In-earEarphones
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Ultimate Ears announces $999 In-Ear Reference Monitors and $19.99 Blue Robots, because it can
Ultimate Ears is pushing out a tag team of in-ear earphones that clearly demonstrates the heights (and depths) the Logitech-owned company is willing to scale. Starting at the extreme high end are the Ultimate Ears In-Ear Reference Monitors. The $999 price tag should help clarify the target audience here (hint: professional producers and recording / mixing engineers on the go). Each handcrafted monitor, developed in partnership with EMI Music's Capitol Studios, contains three individually tuned, balanced armature speakers with an extended wide band response from 5Hz to 18kHz. They provide up to 32dB of noise isolation with a low-distortion braided cable replacing the typical Y-joint connector. Dialing things down just a bit (uh hem) for consumers are the $19.99 Ultimate Ears 100 (pictured after the break). These "trendy" noise-isolating earphones offer 24dBs of noise isolation and ship in five styles, including our personal fave "Blue Robots." Look for each to ship to Europe and the US sometime in September.
Klipsch debuts sub-$100 Image S2, S4 in-ear headphones
Klipsch hasn't exactly been catering to more budget-minded customers with its earphones as of late, but that looks to be changing with its new Image S2 and S4 models, which come in at a reasonable $49 and $79, respectively. That'll still get you the same proprietary, oval-shaped ear tips as Klipsch's pricier earphones though, along with a so-called moving coil design with controlled dampening, and a "hot rod" dual magnet motor structure on the S4. The S4 set also comes bundled with a few bonuses like a cleaning tool and a "crush-resistant" aluminum case, while the S2s get stuck with a basic cloth case and a slightly less flashy solid black finish. Look for the S4s to roll out first in April, with the S2s set to follow sometime In July.[Via SlashGear]
Etymotic Research officially announces ety.8 Bluetooth earphones
We first caught sight of Etymotic Research's ety.8 Bluetooth earphones back in September courtesy of our friends at the FCC, but the all-in-ear, all-the-time company's now finally gotten around to officially announcing them -- looking slightly more prettied-up for their final press shots, but still rocking that same eye-catching design we loved so much. As we knew before, the earphones support A2DP and AVRC Bluetooth profiles and pack Broadcom's BCM-2037 chip set, which keeps the power consumption low and the size "small," with the rechargeable battery promising eight to ten hours of juice per charge. iPod users willing to forgo a few style points to cut some wires can also opt for a special "Made for iPod" package, which'll let you control the player directly from the earphone instead of having to endure the inconvenience of reaching into your pocket. You can look for these to be be available next month for $199 for the standalone phones, or $299 for the iPod kit, each of which comes bundled with a leather case and a stash of replacement earphone tips and filters.[Via Mobile Tech Review]
