Audio

Over the last fifty years or so, a family-owned company in New York has built up quite a reputation for creating hand-crafted, audiophile-pleasing equipment. The latest addition to the Grado Labs family has just been announced, a new flagship in-ear headphone that's said to set a new benchmark in sonic performance. Read More

Research has shown that over 80 percent of netbook owners believe that good sound is important, yet I think it's fair to say that most netbook speakers are not really very good – offering about the same audio output quality as a smartphone. Toshiba has revealed that its new mini NB520 netbook sports a pair of Harman/Kardon speakers and Dolby Advanced Audio technology, to give users the kind of rich audio experience usually reserved for much bigger devices. Read More

We first looked at Zoom's Q3HD Handy Video Recorder when it was announced in October. The point-and-shoot unit combines HD audio recording with 1080p video at 30 frames per second, a 2.4-inch LCD screen for immediate playback and ... you can now get your hands on one. Read More

Having spent a number of years as the audio weapon of choice for computer sound systems, Creative has announced a couple of USB releases that will allow any sound card to benefit from its Sound Blaster know-how. The Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Surround 5.1 Pro is said to offer true 5.1 surround sound, while the Sound Blaster X-Fi Go! Pro has been designed for mobile listeners. Both benefit from the company's THX TruStudio Pro entertainment system, that provides depth and space to give a more natural feel to stereo output. Read More

Marshall amplifiers have been at the center of rock's universe for nearly five decades. Next month will see the company take its audio know-how to more personal territory when the first pair of Marshall Headphones break cover. Instead of sporting Marshall's trademark distortion crunch, the new cans are promised to "render music the way it was meant to sound." Read on for what little information has been revealed and details of how to get access to more... Read More

The high definition audio offered by the Q3 handy video recorder has now been joined by HD video with the release of the Q3HD. Featuring full 1080p at 30 frames per second or both 30 and 60 frames per second at 720p, the new model now benefits from a 5 megapixel CMOS sensor and an F2.8 fixed focus lens with 4x digital zoom. Read More

While headphones are a great way to enjoy music while out and about, they don’t let you impose your musical tastes on share your musical tastes with those around you. Sitting a boombox on your shoulder might solve the problem but we think the Music Strap is a much more convenient and shoulder-friendly option. It is a mini speaker system that attaches to the straps of any backpack to let you whistle along to your favorite tunes as you walk, bike, ski or basically do anything that can be done while wearing a backpack. Read More

If you’re the kind of person who’s happy enough with the basic white headphones included with Apple’s iPods then you’re probably not the kind of person who will be interested in the new open back Edition 10 headphones from Germany’s Ultrasone AG. These limited edition headphones pack a number of features and are made from a long list of luxury materials to justify their US$2,750 price tag that places them firmly in the category of “for dedicated audiophiles only.” Read More

Imagine if you were watching television coverage of a football game, where none of the cameras could zoom in. It would be pretty frustrating, just having to go from one wide shot to another, never being able to get a close look at any of the players. That’s pretty much how things are with audio, however. Unless someone has their own microphone, or is within line of sight of a parabolic mic, you’re not going to be hearing them very well. In the near future, however, that may not be the case. Norway’s Squarehead Technology has developed AudioScope, a system that allows users to acoustically “zoom in” on individual people in a large area, and follow them as they move around. Read More