earphones

As rumors continue to swirl about Shaq retiring, we've got an idea for his post-NBA career: as a pitchman for these giant earphone speakers. He's one of the few living giants who could probably fit them in his ears.

The rest of us will have to keep them on the desk beside the computer, which most likely would be a Mac. (Why else would anyone buy a pair of speakers designed to look like the iPod's standard white earbuds?) The name, by the way--"500xl"--refers to their supposed dimensions, 500 times larger than the … Read more

When you think of earphones, you might think of Sennheiser, Etymotic or Shure. The name that won't immediately jump out at you like a lame plastic corpse on a ghost train is Klipsch. Quite justified you'd be too--Klipsch is best known for its loudspeakers. But there are three pairs of sound-isolating earphones hitting the market from the company, starting with the Custom-1, going up to the Custom-2 and--would you Adam and Eve it?--the Custom-3.

As sound isolators, they'll let you keep the volume of your music player down by blocking out external noise. All three models … Read more

This is either a special product made for a very special person (with four ears) or a decidedly old-school way of getting around file-sharing laws. Either way, we wouldn't count on a huge market for this double headset.

Akihabara News says SKPAD's latest invention can be used with any device that has a standard headphone jack, though we're not sure about quality. And because it seems to work like a splitter or an adapter for multiple earphones, we're also not sure about the $37 price.

Something like this might be useful on a plane or in … Read more

We're not convinced that combo mouse phones are the way of the future but, hey, if there's a market for laptop trackballs then anything's possible. In fact, the competition is apparently heating up sufficiently so that manufacturers are vying to cram even more functions into the devices--the latest being an earphone.

Why? For "extra privacy," as Geek Alerts notes, though there's no microphone boom to whisper into. But we suppose one can't be too picky about a Skype phone combined with an 800 DPI optical mouse that goes for $22.

Bundled earphones suck. I'm talking about the ones that came with your Zen, Zune, iPod, or whatever. (Exception: the Zune 80's "premium" set.) If you really want to enjoy your music, nothing beats a good pair of sound-isolating in-ear earphones. Like, say, the Etymotic ER6i Isolator, which Amazon currently has on sale for $69.99 shipped.

I've owned a set of these for a couple years, and I absolutely love them. (I'm not the only one: Check out CNET's review.) They're not only way more comfortable than earbuds, but they block out … Read more

Our good friends at Sennheiser gave us a one-to-one demo of the company's new additions to the CX range of earphones yesterday. Our pick of the bunch, which we'll be reviewing shortly, were the CX 400s--a pair of sound-isolating earphones to succeed the impressive CX 300s.

The 400s are pitched with the promise of a balanced sound and convenient features such as a symmetrical earphone cable, detachable extensions, an included carry pouch and various sizes of isolating tips. For 50 pounds (about $101) there's a pleasant bit of kit on offer. But is it worth 50 … Read more

Most portable audio and video players come bundled with average, if not, crappy earphones. The sad part is that a lot of people don't seem bothered by the poor sound quality, or aren't even aware of it.

Altec Lansing claims its Upgrader series of headphones targets music listeners dissatisfied with the earbuds included with their players and are looking to "upgrade" to better sound quality. To cater to different preferences, the Upgrader series is split into three main categories: inEar, onEar, and overEar.

The inEar offerings (UHP306, UHP336, UHP101, and UHP301) feature the SnugFit design that … Read more

There are three essential things that make certain mornings double-plus awesome: coffee, icanhascheezburger, and new earphones. Today, armed with a freshly brewed Americano, eight new lolcats and the brand-new Denon C551 'phones, we're happier than a midget at a People Who Look Like Gnomes convention.

The C551s are the very latest and greatest from Denon and we've been excited about them since first hearing of their release. We've been fans of the previous model from Denon, the C700s, and after getting our hands on a pair of the C551s we noted a number of similarities, but … Read more

V-Moda has always been able to combine quality with high fashion, not an easy feat considering the limited canvas afforded by something as small as an earbud. And now it's managed to cram a key new function into its headsets as well.

The latest version of its "Vibe Duo" model is designed for the iPhone with a built-in set of controls that include functions for calls as well as music--yet another reflection of the ever-converging worlds of mobile handsets and media players. Apple includes its own headphones with the iPhone but worked with V-Moda to develop its … Read more