Philips showcases its 2013 Fiedelio audio lineup at CES, we go eyes-on

Posted on 07/01/2013 by Joe Pollicino

Philips isn't showing off anything too groundbreaking at CES in the in the audio department, but it looks to be a solid offering all-around nonetheless. Whether you're eyeing the likes of a new soundbar for your home theater system or portable wireless speaker, the company should have you covered with latest Fidelio offerings -- and of course that's not all. We've got a quick breakdown of all the goods being shown off after the break, along with an eyes-on galleries so you can get up-close look for yourself. As always, you'll find the full press releases below it all for more info.

Continue reading Philips showcases its 2013 Fiedelio audio lineup at CES, we go eyes-on

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Portable Audio/Video, HD

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Mad Catz Tritton Pro+ True 5.1 Surround Sound Headset now shipping for $200

Posted on 02/11/2012 by Mark Hearn

If you spend more money on gaming than you do groceries each month, allow us to give you another reason to stock up on cases of ramen noodles: Mad Catz' Tritton Pro+ True 5.1 Surround Sound Headset is now shipping. Priced at $200, the Tritton Pro+ is compatible with the PS3, Xbox 360 and PCs. Sporting a flexible lightweight design, this triple threat rocks individual subwoofers in each earcup and "true Dolby Digital 5.1 surround" through eight separate drivers (four per earcup). In addition to its potentially deafening output, the Pro+ features an in-line remote and Selectable Voice Monitoring, which gives users the option to hear their own voice through the headset's speakers -- in case you wanna play multiplayer with the other people in your head. Also, you might wanna see a doctor.

Continue reading Mad Catz Tritton Pro+ True 5.1 Surround Sound Headset now shipping for $200

Filed under: Gaming, Peripherals

Mad Catz Tritton Pro+ True 5.1 Surround Sound Headset now shipping for $200 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 01 Nov 2012 20:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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YouView software update adds surround-sound, faster boot times and grouped recording

Posted on 01/11/2012 by Daniel Cooper

Rocking a YouView box? You'll shortly be in line for a software bump that'll give you a few handy tweaks. The update will speed up the device's boot-from-standby time, let you group recordings by series so you can watch 'em box-set style and pump out surround-sound audio if you've got the right gear. It'll also provide a few useful UI tweaks, like offering the option to hide BBC red button prompts, letting you roll live TV backwards by 15 seconds or forwards by 60 seconds. It'll be available on Humax-branded boxes over the next few weeks, followed by the TalkTalk branded units shortly afterward.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Internet, HD

YouView software update adds surround-sound, faster boot times and grouped recording originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 01 Nov 2012 00:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey to receive the Dolby Atmos treatment

Posted on 24/10/2012 by Jamie Rigg

The CinemaCon crowd may not have been keen on 48fps footage of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, but we defy anyone to say they don't want the best sound possible. A select few will get just that, as Dolby and Peter Jackson's own Park Road Post Production have announced the film will be mixed for the speaker-packed Atmos technology. If you're lucky enough to live near one of the select establishments it's installed in, we doubt you'll be grumbling about the immersive audio, even if the frame rate makes those orcs look unsettlingly real.

Update: That link of "select establishments" is somewhat out of date and, although the official list of locations you'll be able to see The Hobbit in Atmos has yet to be released, Dolby says there should be between 80 and 100 screens capable of delivering the over-the-top audio experience by the film's debut.

Continue reading The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey to receive the Dolby Atmos treatment

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey to receive the Dolby Atmos treatment originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Oct 2012 14:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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JVC intros 55-inch BlackSapphire LCD TV with 45W virtual surround sound, SlingPlayer

Posted on 18/10/2012 by Jon Fingas

Every TV maker trying to avoid total commoditization has a special trick to keep its designs unique and worth a higher price. For JVC, that trick is sound. It's launching the BlackSapphire line of LCD-based 3D TVs with the 55-inch, edge LED-lit JLE55SP4400, whose signature is an unusually powerful built-in audio system: the 45W system and 3D processing supposedly produces surround sound without having to line the living room with extra speakers. Odds are that the set won't provide much competition for dedicated speakers, although JVC is promising more integration beyond this with rare built-in SlingPlayer TV streaming, just in case there's a Slingbox in another part of the home. The all-in strategy could make the inaugural BlackSapphire more of a bargain than it looks: that $1,300 you'll pay when the screen ships this month might be all you need to start watching.

Continue reading JVC intros 55-inch BlackSapphire LCD TV with 45W virtual surround sound, SlingPlayer

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD

JVC intros 55-inch BlackSapphire LCD TV with 45W virtual surround sound, SlingPlayer originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 18 Oct 2012 12:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Astro pulls curtain on 2013 edition of $250 A40 gaming headset, MixAmp Pro package (video)

Posted on 17/10/2012 by Steve Dent

Astro's just refreshed its high-end wired A40 headset and matching MixAmp Pro, a duo that mash together gaming talents with audiophile chops. The 2013 edition of the headset adds an updated quick disconnect system and re-tuned drivers for better bass response and less distortion, with Astro claiming that they're "the most accurate Astro headsets ever." Returning features include a removable, swappable mic, Dolby Digital 7.1 surround sound, customizable speaker tags and multi-system compatibility. The revised MixAmp Pro now allows game sound and incoming or outgoing voice chat to be livestreamed with a single cable, while also bringing new custom audio profiles, a smaller size and an optical port. You'll still have game-to-voice balance controls, Dolby 5.1 and 7.1 surround and a dedicated voice channel with the dedicated mixer/preamp, to boot. The pair are sold together for the same $250 price we saw for the original way back in 2007 -- check the PR and video after the jump to see where to grab them.

Continue reading Astro pulls curtain on 2013 edition of $250 A40 gaming headset, MixAmp Pro package (video)

Filed under: Gaming, Portable Audio/Video, Wearables

Astro pulls curtain on 2013 edition of $250 A40 gaming headset, MixAmp Pro package (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 17 Oct 2012 05:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Klipsch refreshes Quintet home theater system

Posted on 24/08/2012 by James Trew

Klipsch refreshes Quintet home theater system

We don't have too many bad words to say about Klipsch, so when we heard it was refreshing its Quintet home theater system, we listened up. The eponymous-ish five speaker system has been a mainstay of the Klipsch line since 1998, and this is the fifth (too many 5s?) iteration. The new goodies? This time 'round each speaker has a 90 degree by 90 degree "Tractrix" horn for expanded listening area and a new Linear Travel Suspension aimed at reducing distortion and improving dynamics -- new woofers have also been added. If the refresh sounds good, but you're wondering if it'll match your front room, you've only got a choice of a satin, brushed black finish. Already boxed your old system up? Then get ready to lay down $550 when it reaches your local store next month.

Update: As pointed out by some people, despite mentioning in the PR, this is not strictly a 5.1 system

Continue reading Klipsch refreshes Quintet home theater system

Filed under: Home Entertainment

Klipsch refreshes Quintet home theater system originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 24 Aug 2012 08:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Astro Gaming’s firmware update v1.1 for A50 wireless headset fixes ‘audio bug,’ enhances functionality

Posted on 22/08/2012 by Joe Pollicino

We generally enjoyed the virtual surround sound prowess of Astro Gaming's A50 wireless headset when we reviewed it back in July, but you'll recall it had one especially glaring issue: the audio would frequently cut out. At the time, the company informed us that a fix was on the way via a firmware update, and now it's recently arrived with a few other goodies. To refresh your memory, the A50 headset relies on a MixAmp TXD wireless transmitter, so you'll actually be dealing with a duo of updates to get your system on the straight and narrow: A50 Headset Firmware v1.1 (Build 2856) and A50 MixAmp Tx Firmware v1.1 (Build 2855).

On the headset side, notable changes include "various audio and volume leveling tweaks," a decrease in background noise and enhancements to the noise-gate for voice chat across platforms. Better yet, volume and game / voice chat balance levels will now stay as you left them upon powering it down. The Tx itself haa been deemed the culprit behind the audio problem, as Astro notes that it's "fixed [the] occasional optical audio drop" -- where "occasional" is putting it nicely. Beyond that, both units should now have better success pairing up, and further compatibility with KleerNet-enabled wireless devices.

We tried out the firmware refreshes with a few sessions of MW3 and can happily report that the audio issues do seem to be resolved. Now, installing the update is simple, if a bit tedious. First we had to hook up the headset via USB into the TXD, which itself connects your computer via USB as well. From there, we downloaded and ran Astro's Device Manager for OS X and 32 bit Windows (available at the source below), prompting us to install the updates. Lastly, we re-paired the two and were back to our virtual fragging sans the audio hiccups -- hopefully you'll have the same results. Need all the details? Hit up the source link below.

Filed under: Gaming, Wearables

Astro Gaming's firmware update v1.1 for A50 wireless headset fixes 'audio bug,' enhances functionality originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Aug 2012 19:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tritton Warhead 7.1 two-way headset for Xbox 360 now shipping

Posted on 22/08/2012 by Joseph Volpe

Companies are no strangers to superlatives where new kit is concerned and Mad Catz is definitely no exception. With the release of its newest flagship, the Tritton Warhead 7.1, the outfit's claiming a novelty in the Xbox 360 space, labeling these cans as the "first... to deliver two-way communication" without the need for wires or controller adapters. Made specifically for Microsoft's green X gaming platform, the pair of 50mm drivers pump out Dolby 7.1 virtual surround sound over a 5.8GHz channel for up to 33ft of interference-free smack talk. The headset also offers gamers the ability to monitor their in-ear voice levels (SVM), control the volume of other players, as well as select EQ presets for a variety of media playback. And just so you never have to press pause to keep the friendly banter (read: cusses) flowing, the company's bundled in a dock and pair of of Li-ion batteries for "hot-swappable" recharging. These over-ears are available now for a cool $299 at BestBuy and the company's own site, so if you take your first-person action seriously, prepare to part with a few Benjamins. Official presser after the break.

Continue reading Tritton Warhead 7.1 two-way headset for Xbox 360 now shipping

Filed under: Gaming, Peripherals

Tritton Warhead 7.1 two-way headset for Xbox 360 now shipping originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Aug 2012 05:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Toshiba tries its hand at home theater audio with the SBX4250 Sound Bar

Posted on 16/08/2012 by Alexis Santos

Toshiba has long been acquainted with the visual facets of home theater setups, and now the firm is entering the audio side of the equation with the SBX4250 -- the first in a line-up of sound bar speaker systems. Featuring SRS TruSurround HD and accompanied by a wireless subwoofer, the strip packs two tweeters and four speakers in a 3.6-inch tall, 2.2-inch deep and roughly three-foot long form factor. In addition to the included HDMI and optical audio inputs, the box boasts Bluetooth connectivity for streaming audio from PCs, tablets, smartphones and other compatible devices. For those willing to part with $329.99, the 300-watt rig can already be snapped up online and at select brick-and-mortar establishments. Check out the glamour shots and the full press release below.

Gallery: Toshiba SBX4250 Sound Bar