earphones
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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]
Ntech intros ear-rattling NVE 100B Bluetooth earbuds
After a long, hard day spent fixing that ever-present paper jam in the office printer, it's nice to kick back in iJoy's ZipConnect while letting the iGoGo personal massager sooth away your aches and pains to the tune of your favorite Breakfast Club jam. But Ntech wants to add one more aspect to your already jubilating experience by tossing an extra vibe directly on your ear. The NVE 100B is an "earring-style" Bluetooth earphone designed to simply clip onto your ear, with the front half pumping out music while the backside thumps to the beat. Strangely enough, the company actually expects the non-intrusive earbud to "prevent possible auditory disease," but we're assuming you take a major hit in sound quality to accomplish such a precaution. Nevertheless, these oddly sensational (albeit probably dysfunctional) earclips should be available on the Korean market just before the year's end for a currently undisclosed price.
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Hands-on with Shure's audiophile-friendly E500PTH
If you happen to bump into us on the street in the next few days and we can't make out a word you're saying, well, here's why -- we recently had the opportunity to spend plenty of quality time with Shure's latest pride and joy, their flagship E500PTH earphones. Shure's been talking up the E500 for the better part of this year as a "new paradigm" in personal sound, but audioheads (with the prerequisite $500 to burn, that is) have only been able to find 'em in the retail channel for a few weeks now. Much like the E5c before it, Shure bills the E500 as the be-all, end-all solution to portable reference-quality sound reproduction, thanks in no small part to the three -- count 'em, three drivers in each bud. But unlike the E5c, the E500 has an arguably more compelling trick up its sleeve: its unique push-to-hear (PTH) module, which allows the wearer to switch between audio input and ambient sound at the flick of a switch. While our poor, buzzing ears are recovering from the constant barrage of sweet sounds they received in the name of conducting a proper writeup, we figure we'd hunker down and actually get this thing written, so read on for our full pictorial review.
Jens (of Sweden) unveils d-JAY earphones
They say you can't keep a good man down, and so it is with Scandinavian entrepreneur and rabble-rouser Jens Nylander, who keeps popping up with one or another device designed to enhance our portable audio experience. Usually we see Jens hawking digital audio players under the Jens of Sweden brand (now seeminlgly defunct), but today he's hit us up with a product from another one of his companies called JAYS: a pair of in-ear headphones which promise to reduce up to 90% of the surrounding noise by "producing the sound inside the ear." Known as the d-JAYS, these 'phones incorporate a proprietary Sound Isolating System built around a so-called micro armature, that Jens claims, in his typical fashion, will help reduce the risk of a hearing impairment he dubs "iPod ears." We'll find out if the d-JAYS live up to the hype come August, when they'll be shipping in a total of five colors (black, white, and three limited-edition shades) for a hundred bucks -- although you can get your pre-order on now for a 20% discount.
Creative releases ZEN Aurvana earphones
Creative released their cleverly and modestly-named ZEN Aurvana earphones, promising 90% blockage of ambient noise (not unlike most canalphones). The $100 phones are apparently first being released in Singapore this month, but we assume they'll be making their way elsewhere sooner rather than later, since they're already featured prominently on Creative's site. The Aurvanas (or is it Aurvani?) weigh just 13g, making them the lightest in their class according to Creative, and come with a number of accessories, including two sets of three different size earbuds, an airplane adaptor, cleaning tool, and a rather slick looking travel case. Sounds about run-of-the-mill to us, but it'll be nice if they start bundling these with their players.[Via DMT]
