If you’ve ever been in a sports bar with your friends to watch a big game, you’ve likely run into the “muting” problem. While the bar may have two dozen TVs, each might be playing a different game, and there’s either too much sound or none at all. At most local restaurants, bars, airports and health clubs, you’ll find TVs muted for this very reason. → Read More
Apple had a couple of new patent applications published by the USPTO today (spotted by AppleInsider), including one detailing how internal fans could be made to fit mobile devices to help dissipate heat, and another for headphones that become speakers for when listening goes from private to shared scenarios, which even describes how in-ear models could work that way. The patent for internal fans… → Read More
IK Multimedia’s iRig STOMP pedal interface for iOS is now officially available.
I should also mention that approaching this official launch, I’ve been playing with the iRig STOMP for a week or so, (coupled with the iPad version of AmpliTube Slash), and the pedal is a real gas. It’s a really great little piece of hardware. → Read More
Only a few weeks following its TechCrunch Disrupt NYC win, UberConference, the service which aims to fix crappy conference calls, is out with its first major update. Today, the company is introducing three new features for its beta users, including Evernote integration, group chat, and something it’s calling “instant conferences.”
Although the company isn’t talking exact download numbers at… → Read More
Social magazine Flipboard may have to think up a new tagline for itself, as tonight the company is rolling out an update which greatly expands its focus beyond text-based content to also include audio. The rollout features integrations from NPR, PRI (Public Radio International) and social sound platform, SoundCloud.
Also of note, Flipboard is launching its third localized edition with the… → Read More
Alan Lomax single-handedly (and some would say, heavy-handedly) saved the folk music from oblivion. Son of John Lomax, Alan travelled across the US and around the world recording folk musicians in their natural habitat. Some of his most notable songs – work songs, cowboy songs, and ballads – formed the bedrock of the folk movement and the succeeding rise of the singer-songwriter in the 1960s and… → Read More
In August, I remember seeing YouTube links for the band One Like Son, who recorded an entire song using only their iPhones and a few iPhone peripherals (in addition to their instruments and drum programs). Today, I received a press release indicating that the band have finished recording an entire 10 song album using the same setup.
Intrigued, I contacted Stephen Poff, the mastermind behind… → Read More
We don’t design and hardware quite as much as we used to, but I’m making an exception for these. A good while back, I wrote about a pair of headphones I thought was the most understated and attractive I’d ever seen. They were the TMA-1s from Danish design house AIAIAI, and while I never got to get my hands on them, I’m going to make it my business to try their new pair out. → Read More
About a month after its iOS debut, the self-described “Twitter for audio” app Spreaker is now publicly launching Android. The app, which lets users broadcast live over the Internet, is a DIY broadcasting/podcasting solution with social sharing mechanisms built in. You connect the app to your Twitter and Facebook accounts to broadcast live as a status update. Afterwards, you can download the MP3… → Read More
While we weren’t “In Da Club”, the Candy Shop, or the Disco Inferno, 50 Cent himself made some time this morning to meet us in downtown Manhattan and show off his brand new line of headphones.
If you don’t already know, 50 originally tried to get the ball rolling in the audio biz with Sleek Audio earlier this year, until some licensing issues led him to become CEO of his own company, SMS… → Read More
Altec Lansing has been trying to sell custom headphones with for a while now but this year they’re getting serious. In a joint effort between A-L and ACS customs, a UK company, they are now selling $999 custom in-ear headphones for professionals (and professional wannabes). → Read More
Bose just announced two soundbar systems for home theaters, the Lifestyle 135 System and CineMate 1 SR System. The devices use a single bar to emit what many would call surround-sound audio and can be mounted almost anywhere in the room in almost any position.
The Lifestyle includes a small console with four HDMI inputs, a tuner, and an iPod/iPhone dock. The CineMate simply connects to any TV… → Read More
Very few headsets out there are “true” surround sound. Most are traditional stereo headphones with “virtual surround sound” — a process that adds depth and directionality, but delivers it through two speakers. Headphones like Tritton’s and Psyko’s actually use multiple drivers to simulate being in a room with, say, five speaker channels and a subwoofer. They’ve had mixed success, but maybe … → Read More
Shuffler.fm, an online Web application for music discovery, received a major update today. Now users can play mixes of their favorite blogs, browse the Web’s most popular songs and artists, create personalized channels and more.
But what has us even more excited is the upcoming Shuffler.fm iPad application, which provides a visual way to explore new music, optimized for the touchscreen… → Read More
Short version: A solid pair of laptop or desk speakers, unremarkable but warm and powerful, with an understated and attractive design. More attention to detail would help justify their price, though. → Read More
The NuForce’s uDAC-2 Signature Gold Edition 24bit/96kHz USB digital audio converter is basically worth $5 (even with the gold plating and glass crystals) but the company, whose experience in audio is precedented only by every other manufacturer in the world, is selling it for $400 – a noble price aimed at pulling the last ounce of disposable income from the pockets of fools. → Read More
Back in the old days, if you wanted to record your Bruce-Springstein-esque yowlings in the comfort of your bedroom you had to use an old Tascam four track and slap down the music at a quality that was questionable at best.
Now, with the advent of micro-recorders like the Boss Micro BR BR-80, you can sound like a pro without much assistance. The device records to SD/SDHC and supports full… → Read More
Short version: Looks good, sounds good, fits… okay. It’s not for marathon gaming or all-day use, but the Chimaera is a solid headset for home gaming. Nothing out of the ordinary. → Read More
After discontinuing the production of cassette Walkmans last year, Sony is now about to kill another one of their original inventions: the MiniDisc Walkman. And as Japanese business daily The Nikkei is reporting today, Sony plans to pull the plug on the production as early as this September – obviously because nobody is buying MiniDisc Walkmans anymore. → Read More
I wouldn’t expect much in the way of warm and well-regulated sound from this little speaker, but I sure do like the way it looks. Flat, portable, and extremely simple. Probably difficult to find outside Japan, though, and $65 is about three times what I’d pay for it. [via NotCot] → Read More
These speakers from Audyssey purport to be “inspired by the sights and sounds of New York’s Lower East Side neighborhood,” though I don’t see a lot of the LES in them myself. Not enough sandwiches, for one thing. But they’re more than a New York shout-out: they claim these speakers are powerful, well-balanced, and more than sufficient for your music and movies. No… → Read More
Short version: A solid pair of headphones with some token efforts towards ruggedness. Aside from an increased resistance to water, they’re not remarkably tough, but the sound is good and the remote is nice and chunky. → Read More
We ran into Kim Rom from SteelSeries at E3 and he gave us a little tour of their newest gear. I’m pretty pumped about the 7XB headset, which we’ll be reviewing soon — I travel with a headset a lot, and the flexibility and breakdownability make it an attractive option. Check out the video inside.
I also get a surprise from a lady in red right at the beginning there. Why didn’t I follow up on… → Read More
Last night we got a live tour of the latest from Mad Catz, including this rather comprehensively-featured headset for the Xbox 360. The big “what’s new” on this one is that it’s “truly wireless,” with no cord to the controller — making it the only wireless Dolby 7.1 headset out there. That may be putting somewhat of a fine point on it (there are other “truly wireless” headsets, of course)… → Read More
Nox’s Admiral headset has been around since CES, in a way — it’s still not quite final, and by “not quite final” I mean “not final at all.” But it’s still awesome, and once you get over how… shall we say, not lightweight it is, you can kind of see just how great it could be. They’ve changed a bit since CES so we dropped by to get a tour. → Read More
Short version: While the technology is interesting and unorthodox, the Carbon seems to miss out on the most important role of a headset: sounding good. → Read More
One of the problems of in-ear headphones, though they often have excellent sound, is that they block all movement of air inside the ear canal, the better to control the sound environment — but potentially fatiguing or damaging to your eardrum. Audio researcher Stephen Ambrose has a solution that may improve the sound and protect your ears. → Read More
It’s hard for me to imagine being in a firefight at all, let alone having to make tactical decisions and communicate with other soldiers over the roar of tanks, guns, jets, and explosions. But our troops do it every day — after they’ve gotten used to it, at least. It can be a bit disorientating at first, as you can imagine, and this project by a Missouri professor is intended to get them… → Read More
You might remember that Sleek Audio, purveyors of fine headphone goods, were teaming up with 50 cent to produce a new pair of wireless over-ears. Why not, right? All the other audio guys are teaming up with rappers, so they had to just to stay competitive. But the honeymoon’s over. Sleek Audio and G-Unit productions (Fitty’s licensing company) are quits. And the headphones? “We… → Read More
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