Marshall’s new ANC earphones are straight-up designed for absolute audiophiles

The renowned amp and audio gear-making company unveiled two new TWS models – the Marshall Minor III and Marshall Motif A.N.C. sporting a uniquely recognizable aesthetic that all audiophiles will absolutely love!

Both models (shown below) come in the unmistakable black finish, and come in a faux-leather finish case that’s complete with Marshall’s branding. The cases (which really looks like a mini amplifier at this point) open up to reveal the earphones inside, which are branded with the Marshall monogram too. Another pretty neat design detail is the diamond knurled patterns on the stems of both the earphones, reminiscent of the texture seen on high-end audio cables and jacks. The Minor III earbuds even come with a gold-tipped base, tying in with the gold-plating found on premium audio jacks.

Both earphones offer a commendable 20-25 hours of playback (along with the charging case), and sport intuitive touch controls.

The Minor III is Marshall’s most entry-level TWS earphone, at just $129. It features an AirPod-inspired open-fit design, is intuitive to use, and is easy to set up.

The Motif A.N.C. on the other hand is Marshall’s flagship TWS offering. Priced at $199, it features a sealed-fit design (thanks to silicone ear-tips) and sports active noise cancellation (which can be toggled using the button on the charging case). Being the higher-end of the two earphones, the Motif A.N.C. even comes with support for Marshall’s own Bluetooth-enabled smartphone app, which lets you access a bunch of other features, including a customizable EQ.

The Minor III will be available for $129 starting today (September 15th), while the Motif A.N.C. will be available for pre-orders at $199, with shipping starting September 30th.

Designer: Marshall

Velodyne vQuiet active noise-canceling headphones (ears-on)

Velodyne vQuiet active noisecanceling headphones earson

Velodyne is a name closely associated with subwoofers, but the company also knocks-out portable audio gear, too. The vQuiet, as you may have guessed, is Velo's first pair of active noise canceling headphones -- hopefully ensuring that your jams are more listenable on the rowdy floor of a busy trade show. In our very short time with the gear, we found that Bob Dylan's quiet-voiced bootlegs were a little more audible with the head wear activated than not. Of course, we'd rather spend a little more time with them before making a final judgment, but until then, the vQuiet will arrive more generally in October for $299 -- offering you a choice between them and the ever-present Bose sets that you see during those long-haul flights.

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Parrot Zik by Starck review: Is $400 worth it for the fanciest, techiest headphones around?

Parrot Zik by Starck review: Is $400 worth it for the fanciest, techiest headphones around?

You do know that Parrot makes more than just the AR.Drone, right? It was at CES earlier this year that we first caught a glimpse of -- and subsequently began geeking out about -- the Parrot Zik by Starck. For those unfamiliar, these headphones are jam-packed with enough technologies to make even the geekiest audio lovers smitten. Priced at about $400, they feature Near Field Communication (NFC), Bluetooth connectivity, on-board capacitive touch-control, active noise cancellation, head detection, a jawbone sensor for speech and Parrot's audio-enhancing DSP app for iOS and Android -- not to mention a striking design by the renowned Philippe Starck.

This isn't the first time Parrot and Mr. Starck have worked together, but this does mark their debut in the portable audio market (as opposed to home-based speaker systems). In the case of this review, not one, but two Engadget editors spent some time testing the product. So, do they impress? More importantly, are they worth the $400 asking price? You know the drill: meet us after the break where we'll lay it all out.

Continue reading Parrot Zik by Starck review: Is $400 worth it for the fanciest, techiest headphones around?

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Parrot Zik by Starck review: Is $400 worth it for the fanciest, techiest headphones around? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Aug 2012 14:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Parrot Zik launching in August for $399, free app included for iOS and Android

Parrot Zik launching globally in July with iOS app, Android to follow in August

Remember those cool-looking Parrot Zik wireless headphones we saw back at CES? Well, now we have a date and a price for you Philippe Starck fans out there. Announced at the Hong Kong launch event earlier today, these NFC-enabled, active noise cancelling Bluetooth cans will be available globally in August, with the US getting a price tag of $399 before tax (and for those who care, you'll be able to nab one in Hong Kong for HK$3,399 or US$440). During our brief ears-on, we certainly enjoyed the Zik's great audio quality, noise isolation and the intuitiveness of its swipe gesture input. While the battery is swappable, note that this expensive package only comes with one cell (accessible under the magnetic cover on the left can) that typically lasts for around five hours, so road warriors will need to chip in about $30 for a spare one. Alternatively, product manager Theodore Sean (whom we had the pleasure to interview at CES) pointed out a unique and handy feature that sort of bypasses this problem: you can still use the Zik as a pair of passive headphones using the included 3.5mm audio cable, but without any battery juice left, you obviously won't be able to enjoy the noise cancellation function (on a plane, for instance) or even make phone calls.

Continue reading Parrot Zik launching in August for $399, free app included for iOS and Android

Parrot Zik launching in August for $399, free app included for iOS and Android originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 05 Jul 2012 08:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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