Sep 18
A YouTuber who goes by the name of ‘roboband‘ has posted this delightful clip showing a couple of player pianos and a robotic drummer scoring and creating the sound effects for classic Nintendo games—in real time!
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Sep 18
JBL’s new line of Synchros headphones use proprietary digital signal processing (DSP) that supposedly leverages the company’s experience with professional gear to make the speakers hanging off your head sound like the musicians are on stage in front of you.
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Sep 18
JBL S500 and S700 Synchros headphones feature detachable iOS remote and powered bass
Posted in: Today's ChiliJBL has unveiled a new high-end headphone lineup promising professional audio quality for the masses. The new Synchros headphone lineup includes the S700, S500, S300, S200, and S100 headphones. The different models feature various styles including in-ear, on-ear, and over-ear headphones. The high-end headphones are the S700 premium over ear. These headphones feature a diecast […]
Sep 17
The Best Rugged In-Ear Headphones
Posted in: Today's Chili
If you like music, you must have good headphones. It’s that simple. To do otherwise would be to cheat yourself out of one of life’s great pleasures. Why would you want to do that?
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Sep 17
Bowers & Wilkins is a name that is synonymous with quality audio products in the past, and the company has just revealed yet another possible device – the Bowers & Wilkins P7 over the ear headphones. The new pair of P7s does deliver quality audio, where it comes with cushions that will cover your ears while molding itself to the wearer’s head. Other hardware features include the improvement of noise isolation, and Bowers & Wilkins has also crafted a bunch of new audio drivers that they claim were specially designed for it to function as a more “traditional audiophile speaker” compared to a pair of premium headphones.
The Bowers & Wilkins P7 headphones itself will feature leather and a metal finish that will definitely look sleek as heck, but it will cost quite a bomb if you want to bring one of these puppies home. The P7 headphones will retail for $400 a pop, and it will arrive later this September.
Bowers & Wilkins Offers P7 Headphones original content from Ubergizmo. 
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Sep 16
It was just last week when Microsoft decided to roll out both iOS and Android apps for Xbox Music, a move which many see as a major expansion of its service. Well, it certainly did not take too long before a famous name is dropped – with rock band Linkin Park leading the way, having debuted their latest single that is called “A Light that Never Comes” on Xbox Music. It does seem to be the only place which folks are able to listen to it legally for the coming two weeks though.
According to Mike Shinoda, the lead rapper and co-vocalist of Linkin Park, the band’s relationship with Microsoft began when Halo tournaments were held on the original Xbox, before this relationship developed further as the team worked to develop a music making application known as Stagelight, where that included support for touchscreens on Windows 8. Shonida expanded, “In working on Stagelight, I was introduced to Microsoft in a way that was surprising and intriguing. With new Windows devices that come with touchscreens, I saw a potential for the future of music writing, recording, and mixing–I envisioned these computers as the hub of the studio environment, augmenting or replacing the classic mixing consoles that currently eat up the studio space. As we met various people at Microsoft, I was inspired by the passion and creativity behind their innovations.” [Press Release]
Linkin Park Releases “A Light That Never Comes” Single On Xbox Music original content from Ubergizmo. 
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Sep 16
When listening to music or movies on your computer or mobile device, nothing beats a good pair of headphones. And while the market is flush with inexpensive earbuds, they often make me long for better sound quality. I’m happy to say that the Marshall Monitor headphones deliver on that promise.
I’ve been using the Marshall Monitors for the last few days as the primary method of listening to media on my computer and iPhone, and I have to say I’m extremely impressed with these headphones. The first thing you’ll notice about the Marshall Monitors is how good they look. They offer exceptional build quality, with a refined industrial design that echoes the classic Marshall amp design, but updates it.
Nice design touches include lightweight metal construction of the headband and ear swivels, well-padded faux leather earcups, and a padded-faux-leather headband with well-marked brass “L” and “R” channel indicators on the inside. The headphones fold neatly and can be stored in the included carrying pouch.
Another nice touch is that the cord can be detached, and you can choose whether to plug it into the left or right side of the headphones. As an added bonus, whichever 3.5mm jack you leave open can be used to plug in a second set of headphones if you want to share your music. The cord also includes a microphone and remote if you want to use the headphones for making calls.
But why would you waste a good pair of headphones on making phonecalls? These things really shine when listening to music. For starters, I love the excellent sound isolation with their big earcups. Yes, they do put a little pressure on your ears in order to form a tight seal and reduce ambient sound, but I didn’t find them to be uncomfortable, even after wearing them for several hours at a time.
Once I shut out the outside world, I cranked up some tunes, and really let the Marshall Monitors shine. I found their sound reproduction to be excellent, sounding as good as some studio monitors. Listening to Adele’s Right at Rain, I felt like I was standing on stage alongside her, the Hammond organ whirling directly into my ears. To test if they could rock out, I cranked up AC/DC’s You Shook Me All Night Long to 11, and I could feel the drum kit rattling my spine while Brian Johnson’s vocals scorched my eardrums.
There’s none of the overly boomy bass that many over-the-ear headphones have, but trust me, there’s still a solid low end. It’s just clean and accurate. Highs and mids are clean and distortion-free even at the highest volume levels I could throw at them. Marshall rates the 40mm drivers at a 10Hz to 20KHz frequency response range, with a 99dB sensitivity at 100mV@1KHz.
One unique feature Marshall offers are removable filters which attenuate some of the highest tones in the 8KHz to 20KHz range. These filters reduce some of the shrillness that some people might find unpleasant in the higher end of the audible frequency range. Personally, I preferred the sound without the filters in place, and that’s why Marshall gives you a choice. Removing the filters is as easy as popping off the magnetic earcup pads, pulling the filters out, and replacing the earcups.
Overall, I’m very impressed with the sound, styling, portability and build quality of the Marshall Monitor headphones. I guess I’m not surprised that the company behind some of the best concert-grade amplifiers would be capable of carrying across their expertise to personal audio devices.
If you’d like to grab a pair to make your ears happy, they’re available from Marshall’s website for $200(USD).
Sep 16
Who would have thought that Disney would do far more than just cartoons for the young ones? It seems that the scientists over at Disney has been pretty busy, having worked on a microphone which is capable of transmitting sound via body contact. That sure as heck sounds radical, doesn’t it? Disney’s research division in Pittsburgh has successfully developed what they call the ‘Inshin-Den-Shin’, which uses a voice-activated microphone that is connected to a computer and a thin wire. Whenever one talks into the microphone, it will generate an inaudible signal which will be passed onto someone simply by touching an area near their ear.
This process is made possible by sending the message to the computer’s sound card, where it will then be looped and transmitted back to the microphone at a high-voltage, low-current electric signal. Upon contact with a person’s ear, the microphone will then conduct the signal by sending a small vibration to the recipient’s ear lobe. Just for our general knowledge, ‘Inshin-Den-Shin’ is translated from a Japanese idiom, where it means “unspoken mutual understanding”, and it remains to be seen just how Disney will make use of this new technology.
Disney’s Inshin-Den-Shin Touch-Powered Sound Transmitter original content from Ubergizmo. 
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Sep 16
There are already devices that transmit sound to your body without speakers. But what if your body was the speaker? Disney Research has just explored that possibility through its Ishin-Den-Shin project. The experiment amplifies mic input and sends it back as a high voltage, low current signal that turns objects (including humans) into electrostatic audio sources that can’t be heard over the air. Touch someone’s ear while holding the mic, for example, and you’ll deliver a private broadcast. Disney hasn’t said if will build Ishin-Den-Shin into any products, but the technology is simpler than what we’ve seen in electrostatic speakers or headphones; don’t be surprised if it pops up elsewhere.
Filed under: Science
Via: Ars Technica
Source: Disney Research
Sep 14
If you grew up in the 80s, I guarantee you had a massive collection of cassette tapes. It wasn’t until the late 80s and early 90s that CDs really caught on and even then they were really expensive and many people continued to purchase cassette tapes.
I have not-so-fond memories of repeatedly fast-forwarding and rewinding trying to find the beginning of a specific song. I also spent more time than I care to remember using a pencil to rewind a cassette tape after my tape player spit out its black stringy guts. While I remember the first cassette tapes being products of my childhood, apparently they’re much older than that, with the first cassette tape being produced way back in 1963.
Philips celebrated the 50th birthday of the cassette tape this week. The company officially calls the cassette tape the “compact cassette” and says that it helped shape the music industry. Before the cassette tape there was no ability to record music or speeches on your own. Yes, there were reel-to-reel recorders, but they were generally reserved for professionals and high-end enthusiasts. The cassette tape also ushered in the era of the mix tape.
As much joy as it brought us, I don’t think anyone really misses the cassette tape. It’s infinitely more convenient to have thousands of your favorite songs in digital format stored on your iPod, which is itself smaller than a single cassette.
[via Philips]
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