Category: Headphones / Earphones
Sennheiser CX 300-II in-ear headphones – a "killer upgrade"
If you were about to go out and buy a pair of Sennheiser CX-300s, then STOP! Because Sennheiser has just dropped us an email informing us that there’s an upgrade coming this quarter that’ll significantly improve its mid-range earbuds.
The CX 300-IIs feature a completely new drive unit and capsule that goes much louder, with better bass, clarity and dynamics. The cable’s softer, with improved ‘strain relief’ (sounds painful), and it now comes with a carrying pouch. Basically it’s all-round better.
The price has gone up – from £20, which you can now get the 300s for – to £40. It comes with the aforementioned pouch, 1.2m of soft cable action, and three ear adapter sizes. Available in black, white, silver, red (pictured) and pink. Oh, and for a fiver more, you can get a lanyard version, which lets you hang a mobile phone or MP3 player around your neck.
Sennheiser CX 300-II Precision (Black)
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s-Jays from Jays Headphones – in-ear noise isolators with added bass
Jays Headphones, from Sweden, is currently shouting about its s-Jays headphones. I was quite a big fan of the c-Jays that I tested out recently (video coming soon), but those were over-the-head, whereas these are noise isolating in-ears.
They’ve got some technology that Jays is calling SIREN, which is a tubeless, round balanced armature, promising a good dynamic range and decent bass, which can be rare on cheap earbuds.
They come with plenty of accessories, including a splitter, embiggener, and an airline adaptor, as well as a nice carrycase. They’ll set you back £60, and are available right now. Looks like a decent upgrade if you’re currently running a cheap pair of earphones.
Jays Headphones
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Perk up your cheap earphones with the Acoustibuds
What a stroke of genius! These “Acoustibuds” slip over a pair of cheap earphones to make them into a pair of expensive noise-isolating headphones. The guys who run CES agree, awarding them an innovation award at the show this year.
They also promise to stick in your ear better than standard earbuds. The flexible ‘wings’ hold the bud in place “even with perspiration and extreme physical activity”, claims the manufacturer. Not bad for $13 (£8.70), especially if you’ve got one of those awful phones with a proprietary connector meaning that you have to use the rubbish provided earbuds.
Amazon USA (via CrunchGear)
Related posts: AKG headphones range – treats for your ears from a tenner to a tonner | Sony debuts wireless DB-BT101 headphones, and MDR-EX36SC two-in-one headphones
Sony debuts wireless DB-BT101 headphones, and MDR-EX36SC two-in-one headphones
This morning, Sony quietly added the DB-BT101s to its online catalogue. These rather attractive phones are wireless, and connect via Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, so they’ll happily work alongside a bluetooth laptop, PDA, mobile phone or MP3 player.
Those are the all the details we’ve got right now, but they do look lovely, so here’s hoping they’ll get some sort of Western release, along with some tangible specs, in the near future.
CES 2009: Sennheiser announces "world's best headphones"- the HD800s
Sennheiser’s making quite a bold claim here – the world’s best headphones. The HD800s apparently sound better than any other pair of headphones on the planet. I suspect that it might be difficult to prove that one to a jury – surely it’s more than a little subjective?
But let’s not quibble over that – it’s beyond doubt that these are damn good. A brand new “RING” driver, developed specifically for these cans alone, can deliver an amazing 6Hz – 51kHz frequency response. For comparison, your average person on the street can hear about 20Hz to 20kHz. Unless you’re an audiophile, therefore, you’re not going to get much out of these. Sennheiser also claims an amazingly low 0.02% distortion.
Logitech shows off its revamped gaming lineup – two keyboards a headset and a mouse
Next up, it’s Logitech’s turn to show off its new products to the world. They’ve got the G19 keyboard, the G13 gameboard, the G9x mouse and the G35 surround sound headset. I’m going to go out on a limb and assume that the G stands for ‘gaming’, because these are all very squarely focused at PC gamers.
I’ll start with the G19, which we spotted previously, but called the G18. In every other respect, though, it seems to be the same model – it’s got the same 320 x 240 colour LCD, the same 12 macro keys, and the superb “game mode” switch that disables the Windows key so you don’t hit it by accident at a crucial moment. No sign of that D-pad, though.
Denon announces top-end AH-D7000 headphones
These over-ear headphones are Denon’s latest release to the ‘I’ve got rather a lot of money’ target market. How much money? Well, the AH-D7000s will set you back £800. That’s a lot of money, so you’d be right to ask what you’re getting for that.
You’re getting very high-class components, that’s why. A couple of 2″ drivers with free-edge microfibre diaphragms that’ll play notes up to 45kHz (20kHz is the top end of an average human’s hearing).
You also get housings crafted of mahogany (which I should point out is a highly endangered wood) with carvings on the INSIDE that ‘enhance the natural tonal balance’. The cable is 99.99999% oxygen-free copper, too, so you’ll get absolutely no distortion from that.
What do you think – worth £800? Or snake oil? Let us know your opinion in the comments.
Denon UK
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LimbGear Noggin Net skullcap and earbuds – not religious or ethnic in any way
When I first read that LimbGear was releasing an mp3-enabled skullcap, I pictured a niche market of rockin’ rabbis. Sorry to disappoint but that is not the case.
Apparently “skullcap” is an Americanism for a beanie type hat and the one of note today is the Noggin Net. But that just made me think of Latino gangsters. Again, this was a mistake. With the benefit of the image above, we can see that it’s a normal hat with a little pocket clearly market for mp3 player…
Sennheiser launches high-end in-ear phones
Sennheiser has announced a new professional line of in-ear earphones, the IE series, offering high quality, accurate sound for a range of budgets (well, except under £120).
The Sennheiser IE 6 are hi-fi earphones with enhanced bass and come in at £119.99. The Sennheiser IE 7 are classic hi-fi earphones with a balanced sound, for £169.99, while the top-of-line IE 8s are aimed at audiophiles and cost £249.99.
All feature high-end, accurate, pro-grade audio and are based on Sennheiser’s in-ear stage monitors, having a single driver to eliminate distortions, strong Kevlar cabling, metal carry cases, and a two year guarantee.
AKG headphones range – treats for your ears from a tenner to a tonner
Those purchasing pods, players and PDAs for Christmas may like to think about picking up some of these headphones from AKG. They range from £6.99 to £99.99 depending upon how much you love them/yourself after you receive a device with some terrible audio out ear-scratchers.
As part of the Harman Kardon group…
