Nov 29
If you’ve ever tried recommending a new band to a music-nerd, then you know the feeling of true shame. Even worse is when you try to buy them audio gear like a set of headphones or a record player. Here …
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Sep 04
If you look at the brand-new Jawbone Mini Jambox head-on, you may be wondering what makes it “Mini.” Once you see it from the side or from the top, it’ll all be clear. The smaller, destined-to-be-popular Bluetooth speaker from Jawbone …
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Sep 04
For all the gazillions of wireless speakers out there, Jawbone’s Jambox is almost certainly the best-known. Last year the company introduced a Big Jambox
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Aug 28
Welcome to Engadget’s back to school guide! Today, we’re talking portable audio. Head to the back to school hub to see the rest of the product guides as we add them throughout the month. Be sure to keep checking back; in early September, we’ll be giving away a ton of gear.
College isn’t cheap — especially with loan rates on the rise — but arming yourself with beats to take all over campus doesn’t have to cost a fortune. If you’re set on having great audio along for your cross-classroom travels, we’d like to help. As such, we’ve compiled a list containing nine of our favorite portable audio products that blend fun, portability, good looks and great sound across a variety of price points. Audiophile or not, don’t sacrifice your sound too much this semester!
Filed under: Peripherals
Oct 05
Parrot Zikmu Solo reaches US in November, makes a tower of wireless sound yours for $999
Posted in: Today's Chili 
Parrot has taken some time trotting out the Zikmu Solo speaker since we first saw it at CES, but those enamored with very vertical audio can rest easy now that the unit has a North American release schedule. Both Canada and the US can buy the Philippe Starck-crafted speaker in November, when it will cost $999 for Americans in its black and white guises (sorry, no red for now). While that’s a lot to pay for a 100W speaker, Parrot is counting on the unique acoustic design, a conventional iOS dock and a mix of Bluetooth, NFC and WiFi to tempt people away from the land of horizontal sound. It’s undoubtedly one of the easiest ways to make a speaker dock the focus of a room — and that’s part of the point, isn’t it?
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Portable Audio/Video
Parrot Zikmu Solo reaches US in November, makes a tower of wireless sound yours for $999 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Oct 2012 14:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Oct 05
Behringer iNuke Boom Junior shrinks a giant iOS dock, won’t trigger as many earthquake warnings
Posted in: Today's Chili 
As enraptured as we might be with Behringer’s monolithic iNuke Boom, the 8-foot-long frame and 10,000W output don’t really lend themselves to a home installation. Not unless we want to produce false positives on the USGS’ earthquake meters, anyway. We’re happy to say the company has addressed that domestic oversight with the iNuke Boom Junior. The iOS- and iPod-capable speaker dock won’t launch nearly as large-scale an audio assault at 50W, but it’s also less than a twentieth of the size of its parent; no one will need a forklift to get Junior into the living room. In spite of the less than ego-inflating dimensions, the smaller system appears balanced with discrete woofer, tweeter and mid-range components as well as separate bass control. We just wish it was slightly more futureproof. As glad as we are that the iNuke Boom Junior’s $180 price at Costco spares us from raiding our retirement funds, the speaker is still using a pre-Lightning dock connector and lacks any wireless audio — iPhone 5 owners will have to turn to an adapter or the aux-in jack. At least we won’t be violating any local noise laws in the process.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Portable Audio/Video, Apple
Behringer iNuke Boom Junior shrinks a giant iOS dock, won’t trigger as many earthquake warnings originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Oct 2012 08:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Oct 02
Sony ships new Extra Bass headphone lineup to the US, delivers that Direct Vibe to your brain
Posted in: Today's Chili 
If you’d like your Sony headphones to be a little less judgmental, we’ve got good news. The company’s MDR-XB400, MDR-XB600 and MDR-XB800 Extra Bass headphones, along with the MDR-XB60EX in-ears, have arrived in the US for those who want low-end frequencies without the talent show branding. All four carry Sony’s newer Advanced Direct Vibe to emphasize the sub-bass notes of “today’s music styles” (read: electronic and hip-hop) as well as a serrated cord that keeps the cord tangling to a minimum. Working your way up the range mostly improves the frequency range, which starts at an already bass-heavy 5Hz to 22kHz in the XB400 and scales up to a tooth-rattling 3Hz to 28kHz for the XB800; you’ll also see the sensitivity jump from 100dB/mW to 106. Provided you don’t mind tweaking software to occasionally recover some treble, the entire collection is ready to wobble your head at prices that range from $60 for the starter XB400 headphones to $150 for the XB800.
Gallery: Sony Extra Bass over-ear headphones
Filed under: Portable Audio/Video, Sony
Sony ships new Extra Bass headphone lineup to the US, delivers that Direct Vibe to your brain originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Oct 2012 01:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Sony (XB400), (XB600), (XB800), (XB60EX) | Email this | Comments
Oct 02
SMS Audio outs an on-ear option for its Street by 50 headphones, ships October 7th for $180
Posted in: Today's Chili 
If you’re a fan of emcee-endorsed headphones, you’re in luck. SMS Audio — the folks behind the SYNC by 50 line — has just announced another portable audio option that gets the recommendation of Mr. Jackson himself. The Street by 50 moniker now sports a wired, on-ear option to go alongside its current over-ear and in-hear offerings. These cans house 40mm pro-tuned drivers, folding hinges and memory foam cushioning while sporting Shadow Black and Ghost White color schemes. Anxious to snag some? Well, you can pre-order a set now, but they’ll start shipping on October 7th — if you’re willing to shell out the requisite $179.99, of course. As for us, we’re patiently waiting on the Keenan Cahill model.
Gallery: Street by 50 on-ear headphones
Filed under: Portable Audio/Video
SMS Audio outs an on-ear option for its Street by 50 headphones, ships October 7th for $180 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 02 Oct 2012 09:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Sep 24
Kid Koala bundles working cardboard gramophone with album, spurs on budding turntablists (video)
Posted in: Today's Chili 
If you’ve been enough of a Kid Koala fan to have heard his original Scratchcratchratchatch mixtape, you’ll remember a sample that mentioned building a “finger-powered record player.” Kid Koala, also known as Eric San, certainly remembers — buy the Limited Edition of his recently launched 12 Bit Blues album and you’ll get your own functional, build-it-yourself cardboard gramophone along with a playable disc. The only further requirements are a sewing pin and some hand power. It’s cheaper than tracking down the real thing, and a nod both to San’s turntablist style as well as the back-to-basics nature of the music. We call it clever and potentially inspiring; just remember that you’ll want some proper equipment before you DJ any house parties.
Filed under: Misc, Portable Audio/Video, Alt
Kid Koala bundles working cardboard gramophone with album, spurs on budding turntablists (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 Sep 2012 16:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Sep 21
There’s been some trepidation among Apple device users over the upgrade to iOS 6 given that it takes away some components while adding others. You wouldn’t guess it from the initial upgrade rate, however. Both ChartBoost and Chitika have determined that about 15 percent of iOS data traffic was already coming from Apple’s latest release within its first 24 hours of availability — not bad, considering that it took Android 4.0 roughly eight months to reach a similar ratio and iOS 5 about five days to hit 20 percent. ChartBoost adds that iPhone owners were the quickest to upgrade, which is only logical when the iPhone 4S gets the most new features. The contrast between Android and iOS was entirely expected, knowing Apple’s limited hardware pool and reduced carrier oversight. We’re more interested in the differences between iOS versions: they suggest that whatever advantages people see in iOS 6, as well as a widespread over-the-air update system, have been enough to spur on many early adopters.
Filed under: Cellphones, Portable Audio/Video, Tablets
iOS 6 becomes 15 percent of Apple mobile device traffic within 24 hours originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 21 Sep 2012 05:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink TechCrunch | ChartBoost, Chitika | Email this | Comments
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