CES 2015: Neil Young plans to bring Pono Music to cars

Aside from the triangular music player, Neil Young is looking to expand Pono’s reach to the automotive industry. Young announced at CES that he is partnering with Harman, an infotainment and in-car audio maker, to create better compressed audio for cars. If you opt in to the ecosystem it’ll cost you around US$400, which is a competitive price for high-resolution audio. Of course, you’ll need to have a Harman stereo installed.

Source: Engadget

Keep the music going with Sonos Boost

Sonos is helping make sure your music keeps playing with its new Boost wireless accessory. It connects directly to your router to create its own network. This will let your Sonos speakers communicate with each other and increase wireless range by 50%. It is even designed to neutralize any interference from other electronics that might cause dropouts. The Boost is available for $109 on Sonos’s website and select retailers.

Sony introduces new headphones for high-res audio listening

If you are a stickler for audio quality and hope you can bring your high-resolution audio with you everywhere, Sony is introducing three new options for you: MDR-Z7 headphones, MDR-1ADAC headphones, and XBA-Z5 in-ears.

The MDR-Z7 is meant to bring studio-quality sounds with you. It has 70mm HD drivers to make sure you hear every note in its purest form. Lightweight, responsive aluminum-coat liquid crystal polymer diaphragms help give you more precise, consistent sound across the entire frequency range. It comes with four silver-coated copper wires and independent gournd wires for both channels to improve sound further. The MDR-Z7 has ergonomic urethane ear pads that keep the shape of the internal cushions and has inward axis structure to bring the pads closer to your ears and provide long-term comfort.

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Bose and Beats to settle lawsuit out of court

In this rare occasion, two tech companies have decided to settle out of court instead of drawing out a patent lawsuit. Bose accused Beats earlier this year of violating five Bose patents on noise-canceling technology. Now, the two firms agreed to skip the hassle of going to court and agreed on an unspecified settlement. They have asked the International Trade Commission to stop investigations.

However, it doesn’t seem like the war over audio supremacy is far from over. Bose is enforcing strict exclusivity contract with the NFL and are slapping players with wrong headphones US$10,000 fines. There are also rumours that Apple plans to take out Bose products from its stores in the coming week.

Source: Engadget