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).
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It’s kind of hard to get excited about mid-tier earphones these day The Marshall Minors are a bit of an exception thanks primaily to their retrotastic design. There’s the large gold-colored 3.5mm jack and the fabric-covered wire. Then the earbuds borrow their look from knobs generally found on Marshall amps. But you already knew this. The Marshall Minor’s were announced back in 2010. The news today is that they’re finally available for $59 at MarshallHeadphones.com and select retailers. Hopefully they sound as good as the Marshal Majors. → Read More
True story: a few weeks ago Munitio, a headphone company that makes earbuds shaped like 9 mm slugs, sent me a pair of their silver earbuds. I was supposed to fly so I put them in my bag and went through security. Luckily, big metal slugs shaped like bullets don’t show up on scanners so I was just fine. A word to the wise, however: unless you’re someone like Slash or something, these things are probably too rock and roll for you. You’ll probably also get tased by the TSA if they see them. Their latest version, the [M] BLK, offer the same great Munitio shape with a small microphone for making phone calls. They’re available today for $180. More specs after the jump but you get the idea. Apparently they’re only available in “lifestyle boutiques” so hit your local Wet Seal after work. → Read More
These $50 earbuds are designed for swimmers and heavy sweaters who need a little extra protection as they glide around the waters of their local pool like a pasty, bulbous manta ray. That said, H2OAudio has been pretty strong in the waterproof devices and cases department so there’s no reason to think these aren’t good. → Read More
Shure announced their latest sound isolating earphones today (don’t call them earbuds), the SE315. The SE315′s are a single driver earphone with a full range of sound, and a detachable cable. → Read More
Just in time for the start of school, Altec Lansing is launching a new line of noise-isolating earbuds. The Muzx Ultra block out noise using SnugFit silicone eartips, providing a kind of passive noise-isolation. The result is a high quality sound in a small package. → Read More
Just a pair of earbuds housed in 18K gold 9mm bullet casings etched with an eagle for your enjoyment. That’s all. Good luck convincing an overworked TSA agent that you’re not a terrorist and your $250 earbuds will not harm anyone. → Read More
There are a few ways to to get excellent audio out of a pair of headphones. You can have excellent components or a tight, close fit or special electronics. Or, better yet, you can have all three. I was lucky enough to be able to try three types of custom earphones/earbuds and am please to report that if you have the cash they’re definitely a great way to listen to music. I tested three distinct models from JH Audio, Ultimate Ears, and Etymotic. All of these buds were custom molded for my ear, a process that is, at the very least, undeniably weird. First a note on these headphones: they’re definitely not cheap. Not only do you have to pay for the headphones, you also have to pay for a licensed audiologist to take a mold of your ear. The mold is then used to create a custom-fitted earbud that fits you, presumably, less like a glove and more like a custom sports mouth guard. These earbuds are not for everyone but they are amazing bits of audio gear. I chose three different types, ranging from almost $1200 to about $400. If you love music and have a great deal of high quality or lossless content, this is certainly an option to consider. Full disclosure: Obviously these companies squirted gunk into my ears and made these headphones for the review. → Read More
Don’t call them earbuds, at this price point they are considered to be in-ear monitors. The SA7 are the latest from Sleek Audio, and replace compliment the previous model, the SA6 that Devin reviewed. → Read More
Please indulge me as I begin this post with a quote from the Ultimate Ears 18 press release: “The Ultimate Ears 18 Pro Custom Monitors are expected to be available beginning in February for a suggested retail price of $1350 (U.S.). (The price of the Ultimate Ears 18 Pro Custom Monitors does not include the initial cost to have a qualified audiologist create your ear impressions.) The optional ambient noise feature can be added to your custom monitors for an additional $50 (U.S.).” I’m not entirely sure how much it costs “to have a qualified audiologist create your ear impressions,” but I’m guessing that it’s not a service offered at your local Sam’s Club. → Read More
This is pretty cool. The folks at Cult of Mac bought some $14 knockoff earbuds fro the iPhone. They look exactly like the iPhone earbuds but “broke down in a week.” → Read More
Do you love weiner dogs? Like REALLY love them? Don’t just say you love them to impress the internet. → Read More
Breaking news! Pay attention, people of the Internet! Apple has revealed that under some circumstances, iPod and iPhone users may receive a mild electrical shock to their ears through their earbuds. Knowledge base article TS2729 has the full technical details about how something called “static electricity” can build up in your precious iPod or iPhone and then lay in wait until you insert the earbuds into your soft, vulnerable ears. → Read More
An experiment, if you will. Place two sets of headphones in opposite corners of an empty room and leave for 15 minutes. When you return, you’ll find them both in the middle of the room, tangled together into a knotted mess. For extra fun, try this experiment when you’re running late for an important meeting. You’ll find that they’ve doubled the knots and tied them extra tight! If you’ve got an old contact lens case, though, you may be able to avoid this problem. → Read More
New earphones. Yay. Just what the world needs. The Style Series Budget models for cell phones and basic playback. Color option: white. Clever. $29.99 → Read More
iFrogz isn’t the most promising-sounding name if you’re looking for really nice-quality cans, but if you want to leave the high-end stuff at home and carry something personalized and expressive, these may be a good deal. They’ve got different art and colors for the headbands, outer earpiece, cushions, and so on, so the possibilities for customization are pretty numerous. The price is right, which suggests the sound is a little weak, but hey, if you were going to buy $20 earbuds or $35 headphones anyway, you might as well get some cool-looking ones. I was actually not expecting much from the designs, but some of them are pretty awesome. → Read More
When the emoticon earbud covers made their way out, I thought they were pretty cool. Sure, they were dorky as all hell – but they were cute. I bought my girlfriend a pair, she loved’em, and that was that. Taking the same earbuds-as-art idea and spinning it the entirely wrong way, fredflare has begun selling earbuds shaped as ladybugs, rubber duckies, pigs, and … flies. The ladybugs and rubber duckies I can understand, I guess. And the pigs? Maybe some person with a misaligned fashion sense or who just likes the whacky and tacky. But flies? What the hell? Besides being an awesome way to proclaim that you don’t like someone and never want to be expected to buy them a gift again, why would anyone buy those? [Gear Diary via Shinyshiny] → Read More
