Manufacturers of personal audio devices also made an appearance in CES 2017. The name of the game is wireless for audio devices this year, but a few brands made notable innovations when it comes to delivering high quality sound to your ears. Here are our picks for the products you may want to invest to enhance your listening experience.
Sony
Sony has been one of the names that pop up when there’s talk about personal audio products, and this year’s CES saw two new wireless headphones: the MDR-XB950N1 and MDR-XB950B1. These cans feature 40mm drivers and are compatible with aptX and AAC codecs. Both can also stream audio via Bluetooth or NFC connections depending on your device capability. With the Sony Headphones Connect app, you can recreate various sound scenes that they headphones will adjust to: a club, music hall, or outdoors. The best part of these headphones would be the possibility of wired connection, making these a very flexible option for people who still can’t let go of wiring.
Sennheiser
Sennheiser’s offerings completely cut cords, opting for pure Bluetooth 4.1 connectivity. This should not affect the quality so much, because the new Urbanite headphones and Momentum In-Ear Wireless monitors support aptX and AAC codecs. The IEMs also come with NFC connectivity, 10 hours of playback time, and a comfortable leather-lined neckband to keep everything in order.
The Urbanite headphones are built for the city commute, combining the company’s top notch audio quality with stylish aesthetics that will surely turn heads. The headphones come with 32mm drivers and have hands-free capability so you can answer the phone without taking the actual device out of your pocket.
Audio-Technica
The brand’s offerings are a first: the ATH-DSR9BT and ATH-DSR7BT headphones by Audio-Technica are their first pair of wireless cans. The company also integrated new technology, called the Pure Digital Drive system. It keeps the audio signal purely digital from your music source to the 45mm True Motion drivers in the headphones, keeping the sound faithful to the original (digital) recording.
Audeze
Most interesting in this year’s personal audio lineup at CES are the Audeze ISINE20 in-ear planar magnetic earphones. This is a first for this kind of technology, as the brand has been manufacturing planar magnetic headphones since it was put up. The sound is clearer with low distortion and big bass when needed. The ISINE 20 features a DAC and amp built in, which processes the sound to produce rich and true audio. The earphones come with a standard 3.5mm audio jack and a Lightning cable for iPhones.
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