Marshall Mode II – true wireless in-ear buds from Marshall

Marshall headphones has released its first true wireless, Bluetooth in-ear earphones, the Mode II. Built with the signature looks that Marshall fans will know and love, the buds feature custom-tuned dynamic 6mm drivers that create a rich audio experience with growling bass, natural-sounding mids and crisp treble.

The buds deliver 5 hours of wireless playtime on a single charge whilst the charging case offers another 4 charges equalling 25 hours of music playback. Once the case is out of battery, it can either be charged wirelessly or via USB-C.

Realistically, people who buy Marshall products love the design theme that runs throughout their product line-up and the Mode II are no different. The rugged design and embossed Marshall script mean that the charging case works hard while looking iconic. The earbuds display the Marshall “M” for a subtle but noticeable nod to the legacy of rock ’n’ roll.

Mode II offers a truly wireless experience with Bluetooth 5.1 technology. Easily control your music and phone calls, and activate Transparency mode and native voice assistant with just a touch of your finger.

The buds are IPX4 water-resistant and will be available online from 18 March at a price of £159.99 here in the UK.

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Melomania Touch – new wireless earbuds by Cambridge Audio

Cambridge Audio, a British brand well known for its high-end audio equipment, has released its latest version of wireless earbuds – the Melomania Touch building upon its first version the Melomania 1.

These new wireless earbuds have custom 7mm drivers further enhanced with graphene to help provide the dynamism and response needed for the sound quality of deep controlled bass, realistic voices and clearer highs. Built with Bluetooth 5.0 and the latest AAC and aptX codes allowing for high-quality audio streaming.

The engineers have included two microphones and Qualcomm’s Clear Voice Capture noise cancelling technology to ensure that phone calls remain focused on the voice rather than the surroundings. Perfect for all those Zoom/Teams meetings.

All-day wear isn’t a problem, with each earbud tipping the scales at just under 6 grams and three power modes will allow up to 9 hours of use on a single charge. And if your day goes longer, the supplied charging case will offer up to a further 41 hours of listening.

As with most new headphones and earbuds, the Melomania Touch earbuds offer Transparency mode which feeds in ambient noise so you can be aware of the surroundings whilst still enjoying the high-fidelity music. The Melomania app allows you to customise the sound just the way you like it, through EQ settings and tailoring music playback to your individual style as well as locating the buds if you ever misplace them and check each bud’s battery life.

Melomania Touch is readily available priced at £129.95 and is offered in either black or white.

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KEF reveals Mu3 True Wireless earbuds

KEF in collaboration with Ross Lovegrove, Welsh artist and industrial designer has announced its new noise-cancelling earbuds – the Mu3 Noise Cancelling True Wireless Earphones.

Tuned by the same team that create the award winning Hi-Fi systems, the ear buds feature active noise cancelling with up to 24 hours of use from the charging case with built-in wireless charging. It is capable of getting one hour of listening from a quick five minute charge.

It features a splashproof design and bluetooth 5.0 connectivity allowing the earbuds to connect to multiple devices at the same time. The earbuds will be going for £199 and will be released soon.

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Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro

As part of the Samsung Unpacked event, two other interesting products were released – the Galaxy Buds Pro, active noise cancelling smart earbuds.

The next generation earbuds by Samsung. Taking on its learnings from 2020, Samsung has looked at audio quality, now offering a new level of immersive comprehensive sound thanks to an 11mm woofer for deep bass and a 6.5mm tweeter for the mid-tone and treble.

Realising that people don’t only use earbuds to listen to music and podcasts, but also for taking calls, the team has also worked on call quality. Galaxy Buds Pro separate your voice from unwanted sounds with three microphones and a Voice Pickup Unit (VPU), ensuring you are heard as clearly as possible. One of the outer microphones further eliminates background noises. In addition, Samsung has integrated its new Wind Shield technology into Galaxy Buds Pro. Effectively, this is a specially designed chamber with mesh that filters out interference even in windy weather.

Along with these great features is an updated Active Noise Control. Intelligent Active Noise Control lets you seamlessly switch between noise cancelling and fully adjustable Ambient Mode. So you can let the outside in – or keep it out. When you need to focus on work – or tune out from the world around to relax – you can reduce the background noise by up to 99 percent using Active Noise Cancelling technology. And with Ambient Mode, you can choose to amplify nearby sounds by more than 20 decibels.

One fantastic feature that I’m sure many others will start to copy is that the Galaxy Buds Pro recognise when you’re speaking, and automatically switch between cancelling nearby sounds and amplifying them. They will also lower the volume of your music when you want to talk with Voice Detect that automatically detects speech, turns down what your listening to and switches from ANC to Ambient Mode.

The earbuds offer 5 hours of playtime with ANC on and the case offers up to 18 hours and if you run out of juice the case is Qi wireless charger compatible, meaning that five minutes of charge will give you an hour of extra play time. The earbuds are also IPX7 water and sweat resistant.

Galaxy Buds Pro will be available from 29th January and they come in three stunning colours: timeless Phantom Black, Phantom Silver, and Phantom Violet to match with your Galaxy S21 5G Series device all for £219.

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Ultimate Ears Fits – An earbud that fits any ear

Buying earbuds is always a challenge. There is always a risk that they won’t fit properly, they will be uncomfortable or just simply fall out, to be left and never worn again.

Ultimate Ears, an American company that produces in-ear monitors generally used by musical artists has created the ultimate fitting earbud for consumers. The UE Fits use LightForm Technology to mold the gel filled tips to your ear shape with in-built LEDs to harden and take shape in under 60 seconds.

Apart from being a truly custom fitting earbud, they have Bluetooth 5.0, provide 20 hours of listening time with the carry case, offer rapid charging getting 60 mins of playback with 10 mins of charge as well as being IPX3 sweat resistant and handsfree calling.

Available in three colours, Midnight Blue, Grey and Lilac at a special pre-order price of $199 in the US until the 10th, with it expected to ship to other countries after.

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