B&O Play H3 and H6 bring Bang & Olufsen's newer badge to headphones

B&O PLAY Launches Two New Sets of Headphones that Make Your Music Sound Better

B&O PLAY challenges the limits of technology with the launch of two new sets of headphones, to present a sound experience tailored for a life on the move. BeoPlay H3 is a superior and comfortable in-ear headphone for people in action, while BeoPlay H6 is a super soft, flexible over-ear headphone. Common for both sets of headphones is a sound performance that takes audio to another level. The headphones combine quality craftsmanship with enduring materials and use the latest technology to make music on the go sound better.

B&O PLAY by BANG & OLUFSEN builds on core values of craftsmanship and technology for a new type of contemporary products, which deliver excellent high-quality music experiences and are optimized for a life on the move. Now, B&O PLAY launches BeoPlay H3 in-ear headphones and BeoPlay H6 over-ear headphones using state of the art technology to reproduce the original sound material as authentically as possible while you are on the go. Henrik Taudorf Lorensen, VP of B&O PLAY says: "A wide range of headphones on the market today compromise on quality and sound performance. In the making of BeoPlay H3 and H6, we've worked with professional sound technicians and studio musicians, to offer people a pristine sound experience in a package that is a delight to wear".

Best in class audio performance

To get the best possible sound experience, B&O PLAY conducted extensive studies in the shape and curves of the human ear to find suitable geometries that minimise sound leakage and reveal all the fine details in the music at any given volume level.

BeoPlay H6 offers a truly natural and authentic sound performance with focus on getting a clear midrange and a balanced bass and treble performance. BeoPlay H6 is designed around 40 mm custom designed drivers with neodymium magnets that are perfectly angled to get the best distance and sound direction into the ears. BeoPlay H6 features an internal bass port to deliver a well-balanced bass performance in a closed headphone design.

BeoPlay H3 features a custom-designed 10,8 mm driver and the new Micro Bass Port for a dynamic and balanced full tone sound design. The structural rigidity of the unibody aluminium body provides acoustic precision for a clear musical experience. Together with the 23 ventilation holes, BeoPlay H3 is tuned to deliver an unstrained open sound stage.

Craft in craftsmanship

The main structural elements of BeoPlay H3 and H6 are made of anodized high-grade aluminium. With the long history of material excellence in aluminium, B&O PLAY is able to construct BeoPlay H3 and H6 to be surprisingly light as well as robust and scratch-resistant. The housing of BeoPlay H3 is milled from a single block of high-grade solid aluminium. BeoPlay H6 has anodized aluminium on the adjustable slider arm and cover plate to complete the design with a final vibrant touch.

B&O PLAY has collaborated with Danish industrial designer Jakob Wagner in the shaping of BeoPlay H3 and H6. Wagner is both trained as a mechanical engineer and industrial designer which make him skilled in all practical stages of the design process. With the new headphones, B&O PLAY and Jakob Wagner has created two unique products that are designed for music, crafted with high quality materials that are durable and long-lasting.

Price for H3 EUR 249 and H6 EUR 399. Available at, Bang & Olufsen stores, the B&O PLAY online store (beoplay.com), selected Apple retail stores, Apple Online, selected design and department stores, from May 2013.

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By: Unknown On 10:41 AM

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OrigAudio Beets headphones redefine KIRF: Keepin' It Real Fibrous (video)

We've seen plenty of Beats-focused KIRFs in our time, some better than others. Few, however, play quite so directly on the name as OrigAudio's Beets. For $25, adopters get a set of headphones that bear little direct resemblance to Dr. Dre's audio gear of choice, but are no doubt bound to impress friends -- at least, up until they see a root vegetable logo instead of a lower-case B. Thankfully, there's more to it than just amusing and confusing peers. Every purchase will lead to a donation of canned beets (what else?) to the Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County. For us, that's reason enough to hope that Beats doesn't put the kibosh on OrigAudio's effort. Besides, we could use some accompaniment for our BeetBox.

Source: OrigAudio

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By: Unknown On 10:38 AM

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Jabra's Revo, Revo Wireless and Vox headphones get priced, now shipping

Jabra's fresh batch of stereo headphones were first trotted out at CES, and now they've just been graced with price tags and are up for grabs. The Revo Wireless over-ear headphone rings up at $249, while the wired flavor will set folks back $199. Jabra's in-ear Vox hardware hits wallets with a little less force thanks to a $99 asking price. If you're in need a refresher, the gear was designed with durability in mind, sports Dolby Digital Plus tech and works with its manufacturer's Sound App for iOS and Android, which promises souped-up audio quality. Pining for a set of the cans? You'll have to head over to Amazon or Dell's online storefront to pick one up.

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Jabra ships Vox / Revo / Revo Wireless headphones

Jabra is excited to announce that the company's highly anticipated line of stereo headphones - Jabra Revo Wireless, Jabra Revo (corded) and Jabra Vox - are now available for purchase. Following the successful launch of the Jabra Solemate portable Bluetooth speaker, these three new products take the music-listening experience to greater heights with excellent durability and design.

Beginning today, all three products will be available at Amazon.com and Dell.com for the following retail prices:

Jabra Revo Wireless ($249)
Jabra Revo ($199)
Jabra Vox ($99)

Jabra has partnered with Dolby® to provide powerful, mobile sound enhanced by Dolby Digital Plus. With Jabra's exclusive Sound App, Dolby Digital Plus provides rich, full-spectrum sound that brings your device to life and adds extra depth and dimension to your music. In addition, the Jabra Revo Wireless and Jabra Vox have recently been honored with the prestigious, international Red Dot Design Award.

Tags: headphones, in-ear, Jabra, over-ear, Revo, RevoWireless, Vox

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By: Unknown On 8:38 PM

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Science: Graphene headphones can beat your fancy cans

Feeling smug about those brand-name cans you just bought? A pair of researchers from Berkeley just made 'em obsolete with some Graphene. Conventional gear needs an oscillator that has to be damped down to produce a constant sound between 20Hz and 20kHz. Graphene, on the other hand, can be tailored to do the same job without any complicated, and power draining, over-engineering. Qin Zhou and Alex Zettl found their power-sipping setup to be as good, if not better than the pair of Sennheisers they tested it against. We're hopeful that Graphene headphones aren't too far away, assuming Fiddy doesn't get to the pair first and shut 'em down.

Via: MIT Technology Review

Source: Cornell University

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By: Unknown On 10:15 PM

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Sony Xperia Z priced at £529, less if you buy it from Three (update: free headphones with preorders)

The humble islanders who inhabit Great Britain are waking up to the news that Sony's Xperia Z has been priced in the local currency. They can pre-register the unit for £529 in a choice of black, white or purple hues direct from Sony, or pre-order for £449 on Three. Either way, early birds stand to get a free pair of MDR-1R cans with their handset -- worth £200 ($315) no less.

Update: Vodafone has tweeted that the phone will launch (at least in the UK) on February 28th -- a few days earlier than we'd heard before.

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Via: GSMArena

Source: Sony UK, Three

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By: Dilusha On 9:27 PM

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IRL: Logitech UE 900 headphones, Nokia Lumia 900 and the Galaxy Note II

Welcome to IRL, an ongoing feature where we talk about the gadgets, apps and toys we're using in real life and take a second look at products that already got the formal review treatment.
This week Darren is back, test-driving a $400 pair of Ultimate Ears headphones, while Steve tells us about his new Galaxy Note II. Rounding things out, Jon takes a trip to the bargain basement and picks up a discounted Lumia 900. Read on to find out how much the gang likes their new loot.

When it comes to big-stage sound, a few names shine bright above the others. Westone and Ultimate Ears are most certainly up there, with each outfit boasting a shocking amount of artist support. UE, in particular, has pitched itself as a high-end consumer brand thanks to a tie-up with Logitech, and the UE 900 earphones are amongst the nicest it offers short of any custom options. At $400, it's clear from the get-go that these aren't aimed as casual listeners, and the hardshell container bundled in the box speaks volumes about how the company hopes you'll protect such an investment.

The drivers themselves boast four-armature speakers and a three-way crossover -- impressive from a technical standpoint. The stock blue cable is remarkably seductive, and frankly, it's pretty tough to keep your hands from fiddling with it. Aside from looking good and being almost ludicrously tough, it's also equipped with a right-angle headphone jack (huzzah!) and swiveling ear tips on the other end. Unfortunately, the company chose to cram the bantam mic / button stick way up on the cable connected to the right earbud instead of at the "v" a bit lower. As it stands, you're reaching up to your cheek to pause or fast-forward things. Moreover, the awkward "memory cabling" that wraps around one's ear is completely awkward. It took at least 10 seconds to get each earbud situated, and I never was entirely thrilled with the fit. Stage artists may be okay with it, but consumers won't be.

Oddly, Logitech also throws in a black braided cable that lacks the mic / button remote, but it doesn't provide any tonal differences. Many higher-end companies offer two different cables that cross things over a pinch differently, but there seems to be no actual benefit to this bonus cable. Perhaps most disappointingly, the vast collection of included ear tips are all circular. As in, they aren't ovals. Granted, Klipsch has that oval shape all sorts of locked down, but once you've used an ear tip that's actually engineered to fit in one's ear (hint: ear holes aren't perfect circles), you'll have a hard time using anything else. Indeed, even the foam tips here didn't perfectly seal around this editor's ears, letting more outside noise seep in compared to Klipsch's far cheaper Image S4i. It's a shame: regardless of how technically superior these are, the delivery is flawed due to circular ear tips; if you can't hear the benefits, what are you really buying?

Bottom line? Save your money and opt for Klipsch's Image X10i at $270. They fit better, sound better and don't require a planning session just to get 'em inserted.

-- Darren Murph

We're at the crossroads with the Nokia Lumia 900. It's getter ever closer to a Windows Phone 7.8 upgrade, though it's lost its flagship status to the Windows Phone 8-toting Lumia 920. But what are Windows fans to do if they want something at a discount? I had the opportunity to use a Lumia 900 running Windows Phone 7.5 for a few weeks to see what it's like now that the phone is entirely in budget territory -- is it worth the outlay at less than $1 on a contract when its future is limited?

Tentatively, I'd say yes. The Windows Phone ecosystem's problems are still very much here: you'll still have to go without major apps like Instagram and forego some of Google's services. And the camera, while relatively well done, doesn't hold up as well in an era where Apple's iPhone 4S and HTC's Droid Incredible 4G LTE are now closer to the entry level. Even so, it's still true that Windows Phone is one of the easier smartphone platforms to pick up if you're new to the concept. Those big, live icons make the experience simple and fun, and Nokia Drive offers solid turn-by-turn navigation. It's also tough to dispute the value of getting both LTE data and that iconic, unibody design at this price.

The real challenge? Budget Windows Phone 8 devices. As the Lumia 820 and its variants start dropping even lower than $100 on-contract (the AT&T version is already $50), it might not make much sense to buy the Lumia 900 -- saving the cost of a nice dinner won't matter much when the extra money will provide a much faster processor and a smartphone OS that will last for longer. Should there still be a wide-enough gap in your part of the world, though, the Lumia 900 may be viable or even ideal for those who need the basics, and not much more.

-- Jon Fingas

Not to gloat, but while buyers in the US were cooling their heels for the Samsung Galaxy Note II, customers abroad like yours truly were already phablet-ing away about a month early. I'd been ogling the 5.5-inch quad-core brute since it was first announced, and having squeezed all the usability out of my geriatric Galaxy S, I decided to make the €649 leap to a simless N7100 once it popped up on Amazon France (yes, we Engadget editors have to pay for our own devices, and no, we don't get a discount).

So, what's it like to use this outsized smartphone? For me, anyway, this is not a pocketable phone. I carry it around in my shoulder bag, and consider it to be a tablet as far portability goes. Once I have the device in hand, though, the size becomes a plus. With the optional factory flip case, the phone is only slightly heavier than my encased S, and its slim, curved profile fits my medium-sized hands very well. The huge screen makes it easy to browse most content, even full websites or digital magazines like Distro. On top of that, I never feel like a freak (not much, anyway) when I'm taking calls or photos, as you might with a Nexus 7, for instance.

Having worked as a compositor and 3D artist, the S Pen was a key attraction for me, particularly since the digitizer is made by none other than Wacom. It works smoothly and quickly, no doubt aided by its quad-core Exynos CPU, and the screen is just big enough to do real work on. The only drawback so far is a dearth of apps that support its 1024 levels of pressure sensitivity, which can give finer control over line and paint stroke widths. Programs that do support that feature, like Drawing Pad, provide an amazingly addictive sketching experience. Finally, I could do without TouchWiz, the Samsung skin that seems to transform lovely-looking stock Jelly Bean into dumpy Froyo (ahem, CyanogenMod?). Overall, though, the Galaxy Note II performs all my smartphone duties with aplomb, while still letting me peruse and create content, footloose and tablet-free.

-- Steve Dent

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By: Dilusha On 3:42 PM

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Marshall Major 50 FX 50th anniversary headphones now available for $170

By Mark Hearn posted Nov 7th 2012 7:44PM
Practically synonymous with Rock 'n' Roll, premium audio equipment maker Marshall is celebrating 50 years of sound with the release of its Major 50 FX headphones. Priced at $170, these celebratory cans take their cues from the limited run Hanwell anniversary edition amp,

By: Dilusha On 12:02 PM

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