Hasta La Gadget!

Most of us listen to music in places where speakers just won’t do. But we all have different preferences for how we go about doing that. Some like the big sound and presence of over-the-ear headphones. Others like the portability and isolation afforded by in-ear monitors. But what do you use to listen to music when you have to listen alone? Big? Small? Cheap? Expensive? Noise-canceling? More »

Denmark’s AiAiAi has developed a reputation for targeting its headphones at specific listeners. This time, it’s aiming at someone we know all too well: the urban dweller who goes through replacement headphones like so much meat through a grinder. The Capital over-ears’ bolstered fiberglass shell is designed to be rain- and snow-resistant, not to mention take the casual knocks that might beat up other headphone pairs. The foldable set likewise gives us every excuse to keep it on our heads, both through a light and reputedly comfortable brace as well as an in-line mic and remote to take that iPhone call through the Capital’s 40mm drivers. At $125, the pair isn’t the lowest-cost entry into the headphone world, but if it spares us from having to dive for cover when the weather turns foul, it could well be a bargain. You can get a sense of AiAiAi’s impetus for yourself in a video after the break.

Continue reading AiAiAi Capital headphones bring the beats, take abuse on the streets (video)

AiAiAi Capital headphones bring the beats, take abuse on the streets (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 02 Jul 2012 13:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Another day, another speaker dock. We initially dismissed Gear4‘s latest accessory at Google I/O 2012 until we noticed that the attached Nexus 7 was playing audio digitally via the USB port instead of simply through the headphone jack (or wirelessly over Bluetooth for that matter). It turns out that Jelly Bean supports USB audio, a software feature that’s bound to spearhead a whole new generation of accessories for Android devices. Gear4’s universal speaker dock with alarm clock radio is the first to handle USB audio. While the sound for any app can be routed to the USB port in Jelly Bean, the functionality is missing from older versions of Android. Thankfully, Gear4 includes an app with its accessory that can be used to set alarms, sync time, tune the radio and play media over the USB port on legacy versions of Android. Want to know more? You’ll find our gallery below and our hands-on video after the break.

Continue reading Gear4 speaker dock supports USB audio for Jelly Bean at Google I/O 2012 (hands-on video)

Gear4 speaker dock supports USB audio for Jelly Bean at Google I/O 2012 (hands-on video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 30 Jun 2012 09:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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SRS Labs, the California-based audio technology company that specializes in audio enhancement solutions for a wide variety of consumer electronic devices, is announcing a new app that promises to improve the overall sound quality of Mac computers. It’s called Audio Essentials. And it’s an advanced software suite that features high-performance audio processing solutions designed to provide any Mac computer the ability to play HD-quality sound. Audio Essentials for Mac will work seamlessly with audio systems and its loaded with customizable SRS audio enhancement tools. The company said via press release that the app will available as a limited-feature free trial.

The Audio Essentials free trial will have lesser features such as enhanced audio playback for 2-channel speaker systems, music configuration, external and internal speaker configuration, bass enhancement, a stereo peak meter, and an intuitive user interface. However, Mac users can unlock the software’s full features through a one-time paid upgrade of $29.99. Advanced features include music genre detection, virtualized 360-degree surround sound over headphones, customizable graphic EQ, voice/ game/ movie configuration, intelligent volume leveling and volume maximization, and a fully functional 5.1 peak meter. The app is available via SRS Labs website.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Bluestacks brings Android apps to the Mac, Travel website Orbitz claims Mac users spend more than PC users,

If you love music, then you have probably used Spotify before. Well, apparently a team of music experts from Spectralmind were able to develop an app that will be launched on Spotify very soon. It’s called SonarFlow. SonarFlow is a visual music player that promises to make music browsing much simpler and fun. Classic music players usually require users to scan music through an almost-endless list of albums and artists. SonarFlow hopes to change all that by presenting your music in “bubbles” sorted according to their genre.

The sizes of the bubbles vary depending on content, so the more songs an album has, the bigger the bubble is. SonarFlow also has a pinch-to-zoom functionality to view details of artists as well as their individual tracks. To play songs, users can double tap a bubble to choose the songs. You can also use AirPlay to stream your songs on other audio devices and share the kind of music you are currently digging to your friends via Facebook. If you’re looking for a one-of-a-kind music player, SonarFlow could be the one for you. SonarFlow for Spotify will be coming soon. Stay tuned for updates.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Spotify for iOS updated with radio streaming feature for both free and premium users, Spotify for iPad updated with push notifications,