Music

Not to be overshadowed amongst the cameras, tablets and “phablets” unveiled at this year’s IFA, German audio technology vendor Sennheiser has stepped up to the plate and unveiled three new earphone designs: the CX 890i, CX 985 and MX 985. The CX 890i headset sports a glass-like finish and metal detailing in a clear bid to catch the eye of audiophiles who like their music hardware on the minimalist side, while the CX 985 and MX 985 feature a less unusual but still rather striking metal alloy finish.  Read More

Logitech is rolling out a brand new version of its UE line with both on- and over-the-ear headphones, ear buds, Bluetooth boomboxes and a new smart radio. These devices look to be quite stylish, even if a little on the expensive side.  Read More

The term disc-jockey is thought to have first been coined in the mid-1930s to introduce a radio show host who played recorded (rather than live) music. Although 12-inch platters of grooved black goodness remain popular with Club and Party DJs, it's rare to find a radio professional who hasn't abandoned the format in favor of digital music. Mix-masters who have gone digital can also groove on the move thanks to powerful apps for smartphones and tablets like IK Multimedia's DJ Rig, but physical connectivity is still needed when adding device-based audio tracks to the set. Pioneer's Professional Sound and Visual Division has rallied to the cause with what's claimed to be the industry's first Wi-Fi DJ system capable of wireless playback from portable devices ... the XDJ-AERO.  Read More

Wouldn’t it be nice to lounge in the pool and enjoy your favorite music without risking the health and well-being of your precious mobile device? We have seen a number of waterproof MP3 players and accessories over the years, including the Speedo Aquabeat, the Fitness Technologies UWaterG2 and more recently a waterproof smartphone case with a built-in speaker, ECOXGEAR’s ECOXPRO. Until now, though, we hadn't seen a waterproof Bluetooth speaker (as opposed to water-resistant, like the iShower) like ECOXGEAR’s new ECOXBT. It allows you to listen to your favorite songs in the water while your cell phone or Bluetooth compatible MP3 player remains safely on dry land.  Read More

If you suspect that songs today tend to sound the same, it turns out you're right. A group of Spanish scientists looked at a huge database of songs and analyzed their trends, publishing their results in the scientific journal Nature. What they found was proof positive that, over the last few decades, songs have progressively gotten louder, decreased their pitch transitions, and generally become more homogeneous.  Read More

In the days before CD, MP3 or iTunes, when Sony's Walkman was just about the only mobile music player worth having, hip young music lovers engaged in the painstakingly intricate process of recording a 45-minute-per-side compilation of favorite tunes onto an audio cassette tape. A kind of forefather to today's MP3 playlist, the mix tape was about creating a unique musical identity, an expression of personality that could be shared with those near and dear. Technology marches relentlessly on and tapes are now all-but extinct, replaced by digital files on smartphones and media players. The essence of the compact cassette mix tape has now been given a modern update by the folks from the MakerBot Industries Applications team in Brooklyn, New York, with the launch of the 3D-printed Mixtape do-it-yourself music player kit.  Read More

Summer in the northern hemisphere this year has so far been a bit of a disappointment. Mobile music lovers can at least look forward to a new batch of Walkman digital music and video players from Sony while we wait for the sun to shine. The new additions include three 7-mm (0.275-inch) thin models and new flagship series players that run on the Ice Cream Sandwich flavor of Google's Android operating platform. Two feature Bluetooth technology for wireless connection to headphones or speaker docks, and there's one that benefits from noise-canceling circuitry.  Read More

Sadly, the funding campaign for the Unlimited travel guitar with built-in speaker that we covered late last month was unsuccessful, but fear not because VOX Amplification has come to the rescue in impressive retro style. The company has dipped into the past to bring back two of its most iconic guitar shapes as modern travel/practice instruments. The beautiful VOX Teardrop and Phantom have been reborn as the Apache Series, each featuring two speakers, built-in effects and rhythm patterns, and the ability to jam along to favorite tunes via direct input from an external MP3 or CD player.  Read More

The Yamaha Arp & Drum Pad app for iPad is a music creation app that's not only capable of transmitting notes to external MIDI instruments, but includes a built-in virtual keyboard, allowing the user to trigger the arpeggiator and play numerous patterns from a variety of instruments.  Read More