Westone 4 earbuds: Beatweek Best of Show 2011

We thought 2011 would be the year in which we no longer even bothered covering earbud or headphone products which don’t come with at least the option of iPad-iPhone-iPod controls built in, let alone allow them to be eligible for award. Then we heard the newly debuted Westone 4 earbuds and decided to make one last exception. The “4″ in the name is officially because these earbuds have four drivers built into them, creating a listening experience so stunning that you’d absolutely swear you were wearing full-size cup style headphones. Of course the “4″ in the name of the Westone 4 also hints that the product is set to cost north of four hundred dollars, debuting at $449.

But here are two reasons why the Westone 4 is worth considering, even if you generally rely on earbuds with built in mics and buttons. One is that they sound so impossibly brilliant that we suddenly no longer like their predecessor, the three-driver Westone 3, which had previously represented the best earbud audio experience we’d ever heard. The other is that if you can afford $449 earbuds at all, then you can probably afford to buy the Westone 4 for home music-listening use along with some other lesser earbuds with built-in mic and buttons for outside the home. To that end, Westone has also just introduced the T1, which is a mic-enabled version of its single-driver Westone 1 earbuds. So if you’ve got the dough to afford it all, enjoy. The Westone 4 really is something special, and as such, it’s one of our Beatweek Best of Show winners at CES 2011.

Etymotic hf3: Beatweek 2010 Earbuds of the Year

Not everyone is in can spend as much on earbuds as they did on their iPhone or iPod to begin with. But there’s a balance between price tag and audio quality, and the pinpoint of that equilibrium in this year is Etymotic’s hf3 earbuds. At $179 they’re not in everyone’s price range (which is why our Best of 2010 awards also include value priced earbud categories). But after having tested dozens of earbud products over the years whose price tags have ranged from less than twenty dollars to more than five hundred dollars, the hf3 is our winner for 2010. Available in black, red, and blue.

Buy now: $159 at Amazon.com.

review: Etymotic hf3 Earbuds

Not everyone is in a position to spend as much on earbuds as they did on their iPhone or iPod in the first place. But there’s a balance between price tag and audio quality, and the pinpoint of that equilibrium in 2010 is Etymotic’s hf3 earbuds. At $179 they’re clearly not in everyone’s price range (which is why our Best of 2010 awards also include value priced earbud categories). But after having tested dozens of earbud products over the years whose price tags have ranged from less than twenty dollars to more than five hundred dollars, the hf3 is our winner for 2010.

Here’s why it rates out on top: in a word, clarity. The crispness of the hf3’s sound makes it easily worth paying extra in comparison to the various $119-$129 earbud products out there, the best of which sound fantastic in their own right. But the hf3 has a clarity to its audio which not only makes the music feel complete, it also makes you believe you’re wearing full-on headphones instead of tiny earbuds.

We’ve made the decision to focus our earbud coverage only on those earbuds which offer button control (preferably three, but at least one), as iPhone and iPod users routinely tell us that’s what they’re looking for. And in that department, the hf3 delivers over its one-button hf2 predecessor by offering full three-button controls (plus a mic for phone calls and voice control) in a manner that’s both tiny and easily accessible.

rating: five stars out of five • Etymotic.com

review: JayBird SportsBand SB2 Bluetooth Headphones

When a company nails a product the first time around (Sportsband SB1, 4.5 stars out of 5, released early 2010) and then revamps it barely half a year later, I always get a little concerned: did they actually find something to improve, or are they just tinkering for the sake of tinkering? But in this case the rich have gotten richer, as JayBird’s new Sportsband SB2 manages to up the ante in the right ways.

JayBird products all have the same litmus test: if you like a good amount of bass, then you’re in luck as they have the bass cranked higher than typically found on competing products, and that bass is pristine. If you don’t care for bass no matter how pristine, best to look elsewhere. That disclaimer out of the way, I had no complaints about the audio quality of the SB1, as it sounded brilliant for its $89 price tag, a surprise given the wireless nature of the product. But improved audio (literally) sounds good to me, which is to say that the product has improved in the most important way an audio product can (thanks to something called Apt-X, which you don’t really need to understand in order to hear the improvement). The SB2 has a built-in microphone for taking phone calls when paired with an iPhone, and call quality has improved over the SB1, but again, I had no issues last time around.

My one real issue with the SB1, and the reason it didn’t receive five stars despite the fact that it wasn’t JayBird’s fault, was the fact that the next and previous track buttons built into the right headphone simply didn’t do anything with the iPhone. Apple never bothered to enable the technology in the iPhone, and so any such buttons on any bluetooth stereo headphones had the same problem (volume and play/pause worked just fine). But Apple finally enabled previous/next in iOS 4.1, and so the Sportsband gets better by default.

I’m not in love with the $10 price increase from the SB1 to the SB2, but I can overlook it because the SB2 is more than $10 better, and because the SB1 felt underpriced to begin with. Bottom line: JayBird made the Sportsband better, and Apple made the Sportsband’s features work better. The SB2 is the king of wireless headphones.

rating: five stars out of five • JayBirdGear.com

review: Bowers & Wilkins P5 Mobile Hi-Fi Headphones

The rise of in-ear earbuds has full-size headphones feeling like something of a lost art when it comes to mobile devices. But the right headphones can bring your iPhone or iPod audio experience to a level that no earbuds, no matter how well designed, can pull off. This year a number of premium headphones came to market which fit that description. After spending time with the various candidates, the the P5 Mobile Hi-Fi Headphones from Bowers & Wilkins is our winner.

Three factors came into play here, each with significantly different levels of impact on our decision. The overriding factor, of course, is audio quality: the word that comes to mind is “unbelievable.” The three dimensional sound space created around your head gives your music such new life that in some cases it’s like listening to your favorite songs again for the first time.

The second factor is the combined svelteness and comfort level of the P5. It looks too small to sound this amazing, which is a good thing, and the flat pads are surprisingly more comfortable than cup-style headphones. Finally, in the “et cetera” category, the P5 comes with the three-button setup you’d more typically find on high earbuds, for volume and playback control.

rating: five stars out of five • Bowers-Wilkins.com

Moshi Vortex earbuds for iPhone and iPod: review

There are already plenty of strong options on the market when it comes to in-ear earbuds, but each has its own strengths and weaknesses when it comes to audio, design, styling, and added features, so my view has always been the more the merrier. I was excited, then, to test out the first earbuds from Moshi, a company whose products have generally been more the lines of iPhone cases. After testing out the Moshi Vortex, the good news is that there’s more good news than bad news.

Eighty to a hundred bucks has always been a tricky middle ground for earbuds, as there are plenty of fifty dollar options that sound great for their price, while on the other side, the hundred and twenty dollar mark means you won’t have to compromise on anything; eighty dollars means you’re still going to compromise a bit, but the product is going to have to stand out from the best fifty dollar options to warrant paying a relative premium. So the good news is that the Vortex sounds noticeably better than any $50 earbuds I’ve tested. But they do sound a little drier than the competing $89 Ultimate Ears MetroFi 220vi, so based purely on sound quality, that makes the Vortex above-average its price point, but not the best. Then again, it’s a relatively weak crop of options at the price point to begin with.

The triangular shape of the Vortex earbud posts is unique and looks interesting, so that’s a potential plus. Unfortunately the comfort isn’t quite there, owing to the fact that the backing is too thick right next to the earbud, which is not good news for users with smaller ear canals (users with bigger ear canals likely won’t notice the difference). The inclusion of foam tips in addition to rubber is rare at this price point and good news, but the one set of foam tips is very large and not easily squishable, making them among the less comfortable foam tips I’ve used. These details suggest the Vortex may not have been tested on users with small ear canals.

My advice is still to save up any extra $40 and look at one of the $120 options out there. But at the same time, the $80 Moshi Vortex does provide additional value over the best competing $50 earbud products out there. Three button controls instead of one button would be nice, but again, three buttons is rare for under $100.

rating: 3.5 out of five stars • Moshimonde.com

Top earbuds and headphones for iPad, iPhone and iPod: Beatweek 75

The sixteen top rated earbuds and headphones on the market for iPad, iPhone, and iPod, ranging in price from $25 to $400, including three button, one button, and no-button control options:

Etymotic hf2 • one button earbuds • $179: An essentially perfect product for their price point, the hf2 offers a triple-flanged design goes deep into the ear canal and provides the kind of detailed listening experience that’ll make you hate your existing earbuds. The catch-22 at present is that Etymotic’s three-button hf3 has been announced but isn’t yet shipping, so it might be worth it to wait at this point.

Monster Beats by Dr. Dre Tour with Control Talk • three button earbuds • $179: Dr. Dre’s signature earbuds are certainly the most unique looking we’ve ever tested, and they’ve got a fantastic sound to match. While the competing hf2 slightly edges them out in audio quality, the fact that the Tour is available with a three button configuration right now is enough to get them onto this list – along with the definitively 21st century styling.

v-moda vibe ii • one button earbuds • $119: An oldie but a goodie, this product has a firm grip on the sweet spot of not being too expensive and yet offering audio quality that’s head and shoulders above any other iPhone-specific earbuds in the roughly hundred dollar price range. And the earbuds themselves are lightweight and tiny. Fair warning: they have a higher than usual bass to treble ratio.

Shure SE115m+ • three button earbuds • $119: These earbuds sound excellent for their price and offer perhaps the best noise isolation of any earbud product we’ve ever tested. The colors are a bonus, as are the built in three buttons; make sure you’re actually getting the SE115m+ and not the older SE115, which doesn’t have three buttons built in.

Ultimate Ears 220vi • one button earbuds • $89: The overall audio quality of these earbuds is the best of any sub-$100 iPhone earbuds we’ve tested, crisp and expansive on both the high and low ranges. The design is lightweight and non-bulky, without feeling fragile. If you can afford an extra $30, you should probably move up to the vibe ii. But if $89 is the high-end of your budget, you’ll be plenty happy with these earbuds.

Radius Atomic Bass • one button earbuds • $49: These earbuds surprised us by sounding noticeably better than even some competing iPhone-specific earbuds that were more expensive. We can’t be the only ones who’ve caught on, as the silver model is out of stock at the time of this publication. No worries, though – also available in red, black, and pink. There’s also a $39 non-iPhone-specific version.

Macally HifiTune • one button earbuds • $49: These earbuds are remarkably similar to the Atomic Bass earbuds in overall quality, with the primary difference being that the HifiTune sounds a little better on the high end and the Atomic Bass (as its name would predict) wins the battle on the low end. With an identical price tag, you can use that fact (along with the differing styles) to decide which of the two is right for you.

RadTech ProCable • one button earbuds • $25: You wouldn’t think you’d be able to get your hands on iPhone-specific earbuds for twenty-five bucks that would sound even decent (and some competing products at this price point don’t), but these earbuds will significantly improve your audio experience over the ones that come bundled with the iPhone – and they come in a choice of five colors.

Westone 3 • no-button earbuds • $399: These iPod earbuds offer such a stunningly expansive sound that after using them for a few minutes you’ll forget you’re wearing earbuds and swear you’re instead wearing cup-style headphones. They’re also stunningly expensive, leaving us skeptical going in, but as it turns out they really do offer four hundred dollars worth of sound quality – you’ll notice it immediately.

Future Sonics Atrio • no-button earbuds • $199: For those of you who can’t quite manage to spend four hundred dollars on earbuds, the Atrio will still move you nearly to tears of joy over their audio quality while not quite as likely to leave you in tears over their price tag. As with the 3, our only knock on the Atrio is that they won’t come in an iPhone-specific version with a built-in mic and button. Oh well, can’t win ‘em all.

Wi-Gear iMuffs MB220 • wireless headphones: We’ve tried out any number of wireless headphone solutions, but we keep coming back to the iMuffs, which provide playback controls on the right headphone and allow you to toss your iPhone in your pocket. Good luck finding them though, as we can’t currently find them in stock anywhere.

JayBird SportsBand SB1 • wireless headphones • $89: These new challengers in the wireless headphone arena are a virtual tie with iMuffs in our book: they’re comfortable and they sound great. The only catch is that the SB1 is about to be replaced with JayBird’s even newer SB2 – which we haven’t had the chance to test out yet – and while we expect the SB2 to be even better, the SB1 is in fact the model that’s available now.

Ultrasone HFI-2400 • high end headphones • $329: These massively sized headphones sound so brilliant that you’ll think you’re in a room equipped with surround sound speakers – and for this price tag they’d better. They’re brilliant across all audio ranges, and comfortable. Yeah, you probably can’t afford them, but they are more than worth their price tag.

v-moda Crossfade LP • high end headphones • $249: Metallic styling and the best bass at any price – the two hallmarks of v-moda’s line of earbuds – translate nicely to the company’s new headphones. If you like your bass crisp and heavy, the Crossfade LP is what you’re looking for. As a bonus, they come with a pair of cables, one which includes three control buttons and the other of which doesn’t.

AKG K 450 • portable headphones • $189: These small fold-up headphones are designed for traveling light, as they have some of the smallest cups of any headphones we’ve tested. But that doesn’t keep them from sounding great – and for those who want to travel with something more substantial than earbuds but can’t lug around full size headphones, the K 450 represents an excellent middle ground.

Audio-Technica ATH-ANC7b • noise canceling headphones • $219: We’ve tested various active noise canceling headphones, which surround your head with white noise to block out the surrounding fray, but none of them measure up to Audio-Technica’s rather technically named ATH-ANC7b in terms of audio quality or noise suppression. These are a lifesaver if you’re on an airplane or just trying to block out neighborhood noise.

View all seventy-five winning accessories for iPad, iPhone, and iPod (including cases, earbuds, car products, stereos, batteries and more) in Beatweek Magazine’s 75th issue which you can read digitally for free right here.

Monster’s Diddybeats earbuds: hands on review

Once Monster and Beats by Dr. Dre successfully launched the era of headphones being designed to the audible and stylistic tastes of a certain musician, you knew there was no going back. Lady GaGa has her Heartbeats, and now Diddy with Diddybeats. At $179, the Diddybeats are priced the same as Monster’s Beats by Dr. Dre Tour, so it’s no surprise that in my hands-on tests I found the two to offer largely similar audio quality. When listening to some music genres the Diddybeats felt like they offered fuller, thumpier bass while the Beats Tour offered clearer treble. But the differences were on the slight side, and with some less-rangy genres, I felt like I was listening to the same set of earbuds twice. And that’s not a bad thing, because the Beats Tour are one of the better $179 earbud options on the market to begin with.

The bigger differentiation comes in the physical styling. While both employ flat earbud cables which resemble a big rubber band, the Diddybeats eschew Dre’s bright red cabling and highlights in favor of a nearly all-black styling, with just bits of silver highlights here and there, creating a much more understated theme (also available in white and powder pink models, not tested).

But the functional difference is with the bud design. The truncated cone shape of the Diddybeats runs too close up against the rubber buds, making them less comfortable than the Beats Tour, at least for those users with smaller ears. This surprising flaw makes the Diddybeats a little less recommendable than the Beats Tour, hence Diddy only earns four stars out of five instead of the 4.5 that Dre’s earbuds earned. But if your ears are on the larger side then you have nothing to worry about, as the Diddybeats sound excellent and easily earn their price tag. The model I tested includes a built in mic and three buttons, which Monster refers to as ControlTalk, which allows for interaction with the latest iPhone, iPad, and iPod models, along with various other devices.

Learn more at diddybeats.com

New iPhone and iPod earbuds debut from Scosche

Let all the Apple related news this week stay focused on the company’s other mobile product line, Scosche has released four new sets of earbuds designed for use with the iPhone and iPod (and yes, they work with the shiny new iPad as well). The new earbuds from Scosche are no secret, as some of the new models made their public debut at CES 2010 back in January and again at Macworld 2010 in February. The $99 IDR655m earbuds, which feature thee buttons and a mic for volume, playback, and voice control over the latest iPhone and iPod models, were one of Beatweek Magazine’s “Best in Show” finalists.

The $54 IDR355m and IDR355md earbuds represent more economical versions of the company’s earbud line. While they both offer the same three buttons and a mic, they also each come with six different sets of interchangeable earbud caps in various colors; the difference between the two 355 models lies in the color choices. Also surfacing are the IDR305m, which will be available exclusively through Apple for $39.

iPod users have wicked choice of earbuds

Empire Brands has unveiled the new Wicked Audio line consisting of four new styles of earbuds with superior sound and aesthetic appeal. All Empire Brands earbuds include quality noise-canceling earpieces and 1.2 meters of cord for a satisfying listening experience. The first is the Wicked empire earbuds which have a unique look with skull, eight ball, ace of spades, or star and knight for $34.99. Next up is Wicked Little Buds which have a lightweight feeling and four sharp color options for $29.99. The Jaw Breakers buds have four candy theme color choices for $17.99. Last but not least are the Metallics, which are metallic-colored and affordable at $12.99. Whichever earbuds fit your style, you can find them at empirebrandsinc.com, Fry’s Electronics, and other retailers.

review: Ultrasone HFI-2400

If the highest complement you can give a set of high-end earbuds is that they retain the intimacy of earbuds while providing the sonic landscape of cup style headphones, then the highest complement I can give Ultrasone’s high end HFI-2400 headphones is that they retain the intimacy of headphones while tricking your mind into believing that you’re a room with surround sound speakers. And for $329, they’d better do something magical. But based on my tests, the word “magic” definitely comes to mind.

In fact my tests included the desire to use the HFI-2400 to go back and re-listen to album in my library, because I’ve never heard my music sound quite like that. In fact the illusion here is not so much that you’re hearing this coming out of a great speaker system but that you’re in the studio with the artist while the music is being recorded (I’ve had that opportunity a few times over the years, and these headphones remind me of it vividly).

The catch, beyond the price tag, is that these cans are massive compared to typical headphones. Sure, they fold up to occupy half the space (the cups can also rotate to sit flat), but these are not portable in any real sense. They’ll work with your computer or iPod/iPhone, but only by use of the adapter included in the box, which results in the plug sticking a combined three inches out of your headphone jack. Just holding my iPhone in my hand felt top-heavy with the giant cable plugged into the top of it; I found myself much more likely to use the HFI-2400 with my computer instead. But man is it ever hard to go back to using any other headphones after this.

review: Monster Beats by Dr. Dre Tour

review: ZAGGsmartbuds

review: iLocket

Best of Macworld: Shure SE535 SE425

Editor’s note: Six members of Beatweek’s editorial staff were at Macworld 2010 to report on the newly introduced products for iPhone and iPod users. Here’s one of the twelve best we found. For a full rundown of all the top new products at Macworld 2010, check out Beatweek Magazine’s February 16th issue

There are high-end earbuds and then there are “most people would have to skip a car payment or two in order to afford them” earbuds, and Shure’s new SE535 ($499) and SE425 ($299) certainly fall into the latter category. However, after spending time with both sets of earbuds in an isolated room, we’re left to conclude that both are worth their respective price tags. But what makes them winners is the fact that the cables can be removed entirely from the earbud apparatus. It’s not something you’d have reason to be doing regularly, but earbud cables often tend to wear out before the audio drivers do, and this nifty innovation allows users to replace the cables (which are cheap) while not having to re-purchase the earbuds themselves.

In our hands-on testing, the cables stayed sufficiently firmly attached to the buds that there appears to be no concern about them coming detached by accident. While the feature won’t have any impact on your usage of the product until something finally wears out down the road, it’s like a free insurance policy that at this price point could end up paying off handsomely. Our only real regret with these two products is that neither is available with iPhone or iPod specific controls like volume or a mic, as some of Shure’s less expensive earbuds have.

Read about all of Beatweek’s “Best of Show at Macworld 2010″ winners and finalists in the February 16th issue of Beatweek Magazine, which will feature a cover story interview with American Idol winner Taylor Hicks and more.

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Filed Under: Macworld2010
Tagged: Beatweek, Best of Show, earbuds, earphones, Macworld 2010, Shure

review: Ultimate Ears TripleFi 10vi

February 1, 2010 by Bill Palmer · Leave a Comment 

iPhone users who are willing and able to spend whatever it takes in order to get the most pristine audio quality out of their music have long found themselves in a compromised position. While there are a number of earbuds that fall into the “so amazing sounding you’ll swear you were wearing full cup-style headphones” category, using them with your iPhone isn’t an option even if you can come up with four hundred bucks or so to pay for them. As it turns out, no earbuds above the $200 mark come with a built-in mic and button for use with an iPhone – with one exception, in the form of the $419 Ultimate Ears TripleFi 10vi.

If you’ve never heard music through $400 earbuds, there’s no real reference point; the best way I can paint the picture is to say that none of the usual superlatives like “incredible” or “pristine” have any hope of being sufficiently accurate. You’ll hear new intricacies in your favorite music that you’ve never previously noticed, and the overall audio experience is so expansive it’ll leave you so spoiled that any subsequent attempt to listen to less expensive earbuds will leave the music suddenly sounding oddly two-dimensional.

In that sense the 10vi fully lives up to its billing. And while the inclusion of what probably amounts to a few cents worth of iPhone-specific functionality may not sound like a deal-maker (even some $20 earbuds come with those same built-in controls), my tests with the 10vi were the first time in my 2.5 years as an iPhone user where I could actually take a phone call while listening to my music with earbuds this good (without having to frantically unplug everything so I could hold up the iPhone to my ear or put it on speakerphone). So this product changes the entire equation for iPhone users who value the built-in controls as much as I do, as from our standpoint there simply is no usable competition at this price point (in fairness there are third party mic/button adapters available for use with any earbuds, but they place the mic too far away from your mouth, make the cables too long, and typically make the whole thing too heavy – I’ve used such adapters and I don’t recommend them as anything other than a last resort).

That having been said, from an audio standpoint, the 10vi needs to be compared to other earbuds at its price point whether the competition is iPhone compatible or not. At $419, that means we’re looking at Westone’s competing 3, which sells for a similar $399 and is presently our highest-rated earbud product at that price point. After having spent time with both products, if I were choosing based solely on audio quality, it would be a close call – but I’d have to go with the Westone 3. When the audio sounds this amazing, you can only make comparisons in terms of degrees of magic, and the 3 audio experience is just a tad even more magical than the 10vi audio experience. But if I were to arbitrarily assign a percentage based on my perception of the audio quality, I’d end up pegging the Westone 3 as being five to ten percent better-sounding than the 10vi. In other words, unless it psychologically eats at you that there’s a similarly priced competing product out there that sounds slightly better than the one you’re using, there’s no harm in choosing the 10vi due to the fact that it has iPhone controls and the 3 doesn’t.

Strangely enough, where the 10vi falls down a little is in its physical design. As you can see in the photos, the earbud casings are larger than than what you’d find on less expensive (lesser-sounding) earbuds, and that’s to be expected. But I’ve used various Ultimate Ears earbuds priced anywhere from $60 to $250, and they’ve all managed to be plenty comfortable – yet the 10vi is actually a bit less comfortable than other Ultimate Ears earbuds. The problem appears to be that the rubber/foam buds end up right next to the casings, with no space, so those of us with smaller ears have no breathing room even when we do use the smallest included rubber buds.

In the included accessories category, the 10vi delivers the kitchen sink as you’d expect. In the box you’ll find four different sized rubber earbud tips, plus two sets of foam earbuds tips (which I’ve found consistently improve the audio experience of almost any set of in-ear earbuds), a splitter, a quarter-inch stereo plug adapter, a low-profile port adapter that turns ninety degrees, a cleaning brush, and a hard metal case. The idea of protecting a product this expensive inside of a steel compartment sounds like a good idea, and it is, although the included metal case is about thirty percent larger than the hard plastic carrying case that comes with less expensive Ultimate Ears earbuds and thus doesn’t fit into your pocket as easily.

The TripleFi 10vi isn’t perfect, which is a shame because at this price you have a right to expect it to be. But based on the fact that it’s the only product that can give me this kind of audio quality with built-in iPhone controls, I’ll take it. Even though it’s not even the best earbud product at its price point, nor is it as comfortable as most other earbuds the 10vi is still my new favorite set of iPhone earbuds. Just don’t ask me to give it any more than four stars out of five.

It’s worth pointing out that with Apple’s move toward three-button volume and voice controls for newer iPhone and iPod models, it’s probably just a matter of time before most major earbud manufacturers offer three-button versions of your favorite earbuds (we saw quite a bit of this at CES this month, although nothing in this price range). But as of today, these are the best-sounding iPhone-enabled earbuds at any price – and by a million miles.

As a side note, although I wasn’t able to separately test them, Ultimate Ears also offers this product in a non-iPhone “TripleFi 10” version for $399, which appears to be physically identical to the 10vi but without any iPhone controls.

Learn more about Ultimate Ears TripleFi 10vi at Ultimate Ears

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Filed Under: iPod, iPhone, iPad, and iTunes, Reviews
Tagged: $400 earbuds, 10vi, earbuds, earphones, high end, in-ear, iPhone earbuds, Logitech, microphone, noise isolating, review, TripleFi, Ultimate Ears

Dr. Dre’s Beats Solo goes RED

January 25, 2010 by Beatweek · Leave a Comment 

Beats Solo by Dr. Dre has been added to the growing roster of commercial products available in a (PRODUCT)RED special edition. The red-hued model will make its U.S. debut in February and five dollars or more of each purchase of the $199 headphones (which can be found for $179 via third party retailers) will go to the RED initiative.

(PRODUCT)RED is a campaign aimed at addressing extreme poverty in Africa with the help of corporate donations aligned to the sales of red-themed special editions of popular existing products.

Learn more about Beats Solo (PRODUCT)RED special edition at JoinRed.com.

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Tagged: Africa, beats, charity, Dr Dre, earphones, headphones, PRODUCT RED

Review: JayBird Sportsband

January 10, 2010 by Bill Palmer · 9 Comments 

While most of the buzz surrounding JayBird this month is centered on the company’s new iProng-award-winning BlueBuds wireless earbuds, which won’t ship for months, another cable-free JayBird product has also been quietly introduced – and this one, known simply as the Sportsband (model number SB1), is already shipping.

If your iPhone or iPod touch is running 3.0 software or higher, setting up JayBird’s Sportsband is as easy as you’d hope: charge the Sportsband’s battery via the included USB cable, then a few taps in your bluetooth settings, and you’re listening to your music wirelessly through these very nice, essentially minimalist headphones. As you can determine from the photo, the Sportsband extends to fit larger heads. But what’s not immediately apparent is that the the rectangular padded phones themselves each rotate in space for additional form-fitting.

Considering that wireless audio products nearly always come at a price premium, the Sportsband sounds surprisingly good for $89. Like other JayBird products, this one has a larger-than-usual amount of bass (treble lovers who hate bass should probably look elsewhere). The company’s claim of eight hours of music playback and 2.5 hours for recharging turned out to be about accurate.

Any new bluetooth headphones have to be compared to our Best of 2009 winning iMuffs, a product that’s similar but instead runs its band behind the neck instead of over the head. After listening to both, I pegged the Sportsband to be superior in the lower ranges (not just more bass, but higher fidelity bass), while the iMuffs sounded better in the higher ranges. With the iMuffs now at $79, I’d have to rate it a tie between the two overall, with the differences obvious enough that each of you should be able to figure out which of the two is a better fit for your preferences.

A few more things to be aware of about the Sportsband:

• Yes, you can take phone calls through the Sportsband, thanks to a little built-in mic, and yes, it actually works.

• While “next track” and “previous track” buttons are built into the outer cover of one of the Sportsband’s phones, right alongside the volume buttons, the next and previous buttons don’t do anything. This is the case with every set of bluetooth wireless headphones when used with the iPhone, from every brand and manufacture, for reasons that only Apple knows. Because this is clearly the fault of Apple not the vendor, and because it’s the case with every headphone of this type, we don’t subtract from the overall star rating for it. But you definitely want to be aware of it before making your purchasing decision. And for the record, any vendor who figures out how to work around Apple on this one, without requiring the iPhone to be hacked in any way, gets a free beer from me. But I digress.

• If your iPod doesn’t have stereo bluetooth, you can buy a snap-on adapter.

• This product does not come with a wall charger, so you’re limited to charging via the USB ports on your computer unless you pick up a third party USB wall charger (which can be had for around $10).

Not that my own personal preferences should influence you, but while JayBird’s BlueBuds earbuds are likely to become my new favorite wireless earphone product once they ship (I spent just enough hands-on time with them at CES that I miss them already), the Sportsband just might end up being my favorite for the mean time.

Learn more at JayBirdGear.com

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Filed Under: iPod, iPhone, iPad, and iTunes, Reviews
Tagged: A2DP, Bluebuds, bluetooth, earphones, headphones, iPhone, iPod touch, JayBird, review, SB1, wireless

Best of Show CES: Etymotic hf3

January 9, 2010 by Bill Palmer · 1 Comment 

Editor’s note: iProng Magazine has been on-site at CES 2010 in Las Vegas all week reporting on newly introduced products for iPhone and iPod. This is just one of our “Best of Show” winners…

“The best just got better” sounds like a marketing pitch, but in this instance it’s an accurate description. Our top-rated iPhone-enabled earbuds at any price for 2009, the $179 Etymotic hf2, have given way in 2010 to the company’s new hf3. The big difference here is that the single button and mic on the hf2 have been replaced by a tiny triple-button controller and mic which provide not only playback and voice functionality but also volume control which works with the newest iPhone and iPod models.

The hf3 continues to sport a sharp-looking future-tinged styling along with included triple-flanged earbud tips. We’ve said enough about the hf2 in the past, and it still applies to the hf3, so suffice it to say that you really can’t go wrong with the hf3 – unless you can’t afford them.

Read about all of iProng’s “Best of Show at CES 2010″ winners and finalists in the January 14th issue of iProng Magazine, which will feature a cover story interview with The Flaming Lips and more.

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Filed Under: ces2010, iPod, iPhone, iPad, and iTunes, Reviews
Tagged: award, Best of Show, CES 2010, earbuds, earphones, Etymotic, hf2, hf3, hf5, iPhone, iPod, volume control, winner

Best of Show CES: Shure SE535 SE425

January 8, 2010 by Bill Palmer · 4 Comments 

Editor’s note: iProng Magazine is at CES 2010 this week to report on newly introduced products for iPhone and iPod users. While the majority of the awards have yet to be determined, a few of them have already been finalized…

There are high-end earbuds and then there are “most people would have to skip a car payment or two in order to afford them” earbuds, and Shure’s new SE535 ($499) and SE425 ($299) certainly fall into the latter category. However, after spending time with both sets of earbuds in an isolated room, we’re left to conclude that both are worth their respective price tags. But what makes them winners is the fact that the cables can be removed entirely from the earbud apparatus. It’s not something you’d have reason to be doing regularly, but earbud cables often tend to wear out before the audio drivers do, and this nifty innovation allows users to replace the cables (which are cheap) while not having to re-purchase the earbuds themselves.

In our hands-on testing, the cables stayed sufficiently firmly attached to the buds that there appears to be no concern about them coming detached by accident. While the feature won’t have any impact on your usage of the product until something finally wears out down the road, it’s like a free insurance policy that at this price point could end up paying off handsomely. Our only real regret with these two products is that neither is available with iPhone or iPod specific controls like volume or a mic, as some of Shure’s less expensive earbuds have.

Read about all of iProng’s “Best of Show at CES 2010″ winners and finalists in the January 14th issue of iProng Magazine, which will feature a cover story interview with The Flaming Lips and more.

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Filed Under: ces2010, iPod, iPhone, iPad, and iTunes, Reviews
Tagged: award, Best of Show, CES 2010, detachable, earbuds, earphones, headphones, iPhone, iPod, SE425, SE535, Shure, winner

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