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.

Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 goes Wireless

Behold the Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 Wireless.

One of the best THX certified 2.1 speaker systems adds wireless convenience.  The original version of these ProMedias is one of my all time favorite 2.1 speaker systems.  The punch these babies offer is pure Klipsch goodness and now they get even better with the recognition that so many people want the flexibility to sit where they want with their laptops, not always within cord's length of their speakers.

At $199, this is some pretty great value from a proven acoustic design.

and yes... Avnera is inside!

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.

Welcome to the party, Bose. SoundLink joins a cool crowd.

From Bose press release announcing the Bose SoundLink Wireless Music System.

“Many people use a computer as their primary source for music,” said John Roselli, category business manager for Bose Corporation. “But that convenience and experience is diminished by having to be at the computer to hear it. The Bose SoundLink system unlocks that music, streaming it almost anywhere in the home –- even outside –- quickly and easily.”

Yes.  This has been the premise around numerous entry-level applications that Avnera has enabled with its AudioMagic product line.  As opined on Engadget today, Bose's offering at $549.99 is pretty expensive, more so than the applications Avnera has already enabled in this application space – the idea being making such a cool function accessible to more users.  So I'm happy to see this announcement because, with Bose's marketing machine putting the "reason-to-buy" into consumers' minds, it will shed a renewed light on the more affordable solutions already out there to enable unleashed PC music listening.

Here are a few affordable SoundLink alternatives:

• AudioEngine W1, $149 – USB to wireless line-out receiver.  Bring your own speakers.  Any speakers.  Amazon bundles AudioEngine's own A5 with a "price for both" of $474.  Will absolutely destroy the Bose in performance.  Or use the W1 with the aux input on the iHome iP1 and make your own bundle for $448 (like a high-end Mint... what a segue).


• Mint 220 Digital Music Station, $119.99 – Exactly the same concept as Bose's offering, but with the added utility of an iPod dock on the speaker itself making it more versatile.


• Rocketfish RF-WS01, $104.99 – Line-in transmitter with two wireless speakers for separate left and right arrangement, or dual zone mono operation.  Expandable with the RF-WS02 as well.

I love a market!

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.