Tag: Headphones

Tech Review – Mixcder E9 Wireless Active Noise Cancelling Headphones

If you are into bass and on a budget look no further these headphones have this have a deep sound and excellent ANC too and from testing these and other high end headphones in recent times the ANC on these cans is up there with the more expensive headphones. The headphones have no app but is not required really if you fit into the overall sound stage from these headphones.

There is simple controls here split between both sides and is kept really simple you have an ANC toggle a power on/off toggle that acts as a play/pause button too and you have volume keys, these are nicely raised and easy to navigate and work quite well.

Comfort is another thing here, deep soft cups that give great passive noise isolation out of the box and that is a good start, they have a ratchet style of arms which are marked to ensure both sides are the same when wearing them and they also have good maneuverability on the ears too to get the best fit for you.

Heightened Listening Experience

Features dual 40mm Neodymium Iron Boron dynamic drivers coupled with strong audio codecs to deliver virtually natural and authentic sound quality without distortion. With Bluetooth V5.0, E9 ensures a smoother watching and listening experience delivering sound in sync with visual media. Enjoy your favorite tracks and videos with stunning accuracy, rich details, exceptional clarity, and synchronised sound.

Bass is where it is at with these headphones and this is who these are for, not only that if you like your music in deeper tones they are for you too however overall they perform really well with all genres and for music, gaming and movies you will enjoy the deeper tone to this pair of headphones if that is what you prefer but regardless they give an overall good audio experience for the price.

See the video review for more below and how these headphones work.

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Buy from official store

Video Review

 

 

First Look – Skullcandy ‘Inequality Crusher’ headphones

The Skullcandy x To Write Love on Her Arms Inequality Crusher Evo wireless headphones is now on sale, exclusively on Skullcandy.co.uk. A portion of proceeds will help To Write Love on Her Arms fund LGBTQIA+ mental health programs. The latest headphones have landed in for review on techbuzzireland and we love the colours here and they are very vibrant and stand out and that is how I like my earbuds and headphones.

“The LGBTQIA+ community faces higher-than-average rates of depression, PTSD and anxiety disorder. This reality, coupled with Skullcandy’s support of equal rights for all, is why this collaboration with To Write Love on Her Arms is so important to us,” said Jessica Klodnicki.

Chief Marketing Officer, Skullcandy. “The limited-edition Inequality Crusher celebrates all love, all year. We’re proud to do our part by raising awareness, enabling resources and expressing unconditional love and support for the
LGBTQIA+ community.”

Check out the unboxing below for more and see them in-hand and compared to the previous model which we still use and love today, if you have not tested out these headphones you are missing out if you are a bass lover. Any questions hit us up as usual and check out the crusher evo review 

• 40 hours total battery + Rapid Charge
• Crusher adjustable Sensory Bass
• Personal Sound via Skullcandy App
• Call, track and volume control via touch controls
• Built-in Tile Finding Technology
• Flat-folding and collapsible

To Write Love on Her Arms exists to encourage, inform, inspire, and also to invest directly into treatment
and recovery. For more information, please visit twloha.com.

Video Link

Tech Review – Creative Zen Hybrid wireless headphones with ANC

The Creative Zen Hybrid wireless headphones are the latest pair of cans on offer from the company and affordable, with a matt white finish they look clean and one could argue a bit more expensive than they are and if you missed out on the introductory offer you have really lost out here it must be said. These come well presented in a small box and details clearly visible to their feature set. You can see the full unboxing below if you missed it before we reviewed them.

These cans are not huge nor heavy and ideal for long term use be it for music or gaming and podcasts, and so on, either way will enjoy them an with access to their super app SXFI you can control and customise even more adding to the value for money here, having tested other headphones in the past headphones combined with the app is a win win for most.

The headphones are very comfortable and light which is important as these can be used not only for music but gaming and more the controls are all one one side which again I like and these controls are slightly raised and easy to navigate and you have a handy ANC button at your disposal too, no creaks noted during use and no sweating of the cups but on long term use like several hours depending on the humidity there was slight sweating, nothing like what I have come across before though.

Unboxing the Creative Zen Hybrid

The headphones are fine without the app but may sound a bit hollow for some however once you download their app the game changes completely for me and I am a huge fan and as mentioned had the pleasure to test this app out several times, the app is on preview during my testing and did a good job and can only get better and I may come back again later with another review when full access is granted but even as is it does a decent job.

In the app you can skip/reverse play/pause and adjust the treble and bass and also customise presets if you like so you have plenty to mess with for now, the sound quality is great and with the extra bass and treble to play with for me this is good if you are a bass fan you are going to like it, for gaming they are also great, music and movies again great with good direction no overlapping and good highs lows and mids with no lag latency noted either.

For the money you cant really complain the battery life is also good at this price and you get 5 hours of playback with a 5 minute charge and this is noteworthy here, In real life testing the battery life would hit around 35 hours for me maxing out the lot which is what I tend to do and have them at max volume which is not good for the ears but when I have headphones on and when testing I do not want to know what else is going on but you have ambient mode at your disposal too which is no common in most headphones and ideal for catching those things you might want to hear going on.

Calls where also fine on these and clear both ends which is great should you need to take any and overall for the money here the clean design that look well with that matt finish you can’t expect more however the price to performance ratio is getting better these days and it is a crowded market but with Creative being a well established brand and great products and of course their SXFI app it does give more than most for the money here.

See the video review below for more insights.

Key Features of Creative Zen Hybrid

  • Hybrid ANC (feedforward and feedback mics on each earcup)

  • Ambient Mode

  • Battery life – up to 37 hours (ANC turned off), up to 27 hours (ANC turned on)

  • Up to 5 hours of playback with only 5 minutes of charging

  • 40 mm Neodymium drivers

  • Foldable design, with carry pouch included

  • SXFI READY

Pricing and Availability

Creative Zen Hybrid is priced at £ 99.99 and is available at the Creative online store.

For more information, visit creative.com/ZenHybrid.

Video Review

Edifier’s STAX Spirit S3 and NeoBuds Pro take 3 prestigious awards at the VGP 2022 awards

The innovative and world-leading audio brand Edifier has picked up three awards at the prestigious Visual Grand Prix (VGP) 2022 in Japan: the brand new STAX Spirit S3 headphones were both a Gold Award and Special Prize Winner, whilst the NeoBuds Pro earbuds received the Grand Prize.

Known as the “Oscar in the Audio Industry”, the Japanese VGP Awards is the largest, most authoritative audio-visual awards in Asia. It is held on an annual-basis by Ongen Publishing Co., ltd., one of the most prominent publishing companies in Japan with an expertise in audio/visual related devices and state-of-art technologies. Launched in 1987, the awards bring together respected reviews from dozens of countries, all to offer an authoritative reference guide for ordinary consumers looking to make informed purchases. The VGPs are often recognised as the highest authority award in Asia’s audio-visual industry and mark a significant recognition for Edifier’s ground-breaking work in the industry.

“It’s always an immense privilege to receive accolades for our products, but receiving awards such as these, from a panel as prestigious as that found at the VGP Awards, is truly rewarding. As a company, we work extremely hard to be at the forefront of the audio-visual industry and our designers, testers and staff are incredibly proud to be recognised for this; especially when it comes from one of the most well-respected awards around,” said Stanley Wen, Edifier’s CTO.

Amongst the winners was the brand new STAX Spirit S3, Edifier’s first premium Hi-Fi headphone designed for audiophiles and the first product in their new STAX Spirit product line – which revives the legendary ‘Stax’ name whilst achieving absolute audio fidelity suitable for Hi-Fi enthusiasts, music lovers, musicians and producers alike. The NeoBuds Pro similarly marks a significant innovation for Edifier; the buds were one of the first Hi-Res certified earbuds in the world and have garnered a sea of overwhelmingly positive reviews from respected press outlets and influencers.

The VGP awards recognise products that make a difference to the industry through state of the art technology and design; Edifier strives for excellence, pushing the boundaries and leading by innovation to ensure people can enjoy the best premium quality audio for personal entertainment and professional use. After another successful year at the ceremony, Edifier will continue to produce an award-winning range of products.

Creative launches Zen Hybrid wireless headphones, we take a first look.

Creative Technology has launched its Creative Zen Hybrid, the latest wireless headphones to keep music-loving users plugged in far longer than they would normally. Featuring Hybrid Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) technology, 40mm Neodymium drivers and up to 37 hours of battery life with a minimalist yet sleek design, Creative Zen Hybrid quite simply packs in the highlights as the go-to daily headphone solution for all.

Creative Zen Hybrid is built to help users be at one with themselves through their music, wherever they are – they are able to focus much better with the Hybrid ANC technology, driving out unwanted distractions from the environment. This technology is ‘hybrid’ through implementing feedforward and feedback microphones on each earcup. As a result, up to 95% of ambient noise is filtered out, enabling users to fully immerse in their favourite tunes while on the go.

Ambient Mode allows users to be conveniently aware of the environment without taking the headphones off, for example when listening out for train station announcements, ordering at a café counter or simply keeping users safe on busy streets. Rounding things off is a noise-cancelling microphone, which keeps calls clear for the other party as well.

To complement the noise-cancelling feature, these headphones sport 40mm powerful yet light Neodymium drivers. Expertly tuned by Creative’s in-house engineers for a warm sound signature with accurate bass and crisp, clean highs, the Zen Hybrid is well-balanced to suit a wide variety of genres while helping to prevent headphone fatigue.

With an impressive battery life of up to 37 hours, users can easily binge on their favourite playlists, even while in repeat mode. When needed, the Zen Hybrid can provide 5 hours of playback with only 5 minutes of super-quick charging.

Creative Zen Hybrid sports a sleek and lightweight design with a slim profile, with easy-to-use tactile control buttons conveniently located on the right earcup. It also features a foldable design and can be handily stowed in a carry pouch when not in use.

SXFI READY

Creative Zen Hybrid is specially tuned to support the exciting and upcoming expanded Super X-Fi ecosystem, where Super X-Fi Headphone Holography will be implemented in different devices such as TVs, PCs and mobile devices. Users of SXFI READY headphones like the Zen Hybrid will get to enjoy this award-winning technology on such devices.

In the meantime, users can benefit from the superior tuning of SXFI READY headphones. A free preview version of the award-winning Super X-Fi technology is available through the SXFI app. Users who are interested to be informed of these new SXFI-enabled devices compatible with SXFI READY headphones can sign up here.

Key Features of Creative Zen Hybrid

  • Hybrid ANC (feedforward and feedback mics on each earcup)

  • Ambient Mode

  • Battery life – up to 37 hours (ANC turned off), up to 27 hours (ANC turned on)

  • Up to 5 hours of playback with only 5 minutes of charging

  • 40 mm Neodymium drivers

  • Foldable design, with carry pouch included

  • SXFI READY

Pricing and Availability

Creative Zen Hybrid is priced at £ 99.99 and is available at the Creative online store.

For more information, visit creative.com/ZenHybrid.

Video link to unboxing

Skullcandy Reveals ‘Inequality Crusher’ headphones

Skullcandy, the #1 selling brand in Stereo Headphones and True Wireless Earbuds under $100, announced today its latest collaboration with ongoing partner To Write Love on Her Arms, a nonprofit movement dedicated to presenting hope and finding help for people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury and suicide. The limited-edition Inequality Crusher headphones feature an aesthetic dedicated to celebrating all love, all the time — not just for Pride Month.

The Skullcandy x To Write Love on Her Arms Inequality Crusher Evo wireless headphones will begin selling June 1, exclusively on Skullcandy.co.uk. A portion of proceeds will help To Write Love on Her Arms fund
LGBTQIA+ mental health programs.

“The LGBTQIA+ community faces higher-than-average rates of depression, PTSD and anxiety disorder. This reality, coupled with Skullcandy’s support of equal rights for all, is why this collaboration with To Write Love on Her Arms is so important to us,” said Jessica Klodnicki, Chief Marketing Officer, Skullcandy. “The limited-edition Inequality Crusher celebrates all love, all year. We’re proud to do our part by raising awareness, enabling resources and expressing unconditional love and support for the
LGBTQIA+ community.”

 

Skullcandy Inequality crusher

As part of its year-long “Find Your Frequency” brand campaign, Skullcandy will spotlight “expression” as June’s frequency, celebrated by Alice Longyu Gao, a Chinese born multidisciplinary emerging artist, singer-songwriter, performer and DJ. Gao is a vocal champion in the LGBTQIA+ community and Skullcandy will feature exclusive content and music performances from her featuring Inequality Crusher. The Inequality Crusher headphones are offered in a unique Rainbow Pride colorway which features an eye-catching full-spectrum gradient highlighted by the Progress Flag and an “All Love’’ inscription, representing and supporting the LGBTQIA+ community. This limited-edition colorway celebrates individuality and uniqueness, just like every color in the rainbow. Tech specs tied to each of the Skullcandy x To Write Love on Her Arms Inequality Crusher headphones collab include:

• 40 hours total battery + Rapid Charge
• Crusher adjustable Sensory Bass
• Personal Sound via Skullcandy App
• Call, track and volume control via touch controls
• Built-in Tile Finding Technology
• Flat-folding and collapsible

To Write Love on Her Arms exists to encourage, inform, inspire, and also to invest directly into treatment
and recovery. For more information, please visit twloha.com.

To see the collaboration unfold, visit The Workshop — the home of custom, limited-edition audio products
at Skullcandy headquarters in Park City, Utah. Each Workshop run is designed by artists and partners,
then hand-printed by a small group of craftspeople using state-of-the-art digital technology and a personal
touch.

Skullcandy x To Write Love on Her Arms Inequality Crusher Evo Wireless Headphones – £179.99 MSRP:

 

Edifier revive legendary Japanese audio brand STAX with the new Spirit S3 Planar headphones

Innovative audio specialists Edifier have released the S3, the brand’s first premium Hi-Fi headphone designed for audiophiles and the first product in their new STAX Spirit product line – which brings absolute audio fidelity firmly to the foreground for
Hi-Fi enthusiasts, music lovers, musicians and producers alike. For those who may not be familary, STAX was a legendary Japanese audio brand which Edifier acquired in 2011.

Best known for developing the first ever electrostatic headphones, or “Earspeakers”, the name ‘STAX’ has been at the forefront of every major sonic innovation since 1938. The S3 continues in this tradition, and builds upon the name’s renowned legacy and pursuit of faithfully reproducing a ‘live’ sound.

Inspired by the delicacy of exceedingly more expensive electrostatic technology, the Edifier STAX Spirit S3 achieves a level of audio fidelity previously unheard of at this consumer level ($399). Designed with audio professionals and enthusiasts in mind, the S3 set a high technical threshold using finely tuned Planar technology. Planar combines both the benefits of a Dynamic and Balanced Armature Driver to achieve exceedingly detailed lower frequencies and clearer, more consistent high frequency performance. Utilising a combination of Snapdragon audio technology; three patented planar driver solutions; Hi-Res Audio technology and innovative acoustic-friendly materials, the S3 delivers a truly memorable, lossless and low distortion audio experience.

Spirit S3 Planar headphones

With a total weight of approximately 329g, the S3 are also much lighter than traditional planar headphones and boast a carbon fibre casing to ensure a comfortable fit and extended durability. Adopting the latest in wireless technology, the headphones are equipped with the latest Bluetooth 5.2 which allows for faster, more reliable transmission speeds, and multi-connectivity (with users able to connect two devices simultaneously). And finally, the high-capacity lithium battery holds a mighty 80 hours of battery life – ensuring that you don’t get any unexpected interruptions whilst you’re laid out on your living room sofa or sat upright in your home-recording studio.

Bringing together the ethos and dedication of the legendary audio pioneers STAX with the high performance innovation of Edifier, the S3 and STAX Spirit line achieve an unmatched audio experience for a new generation of sonic lovers.

For a full list of specifications and more information, visit:
https://www.edifier.com/product-s3.html
Features:
● EqualMasstm™ wiring diaphragm
● Uniforce™ magnetic circuit
● Fluxor™ magnetic array
● Fazor™ acoustic module
● Snapdragon audio technology
● Hi-Res lossless high fidelity
● Replaceable ear muffs & replaceable wire design
● Made from sturdy and lightweight carbon fibre material
● aptX™ Voice call NC
● Low latency game mode
● Bluetooth V5.2 Technology (which supports the pairing of two Bluetooth devices) ● Edifier Connect App with multiple EQ options Sensitivity 98dB Bluetooth version V5.2

Urbanista Wins Red Dot And iF Design Awards With The Urbanista Los Angeles, The world’s first solar-powered headphones.headpon

Urbanista the Swedish lifestyle audio brand, is proud to announce that it is the winner of this year’s iF DESIGN AWARD and Red Dot ‘Best of the Best’: Product Design Award. In 2021, the brand launched the world’s first solar- powered wireless
headphones that are set to revolutionise the audio industry. Urbanista Los Angeles has also recently been listed in the consumer products category for Fast Company’s World Changing Ideas 2022 Awards.

Red Dot ‘Best of the Best’ Product Design Award 2022

This year, Urbanista Los Angeles solar- powered headphones have been awarded with the Red Dot ‘Best of the Best’ Product Design Award. Designers, design offices and manufacturers from around 60 countries entered their products in 2022. The Red Dot Jury made of 48 international members has evaluated almost 20,000 products “in search of good design and innovation”. Only those products that won over the experts with their outstanding design quality won a distinction. With
Urbanista Los Angeles, Urbanista sets a new standard in the design industry.

iF DESIGN AWARD 2022

Urbanista Los Angeles Solar – Powered Headphones, won in the product discipline and audio category in the iF DESIGN AWARD 2022. Each year, the world’s oldest independent design organisation, Hannover- based, iF International Forum Design
GmbH, organises the iF DESIGN AWARD. Urbanista Los Angeles won over the 132 member jury, made up of independent
experts from all over the world, with its revolutionary technology that converts light into energy for a nonstop audio experience.

iF design award
Red dot award

The competition was intense: almost 11,000 entries were submitted from 57 countries in hopes of receiving the seal of
quality. Anders Andreen, CEO at Urbanista, comments: “We are honoured that a product like Los Angeles keeps winning
awards. These headphones are an advancement in technology that our industry has been waiting for and we at Urbanista are proud to deliver this groundbreaking technology to the market. Solar- powered technology will be at the forefront of audio technology for the foreseeable future and we are excited to drive this advancement in the audio space.”

See our full hands on review of the Multi Award Winning headphones and see how they work for yourself, this is super cool technology and the future of what is to come.

Video Review

Tech Review – HIFIMAN DEVA Pro headphones

If you are looking for the ultimate audio experience in more ways than one the new Deva Pro headphones from HiFiMan are ones to consider, with more than one connection option you have more to gain over your standard bluetooth or wired headphones and can cover more ground with the audio experience in return. We covered most of what you will find with these in the unboxing which you can see here.

What are these headphones all about then

They have an Acoustically Invisible Stealth Magnet: Unlike the sound waves created by a conventional magnet, the special shape of Stealth Magnets enables the waves to pass through the magnets without generating interference. HIFIMAN’s advanced magnet design is acoustically transparent, dramatically reducing wave diffraction turbulence that degrades the integrity of the sound waves. The reduced distortion yields pure sonic output that is accurate and full-range.

Build and fit

These are by no means small headphones they cover the ears which I actually like and are light enough they are super comfortable on the ears with no clamping effect even using them for hours and the headband is also comfortable too, now with these there no controls to mess about with per say apart from the attachment you get with it (Bluemini R2R) which we will speak about later.These are really only meant for indoor use however you could wear them outside weather permitting as I did out my back garden for example.

Connectivity

With headphones like these they are aimed at a different niche I think, we have tested many headphones before with no bluetooth before and there is still that fidelity argument to be had having just a wired connection now with most phones not having a headphone jack these days you can run into issues if you do not have anything to oversee that which is not hard to find these days, so with that you can connect with the R2R ad on connector you get in the box which works a treat and then you have the options to go wired not once but twice. You have both a dual-sided unbalanced 3.5mm cable and a single-sided 3.5mm balanced cable and also whilst the connector is plugged in you can go USB-C which is what most mobile phones are today but lets no forget you can use these on more than just mobile phones but for the average joe most will likely do that but you can plug into anything like consoles and home systems etc and really get the full end use out of them and it is a joy.

Sound

This is where you can settle the naysayers saying tech reviewers ears differ and one saying that one review says a pair of headphones are good and one says they are bad, these headphones cover all ears here even audiophiles ears with the different connection options you can avail of but then you have the wired vs wireless argument thrown up too which again can be dismissed with the different sound stages with balance depth highs lows and mids and much more they are a pair of headphones you would want to try out in all scenarios and hear the difference with all connections and just enjoy them because they are dam good in all aspects from my testing.

Features

 

  • HIFIMAN Heritage: HIFIMAN’s NEO “supernano” Diaphragm (NsD)- The new NsD is 80% thinner than previous designs, resulting in fast response and detailed image with lush, full range sonics.
  • Bluemini R2R, Small but Mighty- The DEVA-Pro companion Bluetooth/USB module: HIFIMAN Custom-created HIMALAYA R2R Architecture DAC: Non-over Sampling Concept; Low-energy Consumption; High Sampling Rates
  • Easily Switch Between Wireless and Wired: The socket can accommodate both dual-sided unbalanced 3.5mm cable and a single-sided 3.5mm balanced cable (left socket). Bluemini R2R is easy of use by connecting on the left socket. Input Option 1 – Bluetooth A variety of HD Bluetooth protocol (Bluemini connection on the left socket) Input Option 2 –Wired Inbox 3.5mm balanced cable (3.5mm TRRS on the left)

Buy

Video Link