By Andrew Liszewski

Outside of musicians, performers and audiophiles, there hasn’t really been a push to get custom-fitted earphones into consumer’s hands. Yes, there are services that will make them for you, and they don’t quite cost a king’s ransom. But the process is complicated requiring you to make a mold of your ear by yourself, or visit someone who will do it for you. And that’s the part of the process that a Montreal-based company called Sonomax is trying to eliminate.

While you won’t be able to run out to the store and buy them anytime soon, today the company was showing off their Sculpted eers custom molded earphone system which can be made by anyone, by themselves, in just 4 minutes. The process looks fairly simple and straightforward too. The default silicone tips on the earphones are very soft and can be inflated like a balloon, but instead of pumping them full of air the headband fills them with a soft solution that fills your ear canal. So when they solidify after 4 minutes you’re left with a perfect fitting pair of custom earphones which provide better sound isolation than even the most expensive generic pairs you can buy.

[ Sonomax Sculpted eers Custom Molded Earphones ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Even though I have a soft spot for Star Wars, I’ve been holding off writing about the recent glut of Star Wars-themed headphones because I feel they’ve been less than inspired. But once again that little astromech droid comes to the rescue. Instead of just slapping an image of Vader or a Stormtrooper on each side of the headphones, Coloud has graphic’d them up to look like R2-D2′s domed head. They also sport a matching color scheme, feature a foldable design and include an inline remote/microphone making them smartphone compatible. And while I can’t speak for the sound quality, they’re just $49.90 available directly from Coloud.

[ Coloud R2-D2 Headphones ] VIA [ GeekAlerts ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Wrapping your headphones tightly around your iPod or other MP3 player is never recommended because it usually results in extra tension on the cord where it connects to the headphone jack. Over time that can result in a loose connection and eventually a trip to the store for new headphones. But that’s where the BudTrap is particularly clever. It’s designed to slide onto your headphone’s jack and provide a set of clips to hold the cable in place once it’s been wrapped.

When used properly (see the extra loop of cable sticking out the top) it also alleviates any undo stress on the headphone’s jack, prolonging their life. From the looks of it though the BudTrap appears to be only compatible with certain headphone jack designs, namely Apple’s less than stellar white bundled pair, so you might want to give your own set a once-over before ordering. By themselves the BudTraps sell for $5.95 each, but buying them in twin packs or 5-packs brings the per-unit price down.

[ BudTrap ] VIA [ Design Milk ]

By Andrew Liszewski

My hats off to Elecom who’ve found a way to create a wireless pair of headphones without the need for clunky batteries or Bluetooth hardware. Their Actrail (derived from ‘Trail Access’ so far as I can tell) headphones feature a handy mount for the latest generation iPod Shuffle. For whatever reason they’re only compatible with the latest generation shuffle, which is fine, but to be honest for ~$48 (¥4,000) I wouldn’t mind having a removable cord so I could use these with other devices as well.

[ Elecom Actrail (Trail Access) Headphones ] VIA [ Akihabara News ]

By Andrew Liszewski

There’s not a whole heck of a lot to get super excited over with these new ActionFit Bluetooth headphones from Philips, unless you intend to use them while building up a sweat. Tech-wise they’re A2DP, AVRCP and Handsfree Headset compatible so you can use them as headphones or for answering/making calls. And a set of mics allows for noise cancelling technologies to do their thing so you can be heard no matter the conditions.

Its built-in lithium-polymer rechargeable battery is good for about 4 1/2 hours of music playback or talk time, with 200 hours of standby time. But the real reason most people will opt for this particular set of Bluetooth headphones is the fact that they’re waterproof and can be rinsed under the tap if you happened to work up a real sweat while wearing them. Headphones, particularly the in-ear variety, can get kind of gross at times, so being able to just dunk the whole kit and caboodle instead of having to carefully remove and clean the silicon caps separately is a real convenience. $129.95, available from Apple or your favorite headphone retailer.

[ Philips ActionFit Bluetooth Headphones ] VIA [ Chip Chick ]

By Caitlyn Muncy

If you’re looking for an affordable pair of headphones with great quality, look no further.

Wicked Audio Reverb Headphones has amazing audio quality for a low price, and can handle a good amount of sound without being so loud as to bother Joe schmoe sitting next to you. Surprisingly, this quality doesn’t come at a terribly high price, as it only sets you back about 20 bucks, and comes with a lifetime guarantee.

These headphones are covered in street style graffiti and come in red, blue, and white color schemes. Inside the box, you’ll find an initial four-foot cord on the headphones, and an additional six feet of extension with a fourth-inch audio adapter. With a frequency ranging from twenty to twenty thousand hertz and thirty-two ohm impedance.

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By Andrew Liszewski

With a regular price of $24.95, though currently on sale for just $16.95, you won’t need an audiophile to figure out these probably aren’t the most amazing sounding headphones in the galaxy. But what they lack in audio fidelity, they more than make up for in novelty. Each of the figures, including Vader, Yoda and a Stormtrooper, feature color-coordinated retractable earbuds as miniature arms, making them appeal to organized types, Star Wars fans and whatever demographic keeps figures with oversized heads in demand.

[ Funko Star Wars Retractable Earbuds ] VIA [ Chip Chick ]

By David Ponce

It’s making-fun-of-audiophiles-time again! We never cease to be amused by what passes as acceptable marketing material when trying to justify astronomic price tags of some high end audio equipment. Take these $2,750 Edition 10 headphones from Ultrasone:

[They feature] open-back ear cups with galvanic Ruthenium plating and a Zebrano wood inlay, Ethiopian sheepskin leather ear cup pads, Titanium-plated 40mm drivers, silver-plated OFC 99.99% pure copper wires with Kevlar casing, S-Logic Plus technology…

We actually reviewed a set of Ultrasone headphones way back in 2006 and found them to be a little meh. Then again, they were only a $150 model and certainly didn’t have any of that douchetastic look to them, so perhaps are different?

Full press release and links after the break.

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By Andrew Liszewski

While they’re not terribly exciting when it comes to features, Logitech’s new F540 wireless headset manages to balance functionality with price for those who strive to never leave their couch. The 2.4 GHz wireless connection to the base station provides a range of about 33 feet which is perfect for anyone with a TV under 132 inches in size, and the built-in rechargeable battery is good for up to 10 hours, which is pretty decent.

It’s also got a noise-canceling boom mic with a mute light indicator on the tip so you can know for sure the mic is off when asking your mom for a glass of chocolate milk, and the base station includes three separate audio inputs allowing you to listen to multiple sources which can be remotely switched using a button on the headphones. They’re available for pre-order now for $149.99, and while that might seem expensive, don’t forget there’s no point in winning if you can’t trash talk your opponents.

[ Logitech Wireless Headset F540 ] VIA [ SlashGear ]