Introduction

No matter where you go you will always find someone who loves good music, more and more popular are internet radio stations such as Pandora and Slacker Radio. With more and more music being distributed through online sources its tough to find a good sound system able to provide a solid listening experience throughout a house or party without breaking the bank. Fortunately IntelliTouch has come up with their EOS wireless system a dead simple music system which is able to stream music from just about any source to anywhere within a 150 foot radius. This massive coverage can provide full coverage for  house, apartment  or even a small hall. Join me while I show you the EOS multi-room wireless system from IntelliTouch.

IntelliTouch’s take:

The new Eos Converge multi-room wireless audio system and the Eos Wireless Audio iPod Speaker System give you the freedom to put your music wherever you are.  With the new Converge wireless audio system or the Eos Wireless Audio iPod Speakers you can broadcast your music up to 150 feet away, inside or out. All digital means no static, no interference.  With an Eos whole-home audio system you can put your music in absolutely any room you want — the bedroom, the backyard, the kitchen, the bathroom…wherever you are. Best of all you can use the Eos multi-room wireless audio system with all the audio equipment you already have… your home audio system, home theater system, iPod, satellite radio and more.

Ableplanet has sent TechwareLabs their PS500MM award winning True Fidelity Multimedia Stereo Headphones w/ Patented LINX AUDIO to review.  The PS5500MM headset is an on-ear set which is new to this reviewer. In the past I have used in-ear, over-ear headphones which have produced phenomenal bass and true clarity of sound at all volumes. The on-ear style in my opinion couldn’t deliver enough bass since the headphone wasn’t sealed around the ear or ear canal. Well, the PS500MM change my opinion in no time at all.

The headphone market at present is swamped with all kinds of options and only a few are worth their listed price. After using the ableplanet PS500MM initially for an hour, this reviewer was sold! The sound quality from the ear phones was spectacular and the sound quality from the microphone was also very impressive.

]]> http://www.techwarelabs.com/ableplanet-ps500mm/feed/ 4 http://www.techwarelabs.com/boss-tu-88/ http://www.techwarelabs.com/boss-tu-88/#comments Mon, 07 Dec 2009 04:05:02 +0000 Chris http://www.techwarelabs.com/?p=4357

Its Not Just Music:

A guitarist is only as good as the dedication that’s put in. The instrument itself is important, but there are many that can make beautiful music with the cheapest of instruments. The backbone of a musician is correct tuning, timing and talent. While BOSS may not be able to do anything about an artist’s talent, they can do something about tuning and timing. This is all rolled up into one convenient package called the BOSS TU-88.

Specifications:

Introduction

Back in the dark ages of PC gaming, when MS-DOS was the usual platform and the mouse was an optional affair, one had two choices for getting sound out of the PC. Choice one: get a Sound Blaster card, and let the games do their thing mostly unassisted. Choice two: get another card and try to trick your system into thinking that it was a Sound Blaster. Things have gotten considerably better since that time; modern OSes provide an audio API that allows games to handle sound input and output without having to care about what sound system you have under the hood. Cue the rise of onboard audio, and the demise of add-in sound cards as a requirement for a gaming PC.

There’s still a place for sound cards in the modern PC market, though. Maybe you need a low-latency sound system with a dedicated APU for professional audio creation. Maybe you want a gaming-oriented card with lots of extra post-processing effects for 3D sound. Maybe your onboard audio just has an unacceptably high amount of line noise, and you want to kill the hiss or whine coming out of your speakers. For these reasons, the add-in sound card is here to stay.

Talking of games, Creative decided to put together a sound card based on their X-Fi platform, designed to improve the gaming experience. Having done this, they sought and obtained an endorsement deal for this card with someone they feel the PC gamer crowd would respect, one Johnathan ‘Fatal1ty’ Wendell. The result is the lengthily named Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Professional Series sound card, which we’ll be reviewing today.

Before we begin, let’s see what Creative have to say about this card.

Creative’s Take

Get the Pro Gamer’s Choice for Sound

Realistic EAX® 5.0 sound effects that pull you into the game
Accurate 3D positional audio – even with headphones
Accelerated audio for unbeatable game performance
Clearer voice chat for better voice communications
Works with PCI Express equipped PCs

Chosen by professional gamers, the PCI Express Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Professional Series sound card delivers the ultimate PC gaming audio experience. You’ll hear realistic EAX® 5 sound effects and 3D positional audio that’s so accurate you can locate opponents by sound – even over headphones. Plus, get unbeatable performance in your games with hardware accelerated audio and X-RAM.

Sound Blaster X-Fi is Fatal1ty’s Choice for Audio!
www.fatal1ty.com “When I’m competing I need top-notch performance and the most realistic sound to help me know where my opponents are and Sound Blaster X-Fi really delivers for me…there is nothing faster or better.”

Johnathan “Fatal1ty” Wendel is the best-known professional gamer in the world with 38 1st place wins in nine years of tournament play.

Introduction

After reviewing the Squeezebox Duet a few months ago, and believing everyone should own such a product, Logitech has sent us the Logitech” Squeezebox Boom” to review. After using the Squeezebox Boom all around the house (kitchen, out in the garage/driveway while washing the car), we are convinced the Squeezebox Boom is the Ultimate Christmas gift. The price may be a little steep for some consumers. Whoever receives theirs will enjoy using it without a doubt.  This reviewer is an internet radio junkie and now I have the ability to listen to internet radio without the need to have my computer running, and I’m not confined to the computer room or my living room where I us the Logitech Duet.

Technical Specifications:

]]> http://www.techwarelabs.com/logitech-squeezbox-boom/feed/ 10 http://www.techwarelabs.com/genius-ghp-05live/ http://www.techwarelabs.com/genius-ghp-05live/#comments Fri, 21 Aug 2009 03:49:49 +0000 Ilya http://www.techwarelabs.com/?p=2920

Introduction:

Genius formed in 1983 is company known for producing peripheral products for PCs. They have variety of products such as speakers, scanners, tablets, and headphones. We have here for review Genius GHP-05Live headphones.

Genius’s take:

GHP-05 Live is the latest Genius Hi-Fi music headphones for your DVD, TV and Hi-Fi studio. The GHP-05 Live has an embedded DRD® 3D surround sound system which not only enhances the true bass level but also creates incredible acoustic range, especially for classical or vocal music. The swivel and soft velvet ear pad makes comfort even listening for long periods of time. The package includes an extension cable, a 3.5mm-RCA converter and 6.3mm gold plate adaptor, and is easy to connect to any kind of audio device. No matter if you want to watch a movie or listen to music, the GHP-05 Live can bring you powerful and lively sound and make it seem more realistic.

Package Contents:

• GHP-05Live headphone
• RCA-3.5mm adapter
• 6.3mm gold plate adapter
• 2m extend cable(I’ve needed this countless of times before)
• 2 AAA Alkaline batteries
• User’s manual

Features:

• DRD 3D surround technology enhances bass and dynamic range
• Comfortable long time wear with velvet ear pad and leather headband
• Swivel ear pad fits easy to any head angle
• Powerful bass and lively acoustics great for any DVD, TV, and hi-fi equipment

]]> http://www.techwarelabs.com/genius-ghp-05live/feed/ 6 http://www.techwarelabs.com/eagle-arion-et-ar504lr-bk-2-1-speakers/ http://www.techwarelabs.com/eagle-arion-et-ar504lr-bk-2-1-speakers/#comments Tue, 28 Jul 2009 04:01:06 +0000 Will http://www.techwarelabs.com/?p=2445

Introduction

Eagle Tech is not a company most would recognize by name–at least, not by that name. They have made something of a name for themselves indirectly through their iNeo imprint. People have thus come to associate Eagle mainly with hard drive enclosures and NAS boxes. Recently though, they’ve decided to branch out into PC speakers. Their initial offerings are fairly modest, seemingly aimed at people who want nice-sounding speakers without dropping a huge wad of cash.

Today, I’ll be looking at the top of this new line, the Arion 504 2.1 speaker set. With a going price of $49.99 (Google Shopping results), even the top end is fairly affordable. The real question is, of course, are these speakers worth the price? Let’s have a look (and a listen) and find out.

Eagle’s Take

Quality matters! These speakers have been tweaked to maintain overall efficiency and fidelity at significantly higher sound pressures than conventional speakers. Stiff and light cone materials, precision shaped wooden enclosure and raised crossover points of the midrange and tweeter assemblies, make these speakers very efficient at vibrating air – without added distortions. The result? You get seamless overall imaging and soundstage of the music that is nothing short of clear and natural – even at high decibels.

This post has been brought to you by the Department of Redundancy Department, ensuring backup solutions since—hah, kidding. All snark aside, it’s pretty clear the folks at Eagle are proud of what they’ve put together here. I count three different ways of saying low distortion at high volumes, so it’s pretty obvious they want us to crank these things up. To me, that sounds like a plan.

Features

Feature	Commentary
Exceptional tonal fidelity and low harmonic distortion	Just in case you missed it, we think our speakers sound great
Dedicated subwoofer, mid-range and tweeter drivers for high decibel output	Pretty much de rigeur for any full-range speaker set
LCD with digital equalizers	Relax and watch the blinkenlights…
Raised crossover points of midrange and tweeters	Making the tweeters and mid-range driver ranges overlap prevents those transition-frequency sounds from dropping out
Stiff and light cone materials for precise vibrations	Mushy speaker cone = mushy sound
Smooth response over broad frequency so you hear the music at exactly the same way it was recorded	A bold claim, we’ll see how well it holds up in audition
Solid wood enclosures accurately amplifies overall sound level	Hooray, somebody over there understands acoustic resonance
Great for MP3 player, CD, PC, video gaming system, home audio system or just about any other audio sources	…so please buy as many as you can! seems to be the implied message here
Full function remote control	For indulging your inner couch potato
Multiple audio inputs	Handy for using your MP3 player without constant plug-swapping

]]> http://www.techwarelabs.com/eagle-arion-et-ar504lr-bk-2-1-speakers/feed/ 6 http://www.techwarelabs.com/monster-turbine-headphones/ http://www.techwarelabs.com/monster-turbine-headphones/#comments Fri, 26 Jun 2009 00:32:15 +0000 Jason Jacobs http://www.techwarelabs.com/?p=1012

Monster Headphones?

That’s right, Monster Cable, the company well known for its rather expensive audio cables and peripherals has taken the opportunity to delve into the headphone market. The difference with their entry, they are doing it big time. In January of this year the TechwareLabs staff was on hand at the Monster press conference when they announced the Turbines and their partnership with Ludacris to help promote the entry. We later interviewed the head monster and Ludacris to get their thoughts.

See our interview below:

Now the Turbines are entering a market flooded with products of all ranges, but a closer look at the suggested retail price of $149 to $179 says these headphones are squarely aimed at the medium to high end market. But they are just earplugs you might might be thinking, and at $149 you could well buy a high end product from Bose or Shure. What makes the Turbines different, the answer, a whole new level of listening pleasure.

]]> http://www.techwarelabs.com/monster-turbine-headphones/feed/ 5 http://www.techwarelabs.com/logitech-squeezebox-duet/ http://www.techwarelabs.com/logitech-squeezebox-duet/#comments Tue, 23 Jun 2009 04:01:31 +0000 Matthew Homan http://www.techwarelabs.com/?p=576 Introduction

Audio, over the last decade has come a long way from concert halls, AM/FM, and satellite radio. Online radio alone has been around since 1990 with such services as Rhapsody, and more recently Pandora.com. So the engineers at Logitech have now added another facet to what, where and how music lovers can enjoy music called Squeezebox Duet. The “Squeezebox Duet” by Logitech has the ability to access and listen to music from your online radio account and play it to your home theater system or any RCA or digital audio input device. TechwareLabs has reviewed several types of home audio systems such as Abit Airpace, and the Squeezebox by Slim Designs which is owned by Logitech. Both of these products (Abit Airpace, and Slim Designs Squeezebox) have some very nice features, but the Squeezebox Duet by Logitech has its own positive and very nice features that are unique. Let’s take a look.

Packaging

The Logitech Squeezebox Duet comes in a box which has the Logitech signature colors and a few photos of the product inside. Unpacking the product we can see this product isn’t your standard shrink wrap and go type. The Squeezebox Duet comes in a black box inside the exterior white and light-green Logitech box. The black Squeezebox box opens up like a jewelry box which the lid holds advertisement material which comes shooting out once the lid is just over 120 degrees. Once the black box is opened you get a view of the remote in its simplicity and slick looks. Next, flipping an inner cover we reveal the Squeezebox Receiver and a few cables and a cradle for the controller. Logitech spent some quality time designing the packaging of all the contents. The way everything was laid-out and displayed and wrapped was very well thought out and eye catching. Very Nice job on the inital presentation!

When a classy and elegant look is key, Altec Lansing is there for you. We are pleased to introduce to you the Altec Lansing T612. In a world where nearly half of all Americans have iPod’s, one could only expect to have a docking station that can be used in your home to listen to the music. This is where the T612 comes in. Altec Lansing went above and beyond with the T612, delivering loud, crisp, clear sound that will make the hair on the back of your neck stand up. Made for the iPhone, but compatible with all iPod’s, you are able to listen to music and not have to worry abut missing that important call. Don’t want to listen to your iPod? Use the included headphone input jack to listen to your CD player or any other audio device. So, is the T612 all its stacked up to be? Read on to find out…

	Front of Altec Lansing T612
T612 Paired with iPhone
	T612 Paired with iPhone

Altec Lansing’s Take

“Live your iPhone life to the fullest by pairing it with the extraordinary sound and intuitive convenience of the Altec Lansing T612. Made to complement iPhone’s command of the digital world, the T612 extends your iPhone’s high-end audio capabilities with beautifully transparent music reproduction. 60 Watts of power RMS (120 Watts Peak) fill the room while keeping you perfectly in touch – because with the T612 there’s no need to use “Flight Mode” while you listen to music. Instead, keep the phone turned on; when a call comes in the T612 gives priority to the call by interrupting the music.”

Features

• Full-range Sound
  Four specially engineered speakers smoothly reproduce music across the full audio spectrum.
• Powerful, Deep Bass
  XdB™ bass-enhancement technology creates deep bass without a subwoofer.
• Built-in Dock for iPhone and iPod
  Docks and recharges your iPhone and dockable iPod
• Never Miss a Call
  When a call comes in, the music stops so you can hear your call.
• Immune to mobile phone interference
  The T612 doesn’t pick up annoying intermittent noises emitted by mobile phones. So there’s no need to put your iPhone in flight mode!
• Wireless Remote
  Track forward/back, volume, and bass/treble controls are at your fingertips.
• Elegant, Wall-mountable design
  Looks great in your living room or mounted on the wall (wall-mounting kit available separately).
• MP3 Player Jack
  Connect your MP3 Player or CD player at the same time as your iPhone.

Enjoy relaxing music coming from Cheap iPod Dock and speakers here! Choose from the assortment of style!

Specifications

• SOUND PRESSURE LEVEL (SPL): 100 DB
• TOTAL CONTINUOUS POWER: 60 WATTS RMS
• TOTAL PEAK POWER: 120 WATTS
• SYSTEM RESPONSE: 60 HZ – 20 KHZ (-10 DB)
  
• SIGNAL TO NOISE RATIO: @ 1 KHZ INPUT: > 70 DB
• SPEAKERS:
  • TWO 3” FULL-RANGE DRIVERS AND TWO
  • SILKDOME 1” TWEETERS.
• DIMENSIONS:
  • 14” (W) X 5.4” (D) X 8.2” (H)
  • 354 MM (W) X 137 MM (D) X 208 MM (H)

]]> http://www.techwarelabs.com/altec-lansing-t612-iphone-and-ipod-powered-audio-system/feed/ 0 http://www.techwarelabs.com/creative-labs-fatal1ty-usb-gaming-headset/ http://www.techwarelabs.com/creative-labs-fatal1ty-usb-gaming-headset/#comments Tue, 07 Apr 2009 02:44:23 +0000 Matthew Homan http://www.techwarelabs.com/wp/?p=42 Creative Fatal1ty branded USB headset. Fatal1ty is perhaps best known for being the #1 gamer in the world. Now that he has input into the design and creation of hardware that you and I will see in our boxes we can expect better gaming experiences. Matt puts the new headset to the test and asks the question "Does the HS-1000 deliver on its promise of better fidelity sound and a greater gaming experience?" Find out in our review.]]>

Audio technology has had its share of incredible breakthroughs with Surround sound including 5.1 to 7.1 systems to wireless speaker systems. The computer gamers of today are enjoying games with audio technology which further enhance their gaming experience such as EAX and Dolby audio technology. The longest time I have always had a speaker system connected to my PC which would shake the windows of the house, but this system was always a pain when it came to packing up to go to a friend’s place for a LAN party. The speaker system was always cumbersome and above all else when I did get to my friends place, I couldn’t turn it up because of a wife, a neighbor would complain. Later, I was traveling a lot for work and decided to pick up a nice set of headphones to listen to music while on the plane and ended up using them for LAN parties. This headset was nice for hearing the gaming, but since this headset didn’t have a microphone I couldn’t communicate with my team over team speak, so I had to pick up a microphone… Our friends at Creative have solved my dilemma with a new product from their Fatal1ty series. While attending CES 2009 the TWL team was all introduced to Johnathan “Fatal1ty” Wendel who handed over his signature series USB Gaming Headset. Since we were handed this gift to review there hasn’t been a day that has gone by where this headset hasn’t been listened to. So let us take a closer look.

There are countless gaming headsets on the market today some ranging from $50 to upwards of $200+. Some of these headset we have reviewed include Genius HS-03U, Genius HS-04V, AOpen HP-590 and the Razer Barracuda: HP-1, all which have their positive and negatives, in price, features ans comfort, but the Fatal1ty headset has by far the best comfort and incredible sound of those. Like most things price doesn’t dictate quality of the product or what it can do as far as features and in the case the quality of sound. So with that being stated, let us take a look at Creative’s take:

This headset was designed with Fatal1ty’s sitting down with the engineers of Creative to hammer out a pair of headphones which are not only superior in sound quality and technology but also a pair of headphones that can be worn for hours in comfort. Let’s take a closer look at this headset’s specifications.

Photo Gallery:

Front of Box	Inside Flap of Front of box
Back of Box

As mentioned prior, this headset was handed over to us at CES 2009 just after our interview with Fatal1ty (Video of the interview here). Since we flew out to Las Vegas to attend CES the team had very little space left in our luggage to take items home. So we made a make shift photo gallery out of the hotel room’s towels to snap off some shots of the box the headset can in and the contents their in. The headphones were package very well in a molded plastic jacket to hold the contents in place during shipping and display. After these pictures were taken we dropped the headphones in the provided leather bag with its stamped “Creative” logo along with the detachable microphone and CD ROM.

Contents	Removable Microphone port
Microphone jack	Signature Series

The contents included a CD-ROM, headphones, manual, detachable microphone and a leather bag for hold the headset while your traveling to your next LAN party. The headset comes with a very long USB cable with an in-line volume and Microphone on/off switch which clips to your cloathing. The microphone comes with a simple mono plug which is very easy to install or remove in a matter of seconds. Also the ear cushions are made of plush velvet which assists with comfort while using the headset over many hours of game play. Also since this headset is designed and built by Creative the technology that is built into their Sound Blaster cards is relayed to the headset and dispensed into the gamers ears in its entirety, so you can be sure you are not missing out on anything. Now, for the longest time I have used my speaker system on my home system while gaming at the expense of my roommate not being able to hear his game. Since I have been using the Fatal1ty USB headset, I have been able to play games and listen to music for hours without my ears getting hot or getting a headache because of the headset squeezing my head too tightly. This headset’s spacial audio is incredible to say the least. The first couple of nights while wearing the headset, I had my theater speaks shut off at the power button and even the window Vista default beep had me pause for a few seconds while I confirmed that my theater speakers were still powered off. I also got goose bumps and the hair to stand up on my arms and the back of the neck while playing F.E.A.R. with the games audio drenching me in such sounds that make you question your surroundings (For a gaming experience like none other, play F.E.A.R in a dark room while wearing this headset). Playing any massive multi-player games like World or War Craft and teamed games like Team Fortress 2 the noise canceling microphone worked flawlessly. The microphone on past headsets had picked up my breathing out of my nose no matter where the microphone was placed, but the Fatal1ty USB headset microphone didn’t pick up the breathing or most to all other noises in the room, including my rommate running the vacuum cleaner while I was playing with friends online.

Conclusion

The Fatal1ty USB Gaming headset HS-1000 is an absolute must have for those gamers out there who are looking for an excellent pair of head phones which are designed with the sole purpose of PC gaming for hours with superior sound quality and ear comfort like nothing else on the market today. There are some competitor headset out on the shelves for quite some time now like the Razer – Barracuda gaming headset which has close to equal in sound quality, but requires several plugs to be plugged in to take advantage of all of its features and I found them uncomfortable while wearing them for a long period of time. We have used the Fatal1ty USB headset for two months at the time of this posting and we haven’t found any mojor negatives. The plush velvet was one concern with its ability to get dirty quicker than other headset cushions made of fake leather, but the ear cushions are able to be removed and thrown into the laundry with everything else. The Creative – Fatal1ty USB Gaming headset is also priced a few dollars cheaper the majority of its competitors. So, if your looking for a great headset which you can wear for hours and provides you with incredible sound quality and a detachable microphone which has unmatchable noise canceling technology built into it, you have got to check out Creative’s – Fatal1ty USB Gaming Headset. You will not be disappointed!

TechwareLabs Awesome Hardware Award

Introduction:

Razer, the world’s leading manufacturer of high-end precision gaming and lifestyle electronics peripherals, has given us the opportunity to review their Barracuda. The Razer Barracuda is a 5.1 channel surround sound headset. We have seen how well Razer has performed in the past with their superior technology, but how will they perform with their new gaming headset?

Razer’s Take:

“The Razer Barracuda HP-1 Gaming Headphones features eight discrete audio drivers to enable pinpoint positional accuracy essential for gaming. It features advanced noise cancellation capabilities and a built-in microphone designed specifically for in-game communications — ideal for frenzied in-game communication.”

]]> http://www.techwarelabs.com/razer-barracuda-hp-1-gaming-headset/feed/ 0 http://www.techwarelabs.com/genius-hs-04v-headset-with-bass-vibration/ http://www.techwarelabs.com/genius-hs-04v-headset-with-bass-vibration/#comments Tue, 14 Aug 2007 04:00:45 +0000 Michael Lynch http://www.techwarelabs.com/?p=300 Introduction:

Genius, maker of many peripherals, recently gave us the privilege to review one of their headsets that was able to deliver bass in the form of vibration within the headset. They say that their headset delivers ‘authentic’ bass sounds with vibrations; this we will put to the test.

Bass is achieved like many headsets of this type through the use of an external battery container which provides power for the enhanced bass functionality. What makes the Genius headset different is the option to use a USB port to provide the power instead of using up an endless supply of batteries or having to recharge batteries often. The optional included plug assures you that you will always be getting the best added bass possible.