-
Content Count
16 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Community Reputation
0 NeutralAbout Beats Mall
-
Rank
Junior Member
-
The AKG Y50 are low-cost portable headphones, offering a cheaper alternative to the Beats Solo 2. They’re on-ear, bold in design and have a slightly bassy sound that puts that extra bit of energy into your music. However, in usual AKG fashion, they keep enough of an eye on balance to keep audio obsessives happy. A bassy mess they are not. Available for as little as £49, but generally seen around the £69 mark, the AKG Y50 are affordable wonders we wouldn’t hesitate to recommend to anyone. It’s not often we see budget headphones get this much this right. http://www.enbetas.com/
-
The RS 180 features 2.4-GHz Kleer carrier frequency wireless technology, which is a lossless, "CD quality," 16-bit/44.1-kHz resolution system. The system worked flawlessly for the most part, but the sound occasionally cut out when I walked across the room and sat in front of my computer. Other than that, I experienced no other interruptions anywhere else in the room or my apartment. http://www.enbetas.com/
-
The Sennheiser HD 202 II over-ear headphones have been on sale since 2009, but they continue to be a staple for music fans who don't want to spend over $400 on a flashy high-end pair. Sennheiser lists the retail price at $34.95, but you can get them at Amazon for just $22.25. Our UK readers will have to wait for their own Amazon release, but the UK Sennheiser site has them available now for £36.99. Aussies can pick them up at JBHifi for AU$63. http://www.enbetas.com/
-
The Marshall Major 50 headphones feature a sturdy build and authentic Marshall details; they fold up neatly and store in a cloth bag; has integrated mic and three button remote; sound is exciting and suits rock music but are also capable of playing other genres. http://www.enbetas.com/
-
The PSB M4U 1 offers excellent, clean, and accurate sound. The headphones fit comfortably and come with both a "plain" cable and one that has an integrated one-button remote and microphone for making cell-phone calls. A nice carrying case and an extra set of user-replaceable ear pads are also included. http://www.enbetas.com/
-
The Amazon Echo is an attractively designed speaker and its voice-control system, anchored by soothing and smooth-sounding "Alexa," works well within its current limited scope. The speaker's Wi-Fi setup is relatively straightforward and you can also directly connect to the speaker via Bluetooth. The speaker plays loud and Alexa's voice sounds clear. http://www.enbetas.com/
-
Singapore-based X-mini is known for great compact capsule speakers such as the Kai 2, so I was excited to learn it's branched out with the Clear, a portable Bluetooth speaker. Much like the Bose SoundLink III or the Logitech UE Boom, it's meant to play music from your smartphone or tablet. It boasts a 10-hour battery life and the ability to charge your device while it plays music. Priced at $199 in the US, AU$299 and €199 (around £160) in Europe, the Clear ships to the US, Australia and the UK and is available via the company's website. The Clear measures 22 by 9 by 11cm (8.6 by 3.5 by 4.4 inches) and weighs 920g (32 ounces). It doesn't feel as heavy as it sounds -- it's pretty portable. The 20W, 2.1 system packs two 40mm ceramic drivers, similar to those found in the company's capsule speakers, and a 70mm active subwoofer.
-
A couple of years ago, the JBL Charge stood out among its portable Bluetooth peers for offering strong sound and significantly better battery life in a compact, durable package that included speakerphone capabilities. Its sequel, the Charge 2 ($130, £99, not available in Australia), is in some ways a better speaker, particularly in the design department, but in the meantime a lot more Bluetooth speakers have hit the market. Like its predecessor, the Charge 2 has the added benefit of being able to double as an external battery charger for your portable devices (thus the name "Charge"). And while it plays loud and serves up a good helping of bass, its sound isn't quite what I'd hope it would be. It's good, just not great for this type of speaker. http://www.enbetas.com/
-
The Sol Republic Punk's claim to fame is that it plays louder than your typical tiny wireless Bluetooth speaker, with 6 watts of power. It's also water- and shock-resistant and offers 8 hours of battery life, with a 60-foot (18m) wireless range, around double the usual range for Bluetooth devices. Those are good numbers and the Punk is a very good micro speaker, around half the size of the company's earlier Deck Bluetooth speaker, with dimensions of 5.2 by 5.1 by 2.3 inches (132 by 130 by 58mm) and a weight of around 8 ounces (227 grams). It comes in a few different color options for $70 or £63. We've seen it discounted in the US to $50, and that's the only issue: it's a great buy at the cheaper price, but merely a good buy at the more expensive one. http://www.enbetas.com/
-
Harman Kardon's Esquire Mini is one of those products you'd love to receive as a gift, but you might hesitate to acquire on your own for $150 (£124.95 UK, $229 AU). It's part Bluetooth speaker, part high-quality portable speakerphone and part external battery charger. It's also one slick-looking product, with a slim unibody design (238 grams or 8.1 ounces) and retractable kickstand. http://www.enbetas.com/
-
The K551 house a 50mm (that’s, like…really big) driver for each ear. Frequency response exceeds the limits of human hearing at a rated 12 Hz – 28 kHz. Maximum input power is listed at 200mW, but AKG doesn’t mention the headphones’ impedance — an interesting omisson, since many of its headphones like to gobble up power and aren’t necessarily the best choice for portable media players The terms “studio-grade” and “studio-quality” are tossed around with reckless abandon by scores of headphone makers these days. Unfortunately, based on our experience, those terms rarely apply to the products upon which they are stamped. But if there is one company that has earned the rights to the studio moniker, it would be AKG. The company’s K240 open-backed headphones are a staple monitor in recording studios everywhere (A/V Editor Caleb Denison won’t darken a studio’s door without a set) but now AKG is rolling out a more consumer-oriented headphone that should play nicely outside the studio. http://www.enbetas.com/
-
Until last year, Sennheiser tended to make pretty bland-looking headphones. However, that all changed with the stylish Sennheiser Momentum set.The Sennheiser Momentum On Ear are, as you might guess, the on-ear alternatives to the over-ear Momentums. And they’re cheaper too at £170. Just like their bigger brothers, they have shot straight up to become one of the best sets in their class. http://www.enbetas.com/
-
Bose AE2i Next to Bose’s other headphones, the noise-cancelling QC3 and Quietcomfort 15, the Bose AE2i have a marginally better-balanced sound signature. The skew towards warmth is less pronounced, giving a less silky smooth but truer texture. Bass is full, if not hugely punchy or particularly deep. Compared to style rivals, their tonal balance is impressive – especially given Bose is not generally highly regarded by purist audiophiles. For closed headphones, their sound stage is wide too. Some closed-back headphones can sound disappointingly narrow, but the Bose AE2i do not. We have a feeling Bose’s psychoacoustic research may have had a hand in this – it involves manipulating the signal to alter the way you perceive sound, comparable in some respects to the digital signal processing modes you’ll see in many of today’s phones, used to make “fake” surround sound. http://www.enbetas.com/
-
The Samsung WAM750, or M7 for short, is a wireless speaker that streams music from a variety of sources but its key feature is its multiroom capability. With M7s dotted around the house, you can send music to different rooms using a smartphone or tablet running Samsung’s Multiroom app. The M7 is one of two speakers in the range, alongside the £259 WAM550 (M5). With these speakers, Samsung is taking on the might of Sonos, universally considered the benchmark for intuitive multiroom music streaming. But it’s not the only company jumping on the multiroom bandwagon – Panasonic recently announced a multiroom system based around Qualcomm’s AllPlay media platform, while LG unveiled the NP8740 speaker at CES. It’s a potentially lucrative move, given the success of Sonos and the clamour for multiroom music in general, but a brave one too – Sonos has a 10-year head start and its Play:3 and Play:5 are probably the best multiroom streaming solutions on the market. So with that in mind, let’s find out how Samsung’s effort fares…The Samsung WAM750, or M7 for short, is a wireless speaker that streams music from a variety of sources but its key feature is its multiroom capability. With M7s dotted around the house, you can send music to different rooms using a smartphone or tablet running Samsung’s Multiroom app. The M7 is one of two speakers in the range, alongside the £259 WAM550 (M5). With these speakers, Samsung is taking on the might of Sonos, universally considered the benchmark for intuitive multiroom music streaming. But it’s not the only company jumping on the multiroom bandwagon – Panasonic recently announced a multiroom system based around Qualcomm’s AllPlay media platform, while LG unveiled the NP8740 speaker at CES. It’s a potentially lucrative move, given the success of Sonos and the clamour for multiroom music in general, but a brave one too – Sonos has a 10-year head start and its Play:3 and Play:5 are probably the best multiroom streaming solutions on the market. So with that in mind, let’s find out how Samsung’s effort fares… http://www.enbetas.com/
-
If you are a bit too old to pull off the Beats by Dr Dre. Solo HD headphones and their youthful looks, you need something like the Beats Executive. They’re headphones that take many of the Beats by Dr. Dre traits, but pack them into a shell designed to appeal to a slightly older audience. http://www.enbetas.com/