eers

High-end audio's greatest hits from CES

As I said a few days ago, bona fide audio breakthroughs are rare, but there was no shortage of interesting gear at this year's CES shindig in Las Vegas.

Stereophile's Tyll Hertsens spotted Furutech's GT-40 combination USB digital-to-analog converter/phono preamp/headphone amp. The device can rip your vinyl or play computer files at up to 24-bit/96-kHz resolution with USB convenience, and includes a high-quality headphone amp. It looks great!

CNET's Natali Morris' report on Sculpted Eers' custom-molded in-ear headphones looked really interesting. Every other custom molded in-ear on the market requires the buyer to first go to an audiologist to make "ear impressions" of your ear canals, which are sent to the headphone manufacturer; you get your headphones a couple of weeks later. With these Sculpted Eers headphones, you go to a store that sells Sculpted Eers and they make your headphones on the spot. Prices start around $149, which is $250 less than any custom-molded in-ears I've tested to date. How good are they? We'll see.

Over at Audio Review, Adam LaBarge was bowled over by Zu Audio's new $40,000 flagship speaker, the Dominance. LaBarge called it "a well-tamed beast that is just waiting to explode." Zu founder Sean Casey told me about this speaker a few weeks ago, and he sounded pretty excited about it. Zu has made its name selling affordable (by high-end standards) American-designed and -built speakers. For example, the $1,000-a-pair Zu Omen is getting great word of mouth, so I'm super-curious about this mega-buck Zu. … Read more

CES: CEO on Eers custom-molded earbuds (podcast)

"Ears are more distinctive than fingerprints," Sonomax CEO Nick Laperle said at the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show shortly after introducing the Eers custom-molded earbuds kit.

Laperle said the kit comes with a recyclable headband that you place on your head with the earbuds in your ears. Silicon is then inserted into the earbuds to mold them to your ear.

I didn't have a chance to try out the product, but CNET blogger Tim Hornyak did and wrote that he "found the sound quality surprisingly good--far better than my uncomfortable one-shape-fits-all earphones."

As Laperle explains in … Read more

CES: Sonomax Eers offers instant custom-molded earphones

LAS VEGAS--Hate it when you're jogging and your earphones drop out? Sonomax's Eers custom-molded earphones fit perfectly into your ears so music is isolated from ambient noise.

That means you can enjoy tunes at lower volumes and reduce the risk of hearing loss, according to Montreal-based Sonomax. The unique feature of its Eers series (initially dubbed "Soundcage") is that the headphones come in a kit with a silicone injection system that does the job in only four minutes.

The headphones are initially attached to a recyclable headband that's preloaded with medical-grade silicone. You fit it … Read more