Hasta La Gadget!

Western Digital has proudly introduced the new My Book VelociRaptor Duo dual-drive storage system that supports the Mac OS X operating system. The device is powered by two 1TB 10,000 RPM WD VelociRaptor drives and two Thunderbolt ports. The Western Digital My Book VelociRaptor Duo has the ability to transfer 22GB full-length HD movies in less than 65 seconds, 2000 5MB pictures in less than 33 seconds and over 500 5MB songs in less than 8 seconds. The Western Digital My Book VelociRaptor Duo dual-drive storage system is currently available in the U.S. market for $899.99. [Engadget]

By Jim McCabe, Golfweek

NORTON, Mass. – No, it’s not one of his playgrounds – not like Firestone or Bay Hill, Augusta or Muirfield Village – but clearly there’s not much about TPC Boston that leaves Tiger Woods mystified.

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We’d be lying if we told you that we fully expected to be hanging out with 50 Cent when we traveled around the world to Berlin, but earlier today we grabbed a moment with the Queens-based emcee to discuss his venture into the world of high-end headphones. In particular, we wanted to ask how his products, including the new Street On-Ears and Street DJ Pros, stack against some better known rapper-endorsed audio technology — namely Dr. Dre’s gimmicky Beats and his tie-in with HTC.

For starters, 50 was keen to stress that this is no plain endorsement: Studio Master Sound (SMS) Audio is his company and he’s invested in it. Regarding the products themselves, he reassured us that they have nothing in common with the Beats / HTC marketing about bringing hardware and software together to create some kind of eardrum wizardry. Instead, he just wants to bring together all-round qualities like durability, comfort, and “professionally tuned” 40mm drivers, alongside fresher styling than you’d get from companies like Bose or Sennheiser.

The booth at IFA was too hectic for us to give the new ‘phones a fair run-through, and in fact 50 Cent didn’t have a great deal to say about them at this point either. As you’ll see in the video after the break, he preferred to hold up his slightly older flagship wireless set, called SYNC, as evidence that SMS Audio has audiophile credentials to justify its high price points. Speaking of which, we’re not sure how much the latest models will cost or when they’ll become available, but for guidance the SYNC headphones cost $400 while regular Street wired headphones will set you back around $250.

Continue reading 50 Cent talks up two new headphones in his SMS Audio line (video)

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Portable Audio/Video

50 Cent talks up two new headphones in his SMS Audio line (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 31 Aug 2012 19:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Looking for a good pair of earphones and have a ton of cash to burn through? Sennheiser has you covered with its IE 800 earphones, which are being touted as having “the most innovations per square millimeter.” According to Sennheiser, these earphones can compete with the rest of the company’s high-end portfolio, and we’re tempted to believe it.

That’s because, for starters, these earphones sport a frequency response of 5 to 46,500 Hz, allowing for a “lifelike sound image.” The hardware in these earphones is held in a ceramic housing, and as you can see from the image, the have quite a nice-looking finish. The star of these earphones is the Sennheiser-developed Extra Wide Band (XWB) driver, which comes in at only 7mm in diameter and provides excellent sound quality with perfect timing.

Also included in this package is Sennheiser’s new vented magnet system, which is meant to bring distortion to a minimum. “The oscillating motion of the diaphragm produces an air flow in the magnet system housing that causes the diaphragm to wobble slightly,” said Senior Acoustic Engineer Axel Grell in a company statement. “By positioning two precisely defined vent holes in the housing directly under the magnets, we can cause the air to flow in a specific direction. This minimises the wobbling motion of the diaphragm and reduces total harmonic distortion to less than 0.06 percent.”

Sennheiser also claims to have solved the problem of masking – which is when low-volume frequencies are masked by louder low-frequency sounds – through the use of a new absorber. These absorb all of the extra energy from the loud low-frequency sounds, allowing users to hear all of the frequencies without having to worry about masking. Sennheiser has also developed new oval-shaped ear adapters that allow for a better fit, but the company also includes the more common round ear adapters should you decide that you prefer those.

They sound pretty impressive at the end of everything, but you’ll be handing over a hefty chunk of change if you want to get your hands on the IE 800 earphones. They come in at $999.95, so only those who are very serious about sound quality need apply. They’ll be available in the US “later this fall” but other that, we don’t have a solid release date. Are you going to pick up a pair of these, or are they a little too expensive for your tastes?

Sennheiser shows off its high-end IE 800 earphones is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
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By Rex Hoggard, Golf Channel

NORTON, Mass. – The question everyone, perhaps even Tiger Woods himself, wanted answered on Thursday was what’s wrong with the game’s biggest draw on the weekends?

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