| Cult of Mac

Free your earholes with these affordable bone-conduction headphones

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Hear what you need and what you want with these headphones boasting bone conduction technology.
These open-ear headphones don't block out the real world.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

AirPods are great and all, but what if you don’t want earbuds jammed into your earholes? These open-ear headphones use increasingly popular bone-conduction tech to deliver audio without plugging up your ears.

These wireless bone-conduction earphones work with iPhones, Macs and iPads. And they let you mix your Apple Music playlist into your soundscape while keeping your ears open for what you need to hear.

You don’t need to pay a fortune for these fancy, futuristic headphones, either. Right now, they’re on sale for just $33.99.

New Logi webcams feature ‘Show Mode’ and a take on Center Stage

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Logitech Brio 500 webcam series and Zone Vibe headphones series are designed for hybrid workers.
Logitech Brio 500 webcam series and Zone Vibe headphones series are designed for hybrid workers.
Photo: Logitech

Logitech unveiled its new Brio 500 webcam series and Zone Vibe headphones series for hybrid workers Thursday. The company said “they bring quality, style, affordability, and sustainability to today’s workers for ultramodern collaboration experiences.”

“Many remote and hybrid workers are still underequipped and grappling with pre-pandemic era solutions,” said Scott Wharton, Logitech Video Collaboration general manager. “Our innovative new genre of Brio webcams and Zone Vibe headphones answer the call of modern workers who need business-grade quality, style, and affordability for work and play.”

New Sennheiser Momentum 4 headphones gun for AirPods Max

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Sennheiser's new Momentum 4 ANC wireless headphones changed up their look and claim 60 hours of battery life.
Sennheiser's new Momentum 4 ANC wireless headphones changed up their look and claim 60 hours of battery life.
Photo: Sennheiser

Venerable audio brand Sennheiser rolled out its new Momentum 4 wireless over-ear headphones Tuesday. The successor to the much-liked Momentum 3 aims for the same high-end sound and comfort along with a more modern look.

The cans, which will compete with the likes of Sony’s top headphones and AirPods Max, also claim an impressive battery life of up to 60 hours.

Sony makes its flagship over-ear headphones even better

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The new Sony flagship cans improve on their predecessors and cost about $50 more.
The new Sony flagship cans improve on their predecessors and cost about $50 more.
Photo: Sony

Few would dispute that Sony’s flagship wireless WH-1000XM4 active noise-canceling (ANC) headphones have been among the best on the market since they came out in August 2020. But Sony has improved upon them, offering its fifth-generation WH-1000XM5 headphones on Thursday.

The redesigned cans flaunt several impressive improvements over the previous model, making the XM5s an even worthier competitor to AirPods Max and other premium headphones.

Leak of Sony’s next flagship headphones shows sleek design, longer battery life

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Sony's next top headphones may have a sleek new design.
Sony's next top headphones may have a sleek new design.
Photo: Nils Ahrensmeier/TechnikNews

Sony’s WH-1000XM4 over-ear noise-cancelling wireless headphones are considered one of the best sets of cans in the business. Now a new leak shows what may be in store for the audio giant’s next version, the WH-1000XM5, in terms of a sleek new design and key specs.

Blowing half your budget on headphones and Lego sets [Setups]

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The college kid who owns this computer setup might be headed for an aerospace-related career.
The college kid who owns this computer setup might be headed for an aerospace-related career.
Photo: OolongCha@Reddit.com

College students, often not exactly made of money (yet), usually feel obliged to be super-thrifty. Their setups might feature entry-level gear, hand-me-down equipment, doors on cinderblocks serving as desks — that sort of thing.

But today’s featured setup, owned by a college student, comes with some frills. They’re courtesy of a lucrative internship the computer science major completed last summer.

Bose adds customizable EQ to QuietComfort 45 headphones

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A firmware update adds an equalizer so you can tweak the sound of your Bose QuietComfort 45 headphones.
A firmware update adds an equalizer so you can tweak the sound of your Bose QuietComfort 45 headphones.
Photo: Bose

Bose made a splash with its recent, long-awaited update to its popular QuietComfort 35 headphones. But while the company was probably smart not to change the QuietComfort formula much, that included not expanding the classic headphones’ limited customizability. Until now.

If you have a set of QC 45s, Bose said a new firmware update lets you access and adjust a new equalizer via the Bose Music app. So you can tweak the sound all you want with the new Adjustable EQ feature.

JBL has a new party in a box and lots of other big plans for your ears

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The JBL PartyBox Encore is a 100W speaker with a Lightshow and two microphones.
The JBL PartyBox Encore is a 100W speaker with a Lightshow and two microphones.
Photo: JBL

Every year Samsung subsidiary JBL rolls out a tempting raft of updated or new audio products at CES, but you can’t get them right away. CES 2022, held in Las Vegas earlier this month, was no different. The company showed its new JBL PartyBox Encore and a slew of other Bluetooth speakers, earbuds and headphones. We’ll round them up below. Some are coming in spring and others in summer.

6 brilliant but affordable AirPods alternatives

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AirPods might just be the best wireless buds you can pair with Apple devices, but they’re also pretty expensive. Plenty of more affordable options that deliver stellar sound and reliable connectivity in a neat design are available.

So, if you’re buying on a budget this holiday season, skip the Apple Store and check out these six brilliant but more affordable alternatives to AirPods.