Peace and quiet is valuable in life. Sometimes you just want to zone out or hone in on something important. I remember being amazed when my elementary school science teacher passed around his personal noise-canceling headphones and let us all try them.
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That suspiciously cheap apartment you just moved into? Turns out to be right next to a deafening hourly commuter train—and since you signed a one year lease, you’re looking at either twelve months wearing noise cancelling headphones. Or desperately hoping Rudolf Stefanich’s Sono noise cancelling window device comes to fruition.
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SMS Audio is rolling out the latest addition of its Street by 50 line of headphones (you know, by this guy). The news here is the addition of active noise cancellation, to help you block out unwanted ambient sound — the bad airplane / crowded restaurant kind, not the good Brian Eno kind. Street by 50 Over-Ear Active Noise Control sport 40mm drivers and leather ear cushions, and should get you upwards of 70 hours of play time on a set of batteries, according to SMS’s numbers. The foldable headphones come in black and silver and will run you $280. For what it’s worth, that price will also get you a removable cable with a mic and a hard shell carrying case. Press release-type details can be found below.
Filed under: Home Entertainment
On June 26, at CEA LineShows 2013 taking place in New York City, Audio-Technica revealed their new NC headphone “ATH-ANC70″, which is capable of blocking 90% of background noise.
It’s scheduled to go on sale in the U.S. in October and the price will be $199.95. Its release in Japan hasn’t yet been decided.
The design of “ATH-ANC70″ was completely changed from the previous ANC models. In the center of the headphone housing of “ATH-ANC70″, there is a control button that is used for answering/ending a phone call and playing/stopping music or video. A volume control button and NC ON-Off switch are arranged along the side of the headphone.
A low-resilience material is used for the headband and ear cushion. “ATH-ANC70″ features a great functionality that enables you to use it as a regular headphone in passive mode even when battery power is lost.
If you’ve got a powerful desktop, it probably sounds like a jet engine. You could opt for watercooling, but if you stick with fans you’re out of luck. They’re just loud. Until you bolt on some active noise canceling.
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Sony’s new IC voice recorder is very practical and easy-to-use. Because of their new system called “3 microphone system”, you can select the most appropriate microphone mode according to the size of the venue or the recording object. If you think it’s difficult to adjust the setting by yourself, you can make the setting “Omakase Voice” (Automatic Voice Adjuster).
It has a large LCD screen and USB connection, so it makes data transfer very easy. The …
Logitech acquired Ultimate Ears awhile back to take advantage of its experience with professional audio, and now it’s leveraged some of that institutional knowledge to create a UE line of headphones aimed at consumers. First up, there’s the $100 UE 4000 on-ear model that comes in three colors: black, blue and magenta, plus a detachable cord with an in-line mic and audio controls compatible with iOS devices. The UE 6000 model takes things up a notch with an over-ear design that folds up for easy storage on the go, has an in-line remote, plus it adds active noise cancellation technology for $200. Then there’s the UE 9000 Bluetooth wireless cans that also have ANC and a full suite of on-ear controls for iPhone or iPad, which can be had for $400. Lastly, there’s the $400 UE 900 in-ear headphones sporting a quad-armature design and two sets braided cables — one with in-line controls, and one without. All of the UE models start shipping in the US today, and will be available in Europe next month. We got to try on and try out all of Logitech’s new gear for a brief listening session awhile back, so join us after the break for our impressions.
Continue reading Logitech unveils lineup of UE headphones for in, on and around your ears (hands-on)
Filed under: Portable Audio/Video
Logitech unveils lineup of UE headphones for in, on and around your ears (hands-on) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Aug 2012 15:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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If Cisco’s ill-fated Umi video conferencing system had been more like this, would it have survived? Logitech is about to find out, one way or the other, once its TV Cam HD — recently spotted at the FCC — arrives in the US this month. The $199.99 device hooks up to your TV and contains all the processing power needed to run Skype and transmit wide-angle, 720p footage of your couch over WiFi or Ethernet. Unlike the previous TV Cam, there’s no need for a Viera Connect HDTV — anything with HDMI-in will do. The company is banking on the notion that families will forgo the use of their existing mobile devices and laptops in favour of an always-on dedicated system with incoming call alerts, four noise-cancelling mics and a Carl Zeiss lens that “gets the whole family in the video call, so everyone from grandparents to grandchildren can move around naturally.” If you’re tempted, the publicity video after the break gives a decent overview of the product in action.
Continue reading Logitech launches TV Cam HD for living room video chats: built-in Skype, 720p, $200
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Peripherals, Networking
Logitech launches TV Cam HD for living room video chats: built-in Skype, 720p, $200 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Aug 2012 04:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Premium electronic earplugs usually find their homes with musicians eager to preserve their hearing at all costs; anyone within the crowd has more often been left to either use cruder plugs or cover their ears. Etymotic wants to bridge that difference with the Musico.Pro 9-15. The combination of ER-9 and ER-15 earplugs matches its namesake not just through the choice of components, but through active noise cancellation that removes 9 to 15 decibels from the sound only when the rock gets too raucous: listeners can hear fellow concert-goers and even boost their volume without skewing the sound of the band. Pricing plays its own part in reaching out to the crowd, too. As high as the new Musico.Pro set’s $399 price might be compared to a typical pair of ear blockers, it’s low enough that a dedicated fan of virtual Tupac can afford to go to the concert protected rather than voluntarily take on some hearing damage.
Filed under: Peripherals
Etymotic Music•Pro 9-15 earplugs bring high-end hush to audiences, lets us enjoy speed metal safely originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Jul 2012 01:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Remember that miniature USB mic we saw back at CES from Blue? Well, the outfit just announced that the Tiki is hitting store shelves with the same $59.99 price tag we expected. The mobile recording peripheral is now available at Best Buy and is slated to hit Apple stores and other retailers at the month’s half-way point. In case you’re in need of a refresher, the diminutive unit features Intelligent Speech mode for recording interviews or meetings and Natural Recording mode for capturing your best Jack White guitar riffs. You can also expect proprietary noise cancelling technology, voice isolation and intelligent mute with the kit that is sized similar to a USB flash drive and connects via said ports. If you’re itchin’ for a closer look before adding one to your mobile recording setup, take a peek back at our hands-on for a few detail shots.
Blue Microphones Tiki USB mic now available at Best Buy, coming to Apple stores July 15th originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 05 Jul 2012 23:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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