Audio, Sound & Speakers News - Page 1

Logitech G's latest isn't hardware but new software aimed at PC gamers and creators. MIXLINE is described as an easy-to-use audio mixing solution, and best of all, it's free. Available now for Windows 10 and 11 users, it's designed to make dealing with more than one audio source a breeze.

"If you have more than one audio source while streaming, gaming, or even just wearing your headphones, then MIXLINE is for you," said Daniel Bowen, Senior Global Product Manager for MIXLINE.

An audio source can be Spotify, Google Chrome, Counter-Strike, Discord, etc. With MIXLINE, audio inputs are on the left side of the UI, and outputs are on the right side. This gives you direct control over routing and choosing where each signal goes. For creators with speakers, headsets, and output streams, it's a great tool to keep all their audio on track.

Dyson is primarily known for creating high-quality cyclone vacuum cleaners, space-age fans, and hair dryers - but the company's latest product is a first for the company as it won't suck or blow. Jokes aside, the new $499 USD Dyson OnTrac headphones represent the company's first-ever audio-only device, noise-canceling headphones sporting a funky and unique design.

This isn't the company's first foray into audio. During the height of the global pandemic, Dyson announced a strange-looking mask, air filter, and headphone head that looked like leftovers from The Dark Knight Rises set. Dyson OnTrac is purely an audio device with a high-fidelity frequency response of 6Hz to 21kHz and noise-canceling that can reduce background noise by up to 40dB.

Dyson is touting "best in class noise-cancellation" for the OnTrac headphones, where the noise is canceled 384,000 times per second - with the headphones still delivering up to 55 hours of battery life with ANC turned on.

Soft velour-covered ear pads and cushions are usually a sign that you're dealing with high-end headphones, which is precisely what you're getting with the new beyerdynamic MMX 300 PRO gaming headset. It features the same studio-grade, 45mm high-performance STELLAR.45 driver found in the company's pro audio headphones, tuned here in a design custom-made for gaming.

According to the company, the closed-back design and high-end sound quality are perfect for those "long, focused gaming sessions." They focus on delivering powerful bass, clear mids, and crisp and detailed high frequencies. The headphone frequency response is impressive, listed as 5 - 40,000 Hz. More than double the range most headset drivers offer.

Hopefully, we'll go hands-on (or ears-on) with these as soon as they sound impressive. beyerdynamic's MMX 300 series is its premium gaming headset, and the PRO is its most impressive version to date.

A new report from an industry analyst and renowned Apple insider Ming-Chi Kuo states Apple is preparing to add infrared cameras to its AirPods line-up.

Kuo's report cites a supply chain survey that points to Apple using these upgraded AirPods with Vision Pro goggles will enable a more lifelike experience in spatial computing environments (Apple's virtual/augmented reality). Kuo wrote the new AirPods would feature infrared sensors similar to those present on current-gen iPhones, which are used for the facial recognition feature, FaceID.

In addition to improving the Vision Pro experience, the next-gen AirPods could enable in-air hand gestures. A February report from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman stated that Apple began an investigation into cameras being implemented into AirPods under the codename B798 and that investigation started in 2023. A team was tasked with fitting low-resolution camera sensors into earbuds about the size of today's AirPods.

SteelSeries announcing a new gaming headset is not uncommon, nor is it strange for them to impress when it comes to audio quality and comfort - check out the SteelSeries Arctis Nova 4X we recently reviewed. This week, SteelSeries has revealed a new entry in the Arctis Nova line-up, the SteelSeries Arctis Nova 5.

Designed for PC, Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo Switch, the Arctis Nova 5 supports both low-latency 2.4GHz wireless and Bluetooth technologies, Neodymium Magnetic Drivers for a high-end audio experience, and a new ClearCast 2.X Mic with a new high-bandwidth chipset for 32KHz 16-bit audio for in-game chat and communication.

The new SteelSeries Arctis Nova 5 also offers 60 hours of wireless gaming with fast USB-C charging that delivers 6 hours after only 15 minutes. This is all great stuff, but the most exciting part is the new Nova 5 Companion App for smartphones or any compatible iOS or Android device.

Siri might not be the best digital assistant in the world, but it's definitely work knowing that you can at least use it. Siri is available on iPhones, iPads, Macs, Apple Watches, and HomePods and it's also available on a few third-party smart home devices as well. Now, it's also available on a select number of Denon smart speakers. Not that you likely know that, after the audio company apparently launched the feature months ago and didn't tell anyone.

Seemingly ashamed of the partnership that brings Apple's ailing digital assistant to its speakers, Denon started to roll the new feature out back in December, HoemKit News reports. Getting access to Siri is achieved by updating the speaker's software via the HEOS app. Once updated, enabling Siri on the speaker is pretty simple we're told, but notably, you'll need to have a Siri-enabled speaker to hand as well. Why? That's the interesting part.

As HomeKit News notes, these speakers don't actually have Siri themselves but rather act as outputs for Siri on other devices. In other words, you'll need a HomePod or HomePod mini on which Siri will handle the heavy lifting before essentially throwing its voice to your Denon speaker - as if it were some kind of ventriloquist speaker.

Hot on the heels of reports that some people's iPhones are currently not correctly making sound when an alarm goes off, a new report suggests that another Apple device is also having problems with something as simple as the time of day. This time it's the HomePod and HomePod mini, with the Siri digital assistant reportedly having problems with a simple request that does nothing more than ask the time.

According to a MacRumors report asking Siri what time it is can lead to the assistant being unable to answer and instead it chooses to direct users to an iPhone. Such things often happen when something needs to be displayed on-screen, like a website, but Siri should of course be more than capable of telling what the current time is.

While this issue appears to be impacting the HomePod smart speakers, the MacRumors report notes that asking the same question of Siri on an iPhone, iPad, or Mac appears to work just fine and the digital assistant offers the time as requested. With that in mind, it's unclear what is confusing Siri on the HomePod and HomePod mini.

Apple has today announced that it intends to bring its smart speakers to two new countries starting next month, with buyers able to choose from multiple colors when they place their order.

Apple says that the HomePod and HomePod mini will be released to the public across Malaysia and Thailand starting on May 10, the first time that these smart speakers have been made available in those countries.

Both of the HomePods are essentially functionally the same although there are some slight changes. HomePods can be used to wirelessly stream audio from Apple Music and select other streaming services, while AirPlay can also be used to take audio from Macs, iPhones, iPads, and other devices and play it with minimal fuss.

There have been rumors upon rumors of a new HomePod being in the works that will include a display for the very first time. We've seen images of what that could look like and we've even heard that Apple is reportedly testing a variety of different options. Now, a new leak may have given us another indication that such a HomePod really is on the way.

The latest information comes via a post on the X social network which appears to show a display mounting for a HomePod that is similar to the one that we have on the current HomePod, but notably different. There are no volume button markings for example, and it's claimed that is because the whole display will be an LCD touchscreen similar to that of an iPad.

The image shared on X shows a large curved glass screen that would cover the entire surface of a HomePod and matches a previously leaked HomePod prototype, 9to5Mac notes.

Turtle Beach is refreshing its popular wireless gaming headset line-up for 2024, with three newly redesigned models coming launching in May: the Turtle Beach Stealth 600 Wireless Gaming Headset, the Turtle Beach Stealth 500 Wireless Gaming Headset, and the high-end Turtle Beach Atlas Air Wireless Open Back PC Gaming Headset.

The new Stealth 600 replaces the existing model at the popular $99.99 USD price point and sports a funky, modern look. It has low-latency 2.4GHz wireless and Bluetooth 5.2 and an impressive 80-hour battery with quick charge capabilities. Sound-wise, it features Turtle Beach's 50mm Nanoclear drivers with a microphone now powered by AI noise reduction technology.

The new Turtle Beach Stealth 500 slots into the more affordable $79.99 USD pricing bracket, and like the Stealth 600, it has low-latency 2.4GHz wireless and Bluetooth 5.2 to support gaming on PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch, and mobile devices. Audio-wise, it features smaller 40mm drivers but still supports surround sound - however, the battery life is cut in half to up to 40 hours.