Where to Buy The Elevoc Clear are available at: Indiegogo Introduction Elevoc, founded in 2017, is one of Qualcomm Ventures’ portfolio companies focused on providing AI-powered audio solutions. They “…develop and deliver deep learning-based speech enhancement and voice interaction technologies for a wide range of products, including smartphones, headphones, PCs, VoIP applications, automobiles, smart home devices, and more.” The Clear is Elevoc’s first product which uses their newly updated Vocplus, a deep learning-based voice enhancement solution, that extracts speech from background noise to enhance voice clarity....

My home country Malaysia is known for many things. The twin towers, pristine beaches, wondrous food, and unabated political turmoil. Beneath the bubbly surface, a few local die-hards carve a niche for themselves in portable audio. There’s Unknown Custom tending to the budget crowd, and Sound Linear tinkering with all sorts of funky hybrids. And then there’s Elysian Acoustic Labs. Positioning himself as the Jimmy Choo of the audio world, founder Lee Quan Min is relatively unknown in Malaysia, but enjoys a healthy following in Japan where he plies his trade....

I grew up on a steady diet of rice, ramen, and kung fu movies. Like any good Jacky Chan flick, the protagonist has to go through increasingly arduous tasks and opponents before saving the village/getting the girl/winning battle of the bands. The payoff is meeting the final boss and delivering sweet, eternal justice via the Five Point Palm Exploding Heart Technique. Without exaggerating, FiiO are the wunderkinds of portable Hi-Fi....

I consider Kennerton’s approach to audio gear similar to ZMF: A premium offer with a focus on handcrafting and a pleasing sound tuning. Build and Style The Vali, as well as the higher-end Kennerton Odin and Thror, have an absolutely amazing build. From the headband to the ear pads, everything feels like pure quality. The design and look has a slight steampunk vibe and is reminiscent of hardware from the 1930s....

The Mangird XENNS UP are a tribrid design that feature beryllium dynamic drivers, electrostatic drivers, and balanced armature drivers. In the current audio scene, tribrids are kind of the rage. The term “tribrid” can be used for IEMs that incorporate 3 different types of drivers in various permutations, from the following driver options: balanced armature, dynamic, EST (electrostatic), planar, or piezoelectric. While the term EST (electrostatic) is commonly used for discussion in tribrids, to be pedantic, the ones used in the budget segment (eg Senfer MT300, Shouer Tape, Shuoer Tape Pro) and even in the more expensive price range (eg the Mangird XENNS UP, DUNU EST 112, Moondrop Variations, ThieAudio Excalibur and Oracle) are usually that of a lower-voltage electret or magnetostatic driver, rather than a true electrostatic driver....

The Noble Audio Zephyr are one of the latest products brought out by Noble Audio. They are hybrid, three-drivers per side IEMs. They are priced from $1450 for the universal form. Noble does offer them in a Prestige Universal form, which you can treat as a one-off edition with a unique design for each of the Prestige universals. The Prestige model is priced from $2300 Noble Audio Noble Audio is one of the giants in the IEMs industry, and I believe every audiophile has heard of them in their audio journey....

To many audiophile purists, the thought of going wireless is sacrilege. “Bluetooth sucks!” they cry out in horror. “How could you even consider it? It makes music sound horrible!” But does it? Really? Does it have to? Bluetooth has been around for more than 20 years (developed in the mid-1990s as a secure way to exchange data between devices). Like any maturing technology, Bluetooth has improved over each implementation. Initial designs were plagued with weak range, random disconnects, and synchronization issues....

The Form 1.4 is the newest IEM from the Chi-Fi manufacturer Shozy, building on the success of the Star, V33 and (of course) the Form 1.1 which came out near the end of 2019. Letting no moss grow, it appears that the quick-to-follow Form 1.4, while heavily based on the 1.1, includes significant revisions and improvements over the original. Unfortunately, these improvements are reflected in the price. The Form 1....

Build and Comfort The Theiaudio Phantom has an understated, earthy appearance. You are greeted with wooden rings, matte black grilles, and copper-colored forks. The branding is minimal and overall, they have a classy and moderately retro appearance. The Phantoms are open-back, over-ear headphones. They are lightweight and have a very mild clamp force. This makes it easy to wear them for long listening sessions. The only negative I would give in terms of comfort is that the relatively shallow pads mean my ears touch the internal padding quite a bit....

In the last couple or so years, the chi-fi audio gear has rapidly grown from making cheap and crappy earbuds to excellent sounding earphones (read LZ A4) and one of the new emerging companies is Tin Audio. Tin Audio is relatively new to the audiophile scene when it was launched in 2010 but it already is loved by many audiophiles and one of their hit IEM is their T2 model....

First Impressions You say I can take an IEM of my choice on the go with no wires? Oh yeah!!! Super excited about these, as they hold the promise of not making many audio compromises when out and about. One major upgrade in functionality for many IEMs can be discovered by connecting to TRN’s BT30 TWS Bluetooth Earphone Modules (True Wireless Stereo), especially for listening on the go and when wires will get in your way....

Sleep is one of the few things that grows more precious to us as we become older. Yet deep, satisfying sleep often gets harder to come by as we age. Sleeping with headphones on is one of the best remedies for this modern-day predicament. It’s a great way to lull yourself to sleep without interrupting others who might be sharing the same bed or room with you. The only problem is most headphones are bulky and not designed to be slept in....

After its long silence, Sol Republic, lifestyle-focused headphone specialist, has rolled out two over-ear wireless headphones, one of which comes with its first model of active noise cancellation (ANC). The new releases are called the Soundtrack HP1400 and Soundtrack Pro ANC SOL-HP1410 which are priced at $169.99 and $199.99. For multifunctionality, the headphones feature onboard controls that let you control calls and music with the touch of a button. In terms of quality, the new series was designed to continue delivering Sol Republic’s signature sound experience with deep bass emphasis, clear mids, and crisp highs....

ZMBZI has partnered with audio industry luminary THX to unveil the very first smartphone that supports spatial audio, regardless of what headphones are being used. The unveiling came only about a year and a half after THX introduced to the world the Razer’s Kraken Tournament Edition headset, the very first product that features the audio firm’s new spatial audio format that promises a 360-degree sound. The ZMBZI smartphone is basically your standard phone packed with the following features:...

Tidal is a music and video streaming service initially owned by Aspiro, a Norwegian-Swedish tech company. The service first launched in the UK, US, and Canada in 2014. In January 2015, Project Panther Bidco Ltd., a holdings company owned by rapper Jay-Z, stepped in and acquired the service for $54 million. Tidal eventually launched in five more European territories – Belgium, Ireland, Finland, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. By September 2015, Tidal reported having as many as 1 million subscribers, a number heavily contested later on....

Earbuds are an excellent choice for phone calls for a variety of reasons. They are usually lightweight and comfortable to wear. They won’t get in the way or be a nuisance like a larger headset might be. The mic quality is the most essential feature of earbuds for phone calls. However, it varies widely depending on the target audience that the manufacturers are going for. For example, a mic will be of lower priority in earbuds for working out....

Many people prefer earbuds since they offer more portability and convenience than their bulkier and heavier headphone counterparts. However, most of them are faced with a daily struggle: keeping the earbuds on especially when used while jogging, exercising, or any other rigorous activity. Worse, for some, earbuds can pop out even when they’re merely walking or just sitting on their office chair. This is not only a frustrating experience but it can be a scary one as well....

When you want to practice on your electric guitar, but your spouse, housemates, or worse, irritable Mrs. Jones next door comes pounding at your door asking you to quiet down – you need to put your headphones on. It’s not just the polite thing to do, and luckily, it’s also quite easy to fix. No, you can’t just plug your headphones into your guitar. But here’s what you can do to play guitar using your headphones so you don’t have to bother everyone else....

With the advent of VR and increasingly powerful OSs, gaming studios are stepping up to provide the best immersive experience money can buy. Studios now dedicate a good portion of their resources on providing, not just the best graphics, but also amazing souclndtracks and soundscapes to complete the immersion. Consumers are also willing to shell out over $1000 on gaming laptops in order to take advantage of the high quality experience....

AirPods are innovative gadgets, but they come with a few design features that make wearing them uncomfortable and prone to falling out. This, in turn, makes the AirPods all too easy to lose. Even the charging case is a concern because it isn’t supported by Apple’s Find My function, which can make recovering your lost AirPods case all the more difficult. Fortunately, getting a replacement AirPod or charging case is easy enough....