Sennheiser Momentum 4 was launched in August 2022. These wireless headphones were known for their premium active noise cancellation (ANC) feature. The company originally launched the headphones in two available colors: Matte Charcoal(Black) and Stone (White) finish. According to a recent press release, the company has introduced two new color variants for the Momentum 4: Denim Edition and Black Copper.

Denim Edition and Black Copper

Denim and Black Copper are the two new available variants of Momentum 4. As the name suggests, Denim is inspired by the Denim blue color theme. The blue stone-colored padding and fabric-coated headband surface provide a premium feel to the headsets. Moving to the Black Copper variant of the device is inspired by the classic HD 660S2 headphones, launched earlier in 2023. It may be because the consumers loved the black metallic accents of the HD 660S2, and the company decided to introduce this theme in the Momentum 4. For those wondering what this device has to offer, the specifications of the Momentum 4 can be found below.

Sennheiser Momentum 4 Specifications

The Sennheiser Momentum 4 has active noise-cancellation accompanied by Bluetooth v5.2 that supports aptX, aptX Adaptive Bluetooth codecs, and even SBC and AAC (advanced audio coding). The device is equipped with a massive battery that offers 60 hours of playback time on a single charge. You can adjust the sound profiles and settings like high-resolution audio mode, sound personalization, 5-band EQ, and location-based Sound Zones using the free Smart Control App.

Price and Availability

The Denim and Black Copper variant will come with a price tag of $399.95. The Black Copper Momentum 4 will start shipping on August 31, 2023, and the Denim edition will begin shipping in mid-October for selected retailers and the Sennheiser website.

RELATED:

• Sennheiser Momentum 4 headphones launched in India, with 60hr battery & ANC support
• Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless noise-canceling headphones with 60-hour battery life launched
• Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless retailer listing reveals the design and details
• Sennheiser HD 660S2 Headphones With Swappable Cables Unveiled

(Source, Via)

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Qualcomm’s aptX and aptX HD encoders, which allow for high-quality Bluetooth audio, are now free to use on Android devices, thanks to a recent move by the company. Prior to this, device manufacturers had to pay a licensing fee to use the encoders in their devices, with fees as high as $6,000 for a one-time payment alongside per-device fees.

This move means that any developer creating a custom Android-based ROM can now add support for Qualcomm aptX or aptX HD without ripping them from a licensed build. The encoders are now part of the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) Apache license and are free to use. While this change may not be significant for the average Android user, it could potentially lead to more devices supporting the hi-fi wireless audio format going forward.

Qualcomm has clarified that while the aptX and aptX HD encoders are now free to use, companies will still have to pay licensing fees to use other aspects of aptX, such as the decoder on the receiving end of the Bluetooth connection. Additionally, it is still the responsibility of ROM developers to use these now-open-source encoders from AOSP.

This development is a significant step forward for the mobile industry, which has seen a significant improvement in Bluetooth audio quality over the past decade but has also faced criticism for getting rid of the headphone jack. With the aptX and aptX HD encoders now freely available, more devices could potentially support high-clarity codecs, making the listening experience even better for users. It will be interesting to see how this move by Qualcomm impacts the industry going forward, and whether we see more devices adopting the hi-fi wireless audio format in the coming years.

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• Qualcomm Chooses TSMC’s 4nm Process over Samsung for Snapdragon 7 Gen 2
• OnePlus Buds Pro 2 Light Edition TWS Earbuds Launched in China
• Oppo Enco Buds 2 Launched with 28-Hour Battery Life & 10mm Titanium Driver
• Huawei Launches the Freebuds Pro 2, its Latest Premium Wireless ANC Earphones, in Malaysia

(Via)

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The OnePlus Buds Pro 2 Light Edition, the latest addition to the company’s lineup of true wireless earbuds, has been launched in the Chinese market and is now up for sale for the price of 749 yuan, which is about $109.

The earphones come in two color options to choose from — Obsidian Black and Yunfeng White. They are available for a discounted price of 749, but the official price for the earbuds is 799 yuan (~$115).

The design of these newly launched earphones looks quite similar to the original OnePlus Buds Pro 2. It comes with 11mm primary drivers and 6mm tweeters which can deliver a frequency range of 10Hz-40Hz.

As for the connectivity, there’s support for Bluetooth 5.3, and it also comes with support for AAC, LC3, LHDC, and SBC Bluetooth codecs. The company claims that the earphones have been optimized by Hans Zimmer to deliver optimal audio performance.

It also comes with support for Active Noise Cancellation, and the company claims that the earphones can attenuate background noise by 48dB and delivers 54ms latency.

The OnePlus Buds Pro 2 Light Edition has a battery life of six hours with the ANC mode enabled, and with ANC disabled, the battery life is up to nine hours. The bundled carry case can fully charge the earphones up to three times before it needs to be charged.

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• Wings Phantom 315 TWS Earbuds With 13mm Drivers & 40ms Low Latency Mode Launched for Rs 899 in India
• OPPO Is the Only Brand to See Growth in TWS Earbuds Market in Q4 2022
• TWS Shipments In India Record A Whopping 85 Percent YoY Growth In 2022: Counterpoint Research

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After a sudden teaser announcement by Oppo Malaysia last week, the brand has finally launched its latest and most affordable wireless earbuds for 2022, the Oppo Enco Buds 2.

As of the time of reporting, the Oppo Enco Buds 2 have only launched in Malaysia. However, as we reported on last week, the Oppo Enco Buds 2 are expected to arrive to more Asian markets like India, Singapore and Indonesia very soon. And with a official price tag of MYR 129 (29 USD), these wireless earbuds are among the cheapest branded wireless earphones you can get this year. But with such an affordable price tag, did Oppo sacrfice anything important?

Oppo Enco Buds 2 Specifications

Starting off with battery life, the Oppo Enco Buds 2 have much better battery endurance than its predecessor, the earbuds now feature a bigger 40 mAh Li-ion battery cell, whilst the charging case gets upgraded to a 460 mAh cell.

Oppo claims that with the larger battery, the wireless earbuds managed to record a jaw-dropping 28 hours of continuous music playback, with the charging case included. And when you do need to top up the battery, users need not worry, as the Enco Buds 2 is equipped with USB Type-C charging, a rare find for wireless earbuds under 30 USD.

Next are the audio features. The Oppo Enco Buds 2 have an upgraded 10mm large titanium driver. With the new driver, the Enco Buds 2 is expected to deliver more powerful, clear, deep, and rhythmic bass compared to its predecessor. The new earbuds also have Oppo’s new “Enco Live Stereo Sound Effect” in which you can select custom sound profiles, like Bass Boost which has been tuned by Oppo’s professional acoustic audio team.

Moving onto connectivity, the Oppo Enco Buds 2 has been upgraded to the newest Bluetooth 5.2 standard, which promises low latency and high stability. The earbuds also have what Oppo is calling AI Deep Noise Cancellation, for calls through the earbuds microphone, so that the receiver can hear what you are saying clearer.

And lastly, the Oppo Enco Buds 2 features touch controls to control music playback, volume, and your phone’s camera when you need it. 

However, one thing to note about the Oppo Enco Buds 2 is that it lacks active noise cancellation (ANC), but within the less than 30 USD price range, most of the earbuds lack ANC as well.

The Oppo Enco Buds 2 are rated IPX4 water resistant and are available in two colours: Moonlight and Midnight. They will be going on sale in Malaysia for 129 MYR (29 USD) starting from August 26.

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• OPPO Enco X2 ANC Wireless Earbuds Review: Probably the Best OPPO Product in 2022

(Source)

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After launching in the European market earlier in June 2022, Huawei has finally brought its latest top-of-the-line premium wireless ANC earphones, the Huawei Freebuds Pro 2, to another key global market, Malaysia. 

Co-engineered with Paris-based sound technology company Devialet, the new Huawei Freebuds Pro 2 aims to serve the ultimate acoustic audio experience for its buyers.

Starting with the design, the Huawei Freebuds Pro 2 arrives with a sleek and slim case that resembles much of the Apple AirPods Pro, but Huawei has managed to paint the casing with a matte finish to prevent fingerprints and to provide the case with more grip. Coming to the earbuds themselves, both earbuds are covered in a glossy, shiny, and glimmering paint job, which will attract some attention when you are out in public. Build quality is also on par with the competition with its IP54-rated dust and water resistance.

Audio quality wise, the newly announced Huawei FreeBuds Pro 2 come with dual drivers and three microphones for 47dB noise suppression. These earbuds set a new benchmark for the company in terms of noise cancellation as in the previous generation model, the highest it could go was at 40dB. The new drivers onboard also support the largest audio frequency range in any Huawei earphones to date, going from 14Hz to 48kHz.

Equipped with ‘Triple Adaptive EQ’ technology, Huawei claims the FreeBuds Pro 2 can automatically tune audio according to ear canal structure, wearing posture, and volume level for personalized sound in real-time.

For a truly professional audio listening experience, Huawei has also equipped the Huawei Freebuds Pro 2 with the necessary software features to keep the listening experience as pleasant as possible. The Freebuds Pro 2 not only supports Sony’s superior LDAC codec for wireless audio but also is rated for HWA and Hi-Res Audio Wireless standards, certifying that these earbuds can indeed deliver pure high-quality audio for its users.

Available in Silver Blue, Ceramic White, and Carbon Black, the Huawei Freebuds Pro 2 officially retails in Malaysia for RM899. 

The Huawei Freebuds Pro 2 goes on sale in the country starting from August 25th today, and for the first 1000 customers, they can get a FreeBuds Pro 2 protective case and a free Huawei Music Premium access for 3 months. 

Existing Huawei users in Malaysia are eligible to redeem vouchers worth RM100 via MyHUAWEI App which can be used to purchase the FreeBuds Pro 2 at any HUAWEI Experience Store or HUAWEI Official Website until 11 September 2022.

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(Source, Via)

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Yamaha launched its flagship TW-E7B true wireless earbuds a few months back, and now the company has officially launched the wearable audio device in the United States. The Yamaha TW-E7B are now available for purchase in the US for the price of $275.95.

They are the first wireless earbuds from Yamaha to come with support for the company’s proprietary active-noise cancellation algorithm, which it claims doesn’t “color” audio the saw some other implementations do.

Another interesting feature available on the earphones is the internal microphone, which monitors the space of the user’s ear and its effect on the audio output so that it can be adjusted to deliver a better sound.

It packs 10mm drivers and comes with support for Ambient Mode, which basically allows users to hear the ambient sound and blocks all other noises in the background. There’s also support for Google‘s Fast Pair to connect the device with an Android smartphone quickly.

The earphones also come with dedicated volume buttons, which are not usually found on wireless earbuds. There’s also a low-latency mode for gamers which can be easily activated just by tiple-tapping the volume down button on the right earbud. As for the Bluetooth codec support, there’s AAC and aptX adaptive.

As for the battery on the device, the Yamaha TW-E7B wireless earbuds are promised to offer up to six hours of battery life on a single charge and the charging case increases battery life to 22 hours. It is available in four colors — Black, Dark Blue, Beige, and White.

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• JBL Live Pro 2 TWS earbuds launched in India with 40hr battery, ANC support, and more

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Sennheiser has announced new headphones to its lineup of Momentum premium devices, dubbed Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless which comes with a new design compared to the previously launched models.

The new noise-canceling headphones have been priced at $349.95 and feature a more modern look compared to the retro aesthetic usually found in previous headphones. The new model is also more lightweight and more comfortable to wear.

The Sennheiser Momentum 4 headphones are now available for pre-order, and the company will start selling this new audio product starting from 23rd August.

The highlight of the headphones is the massive battery life, as the company claims that the Momentum 4s can offer up to 60 hours of playback time on a single charge. The battery life is almost double than what the competitor’s products like Sony WH-1000XM5, Bose QuietComfort 45, Apple AirPods Max offer.

It still uses 42mm drivers that the company says are tuned for “brilliant dynamics, clarity, and musicality.” Sennheiser has also moved away from physical button controls and has adopted the same tap and swipe gestures as other popular noise-canceling headphones. As for the support of Bluetooth codecs, it supports AAC, SBC, aptX, and aptX Adaptive. It features multipoint connectivity, including wired USB-C audio.

There are replaceable ear pads made from artificial leather instead of the genuine leather that Sennheiser used before. Unlike the previous models, the new headphones can no longer fold up, but they now come with an improved case with hardshell protection.

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• Sennheiser CX Plus Special Edition TWS earbuds launched in India
• Portronics Muffs A wireless headphones with 30h playback launched for ₹1,999 in India

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Apple has been regularly releasing new software updates and firmware versions for its portfolio of products. The company recently concluded its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), showcasing several new and upcoming features.

Now, the company has started rolling out a new beta firmware version for several AirPods models, including the Apple AirPods 2, AirPods 3, AirPods Pro, and the AirPods Max.

The new beta version for the AirPods lineup bring released by Apple carries version numbers from 5A5282d to 5A5304a. As of now, the new firmware is limited to developers and can be downloaded from the Apple developer website.

Also, to install this new beta firmware for the wearable audio products, the user needs to be running the Apple iPhone with the latest iOS 16 beta operating system or a Mac device with the macOS Ventura beta along with Xcode 14 beta for the supported AirPods.

Apple claims that this new beta firmware version includes improvements to the Automatic Switching as well as some bug fixes and stability improvements. Once the testing is completed, the software will be released to all the AirPods, which could be in fall this year.

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Edifier is a Beijing-based electronics company in the industry, that is mostly known for their expertise in audio consumer electronics like speakers, headsets and also earphones. The brand is still growing in terms of gaining market share in the industry and it cannot be refuted that to quickly gain market share, your entry-level product must be affordable and high-quality for the masses.

This week, the brand announced the Edifier H180 Plus –  a pair of new USB-C half-in-ear wired earphones, that are not only affordable but also decent from the specifications as well. 

Like newer wired earphones, the Edifier H180 Plus connects to your device via USB-C, and as for the durability of the wire, the Edifier H180 Plus is claimed by the company to be durable with a highly flexible polycarbonate coating that allows it to be resistant to scratches, entanglement, and wear and tear. In turn, you can enjoy your music worry-free from harm.

However, what’s surprising about these earphones is the audio quality. These affordable pair of earphones have officially gotten the golden seal of Hi-Res Audio, meaning sound quality can definitely punch above its weight class. 

Edifier’s marketing material mentions that this is achieved with the company’s clever audio engineering. The Edifier H180 Plus is equipped with a 14mm audio driver that allows for frequency ranges from 20Hz to 40kHz, and the bandwidth is 100% higher than competing wired earphones in the market.

In addition, the software on the Edifier H180 Plus is also pretty varied. It is equipped with 4 in-built EQ sound profiles for your music needs, which are respectively: Standard, Pop, Classical and Rock. The in-built microphone is also said to provide high-quality audio recording capabilities. 

The microphone is housed within the control panel that is located on the bottom side of the right earbud. And the controls are physical, as you can easily click on the power button, volume up or volume down button for immediate feedback and control.

The Edifier H180 Plus comes in two colours – Black and White and goes on sale in China today for an official retail price of 69 RMB (11 USD).

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(Source, Via)

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In September this year, Meizu’s mBlu sub-brand made a comeback after it was shut down for about 1269 days. One of the first products coming from this new brand was mBlu Blus true wireless earbuds.

Today, the company has officially confirmed thorugh a teaser poster that an upgraded version of the same in China, dubbed as Meizu mBlu Blus+ will be officially launched in its home country China on 3rd November.

Previously, it was confirmed by the brand that the product will be available in the “Azure” color scheme but nothing much has been revealed yet. It will be interesting to see how the Plus variant will be different from the standard model available now.

The recently launched Meizu mBlu Blus comes with 12mm drivers and connects via Bluetooth 5.2, along with support for quick pairing with Meizu smartphones. These IPX4-rated earbuds also come with support for touch gestures controls.

There’s also Active Noise Cancellation for up to 30dB. The TWS earphones come powered by a 43mAh battery each, whereas the charging case includes a 520mAh battery. The company claims that it offers up to 30 hours of usage without ANC and with ANC enabled, the battery life reduces to about 25 hours.

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Realme seems to be on a launching spree. The company had launched several products last month at an event named “AIoT Grand Launch Season 3” and now the company held a similar event in Malaysia today named “AIoT Sports Launch,” introducing a few new products in the market, including Realme Pocket Bluetooth Speaker, Realme Watch 2 Pro, and Realme Buds Wireless 2.

The Realme Pocket Bluetooth Speaker, as the name indicates, is designed to ensure that it easily fits into the pocket of the users, making it easy to carry around. This new light and portable speaker is ideal for good sound quality in almost any situation, says the company.

The device is made of durable material, as per the company, but it is just a clear way to avoid saying plastic. It weighs 113 grams and comes with a wrist strap attached.

It packs 3W Dynamic Bass Boost Driver combined with a passive radiator. As per Realme, it offers rich and deep bass, even when the user is in an outdoor location. It is rated IPX5, making it water sprays and splash resistant.

The product supports stereo pairing and three equalizer presets, meaning two speakers can be connected together to offer a stereo music experience. The three preset equalizers include Bass, Dynamic, and Bright.

For connectivity, there’s Bluetooth 5.0 that has a transmission range of up to 10 meters. There’s also a Game Mode for syncing audio and video while playing games or watching movies. It can be connected to the smartphone using the Realme Link application.

As for the battery life, the company claims that it can offer six hours of continuous playback on a single charge. The device can be charged with a USB Type-C cable which is included in the box.

The Realme Pocket Bluetooth Speaker comes in two color options — Desert Grey and Classic Black. It is priced at RM 79 which roughly converts to $19 and will soon be available for purchase in Malaysia. The product could soon be launched in other regions also.

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DXOMARK has released more reports and this time it is the HomePod mini and iPhone 12 Pro Max‘s Audio tests. The former, despite performing well for the size, is nowhere near the competition in score. The iPhone, however, gets a step closer to rankings compared to its sibling.

Apple HomePod mini

To begin with, Apple’s HomePod mini gets a global score of 98. Not that this score is outstanding or anything but it seems to do a good job despite a smaller dimension. To compare, top contenders like Amazon Echo Studio and Google Nest Audio sit at the top with 124 and 112 points respectively.

Do note that this category is for Essential Wireless Speakers(under EUR 200). The report says the speaker produces good timbre, treble, and clear mid-range sounds. Although it has a smaller(8.5cm) height, the 360° sound helps it get a consistent sound throughout with less artifacts.

However, it lacks bass, stereo effect, not-so-high Max volume, and has low-mid tones. Typically, it looks to be suitable for indoors(background music), and casual listening but doesn’t impress as a speaker in a loud party scenario.

EDITOR’S PICK: DXOMARK China picks best Smartphones and Smart Speaker in different categories

iPhone 12 Pro Max

Apple’s iPhone 12 recently got a score of 73 points but the higher sibling beats it by a point more. And in doing so, Apple’s 2020 top-of-the-line flagship iPhone 12 Pro Max scores a good 74 overall points. It also gets the better of its spiritual predecessor iPhone 11 Pro Max which is three points behind(71).

The device offers good timbre with good high-end/low-end extension and consistent tones at all volumes. The dynamics of sound seem to be good and the report also says the speaker is suited for gaming with good spatial attributes(playback).

Overall, Audio is also good when recording/playing in noisy environments, and selfie-videos’ output is above-average. But it has Cons like occluded microphone placement(while playing/recording), small distortion in loud content, too bright and aggressive trebles.

UP NEXT: Vivo X51 levels iPhone 12 Pro and Galaxy S20 Ultra in DXOMARK display test

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Apple has finally launched it’s first over-the-ear wireless headphones today. Named AirPods Max, the headphones come with a premium price tag and features like (Active Noise Cancellation)ANC, high-fidelity audio, and more.

AirPods Max – Price, Availability

Addressing the elephant in the room, Apple’s AirPods Max comes in five colors- space gray, silver, sky blue, green, and pink. It will be available in the US and 25 other countries(incl. India, China). You can look at the US, China, India Pricing below:

• China- 4,399 yuan
• India-₹59,900
• USA-$549

The AirPods Max is available for pre-order starting today(December 8) and will go on sale from December 15.

 Design

The AirPods Max takes a slightly different approach to the wireless headphones category. It has a breathable knit mesh on the top that rests on the head of the users. Apple says the canopy(ornamental cloth) will reduce the pressure and distribute the weight of headphones well. Additionally, the frame of the headphone is made of stainless steel for strength and comfort.

1 of 2

Besides, the telescoping arms are meant for flexibility and fitting across different sizes. The headphones also have memory foam cushions, a Digital crown for volume control, play/pause music, answer/skip calls, activate Siri. There is also a button for switching between ANC and Transparency mode.

EDITOR’S PICK: Apple AirPods 3 reportedly set to launch in March next year

Audio

Apple says the AirPods Max has a 40mm dynamic driver designed by the company for high-fidelity audio. There is also a dual neodymium ring magnet motor for THD<1(Total Harmonic Distortion). To control them optimally, Apple has used an H1 chip (which is also present on the AirPods 2) in each earcup. The company says that AirPods Max is capable of computational audio with an H1 chip, acoustic design, and software.

Accordingly, the audio features include an Adaptive EQ, ANC, Transparency Mode, and spatial audio. Adaptive EQ measures sound signals and adjust it according to the earbuds in real-time. ANC, as you all know is for canceling out the background noise. There are 3xmicrophones outside and 1xmicrophone inside the earcup for managing environmental noise.

Further, the Transparency mode is just like an ambient mode that allows users to know what’s happening around. Apple says it uses Gyroscope and Accelerometer to track the user’s head movement and map audio for a theatre-like experience(for 5.1, 7.1, Dolby Atmos content) with Spatial audio.

Features

Just like the AirPods earphones, AirPods Max headphones also support a one-tap setup, automatic pairing with Apple devices. Plus, it has wear detection where it can play/pause music when the user lifts an ear cup. Regarding battery life, AirPods Max is claimed to give 20hrs of audio/call/movie playback in one charge.

Other features include automatic switching to seamlessly switch between Apple devices, Audio Sharing to share audio stream between two sets of AirPods on iPhone/iPad/Mac, and accessing Siri for music, calls, navigations, and more. Not to mention the AirPods Max also comes with a Smart Case in the box to save battery when not in use.

UP NEXT: Alivecor files lawsuit on Apple for infringing its patents on ECG feature

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Lenovo Legion Phone Pro is the company’s gaming smartphone and comes with top-of-the-line specifications and some impressive features. It also has dual front-facing speakers and a quad-microphones setup with Qualcomm’s noise reduction technology.

Now, DxOMark has published a new report related to the smartphone’s audio performance and gave it 59 points, with playback being rated at 64 and recording at 44.

The phone’s score of 59 points puts it in the lower ranks of devices for audio performance. However, the audio score for gaming use-case is better. Comparing it to other gaming smartphones, the Asus ROG 3 scored 75 points while Nubia Red Magic 3S scored 64 points.

The report from DxOMark says that the phone good dynamics performance. But, it says that tonal balance is off due to the lack of clarity. It notes that treble is muffled while the mid-range is inconsistent and the bass gets distorted even at nominal volume.

EDITOR’S PICK: Huawei confirms selling its Honor subsidiary to Zhixin New Information Technology Co. Ltd

The Lenovo Legion Phone Pro was launched in August this year, marking the brand’s debut in the gaming smartphone category. The device features a 6.65-inch Full HD+ AMOLED display with a refresh rate of 144Hz.

It is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 Plus flagship platform with up to 16GB of RAM and 512 GB of internal storage. The device comes packed with a 5,000mAh battery that supports 90W fast charging technology.

The device is equipped with a game acceleration engine (GAE) and has ultrasonic buttons on both sides to start the game acceleration engine. During gaming, players can quickly switch perspectives through the shaking of the phone. As for the pricing, the 8GB RAM variant starts at 3,499 yuan (~$521) in China.

UP NEXT: Google Pixel 5 suffers from an issue with system volume, which is scaring users

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When buying a smartphone nowadays, most people expect it to do everything perfectly. Well, we are not there yet as smartphones are capable of dozens of things but not at top level. One of the biggest complaints of users is the fact that most smartphones have limited performance DAC chips and audiophiles have to resort to other, more expensive, solutions to get the sound they want.

This is the problem that IKKO, a Chinese manufacturer, is trying to solve with its new product, IKKO-ITM05 Music Patch. What the music patch does is connect to your phone’s or computer’s USB or lightning port and convert the digital signal to analog. Also, it has 2 audio out ports, one 3.5mm and one 2.5mm so that you can connect your headphones or other equipment. According to the company, the Music Patch sports two CS43198 DAC chips and has a distortion rating of only 0.0008%.

This isn’t an easy market to compete in as portable DACs and amps market has been growing in recent years, but the ITM05 looks to be the smallest one yet. It weighs only 30 grams (comparable to a AAA battery), and features both USB-C and Lightning support.

The IKKO-ITM05 will go live on Indiegogo next month and it is expected to draw much attention from audiophiles as the way it attaches to the back of the phone makes it easy to carry around. You can check out the early information posted on Indiegogo as well as on their official website.

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The earphones market is flooded with a variety of different options. I’ve tested quite a few earphones over the time but I was really impressed by Symphonized NRG 2.0. They are handcrafted from natural wood, they sound great and the cost just $25. Learn more in the full review.

Symphonized NRG 2.0 Earphones Review: VIDEO

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bF6GztLDyxg[/embedyt]

Symphonized NRG 2.0 Earphones Review: UNBOXING

It all starts with a great presentation. Everything is packed neatly and the contents of the box include the headset itself, some extra earbuds, a clip, some documentation and a really cool carrying pouch.

Symphonized NRG 2.0 Earphones Review: DESIGN

The main highlight of this headset is that the earbuds are made of natural wood to assure a great sound quality and exceptional looks.

The wood housing is really strong and it doesn’t seem to break anytime soon.

The cable is really nice too and most importantly, it is tangle-free.

The controller has a built-in mic for hands-free calling and the call quality is exceptionally great and people I spoke to via this mic didn’t even notice that I was using a hands-free headset.

The controller has only one button. It can play/pause the music if you press it once and skip tracks back and forth if you press it twice or 3 times, respectively. Unfortunately, you cannot control volume output.

The 3.5mm headset jack is actually gold-plated to prevent any sound leakages. My complaint about the jack is that it is quite huge in comparison to some other headset jacks I’ve seen.

Symphonized NRG 2.0 Earphones Review: SOUND QUALITY

As for sound quality, these are simply one of the best budget earphones I’ve ever heard. The sound is crisp and clear, there is a huge amount of bass and the volume output is loud. Overall, I’m really impressed with the sound quality and having tested a bunch of budget earphones, these are definitely one of the better ones.

Symphonized NRG 2.0 Earphones Review: CONCLUSIONS

The Symphonized earphones are quite a unique product if we consider a low price and overall package.

They are hand-crafted from natural wood, the sound quality is one of the best in class, the mic quality is very good and the headset comes with a tangle-free cable.

However, the headset jack could be slightly smaller and although I like the one button controller design, I would love to have the ability to control the volume output too.

All in all, the Symphonized NRG 2.0 is a great headset despite a few shortcomings. In fact, it is an awesome product considering the overall quality, the fact that is hand-made of wood and the low price tag.

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Ulefone revealed at MWC 2016 in Barcelona, Spain that their upcoming device will be targeted at audiophiles and will come with Hi-Fi audio. The phone was previously called as the Alpha, but was later renamed to Ulefone Vienna. The company has been revealing some of the features of the device in the days to its launch, and now, Ulefone has confirmed that the Vienna will feature a better CPU and larger RAM module than previously reported.

Ulefone has confirmed now that the Ulefone Vienna will feature a much faster octa-core MT6753 processor. This is actually pretty good news since the phone was previously said to come with the low-end MT6735P quad-core chip. Moreover, the company has decided to upgrade the RAM to 3GB instead of just 2GB. The phone will also come with a larger 32GB internal storage allowing you to store all of your flawless audio files without much worry.

The company has also confirmed that the Ulefone Vienna will come with a 5.5-inch Sharp Full HD 1080p display. The screen will get oleophobic coating while the back will get anti-brasion treatment which will ensure that the phone is protected by fingerprints, scratches and dirt.

To recap, the Vienna will come with the Smart Audio PA chipset offered by NXP which is a comprehensive DAC and amplifier solution independent of the CPU. The phone will launch in this month itself, but the company is yet to reveal an exact release date.

So, what do you think? Does a Hi-Fi equipped affordable Ulefone device interest you?

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