Upgraded audio, extended battery life and familiar design

Upgraded audio, extended battery life and familiar design

When Beats introduced the Solo 3 in 2016, the headline feature was the inclusion of Apple’s W1 audio chip. This delivered seamless pairing with Apple devices, which made life much easier for iPhone, Mac and iPad owners. Besides the noise-canceling Solo Pro in 2019, Beats hadn’t updated the Solo line in nearly eight years, and … Read more

JBL Quantum 910X review: great gaming audio, but some rough edges

JBL Quantum 910X review: great gaming audio, but some rough edges

One-minute review A high-end wireless gaming headset designed for Xbox, the JBL Quantum 910X falls just short of earning a place among the best Xbox Series X headsets. That’s not to say that it isn’t still a formidable option, however, as it offers an excellent level of comfort that’s backed up by rich audio; it’s … Read more

Best audio interface for Mac: 10 options for musicians

Best audio interface for Mac: 10 options for musicians

An audio interface serves as a bridge between your Mac and external audio sources like microphones and musical instruments. The hardware is essential for great sound reproduction, whether you’re a professional producer or a beginner. So finding the best audio interface for your Mac can significantly enhance your recording and mixing experience. In this guide, … Read more

Campfire Audio Fathom earbuds could please audiophiles

Campfire Audio Fathom earbuds could please audiophiles

Campfire Audio’s new Fathom earbuds cost an eye-watering $1,049. What’s perhaps even more surprising is that they’re wired earbuds. Well, there must be some special technology in those, right? Right. And even though they have a cable, of course you can use them with your Mac or another device with an audio jack. This post … Read more

Campfire Audio unveils Fathom wired earbuds: 6 balanced armature drivers, 4-figure price tag

Campfire Audio unveils Fathom wired earbuds: 6 balanced armature drivers, 4-figure price tag

Campfire Audio makes some of the best wired headphones in the business (I still can’t decide whether I ultimately prefer the Campfire Audio Solaris Stellar Horizon or the Trifecta; each shines sonically for very different reasons). However, the company’s newest Fathom features a very different driver configuration again, to promise a “detailed presentation with just … Read more

OpenAI’s new voice synthesizer can copy your voice from just 15 seconds of audio

OpenAI’s new voice synthesizer can copy your voice from just 15 seconds of audio

OpenAI has been rapidly developing its ChatGPT generative AI chatbot and Sora AI video creator over the last year, and it’s now got a new artificial intelligence tool to show off: Voice Generation, which can create synthetic voices from just 15 seconds of audio. In a blog post (via The Verge), OpenAI says it’s been … Read more

Qualcomm’s new audio chips make affordable earphones sound better

Qualcomm’s new audio chips make affordable earphones sound better

Qualcomm has announced two new audio chips for wireless earphones and headphones: S3 Gen 3 and S5 Gen 3. Both these audio chips claim to make more affordable wireless earphones sound better through advanced connectivity features and AI-powered audio technologies. Qualcomm S3 Gen 3 and S5 audio chips bring Bluetooth 5.4 LE and Auracast support … Read more

Getting into hi-res audio? This is the hi-res player and headphones I recommend

Getting into hi-res audio? This is the hi-res player and headphones I recommend

Hi-res audio can be a cruel mistress. You’d be forgiven for thinking two five-star products joined in union will surely bring high fidelity sound to your ears, but, as anyone who’s connected a set of high-impedance IEMs to a hi-res DAP (even if it’s one of the best portable audio players hooked up to some … Read more

The pocket-sized Boss Katana:Go headphone amp doubles as an audio interface

The pocket-sized Boss Katana:Go headphone amp doubles as an audio interface

There are plenty of that plug directly into instruments like electric guitars and basses, but Boss just kicked things up a notch. The company has announced the and it’s a doozy, with a combination of features I’ve never seen together in one little box. Just like rival products, this thing plugs into the input jack … Read more

The neuroscientist formerly known as Prince’s audio engineer

The neuroscientist formerly known as Prince’s audio engineer

Musician Prince on stage in Detroit, Michigan, during his 1984 Purple Rain tour.Credit: Ross Marino/Getty Working scientist profiles This article is part of an occasional Nature series in which we profile scientists with unusual career histories or outside interests. In 1983, Susan Rogers got a call that would change her life. She was working as … Read more