Audio

While headphones do provide an immersive listening experience, music is made to be heard through a good set of speakers in a room. Movengine's AirCore OWH headphones are made to simulate that experience, and I recently got to give the things a try.

Imagine being able to listen to music or other audio that no one else can hear, without having to wear headphones. Doing so is now possible via so-called "audible enclaves," which already exist in functional prototype form.

There are some gadgets we don't realize we need until we see them, and this mini magnetic Bluetooth speaker – which is also a charger, phone stand and personal light show – is one of them. At just three ounces, it's built for portability and convenience.

If you're an audiophile looking for an inexpensive new fix, this one's for you. Hidizs has packed a tiny but capable DAC into a USB-C cable that connects to IEMs, so you can enjoy greater detail in lossless audio from your phone or laptop on the go.

While there are already AI systems that generate sound effects to match silent images of city streets, an experimental new technology does just the opposite. It generates images that match audio recordings of streets, with uncanny accuracy.

Last year, xMEMS Labs embarked on a mission to replace legacy coil-based speakers in wireless ANC buds with silicon-based solid-state micro-speakers. Now the company has a new full-range flavor for open-fit earphones.

Microsoft Research Asia has revealed an AI model that can generate frighteningly realistic deepfake videos from a single still image and an audio track. How will we be able to trust what we see and hear online from here on in?

Many of the gadgets we use every day have a limited shelf life, and often end up as e-waste before their time. The Dutch company that launched a repairable, upgradeable, sustainable smartphone has now taken the challenge to true wireless earphones.

If OpenAI's Sora heralds the end of videography, ElevenLabs has just fired a broadside over the foley and sounds effects departments, with another groundbreaking new AI that takes silent video and generates audio to match, taking text guidance.

DJI has announced an update to its clip-on wireless microphone system launched in April 2022. The Mic 2 now comes with internal 32-bit float recording, noise cancellation and a longer battery life.

Despite the meteoric rise of digital music streaming, many older listeners may still have CD collections taking up living space. Yamaha has released a new player that can hold five discs at once, and users can even change CDs while one is playing.

There's a good chance that the headphone jack of your laptop or PC doesn't offer stellar plugged-in audio quality. Chinese hi-fi brand Fiio is aiming to offer a significant quality boost with a mechanical keyboard rocking its own DAC/headphone amp.