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Sony's Ultimate Weapon Gaming headsets are as macho as the name suggests
According to Sony, your Ultimate Weapon when it comes to schooling fools on the FPS battlefield is a 3D surround sound headset. Just like its newly minted DR-GA500 above, what a coincidence! Coming with a separate box to process your computer's audio into a 7.1-channel surround sound environment, this mic-equipped set of cans is targeted squarely at gamers looking to optimize every last inch of their fragging experience. There's also a GA-200 model that makes do without the extra audio processing. Both variants share the super special "triple enfolding" padding design, which is intended to make the headgear comfortable for prolonged use. Prices and retail dates aren't yet available, but just to underline that gaming connection one extra time, Sony will be bundling a free copy of the latest Medal of Honor with these 'phones starting in mid-October.
New Kindle comes with microphone, seeds of possibility
Amazon's new Kindle has plenty of desirable features -- like a month-long battery, double the storage and a more responsive screen -- but some exciting new additions weren't highlighted on the press release. Diving through the official User's Guide for just such unheralded items, the Kindle World Blog discovered the unit will come with a second English dictionary, a PDF contrast adjustment and... a microphone. As you can see immediately above, that last won't be accessible out of the box -- and may just lead to audio annotations down the road -- but the hacker community (or more legitimately, Kindle developers) could do very interesting things with the discovery. We hesitate to even mention for fear the feature will get pulled, but we're dreaming of Skyping across that free 3G connection already.
Alleged Kinect hardware specs claim two active player limit
During E3, PrimeSense, the company behind the Kinect hardware, told Joystiq that the system it had licensed to Microsoft could only handle a maximum of two active players at a time. PrimeSense couldn't confirm at the time that Kinect could only calculate two players, and Microsoft didn't comment further when we asked, but leaked Kinect technical specifications from a few UK retailers seem to match up with the two "active" player limit. The leaked technical specifications claim that the Kinect camera can recognize any number of human bodies, but can only calculate the movement and actions of two people at a time. Other interesting specs have the camera pulling in a video view with a 640x480 resolution at 30fps, and an echo cancellation system in the mic that will make voice chat possible directly through Kinect. The information also explains what the original Xbox 360 will need for the device: 175 MB of memory for system drivers and an open USB port (to connect Kinect). Of course, these specifications aren't yet official, and they're strictly for the hardware -- not every game will support camera output or voice chat.
SteelSeries shows off ultra-durable Spectrum headset, we fail to rip it a new one (video)
We're sure that SteelSeries is mighty pleased with the audio quality of its brand-new Spectrum 5xb gaming headset, but company reps didn't introduce the product as such. They wanted us to walk away knowing three things, and the first was that we could beat the living crap out of them. Right in front of our eyes a product designer twisted the headband a full 180 degrees, let it snap back into place, then started yanking hard on the braided nylon cord (video after the break) while a dumbfounded expression crossed our face. We tried the very same, but couldn't get the cord to budge. On the off-chance you don't care to test durability for yourself, the phones also break into three pieces for transport. While the second tenet of SteelSeries' presentation was comfort (and these circumaural cans are comfortable, to be sure), the third was a prototype Xbox 360 device called the AudioMixer that will ship both bundled with the peripheral and separately as well. Plugging into your console and the base of a controller, the AudioMixer lets you connect a PC headset, then automatically balances voice chat and game audio using an on-board processor chip. There are individual volume dials, too, if you just need to shut that swearing ten-year old up. No price as yet, but both this Spectrum 5xb and a less feature-packed younger sibling will ship in Q3. Full press release and semi-destructive video after the break. %Gallery-95586%
DJ Hero 2 brings two turntables and a microphone this Fall (update: now available to pre-order)
Prefer a turntable to a keytar? Then it looks like Activision has you covered -- it's just officially announced DJ Hero 2, which will be available sometime this Fall, and presumably be on hand at E3 next week. Unfortunately, it's not yet clear if there will actually be a new version of the turntable controller or not, but Activison has added a microphone to the equation, and it'll also be releasing the game in a bundle that has (you guessed it) two turntables and a microphone. Of course, the game itself will also see quite a few changes, including new multiplayer modes, a new career mode and, most notably, a new freestyle mode that promises a "heightened level of creative input." Head on past the break for the complete press release, and keep an eye on this post -- Activision is still promising to reveal a bit more today. Update: As promised, Activision has now delivered a few more details, and some pictures. As you can see, the turntable controller appears to be mostly unchanged, but you will get a white model if you opt for the bundle with two decks, and the microphone is, well, a microphone. What's more, it looks like pre-orders are starting immediately -- the two-deck "party bundle" runs $149.99, while the game with a single turntable will set you back $99.99 (the standalone game itself is $59.99).
Grease: The Game to utilize microphones and balance board
You've used your Wii Balance Board to exercise, ski, hula hoop and snowboard. Soon, you'll have the opportunity to use the peripheral in the manner God intended: To do the Hand Jive Hop. According to a press release from publisher 505 Games, Grease: The Game will allow two teams of four players to fight for "musical domination" using two USB microphones and the Balance Board. Oh, man. We've got chills, and we'll be entirely damned if they're not multiplying. The board will be used for Grease's many minigames, which include T-Bird racing, carnival games, and singing to the title's 16-song soundtrack. Not mentioned in the presser is the minigame where you take a nice, sweet-natured young girl and transform her into a spandex-clad hussy. We'll find out if that one made the cut when the game launches on Wii and DS in September.
THQ prepares 'Truth or Lies' for this fall
THQ is all set to sell you Truth or Lies this fall, as if either commodity were in short supply. The "truth or dare" party game comes with over 3,000 questions and will be available on PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii. The "game" also uses a "proprietary voice calibration system that ... measures stress levels in a player's voice to reveal the honesty of their answers." It doesn't seem like microphones will be included, but it's compatible with the Xbox 360 Wireless Microphone or a USB microphone. We recommend wireless to reduce strangulation potential. Truth or Lies also comes with a "hot seat" mode, allowing for, as THQ delusionally puts it, "revealing and hilarious situations among friends and family." Oh, there most certainly will be tears, but they won't likely be from laughter.
Dr. Fritz Sennheiser, audio pioneer, dies at 98
Back in 1945, cryptographer Fritz Sennheiser founded a professional electronics company in an abandoned WWII German laboratory. Today, we've received the sad tidings that Dr. Sennheiser has passed away at the age of 98. Despite his firm's humble origins building voltmeters from spare parts, his continued innovation led to products like the shotgun microphone and supra-aural headphones, and soon propelled Sennheiser to become a respected audio brand. He is remembered by his son Jörg, in whose hands he left the company in 1982, and by users of the many, many headphones that bear his name. You'll find his official biography at the source link; but first, a moment of silence for this pioneer. Considering the volume he's afforded us over the years, we think it's only fair.
Palm Developer Day reveals interesting bits on the webOS 2010 roadmap
It's hard to mention the word "Palm" without also mentioning either "takeover" or "shakeup" in the same sentence these days, but the company was able to change the subject -- rather refreshingly, may we add -- to the more pleasant topic of new webOS features coming down the pike at its Developer Day conference in Sunnyvale this weekend. It doesn't look like we'll see anything Earth-shattering this year, but devs will be getting their grubby paws on some oft-requested features including direct API access to the microphone and camera, new security and cryptography features, some sort of "media indexer" that'll make life easier on folks trying to make media apps, and support for Bonjour, zero-config networking, and the Bluetooth Serial Port Profile, a rather generic profile that should open up the door to new categories of accessories that we haven't seen paired to a Pre before. They'll also be adding support for asynchronous background services written in JavaScript, which should theoretically allow data-intensive apps to be more responsive while they're hard at work; a redesigned App Catalog (pictured); and a new set of developer extensions called Mojo Core that promises to let folks with existing web apps convert them into webOS apps way faster. Palm's being coy about when exactly we'll see this, but the official word is that everything they're discussing this weekend should be in users' hands by Fall. As far as we know, they didn't append "come hell, high water, or acquisition" to that timeline, but we figure it was implied. [Thanks, David R.]
Mac 101: Adding new microphones to your Mac
There are, roughly, several billion kinds of microphones and headsets, all of which can theoretically be used on your Macintosh to let you voice chat over iChat or Skype. The problem is that a fair percentage of them fail to work exactly right, just out of the box. Fortunately, there are several tricks that can help you analyze why your audio chats aren't working quite right. Here's a quick run-down of the steps you should take. Start in System Preferences. The Sound preferences pane lets you select devices for your sound input and output. And, importantly, it lets you test your input device and adjust its volume. After attaching your mic to your Macintosh, use this pane to set-up and test.
Second-generation Blue Microphones Mikey announced, uses free app
The audio wizards at Blue Microphones have wowed Mac and iPod fans with their Snowball, Snowflake, and Mikey microphones. Now, just before the start of CES 2010, Blue has announced the US$99.99 second generation Mikey Portable Recorder for iPod and iPhone. While the new Mikey hasn't yet achieved iPhone certification, it promises to be a powerful professional recording solution for iPhone owners when it arrives in the spring. Mikey still features two Blue mic capsules for pro-quality stereo recording, but now has improved acoustic circuitry for better recordings of loud events such as concerts. The new Mikey also has a 3.5mm line input for those times that you want to plug in a sound source like a guitar or mixer. There's also a USB pass-through connection for charging and syncing. A newly designed case makes Mikey usable with most iPhone cases, and the mic can be adjusted to seven fixed positions within a 230-degree range for optimum positioning. But wait, there's more! Blue is also throwing in a soft carrying pouch for Mikey, along with a headphone extension cable for playback monitoring with the iPod touch and nano. Blue has also put a high-fidelity field recording app for iPhone and iPod touch into the App Store. Blue FiRe [Free, iTunes Link] has been out for a few months and is optimized for the second generation Mikey. The combination of the high-quality mic and free software produces a complete mobile recording experience. Expect to see the new Mikey at Apple Stores, Guitar Center, and Amazon.com this spring. [via Engadget]
Blue's new Mikey iPod / iPhone microphone still rocks the retro
Blue Microphones' original Mikey made the quite the impression when it landed back in late 2008, and while a good bit of time has passed, the new and improved version doesn't stray from its roots. Debuting here at CES, the second-generation Mikey Portable Recorder for iPod and iPhone touts "improved circuitry for superior recording and enhanced new features," which happens to include a pair of custom-tuned Blue capsules and an optimization for recording high-volume concerts. There's also a 3.5mm line-input here for direct recording of other sources, and the USB pass-through connections enables simultaneous charging and syncing. You'll get a 230-degree range of adjustability with seven detent positions, and it's bundled with a delightful carrying case to keep it safe from harm as you shuffle through the masses. Interested? Check it later this Spring for $99.99 at Apple Stores, Guitar Center, Amazon.com and your local nondescript white van. %Gallery-81538%
Ask Engadget: Best headset / microphone for podcasting?
We know you've got questions, and if you're brave enough to ask the world for answers, here's the outlet to do so. This week's Ask Engadget question is coming to us from Marcus, who's looking to hook himself up with a solid USB headset / microphone for Skype calling, podcasting and just generally having a royally great time. "I've found myself using my PC for a lot of conversations lately, and I'm also considering recording a podcast to share with anyone who will listen. There are tons of USB headset / microphones out there, and I'm hoping someone has some solid recommendations based on experience. I'll consider both headsets and standalone mics, by the way, but I'd like to keep the bill under $100 if possible. Help!" To be completely honest, we're still trying to determine for ourselves which device is best for these kinds of activities. If you've found a diamond in the proverbial rough, spill it in comments below, won'tcha?
Samson's Q2U microphone does USB and XLR on a budget
Sure, there are a variety of ways to get your high-end XLR audio onto your PC, but the solutions we've seen before haven't been cheap. Shure's dual-purpose mics cost up to $250 and while the Icicle adapter is only $60, it's a strictly BYO microphone affair. Samson's $89 Q2U package includes all you'll need to become a podcasting wunderkind, most important being the mic itself, which comes with both XLR and USB cables. It also features an integrated 3.5mm headphone jack for zero-latency monitoring, includes a set of studio headphones, and even comes with a tripod so that you can wildly gesticulate while expressing your fury about the Dollhouse cancellation -- even if your 23 subscribers can't see you. It's all available now, so stop popping your P's and get with the ordering already. %Gallery-79474%
Yeti USB Condenser Mic gets certified by THX, fellow Yetis
Blue Microphones, the same company responsible for the heralded Snowball, is today introducing the planet's first THX certified microphone... or so it says. The hilariously named Yeti USB Condenser Mic ($149.99) touts condenser capsules in a triple array, four total patterns (omni, cardoid, stereo, bidirectional), a zero-latency headphone output (with volume control for direct monitoring), an adjustable microphone gain control and a mute button. As expected, the USB mic will play nice with both Mac and Windows-based systems, and if you've been looking high and low for a mic that gets an oh-so-coveted stamp of approval from Sir Abominable Snowman, you can finally call off the hunt next month.
Rock Band 2 patched on 360, PS3 update going through cert
Ludomusicians, rejoice! The Xbox 360 version of Rock Band 2 received a massive title update earlier today, adding a whole slew of oft-requested features to Harmonix's beefy music platform. The most notable of these additions is that the game now supports wireless microphones, such as those used with Lips. Other changes include improved hammer-ons and pull-offs, background downloading for music store purchases and the "Audition Mode," which allows Rock Band Network users to test out their homebrewed Rock Band tracks. In a Rock Band forum thread, Harmonix's Sean Baptiste explained the PS3 version of the update is currently working its way through Sony's certification process. We've yet to hear mention of a Wii version of the patch. C'mon, Harmonix! Waggle-rockers need love too! [Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]
Laser-Accurate microphone proves once and for all that everything is better with lasers
The press release on this one is full of superlatives, but somehow most of them seem justified. Schwartz Engineering & Design just announced its Laser-Accurate microphone technology, which promises to provide "pure sound" from a microphone for the "first time ever." It works by detecting the impact of sound on the motion of particles in a stream of air by running a laser across them, and was created by David Schwartz, who holds several digital audio patents, including one that is foundational to the MP3 format (which is, ironically, not a traditional friend to the audiophile). The idea is to avoid the inherent "coloring" of sound due to a regular microphone's physical diaphragm, since the moving particles are virtually weightless. Of course, it seems that a Laser-Accurate mic would have plenty of variables of its own to deal with in regards to the stream of air, but we suppose we'll find out just how tight Schwartz has this thing when it's shown off for the first time in NY next month. PR is after the break.
Yamaha's PSG-01S is the speakerphone version of a mullet
Following in ASUS' hot sweaty footsteps today comes Yamaha with a pair of Skype-certified USB speakerphones. The PSG-01S 'SoundGadget' (pictured) aspires to be everything to everyone, by automagically switching between an all-party speaker mode and dressed-up speakerphone duty, depending on its vertical orientation. The PJP-25URS, on the other hand, seems pretty well identical to its predecessor, the PJP-25UR, but for its support for Vista (and presumably Windows 7) machines. That means you still get a crazy twelve mic array and those fetching swing-out mic arms that corporate types must be simply in love with, given the distinct lack of changes. Both are powered via the USB connector, sport dedicated Skype controls, echo cancellation, and noise reduction, and are expected in Europe and the US this month. %Gallery-73419%
M-Audio and Digidesign team up for $99 Pro Tools, hardware bundles
It's probably safe to assume that most of the Grammy Award-winning readers of Engadget (hi, Evanescence!) already have expansive -- and expensive -- recording studios in their Bel Aire mansions. For the rest of us, however, the fruits of Avid's acquisition of M-Audio is beginning to pay off in the form of inexpensive Pro Tools bundles that see the digital audio workstation paired with entry-level recording gear. Right now, we have three Pro Tools Essentials packages for you, including: the Pro Tools Vocal Studio USB condenser mic (includes a stand and a case for $99), the Pro Tools Recording Studio comes with a Fast Track 2-in / 2-out USB audio interface with mic / line / instrument inputs ($129), and finally Pro Tools KeyStudio 49-key MIDI keyboard (bundled with M-Audio USB Micro soundcard for $99). Of course, for prices this low you can't expect the full-blown ProTools treatment, but even the streamlined version here should be sufficient for most would-be Johnny Marrs: 5 GB of instruments and loops, 60 virtual instrument sounds, and the usual reverb / chorus / delay / flanger / phaser / compression / EQ effects. To be released mid-September, but in the meantime check out the hardware in the gallery below. %Gallery-72553%
Klipsch Image S4i hands-on and impressions
Earlier this year, we had the chance to take a listen at Klipsch's Image S4 in-ear headphones. Even earlier this year, we heard that the same company was looking to push out a set of VoiceOver-compatible 'buds that were significantly easier to listen to than Apple's stock alternative. That very device is the Klipsch Image S4i, which is nothing more than an Image S4 with an in-line microphone and 3-button remote. As of now, there still aren't a smorgasbord of options for those on the hunt for a VoiceOver-friendly set of headphones that actually sound decent, so head on past the break for a mostly predictable take on the little guys shown above (and below, for that matter).%Gallery-72296%
