to be displayed on-screen, like a website, but Siri should of course be more than capable of telling what the current time is.

While this issue appears to be impacting the HomePod smart speakers, the MacRumors report notes that asking the same question of Siri on an iPhone, iPad, or Mac appears to work just fine and the digital assistant offers the time as requested. With that in mind, it's unclear what is confusing Siri on the HomePod and HomePod mini.

Apple has today announced that it intends to bring its smart speakers to two new countries starting next month, with buyers able to choose from multiple colors when they place their order.

Apple says that the HomePod and HomePod mini will be released to the public across Malaysia and Thailand starting on May 10, the first time that these smart speakers have been made available in those countries.

Both of the HomePods are essentially functionally the same although there are some slight changes. HomePods can be used to wirelessly stream audio from Apple Music and select other streaming services, while AirPlay can also be used to take audio from Macs, iPhones, iPads, and other devices and play it with minimal fuss.

There have been rumors upon rumors of a new HomePod being in the works that will include a display for the very first time. We've seen images of what that could look like and we've even heard that Apple is reportedly testing a variety of different options. Now, a new leak may have given us another indication that such a HomePod really is on the way.

The latest information comes via a post on the X social network which appears to show a display mounting for a HomePod that is similar to the one that we have on the current HomePod, but notably different. There are no volume button markings for example, and it's claimed that is because the whole display will be an LCD touchscreen similar to that of an iPad.

The image shared on X shows a large curved glass screen that would cover the entire surface of a HomePod and matches a previously leaked HomePod prototype, 9to5Mac notes.

Turtle Beach is refreshing its popular wireless gaming headset line-up for 2024, with three newly redesigned models coming launching in May: the Turtle Beach Stealth 600 Wireless Gaming Headset, the Turtle Beach Stealth 500 Wireless Gaming Headset, and the high-end Turtle Beach Atlas Air Wireless Open Back PC Gaming Headset.

The new Stealth 600 replaces the existing model at the popular $99.99 USD price point and sports a funky, modern look. It has low-latency 2.4GHz wireless and Bluetooth 5.2 and an impressive 80-hour battery with quick charge capabilities. Sound-wise, it features Turtle Beach's 50mm Nanoclear drivers with a microphone now powered by AI noise reduction technology.

The new Turtle Beach Stealth 500 slots into the more affordable $79.99 USD pricing bracket, and like the Stealth 600, it has low-latency 2.4GHz wireless and Bluetooth 5.2 to support gaming on PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch, and mobile devices. Audio-wise, it features smaller 40mm drivers but still supports surround sound - however, the battery life is cut in half to up to 40 hours.

Bringing modern generative AI technologies to audio headsets has always been a given; however, how it works with the new Dell Premier Wireless ANC Headset (WL7024) available today is unique. Typically, we associate headphones and headsets with noise cancellation with travel - with ANC being all about cutting out background noise.

The Dell Premier Wireless ANC Headset takes a different approach because it is designed for professionals and those times when you need to jump into a meeting or Zoom call while out and about or in an otherwise noisy environment.

The Dell Premier Wireless ANC Headset uses AI uplink and downlink noise cancellation, removing background noise on both ends. The real magic comes with how the headset's AI noise cancellation "preserves the human voice," so you only hear the sounds of those speaking, just like sitting in a closed meeting room.

Picking up an affordable gaming headset is easy; there are countless options to choose from. The tricky part is picking up a decent, affordable gaming headset that delivers a great audio experience and comfort. Corsair's HS35 wired gaming headset from a few years ago fits into this category, with the stereo headset offering great sound and comfort for the price.

And now, it's back with Corsair's new HS35 v2 Series, which includes the HS35 v2 stereo wired gaming headset and the HS35 SURROUND v2 wired gaming headset for those who want more immersion in their gaming audio.

The HS35 v2 series includes custom-tuned 50mm neodymium drivers for a big sound, with wired 3.5mm connections to ensure compatibility with PC, PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch hardware.

We reviewed the Razer BlackShark V2 Pro in 2023, concluding that "as a wireless gaming headset, it excels in all areas, from sound quality to the on-ear preset options to the build quality and comfort." Today, Razer is introducing a new headset version designed specifically for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series console hardware.

The original Razer BlackShark V2 Pro was compatible with PlayStation hardware; however, as Xbox uses its own specialized wireless protocol for audio, you'd need this new version of the Razer BlackShark V2 Pro so you can switch from PC to Xbox and back again without skipping a beat. So, for full compatibility, you'd want the new Razer BlackShark V2 Pro for Xbox, available now with an MSRP of $199.99 USD.

Interestingly, Razer has announced that the audio has been tuned for "competitive console gaming," so the out-of-the-box sound profile might differ from the PC-first version we reviewed. The new sound profile was created in collaboration with esports pros like Hakis (Alliance) and Shotzzy (OpTic Gaming).

ASUS has unveiled two brand new ROG gaming monitors, both in 27-inch size but differing resolutions and refresh rates, and they're both not overpriced.

ASUS has designed both of the new ROG gaming monitors to be clutter-free, with an interesting design tweak that lets gamers use a stand on the monitor to hold their smartphone. Both of the new gaming monitors also feature USB Type-C connectors, which can be used to charge your USB-C devices.

The first is the ASUS ROG Strix XG27USC, which features a 27-inch panel with a native 4K resolution and super-smooth 160Hz refresh rate. If you want to run 4 K at 160FPS or more, you'll want to make sure you've got a high-end graphics card, so first off, you'd want NVIDIA's flagship GeForce RTX 4090, if not, the RTX 4080 SUPER or RTX 4080 at a minimum.

If you're in the market for a new pair of wireless earbuds but have been waiting to see what Apple's plans are, you might have to wait until September or October. That's according to a new report by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.

Gurman was writing in the weekly Power On newsletter when he said that Apple is expected to put two new fourth-generation AirPods into mass production in or around May, and based on that he then expects them to be ready for market in September or October.

The new AirPods 4 are expected to feature a new design to aid an improved fit in the ear while improving sound quality is also thought to be a key feature. There will also be an update to the existing charging case as well, adding a USB-C port and removing the Lightning port that has been there for years.

Apple patents tons of ideas all of the time and even incentivizes its employees to apply for patents as well. But not every patent turns into a product that you will eventually buy in the Apple Store, and a lot of them never do. One patent that has so far not launched first surfaced back in 2021 and allowed for a new AirPods case with a touchscreen display on the front. Now, it seems while Apple didn't launch such a thing, someone else did.

Counterfeit Apple accessories and devices are nothing new of course, and the United States says that it deals with hundreds of thousands of counterfeit AirPods reaching its shores every year. But there's so far been nothing quite like this.

The fake AirPods case was posted to the X social network by leaker @lipilipsi and spotted by MacRumors. There's a video that shows the touchscreen in use with various different kinds of information displayed when swiping from side to side.