Yesterday Sony announced a couple of new cordless headphones for privately enjoying your home theater setup, and the MDR-RF4000K, pictured above, is definitely the more interesting of the two. The headphones use a secure digital RF signal which provides a decent range of up to 30 meters or around 100 feet, and their foldable design allows them to sit inside a slim storage case which also doubles as a charging cradle.
Sony’s headphone design team has never had a problem with styling, so the MDR-RF4000Ks look great as usual, and the 40mm long-stroke diaphragm ensures they should sound great to the consumer-level audience they’re targeted towards. A built-in NiMH battery is good for about 7 hours of continuous use on a single charge, but if they die in the middle of a flick you can switch to using a single AAA battery which is good for another 10 hours of listening pleasure.
Not pictured is the MDR-RF810RK headphones which Sony also announced yesterday. They’ll probably end up being the more affordable of the 2 (official pricing wasn’t released) since they use an analog RF signal instead of digital, but that also means you get a range of 100 meters or around 330 feet instead. They also feature a NiMH battery which actually provides 13 hours of use per charge, or about 28 hours when using a single AAA battery. Both headphones are expected to be available starting in April of this year.
Being a PC gamer, I’m no stranger to headphones. Whenever a new pair comes out, there are generally wild claims that accompany the release. Phrases like “most comfortable,” “clearest sound” and many others get tossed around. Sure, some of them have an innovative feature or two, but it’s rare to find one that seems truly innovative. The Psyko 5.1 PC Gaming Headset falls into that very small group.
It’s not uncommon to find a headset that promises 5.1 surround sound capabilities. But with all of the speakers right there in your ear, it’s hard to really get a true 5.1 sound. Psyko takes a new approach to this by placing all five speakers on top of your head, leaving only a pair of subwoofers in your ears. Now what good does having speakers on top of your head do? Quite a lot, if the sound is actually piped down to the front and back of your ears.
There’s not a lot of details on this new line of hooded fleeces from Rusty since they’re not launching until the Fall, but apparently the drawstring will incorporate a set of machine washable earbuds (or HB3 technology as they call it) so that you’re never without a pair of headphones when you’re out doing extreme acts of extremeness. So for now you’ll just have to settle for occasional glimpses of the hoodies hidden throughout this promotional video.
Oh Fred! Besides brightening my occasional trips to hipster-mecca Urban Outfitters and providing perfect gift ideas for people I don’t really care about, you also occasionally come up with something that even I wouldn’t mind using. «REW not only cleans up those dangling headphone cables by spooling them inside a snap-shut case, but it’s got a retro cassette-tape design that lets everyone know you’ll always have a soft spot for your first Walkman, even if you’ve long since sold your soul to Apple.
If someone had told me that at one point at CES I’d be holding a quarter under my ear while someone took a picture of it with an iPhone, I probably would’ve been a bit skeptical about their claim. But that’s exactly how you get ‘fitted’ for the Yurbuds earbud enhancers. Made from silicone they’re designed to attach to most earbuds like the ones that come with the iPods, mobile phones and bluetooth headsets, but their unique shape not only makes them stay in even during rigorous physical activity, but it also does a better job at directing the sound into your ear canal so you don’t need to have the volume cranked anywhere near as loud as you normally would.
And while they take a while to get used to wearing, particularly when it comes to putting them on, they’re actually designed to be more comfortable than a standard pair of earbuds. How you ask? Well in the photo above you can see a series of rounded notches on the Yurbuds. These are actually strategically positioned so that they’re not touching key nerve endings in your ear, reducing pain and soreness from prolonged usage.
But what’s particularly unique about the Yurbuds is that they come in a variety of different sizes to fit most people’s ears. And to determine what size you need, there’s an iPhone app you can download that will analyze a photo of your ear to determine the perfect fit. When taking the photo you hold a quarter just below your ear which is used as a size reference so it knows how large or small your ear is, and once the photo’s snapped it will report back the size you need to order. If you’re curious, I’m a size 5. Best of all, you can order a set of Yurbuds right now for a very reasonable $19.99.
Part of the reason that I like playing games is that my character can get beat up in a million different ways and die over and over and I get to just sit here and drink Mountain Dew and eat Cheetos and push buttons. But I guess some people want a more immersive experience, and want to be able to feel more than an ego sting when their character takes a shotgun blast in the chest. We’re familiar with one gadget that tries to make the gaming experience a bit more realistic, the 3rd Space Vest, and the Immerz KOR-fx, uh, chestphones aim to do the same kind of thing, except with sound instead of air pressure.
The way the KOR-fx works is through the magical mystery of “acousto-haptic technology.” Really, all it seems to be is some bass amplifiers that rest on your chest and pump low frequency sound directly into your body cavity, letting you feel the bass effects without having to turn your speakers way up, since headphones don’t produce that same visceral low-end effect. It means you can game quietly without feeling like it’s quiet. Sounds like a great accessory, right? Well, it would be, if it wasn’t supposed to cost $250 or more. I mean, for that amount of money I’d rather just turn my speakers up and make my neighbors suffer… If they want to buy me a set of these, that’s up to them.
By now most of you have probably already forgotten about the Philips Tapster Bluetooth headphones we first wrote about way back in February. But that’s a good thing, because according to CNET’s Crave blog, the device will never be hitting store shelves.
While Philips apparently didn’t have any official comments as to why, Jasmine France chocks it up to the device… well… sucking. “The major draw of the Tapster is the playback and volume controls, which are manipulated via light tapping and swiping on the ear modules. In theory, this is a sweet idea, because pressing tactile buttons on an in-ear headset has a tendency to dislodge the earbuds. Unfortunately, although we tested the Tapster with four different devices, it never worked completely as advertised.” Oh well…
There, was that so difficult? I can’t tell you how long I’ve been hunting for a simple Bluetooth headphone adapter that will let me use my OWN headphones, not some crappy bundled pair. Well the Sony DRC-BT30P appears to do just that, complete with buttons for answering calls as well as volume and playback controls given the device you’re paired with supports those features. And if for some reason you don’t choose the black model, white, pink and blue color options are also provided.
Thanks to an ultra thin headband (or ’seamless headband’ as the company has dubbed it) Audio-Technica’s new line of ONTO ear goggles won’t mess up your hair and can even be worn over a hat if so desired. The ATH-ON300 line pictured above feature 30mm drivers, a gold-plated 3.5mm stereo mini-plug and come in 6 different colors including red, blue, pink green and of course black and white. $49.99 from AudioCubes.com.
Related Tags: Audio, headphones
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By Evan Ackerman
