Headphone News

CNET have reviewed the RadioShack 2.4Ghz Wireless Stereo Headphones and they’re not impressed.

They give the headphones a poor 4.7 out of 10, with most of the complaints being due to the weight of the headphones making them uncomfortable to wear. Unfortunately weight is going to be an issue with wireless headphones due to the batteries and extra electronics that are held on your ears but it appears the RadioShack ‘phones are excessively heavy.

CNET were also disappointed by the lack of features in the headphones, especially the inability to control your music player remotely or to work as a mobile phone headset.

Despite these problems, CNET found the sound quality of the headphones to be quite good and they were impressed by the signal quality and lack of drop-outs around other electrical and wireless devices.

The RadioShack 2.4GHz Wireless Stereo Headphones are available from RadioShack’s online store priced at $59.99.

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If you really don’t fancy wearing headphones (or are just desperate for everyone to know how cool your taste in music is), then the Soundwalk from AZAExtremes could be for you.

The Soundwalk is basically an outdoor vest but with speakers in the shoulders so you can listen to your music (or the latest Tom Clancy audiobook), outdoors without using headphones. Of course, if your reason for being outdoors is to get a bit of peace and quiet then this probably wont work for you (and it’s sure as hell to annoy anyone within half a mile of you).

The Soundwalk is available in black, red and some sort of flowery camouflage pattern and has plenty of pockets for holding your bird-watching guide…

[found via Mobile Magazine]

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Grado Labs have announced that they’ve started shipping the Grado GS1000 full-sized headphones.

The GS1000 are the Grado’s new flagship headphones and they’re proud of them “The Grado Statement GS1000 has been on the drawing board for sometime, and we have to admit that this is our finest effort to date.”

These headphones aren’t an ordinary set of cans and for your $1000 you get a mahogany air chamber and larger ear cushions that let your ear sit inside the cushions to give a more expansive sound.

They’ve also redesigned the driver to improve the sound quality and give a more balanced sound.

Although these headphones are way beyond the budget of most people, if you really want as close to the “perfect” sound as possible, this could be the way to go.

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Dynamode are the latest company to introduce a set of Bluetooth headphones with the Dynamode BT-SHS-W.

The headphones come with a Bluetooth attachment to connect to your music player (the styling suggests they’re heavily pushing the iPod market) allowing you to listen to music wirelessly. I wouldn’t suggest wearing them if you want to impress the laydeez though.

I have to say, they’re not the most attractive pair of headphones I’ve ever seen though I guess the iPod style buttons for controlling your player do have a certain charm.

The battery life is a pretty poor six and a half hours and they’ll cost around £60 when they are released later this month.

[found via Stuff]

Related Link: Bluetooth Headphones iHeadphones supply the largest number of headphones in the UK, with a huge variety of bluetooth headphones.

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If you’re the sort of person that likes to share their music, then Griffin may have the perfect device for you.

The Griffin SmartShare allows you to split a signal from any normal headphone jack into two separate headphone jacks allowing you to plug in two sets of headphones.

Even better, each jack has it’s own volume control so one person can rock out while the other stays in MOR territory.

It’s a pretty cool idea and I can see a lot of use for it while traveling or just to keep two kids quiet while they listen to music. God knows what you do if you have three children though…

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Following on from my earlier post about DIY headphones, someone at instructables has gone one better with a pair of DIY noise-isolating earphones.

Unfortunately this pair of headphones aren’t completely DIY since you need a cheap pair of earphones to start with but it’s a neat idea. I especially like the use of earplugs as in-canal attachments.

I’d be a bit worried about them coming loose and getting stuck in my ear-hole though!

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I’m not sure what this Linkie Winkie thing is, but it really seems interested in this site (particularly my RSS feed).

What’s it all about then? I dunno, but it really wants me to talk about it, so I have.

I’m nice that way.

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Bob Katayama at Technobrains.com has reviewed the Ultrasone HFI-2200 ULE full-sized headphones and has awarded them an amazing 10 out of 10!

Bob seems particulary impressed by the design of the cans, and he’s not wrong, things like a detachable cable and removable ear-pads really show an attention to detail that you wouldn’t be likely to see on a budget pair of headphones.

He’s also won over by the sound quality of the headphones and it’s obvious Ultrasone have put a lot into achieving great sounds. The open-backed headphones have a broad audio range of 10-25,000Hz and Ultrasone have achieved great low and high-range sound quality. They even include a demo CD to really show off what these ‘phones can do.

The Ultrasone HFI-2200 ULE is available now and should set you back around $300.

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Anyone in the UK looking for a pair of cheap in-ear headphones should check out iWorld.co.uk’s deal on Koss Sparkplugs.

They’re currently offering the noise isolating headphones for only £6.99, down from the RRP of £15.99.

Seems a pretty good deal to me.

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Jabra have announced that they will be releasing a Bluetooth adaptor for the iPod.

The adaptor will plug into most iPod’s and allow a user to broadcast their music to any Bluetooth enabled headset or stereo. The adaptor can be charged via a compatible charger and will provide 10 hours of streaming music between charges (of course, your Bluetooth headphones might not last that long!).

The A125s will be available in August priced at $75.

[found via Gizmodo]

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