audiosplitz: Noise Cancelling

Bose's Foursome of Wireless Headphones

June 05, 2016

5 June - Bose launched 4 wireless headphones, signaling its intent and direction in the noise canceling and sports audio space. This is jaw dropping news to say the least.

What's So Special?
This is an incredibly exciting launch for the portable music world. We had predicted last year that Bose would offer a sports wireless model but to see 4 new products released at once is heart-stopping :)

1. Bose QuietComfort 35 (QC 35)

i. Noise Canceling - Everyone was wondering when Bose's classic wired noise canceling QC 25 would go wireless and that time has come. If the active noise canceling (ANC) ability is even on par with the QC 25, we have ourselves likely the best wireless ANC pair in the market.

ii. Design - These headphones are a clear design hybrid between the QC 25 and AE2 SoundLink headphones with playback controls on the right side + NFC. In addition, Bose provides a Connect app (iOS / Android) which was previously only compatible with the AE2. We will check out its full potential once we lay our paws on a unit.

iii. Battery Life - At 20 hours, this provides a decent amount of power, considering that this serves both the Bluetooth and ANC functionality.

10 July 2016 - We have reviewed the Bose QC35 (SGD 549 / USD 349.95 on Amazon)

2. Bose SoundSport Wireless
i. Sweat and Water Resistance - This looks way different from its wired SoundSport predecessor and for good measure. These Bluetooth / NFC buds are designed for resistance to sweat and water and certainly look the part.

ii. Fit - These are fitted with what the Bose QC20 have - StayHear+ tips and they are super comfy in terms of ear fit. Look no further than the Jaybird X2 Wireless and Plantronics BackBeat GO 3 for competitors.

iii. Charging on the Go
The buds have a rather average 6h battery life. To make the deal sweeter, an optional (and intuitively-named) accessory called the SoundSport charging case (just USD 49.95 please) gives an additional 18h of juice when stored for a full charge of about 2h.

Credit - CNET

14 July 2016 - We have reviewed the SoundSport Wireless (SGD 239 / USD 149.95 on Amazon)

3. Bose SoundSport Pulse
These are pretty much similar to the SoundSport Wireless and to top it off, there's an integrated heart-rate monitor and has 5h of battery life. More to come once more info is in.

4. Bose QuietControl 30 (QC 30)
If you're familiar with neckband-type earphones (think LG TONE) and Bose's top notch noise canceling QC20 earbuds, this is a product that marries these two great features into a singular product.

Pricing
We pinged Atlas on the pricing in Singapore (SG).

Update - 21 Oct 2016:
For now, here's the lowdown (USD prices from Amazon):
QC35 - SGD ~~599~~ 549 (USD 349)
QC30 - TBC (USD 299)
SoundSport Pulse - SGD 349 (USD 199)
SoundSport Wireless - SGD 239 (USD 149)

Availability
We checked with Atlas, Singapore's distributor, on local availability.

QuietComfort 35 (QC 35):
Silver / Black - Pre-orders in June 2016

SoundSport Wireless:
Aqua / Black - Pre-orders in June 2016
Citron - Pre-orders in Sep 2016

SoundSport Pulse:
Red - Pre-orders in Sep 2016

Credit - CNET

QuietControl 30 (QC 30) - Pre-orders in Sep 2016

Bluetooth

IT Show 2016 - Portable Music Roundup

March 12, 2016

One of the quarterly consumer tech shows is now in full swing at Suntec Convention Centre from 10 to 13 Mar 2016.

Wait no more!
Check out our roundup of portable audio gizmos at the IT Show 2016 that is going for steal.

Wireless Earphones

Earin
Price: SGD 329 (from SGD 349)
Features - Totally wireless (ie. no cables) / Trend setter / With charging capsule
Location - audiosplitz / Treoo (6571)

Jabra Rox Wireless
Price: SGD 128 (from SGD 168) with Free Magnetic Pouch
Features - Wireless / Dust and water proof
Location - Best (8245) / Harvey Norman (6138) / Nubox (309)

Wireless Headphones

Sennheiser URBANITE XL Wireless
Price: SGD 419 with Free Gift of either OCX 686 Sports or PMX 686 Sports wired earphones (each valued SGD 149)
Features - Over-ears comfort / Wireless or wired / Touch controls / NFC
Location - Sennheiser

Sony MDR-1ABT
Price: SGD 399 (from SGD 499)
Features: Over-ears comfort / Wireless or wired / Touch controls / NFC
Location: Treoo (6571)

Noise Canceling
Bose QuietComfort 20 (QC 20)
Price: SGD 399 (from SGD 499)
Features: Kick-ass noise canceling / Wired / Aware button for toggling ambient sound level
Location: Atlas Warehouse Sale (336)

Sports Earphones (Wired / Wireless)
Bose SoundSport In-Ear
Price: SGD 99 (from SGD 219)
Features: Wired / Great value / Comfortable StayHear tips
Location: Atlas Warehouse Sale (336)

Jaybird X2 Wireless
Price: SGD 229 (from SGD 259)
Features: Wireless / Excellent sound / Great fit / Comply Foam tips
Location: audiosplitz / Treoo (6571)

Sony NWZ-WS413
Price: SGD 149 with Free Casing
Features - Dust and Waterproof (you can swim with it!) / 4GB memory / No external music device needed
Location - Sony (8115)

Wired Earphones
Jays a-JAYS Five
Price: SGD 108 (from $138) for Android / iOS
Price: SGD 69 (from $138) for Windows
Features - Great value / Great bass / Dedicated in-line remote for device type
Location - Treoo (6571)

Wired Headphones
Klipsch Reference R6i On-Ear
Price: SGD 175 (from SGD 199) for 1 pair purchase promo at 10% off
Price: SGD 169 (from SGD 199) for 2 pairs purchase promo at 15% off.
Features - Very lightweight / Great bass / iOS compatible remote
Location - Best (8245) / Challenger (8321) / epiCentre (8101) / Harvey Norman (6138) / Nubox (309)

Speakers
UE BOOM 2
Price: SGD 269 (from SGD 319)
Features - Wireless / 360 degree type / 15h battery life
Location - Best (8245) / EpiCentre (8101) / Nubox (309)

Bang & Olufsen

Noise Canceling Immersion - The Verdict

March 02, 2016

Good March to one and all!

A few weeks back, we started the Noise Canceling Immersion Series where we took a look at 3 really awesome in-ears.

They were the Sony MDR-EX750NA, the Bose QuietComfort 20 and the Bang & Olufsen BeoPlay H3 ANC. For noise canceling earphones, these are no doubt 3 of the hottest models you can find in the market today.

The big question was how good were these and how do they match up with each other?

Packaging contents

	Sony	Bose	B&O
Earphones	Y	Y	Y
USB Charger	Y	Y	Y
Total Eartips	4 (SS / S / M / L)	3 (S / M / L)	5 (XS / S / M / L / Comply Foam T-200 M)
Carrying Pouch	Y	Y	Y
Flight Adapter	Y	N	Y
Clothing Clip	Y	Y	N
User Guide	Y	Y	Y

Sony MDR-EX750NA

Bose QuietComfort 20

Bang & Olufsen BeoPlay H3 ANC

Feature Comparison

	Sony	Bose	B&O
Length	1.5m	1.32m	1.35m
Weight	27g (exc. cable)	44g	40g
Volume Controls	N	Y	Y
Controls Location	Y-connector	Y-connector	Left cord
ANC Power Button Location	Y-connector	Battery module	Battery module
Awareness Button	N	Y	N
Device Compatibility	iOS / Android (no vol controls)	iOS / Android	iOS
Battery Life	16h	16h	20h
Charging Time	2h	2.5h	2.5h

Sony h.ear in NC - Control module with ANC switch

Bose QC 20 - Control module with Aware button on the edge

B&O BeoPlay H3 ANC - Control module

We pitted them in the several tests and obtained some interesting results.

So now, let's announce what is the top choice in the following categories.

Best Value
> Sony MDR-EX750NA (h.ear in NC)
From USD 140 at Amazon

Putting things in perspective, the Sony h.ear in NC at SGD 199 was priced way lower than the B&O BeoPlay H3 ANC (SGD 349) and the Bose QC 20 (SGD 499). However, value is measured not just by the monetary value but by the overall experience you get vs the price. While the plasticky build material didn't inspire much confidence, the active noise canceling (ANC) of the Sony was just a notch below the QC 20 and sound quality was decent. Features-wise, the Bose's Aware button gave some brownie points.

As you can guess, the Sony MDR-EX750NA average overall performance paired with an agreeable price make this a winner in the value category.

Best Sound Quality
> Bang & Olufsen BeoPlay H3 ANC
From USD 249 at Amazon

The Bose QC 20 boasts a resounding bass that gives some punch yet is let down by a somewhat muddied mid-range and is not so clear as expected. It appears that Bose emphasizes the bass over all else.

Sony on the other hand, attempts to juggle the audio pretty well. Bass is solid but vocal delivery ain't too clean.

Bang & Olufsen is no doubt the best of the 3, using the silicon buds. There's good balance where bass and treble have distinct separation though clarity comes across more than the lows. Should you need more bass on your travels, just swap to the Comply Foam tips.

Best Noise Canceling
> Bose QuietComfort 20 (QC 20)
From USD 249 at Amazon

All the 3 earbuds were put through a series of tests to check out the active noise canceling (ANC) ability.

	Sony	Bose	B&O
Tested in car with Stereolab's Parsec on the car audio. No music on the ear buds.	While the high frequencies still squeeze through, the bass from Parsec is reduced considerably. Slight hiss can be heard.	Muffled vocals are still able to come through. However, the constant bass from Parsec is not just reduced but is almost completely eliminated.	With Comply Foam tips - While ANC is effective, low frequencies can still be heard though the sound is the most natural sounding.
Tested at the back of a bus with a revving engine	Low frequencies are quite well filtered but rumbles can still be picked out by the ear.	Low frequencies of the bus accelerations are delightfully obscured.	Bus accelerations while blocked sufficiently, are still quite audible.
Tested at a bus stop with helluva lot of traffic coming and going	Traffic is blocked considerably but there's no denying that the Sony is relatively effective. Highs and the higher lows still reach the ear though.	Traffic sounds are surprisingly blocked out with exception of the higher frequencies like car honking .	Traffic sounds come through with relative ease. Had to toggle taking out the Comply tips and switching the ANC on/off to hear the difference

The winner for ANC was quite clear. Only one unit, in the form of the Bose QuietComfort 20, blocked low frequencies to such a degree that you'd actually worry about your safety when you cross the road. Quite astounding.

Conclusion

So, what does this tell us? Is there a perfect noise canceling earphone? It's not so simple to say. There are a multitude of factors in play. Some want purely noise canceling, others may need excellent sound, some may desire value, etc.

There are actually so many other considerations such as weight, microphonics and comfort (to name a few) which you can look at in the respective reviews below for further insight.

At the end of the day, it all depends what you need. All 3 choices were undoubtedly top in their respective categories. One thing's for certain - the experience we had with all 3 was freakin' awesome. We had an absolute whale of a time in the testing process.

If you have any thoughts on the review process, feel free to ping us. We'll duly oblige :)

Noise Canceling Immersion - A 3-Part Series
Part 1 - Sony h.ear in NC (MDR-EX750NA)
Part 2 - Bose QuietComfort 20 (QC 20)
Part 3 - Bang & Olufsen BeoPlay H3 ANC
The Verdict

Bang & Olufsen

Noise Canceling Immersion Part 3 - B&O BeoPlay H3 ANC

February 04, 2016

Bang & Olufsen are relative newcomers to the noise canceling domain. Their BeoPlay H8, announced in early 2015, was their first venture into active noise canceling (ANC) headphones and the BeoPlay H3 ANC (SGD 379) followed hot on its heels in September.

As Part 3 of the Noise Canceling Immersion series of articles, we give a full breakdown of what the BeoPlay H3 ANC offers.

Pros (+): Incredibly well balanced sound quality; Comply Foam tips.
Cons (-): Passable noise canceling; in-line remote build; no clothing clip.

Design
As soon as we received the Gunmetal Grey H3 ANC (the only color in case you're asking), we gleefully ripped open the shrink wrap and indulged in a full teardown of the packaging.

Flipping open the top cover reveals just the 2 earbuds, clothed in plastic wrap, lying on a spartan plastic layer. Ah, and there's a transparent tab too. Let's pull it upward.

The tab pulls up an entire grey wrap of paper along with the plastic top. Flipping the paper open gets you access to the BeoPlay H3 ANC cables. The battery module (that circular box) is fully covered with a peelable protective layer.

At the bottom of the box, we pop open a tab to access the inner sanctum to reveal... the accessories!

After digging everything out and taking away the plastic wraps and seals, the full packaging content reveals:
- B&O BeoPlay H3 ANC earphones
- 5 x Ear tips (XS / S / M / L / Comply Foam T-200 M)
- Charging cable
- Carrying pouch
- Travel adapter
- Quick start guide

Now to the BeoPlay H3 ANC - The Jakob Wagner designed unit sports an earbud housing built with a scratch-resistant metal, punctuated by 29 ventilation holes. However, its 40g heft is quite the norm among its noise canceling peers that sport similar battery units. Its 1.35m cable is sturdy and thankfully doesn't tangle easily

The carrying pouch is practically designed - there's an inner compartment within to allow you to store earphones on one side and charging cable and/or ear tips in the other.

Features
The BeoPlay H3 ANC is a noise canceling unit but it remains to be seen if it's a carbon copy of the H3 with ANC conveniently fitted in. Noise canceling is achieved by the use of microphones to capture incoming sound. The signal processing takes the incoming sound and generates inverse waves almost instantly. We dive more on this in a bit.

The iPhone-friendly in-line remote hangs on the left side, sporting the standard volume buttons with the B&O logo marking the multi-function button actuation point. Build-wise, the remote really did not give an assuring firm click that we'd have expected.

Moving down, you get a Y-connector and right at the other end of the cable, there's a very sturdy L-shaped 3.5mm jack and the distinctly shaped circular battery unit.

Just slide and hold the switch for 1s to activate the ANC. The single multi-color LED serves as follows:
1. White - ANC is on
2. Red - Battery power is below 10%
3. Orange (pulsating) - Charging in progress (and yes, ANC can be used in this mode)
4. Green - Battery fully charged

Performance
B&O threw in 5 sets of ear tips to cover practically the whole spectrum of ear hole sizes. 4 pairs are silicon and range from XS, S, M and L. The 5th is the Comply Foam T-200 M-size that is fitted on the unit by default.

We tried the noise canceling in three areas:

1. Inside a controlled environment (a car) where Stereolab's Parsec was playing in the vehicle.
2. At the back of a bus where the engine is revving frequently.
3. Tested at a bus stop with helluva lot of traffic (buses coming and going)
In these conditions, we did not play music in order to test the active noise canceling.

Bang & Olufsen's quest was apparently to strike a balance 'between sound, noise and silence' to attain 'a noise canceling product focused on sound aesthetics'.

That said, when testing with the Comply Foam tips alone, the noise isolation provided was decent. Once the ANC is activated, the bass in the car from Parsec still squeezes through. The low frequencies such as bus accelerations in the 2nd and 3rd instance, while considerably blocked, are still audible.

However, this is made up for as the audio quality is actually surprisingly well balanced. We say this 'cos the focus of noise canceling units is usually on the ANC...and for noise canceling units, something's got to give. Hozier's Take Me To Church can be heard with good clarity and warm bass. After swapping the Comply Foam with the silicon tips, the overall audio quality is considerably clearer. From B&O's standpoint, it appears that their emphasis was more on the sound quality with the noise canceling built around it. If this is correct, then the BeoPlay H3 ANC embodies this philosophy.

Strangely, there's no clothing clip that one would expect from a noise canceling unit. The idea of a noise canceling pair of earphones is actually to allow you to listen with minimal sound distractions. The lack of a clip actually makes the cable rustle / microphonics quite apparent with brisk walking.

The travel adapter is meant to be used on flights, a handy accessory that fits perfectly fine. We did not have the chance to test this but here's how it looks fitted on the audio jack.

Charging the 350mAh Lithium-Ion battery, when flat, takes 2.5h and the noise canceling can last a very agreeable 20h.

One way to charge and listen using your MacBook Air...and btw, the remote is compatible.

Overall
The Bang & Olufsen BeoPlay H3 ANC is neat looking pair of in-ears, no doubt inspired by B&O's resident industrial designer. If your purpose is purely for noise cancelation, there are other options out there. However, if you want a unit with well balanced and good sound quality that delivers a sufficient blockage of ambient noise around you, the BeoPlay H3 ANC is a great choice.

Where To Buy
If you like this product, feel free to support me by buying via this Amazon affiliate link. Pricing is from USD 249.

B&O BeoPlay H3 ANC
(Gunmetal Gray)

USD 249

Audio Sources
Take Me To Church - Hozier (Tidal 1411kbps FLAC) on iPhone 6S
Wake Me Up - Avicii (320kbps) on Samsung Galaxy S4
Parsec - Stereolab (Tidal 1411kbps FLAC) in the car / Samsung Galaxy S4

Credit to Bang & Olufsen and Brand Inc. for an evaluation unit.

Noise Canceling Immersion - A 3-Part Series
Part 1 - Sony h.ear in NC (MDR-EX750NA)
Part 2 - Bose QuietComfort 20 (QC 20)
Part 3 - Bang & Olufsen BeoPlay H3 ANC
The Verdict