Launching today, our latest wireless headset, Pulse Elite, brings crisp, immersive audio to the gaming experience on the PS5 console; to PlayStation Link supported devices including PS5, PC, Mac, and PlayStation Portal remote player; and to Bluetooth compatible devices such as smartphones and tablets. Pulse Elite follows the launch of our first wireless earbuds, Pulse Explore, with both audio devices featuring planar magnetic drivers to further enhance the PS5 console's Tempest 3D AudioTech. When combined with PlayStation Link, the planar drivers precisely deliver the output of the 3D audio algorithms directly to the player's ear without loss, and nearly no distortion or delay. Here's our quick-start guide on setting up and using the Pulse Elite wireless headset, along with Pulse Explore wireless earbuds.

Set up and use sidetone and 3D audio features on PS5
A tour of the headset appears when you first connect the Pulse Elite wireless headset or Pulse Explore wireless earbuds to your PS5 console via the included PlayStation Link USB adapter. Before diving into a game, I recommend personalizing 3D audio settings and adjusting sidetone volume (changing this adjusts how loudly you hear your own voice in your ear when you talk). It's also possible to create a custom name for the headset, with standard letters, symbols, and even emoji. After the tour, you can change settings at any time while the headset is connected by navigating to the Settings menu and selecting Accessories, followed by Pulse Elite wireless headset.

Audeze, the leading premium headphone manufacturer, today announced the release of a limited edition gaming headset developed in partnership with Microsoft, for their Designed for Xbox Summer product collection. This stylish, limited edition "Ultraviolet" version of their highly lauded Maxwell gaming headset features a new finish that adds a head-turning and unique look to one of the best gaming headsets on the market. The Ultraviolet edition of the Maxwell headphone is available on the Audeze website for pre-order in limited quantities.

The partnership between Audeze and Microsoft which began in 2021 with the Microsoft certification of Audeze's Penrose gaming headset, and continued recently with Microsoft's certification of our new Maxwell gaming headset. This partnership has expanded access to Audeze's industry-leading planar magnetic headsets to Microsoft's vast audience of console users. Epic life-like audio quality as delivered by Audeze's legendary planar magnetic drivers are a powerful tool for gamers, and now with the Ultraviolet limited edition of Maxwell, they can use their sonic advantage in style.

Audeze, the leading audio technology brand and pioneer of high-end gaming audio products, today announces Maxwell, a new ultra-low-latency wireless PC & console gaming headset with class-leading 80+ hours of battery life. Two versions of Maxwell will be available: Maxwell for Xbox & PC is officially licensed by Microsoft and includes the first auto-activating Dolby Atmos license, while Maxwell for Playstation & PC supports Tempest 3D Audio. Maxwell is the latest release from Audeze in a line of purpose-built gaming headsets like the LCD-GX and Mobius which have garnered rave reviews for their innovations in audio performance and headtracking.

Connect and game anywhere, without limitations. Maxwell provides ultra-low-latency, high-resolution audio up to 24-bit 96 kHz when connected to the included USB dongle. Low-latency wireless range and stability are improved up to 3X from the award-winning Audeze Penrose headset. Maxwell features many wired and wireless connection options including the latest Bluetooth 5.3 LE Audio technology, supporting the LC3 and LC3plus codecs. In addition, Maxwell supports classic Bluetooth codecs like SBC, AAC and LDAC for high-quality portable audio. Maxwell also supports lossless high-resolution audio up to 24-bit 96 kHz over wired USB.

Moondrop joins the Planar bandwagon today with the launch of their highly-anticipated Stellaris Planar Magnetic Driver IEMs. Moondrop isn't bound for any introduction among Audiophiles. The brand has been hyper-active in the industry with its class-leading range of in-ear monitors. They cover different price segments and have always been on the front with their classic approach with single Dynamic and multi-driver hybrid driver configurations. Moondrop is also known for its exclusive designer looks for its in-ear monitors. Today, they join the league of planar magnetic driver IEMs with the all-new Stellaris.

Stellaris features a newly-developed 14.5 mm planar magnetic driver. It utilizes a sub-nanometer diaphragm with a thickness of just 1um. The diaphragm has been stretched tightly on the bracket for uniform tension. This driver has been designed in collaboration with Tuoyin Electronics Pvt. Ltd. which is the first manufacturer in China to develop Planar drivers for in-ear monitors. Bringing together their expertise in Planar Drivers and Moondrop's exquisite acoustic cavity structure design, Stellaris provides exceptional performance with unmatched clarity and low distortion in the output signal.

The world of Planar Magnetic Driver IEMs get a new competition today, DUNU has come up with its first-ever planar magnetic driver IEMs, meet the all-new DUNU Talos. It's not just a planar magnetic set, Talos is a hybrid set that features a newly-developed 14.6mm dual-chamber planar driver as the main driver and custom-developed dual BA drivers as super tweeters. DUNU has featured a special switch on the Talos that allows the users to choose whether to listen to the set in Planar-only mode or hybrid mode. The dual BA drivers act as super tweeters, they are tuned for high-frequency response and instantly improve resolution and details when turned on.

Talos is currently launched on pre-order priced at $199.99, shipments are expected to start from 26th by the order no. sequence. For the first 100 orders, we will be including our HiFiGo Neck Strap and leather buckle as a gift. Know more details here. It's also available on our amazon store, check here.

Nectar Sound Research is known to those in the electrostatic headphone game as the company behind the popular HiveX—an e-stat that comes in $649 and challenges the whole notion of how good electrostats have to be expensive. There are plans in motion to get a review of the HiveX done here, but in the meantime the company has been busy. When I say company, I really should be one person given everything is done by a single guy from design to prototyping to assembly to sales and even customer support. Somehow the person behind Nectar Sound found enough time to work on a brand new headphone concept that, fitting in the company theme, is called the Nectar Bee. It uses a 12 µm thick diaphragm and single-sided magnets to make for a planar magnetic driver that is extremely low in impedance at all of 10 Ω. The Nectar Bee has been undergoing private tests for a while now and has an adaptable sound signature courtesy external removable ear cup covers too. Those interested might want to check out the company website where you will see the Nectar Bee is now shipping for $619.

Audeze is a brand extensively covered on TechPowerUp and renowned for its planar magnetic headphones and in-ear monitors. With the recently announced flagship class LCD-5, the company unveiled the culmination of several years of R&D and new technology packed into a $4500 set of headphones that is understandably well beyond the reach of the average end user, however in a working example of trickle-down technology we see today two announcements that help in this aspect while showcasing also what's to come from the USA-based audio brand. First up, Audeze announced 11-time Grammy award-winning engineer/producer Manny Marroquin as its new Head of Professional Products, with Marroquin aiming to bring his music industry and production experience to the Audeze team. Audeze and Manny Marroquin are collaborating to create a new series of audio products—called the MM Series—focused on using cutting-edge technology and engineering to deliver better results more efficiently for working audio professionals.

The first of the products under the MM Series also launched alongside in the form of the MM-500, which takes several cues from the LCD-5. It features a new chassis design for comfort over long sessions at a reduced mass of 495 grams compared to the 600+ g heavyweights under the Audeze umbrella. The MM-500 is designed to perform both inside and outside the studio, with low impedance and high sensitivity that make it easy to drive from any console, interface or laptop. It is an open-back, over-ear set of planar magnetic headphones with Audeze's Uniforce voice coil over an ultra-thin diaphragm, and utilizes Fazor waveguides coupled with Fluxor magnets. The transducer is 90 mm in size and the use of the LCD-5 style frame and headband design combined with single-sided magnets also indicates the MM-500 is going to be a force to be reckoned with in the prosumer and audiophile market. The Audeze MM-500 costs $1699 and will be available for purchase soon. Read past the break for reactions on the collboration as well as more information about the new product itself.

Tin HiFi isn't bound to any introduction in the HiFi audio industry. Since its beginning, they have delivered high-performing In-Ear monitors in the industry. Among their successful IEMs, is their famous "P" series of Planar magnetic driver IEMs. The series has seen three models so far, the P1, the P1 Plus, and the P2. All three of these have received positive feedback from audio lovers all around the globe. Today, Tin HiFi has released another new Planar Magnetic IEM, the Tin HiFi P1 Max.

With years of experience in designing the Planar Magnetic Driver IEMs, Tin HiFi has designed the latest P1 Max with a new 14.2 mm planar magnetic driver that adopts an ultra-thin lightweight aluminium diaphragm. The P1 Max is said to be easier to drive in comparison to the P1 and P2 models that required high amounts of power to sound their best. The P1 Max features a unique acoustic structure that promises outstanding sound quality with a designer look. P1 Max is launched officially for $179, currently, it is available at a discounted pre-order price of $169, check out more details here.

I know what you are thinking—this isn't the typical news content we see on TechPowerUp. Yes, we do cover audio products with plenty of reviews here, including Audeze planar magnetic headphones. When Audeze mentioned there's a whole different thing coming up, and that it involves carbon nanotubes (CNTs), I was quite intrigued. Some of you may have picked it up by now, but all the neat toys I have access to and used in several reviews come because I am a research scientist by profession, with a specialization in carbon nanomaterials including CNTs. So this news post is about my attempt to help explain why the Audeze technology is such a big deal. This is not a review of the actual devices and neither is it a sponsored post, or even solicited by Audeze. It is purely me geeking out about a fairly novel use of CNTs in the audio world, especially when there have been CNT coatings on a few dynamic drivers before but barely put to the potential capable until now.

See, the whole reason the Audeze CRBN (Carbon, get it?) even came about is because an indirect research colleague of mine, Prof. Mark Cohen from the University of California, Los Angeles as well as his startup company SMRT Image, saw a need for a more calming influence for patients undergoing fMRI imaging, as well as better means for the technicians to communicate with said patients while they are inside an operating MRI machine. If you have ever been inside one, you would know that thing gets real loud with magnetic coils rapidly going around and clacking noises galore. Audeze is also based in California, and multiple years of research led to the development of the Audeze CRBN—starting off for medical applications and then coming out also as a high-end retail headphones experience based on the knowledge and IP gained in the process. Read past the break for more on the science and tech, if this is of interest to you!

Creative had a positive impact on us at TechPowerUp who attended CES last year, with their retail demonstration of Super X-Fi headphone holography arguably being the most impressive product announcement at the trade show. Yours truly was especially taken aback with the hardware implementation of Super X-Fi, with the first product implementing it, the SXFI Amp, earning a well-deserved recommendation too. Naturally, we were eager to see what the company was up to next, and met them at CES this year too where it was evident they were going all aboard the Super X-Fi train, and inviting everyone along for the ride.

There were definitely a lot of hardware products with the SXFI DSP built in, but the main announcement was in the form of the new Super X-Fi Gen 2 audio profile. Gen 1, from last year, garnered a lot of positive reviews, but also had mixed reception from the general populace who had to rely on head mapping and not also the microphone-based measurements the press got in person. Indeed, my own experience with higher end headphones was not as positive, with music losing detail in favor of a surround sound speaker setup experience that perhaps was not necessary. The worse the audio source was, the worse this discrepancy was as well. Creative had gathered tens of thousands of ear profiles and feedback this past year, and used it to train their Super X-Fi AI engine to develop a more accurate, personalized audio profile as part of Super X-Fi Gen 2. The company claims this free update to all existing Gen 1 profiles will improve also the preservation of audio detail, as well as better positional accuracy as well. We will put this to the test soon enough, but read past the break on more new announcements from Creative, including all the new hardware with this technology built in.

Ausounds is a newcomer to the audio market as a retail product provider, but the founders have decades of experience in the music industry, and have been creating audio solutions for musicians for a while now. The company invited us to check out the brand, as well as their new products, at CES 2020 and we obliged as we usually do in an attempt to shine more light on relatively unknown companies in addition to the mainstream ones. They took the time to introduce their new AU-X active noise cancelling planar magnetic driver headphones to us, which feature 54 mm planar drivers on each earcup and four noise cancelling microphones working in a hybrid mode to allow up to 28 dB of ANC. The headphones are tuned for a transparent frequency response combined with a large soundstage and, in my limited testing, offered excellent discerning of the mid-high tones, especially when it comes to jazz and classical music.

The AU-X ANC Planar headphones have dual microphones also for calling/audio out, an included battery of 800 mAh for a rated 25 hours of battery life which the company claims is on the conservative side (think closer to 28 hours), and touch controls on the earcups for volume and media playback. Bluetooth 5.0 and 3.5 mm aux inputs complement the headphones for portability, and AptX-HD + Hi-Res certification round off the headphones which are rated for a 20 Hz-40 KHz frequency response, 32 Ω impedance, an SPL of 98 +/- 3 dB, and 280 grams in mass with protein leather earpads similar to those in the Bose QC35. The AU-X headphones cost $299.95 and will ship in March 2020. Read past the break for more on their equally new AU-Stream Hybrid earbuds.

Like many technology companies in Silicon Valley, OPPO Digital is continuously working on bringing new ideas and new products to customers. Over the past 8 years, OPPO has developed and released a series of award-winning universal DVD and Blu-ray players. We have built a team with experience and expertise in designing high performance audio and video products. Just as video has entered an Ultra HD era, audio is evolving with the rise of high-resolution music and a renewed interest in personal audio. We believe that our knowledge in high performance product design and quality manufacturing can bring benefits to customers in the personal audio space. The first two products in this category will be our PM-1 Planar Magnetic Headphone and HA-1 Headphone Amplifier.

Today, Planar Systems, Inc., a global leader in digital display technology, announced of the introduction of the Planar Helium family of multi-touch desktop monitors designed to bring the touch experience alive when paired with a Microsoft Windows 8 device such as an Ultrabook, tablet or desktop PC.

The Planar Helium family debuts with a 27-inch model (model PCT2785), capturing the Microsoft Windows 8 touch experience without costing thousands of dollars for an all-in-one solution. To use touch-enabled features, customers simply plug the monitor directly into their Ultrabook, tablet or desktop PC. The monitor includes a sleek, easily-adjustable, and ergonomically-friendly Helium Stand for a comfortable and controlled user experience. It also comes with a built-in webcam for video communication such as Skype, Microsoft Lync, and other webcam-based collaboration or video conferencing tools.

Planar announced its latest 3D display suited for home entertainment, the NVIDIA 3D Vision certified Planar SA2311W. It is a 23" widescreen with full-HD (1920 x 1080) resolution, and 120 Hz refresh rate, to compliment that, it has a rated response time of 2 ms. Display input options include DVI, D-Sub, and HDMI. Its stand allows height and tilt adjustments. Backed by a 3-year warranty, the SA2311W is priced at $449, and will be available for order soon.

lanar Systems today announced the addition of three widescreen LCD desktop monitors to its award-winning PX product line. The new 26-, 24- and 22-inch PX widescreen displays increase productivity and performance by providing up to 82 percent more screen space than a standard 4:3 19-inch display. The 26-inch PX2611W features 800:1 contrast ratio, 5ms response time, WUXGA 1920x1200 resolution, 500cd/m² brightness, and 178/178 degrees viewing angle. The 24-inch PX2411W comes with the same 1920x1200 wide resolution, 1000:1 contrast ratio, 450 cd/m² brightness, 6ms response time and 178° horizontal and vertical viewing angles. Finally, the PX2210MW provides 800:1 contrast ratio, 300cd/m2 brightness, 1680x1050 16:10 resolution, 5ms response time, 170° horizontal and 160° vertical angles. The 22-, 24- and 26-inch monitors are now available at $300, $600, and $900 respectively. All Planar LCD monitors are backed with three-year warranty.