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H2O Audio, which specializes in waterproof, sweatproof headphones and accessories, just announced a new line of colorful headphones. Flex All Sport Buds offers H2O’s waterproof technology at an affordable price. Waterproof up to 3 feet, this line comes in bold green, pink, black, and blue shades. They comes with three different size of earplugs so everyone can get a good fit.

They’ll make a good gift for the athlete on your list, whether that’s a swimmer or someone who occasionally takes a run in the rain. Pick them up from H2O Audio’s site or from Amazon for a list price of $29.99.

NOX Audio sprang out of obscurity this year with two pairs of stylish ‘phones — the moderately disappointing Specialist supra-aural cans with a retractable, flexible mic, and the promising Scout earbud headset pictured immediately above, now on sale. Even at first glance the Scout’s not your average pair of in-line earbuds, connected to your phone of choice via a piece of rubber linguini that acts as a no-tangle cord, but they also have balanced armature drivers that delivered some surprisingly good sound even in the bustle of a busy trade show. (They’ve also got a ludicrously tiny send/end button for the headset buried in the cord’s joint, if you’re fond of playing spy.) We haven’t had a chance to put our review unit through its paces quite yet, but if you want to give NOX the benefit of the doubt, you’ll find the Scout at “select retailers” and the company’s online store for $80 right now.

Continue reading Nox Audio Scout mini headset on sale now, boasts world’s smallest mic button and some decent sound

Nox Audio Scout mini headset on sale now, boasts world’s smallest mic button and some decent sound originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 17 Nov 2010 08:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We know you’ve got questions, and if you’re brave enough to ask the world for answers, here’s the outlet to do so. This week’s Ask Engadget question is coming to us from Alex, who just can’t take the noise, dude. If you’re looking to send in an inquiry of your own, drop us a line at ask [at] engadget [dawt] com.

“Hello Engadget. I’ve always been a fan of high quality audio but I have a problem. I need noise cancelling headphones, but active noise cancelling gives me a headache and my ear canals aren’t round enough to use in-ear earphones. I’ve also looked into custom earphones but I can’t afford paying $400 or more for a set. What are your recommendations for the best pair of passive noise cancelling headphones? My ears thank you.”

We will say that Klipsch’s oval ear tips tend to fit in funky ear canals that typically reject round ones, but if you’re still hellbent on a pair of cans, we’re hoping our audience below can toss out some advice. If they can hear us from underneath their noise cancelling headphones, of course.

Ask Engadget: best passive noise cancelling headphones? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Nov 2010 23:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We just received a tip and some screencaps, purportedly from the Apple-verse, with a word of warning about Monster’s headphone lineup. Apple is apparently blaming the “conductive flanges” used in many of Monster’s earbuds for erratic stopping and starting of playback on Apple devices. The point of this internal memo seems for support staff to recognize that what a consumer might assume is a defect in an Apple product might actually be a Monster problem. Interestingly, Apple’s list of problem headphones doesn’t mention any of the Beats-labeled products that Apple actually sells, and is limited to Monster headphones that include “ControlTalk” tech for controlling playback with a cable-mounted mic / volume / pause remote, modeled after Apple’s own iPhone-bundled earbuds. We’re not sure if this means Monster is mis-applying Apple standards or just has a manufacturing defect, and it’s also unclear if this problem also extends to the ControlTalk-equipped products in the joint-developed Beats lineup, but if you’ve been having some trouble with random stop-starts in your music on your $400 pair of Copper Turbines (and you aren’t listening to James Blake), perhaps this will clear up some confusion. A full list of the affected ‘buds is after the break.

[Thanks, Anonymous]

Continue reading Apple tracking an issue with defective Monster headphones?

Apple tracking an issue with defective Monster headphones? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Nov 2010 11:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s been a hot minute since we’ve caught wind of a new set of V-Moda earbuds that weren’t exactly like the last pair of V-Moda earbuds, but the Vibrato does a fairly decent job of differentiating itself. How so, you ask? By boasting zinc alloy construction, a Kevlar cable and an in-line, three-button iPhone remote. Obviously catering to those who need a set of metallic earbuds to match their loud-and-proud iPhone 4 antenna band, these guys also rely on 8mm neodymium drivers and ship with four sizes of ear tips. You know, in case you need to let your best bud borrow ’em for the evening. They’re available now through Apple’s retail shops and online at the company’s e-store (see source link below) for $129.99.

Continue reading V-Moda’s metallic Vibrato earbuds get Kevlar cable, in-line iPhone remote

V-Moda’s metallic Vibrato earbuds get Kevlar cable, in-line iPhone remote originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Oct 2010 14:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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