Long before the advent of the Jawbone Jambox, there was a portable speaker that was decently rugged, had tremendous battery life and amazing sound, and that was the Tivoli PAL. The PAL boasted an audiophile peidgree and an auxiliary input that made it a good partner for early iPods, but the introduction of decent stereo Bluetooth streaming made it fall behind somewhat in convenience when the… → Read More
The Jambox (or its many equivalents) is fine, but I much prefer the experience of visiting second-hand shops around the city in hopes of finding a tower speaker relic that smells musty but still has a richness of sound and vintage appeal. Now a new Kickstarter project wants to help make sure proper speakers (the kind with removable cloth covers built strictly for sound first and style second) can… → Read More
RIM’s accessories are almost as interesting as its first BB10 shipping hardware, and in addition to an external battery charger, they’ve also got a Bluetooth Speaker/speakerphone that’s extremely portable, delivers decent sound and won’t cost you an arm and a leg. Plus, the unique design means it clips onto your sun visor in the car for hands-free communication. → Read More
There are plenty of Bluetooth speakers to choose from, which is exactly why I asked Boombotix co-founders Lief Storer and Chris McKleroy what made them think the market needed another one. But Boombot Rex, the company’s latest Bluetooth speaker (it previously made a few different models based on collectable vinyl toy designs) is a different beast, and one they think can win over even the jaded… → Read More
In the fall of last year, Pioneer introduced the HVT (Horizontal-Vertical Transforming) technology [PDF, in English] during CEATEC 2010 in Tokyo. HVT makes it possible to “drastically reduce the thickness of speakers” and keep down unwanted vibrations – all without losing audio quality, according to Pioneer. → Read More
Basically all we know about these upcoming Marshall headphones is that they’ll be available on November 15 and that they bear the name of the vaunted monitor cabinet and amp company, Marshall. If the image is any indication, they’re perfect for hipster graffiti artists. → Read More
The original X-Mini came out a few years back as one of the best sounding portable speakers available on the market, and they even won a red dot award to prove it. Crave reports that XMI‘s updated X-Mini 1.1 combines the portability of the original, with a feature previously found only in the X-Mini II product. → Read More
Tokyo-based crap gadget maker Thanko continues to amaze. The company today announced [JP] a mouse with an integrated speaker, believe it or not (Thanko already gave us the “mid-air” mouse, the USB cooler mouse, a heated mouse, and a liquid mouse). → Read More
Orb, a small company in New York, makes odd-looking speakers with some great sound. They just announced a small speaker/amp combo for $299 which includes two speakers and an optional subwoofer. The handmade speakers come in multiple finishes (I have the copper here at the house, which I personally don’t think go with my rug) but the dark ones look nice. The super eight subwoofer, a real… → Read More
JVC in Japan today announced [JP] the NC-SP1, an ultra-slim active speaker that’s just 34mm thick and can be connected to your computer via USB. Marketed as a device that’s particularly suitable for presentations, it supports Windows XP/Vista/7 and Mac OS X 10.4 machines and requires just one USB port. → Read More
Japan-based Bird Electron has announced [JP] the Ezison 100 today, a quite unusual speaker for the iPhone (or iPod touch) that’s supposed to turn those devices into some kind of electric guitar. The Ezison 100 is (hand)made in Japan, with Bird Electron saying they used mainly wood and acrylic fiber in the production process. → Read More
This one is for the the ladies: A cute, heart-shaped active speaker box for the iPhone or iPod that doubles as a dock and also offers a mirror that pops up when you open it. Aptly named iHeart [JP], the “Jewelry Box Speaker” is the brain child of a Japanese company called Marubeni Infotec. → Read More
Tube or valve amplifiers are electronic amplifiers that make use of vacuum tubes to boost the power of a signal. They’ve been around for decades, and some audio freaks still love the sound they help to produce. And they look kind of pretty, too. Reason enough for Hanwha Japan to come up with the US-0498 [JP], a PC speaker that looks like a tube amplifier (but isn’t one). → Read More
Here’s the right thing for all audio freaks out there who happen to be ready to shell out a lot of cash for a very unique product: Japan-based tech company BifrösTech (what a name) is selling egg-shaped speakers [JP] that are priced at $3,580 for a pair. The so-called D’Egg TGA-2R1 is sized at 140×140×235mm and weighs 2.6kg (including the stand that’s included in the price). → Read More
Japan-based gadget maker Strapya is offering the so-called Music Card MP3 Player (the link leads to their English store), an MP3 player that houses a speaker and an earphone plug but is still just 5mm (0.20″) thin. Sized at 5.4×8.6cm, the player weighs 20g.
Strapya says the headphone jack is just 2.5mm and ships fitting earphones with the player itself, but they’ll also give buyers an adapter so… → Read More
Victor JVC has announced [JP] a new home theater sound system for the Japanese market today, consisting of a set of two speakers (SP-FT1/FT2) and the corresponding amplifier (AX-FT1/FT2). And the system is very pretty, mainly because the speakers are just 30.8mm thin and weigh 0.85kg each. → Read More
A Japanese company called Evergreen is selling wooden speakers with a built-in digital alarm clock. Two versions are available: The DN-WSP1802 (pictured above) is the double speaker model, while the DN-WSP1406 is one unit only. Both versions will play your music in stereo (3.5mm). → Read More
Anything that begins “I built this as part of an audio visual project for Burning Man 2007″ is automatically suspect, but this is actually cool. It’s basically a huge cardboard tube with a massive driver. The resulting noise, at about 30Hz, was loud enough to be heard around the creator’s block. → Read More
Japan-based Elecom today announced the Soundblack [JP], an iPod dock connector/speaker for use with a number of iPod models (iPod 5G, iPod touch 1/2G), iPod classic and iPod nano 1/2/3/4G). The 0.04W mini system doesn’t support the iPhone though. → Read More
Humping or crunching USB dogs are out. The newest fad (at least in Japan) is owning puppy-shaped and USB-powered speakers [JP] for your computer. They are brought to you by Japan Trust Technology (what a name), a Tokyo-based Thanko competitor that has just released a USB-powered mini Zen garden. → Read More
My initial thoughts upon receiving the Griffin Technology AirCurve to review were, “Great, a speaker that requires no power. That’s cool.” I thought about it some more and began to feel differently though. I came to a new conclusion that for all the coolness and “green-ness” of its lack of power consumption, that it may not be as realistic or as practical as it seems for repeated use. I… → Read More
Toshiba, in collaboration with a university professor and a company called Actimo [JP], has developed the “accurate sound reproduction technology”, which might pave the way for better sound coming from speakers in the future. → Read More
Bandai’s Ginza-themed diorama speaker broke cover days ago and most of us was like, “wha? A diorama speaker?” Really, that’s what we said. Anyway, the video after the break clearly shows that this thing should stay over in Japan where apparently it means something cause it does nothing for us here in the States. → Read More
Somewhere out there someone needs this 360 degree speaker. Sure, JVC and others make off the shelf solution but that’s no fun. → Read More
The latest speakers from Logitech employ omnidirectional tech to fill your room with beautiful music – or the Rush Limbaugh audio stream if that’s your thing. No power brick need, these puppies run of USB (OS X or Windows) and even come with a remote with dedicated media functions. The Z-5 speakers can be yours for $99 when the set drops later this month. → Read More
The Sony Sountina is another 360° single speaker system. This one uses a vibrating organic cylinder. Insert obligatory double-entendre here. The Sountina also has colorful LEDs to breathe “blue, amber and purple light into the space.” → Read More
Indiana Jones or Superman prop; classy or just plain tacky? I can’t decide but I’ve to give the boys over at Harman Kardon for suck a clever name: GLA-55. ‘Cause it’s made out of glass. Get it? Anyway, getting down to the details. Only two to three thousand are going to be made and priced at £500. Within the crystal speakers lay a 56 watt per speaker… → Read More
Japanese accessory maker Brightonnet announced yesterday the release of a stylish portable speaker/docking station for the iPod. The BI-SPVIVID is available in black, silver, pink and blue. The device features 2 speakers (2.2W each) and a USB port. It can also be used for other portable audio players via a stereo mini audio cable. Brightonnet promises 4 AAA batteries last for 10-11 hours of music… → Read More
Tokyo-based Marubeni Infotec [JP] sells two new stylish accessories for the iPod classic/nano/Touch. At the beginning of next month, the so-called “Alle STACK for iPod” speakers (1Wx2) will be rolled out for prices between $93 (for the iPod nano) and $102 (for the iPod classic). Marubeni promises high sound quality because they used precious wood to manufacture the speakers (American… → Read More
Tokyo-based Retailcomm unveiled a new portable speaker. The BIT-STB2819 is powered by 3 AA batteries and measures just 160×48×48mm (weight: 180 g). Output power is 2Wx2. The speaker can be wirelessly connected to media players and mobile phones via Bluetooth. It is limited to 500 pieces and exclusively on sale on Amazon Japan for $57. → Read More
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