Philips has teamed up with sports apparel brand O’Neill, coming up with a line of headphones for active, outdoorsy-types—basically, the exact same people who are familiar with and most likely use O’Neill’s gear. The new line includes four models; two over-ear cans called The Stretch and The Snug, and two in-ear ‘phones, The Covert and The Specked. Awesome stuff, really. Gear that you have to consider if you fit the Philips-O’Neill target market.
Gaming accessory maker Razer’s Orca headset was specifically designed to look good and feel comfy, while delivering premium sound. The sound quality, while not perceivably perfect for demanding audiophiles, should be good enough for th e $60 price tag (also, audiophiles should know enough to stay away from $60 gaming headsets anyway). Comfortable? We have no reason to doubt the design. Does it look good? Now that’s entirely a matter of opinion. The shade of bright Hulk-green they used is certainly striking, and while we’d probably have no problems wearing it while working Call of Duty on a desktop, we think the color’s just too loud to rock outside and it doesn’t match any of our shoes. Or shirts. Or umbrellas. Why did they call it the Orca anyway? Aren’t Orcas black and white?
Logitech just announced a new portable Made for iPod/ iPhone speaker-dock called the Rechargeable Speaker S715i. The name pretty much speaks for itself—it’s basically a speaker dock that comes with its own batteries for blasting music from your iDevice without having to be tied down to a wall socket.
Grace Digital Audio has just come out with the Eco Extreme All-Terrain MP3 Speaker, a portable speaker kit that’s built to survive the elements. Perfect for music-loving outdoorsy-types and for people who are just tired of hearing the usual sounds of bird songs and crickets on the trail.
High-end earphones can sometimes be a gamble. While they’re practically guaranteed to sound awesome, the average-guy-with-an-iPod would rather plop down a few bucks for a decent set that lasts for only a few weeks before the flimsy cord fails. Since it’s cheap, it’s easily replaceable, right? But the thought of spending a three-digit bill (or three) for in-ears that could be damaged if the cord gets pulled the wrong way? It’s a gamble.
Enter Sleek Audio’s recently-unveiled SA7 in-ear set. They’re projected to cost somewhere around $350 to $400, guaranteed to sound awesome, and are designed to be practically indestructible.
