audiosplitz

Samsung 2016 New Level Audio Gear

November 06, 2016

1 Nov - Samsung announced 4 additions to their Level series of mobile audio accessories at a media launch held in Singapore at Elements & Co for the Samsung Gear S3 watch. To summarize the range of audio products, there are 3 in-ear earphones (2 wireless) and a portable speaker.

What's the Big Deal?
The Samsung Level range of audio products has been gradually growing over the past few years. With this launch, we can see the Korean chaebol is improving its Level range and is now offering very affordable active noise canceling (ANC) products for users. Let's check each of them out.

1. Level Active

Samsung Level Active

Category - Sports Wireless In-Ears
Price from - USD 69.99 (Amazon) / SGD 98 (Lazada.SG)
Colors - White / Black
Similar products - Jaybird Freedom Wireless / Beats Powerbeats2 Wireless

Samsung Level Active

The Level Active are Bluetooth buds that offer performance tracking by pressing a button on the right earbud to pull run time and distance data from the Level and S Health apps. There are customizable fit options where you can choose between earhooks and wingtips. Oh, and these buds have P2i nano-coating promising splash resistance.

2. Level Box Pro

Samsung Level Box Pro

Category - Speakers
Price from - SGD 198 (Lazada.SG)
Colors - Gold / Black
Similar products - Bose SoundLink Mini II / Beats Pill+

Samsung Level Box Pro

These are 20W Bluetooth speakers that measure 200 x 55 x 62 mm and last 9 hours on the trot. It supports what Samsung calls ultra-high quality (UHQ) audio and supposedly offers twice (512kbps) the sample rate of the SBC codec (328kbps) which overall, aims to promise a richer sound experience. Two can be paired via the Level app for a stereo listening.

3. Level In ANC

Samsung Level In ANC

Category - Wired Noise Canceling In-Ears
Price - SGD 78 (Lazada.SG)
Colors - White / Black
Similar products - Sony MDR-EX750NA / B&O BeoPlay H3 ANC

The Level In ANC stands out for two things - Active noise canceling (ANC) in an affordable package. We had reviewed a few ANC in-ear units in our Noise Canceling Immersion series of articles and can agree that at SGD 78, it is quite a steal.

4. Level U Pro ANC

Samsung Level U Pro ANC

Category - Wireless Noise Canceling Neckband
Price - USD 78.88 (Amazon) / SGD 148 (Lazada.SG)
Colors - White / Black
Similar products - Bose QuietControl 30

Samsung Level U Pro ANC

Neckband headphones are the hottest thing in the market along with truly wireless earbuds such as the Samsung Gear IconX. Samsung improves on its Level U Pro by adding active noise canceling. The earbuds can be magnetically linked to keep the buds tangle-free. When unclasped, they conveniently resume track playback or answer calls.

Availability
All 4 products are available at Samsung Official Store, Samsung Experience Stores, Lazada.SG and major consumer electronics stores in Singapore.

Bluetooth

Jaybird X3 Wireless - Review

November 01, 2016

Jaybird is no stranger to sports wireless earbuds. In this niche, it single handedly catapulted this category to the spotlight after being ranked one of the top 5 brands in the premium headphone segment. After their CES 2016 announcement, the hotly anticipated Jaybird X3 Wireless (USD 129.99) finally sees the light of day with a launch last week. For the record, these Bluetooth buds are the direct follow up to the successful X2. Let's check out how the Jaybird X3 fares.

Pros (+): Decent battery life; High ambient sound blockage; Intuitive voice prompts; App support.
Cons (-): Charging clip needed on your travels.

Design
There will be 4 colors available at launch - Blackout, Sparta, Alpha and Road Rash, of which the first 2 can now be pre-ordered on Jaybird's website. If you are more familiar with basic color schemes like myself, you can read them as black, white, dark green and red.

The case opens like a book to reveal a transparent blister on the right side, practically similar to the Jaybird Freedom Wireless F5's presentation.

Spilling out the packaging contents, you get:

Jaybird X3 Wireless buds
Charging Cable + Charge Clip
Comply Foam Isolation Tips (S / M / L)
Silicon Tips (S / M / L)
Silicon Ear Fins (S / M / L)
Cord Clips x 2
Shirt Clip
Carry Pouch
Quick Start Guide

Jaybird X3 Blackout - Packaging Contents

The Jaybird X3 Wireless is incredibly light at 13g like its predecessor. The earbud exterior looks more streamlined (read flatter) than the X2 while the in-line remote, styled after the Freedom Wireless F5, is now fatter but easier to grasp. There is actually a direct relation between the earbud and remote which you will find out as you read on.

Jaybird X3 Sparta - Over-the-ears mode

Like the X2, you can wear these buds in over-the-ears or under-the-ears mode. The cord is flat-styled, making it convenient to fit on the cord clips to tighten the cord around your head for the purpose of microphonics reduction.

The carry pouch is marked improvement over the X2. Like the Freedom F5's pouch, it is lightweight, more portable and comes with a squeezable clasp to keep its contents in.

Let's take a break and check out a video of how the X3 is used:

Features
The Jaybird X3 Wireless is sweat-proof. The marketing blitz talks about a 'double hydro-phobic nano coating super-tight seam'. We prefer to just try them out with a jog and after one run, so far so good. The unit still works as it should.

Pairing over Bluetooth (4.1) is a breeze. Just hold the center button until the LED flashes red/green, select 'Jaybird X3' from your mobile device (up to 2 are supported simultaneously) and you're connected. One useful feature - should you be jogging with a friend, 2 Jaybirds can be linked to a single music player so both of you can hear the same tracks together, of course provided both of you are within 10 meters of each other.

The voice and audio prompts are indeed handy. The voice assistant somehow no longer has a name (it was 'Jenna' previously) but you get necessary prompts when pairing is in progress or checking the battery life percentage.

The in-line remote lies on the right side for under-the-ears mode and is flipped to the right on over-the-ears mode. It contains controls to play / take calls, adjust the volume and skip tracks. The LED indicator, previously located on the X2 earbud, is now aligned with the buttons on the remote while the charging point are now 4 contact points on the back of the remote. A niggling point is the charging cable needs to be brought with you at all times as you need to clip the X3's remote onto the charge clip to initiate USB charging.

Jaybird X3 - Blackout

The Jaybird MySound app works on iOS 9+ / Android 4.4+ and currently supports both the Freedom Wireless and the X3 Wireless earbuds. Key features include customization of equalizer and sound setting selections used by Jaybird endorsed athletes. What was useful to me was the ability to see the battery life on Android that only iOS users had access previously. The ability to switch left and right audio channels is excellent when using over-the-ears mode.

Jaybird X3 - MySound app

Performance
While not available in Singapore just yet, I had a chance to try out the X3 Wireless from someone who just came back from the US (how lucky is that).

Sound quality from the 6mm drivers was surprisingly bassy. The past 2 Jaybirds I'd tried sparkled with treble but I felt some improvement in the lower frequencies when trying Armin Van Buuren and VanVelzen's Take Me Where I Wanna Go. Should you want to tweak the sound, the Jaybird MySound app allows you to tailor a custom sound profile that will stick with you even when using other music devices.

Regarding the fit, over-the-ears mode like the past 2 Jaybirds I tried was really snug. You can jump up and down and the buds stay inside while nicely wrapped around your head. In other words, great fit and close to zero cable rustle.

Interestingly, Jaybird provided Comply Foam Isolation tips instead of Sport tips like it did for the X2 and Freedom F5. Isolation tips (vs Sports) tend to deliver a higher level of noise isolation which more effectively blocks off ambient sound giving an immersive sound experience. I personally like Isolation tips more as you are kept in your own world while jogging, though a little bit more attention needs to be paid to your surroundings to ensure unintended accidents.

(To understand more on Comply Foam Isolation, Sport and Comfort tips, do read our guide on how to use Comply Foam.)

Comply Foam - Sport, Isolation and Comfort

The Jaybirds deliver an 8 hour battery life on a full charge of 2.5 hours. Alternatively, you can get 1 hour of playback on a 20 minute charge. This is quite in line with sports wireless buds like the UA Headphones Wireless (8 hours) and the Jaybird X2 Wireless (8 hours).

Jaybird X3 Road Rash

Overall
The Jaybird X3 Wireless is a decent choice when choosing a pair of sports wireless buds. No doubt you'll need to bring the oh-so-tiny charging clip along on your travels but the X3 offers much from the customizable sound profile, good battery life and good ambient sound blockage. Do use these on over-the-ears mode and remember to swap the audio channels in the MySound app for optimal results.

Pricing and Availability
The Jaybird X3 Wireless is now available for pre-order from jaybirdsport.com at a price of USD 129.99. Their shipping date will be sometime in November.
Alternatively, they are also now available on Amazon at USD 129.99.

Update (3 May 2017)
The Jaybird X3 is now available as of today in Singapore for SGD 215.

Jaybird X3 Blackout

Audio Quality

Loewe Speaker 2go - Review

October 28, 2016

Loewe is a proud German luxury brand with a rich history in building quality television for close to 100 years. This no doubt served as a platform to build up products like the Loewe Speaker 2go (EUR 300 / SGD 499), one extremely sturdy portable speaker, which we now review.

Pros (+): Rich and powerful sound delivery; Good sound quality.
Cons (-): Not the most portable of speaker options.

Unboxing
The Speaker 2go comes in 2 variants - Aluminum Silver and Aluminum Black of which we got the latter.

Upon receiving the box (there's a whole lot of text there to clearly identify Loewe as a German company :), we popped open the top lid to spill out the contents.

The packaging contents include:

Loewe Speaker 2go
AC charging cable
Travel adapters
Audio cable (3.5mm to 3.5mm)
Carrying pouch

Design
For a portable speaker, the Loewe Speaker 2go measures 240 x 105 x 51 mm and weighs relatively hefty 1.3kg. It can be flexibly used wirelessly at house parties or picnics or if you want to place it in your bedroom, we'd recommend connecting the AC adapter. Within the aluminum grill lie 2 full range speakers and 1 bass reflex speaker.

The carrying pouch serves as a minimal, but effective, protective layer against scratches. It's tied with a drawstring and held in place by 2 plastic cord locks.

Features
The button selection lines the top. It features volume adjustment, call pickup, Bluetooth pairing and the power button. A nice touch that makes the volume intensity visually clear are 6 LED indicators comprising 4 tiers of light intensities each that make up 24 volume levels.

On the left lies the Near Field Communications (NFC) point that provides ease of pairing with your NFC-enabled smartphone. If you don't have NFC, fret not as you can initiate pairing via the Bluetooth button.

The table stand flex lies at the bottom. This serves to prop the front of the speakers and direct sound upward. It's very useful when you're putting the Loewe on lower ground such as your room floor.

The connections line the rear. There's a power switch, a power-in for the AC adapter, the auxiliary-in for playback from other devices and a USB jack to charge a smartphone (if you so choose).

Performance
I placed in in various locations throughout my house. The Loewe is powered by 40W and it shows. What can be said is the Loewe Speaker 2go boasts a really powerful sound for its frame. Even at the volume level of 5 out of 24, it is more than capable of filling up at 15 square meter room. No problem there. I tried upping the ante to level to the max but I had to stop increasing the volume at the midway mark 'cos the sound was exceptionally strong and enveloping even within the living room space.

The sound quality is great, no doubt helped by aptX support promising a CD-like sound over Bluetooth. Another portable speaker we had on hand (which I emphasize is much smaller in size) was the Bose SoundLink Mini II and the Bose was clearly tuned for bass. For the Loewe, there is no bass nor treble emphasis when playing tracks like Sarah Cracknell's dreamy In The Dark or Solarstone's trance anthem Seven Cities. The sound is wonderful with very little distortion, at least when I upped the volume 'til the mid-point.

The battery life of the integrated Lithium Polymer battery (2 x 1250mAh) is 8 hours, though I roughly got 6 when I played different sound sources. The Power LED is white above 25% power and glows red when it is time for charging (below 25%). When the AC adapter is connected, the music plays on continuously as you please.

Overall
The Loewe Speaker 2go, while being a couple of years old, is still a relevant and solid product to behold. Its weight is indeed a little hefty but it's a good choice if you want pair of speakers with a powerful sound delivery to bring to your hotel room on overseas trips or to place in your bedroom. It also helps that the sound quality is agreeably well balanced.

Credit to Loewe and Atlas for a review unit.

Beats

Top 5 Neckband Headphones of 2016

October 21, 2016

Neckband headphones (aka behind-the-neck earphones) are an increasingly common category of portable audio devices. In 2014, you'd see everyone with conventional wired earphones plugged in or maybe even corded Bluetooth buds. Now in 2016, you may be starting to see a stronger take up rate of neckband headphones.

Neckband Headphones - Motorola VerveRider+

Popularized by the LG TONE series that sold an astounding 10 million units as of July 2015, it's easy to understand why other manufacturers want a piece of the pie. Among those who've taken the plunge in 2016 are Beats and Bose.

What Are They?
Behind-the-neck headphones are basically audio devices with a collar that hang snugly around your neck. Almost all of them have Bluetooth capability to connect to your phone for music playback. The earbuds are connected to the collar by a cable.

So what's the appeal to this? There are many opinions on this. It's futuristic looking (think Star Trek), undoubtedly striking and possibly a fashion statement. One important reason is the convenience. Just plug your buds into you ear and when done, take 'em out and hang them around your neck. All this without needing to wind or stash them into your bag.

Now let's dive in to see what are the...
Top 5 Neckband Headphones of 2016

1. BeatsX

Price - SGD 198 / GBP 129 / USD 149
Launched in Apple's September 2016 Keynote was the BeatsX. While much attention was on the AirPods, these mark the very first neckbands from Beats. It comes in white or black and has a battery life of 8 hours or 2 hours on a 5 min quick charge.

2. Bose QuietControl 30 (QC30)

Neckband Headphones - Bose QuietControl 30 (QC30)

Price - USD 299
The Bose QC30 is a stylish marriage between neckbands and the wired QC20. It provides noise canceling capability and ambient sound adjustment while retaining comfort and convenience. It lasts 10 hours on a full charge and gives 1 hour of playback with a 15 minute charge.

3. LG Tone Active (HBS-850)

Neckband Headphones - LG TONE Active HBS-850

Price - SGD 189 / USD 69
We reviewed the LG HBS-850 in early 2016. These are sweat-proof neckband buds and boast retractable earbuds. They come with good app support that allows voice prompts of messages. Excellent sound too.

4. Motorola VerveRider+

Price - USD 79.99
We previously did a first take of the Motorola VerveRider+, a sports neckband pair of buds. The buds magnetically latch onto the ring for easy storage and last for a decent 12 hours of music playback.

5. Sony MDR-XB70BT

Price - USD 99
First seen at IFA 2016, the MDR-XB70BT boasts 12mm dynamic drivers and comes in 3 vibrant colors. It weighs 43g and can play music for up to 9 hours.

Apple Siri

Erato Apollo 7 True Wireless Earphones - Review

October 18, 2016

Initiated as a Kickstarter project in 2015, California-based Erato Audio developed the Apollo 7 true wireless earbuds. Truly wireless earbuds are 2016's flavor of the year, even more so with iPhone 7's removal of the earphone jack. It's all the more timely that the Erato Apollo 7 (SGD 499 / USD 299) now hits the markets in Singapore with its most recent launch on 8 Oct. Oh, and it did scoop the 2015 Red Dot Honorable Mention Award on the way.

Erato Apollo 7 True Wireless Earphones - Gold

Unboxing
There are 4 colors available - Pink, Silver, Gray and Gold, of which we were provided the 4th variant.

Credit - Erato

Sliding out the outer layer reveals a solid white box. The side gives an idea what to expect in the packaging.

Erato Apollo 7 true wireless earbuds box

Pop the top lid open for the Apollo 7 earbuds and the charging case.

Erato Apollo 7 true wireless earbuds - Gold

Lifting the bottom tab gives access the inner sanctum. Can't be too difficult to guess what lies beneath now, can it?

Erato Apollo 7 true wireless earbuds packaging

Spilling out the packaging contents reveals:

Erato Apollo 7 true wireless earbuds
Charging capsule
Silicon tips (S /M /L)
Comply Foam Isolation tips (T-600) (S /M /L)
Stabilizers (aka fins) (S/ M /L)
Charging cable
Quick Start Guide
User Manual

Design

The Apollo 7 buds are undeniably tiny. They each sport a single button and a circular contact point on the outer edge. Each Erato bud weighs an astonishing 4 grams, making these what they claim are the lightest truly wireless buds with an omnidirectional microphone. They compare favorably with the 3.5 gram Earin (without mic), the Samsung Gear IconX (6g) and Bragi Dash (7g).

The charging case allows the buds to be stored and charged simultaneously, similar to the Earin and Bragi Dash. There are 2 LEDs on the left side to indicate the charging status of the case from the micro-USB and of the earbuds respectively.

Features
Interestingly the Erato Apollo 7 has no app support and this breaks the trend of all the truly wireless buds we've looked at so far. While we check out the features and performance, we'll also assess whether the buds can hold up purely by hardware and firmware capability.

Breaking down the features:

1. Playback controls
There is a single button on each earbud and each side actually operates a different function. Here's how it works:

Hold - Power on
Longer hold - Pairing initiates
Single press - Play / Pause

Double press (right bud) - Volume up
Hold (right bud) - Next track
Double press (left bud) - Volume down
Hold (left bud) - Previous track

You notice I made a sub list under 'Single press'? Think that's a mistake? Well damn right it isn't! That's 'cos the functions in the sub list only work during music playback. With this, you really begin to appreciate how the buds work on their own without leveraging on an app.

2. Waterproofing
There is a nano-coating which supposedly provides a layer of waterproofing (not submerging we might add). Let's just say that throwing some water on the buds didn't affect its functional duties.

3. Bluetooth (4.1)
Let's start with the basics - usage. I held the right earbud button to power on, did the same for the left bud and presto, both sides were connected. Holding the either button will initiate pairing with your music device. Out of the truly wireless earbuds tested, the Erato gives an added level of control due to the physical button. Other earbuds are only able to initiate pairing by parking / removing the buds from the charging case.

Erato Apollo 7 true wireless earbuds - Bluetooth

4. Notifications
The sound / voice notifications are kept to a minimal, all the more surprising given there's no mobile app. However, voice prompts informing that power is on and pairing is in progress is welcome. With a button on each bud for actuating, there's no further sound prompts when playing or skipping tracks.

Performance
As usual, we'll do some tests on the sound quality, noise isolation and whether there are any sound drop offs. Stay tuned!

For starters, do read our article on the different types of Comply Foam and their effectiveness.

Update (Feb 2017)
The Apollo 7 uses micro-sized dynamic drivers. The result is that the sound quality has good bass emphasis while the higher frequencies were quite clear. This is excellent for R&B or EDM tracks. This sound profile can be tweaked since you have both silicon and Comply Foam tips. Comply tips tend to reduce the treble and increase the bass. Personally, I favoured using the Comply tips.

Noise isolation using the silicon tips is decent but if this is a priority to you, do use the Comply Foam instead. Sounds on the bus or train can be blocked significantly and you are able to listen to your music quite peacefully.

Overall
The Erato Apollo 7 is a rare breed of true wireless earphones that is able to function without app support. That said, it's clear that playback controls can be adjusted from the buds directly. Apart from the general aesthetic where the buds protrude from your ears, it's a good all round pair of true wireless buds.

Erato Apollo 7 true wireless earbuds - Charging Case

Where To Buy
If you like what you have read, feel free to support me by buying from Amazon (USD 299) or Lazada SG (SGD 499).

Credit to Erato and TC Acoustic for a review unit.