WoW Wireless marks first Avnera headset available on Apple.com

Following in the footsteps of the Avnera AudioMagic-based products that's have come before from FREETALK, Creative, Logitech, ASUS, and Plantronics – the Sound Blaster World of Warcraft Wireless Headset sports some seriously tweaked features as highlighted on Apple.com's product page:

• Uncompressed 2.4GHz wireless technology (ahem, the one we know and love)
• THX TruStudio PC sound technologies create unprecedented levels of audio realism with stunning surround effects, producing virtual speakers around, above, and below you (THX!)
• Customize your headset with the interchangeable headset lenses (WoW!)
• Oversized ear cups and padding for comfortable gaming even during extended sessions (hardcore gamer requirement)
• Morph your voice into different World of Warcraft characters and creatures with VoiceFX technology (huh? ok)
• Detachable noise-canceling microphone for clear, precise speech deliver
• World of Warcraft Audio Control Panel lets you personalize your headset and enhance your audio experience (tweak!)

The Sound Blaster offering is without a doubt the most differentiated and targeted product to be based on Avnera's single chip solutions: one for the plug-and-play wireless USB-Audio adaptor and the other for the wireless stereo headset.  Each IC integrates all the core wireless, audio, and power management circuitry needed to make these products, but they also provided just enough interfaces, including a general purpose data sideband for wireless control and meta data, to allow vendors to build application enhancements like the backlit ear cups, and game controls of the WoW piece.

As the headline implies, it's somewhat notable for followers of proprietary wireless audio technologies that this product made it's way onto Apple.com, featured on Mac accessory pages of the Apple Online Store.  It's gratifying to see a wireless headphone/headset product that isn't Bluetooth penetrate the traditionally Bluetooth friendly Apple channel (and please correct me if there has been a counterexample I missed along the way).  Just goes to show you can't keep a great technology and a killer user experience off the heads of consumers.  It just took a little feature innovation from the folks at Sound Blaster to get it over the hump.

Very nice! Let's hope it sells through at $159.99.

Updates: Sound Blaster World of Warcraft Wireless Headset

Creative finally released the deets on the new Sound Blaster World of Warcraft Wireless Headset.  A full product page at their site gives you all the info you need.  There is some seriously cool features on this headset for the hardcore WoW masses.  Check out the screen shot of the application for customizing the backlight color and intensity, audio effects controls, and more.  Sweet.

Hopefully some hands on reviews after the ShowStoppers event at CES this week.  From the ShowStoppers website.

CREATIVE LABS

Get Creative at Showstoppers. See the highly anticipated Creative Sound Blaster World of Warcraft Wireless Headset and the new Vado HD Pocket Video Cam, plus exciting new introductions in speaker systems and digital audio.

FREETALK Wireless (2nd Gen) in the house! Literally.

Along with a couple other little gadgets, the FREETALK Wireless headset arrived in the mail from InStoreSolutions (ISS). This product – before even getting into it – holds a special place in my heart, as it uses a chipset from Avnera that I helped design and target at precisely this usage model. That all started six years ago... but amazingly enough this is the first 2nd Generation model to emerge from one of the chipset's adopters. The other first generation products from Logitech, Plantronics, and Creative are still out there, and going strong (save for Creative's which is hard to come by... unfortunately because their mic boom was h-o-t).

Cracking the box open, plugging it in... all worked without a hitch. Devices were paired out of the box, so no setup, and plugging it into the MacBookPro was seamless. Plug and Play, as usual, painless.

The high points

Compared to the first generation FREETALK, the new model is more comfortable, sports a folding design, and comes with a protective and compact carrying case. Definite improvements. The mic boom is the same variety that Creative used, and so it is awesome in feel and manipulation, however the mic tip itself is kinda chunky and blah.

While heating my dinner in the microwave, there was slight interference, but no interruptions... just some warbling and slightly chirpy distortion which is a result of the error concealment algorithms employed by Avnera. To further make life difficult for the FREETALK, there was WiFi active in the same room, as well as one other AvneraAudio device sending audio within my home-theater space. Basically, it's nice to see after a couple years, the wireless audio chipset holds up to even some pretty insane usage stress.

Range performance was particularly good on the model I received. I easily had 45 feet through two walls. Slightly better than the Plantronics .Audio 995 I usually use, and where my head position can cause drop outs when I am on the other end of the my space. Nothing of the sort with the FREETALK. I'm sure the manufacturer has taken their learnings from building the first generation model which always helps maintain RF performance and consistency. It's not unusual for a high level of variability to plague wireless performance on one piece versus the next. It's maddening for makers, and more important those poor users who get stuck with one... just make sure you save your receipts for a day or two.

Switzerland

A few points to note regarding this model that I am fairly neutral about. This second generation FREETALK Wireless has a proper dongle without the wire tethered "puck" of the the first generation model. I guess I like it for cleanliness sake, but it also bugs a little me because I am always worried I will wrench it while plugged into my MacBook Pro.

I noticed the addition of microphone sidetone added into the headphone audio – something the Logitech had, and I personally could care less about.

The other aspect of this model I could take or leave is the new style.   The design has a very generic industrial design on the cups, and if I had to sound negative here in Switzerland, the silkscreening was a bit garish and clumsy looking.

My one (real) disappointment

Where this particular model really fell short of its pioneering predecessors was in the sound quality – both in tonal aspects, and in audible noise level.

To my ear, the 2nd Gen FREETALK sounds a little tinny and less precise than the Logitech and Plantronics models, and perhaps even less forgivably, worse than the 1st Gen FREETALK (which trumped them all to be frank).  I am disappointed that ISS didn't follow through on the most stealthy, audio value device in this space.

The second issue is noise. When there is nothing playing through, there is an audible amount of noise to be heard. A shame, and a blemish on what could be a much better SNR given the core system employed. I admit I'm a little more critical than most, and it's really only noticeable when music isn't playing... but as a hint to technical folks associated with this product, the noise I am hearing does not change with the volume level of the headphone DAC which (I think) means that the audio is coupling into the speakers themselves directly from the circuit itself.

Again, all three models I've used extensively before this did not exhibit this noise problem, which to me is a factor of the maker and product development decisions made while bringing this product to market.

Hopefully some tweaks improve this as production moves forward, or perhaps I had a bad unit in some respect.

Overall

For US$79.99, this product is a considerably good value for the features and experience it provides.  It's no secret my personal favorite Avnera-based headset is the Plantronics .Audio 995, but considering the latest FREETALK gets better range, is more compact and carry-friendly, and assuming they can fix the one needling audio quality issue, I would say it's a toss up between these two models.

Many users stand to be very satisfied. It's also great that ISS has stepped up their support levels and so much user frustration from the early days of the first model will be addressed in a better manner going forward.

Second generation FREETALK Wireless Stereo Headset available at Skype.com

Completely updated design, the Freetalk Wireless Stereo Headset is on sale at Skype.com now.

If you were feeling lucky, perhaps you took a shot at one during Engadget's recession antidote yesterday:

Today we've got a FREETALK Wireless Stereo Headset along with a Skype voucher that'll net you free calls for three whole months. The World Plan voucher will link you up anywhere in the world that Skype supports, and coming off of a trip to Central America, we can certainly say it comes in handy (and works well, to boot).

Unless you were the winner, you're gonna want to head to Skype.com to pick yours up.

Another in a long line of Avnera-enabled headsets, I think this one's travel-friendly folding design gives it a clear differentiator to my personal favorite, the Plantronics .Audio 995.

The leader of the pack (imo).

The Plantronics take on Avnera's first gen AudioMagic chips seems to capture the yellow jersey.  Logitech, Creative, and Freetalk may very well still be selling at a strong clip, but the feature set and execution of the .Audio 995 seems to resonate with consumers more than the others – who admittedly are getting long in the tooth.

Just ran across these user reviews over at Amazon, and they made my day, and so I think they are worth reading...

From Chris Zee Shutterbug:

Let me start with something that amazed me. I plugged the USB dongle into the computer, started Itunes, hit play and music started coming from the headphones!!! I did not have to configure a single thing. [...] That level of ease of operation has to be commended.

From Jennifer:

I love these headphones. I got them for my teenage son, but when he told me to listen to the great sound they became mine! The sound quality is incredible. [...] My son used them for World of Warcraft and he said the sound was awesome. He wants them back...but I've found a great hiding place and I am keeping them!

From CR Swanson:

I've reviewed three different headphones for Amazon Vine, including the three-hundered dollar Monster Beats, and this is, by far, the best of the bunch. They're comfy, they have great sound quality and the wireless mode just can't be beat!

From P Colin McGraw (with a gripe for balance):

I usually use wired headsets, and it feels freeing to be able to walk around the room listening to music, not having to navigate to iTunes with my mouse to fast forward as I get tangled in a headphone's cord. In fact, I'd actually use this headset even if I didn't need a microphone for just the awesome wireless headphone capabilities!

If I had to dig deep for a negative, I guess it would be the comfort. [...] the pads on your ears are designed to go ON TOP of your ears instead of AROUND them. It basically smooshes your ears to the side of your head, which you don't mind at first with the soft pads, but it gets uncomfortable after awhile.

Overall, it's hard to find a flaw with these and I'd wholeheartedly recommend them to anyone looking for a headset with or without a mic! It would be hard to design this headset any better and it's a great value!

There is another review, that gave 2 out of 5 stars (when 4/5 is the average over 8 reviews) – feel free to check it out – but from what I know of our technology, he is experiencing a busted antenna, probably a maunfacturing defect...  No other reason why he'd be getting garbagey sound while he moves.  Also, the output power of the headset compared to a 2.4GHz cordless telephone is not even close!  So if he is looking for a source for his wireless-G woes.. he should direct his attention elsewhere.  That's the spectrum monster.  Also he should switch to Skype and junk the 20th century technology.