Tag Archives: audio

TWT Audio: affordable, powerful and customizable headphones @ CES 2023



TWT Audio gaming headphonesWe all know that there are many choices out there when it comes to the headphone market, but few companies try to be as customizable as possible or try to balance affordability with high-quality audio. You’re usually going to get quality sound with a decent design and a high price tag, or an affordable price with stale audio and LED lights to distract you from its flaws. TWT Audio wants to change up the formula with their current line of headphones.

Modularized parts are one of the key focuses for this line. Detachable ear cups, not just the cousin mind you, are available across the board. They have different styles of earcups, different colors, and earcups made of materials designed to deal with moisture from working out. This can especially appeal to gamers and streamers who are also fitness buffs. You’d have the ability to move from your streaming rig right to your workout area and swap to your sweat-resistant ear cups for a worry-free workout stream.

The audio cable is also modularized. The input device is swappable: you can go from a USB-C connection to a USB-A connection to a 3.5mm connection or even a 1/4 inch connection into an amplifier if you wanted. Seems to be just a quick screw removal from under the ear cup, and simply swapping the part and you’re good to go. TWT Audio is making sure that the customization aspect is as easy as possible.

Audio Quality is an aspect they want to emphasize in their gaming model, the Victory 250XG model. Not seen in the interview, I got a good demonstration with a Fortnite match. Projectile paths, sounds of vehicles, and footsteps were all coming from their precise directions. Along with that, the proper volume of sounds depending on their proximity to your character. Sounds were crisp and clear and it’s hard to believe how close these headphones come to the higher-end, more expensive headphones on the market.

Comfort level is always important and these do not fall short of other quality headphones. The ear cups are cushioned as well as the band over your head. It’s adjustable enough to fit over my large head and hair. Many headphones in the affordability classes cut costs in these areas in particular, so I think it’s important to note that TWT Audio seems to have found a sweet spot with these products.

Notable aspects of each model: the Victory 250XG gaming headset has an omnidirectional “silicon flex” mic, come with mesh ear cups and the ear cups’ angle can be adjusted for comfort options. The Revo headset has the boom-lift activated mute feature and stealth release changeable cable and ear customization options. Ultra Durable Pro doesn’t have the customization options but it has the same functionality and audio quality that TWT Audio is becoming known for. Lastly, the Ultra Ergo is perfect for your work-at-home or office settings.

TWT Audio is taking the market by storm and with their plans for partnerships with educational programs and esports organizations, I’m sure this will be a brand for many to know and love. The 4 product names I mentioned above are all currently available on Amazon via the links below. Also, the Audiophile and Gaming Pro headsets should be available sometime in the near future.

The current line of headphones are available now: The Victory 250XG retail for $39.99, the Ultra Durable Pro retail for $31.99, and the Ultra Ergo retail for $20.99. There is also the REVO headsets run $36.99 and are available for volume purchase.

Interview by Allante Sparks of PLuGHiTz Live Special Events.

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Fauna Audio is putting amazing audio into your glasses @ CES 2021



Fauna Audio GlassesListening to our favorite songs and movies, and even taking conference calls are all very important aspects of our daily lives. And it seems that we usually need to make sure that we aren’t disturbing coworkers and others around us. Now, we all love a good set of headphones. But, honestly, they can be quite bulky and even impractical in a lot of settings. Earbuds are great. But even they don’t always fit the best and, like headphones, aren’t always perfect in the office, while driving or even taking a walk, because many times you can’t hear what’s going on around you. Luckily Fauna Audio has been working on this very thing. Their new line of smart glasses is an excellent solution, not to mention quite fashionable.

It was a pleasure to have a discussion with Isabel from Fauna Audio this year during our coverage of CES 2021 and learn more about them. And even though the virtual nature of the show this year has made exhibiting some of the products a little more difficult, it was actually a great way for us to get a good look at the smart glasses in action, as she was using them for the interview. This sleek and stylish eyewear features MEMS loud-speakers that are produced by USound. With these speakers located in both temples, they boast technology that concentrates the sound around the ears to reduce audio leakage and are designed to only be heard by the listener. These easy to use glasses pair with your devices via Bluetooth, have a built-in mic and also a digital voice assistant, making them perfect for hands-free calls.

They didn’t stop their design process with only great style and sound, either. They also wanted the best for your eyes. They have included Zeiss DuraVision BlueProtect lenses in their regular line, as well as Carl Zeiss Vision for their line of sunglasses. These lightweight, high quality, and durable lenses are BPA free with more than 99% protection from UVA/UVB rays and offer distortion-free, clear vision. The frames are also designed to allow for the lenses to be easily swapped out with most prescriptions lenses.

Currently being sold in Europe, they are hoping to launch in the U.S. soon. To learn more about their convenient and stylish audio eyewear, make sure to watch the full interview and check out all the specs and designs on their website.

Interview by Christopher Jordan of The Talking Sound.

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Alango’s Wear and Hear products improve hearing and health @ CES 2021



Alango Wear and HearDr. Alexander Goldin is the founder and CEO of Alango Technologies, a 20-year-old Israeli company that specializes in personalized digital hearing amplification systems. If you use hands-free technology in your vehicle, wireless earbuds, or a speakerphone for business meetings, there’s a good chance, says Dr. Goldin, that you are using Alango technology. At CES 2021, Dr. Goldin joined us to talk about Alango’s own line of products called Wear & Hear.

Millions of communication products worldwide utilize Alango’s digital signal processing software, which aim to improve the quality of voice communication and audio experience in a variety of environments by providing high-quality noise cancellation, enhancing speech, and dynamically equalizing signal volume and spectrum in real-time response to dynamic acoustic conditions. Their devices can also improve health, by improving hearing, says Dr. Goldin.

Recent studies show that untreated hearing loss is the surprising leading cause of dementia in adults, increasing the chances of dementia by 8%, well above other risk factors. With 15% of the population suffering some degree of hearing loss, which also contributes to a number of other health and social problems, Alango’s Wear and Hear line of personalized hearing amplifiers hopes to improve health and well-being while bringing clarity of sound to the user.

Wear and Hear devices are disguised as Bluetooth communications headsets, stereo headsets, and other similar consumer electronics products. The first product they introduced at CES this year is an upgraded version of their CES 2020 Innovation Technology winner, the BeHear Access . The latest iteration of this device has several new features including Improved directivity and own-voice reduction that reduces the volume of the user’s voice in the headset.

Alango also has a new multifunctional Neck Speaker that can be used to perform personal hearing evaluations, includes attached earbuds to function as a personal sound amplification device, and can work as a speaker phone in conferencing situations.

The BeHear Access retails for $349 – 10x less than the cost of traditional hearing aids – and the neck speaker $189.

To learn more, visit the company’s website.

Interview by Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central.

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Kapture Audio Recording Wristband hands-on review



Kapture Audio Recording Wristband is designed to grab the last 60 seconds of any audio and save it off to your mobile device for sharing, editing or your own personal revisiting later. We dig into features, functions, privacy, quality and the application in this review.

I love the design and look overall of the Kapture Audio Recording Wristband. It really is not much higher than some of the large watches now. It is definitely as thin as the medium watches. The look itself and the ability to change the band or just the grill on the face makes it stand out. I went with the black band all the time and played with the covers they sent over. Now what is missing from the design?

I have to agree that some more function is needed via the Kapture Audio interface. I know they were trying to go without any buttons but it seems everyone wants a button. I can see the need to maybe have a simple switch that pauses (for security reasons) it or even shuts it down. Something more in the LED area would be great for status. And for gosh sakes if I am wearing this instead of a watch I need to tell time, Even audibly. (Misfit Shine does this on their device with a double tap if you want).
Continue reading Kapture Audio Recording Wristband hands-on review


Philips Introduces an Inexpensive Trio of Headphones



philipsheadphonesPhilips is set on keeping their customers satisfied with new products this year. They are targeting different consumer needs from a durable active-wear to high quality fashion headphones.

Philips is making an active lifestyle easier and more convenient for customers by creating their new sports headphones, Wireless Freedom. This product is purely Bluetooth and gives the user a sense of running freely without feeling like they are wearing headphones at all. While being light weight, they are still extremely heavy duty and robust. Wireless Freedom has a long lasting battery life that lasts up to 4 and a half hours of playtime. Philips cares about the health and fitness of their customers and wants them to perform their best while working hard.
Philips is also targeting people who want to look glamourous while listening to their music and they can with the new Everlite Headphones. It says it right on the box, “Streamlined to shine, clear and crisp.” They are quality sounding headphones, made with a convenient built in microphone. The Everlite comes in an attractive rose gold color while looking great and sitting comfortable. They are even compact and easy to put away.

If you are more into listening to music with no distractions, the Active Shield Pro is for you. Philips took noise cancellation by storm with a new and unique headset that eliminates 99% of background noise. The Active Shield Pro offers a no pollution, clean sound without having to crank up the volume to distract yourself from the outside world. You can enjoy them wireless or not with the ability to use the Bluetooth capability. Without a wire, the battery life can last up to 15 hours with Bluetooth and noise cancellation but also comes with a wire to plug into if the battery is too low so the music continues to play.

These products are already available for purchase at Philips.com with the Wireless Freedom on sale for $69.99, the Everlite for $49.99, and the Active Shield Pro for $169.99.

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Interview by Daniele Mendez of F5 Live: Refreshing Technology


Tuning It Up a Notch with Gibson 2016 Guitars



gibsonguitarGibson Guitars is excited to release their new High Performance Series based out of Nashville, Tennessee with the most innovative electric guitar they have ever made. This series has generated a lot of excitement and interest at CES. New features from this series include a unique contoured neck heel called the Soloist Neck. The Soloist Neck allows players to hit the highest notes on the neck board comfortably. This series also includes a height adjustable titanium nut that gives the player access to adjust how high they want their strings.

Gibson has also updated their G Force self-tuning system with the ability for alternate tuning. The updated system is faster and more accurate than ever before. You could tune a guitar with just the press of a button and a strum of the strings. It is also the first time that Gibson has released a self-tuning acoustic guitar in the Progressive Series due to the feedback from acoustic players who also want to use the easy access G Force system. These acoustic guitars are hand crafted in Bozeman, Montana and are made of solid wood.

These guitars are available for purchase now at any local Gibson authorized dealer like Guitar Center, Sam Ash, or Amazon. The High Performance Series starts at $1099.99 or if you aren’t interested in the self-tuning system, you could purchase an electric guitar from the Traditional series starting at $739.99. The Progressive Series acoustic guitars starts at $1499.99.

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Interview by Daniele Mendez of F5 Live: Refreshing Technology


Immerse Yourself in a Complete 3D Sound Experience with 3D Sound One Headphones



3dsoundone3D Sound Labs is looking to combine state-of-the-art 3D audio sound with the comfort and style of the other name-brand headphones on the market.

The company showed off its 3D Sound One headphones at CES as it tries to reproduce real-life audio into a personal and portable home theater. The headphones combine surround-sound quality with 9 axis motion sensors that lock the audio into position — centered sound stays centered regardless of movement. 3D Sound Labs is hoping this provides the ultimate real-life audio experience to media ranging from movies to gaming to virtual reality. The headphones are bluetooth smart and charge through a USB port.

3D Sound One headphones are available for purchase at their website and retail for $299.

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Interview by Scott Ertz of F5 Live: Refreshing Technology


Denon Has New Gear for Professionals at CES



Denon logoThere’s definitely a real emphasis on consumer-focused products at CES. But there’s still much to be found at the show that’s specifically geared towards professionals. Denon is a great example of one company that’s not here to sell wearables or kids’ toys.

Nick caught up with Eric from Denon. Eric showed off several of Denon’s new products that are specifically designed to be used by audio-video integrators. The first is the Solutions series bluetooth-enabled receiver. It’s a box that transmits audio via bluetooth and can easily be integrated into a pro-grade sound system.

Next up is the Denon Envoy, a 360-watt chargeable PA speaker that comes loaded with different input options. Envoy can stream audio from a bluetooth-connected smartphone, it can play media from a built-in SD card slot or it can be connected to a standard external mixer. Envoy’s battery will run for up to 12 hours on one charge.

The last piece of gear is the DN300Z rack-mountable media player. This device is designed to play any type of media a user might have on hand. It’ll play CD’s, bluetooth streams, files from SD cards or USB sticks, even AM/FM radio. This unit would work great in situations where it’s necessary to play back multiple media formats in a hurry.

Interview by Nick of F5 Live for the TechPodcast Network.

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HearNotes are Wireless Earbuds at CES



HearNotes“Audiophile,” “wireless” and “earbuds” you often see together. There are a couple of reasons for this but the main one is that Bluetooth isn’t really very good for music streaming, even with modern codecs like AptX. HearNotes believes they have solved this problem. Patrick Donohue explains what HearNotes can offer to audiophiles.

HearNotes wirefree earbuds are special for three reasons. First the earbuds are genuinely wireless with no wires even between the earbuds. Second the earbuds charge wirelessly in a matching case – there’s no plugging in to charge up – giving about 4 hours of listening between charges. Finally the wireless transmission uses a high quality wireless audio technology called Kleer. And of course, HearNotes uses top notch audio components in its design.

A small transmitter plugs into the 3.5mm audio port to support the Kleer technology so the HearNotes can be used in most situations, with most devices. This is undoubtedly a benefit but the audio output from most DACs in portable equipment leaves a great deal to be desired.

The HearNotes will be available in Q1 for a fairly pricey $349 from retailers nationwide.

Interview by Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central and Todd Aune of The Elder Divide for the TechPodcast Network.
Disclosure – HearNotes is currently an advertiser at Geek News Central.

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HearNotes Earbuds Bring Both Fashion and Fidelity to Your Audio



HearNotes is bringing revolutionary lossless audio technology to completely wireless earbuds at CES2015!

hearnotes-earbudsFor high-end audiophiles and people who crave both fashion and fidelity in their earbuds, HearNotes has brought you a solution. It is actually the most elegant solution we’ve seen in quite a while. No more bulky, blocky over the ear headphones, no more wires to get tangled or broken, HearNotes breaks the paradigm.

Health Tech Weekly host Jamie Davis, the Podmedic got the chance to stop by the HearNotes booth while at CES2015 to chat with founder and CEO Patrick Donohue about the genesis of the product and the key design features that set these earbuds apart from the pack. From the packaging and charging box to the innovative and exiting design, we think the HearNotes earbuds will be the next big thing in audio later this spring when they’re released!

Make sure you follow Jamie’s picks and coverage over at HTWeekly.com and the Tech Podcasts Network live CES 2015 coverage over at TPN.tv during the show where our entire CES team will be bringing you the best, the most innovative, and newest tech gadgets to you from the conference! And don’t forget to check out his shows for at NursingShow.comMedicCast.tv, and the brand new Health Tech weekly show at HTWeekly.com.