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Dec 14

JVC intros cord-free TH-BA3 and TH-BS7 soundbar audio systems

Posted in: audio, sound, speaker, speakers, Today's Chili, Wireless

JVC’s never been much on using wires to hook up its home theater systems, and for those not looking for mind-blowing 7.1 surround, these soon-available wireless soundbar setups might just satisfy your aural cravings without forcing you to run ungodly lengths of cabling around your den. The TS-BA3 ($549.95) is a dual wireless soundbar system that consists of a 280-watt amplifier, 5.1-channel surround rig (including a soundbar, wireless subwoofer and wireless rear speaker kit) and built-in surround decoding. You’ll also find a single analog input, two optical digital inputs and support for Dolby Digital, DTS and Dolby ProLogic II surround signals. The TH-BS7 ($599.95) is engineered to mount alongside flat-panel HDTVs, with a 1.4-inch tall, ultrathin soundbar, an even slimmer wall-mountable amplifier / control unit and a wireless subwoofer. This one’s packing 180-watts of teeth-rattling oomph and promises 4.1 sound with minimal consumption of floor space. Hop on past the break for the full release and detailed specifications.

Gallery: JVC intros cord-free TH-BA3 and TH-BS7 soundbar audio systems

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JVC intros cord-free TH-BA3 and TH-BS7 soundbar audio systems originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 Dec 2009 10:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dec 07

Harman Kardon’s transparent GLA-55 2.0 speaker set gets glaring $1,000 price tag

Posted in: audio, expensive, luxury, Music, sound, speaker, speakers, Today's Chili

Look, we’ve no qualms with Harman Kardon — in fact, we’ve been continually impressed with its wares over the years — but we’re about 99 percent sure we’d never pay a cool grand for a 2.0 speaker set. Yeah, as in a pair of speakers and no subwoofer. Clearly designed for “high-end consumers,” the GLA-55 is a two piece setup meant for fashion-forward desks and bedroom nightstands. The set relies on Atlas AL and CMMD transducers, with the former capable of nearly 1-inch peak-to-peak travel for what we’re told is exceptional bass response. That said, we find it tough to fathom that a pair of speakers such as this could really be worth the $999.99 MSRP, but we’ll be sure to withhold final judgment until Jim Goodnight (or similar) brings over his dog’s set for us to try out.

Gallery: Harman Kardon’s transparent GLA-55 2.0 speaker set get glaring $1,000 price tag

Harman Kardon’s transparent GLA-55 2.0 speaker set gets glaring $1,000 price tag originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 07 Dec 2009 16:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dec 06

Touchtable mixer takes conventional PMP design for a wiki-wiki-twist

Posted in: concept, Music, PMP, sound, Today's Chili, touchpad

Not that we haven’t seen turntable capabilities shoved into production and concept devices alike before, but there’s something curiously seductive about this one. Dreamed up by Sir Thomas Mascall, the Touchtable is a pocket-sized PMP that boasts a digit-friendly surface meant for scratching, mixing and all manners of interacting. Aside from playing back your favorite MP3s, this bugger can (in theory, anyway) also mix jams on the fly, cue outputs and even connect with a second Touchtable wirelessly in order to establish a more traditional DJ setup (at 1:8 scale). Plug it into a PC, and now you’ve got a MIDI controller. Pop that source link if you’re looking for a few more images and details, and feel free to contact your local VC if interested in seeing this fast-tracked to the commercial realm.

Touchtable mixer takes conventional PMP design for a wiki-wiki-twist originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 06 Dec 2009 15:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dec 01

Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 Wireless speakers impressions

Posted in: audio, Features, hands-on, impressions, Music, sound, speaker, speakers, Today's Chili, usb, Wireless

Back in the day (or way back, as it were), we recall quite vividly the impression made upon us by Klipsch‘s ProMedia v.2-400. It wasn’t the cheapest four-piece speaker set for the PC, but compared to the competition at the time, it certainly offered up a sound rivaled only by much higher-end options — options that were generally tailored for home theater applications. Fast forward to today, and Klipsch is still carrying on the ProMedia line nearly a decade later. The latest set to waltz into our labs are these: the ProMedia 2.1 Wireless. Essentially, these are the exact same ProMedia 2.1 speakers that were released eons ago (in the midst of the Y2K chaos, if you’re looking for specifics), but with a wireless twist. Klipsch has integrated 2.4GHz wireless technology into the subwoofer, and it tossed in a USB dongle in order to beam out audio from whatever PC or Mac that you connect it to. Pretty simple, right? Hop on past the break for our two pennies on how this package performed.

Gallery: Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 Wireless speakers

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Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 Wireless speakers impressions originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Dec 2009 16:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nov 13

Yamaha’s yAired-equipped MCR-140 micro stereo wirelessly talks to iPods and subwoofers

Posted in: audio, Music, Retro, sound, speaker, speakers, Today's Chili, Wireless

Yamaha seems to be pushing its newly unveiled yAired technology pretty hard, with the second system to sport it unveiled just weeks after the first. The $399.95 MCR-140 is far from being the most stylish mini stereo we’ve seen — in fact, it’s probably one of the ugliest — but it is available in a rainbow’s worth of hues (or just ten), and it does talk to iPods and subwoofers sans cabling. Aside from that, you’ll also get an old fashioned CD player, a front-panel USB socket, an iPod dock on the top, FM radio tuner and mini jack inputs for other sources. The box itself packs a pair of 4-inch drivers and ships with a bundled remote, and if you’re not so interested in cutting cords, a yAired-less MCR-040 is available for $120 less.

Gallery: Yamaha’s yAired-equipped MCR-140 micro stereo wirelessly talks to iPods and subwoofers

Continue reading Yamaha’s yAired-equipped MCR-140 micro stereo wirelessly talks to iPods and subwoofers

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Portable Audio

Yamaha’s yAired-equipped MCR-140 micro stereo wirelessly talks to iPods and subwoofers originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 13 Nov 2009 07:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nov 10

Yeti USB Condenser Mic gets certified by THX, fellow Yetis

Posted in: Music, sound, Today's Chili, usb

Blue Microphones, the same company responsible for the heralded Snowball, is today introducing the planet’s first THX certified microphone… or so it says. The hilariously named Yeti USB Condenser Mic ($149.99) touts condenser capsules in a triple array, four total patterns (omni, cardoid, stereo, bidirectional), a zero-latency headphone output (with volume control for direct monitoring), an adjustable microphone gain control and a mute button. As expected, the USB mic will play nice with both Mac and Windows-based systems, and if you’ve been looking high and low for a mic that gets an oh-so-coveted stamp of approval from Sir Abominable Snowman, you can finally call off the hunt next month.

Filed under: Peripherals, Portable Audio

Yeti USB Condenser Mic gets certified by THX, fellow Yetis originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 10 Nov 2009 19:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nov 08

Yamaha intros more affordable Tenori-On ‘Orange’

Posted in: concept, Music, sound, Today's Chili

It’s been well over a year since we published our take on Yamaha‘s perplexing, beautiful and all-around intriguing Tenori-On concept, and evidently the masses have spoken out. This week, the company announced that it will soon be shipping a “more affordable” version with the name Tenori-On ‘Orange,’ with some vendors already leaking a £649 ($1,077) MSRP. Put simply, the new Orange version will retain all of the musical functionality that the original had (or has, as it were), but the magnesium casing will be replaced by a rugged plastic one and the battery / back panel LED options will also be removed in order to shave costs. Still, we’re all for peeling back on the flash in order to get more music makers into more hands, so we’ll certainly look to wrap our own paws around one when it starts shipping in December.

Update: Engadget Japanese just did a quick hands-on with the Orange, check it out!

Gallery: TENORI-ON standard model “TNR-O”

[Via MusicRadar]

Filed under: Peripherals

Yamaha intros more affordable Tenori-On ‘Orange’ originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 08 Nov 2009 13:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Oct 30

Sleek Audio’s SA1 earbuds bring Kleer wireless, custom tuning for $80

Posted in: audio, earbuds, headphones, Music, sound, Today's Chili

Sleek Audio earbuds have always had a certain allure, but for most, the sticker shock alone was enough to turn ’em away. Now, however, the boutique audio shop has punched out its very first set that’s tailor made for the budget-minded, and at $79.99, the SA1 offers an awful lot of value (on paper, anyway). Much like the pricier SA6 and CT6 models, the SA1 also ships with Kleer wireless technology, enabling it to go from wired to wireless and back again. It also boasts a modified VQ Tuning system that allows the user to acoustically alter the sound signature of their music, a siam rosewood body, detachable cable and single / dual-flange ear tips. The real kicker? The $79.99 price point, which is darn near unheard of for something with these kind of specs. It’s up for pre-order right now in the read link, with initial shipments expected to head out in November.

Filed under: Portable Audio, Wearables, Wireless

Sleek Audio’s SA1 earbuds bring Kleer wireless, custom tuning for $80 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Oct 2009 13:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Oct 20

Sonos S5 ears-on review: a premium iPod speaker dock without the dock

Posted in: audio, Features, hands-on, HandsOn, preview, review, sound, speaker, Today's Chili

We had the opportunity to hear a preview of the $399 Sonos S5 all-in-one speaker ahead of its 27 October US launch (November 10th in Europe). For comparison, we had it staged side-by-side with a pair of Sonos 100 speakers — a setup that costs $678 ($499 for an amplified Sonos ZonePlayer Z120 and another $179 for the separate loudspeakers). Unfair, perhaps, since Sonos is actually positioning its five speaker (two tweeters, two 3-inch mids, and a built-in 3.5-inch sub) S5 with five dedicated amps against premium iPod speaker docks like the $600 Bose SoundDock 10, $600 B&W Zeppelin, or legacy $349 Apple iPod Hi-Fi. So how did it sound? About what we expected, which in this case is a good thing. Click through to find out why.

Gallery: Sonos S5 ears-on review: the premium iPod speaker dock without the dock

Continue reading Sonos S5 ears-on review: a premium iPod speaker dock without the dock

Filed under: Portable Audio

Sonos S5 ears-on review: a premium iPod speaker dock without the dock originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 20 Oct 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Oct 16

Eigenharp Alpha, Pico demo and mind-blowing concert (hands-on)

Posted in: audio, Features, Music, sound, Today's Chili

Remember the Eigenharp Alpha and Pico that we broke news of last week? Sure you do, but we bet you still haven’t a clue how those long, elegant sticks work. The forty employees at Eigenlabs probably heard us simultaneously scratching our heads so they kindly invited us to their London studio for a quick demo, and boy, those musical wands look great up close, not to mention their remarkable flexibility for user configuration as well. John Lambert, Founder and Chairman of Eigenlabs, managed to sneak out of his busy schedule to give us the lowdown on the Eigenharps. It all started in his Devon barn about eight years ago and over time the Alpha was groomed into a 132-key beast, followed by the recently-developed, self-explanatory Pico. The defining character of both Eigenharps lies in their “completely new sensor technology” consisting of pressure sensitive keys, that can do dual-axis vibrato (not dissimilar to string instruments), accompanied by strip controllers for applying filters or pitch bend, or anything at all depending on how you configure them on their Mac software suite (Windows-support due in January). Likewise with the breath pipe: once you’ve loaded your library and presets you can switch from a Kenny G to a Daft Punk at the simple click of a key. Heck, you can even configure the air pressure sensitivity as well if you’re tickling for a soft mood, or just feeling lazy. And those funky LED lights, you ask? Well, they’re actually indicators for the different modes you’re in rather than just being pretty. Watch the walkthrough videos after the break and you’ll get a better idea.

Gallery: Eigenharp Alpha, Pico demo and mind-blowing concert (hands-on)