Pioneer is a brand intrinsically linked to hi-fi and car audio systems, with developments in the portable audio product range. Their new product, the Pioneer Rayz Plus smart noise canceling earbuds marks an interesting proposition for Apple users. This is one of the few Lightning cabled audio devices which have a smart feature-set that differentiates from its peers. Here are our first impressions of the Rayz Plus.


Type - Smart Noise Canceling Wired Earbuds
Price - USD 59.99 / SGD 209

Read - Noise Canceling Immersion - A 3-Part Series

Target Users
Strictly iPhone / iPad users who want noise canceling earbuds with nifty smart features.

What's the Deal on These?

1. Smart Noise Canceling
The Pioneer Rayz Plus is marketed to adapt noise canceling to your ears through calibration via the smart button. It's interesting as others either have a on/off or different tiers of noise canceling levels but this is just a single button that adapts based on your environmental noise. If you choose to customize the smart button, you can fiddle with this by installing the Rayz app on App Store.  

2. Lightning Earphones
As a Lightning earphone, the plug has another purpose other than audio transmission from your iPhone / iPad. Other noise canceling earphones always have a battery pack hidden somewhere for purposes of powering the noise canceling feature. The Rayz Plus does not need this as the power is drawn directly from your iOS device. 

3. Smart Sensing
There's a few areas to cover here - 
One is when the buds are in your ears, the music plays. Once you lift them out, it autostops. Simple and practical. 
Second is when you make a call and you talk. Once you stop talking, the mic will auto mute.
Interestingly, there's a plethora of other options available when you install the Rayz app. We've just scratched the surface.

4. Talk and Charge 
The Rayz Plus offers an added feature over its sibling (called Rayz) - the ability to charge your iOS device through an integrated charging port located close to the Lightning port. You simply plug your Lightning charger to the port while the earphones are in use and boom, charging is in progress.

5. Voice Commands
The Rayz Plus is able support automatic voice recognition and hence 'Hey Siri' commands are available in the event the buttons on the in-line remote aren't able to fulfil your needs. 

Significance
In the wired space, innovations are being pushed and the Pioneer Rayz Plus is a good example of this. We've seen conventional noise canceling earphones but this pushes the boundaries with interesting features that make these stand apart from traditional options available.

Price & Availability
Three colors (Rose Gold, Graphite, Bronze) have been launched in February 2018 in Singapore at USD 59.99 / SGD 209.  

For the uninitiated, Soul Electronics is an company founded in Ludacris in 2011 when the rapper released his line of headphones called 'Soul By Ludacris'. Since then, the company has slowly built its repertoire of audio gear. True wireless was the new frontier for most manufacturers and they duly obliged with the Soul X-Shock buds. Interestingly, they ran an Indiegogo campaign to get this product up and running, not unheard of for a startup company but a little quizzical for a 6 year old company. That aside, let's take a look further with a full review of these true wireless buds!

Type - True Wireless Buds
Price - SGD 249 / USD 169

Who's It For?
The X-Shock buds have two features that make them ideal for fitness enthusiasts - they are waterproof / sweat resistant and they have a 60 hour battery life when charged with the case, ideal to last long stretches.

L to R - Soul X-Shock; Samsung Gear IconX and Apple AirPods

Pros (+) : Waterproof (not just splash-proof); Almost instantaneous pairing between buds; Superb battery life when combined with casing.
Cons (-) : Bulky carrying case; Time needed to adjust for ear fit; Average sound quality.
The Soul X-Shock true wireless buds are a decent pair of buds to behold. The inadequate fit and discomfort in controlling the buds on the move may not hit the right notes but they pack a punch in certain aspects for fitness enthusiasts. The fantastic overall battery life and waterproofing give a rep for rugged durability and one that will last the distance.  

Where To Buy
If you liked what you read, do feel free to support us by buying from Amazon through this affiliate link. 

Credit to Soul Electronics for an evaluation unit.

As 2017 comes to a close, it's important to look back at what defined the year in music hardware. Speakers and headphones have evolved considerably to a level where app support is practically the norm. True wireless earphones hit the mainstream. 

Beyond that, 2017 was all about digital assistant-powered devices such as smart speakers. It kickstarted in May at the Google I/O conference where they announced the expansion of the Google Assistant ecosystem and capabilities. Apple soon followed with the HomePod smart speaker announcement at their WWDC event in June. If not already clear, the next frontier for the big tech companies would be in artificial intelligence and digital assistants. The only question is which would emerge victorious or would there somehow be a convergence of digital/voice assistants in the future? We'll leave that question for another time while we check out the smart speakers that hit the markets this year and pave the way for 2018.


1. Amazon Echo (2nd Generation)

Voice Assistant - Alexa
Launched - Oct 2017
Price - USD 99.99
What's the deal? - 
It ups the ante on the 1st gen with a new speaker, with Dolby processing, and new design. It fits very well in the living room as it doesn't look as industrial as its predecessor.

2. Amazon Echo Dot

Voice Assistant - Alexa
Launched - Oct 2016
Price - USD 49.99
What's the deal? - 
A very compact alternative to the Amazon Echo, with all the capability of Alexa at your disposal. It connects through a 3.5mm audio cable or Bluetooth. At half the price of the Amazon Echo, this is a great option to an entry-level smart speaker.

3. Apple HomePod

Voice Assistant - Siri
Launched - June 2017. To sell in Early 2018.
Price - USD 349
What's the deal? - 
Apple's first big speaker since the discontinued iPod Hi-Fi. To make the deal sweeter, make them look more compact, add Siri voice assistant and presto, you get the Apple HomePod. Would've sold like hotcakes if they'd come out by X'mas. Likely will sell like hotcakes once they are out in 2018, anyway.

4. Google Home Mini 


Voice Assistant - Google Assistant
Launched - Oct 2017
Price - USD 49
What's the deal? - No prizes for guessing who its competitor is. The Google Home Mini is about the size of the Echo Dot, has a similar price tag and looks pretty darn good. Only drawback is the lack of a 3.5mm jack.

5. Harman Kardon Invoke

Voice Assistant - Microsoft Cortana
Launched - Oct 2017
Price - USD 199
What's the deal? - 
It looks very much like an Echo, or Bose SoundLink Revolve, but is the very first to feature Microsoft Cortana digital assistant. The speakers, unlike the Home or the Echo, are more powerful and hence sound that much better.

6. Sonos One

Voice Assistant - Alexa
Launched - Oct 2017
Price - USD 199 / SGD 329
What's the deal? - 
If you've noticed, Oct 2017 was a popular month for smart speaker launches. Likely one of the best sounding smart speakers in the whole selection, the Sonos One differentiates itself from the Sonos Play:1 by the integration of Alexa. Like the other speakers in the Sonos ecosystem, they run only on the Wi-Fi network. 

B&O Play have announced their transition to truly wireless buds with its first offering in this product category that's gaining quite a bit of traction. It is called the B&O Beoplay E8.

Type - Truly Wireless Buds
Price - EUR 299 / SGD 429

The Lowdown
1. Truly Wireless
B&O Play may be a little late coming into the truly wireless arena but their implementation of playback controls is better thought out than most. Unlike others, tapping the left and right buds serve different functions. For example, a single tap on the left activates audio transaparency while one tap on the right bud plays music. 

2. Splash and Dust Resistant
They can be used in wet or dusty weather conditions. Just make sure not to dunk 'em in water.

3. Transparency Mode
There are 4 levels of transparency to choose from to cater to how much real world sound you'd like to hear.

4. Battery Life 
The buds hold 4 hours of power, an average number when compared to Bragi The Headphone's 6 hours and the Samsung Gear IconX's 1.5 hours. The charging case offers 2 more full charges.

Price & Availability
Two colors (Black and Charcoal Sand) are expected to launch mid-October 2017 at EUR 299 / SGD 429.

Last week saw the Singapore launch of the Plantronics BackBeat 505, their latest pair of wireless on-ear headphones. 

Plantronics has been dabbling in headsets for around 50 years but has recently diversified into consumer audio and churning out over-ear, in-ear and on-ear headphones at a consistent rate. If you're familiar with their products, they have already released the BackBeat SENSE (SGD 279) in the on-ear category. The BackBeat 505, known as the BackBeat 500 Series in other countries, is a more affordable proposition at half the price.

We'll do a full review in the coming days but for now, here are some first impressions!

Type - Wireless On-Ears
Price - USD 79 / SGD 139


In The Box
The BackBeat 505 comes in three colors - Dark Grey, Grey and White. For our review, we received the Grey unit though personally, we'd reckon Lime is probably a more enticing name to go :)

The packaging is pretty compact and spartan, measuring just enough to squeeze an inner box containing the BackBeat 505 nicely packed within the carrying pouch. 

Spilling the packaging contents out, you get a handy range of:

• Plantronics BackBeat 505 headphones
• USB cable
• Audio cable (3.5mm to 3.5mm)
• Carrying pouch
• Quick start guide + safety information

Design
The Plantronics BackBeat 505 headphones has an attractive styling and price point that likely targets the youth demographic. The earcups swivel 90 degrees for compact storage while the headband is supported by a solid aluminum like material that you can slide to adjust to your head size. 

It is relatively lightweight, yet gives the impression of a sturdy build at 155 grams due to a handy combination of plastics and memory foam for the pads. For a comparison of other wireless on-ears, there's the Jabra Move Wireless (150g), the Bose OE SoundLink (153g) and the Beats Solo3 Wireless (215g). 

Carrying Pouch:
The drawstring pouch envelops the headphones when you take it out of the box. It feels rather flimsy though it should minimally protect from scratches.

Features

Pairing:
There's no app support or NFC but seriously, what do you expect for this price point? All you need is straightforward Bluetooth to link to your music device. The pairing process is a breeze - just flip the power switch on the right cup towards the Bluetooth logo and pairing initializes. Select 'PLT BB500 Series' from your source device and you're good to go. The headphone can pair to two devices so you can conveniently watch videos from your tablet and toggle to listen to music from your phone when needed. 

Controls:
The controls are parked on the left earcup. The Play/Pause and track change buttons are found on the outer cup while the volume controls are parked on the circumference. One good feature is a dedicated Call button on the bottom of the right earcup that doubles as a battery status check when listening to music. 

Wired Mode:
If you don't want to use headphones wirelessly or if you run out of power, there's a provided audio cable that links to your music device through a 3.5mm to 3.5mm connection. This is similar with others in its category like the Beats Solo3 Wireless and Bose OE SoundLink that give you the same cable out of the box. 

Performance + Overall
We will look at this once we run through some tests. What we can say so far is that getting this pair of wireless on-ears for SGD 139 is excellent value and is very comparable with the Jabra Move Wireless we tried previously.

Pricing and Availability
The Plantronics BackBeat 505 is available in Singapore in 3 colors - Dark Grey, Grey and White. It goes for SGD 139. You can also buy the BackBeat 505 from Amazon through this affiliate link. 

Credit to Plantronics for a review unit.

The Apple AirPods need practically no introduction. These were the truly wireless earbuds that were introduced to much fanfare last September as loads of folks anticipated their entry into the Apple ecosystem. And since then, they finally hit the shops around Dec 2016 and there have been a load of reviews on these.

Now what makes it interesting is to see how these fare against the world! Ok, what we mean is how they compare with its truly wireless earbud peers. 

But first, let's review them. A trip to Holiday Villa Johor Bahru provided a good occasion to test the buds and a spot to take some shots! 

Read - Advent of Truly Wireless Earbuds

Type - Truly Wireless Earphones 
Price - USD 159 / EUR 179 / SGD 238

Pros (+): Supremely comfortable fit; Simple to use; Great battery life.
Cons (-): Non-existent noise isolation

In The Box
The Apple AirPods unsurprisingly come in one color combination - white. That's classic iPod gloss white if you want specifics. 

In typical Apple style, the box is incredibly sturdy and sized at a compact 99 x 99 x 34 mm, ideal for two things - cutting on shipping costs and hardy enough to pass drop tests (not that we tried :). 

The unboxing is like what you'd expect from an Apple product - impeccably neat and premium. The top lid pops upward to reveal a booklet with the distinctive line - Designed by Apple in California. 

Lifting this away will showcase the AirPods charging case nicely wrapped in a protective sleeve.

Popping out the packaging contents, we get:

• Apple AirPods
• Charging Case
• Charging Cable (USB to Lightning)
• User Guides

Design
The Apple AirPods come adorned in signature iPod gloss white and both earbuds weigh 8g, marginally lighter than the Samsung Gear IconX (12g) and Bragi The Headphone (12.5g). What differentiates these from other truly wireless buds is its long cylindrical side that that the other manufacturers clearly do not have. One practical benefit is the earbud weight is more evenly distributed, as the battery takes up the bulk of the space within. And of course, it makes it easier for the buds to be removed / inserted.

If you are familar with the default buds (EarPods) that come with your iPhone, you'll find that the overall AirPods aesthetic is much the same. General differences include the subtraction of the cable (obviously), dual optical sensors and a chrome edge at the bottom complete with a microphone. We'll talk more on their purpose in the Features section.

Charging Case:
The case measures a petite 44 x 21 x 54mm and doubles up as a charger when the buds are stored within. It's nicely styled and its magnetic clasp allows it to shut reassuringly.

Features
While the Apple AirPods look seemingly basic, they are anything but. Once you poke your nose into what they have to offer, you'll realize that there's a myriad of features awaiting especially if you're an iOS user. 

Playback / Voice Commands:
While there are no physical buttons on the AirPods, you can actually double tap the exterior of either earbud to enable a function depending on phone you are using.

• Siri devices - This activates Siri so you can give voice commands to control playback (eg. turn up the volume) or useful information (give directions / weather check). When calls come in, you can pick them and if you find Siri annoying, you can go to the settings to render a double tap as a play / pause function. 
• Other devices - There's a singular function - double tapping the exterior of the buds will play / pause music playback. This is arguably more useful than sending voice commands in a packed train with others staring at you quizzically.

Automatic Ear Detection:
The AirPods can detect when they are slotted into your ears thanks to dual optical sensors on each bud. You can even test out their effectiveness by double tapping the side of the bud when covering the sensors with your fingers vs removing your fingers. Even if you cover just one of the two optical sensors, the AirPods take it that the earbuds are not inside your ear.  

• iOS - On your iPhone, music will pause when you take both buds out of your ears. They will pause and resume playback if a single bud is removed. If you want music to continue even if you remove the buds, you can disable this in the AirPods Settings.
• Android - The play resume / pause function doesn't work when using an Android like what I tested with the Sony Xperia XA. However, there's no way to accidentally double tap the earbud when they are not in your ears.

Chilling with the AirPods at the Holiday Villa infinity pool

Pairing:
If you're used to the manual way of Bluetooth pairing, the AirPods offers a refreshingly simpler method of connecting to your music device (at least if you're in the Apple ecosystem).

• iOS 10.2 / watchOS3 / MacOS Sierra Devices - Apple's W1 chip may sound like a fancy marketing name but pairing is where you begin to discover its usefulness. All you need to do is open the AirPods charging case next to your device and there will be a setup prompt on your screen. It's that easy.   
• Other Devices - If you have another product like an Android phone, you'll need to manually pair via Bluetooth. Turn on your phone Bluetooth, pop open the charging case, select 'AirPods' and you're good to go.

Tip - If you have difficulties in pairing, insert the AirPods back into the case and hold the circular Setup button on the back of the case until the LED starts to flash white. You can then restart the pairing process. 

Status Light Notifications:
The status light LED is only found inside the charging case between the two buds. The charge status reflects the AirPods if one / both are inserted else it will show the Case status. Here's an idea what they indicate. 

• Green - Fully charged
• Amber - Not fully charged / Charging in progress if USB cable connected
• Amber (blinking) - You may need to setup AirPods again
• White (blinking) - Pairing mode

Sound Notifications
There are no voice notifications though there will be tones to indicate when the AirPods are successfully connected to your music device or when the charge in the buds is low.

Microphones:
There are two microphones on each earbud. If you notice the bottom of the AirPods, there is a chrome edge and within it is one of the microphones. The second is a small circular hole located on the outside of the earbud.

Apple does inject some hype about two beam-forming microphones. What does 'beam-forming' mean? You can actually read more on this over here. For the AirPods, the purpose of the beam-forming microphones is to extract voice input from ambient noise so the AirPods user is able to speak loud and clear to the recipient of a phone call. 

App Support:

• iOS - It would not be accurate to say that the AirPods have no app support. In fact, the support is integrated with iOS 10. If you pop the AirPods charging case open, a prompt will initiate from your iPhone and settings can be configured accordingly. The good thing is the AirPods firmware can be updated. Most recent is from 3.3.1 to 3.5.1 on Feb 1, 2017. Any significant change? Can't really tell from our end though feel free to buzz if you find something. 
• Android - There's no dedicated app for Android though to be fair, Apple never did mention such compatibility on the packaging.

Performance

Sound Quality:
The Apple AirPods sound quality is quite decent, that is if you do your listening in a relatively quiet environment. I was feeling nostalgic so I decided to give a listen to Kitaro. If that name does not ring a bell, Kitaro is a Japanese artist that specializes in epic instrumental music (some call it 'new age'). He made an equally epic performance compiled in the Live In America (1991) album and with that, I tried his magnum opus, Matsuri. The treble comes out not quite sparkling but nonetheless clearer than many in-ears while bass from the drums came out reasonably well. I reckon these aren't sealed in-ears which likely contribute to the drop in the impact of the low frequencies. 

Calls:
Making a few calls, I did a sound check in several locations of incremental ambient noise level. One was in at the Holiday Villa JB infinity pool with a few folks splashing around (low ambient sound) and another was in the heart of KSL Mall (high ambient sound). In those locations, I checked how well the recipient could hear me and the result was positive - they could hear me loud n clear, despite the noisy crowds in the second instance. 

Noise Isolation:
Like the EarPods, noise isolation is non existent. Environmental sounds aren't filtered at all and basically, you can safely listen to music while jogging. The flipside is when you're commuting, all the ambient sound from the trains will hit you so you'll have to increase the volume quite a bit to appreciate the sound.

Fit:
This was probably the most comfortable pair of truly wireless buds tested. When slotted in and when the music paused, there were moments where I actually forgot there was something in my ears.

Charging:
To charge the AirPods, all you have to do is slot them in the Charging Case and they are magnetically latched within. If you're wondering how it works, there are two contact points deep inside the two holes of the case that link with the chrome edge of the AirPods to initiate charging.

A full charge of the AirPods through the Lightning cable will provide 5 hours playback / 2 hours talk time while a quick charge of 15 minutes will get you 3 hours / over 1 hour talk time. The charging case states 398mAh of power so we're going to make a guess that that's the total power within the case only. If you use the full capacity of the case in tandem with the AirPods, Apple claims you can get up to 24 hours playback / 11 hours talk time. 

Update (6 June 2017):
I decided to completely drain both the buds + case just to check the charge times. Here are the results based on charging through a MacBook Air USB port. As you can see, the charging speed of the buds is really fast. 
Charging Case (100%) - 1h 25min
AirPods (80%) - 15min 
AirPods (100%) - 22min

Putting all these figures in perspective and considering just the buds at full charge, the playback on the AirPods last above the average. They come up short against Bragi The Headphone (6 hours) but easily edge the feature-filled Samsung Gear IconX (1.5 hours) and Erato Apollo 7 (3 hours). 


Overall
The Apple AirPods are a great pair of truly wireless earbuds to own. They are really comfortable to wear and sound drop offs that some truly wireless in-ears unfortunately have are not experienced in these buds. Now noise isolation may be non-existent and options are limited for Android users but if you are a user of Apple products, the AirPods is certainly a convenient, reliable and stylish option for consideration.




Apple AirPods and Truly wireless earbuds compared

In a subsequent part, we will look at a comparison between some of the best truly wireless earbuds in the market. We will look at some of them within the same price range such as the Apple AirPods, Samsung Gear IconX and Bragi The Headphone. 

Stay tuned!

Where To Buy
The Apple AirPods are available from the Apple Online Store and take a 6 week turnaround to deliver.

Credit to Apple for an evaluation unit.