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Tag: hifi

MIYA Customised Headphones

Posted by Andrew at 12:44 AM on June 7, 2011

If you feel that white headphones mark you as just one of the herd, and that black headphones are a bit dull, then you’ll want to check out MIYA headphones, because these come in more colour combinations than you can possibly imagine.

Each set of headphones has 18 colour changeable parts and you can build your own headphones from the builder on the MIYA website. There’s a picture of it below. Now you can have headphones to match your clothes – imagine a set in lurid colours to go with your Lycra sportswear.

They’ll work with any device that has an audio 3.5 mm jack, so that’s most mp3 players, iPods and so on.

Price is HKD 388 (Hong Kong dollars) but there’s HKD 150 off if you order before the end of June. There’s a checkout code on the website for the discount. For comparison, HKD 400 is about US$ 50 or GB£30.

Can’t comment on the audio quality as I haven’t got a pair myself. Let us know if you get a set.

Sony Wireless 7.1ch Headphones

Posted by Andrew at 4:39 PM on April 18, 2011

Sony in the UK have announced the MDR‑DS6500 digital wireless 7.1ch surround sound headphones. That’s quite a collection of adjectives, so to break it down into the constituent parts…

Digital wireless – All-digital wireless transmission resists noise and interference from other devices in the home. Automatic tuning switches seamlessly between RF channels in the 2.408 – 2.473 GHz range to optimise signal reception. Range approximately 100 m so you can roam your home while listening to you tunes.

7.1ch – Exclusive to Sony, Virtualphones Technology (VPT) reproduces the soundstage of multi-channel speakers. Even if you’re listening to a stereo 2ch or 5.1 channel programme, VPT builds a virtual 7.1 channel stage that stretches behind and beyond the screen. There’s also a choice of selectable surround sound modes to optimise listening for movies, gaming or speech.

Surround sound – Supporting Dolby Digital, Dolby Pro Logic IIx, DTS and DTS ES, the base station will take both digital optical and analogue inputs.

Headphones – Over the ear, weighing in at 320g. Pretty good looking too. When they’re not being used, you can rest the MDR‑DS6500 headphones on their wireless charging dock. Three hours charging time provides power for approx 20 hours listening time.

Available in May for a £249. Not cheap. Full specs here too.

Sony Drops Two New Headphones

Posted by Andrew at 5:17 PM on April 3, 2011

Sony has dropped two quite different headphones onto the market, one a wireless headset for cord-free listening and the other a set of noise-cancelling earbuds.

The MDR-RF865RK headphones are traditional over the ear cans with plenty of padding, finished in what appears to be a dark graphite grey. However, they have the further benefit of being wireless with a 100m range in ideal conditions, using a 3 channel FM system. When not in use, the headphones can be hung on the charging station to recharge and they give 25 hours of listening on a 3.5 hour charge. The headphones have handy volume controls, so it’s not necessary to adjust the source volume if it’s too quiet or too loud. Perhaps not unsurprisingly, the headphones are a fairly weighty 320g.

At the other end of the spectrum and weighing in at just 7g, the MDR-NC13 noise-cancelling earbuds are aimed at the traveller rather than the stay-at-homers. These headphones can reduce ambient noise by over 87% meaning that “getting away from it all” becomes much easier. Impressively, a single AAA battery gets a 100 hours of noise-cancelling listening pleasure.

Available from Sony in April. Prices not currently disclosed.

PureSound Technology and ClarityOne Earbuds

Posted by Andrew at 6:09 PM on February 12, 2011

Todd and Tom tune into Patrick and Dean from PureSound Technology, Inc, who talk about their patented PureSound processor that will shortly be launched within their ClarityOne earbuds. Because of the processor, the earbuds can use 8 ohm impedance rather than the more usual 16 or 32 ohms, giving greater clarity and less distortion.

The range will be extended later in the year with over the ear models for professional studio use.

Available late February /early March for $140 with a 15% pre-registration discount and iTunes gift card for the first 500 orders.

Interview by Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central and Tom Newman of The Fogview Podcast.

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Sennheiser Headphones and Earphones

Posted by Andrew at 10:23 AM on February 4, 2011

Andy McCaskey and Esby Larsen sound out Ivan Kuan of Sennheiser, my favourite headphone manufacturer, on the latest aural delights. Recently, Sennheiser have introduced a number of travel and lifestyle headphones, including models marketed in conjunction with Adidas under the Originals brand – HD 25, CX 310 & HD 220. They’re blue. Very blue.

Returning to monochrome reality, the CXC 700s are new in-ear phones with digital active noise cancellation. Three different noise cancellation modes are available to suit the particular travel environment, e.g. plane or train. The phones comes with “TalkThrough” that when pressed mutes the music and allows external noise through. The phones themselves are specially shaped so that if you fall asleep lying down, they don’t press too hard into your ear. $229 and shipping soon.

CX 980i is another set of in-ear phones, but these are aimed at those people who listen to music on their iPhone, as the integrated remote includes a microphone so they can take a call without getting the phone out. Also works with iPods and iPads. There’s some nice metal-craft detailing as well. $229 too.

Finally, the PXC 360BT are pair of wireless Bluetooth headphones with noise cancellation and SRS surround sound. Cleverly, when travelling by air, the Bluetooth can be turned off and a lead plugged in. Definitely a audiophile product for the high mileage air traveller but you know you’re worth it.  $449.

Interview by Andy McCaskey of SDR News and Esbjorn Larsen of MrNetCast.com.

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