Engadget’s back to school guide 2011: headphones

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’re giving your ears some love with a plethora of headphones that will keep you rocking around campus — 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!

Whether you’re dubstepping, duck walking or just plain sprinting to and from classes, you may want to add a soundtrack to your campus travels with some slick new headphones. Although, with so many choices and styles it can be a bit overwhelming to find a set that’s right for you. Luckily, we’re here to help! Don’t forget to enter our giveaway as well if you want a shot at winning your own set B&W’s brand spankin’ new C5 in-ears — not to mention more than $3,000 worth of gadgets that are sure to induce an extreme case of Gadget Acquisition Syndrome!

You’ll find some of our own recommendations just past the break, and another chance to enter our back to school giveaway. Simply leave a comment below to be entered to win, and click on over to our giveaway page for all the details.

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

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

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.

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.

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Bowers & Wilkins C5 in-ear headset review

Bowers & Wilkins has seriously been ramping up its consumer audio game in the past few years — notably, with products like its Zeppelin speaker systems for iDevices and its MM-1 desktop speakers. While speakers seem like an obvious choice for a company famous for HiFi systems, you probably wouldn’t have thought of B&W for your next set of iPhone-compatible headphones — that is, until its $300 P5 mobile HiFi supra-aural ‘phones released last year. This year, the company has taken a second step into the game with its C5 in-ear headset.

Priced at $180, they’re a possible contender for those who’d prefer earbuds to on-ears, or maybe want some B&W headgear at a less expensive price point. We’ve grown fond of our leather-clad P5s for chit-chatting on the phone and rocking out during the commute, so we were curious to see, hear, and feel what the C5s could bring to the table. Luckily, B&W dropped off a pair of the in-ears on our doorstep, and we got to give them a healthy amount of use while commuting in and out of NYC to find out if they’d also win us over. It’s all detailed just past the break.

Continue reading Bowers & Wilkins C5 in-ear headset review

Bowers & Wilkins C5 in-ear headset review originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Aug 2011 13:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Klipsch’s AirPlay-enabled Gallery G-17 Air soundbar pleases ears sans cords for $530

No, that’s not some oversized Kinect KIRF. What you’re looking at is Klipsch’s latest soundbar, the Gallery G-17 Air. Seem familiar? If you’ll recall, back at CES it was known as the Gallery Studio — the smallest of three AirPlay-enabled speaker systems the company let us demo at CES. Although not totally new, its full specs have been revealed and its price re-vamped from $400 to a slightly spendier $530. The bi-amplified stereo rig features four individually powered drivers that aim to deliver full-range sound via two Tractrix-horned .75-inch tweeters (10 watts each), and dual 2.5-inch, 20 watt woofers. Although you’ll probably be streaming music over WiFi from iDevices or iTunes, the unit’s equipped with USB and 3.5mm inputs should you ever want to plug-in directly or juice-up your battery. There’s an ultra-svelte grill-cloth magnetically attached to the front, playback and power buttons on the side, and it also comes with a remote. The system itself sits atop a tempered glass base, but if space is at premium it can be mounted to a wall. The G-17 is set to release this fall, but if your ears are already tingling you’ll find more info in the source link below.

Klipsch’s AirPlay-enabled Gallery G-17 Air soundbar pleases ears sans cords for $530 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Jul 2011 04:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Cowon D3 firmware update brings Android 2.3, now treats your fingers as well as your ears

Hey there, high roller. If you splurged on Cowon‘s beautiful, profoundly expensive D3 Plenue, you’ve probably wondered when you’d get an upgrade from Android 2.1. Well, that day is today, as the company’s released an updated, Gingerbread-based firmware. The new code adds some miscellaneous new features – a sleep timer for the music app, some more music search options, and VoIP – and ought to improve system stability. It also promises better touch responsiveness, which we hope alleviates the sluggishness that made the little PMP so difficult to use. If similar frustration with your D3 rendered it an elegant paperweight, glide over to the source link to see if the update soothes your pain.

[Thanks, Stefan]

Cowon D3 firmware update brings Android 2.3, now treats your fingers as well as your ears originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 13 Jul 2011 11:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Bowers & Wilkins C5 headphones ooze luxury into your ear canals for $180

Bowers & Wilkins C5

Maybe you’ve wanted to step up your iPhone listening-game with Bowers & Wilkins P5 headphones Maybe its $300 price tag or supra-aural fit just weren’t appealing. Well then, maybe you’ll be pleased hear about the company’s new and extra-mobile $180 C5 noise-isolating in-ear headset. Crafted mostly from aluminum, its bullet-shaped earbuds look like a posh blend of the Zeppelin Air and Mini geared for mobile. The ‘buds come equipped with an iDevice compatible inline remote / mic to get a handle on phone calls or swap though playlists, and have a few unique features to boot. To ensure a proper fit on-the-move, you’ll find Secure Loops that can be adjusted to hug the inner cartilage of your ear, along with added heft (Tungsten Weighting) near the inner-ear side for a tight seal. Internally, there’s a Micro Porous Filter to widen the perceived soundstage, while also preventing any leakage to folks around you. We’ll be checking these out in due time, but for now, audio lovers will find full specs at B&W’s website linked below.

Continue reading Bowers & Wilkins C5 headphones ooze luxury into your ear canals for $180

Bowers & Wilkins C5 headphones ooze luxury into your ear canals for $180 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 12 Jul 2011 07:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iriver P8 player pops up on Russian site, packs prodigious battery life

iriver p8

It’s been a while since iriver last updated its P series of large-screen portable media players, — so long in fact, that we thought the series had simply been retired. Imagine our surprise, when this five-incher popped up on the company’s Russian site, sporting a long list of supported file formats, and an even longer battery life (up to nine hours of video and 40 hours of audio). The P8 comes in 8GB and 16GB flavors, but also packs a microSD slot for tacking on additional storage. You’re not limited to watching clips on the 800 x 480 touchscreen either, the player boasts an HDMI port for pushing HD content straight to a TV. Of course, whether or not this half-inch thick, half-pound device ever makes it to American shores or how much it will cost when it does remains to be seen. Check out the gallery of press shots below.

Gallery: iriver P8

iriver P8 player pops up on Russian site, packs prodigious battery life originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 Jul 2011 15:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Gadmei P83 PMP does glasses-free 3D for $179

A no-name PMP selling for $179 at Brando — purveyor of all things inexpensive, electronic and often USB-powered — may not ordinarily make the grade for us, but this so-called Gadmei P83 device has one somewhat notable trick up its sleeve. It packs an 8-inch, 1,280 x 768 display that’s able to do glasses-free 3D video. Of course, you’re left to yourself to actually hunt down or provide your own compatible video files, and the PMP itself is decidedly ordinary otherwise: 4GB of storage, an SD card slot for expansion, and the usual media playback capabilities and nothing more (no one’s going to confuse this for a tablet). Still curious? Head on past the break for a video that offers a slightly more accurate depiction of the device than the image above.

Continue reading Gadmei P83 PMP does glasses-free 3D for $179

Gadmei P83 PMP does glasses-free 3D for $179 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 28 Jun 2011 04:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Cowon C2 portable media player review

And here you were assuming the tried-and-true PMP was dead. Au contraire. Cowon’s not giving up on its dream quite yet, but after the D2 hung around at the company’s low-end for the better part of four years, it’s an alphabetic step backwards that’s taking over as the successor. The diminutive C2 is about as simple as a PMP gets — design wise, anyway — but it’s actually capable of supporting both music and video on its 2.6-inch resistive touchpanel. And then there’s the purported 55 hours of battery life, included microSD card for expansion and the company’s world-class audio quality. Still, $135 goes a long (long!) way in the portable music industry these days — does the C2 pack enough punch to make your short list? Head on past the break to find out.

Continue reading Cowon C2 portable media player review

Cowon C2 portable media player review originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 26 Jun 2011 14:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Colorfly Media Player Targets High-End Audio Snobs

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The Colorfly C4 Pro


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For audiophiles in search of equipment with perfect sound reproduction quality, media players like the iPod are out of the question.

If you don’t mind shelling out a wad of cash, you could score a slick, high-performance alternative: the Pocket HiFi C4 Pro.

The Colorfly Pocket HiFi C4 Pro not only looks awesome — check out the hand-engraved black walnut case, a retro pushrod volume slider, and an almost Steampunk-style brassy face — the hardware specs read like they’d make even the most seasoned aural aficionado swoon.

The Pocket HiFi C4 Pro surpasses average PMP performance with the ability to play 24 bit/192 KHz WAV files. Inside, it uses a CIRRUS Logic CS4398 DAC and CS8422 SRC for a dynamic range of up to 120 dB and a signal-to-noise ratio of 108dB.

Listening on some quality cans? The headphone jack features a built-in amp for 13.3 mW of power. It accommodates 6.3 or 3.5-mm jack sizes.

For the hefty price tag of $799 (the price it’s going for on Amazon), you also get an SPDIF port for connecting with stereo equipment and what looks like an SD card slot.

Pocket HiFi C4 Pro [Colorfly via Oh Gizmo!]

Images courtesy Colorfly