Walk around with home theater sound
High-end audio manufacturer Velodyne, known for making some of the best subwoofers on the market over the past few decades, is now bringing the bass even closer to your ears with the vPulse In-Ear Headphones ($90). As you’d expect, the vPulse’s provide incredible sound quality for the price thanks to 10 mm drivers encased in [...]
Meze-merizing
We’re not designers by trade, but we’re pretty sure there’s a rule that says the addition of wood only makes products more beautiful. The Meze Classics headphones are a perfect example, and lend credence to our lumber-loving design ethos. The Meze headphone line is the creation of award-winning industrial designer, Antonio Meze. Available in three [...]
Keep the Hi-fi, ditch the high price
Anyone on a budget looking to wade into the world of portable headphone hi-fi should take a good Pei Mei stare at Fiio. In the audio community, the upstart brand is known for providing unbeatable value, and their latest E17 Alpen USB DAC Headphone Amplifier ($140) is no exception. Boasting inputs for mini USB, AUX, [...]
A touch more advanced
Headphones are the new status symbol in a world where everyone owns the exact same phone. So it’s not surprising that Parrot, maker of a wide range of random accessories for mobile devices including a remote controlled helicopter drone and the Asteroid car audio receiver, decided to enter the fray. Like the $1,500 Zikmu iPod [...]
Ready for the next 20 years
Flash back to 1984. Prince still went by Prince and was ruling the music charts. Ralph put the macho in Macchio by laying the hurt on Cobra Kai. A former hollywood actor was just reaching the middle of his tenure in the oval office. And Koss introduced what would become one of the most iconic [...]
Forget one-size-fits-all
Typically, buying a set of custom molded earbuds from brands like Ultimate Ears (now a subsidiary of Logitech) or Etymotic can take months. That’s because consumers must first visit the Audiologist to have inner-ear molds made, which are then shipped to the headphone company for production. Sonomax’s Sculpture Eers Custom Molded Headphones ($199+) ship with [...]
Home sweet home theater
As rabid movie, music fans and gamers, we’re always on the hunt for gear that can push our home entertainment experience to 11 (much to our better half’s chagrin). This roundup includes some of our favorite home theater products out today that we’d love to host in our living room. Continues after the jump.
Sound Footing
Full-sized, over-the-ear headphones (known as Circumaural cans to you purists) typically provide a level of audio fidelity that measly earbuds can’t match. The trouble is they don’t exactly store nicely when not in use on your desk. These Woo Audio Aluminum Headphone stands ($60-$75) can help remove clutter from your workspace or listening station by [...]
You Mess 'Em Up, It Ties 'Em Down
Dutch designer Michiel Cornelissen has devised a clever product to tame Apple’s ubiquitous ear buds. The CableGuy ($13) features four slots for holding the ear buds and 3.5mm plug in place, leaving room in the middle to wrap up the pesky cord in a nice ‘n tidy fashion. There’s also a built-in clip for attaching [...]
Coming Soon: Portable B&W
We’d be hard pressed to find an answer if you asked us to identify two pieces of audio gear we love listening to more than our Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin or PS5 headphones. But, we doubt you’d ever see us using them. Neither are exactly portable. That may soon change though with the upcoming release [...]
Upstaged
Famous amp maker Marshall shook up the audio world when they released the Marshal Major and Minor headphones. A little over a year later, they’ve now added some phone-friendly additions to their flagship Major ($120) cans in the form of an integrated mic and remote. Both features function as you’d expect, allowing users to answer [...]
Free (Jay)Bird
Jaybird’s new JF3 Freedom Bluetooth Headphones ($100) are built from the ground up to be the workout accessory you’ve always wanted. Their Bluetooth connectivity allows them to connect to your iPhone, or any stereo Bluetooth device wirelessly, which is a huge plus for anyone whose nearly been garotted by their current wired set mid-lift. They’re [...]
Wireless Black Belt
Wireless audio. A convenient technology that, like many modern conveniences, comes at the peril of quality. When it comes to a great pair of cans, we’re a picky lot here at GP and tend to keep ours plugged into an amp via cables — for better or worse. So, when AKG asked us a few [...]
Hassle Free Buds
Claiming any pair of headphones is tangle-free takes some cojones. Wires are wires after all, and the universe tends towards entropy (seriously: that’s the second law of thermodynamics people). Still, the Swedes are particularly talented at leveraging design, and in the case of the a-Jay Four ($75) ear buds, a unique a 5mm flat cable [...]
Headphone Wranglers
Let’s be honest with ourselves. Wrapping headphones around a phone or iPod keeps them organized for exactly 4.26 seconds. Ok so we’re exaggerating — but you get the point. If you’d prefer not to waste another minute of your day untangling headphone cords, then dig into that coin collection and buy a pair of BudTrap [...]
