Scosche, an iPod accessories company, has launched a pair of headphones that it's calling its "flagship model". The IDR650m is aimed at audio enthusiasts and provides noise isolation and an inline mic.

That noise isolation comes courtesy of a pair of silicone earbud tips that should sit comfortably in your ear. They come in single and dual flanged variants, as well as in small, medium or large sizes. Scosche promises that the headphones "accurately reproduce brilliant highs, silky smooth mids and powerful bass".

The cord is 52-inches long and on it there's an inline microphone for use as a hands-free kit. That mic also has controls on it that allow you to play, pause, change volume and skip tracks without taking your phone or MP3 player out of your pocket.

The IDR650m earphones cost ?60 and are available now from Apple stores and online.

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Tags: Audio Headphones iPhone accessories Scosche Scosche IDR650m

Scosche unveils IDR650m earphones originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Thu, 26 Nov 2009 15:17:20 +0000

A Swiss company called Phonak has dropped us word of a pair of earphones that it's just launched. They're called the PFEs, which stands for "perfect fit earphones" and to that end, they come with a set of foam tips that mould to the shape of your ear.

The company is engaging in a little bit of scaremongering about hearing loss in the UK population - claiming that 1 in 7 suffer from some sort of hearing loss, but that this is expected to increase due to people listening to their MP3 players far too loudly. Phonak reckons that its headphones will save your hearing because they reduce external noise by upto 23 decibels.

Whether you believe that or not is up to you, but one nifty feature of the earphones is that they include specially designed filters that increase or decrease the treble and bass to your taste. The headphones also come in a version that includes a hands-free kit that'll work with most smartphones.

The Aud?o Perfect Fit Earphones come in black and white and will cost ?120 for the normal version or ?130 for the version with the hands-free kit. They should work on anything that has a 3.5mm stereo jack output.

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Tags: Audio Headphones Earphones Phonak Audeo

Phonak launches Audeo PFE earphones originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Wed, 25 Nov 2009 15:00:19 +0000

High-end Hi-Fi manufacturer Bowers & Wilkins has announced its first ever pair of headphones. The snappily-named P5 Mobile Hi-Fi Headphone (singular) offers metal and New Zealand sheep-leather earpads, noise isolation and a microphone for iPhone compatibility.

Bowers & Wilkins reckons that the sound produced by these headphones is "unfatiguing", thanks to ultra-linear neodymium magnets and a highly optimised mylar diaphragm. There's no electronic noise-cancellation, but a closed-back design means that there's a good deal of noise isolation on this device, so you should be able to enjoy your music in relative quiet.

They're Made For iPod licensed, and come with both a regular audio cable and a microphone-equipped iPod-controlling version. Both have gold-plated plugs, and can be swapped over by popping off the magnetically-attached ear pads.

The Bowers & Wilkins P5 will be available from January, no word on how much they'll cost.

Tags: Audio Headphones Bowers and Wilkins Bowers and Wilkins P5 Mobile Hi-Fi Headphone

Bowers and Wilkins announce P5 headphones originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Mon, 09 Nov 2009 12:53:42 +0000

After a mixed start at CES 2009, it's been an excellent year for music gadgets. Slowly the world is getting over its lust for hording mp3 downloads in favour of streaming and digital music, possibly a sign that it's maturing. Sound quality has become important once more rather than just access to one's collection on the move, and the natural pace of technology has meant better bit rates to back it up. At the same time, the high end audio has become more affordable under the pressure of a world recession, while the cheap tat at the other end that doesn't deliver is gradually disappearing. So, in light of such promise, just how were we taken from A to B and who best reflected the consumer's desire in audio gadget function and form?

Dock/Radios

It's hard to believe that the dock/radio market has expanded after what already seemed like saturated times in 2008. The usual suspects like Gear4, Altec Lansing, Pure, Roberts and Logitech are still churning them out both large and small at a steady rate but what we've seen is an increasing move of the high end brands in their embrace of the mp3 and that now ubiquitous 30-pin dock connector. Naturally, the audiophile-friendly manufacturers have admitted defeat in their own way and it's generally been a huge boost to the sector in both design and sound engineering.

Arcam's second foray into the field with the irDock cleans up RF interference, Yamaha has joined the fray with the company's first iPod products, even LEGO got involved as part of the range of 2009 tech products. On the design side, Bowers and Wilkens helped up the ante and many have followed producing almost a new branch of the market into style-led devices many of which have a distinctly 70s, 80s, futurist or retro feel. Revo, YBA and Grove Neo are all good examples, not forgetting an appearance from Phillippe Starck and some completely out the box styles from Bang & Olufsen that we probably should have all expected.

While style and audio quality marched on, so has the technology being driven by the theme of connectivity which has been the strongest throughout all gadgets this year. The dock/radio masters have been the ones pushing boundaries of functionality furthest with touchscreen interfaces and some even with their own app stores, widgets and native support for both Twitter and Facebook. Internet radio has been the add-on for most and with over a third of the world listening to it, it's small wonder. Between that, DAB, SD card slots, mp3 support and USB drives, this sector is fast catching up with the mini-systems and separates above them.

Mini-Systems & Hi-Fi

These gadgets have remained very much the preserve of the serious music fan and probably more so with the lower end of the market doing well in 2009. At the same time, the acceptance of the dock has meant most now have attachments, as well as USB ports and support for digital music as well. The likes of Marantz and Denon are still offering up the goods with perhaps more focus on aesthetics than ever before, but none typifies more the situation than the rare appearance of the NaimUniti system - the very first from this high end manufacturer in the new era.

Headphones

Quality has been the theme oozing from the headphones market in 2009. It all started rather frighteningly at CES with it seeming like we'd have to rob a bank in order to satisfy our aural delights. Denon and Sennheiser both came out with classy on-ear phones at around the ?1000 mark but with Sony's launch of the XB, we knew that on-ear style was making a comeback and that we could afford it as well. Sennheiser followed suit, as did many others in the field, but soon we were to find out where the real trend lay - the in-ear design.

Noise cancelling and isolating has been the story for headhones in 2009. Both technologies have, of course, been around for many years now but never before have we seen them come in such a large price range. Sony and Denon were the first to bring noise-cancelling to the small form, while many such as Logitech, with their purchase of Ultimate Ears, Klipsch and Shure chose to find ways to isolate the interference from the outside world. Etymotics went one stage further by offering custom ear-moulds with their range, including the service from ACS. And finally, Radiopaq took the altogether different approach of both specially tuning headphones for digital music and even creating an adaptor to do the same almost at source.

MP3 players/PMPs

One of the most exciting areas of gadgetry in 2009 has been PMPs. With the addition of HD screens, the support of all sorts of video codecs and the commonplace occurrence of touch technology, it's been one of the main focuses of convergence throughout the industry.

It was another mixed start in the field at CES with the Android-sporting GiiNii Movit proving one of the highlights of the show and yet it's failed to appear on our shelves. Sansa came up with a new approach with SlotRadio, which was later improved, and Samsung surprised us all with the challenger to the iPod touch in the shape of the P3. Since then, we've seen an entire new range from the Korean giant in Beat, and Sony has been working hard with the X, B and W series showing off both functionality and innovation of lifestyle design.

Philips, Creative and iRiver have all put in the time and just about everyone has made sure that they include Wi-Fi, DivX support and as much streaming capability as they can muster. Whether your PMP is big or small, just about all of them can play video now and even some can record it as we saw in the refresh of the iPod range with the 5th generation nano and notably not in the iPod touch, which now suffers even stronger competition from the Zune HD amongst others. Last, littlest but certainly not least, do spare a thought for the 3rd generation, lozenge of an iPod shuffle which thankfully has its own voice to help shout about it too.

Fortunately, all the PMPs have more memory stacked in them than ever before else they'd not be much use for storing video and the larger screen devices such as the Archos 5 are now almost indistinguishable from actual computers. Doubtless a flurry of internet tablets in the coming 12 months will permanently blur the divide. As for the likes of INQ's upcoming Spotify phone and the increase in the mobility service, we can save that confusion for next year's awards.

What do you think?

But these are just some of the fantastic choices our ears have had in 2009. What would you like to see held aloft as the winner of Pocket-lint Best Music Gadget 2009? Who have we missed out? Which are your unsung heroes and of those we've already mentioned, which would get your vote? Let us know in the comments below and you can help our panel decide which make the shortlist of nominees to be announced here on Pocket-lint on 16 November. We'll have all out coverage of the Vodafone Pocket-lint awards 2009 right here. Don't miss a minute of it.

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Related links:

• News - Vodafone Pocket-lint Gadget Awards 2009 announced
• News - Vodafone Pocket-lint Gadget Awards date confirmed and tickets on sale

Tags: Audio Pocket-lint Gadget Awards 2009 Pocket-lint Awards MP3 players PMPs Headphones iPod docks Radios

Vodafone Pocket-lint Gadget Awards 2009 - music gadgets originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Fri, 30 Oct 2009 20:38:56 +0000

Headfunk has launched another set of its earbuds, this time customized for the?SNO!zone indoor ski slope in Milton Keynes, Castleford and Glasgow. They're basically a set of the company's "Badass Buds" but in blue and white.

They have silicon eartips that enhance the noise isolation and try to make sure that it's just you in there with your music - not the lady yapping on the phone next to you, too. Headfunk reckons it also helps with the fit - meaning that they shouldn't fall out during "active use".

?They have 8mm neodymium microdrivers that are apparently extra-sensitive, though the exact specs of that sensitivity aren't disclosed. There's an inline volume control, though, and 80cm of rubber cabling, complete with an extra 1m extension cable.

They're available now and cost ?50.

Tags: Audio Headphones Headfunk Headfunk Snozone

Headfunk launches SNO!zone earbuds originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Fri, 23 Oct 2009 10:16:53 +0100

After the EU's volume limit proposals have been revealed, Logitech has followed Griffin's lead in launching volume-limiting headphones for kids.

The "Loud Enough" noise-isolating earphones come with built-in volume control that reduces the maximum volume of the original source by at least 30% percent compared to standard ear buds.

The new earphones also come with three soft ear-cushions in sizes ranging from extra small to medium and are said to be tough and durable.

Available with matching cases in blueberry, mint or plum, the Logitech Loud Enough earphones are available now for ?29.99.

Tags: Audio Headphones Logitech Dad

Logitech "Loud Enough" earphones launch for kids originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Wed, 07 Oct 2009 17:27:25 +0100