It's Music to Our Ears
[Media Invite + Review]
AKG
I was
brought back to the time, more than a decade ago, when I sat back, listening to
the product managers raving about their new products. Back in my days in the telecommunications business, I attended many of
these.
Somehow, it
brought back those fond memories, though this time, I attended this product
launch briefing as a blogger who gives reviews.
Last week I
attended the product launch brief by Harman International on several of their
wonderful audio sound portable speakers/headphones. Harman has bagged several awards like Red Dot Design,
iF Design Awards and CES Innovation Awards through brands like AKG, Harman
Kardon and JBL.
N90Q
There is no
doubt this is the cream of the crop. AKG N90Q are the first headphones that
come with personalized sound, inspired by Grammy Award winning producer Quincy
Jones, and developed under his supervision.
Utilizing
Trunote technology, its proprietary software
solution for auto-calibration and
frequency response measurement, and in combination of a patent dual foam
ear cushion and a pistonic motion driver, Trunote allows music reproduction to
reach the maximum sound accuracy. It promises a sound experience with the
accuracy of a recording studio. It has 2 microphones in each ear cup measuring
the average frequency response of the signal that enters the ear. The
technology inside N90Q will then adjust the sound according to the shape of
your ear, and deliver the most accurate sound reproduction possible with
minimal distortion.
The
patented ergonomic design of the dual dense ear cushions aid in significantly
reducing the reflections inside the acoustic chamber while the dual rotary
controls on the ear cup enable easy access to volume control, bass and treble
levels and sound imaging.
The N90Q
also includes the world’s first truly audiophile grade, fully discrete analogue
active noise cancellation circuitry that achieves 20dB wide band noise
reduction, without introducing excessive noise on its own. Not only is the
external noise attenuated by 20dB, but so is the distortion arising from the
headphone transducer and ear cushion as well. This results in exceptional bass
performance and transparency throughout the whole spectrum due to the absence
of intermodulation effects.
Harman Kardon
Soho
Soho is meant for people who like clean lines and are constantly looking for finer things in life. This set of wireless headphones, is effortlessly classy, owing to its sleek design, stitched
leather and stainless steel finish. It is stylish,
foldable, and has a pair of compact on-ear headphones that are relatively comfortable and offers strong performance for its size. The headphone cord is detachable and
replaceable. The headphones come with an Apple-friendly
remote/microphone (Soho-I) or universal remote (Soho-A) for making cell phone
calls.
Soho is pretty light, and I thought the overall comfort
level was good, though the thin headband is likely to be better suited for ladies than
men.
JBL
JBL positions itself as 'hip and lively', thus explaining its friendly form and expressive lines. The JBL portable
wireless speakers range is generally more sporty in looks and has a splashproof
design, so one can safely bring the speaker to the poolside, or even for dancing in
the rain! It streams music from
your Bluetooth device to the wireless speakers - for your music needs at home
and on the go.
Clockwise from left: (1) See how portable XTREME is? (2) I really love it that CLIP+ is literally 'clippable"
(3) FLIP3 is small yet powerful. Sound could be amplified effortlessly in an enclosed area of 300sqft!
The hubby, who is the IT geek, has his hands on Flip 2 and is
full of praise for it. This is what he
says:
"The speaker comes in a handy size. It bears a
strong resemblance to an aluminium drink can, in terms of its shape and feel in
one’s hand. Being about twice as heavy as an unopened drink can doesn’t reduce
its ultra-portability by much. Besides being a beauty to behold, it is
reasonably sturdy, with shock-absorbing rubberised paddings at both ends of its
cylindrical form factor.
The controls are intuitive - all located at one
end of the cylinder: toggle on-off, volume up (+), volume down (-) and
Bluetooth and voice call indicators. Once the switch is pressed to activate the
device, its Bluetooth indicator blinks while it is in the pairing mode, and
stabilises when connection is established. Simple as that. Two
Bluetooth-enabled devices can be connected simultaneously to the same device.
The sound quality is fantastically realistic for
a speaker of this size, thanks to JBL’s advanced noise and echo cancelling
technologies. Reception is good, and with direct line of sight, the speaker
produces crystal clear sound at distances of 10 metres from the source. The
built-in battery, rechargeable via a micro-usb port, provides 5 hours of
playtime."
There is no
doubt that the new versions will out-do their predecessors. If the current range
is already awesome, you can be assured that the JBL Smart Series III will be
even better.
More
information on these respective brands can be found here:
AKG
Website:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/AKG
Harman
Kardon
Website: http://sg.harmankardon.com/harman-kardon-products-sg/brand_harman_kardon/headphones/On_Ear.html
Facebook: www.facebook.com/harmankardon
JBL
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/JBLSingapore
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