American figure skaters, Gracie Gold and Ashley Wagner, were shown in the warm-up area at the 2014 Sochi Olympics both wearing SOL REPUBLIC Tracks HD On-Ear Headphones. They had the obligatory piece of duct tape over the “SOL” logo that appear on the outside of the ear cups. But there is no disguising these headphones. Not only could you still see the solid black line extending out from under the tape, but they had the tell-tale section of head-band visible below the ear-cup. This is due to the way the SOL Republics adjustable cans slide up and down the head-band. You can even switch the headbands out for different ones. They are interchangeable!
These headphones have a 3-button control for phone mic and music, like most modern music listening cans. They are compatible with most Apple and Android devices.
To find out more about these headphones, or to buy a pair of your own, CLICK HERE.
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Audio Gear Deals For The Holidays
There are all kinds of great deals on audio gear – microphones, headphones, interfaces, etc. – going on for the 2013 holidays. If you’ve been waiting for prices to drop on the things you need (or want;)) to take your home recording efforts to the next level, now might be the time you’ve been waiting for.
The widget below is a real-time list of other Holiday Deals in the Pro Audio category at B&H:
You can also just CLICK HERE to see all the Holiday specials for the rest of the year (audio, video, photo, computers, etc.). Just click on the words “HOLIDAY SHOPPING” to see all the specials.
Of course, there is always Amazon. Below are some links to their top deals in the TV, Video and Audio category:
In-Ear Noise-Canceling Headphones – Bose QC20
The Bose QuietComfort 20 and 20i (QC20/QC20i) is an in-ear headphone (or I guess you can call them earphones, like we had when I was a kid in the 70s) that by all accounts is the best noise-canceling headphones available that are not big cups that hang off the side of your head.
I said “by all accounts” because the reviews by the likes of CNET and Forbes have anointed the QC20 the clear winner in the category of noise-cancellation by from, basically, earbuds.
It has become common with people who travel a lot, especially on planes, to block out distracting and irritating noise. The tool of choice for this has become noise-canceling headphones. Typically you have only been able to get this from traditional type headphones, either the kind that go on your ears, or the kind that go over them, fully encompassing your ears and resting on your noggin. That last variety is called “circumaural” or just full size headphones.
Circumaural headphones have the advantage, right off the bat, of being able to block out noise simply because they seal around your ears. This is called passive noise reduction. Then if you add active noise cancellation – electronically preventing certain frequencies from being audible (by means of mirroring incoming sound and creating a negative of it) – and it becomes pretty clear that you can get the most noise reduction from circumaural headphones. That’s why you see so many people on airplanes these days looking like they just came off a firing range. They’re bulky and unwieldy.
So wouldn’t it be great if you could get similar noise-blocking from something a lot more convenient like earbuds? They can provide some passive noise cancellation by physically blocking your ear canal. But if you add in the active noise cancellation too, you can have a much lower profile, lighter, and more convenient experience while traveling.
Of course there are several brands of in-ear noise-cancelling headphones out there. But the Bose QuietComfort 20 and 20i (the 20i being the one specifically designed for Apple iPods, iPhones and iPads) has been dubbed the best of these in several on-line reviews, including this one from CNET – Bose QuietComfort 20 review.
Of course, as with most modern noise-canceling headphones, the QC20s are equipped with in-line mic/remote for Android, Blackberry, and Windows phones. And the QC20i works with iPhones.
So if you are looking for a quiet traveling experience, but don’t want to deal with big, bulky headphones, the best quality you can get comes in the form of the Bose QC20. CLICK HERE for more information or to buy.
Mixing With Headphones
When doing multi-track music recording, you obviously must mix all the instruments and voices together at the end so that everything is heard and plays well together. The challenge in mixing is to make sure many different sounds are audible in the right context and in the correct space – both left-to-right as well as front-to-back. One common rule-of-thumb is “never mix with headphones.” More specifically, it means you should not mix with ONLY headphones. You get a much more accurate picture (odd word to use for audio, right?) of what’s going on if you can hear the mix through loudspeakers (monitors), so the sound is coming through the air before it hits your ears.
However, if your space – typically a converted bedroom when we are talking about home recording studios – is less than ideal, mixing with loudspeakers creates its own problems. Reflections off the walls, ceiling, floor, etc. bounce around and create inaccuracies in what you ultimately hear (constructive and destructive wave interference are the culprits, in case you remember your wave mechanics from school;)). So there are times when it is advisable to do your mixing with both headphones and with loudspeakers.
Björgvin Benediktsson has some tips for this in his post over at Audio Issues. Check them out here: http://www.audio-issues.com/music-mixing/mixing-with-headphones-use-this-one-trick-for-better-translation/#axzz2ceYlFcI2
Victoria Azarenka Wears Powerbeats by Dr. Dre In-Ear Headphones
Victoria Azarneka, in action a few weeks ago, at the French Open, wears Powerbeats by Dr. Dre before all her tennis matches. I first noticed this before the 2012 US Open Tennis Championship match, when they always show the players inside just before their pre-match interview. I’m expecting that she will do the same today [this is an update to the post as of Sep 8th, 2013] in her fina (once again) with Serena Williams (once again). I’ve seen her with these a few more times since then with the same Powerbeats hook-over-the-ear type of in-ear headphones. Here is what I wrote at the time by way of description of these Powerbeats.
Add Victoria Azarenka to the list of athletes who wear Dr. Dre headphones. At the 2012 US Open, it was very clear to see that she was wearing Powerbeats by Dr. Dre In-Ear Headphones during her pre-match interview for both the semi-finals on Friday and the finals on Sunday. The thing that is different about these though, is that they are more like ear buds than headphones. I really like this type of headphone because they allow you to go jogging without falling out of your ears like regular ear buds. And it would be pretty awkward to jog with full-on headphones.
The Powerbeats provide the same great audio quality as the full-sized headphones in the Dr. Dre line, the Beats by Dr. Dre. Plus unlike most ear bud type phones, these offer ControlTalk for on-cable iPod/iPhone control.
To find out more or buy a pair, click here.