Aug 12

V-Moda remixes headphone lineup with Crossfade M-80 supra-aurals, yours for $230

Posted in: audio, headphones, Music, PMP, Today's Chili

V-Moda’s been in a vampire swing recently, sinking its design teeth into some True Blood branded headphones. It’s finally seen the light though — one of its existing on-ear headphones, the V-80, has now officially been re-released as the Crossfade M-80. The metal-clad M-80 looks nearly identical to the company’s veteran LP over-ear headphones, but this noise-isolating set is actually 53-percent smaller using 40mm dual-diaphragm drivers (down from 50mm) equalized to 31 points for more versatility across musical genres. There’s memory foam padding on the earcups with an ultra-flexible headband wrapped in suede to keep things comfy, and vents on the swappable faceplates for a wider soundstage. Two kevlar-wrapped cables with a microphone and different in-line controls are included to support most smartphones. When it’s finally time to take them off an included hardshell case will keep ’em safe — though V-Moda claims they can survive over 70 six-foot drops onto concrete. Hot stuff, and thankfully above the collar. The M-80s are available now for $230 from V-Moda — PR with more details after the break.

Gallery: V-Moda Crossfade M-80 Metal on-ear headphones

Continue reading V-Moda remixes headphone lineup with Crossfade M-80 supra-aurals, yours for $230

V-Moda remixes headphone lineup with Crossfade M-80 supra-aurals, yours for $230 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Aug 2011 05:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceV-Moda  | Email this | Comments

No Comments | Tags:
Aug 11

HTC Buys Beats: All Your Bass Are Belong To Them

Posted in: audio, business, HP, HTC, Music, Phones, Smartphones, tablets, Today's Chili, top

HTC just shouted to the world that it has made a massive investment in Beats By Dre to the tune of $300M. Here’s what it means for everyone involved—especially you. More »

No Comments | Tags: ,
Aug 11

Beats Electronics’ Jimmy Iovine: ‘we have got to get to the phone’

Posted in: audio, breaking news, headphones, HTC, Today's Chili
The HTC teleconference announcing its $300 million partnership with Beats Electronics just wrapped, and we were able to grab a few tidbits that weren’t so clearly evident in last night’s press release. The largest questions HTC CEO Peter Chou and Beats head honcho Jimmy Iovine fielded were focused on the effects of the purchase and why it happened. Neither Chou nor Iovine shared many specifics, but we learned that the two companies will be deeply committed in a “special” and “exclusive” relationship, which Iovine referred to as a “marriage.” In discussing the possible deal, he mentioned that Beats felt a need of urgency to penetrate the mobile marketplace and were bent on making it happen with HTC: “we have GOT to get to the phone…this marriage expedites that process.” Computer and phone companies alike are realizing that they need to upgrade the (currently subpar) audio experience in their products, he said, and we should expect to see many of these businesses launching stellar improvements in sound quality over the next three months.

In answer to what HTC is looking for in terms of ROI, Chou discussed the desire to have more differentiation in the market, in terms of the branding and technology the purchase will bring to its products; he also told us that the investment will generate several hundred millions of dollars in return beginning later this year. Rather than solely focusing on headsets, HTC plans to integrate the Beats tech completely into the product portfolio. Exactly how extensive that consolidation will be remains a mystery for now; since the effects of this deal will come to fruition sometime this fall, however, we doubt we’ll have to wait terribly long to find out.

Beats Electronics’ Jimmy Iovine: ‘we have got to get to the phone’ originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Aug 2011 12:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

No Comments | Tags: ,
Aug 10

PocoPoco musical interface box makes solenoids fun, gives Tenori-On pause (video)

Posted in: audio, concept, hands-on, interface, Japan, Music, prototype, research, Today's Chili, university, video

Think SIGGRAPH‘s all about far-out design concepts? Think again. A crew from the Tokyo Metropolitan University IDEEA Lab was on hand here at the show’s experimental wing showcasing a new “musical interface,” one that’s highly tactile and darn near impossible to walk away from. Upon first glance, it reminded us most of Yamaha’s Tenori-On, but the “universal input / output box” is actually far deeper and somewhat more interactive in use. A grand total of 16 solenoids are loaded in, and every one of ’em are loaded up with sensors.

Users can tap any button to create a downbeat (behind the scenes, a sequencer flips to “on”), which will rise in unison with the music until you tap it once more to settle it (and in turn, eliminate said beat). You can grab hold of a peg in order to sustain a given note until you let it loose. There’s a few pitch / tone buttons that serve an extra purpose — one that we’re sure you can guess by their names. Those are capable of spinning left and right, with pitch shifting and speeds increasing / decreasing with your movements. The learning curve here is practically nonexistent, and while folks at the booth had no hard information regarding an on-sale date, they confirmed to us that hawking it is most certainly on the roadmap… somewhere. Head on past the break for your daily (video) dose of cacophony.

Gallery: PocoPoco musical interface box at SIGGRAPH 2011

Continue reading PocoPoco musical interface box makes solenoids fun, gives Tenori-On pause (video)

PocoPoco musical interface box makes solenoids fun, gives Tenori-On pause (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 10 Aug 2011 18:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

No Comments | Tags: , ,
Aug 10

Sony CDP-101: The World’s First CD Player

Posted in: audio, Music, sony, Today's Chili, top

On October 1, 1982, Sony released the first ever CD player in Japan. Seven months later, it finally arrived in the U.S., complete with a vast library of 16 available albums. Its price? $1000. More »

No Comments | Tags:
Aug 10

Walmart to shutter its online music store, somewhere Steve Jobs is smiling

Posted in: audio, MP3, Music, Today's Chili, walmart

It seems like only yesterday that Walmart was doing its best to beat Apple at the digital music game by delivering us DRM-free digital music. Alas, the inexorable might of iTunes has, at last, become too much to bear. According to Digital Music News, Wally World’s MP3 store will shut its digital doors forever on August 28th. Chin up, Walmart, we won’t be coming to you for the new Kanye jam (not that we ever would), but we’ll still head on down when we’re in need of damn near anything else.

Walmart to shutter its online music store, somewhere Steve Jobs is smiling originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 10 Aug 2011 02:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink The Atlantic  |  sourceDigital Music News  | Email this | Comments

No Comments | Tags:
Aug 09

Big box earbuds put to a blind ‘taste’ test in the Engadget Labs

Posted in: audio, earbuds, engadget show, EngadgetShow, feature, Features, headphones, philips, Today's Chili, video
Engadget Labs Earbuds

Hello, and welcome to yet another installment of Engadget Laboratories. This time around we’re taking a pseudo scientific look at sub-$100 earbuds. We’ve all been caught out, headphoneless, and desperate to put some tunes in our ears. So, the question is, what exactly do you get for your money when you stumble into a Best Buy and pick up whatever happens to be hanging on the shelves? Clearly you’re trading convenience for selection when you shuffle into a big box shop for your audio needs, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you should just grab the cheapest thing hanging by the register, or the most expensive for that matter. We randomly selected four sets of phones, at four different price points, and put it to a group of average Joes and Janes to see if they could actually tell the difference between a $100 pair of buds and a $10 pair (while blindfolded and trapped inside a booth).

Continue reading Big box earbuds put to a blind ‘taste’ test in the Engadget Labs

Big box earbuds put to a blind ‘taste’ test in the Engadget Labs originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Aug 2011 19:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

No Comments | Tags: ,
Aug 09

Westone lab tour: how in-ear monitors are made, from impressions to impressing (video)

Posted in: audio, earbuds, engadget, engadget show, EngadgetShow, headphones, impressions, interview, monitor, Music, the engadget show, TheEngadgetShow, Today's Chili, video

You probably don’t think “top-tier audio” when you ponder the wonders of Colorado Springs, but sure enough, one of music’s best kept secrets is headquartered there, camped out slyly in quite the nondescript building. A few months back, we were granted unprecedented access to Westone’s lair (just a year and change after visiting Klipsch’s HQ), and they even let a film crew in for good measure. The goal? To show you, the budding audiophile, exactly how a set of custom in-ear monitors are crafted, and what kind of work goes into creating one of the planet’s most diminutive speaker arrangements. We’ve whipped up the entire experience there in the video above, but if you’re looking for a more textual perspective, head on past the break.

Gallery: Westone headquarters walkthrough (the making of an in-ear monitor)

Continue reading Westone lab tour: how in-ear monitors are made, from impressions to impressing (video)

Westone lab tour: how in-ear monitors are made, from impressions to impressing (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Aug 2011 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

No Comments | Tags: ,
Aug 08

Engadget’s back to school guide 2011: speaker docks

Posted in: audio, Music, Today's Chili

Welcome to Engadget’s Back to School guide! We know that this time of year can be pretty annoying and stressful for everyone, so we’re here to help out with the heartbreaking process of gadget buying for the school-aged crowd. Today, we have speaker docks in our sights — and you can head to the Back to School hub to see the rest of the product guides as they’re added throughout the month. Be sure to keep checking back — at the end of the month we’ll be giving away a ton of the gear featured in our guides — and hit up the hub page right here.

Yeah, studying’s the hip thing to do, but waking up for class is arguably where success begins. Rather than relying on some ear-piercing tone emitted from one’s cellphone, we prefer something more… substantial. Here, we’ll be covering the best and brightest in speaker docks, also known as the alarm clock that your grandkids will eventually point at and laugh, mockingly. Jump past the break for our recommendations, and another opportunity to enter our back to school giveaway. Simply leave a comment below to be entered to win, and head over to our giveaway page for more details.

Continue reading Engadget’s back to school guide 2011: speaker docks

Engadget’s back to school guide 2011: speaker docks originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Aug 2011 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

No Comments | Tags:
Aug 05

Sirius XM 2.0 launching later this year, bringing on-demand Howard Stern to your car in 2013

Posted in: audio, radio, Today's Chili

SiriusXMDuring its quarterly earnings call, Sirius finally gave the world some info about its upcoming Sirius XM Satellite 2.0 service. For those of you who can’t get enough Underground Garage and Howard Stern, version 2.0 will pack more programing and you’ll be able to pause and rewind broadcasts. Starting next year, the company will offer personalized music stations, similar to Pandora, and on-demand listening, in case you missed a particularly juvenile funny Opie & Anthony bit. The first two pieces of hardware will be landing before the end of the year, but don’t expect to find a Sirius XM 2.0 option at your car dealership for a while — vehicles won’t be getting the upgraded hardware until 2013.

Sirius XM 2.0 launching later this year, bringing on-demand Howard Stern to your car in 2013 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Aug 2011 10:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink CNET  |  sourceSeeking Alpha, CE Outlook  | Email this | Comments

No Comments | Tags: