Image used with permission by copyright holderOne of the more irritating first-world problems that many audio engineers and music-lovers face on a daily basis – especially in the Pacific Northwest – has to be the dreaded over-ear headphone vs. hoodie quandary. Will you put your cans on first and hood up second, transforming your dome piece into a monstrously misshapen lump? Or will you take the road less traveled and wear the ‘phones on top, sacrificing that crystal-clear audio you shelled out $200-plus for? San Francisco-based Betabrand hopes to eliminate this annoyance by creating a special type of hoodie, made of a speaker-like fabric that allows the wearer to put over-ear ‘phones outside the hood without compromising audio quality. It calls its new sonically sound garb the Audio Engineer Hoodie.
The stylishly studio- and stage-ready Audio Engineer Hoodie features acoustically transparent hood panels made for “when you need a barrier between you and the world but you still need to mix.”Image used with permission by copyright holder
The Audio Engineer Hoodie is more than just a standard piece of clothing with acoustic hood panels. It’s designed as a sort of audio engineer version of a wizard’s cloak. The hoodie is comprised of a water-resistant polyester/cotton blend to resist the elements, and sports a cassette-themed interior lining. Additional features include twin kangaroo pockets with headphone pass-through holes, an external and internal chest pocket, a loop in the left pocket to clip your keys/flashlight/multi-tool/drum key, etc., and even an internal pull-out wiring diagram to aid engineers working in the field that run in to wiring quandaries.
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Currently this audio engineer’s wardrobe essential is gathering funds via Betabrand’s own crowdfunding/think tank community. The hoodie has already reached 162 percent of its original goal with 25 days left of funding, and you can pre-order your very own for about $140 (10 percent down from the eventual $160 price-point). The garment is slated to ship in late October.
This smart 4K projector is nearly half-price in Walmart’s sale
If you've been thinking about installing a projector in your living room to create a cinematic experience, you won't want to miss this offer from Walmart. The Wimius smart 4K projector, which is originally priced at $360, is down by nearly half to only $190, for huge savings of $170. We're not sure how much time is remaining before this bargain ends though, so if you're interested, we highly recommend completing your purchase as soon as possible.
Why you should buy the Wimius smart 4K projector
Setting up a home theater projector is an excellent way to create a movie theater vibe at home, and you won't have to spend hundreds of dollars if you go for the Wimius smart 4K projector. Its projection size ranges from 50 inches to as large as 300 inches, so if you've got a big enough wall or projection screen, it will really be like you're watching movies at the cinema. The projector is capable of 4K Ultra HD resolution, and it has an extremely long lamp life of 200,000 hours so it will be a long time before you need to replace its bulb. It also offers auto focus and keystone correction technology for even better visuals.
These Sony OTC hearing aids offer optimized audio and all-day comfort
There's a lot to be said about OTC or over-the-counter hearing aids. They're more accessible, usually because they're more affordable, and you don't need a prescription to get some. That's precisely why they're called "over-the-counter." Of course, they're really meant for mild to medium hearing loss, however. If you experience severe hearing loss you'll need to go to your local physician, as you might expect. But also one of the great things about this relatively new, untapped category of sound devices is that there are a lot of great options from brands you wouldn't expect. Take Sony, for instance, which has several OTC hearing aid options, and they're available at Best Buy of all places.
You can walk in, off the street, and walk out with them same-day, or buy them online and have them shipped to your house. How's that for excellent service and accessibility? But if you need a quick introduction to some of Sony's best OTC hearing aid options, we've got you covered.
Now is the time to get the best noise-canceling headphones
Noise-canceling headphones' performance has been pushed with each passing product release, and the crown regularly passes between between Bose, Sony, and Apple as they attempt to one-up each other. Currently, Bose stands above the rest with the QuietComfort Ultra Headphones -- and right now they're $100 off until December 2.
What is it the Bose do so well? To start off, they offer the best noise-canceling performance available from a pair of headphones. In his review, Simon Cohen found that "The QC Ultra provide impressive levels of hush in a variety of scenarios." You can still get slightly better isolation with the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds or Sony WF-1000XM5 earbuds, but for most of us, having something in your ear for a long flight gets uncomfortable pretty fast. Plus, there's the worry an earbud will fall out (I find the fit on the Sony earbuds in particular doesn't always feel very secure).
