Whatever happened to that dreamy Line 6 / Apple tie-up? Who knows, right? While those two sort out their future behind the scenes, Paul Reed Smith Guitars is stepping up to take advantage of an obvious market opportunity. The newly announced Guitarbud is a simplistic accessory that allows axe slingers to jack their guitar into an iPhone or second-generation iPod touch, all while providing a headphone output in order to keep the noise making to yourself. We're told that the device works with pretty much any recording-supported app (even Apple's own Voice Memos), though PRS obviously recommends that you check out its JamApp guitar amp simulator / tuner / training tool. Best of all, it's available today for £29.95 (or $29.95 here in the States), putting you just a few yard mowings away from securing your own personal aural sanctuary. Too bad the reviews from early adopters aren't so promising...

PRS Guitarbud jacks your axe, ego into iPhone / iPod touch originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Mar 2010 04:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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I think most of us want headphones that are as unobtrusive as possible. This is why you see more folks using earbuds and earphones that headphones that go over the top of the head like we might wear at home or with our computers.

If you want headphones, that stand out and literally say something about you the Street Headphone from the Freedom of Creation store is for you. The headphones are made to order and can have whatever text you want. The headphones are made from laser sintered polyamide.

The top of the ear cups and the band that goes across the top of the head have laser etched raised letters that are white with black detail. If you like the idea of your favorite band’s name on your headphones you can get your own set in ten weeks for a whopping € 837.82 per set.

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By Andrew Liszewski

Worried that your incredibly cheap new apartment that sits above a subway line and underneath another subway line might be seriously damaging your hearing? Well it might be a worthwhile investment to spend some of that money you’re saving on Etymotic’s ER-200 Personal Noise Dosimeter. It’s basically an audio screening device that tells you just how much damage you’re doing to your ears by staying in a noisy environment for prolonged periods.

It’s got two modes, a normal one which will measure and display your noise dose continuously for up to 16 hours, and a ‘Quick Check’ mode which measures the surrounding noise for two minutes and then calculates what the estimated dose would be were you to remain there for an hour. $99 available directly from Etymotic Research, Inc..

[ Etymotic Personal Noise Dosimeter ] VIA [ bookofjoe ]

Continue reading Pioneer VSX-1020-K AV receiver with iPhone app up for pre-order

Pioneer VSX-1020-K AV receiver with iPhone app up for pre-order originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Mar 2010 14:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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By Evan Ackerman

Most electronics are not judged on their capacity to become pillows. This is a mistake. Naps are the most important time you will ever spend doing anything anywhere, and every object should be designed with that in mind. The Mu Space music player (it’s just a concept, for the moment) opens up and unfolds into a cozy little pillow with an actual bed (or sheets, anyway) attached to it. The speakers can be rotated around to play music outwards or inwards, and it has a USB interface and takes memory cards. They don’t make them yet, and I don’t know how much they’re going to cost, but I want one. Now. Yawn.

[ Yanko Design ] VIA [ Gizmodo ]

By Chris Scott Barr

Being a PC gamer, I’m no stranger to headphones. Whenever a new pair comes out, there are generally wild claims that accompany the release. Phrases like “most comfortable,” “clearest sound” and many others get tossed around. Sure, some of them have an innovative feature or two, but it’s rare to find one that seems truly innovative. The Psyko 5.1 PC Gaming Headset falls into that very small group.

It’s not uncommon to find a headset that promises 5.1 surround sound capabilities. But with all of the speakers right there in your ear, it’s hard to really get a true 5.1 sound. Psyko takes a new approach to this by placing all five speakers on top of your head, leaving only a pair of subwoofers in your ears. Now what good does having speakers on top of your head do? Quite a lot, if the sound is actually piped down to the front and back of your ears.

The sound is carried from the speakers to the front and rear of your ears by “PsykoWave guides.” These look like little tubes, and carry audio waves rather well. Doing this allows you to hear the sounds from exactly where they originate inside the game. To take things a step further, you actually hear it at the right time as well. This means an explosion on your right side will reach your right ear slightly before it reaches your left.

I got my hands on a pair of these briefly at CES, and while playing a bit of CoD I could definitely tell a difference from some of the other headphones I’ve worn. It was easier to pinpoint enemy fire simply by where I heard it, rather than by looking for someone.

The Psyko 5.1 headset also has a few other notable features. You can actually choose whether or not you want to block out external sounds by opening or closing a set of ear vents (which also helps to keep your ears from getting sweaty). The headset also comes with an in-line amplifier, which will give you control over bass and audio volume. The headset will go on sale sometime early this year for $299.

[ Psyko ]

By Andrew Liszewski

A good podcast starts with a good microphone, and Thanko’s new XLR to USB mic cable (or ‘mike’ cable as their website puts it) allows you to easily connect even the most high-end of mics directly to your PC. It’s both Windows and Mac friendly, with some degree of plug-and-play compatibility I assume, and the 5 meter cable means you don’t have to sit right in front of your computer or laptop to use it. ~$55 (4,980 yen) available from Thanko.jp.

[ USB To XLR Mic Cable ] VIA [ DVICE ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Why wait till you’re back in the studio or post-production facility to create a 5.1 surround sound mix for your video when the Holophone lets you capture surround sound right on set! Now if you’re shooting in a studio environment such a contraption is kind of pointless given all the action and sound happens right in front of the camera, but at something like a concert this would be a pretty great way to capture the crowd’s reaction as well as what’s happening on stage.

The PortaMic 5.1 is powered by a single 9V battery which is good for about 3 hours use, and thanks to onboard hardware the audio is encoded on the fly to Dolby Pro Logic II, though it can be decoded back to 5.1 later in post-production for proper re-mixing. But with a price tag of around $600 it seems like an accessory for professional videographers or amateurs with deep pockets.

[ Holophone PortaMic 5.1 ] VIA [ The Red Ferret Journal ]

It used to be that you’d need a day-pass to a professional recording studio if you really wanted to do justice to your Human League tribute album, but these days you can do it all in your bedroom.  VIA’s latest – the VIA Envy VT1730 USB 2.0 Audio Controller – takes things to the next level, offering 8 channels of 24-bit/192kHz recording or playback with a single USB 2.0 hookup to your host computer.

In fact, VIA reckon the VT1730 is actually the first “highly-integrated single chip solution” for eight such channels.  It’ll mean you can record a band’s worth of instruments at the same time, or output to eight different speakers for a pretty impressive home cinema system.  Happily the board also supports the I2S standard for Blu-ray audio, which means 24-bit 192kHz audio tracks on such HD discs will sound as they’re meant to.

Connectivity includes six MIDI ports (three in, three out), sixteen I2S ports (eight in, eight out), three stereo S/PDIF ports (one in, two out) and of course USB 2.0.  It looks like we’ll have to wait for an external soundcard manufacturer to pick up the Vinyl Envy VT1730 before we can buy one ourselves, however; no word on when that might happen nor how much we should budget for one, either.

Press Release:

VIA Debuts World’s First USB 2.0 Audio Controller

Ideal for MIDI systems and USB soundcards, the new VIA Vinyl Envy VT1730 USB 2.0 Audio Controller brings studio-level performance to the home audio enthusiast

Taipei, Taiwan, January 14, 2010 – VIA Technologies, Inc., a leading provider of PC and prosumer audio silicon, today unveiled the VIA Vinyl Envy VT1730 USB 2.0 Audio Controller, the industry’s first highly-integrated single chip solution that leverages the broad USB 2.0 bandwidth (480 Mb/s) to deliver uncompromised audio quality.

The VIA Envy VT1730 is an 8-channel, 24-bit/192kHz audio controller specifically designed to achieve cinema-quality audio recording and playback in high fidelity USB and MIDI system applications. Whether it’s using the bandwidth capacity of USB 2.0 to simultaneously support audio streams from a guitar, bass, keyboard and microphone, or delivering true-to-life sound to multiple speakers in a home theatre set-up, the VIA Envy VT1730 offers outstanding audio performance and impressive application flexibility.

Providing a smooth interface between USB, analog and digital audio devices, the VIA Envy VT1730 is ideal for USB sound cards, headphones, audio hubs, recording consoles, and MIDI devices that require the streaming of considerable audio data between a host system and audio I/O system via the USB interface.

“Over 10 years of experience in the audio component industry and extensive knowledge of peripheral interfaces has enabled this technology breakthrough,” said Richard Brown, Vice President of Marketing, VIA Technologies, Inc. “Audio enrichment, through our successful VIA Vinyl Audio line of controllers and codecs, has long been a core element of VIA’s multimedia product focus, and the VIA Envy VT1730 further extends our reach beyond the PC into high-end audio systems.”

Notably, the VIA Envy VT1730 also supports the I²S standard enabling Blu-ray Disc™ audio content protection; solutions without this feature dramatically reduce audio quality to that of a regular CD, with a sampling rate of only 16-bit/48kHz.

For further information on the VIA Vinyl Envy VT1730, please visit the VIA website at:
http://www.via.com.tw/en/products/audio/controllers/envyusb/

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New from Onkyo at CES 2010 was the PA-MC5500 multi-channel power amplifier, intended to accompany their PR-SC5507 9.2-channel AV network controller preamp processor. The PA-MC5500 has a matching 9-channels of amplification to the company’s flagship pre-pro, each capable of delivering 150W.

The THX-certified nine channel powerhouse uses class AB amplification with a massive toroidal transformer and 22,000uF power supply capacitors. In addition, each channel is fine-tuned with audio-grade capacitors and WRAT technology to maximize signal accuracy. At the back of the unit there are balanced and single-end inputs with input trigger switchers, both of which are gold-plated, together with a 12v power trigger switch and speaker impedance switch to flip between 4 and 6 ohms.

The unit looks “ready to go” to our eyes, but according to the Onkyo rep we spoke to there’s no full specification information they can make public. Neither would they mention pricing and availability; looks like we’ll have to wait this one out.

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