Shure has just released three new headphones under their Professional Headphones line of cans. The new set includes three new models, the SRH240, SRH440, and the SRH840 that range from cans built for general listening to a pair of premium headphones for studio monitoring and recording.

The $60 SRH240 is for general listening and designed for quality sound and comfort. Built with 40mm neodymium dynamic drivers, the set ensures deep bass, clear mids and highs. This entry level set is designed for use on consumer and professional audio kits. The $100 SRH440 is optimized for home and studio recording use, with impedance, power handling and sensitivity calibrated for pro audio devices such as DJ mixers, and amplifiers. The $200 SRH840 is the new line’s flagship, designed for professional audio engineers and musicians. The 840’s cable features a 3m detachable (and replacable) cable, plus an extra set of replacement earpads.

The SRH240 is built with a fixed headband, while the 440 and 840 comes with adjustable, collapsible headbands and clips that locks the detachable cables into the cup. The two higher end models also comes with gold-plated adapters and carrying bags.

Altec Lansing has just announced two new speaker systems geared for budget-shoppers under their VS (Value Series) line of low-cost multimedia kits. Intended for use on desktops and laptops, the two new kits feature fresh, new designs and are priced between US$29.95 and 49.95.

The VS2621 is a 2.1-channel set that comes up with 93dbs from a compact frame. The slim subwoofer sports a 4-inch side-firing driver with a low frequency response of 45Hz for a full, realistic bass sound, while the satellites come up with 18kHz for clarity on music, gaming, and movies.

The VS2620 sports a pair of mini-tower satellites built for rich 2.0 audio without the clutter or the space requirements that a 2.1 kit will need. The 2-piece kit sports three-inch drivers and an AUX-in jack up front for easily connecting portable devices such as DVD, MP3 or CD players without having to unplug the whole thing from a desktop.

The VS2621 will sell for $49.95, while the two-piece VS2620 retails for $29.85 Euros. The two kits will be out between July and August.

Shortly after releasing the Xonar DS for gaming, Asus follows it up with a premium sound card that offers a very high 124dB Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR). Labeled as the Xonar Essence ST, this high-end audio card achieves this by incorporate precision clock tuning (supposedly the world’s first audio card to do it) to minimize audio jitter for crisp, clear audio.

Precision audio clock tuning is a method used on high-end home entertainment kits that frees the audio signal from unsynced input streams to come up with sound that’s simply clearer, with 31% less audio jitter interference. It also features Asus’ Hyper-grounding circuitry design that separates signal and noise to come up with the 124dB SNR rating. A premium Burr-Brown Digital-to-Analog converter also helps convert audio signals with a high SNR.

It’s designed to pair up with an upcoming Xonar H6 multi-channel extension board to give it 8-channel output for a premium PC-based surround sound setup. On it’s own, the Xonar Essence also sports a built-in headphone amp for less distortion when listening through headphones.

Onboard audio just won’t cut it for audio purists. No matter what the specs say, a built-in audio chip won’t give you as much depth or audio clarity, which is why there has been a number of high-end dedicated audio cards being launched lately. After all, HD video won’t matter much if your audio isn’t up to par. Asus’ Xonar DS 7.1 channel audio card gives audiophiles an instant sound upgrade, offering high-fidelity sound for 8-piece speaker setups on music, movies, and games.

This simple audio card boasts of a 107dB signal-to-noise ratio, which is listed to eliminate 91% of background noise, offering audio clarity that’s 12 times better than the average onboard audio chip. The Xonar DS also features a GX 2.5 audio engine on Windows systems that delivers realistic audio for 3D gaming, including EAX and DirectSound support.

Additional audio tech includes DTS Connect Technology for digital surround sound, 192kHz/24bit lossless audio support, and voice processing technology for inserting voices into games and online chats.

The SyrenSound X-Fi PCI Express sound card (shown above) uses a Creative Audio Processor CA0110, which does accelerated audio for games. X-Fi Xtreme Audio technology restores compressed sound to its original form, while EAX Advanced HD 4.0 provides environmental surround sound. It supports 8-channel and SPDIF audio output also.