speakers

Wireless audio equipment have gotten a surge of popularity and innovation, in no small part thanks to the demise of the venerable headphone jack on smartphones. A variety of wireless headsets have popped up, ranging from gigantic over ear cups to not so tiny earbuds. The Sony SRS-WS1 Immersive Wireless Speaker may, at a quick glance, look like one of those neck brace earphones like the LG Tone series. The difference, however, is that this pillow like contraption that hangs around your neck is no headphones. It is a full blown speaker.

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Audio company JBL has introduced a new personalization option that allows buyers to have their favorite image printed on the grill of the speaker they're purchasing. The personalized result is very photo-realistic, though with the obvious grille effect added into the mix. The same personalization is also available for headphones, though limited to text and select designs.

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Sonos has launched a trade-in program for some of its earliest products, offering a discount on new connected speakers for those willing to recycle their older models. Initially three of Sonos' devices are eligible for the new Sonos Trade Up program, in some cases dating back all the way to 2004.

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Q Acoustics has introduced its new Q B12 subwoofer, a model that is offered as a standalone purchase and as part of three home cinema audio packages. The new model is compatible with the company's 3000i and Concept 5.1 speaker range, according to Q Acoustics, which has used the same finish from those products on its new subwoofer. Buyers will be able to pick up the Q B12 starting in the UK followed later on in the US.

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Some Googe Home users are reporting issues with a recent software update that has bricked some smart speakers. According to impacted device owners, the update results in perpetually illuminated LED lights on the updated Google Home or Google Home Mini speaker, something they aren't able to fix by factory resetting the device. Google has acknowledged the issue, but it appears that users who aren't covered by warranty may be out of luck.

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A select number of Android users over the past day have seen Google show them a pop-up with an image of a Google Home Mini. This pop-up - or block, rectangle, whatever you'd like to call it - included the following text. "Enjoy a gift for using the Google Assistant," said the Google note, with the one catch: "Just pay for shipping."

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Roku has teamed with Walmart to launch its new Onn Roku Smart Soundbar and Onn Roku Wireless Subwoofer. The two products are offered under Walmart's Onn brand at lower prices than Roku's previously launched Smart Soundbar product, offering better audio than one would get from their TV's built-in speakers, but at a price that makes the devices affordable for most consumers.

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If you're one of the many who have been waiting for Sonos to make a Bluetooth speaker, then here's some good news: the Sonos Move is available to purchase beginning today. The Move bucks some of the trends established by many Bluetooth speakers out there. For starters, this is no sub-$100 Bluetooth speaker that's meant to be more of an impulse purchase, but rather a wireless speaker with a premium price of $399.

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Expectations were high for Sonos Move, the multi-room audio company's first portable, Bluetooth-compatible speaker. Dangerously high, you could argue: Sonos says its users have been asking for a completely wire-free speaker pretty much from day one, and that's plenty of time for an outlandish wish-list to develop. The reality of the $399 Move is that it's not quite the speaker we expected - the question is whether that's a good thing or bad.

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Apple packed a lot of announcements into its iPhone reveal event yesterday, but one device that didn't get a shoutout is the AirPod. Despite that, it seems that Apple still has big plans for the speaker throughout the rest of the year. In all, there are three incoming features for the AirPod, and one in particular is something users have been asking for since the HomePod launched.

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Back in April, Bowers & Wilkins revealed what it calls the Formation Suite, a collection of five different products intended to play nice with one another and give users multi-room audio options. Today, the company introduced what could wind up being the core of the Formation Suite, announcing a new speaker called the Formation Flex. It seems that the Formation Flex is a challenger to speakers like Apple's HomePod and Sonos' smart speakers, so Bowers & Wilkins definitely has some market competition.

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Pretty much from day one, Sonos customers have been asking for a portable speaker and one which can be taken outside: the new Sonos Move delivers both. As you might expect from the company pioneering streaming audio long before Spotify and Apple Music were even born, though, the Move is no ordinary wireless speaker. Yes, Sonos has made a Bluetooth speaker, and an expensive one at that, but it did so as only it could.

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