Latest news with #Audio
Arabian Business
18-07-2025
- General
- Arabian Business
Arabian Business Leaders July 2025
Your browser does not support HTML5 Audio! SELECT VOICE ZEINA, UAE EMMA, UK SALLI, US ADITI, IN MATTHEW, US
Tom's Guide
15-07-2025
- Tom's Guide
What does soundstage mean? 8 headphone jargon terms explained
If you've spent any amount of time reading a review of an audio product on Tom's Guide (or any site, for that matter), you've likely come across some confusing language that might not make sense. There's a lot of jargon that we audio reviewers use when we test out headphones, earbuds and speakers, and it's often easy to forget that not everyone knows exactly what we're talking about. So I've broken down some of our most commonly used terms so that you can make more sense out of what we're saying in our detailed reviews. So let's go! Soundstage is actually a really easy one. It's essentially how 'wide' your music is. You've got to imagine that the musicians in your tracks are playing on a stage, and that the headphones or the speakers dictate the width of that stage. A restricted soundstage makes everything feel too close together, and mashes together the band members. This is generally less preferable to a wider soundstage, which gives the instrumentalists more room to breathe. So whenever you read soundstage, just imagine that there's a stage in front of you. No, it's not Spatial Audio (which we'll get to later). Spatial imaging is about the 'soundscape' that your headphones create. While soundstage is about the width of the music you're listening to, spatial imaging is all about placing the instruments in the right place on that stage. Headphones and earbuds with good spatial imaging will let you point out different instruments in the soundstage. You can hear that the guitar might be to the right of the stage, or the keyboard in the center. It's a great way of seperating ok headphones from good models. Headphones with spatial imaging that isn't as good make it harder to point out the location of the band members, making for less immersive music. So we've seen that soundstage and spatial imaging are two terms which describe the way that your music sounds — so what about instrument separation? This one is fairly self-explanatory. It's making sure that you can pick out the various instruments with accuracy within your tracks. Some headphones might make it less obvious that there are two guitars, mixing the two together into something that doesn't necessarily sound bad, but doesn't give you all the information you want when you're listening. Good instrument separation allows you to really tell the different instruments apart in a piece of music. This is particularly noticeable when you're listening to classical music, when you can pick apart the different sections and find the different musicians. You'll have heard as much about Spatial Audio and Dolby Atmos in regards to movies as you will have about music. It's a form of surround sound, which makes the audio come from all around you. That means that a car would rush by your left side, and speakers would play the sound physically in your space. Spatial Audio and Dolby Atmos are an extension of this, only sound can now come from above. This can be used for both music and movies. Apple Music uses both terms interchangeably, but it's best to think of Dolby Atmos as a form of spatial audio as opposed to the other way around. If you're interested in how Dolby Atmos works, make sure you check our about page. Spatial audio is designed to make the sound like it's coming from all around you, but watch to see how we describe its performance. If it 'thins out' the music, it means that it doesn't sound very good. A 'full sounding' performance, on the other hand, retains the quality of the music. The sound of your music is made up of vibrations — these are the frequencies. Different frequencies make up the different parts of your music. Higher frequencies make up the stuff that lives at the top of your music; think cymbals and sopranos. Then you'll hear us talk about mid-range frequencies, which is where a lot of music lives. That's guitars, tenors, and so on. Then there are the low-range frequencies. That's where the bass lives, like low synths, kick drums, and bass guitars. (Sounds do go lower than that, and that's where subwoofers for soundbars come in. These are the sounds that make your room/skull/sofa vibrate and shake.) Reviewers use these to split sound quality — good mids don't mean there are good lows, and vice versa. Then there are all the other words we might use to explain sound quality. Here are just a few: These are just some of the terms that we use to talk about music and movies when testing headphones, earbuds and speakers. Are there any other terms that you might be confused about? Let me know! I can talk you through all the annoying jargon that experts like to use.
Tom's Guide
08-07-2025
- Business
- Tom's Guide
My favorite Spatial Audio headphones just reached a new lowest price during Prime Day — save $150 on the Sonos Ace
The Sonos Ace deliver some of the best spatial audio of any headphones on the market, and thanks to a massive Prime Day saving, they just became a whole lot more affordable than normal: The Sonos Ace are down $150 at Amazon, so you can pick up a pair for $299. T hat's their lowest price ever, making for the perfect time to pick up Sonos' excellent first foray into wireless headphones. The Sonos Ace are my favorite way to listen to Spatial Audio over Bluetooth. They've got a natural sound signature and surprisingly good call quality. 30 hours of battery is the icing on the cake — and one of the reasons they earned a 4.5-star review. This is their lowest price ever, beating the previous deal by $20. There are loads of reasons that you might want to pick up the Sonos Ace, but one of the main ones is the aforementioned Spatial Audio. Thanks to Sonos' experience with home theater equipment, they've got some of the best all-encompassing audio of any pair of headphones. Music mixed for Spatial Audio sounds pretty special in the Ace, with loads of dynamism to the proceedings. The headtracking works well too if you're into that kind of thing, and you won't be wanting for any bass. The sound overall is very good, even without Spatial Audio. It's warmer, as Sonos tends to be, but there's still plenty of detail to keep you interested. Similarly, ANC is very good, blocking out plenty of noise. I like the way that they look too, and the protective case is nice and solid. There's 30 hours of battery life to keep them going for long periods of time. One thing to note for those with cartilage piercings: I found that the earcup pressed on it occasionally, which wasn't much fun. It wasn't enough to dampen my experience, but it's still worth noting. This Prime Day deal brings them down to a new lowest price — so if you've been looking for a great way to get some new headphones, this might just be what you've been waiting for. There are plenty more deals to be had this Prime Day — make sure you check out our Prime Day live blog to make sure you're staying on top of all the latest sales and offers.
Phone Arena
08-07-2025
- Phone Arena
Baseus earbuds: excellent prices on open-design, and in-ears
This story is sponsored by Baseus. PhoneArena's opinions in this article have not been affected in any way! Bluetooth earphones have become ubiquitous in the past few years. So much so, that it's not uncommon to have a couple of sets. One for the office, one for meetings, one for walks, or that perfect one to wind down and relax with, blasting your favorite their prices don't typically make it easy to just get that spare set, or to experiment with different fits and designs. But now, Baseus is running some mega deals on its top-tier earphones, and it's worth taking a look! Open ear designs are slowly but surely gaining momentum in their own niche. What niche is that? People that do see the benefit of having earphones always on — either to be ready to take that call, or listen to music or a podcast — but also want to hear the outside works at all drivers or riders, or people who work in an office environment where they are expected to interact with colleagues ear earbuds do as it says on the tin. They will hang on to your earlobe and have a speaker just outside your ear, but not blocking the external sound. No need for transparency mode — you get the actual world sounds, while still quietly running the soundtrack to your life at a nice level. The Bowie MC1 Pro are the flagship open-ear, clip on earbud design from Baseus. With a TPU ring enforced with memory titanium, their clips have been tested to last at least 8,000 bends. They feature slightly curved cushions and anti-slip wingtips, making sure that they stay on your ears and are comfortable while doing sound is maximized by a tri-magnet driver with a three-layer diaphragm to ensure that they still beam a balanced sound, even if they are not directly inside your ears. And they support Bluetooth multipoint, so they can remain connected to both your laptop and smartphone — no need to manually switch every time. $20 off (22%) Titanium wire rings, anti-slip tips, IP67, 40 hours of battery life, balanced sound. Buy at Amazon Want open-ear earbuds, but you are a fan of the more bottom-heavy sound? Baseus Bass BC1 is here to deliver that. With drivers specifically made to pump out more low end, bassheads should be happier with Baseus Bass BC1 have the same clip-on design with a flexible TPU ring and an ergonomic clip. 12 mm dynamic drivers, bio-cellulose diaphragms, and AI bass boost ensure that you will be getting a thicker bottom end. $11 off (28%) Light design, tri-curve ergonomic clip, IP67, 38 hours of battery life, AI boosted bass. Buy at Amazon If you are simply after a set of classic in-ear buds, with dependable ANC and a deep, rich bass to silence the world — the Baseus Bass BP1 Pro are just that. Nothing fancy, no bells and whistles. Just -50 dB adaptive ANC, up to 36 hours of battery life with ANC on, 55 hours with it wait, that's actually a lot. A solid set of in-ears for not a lot of money. Now, even more affordable with Baseus' special discounts! Classic design, -50 dB ANC, IP55, up to 55 hours of battery, bass heavy sound with crisp highs. Buy at Amazon
CNET
07-07-2025
- Business
- CNET
The Best-Sounding Sony Bluetooth Speaker I've Tested Is at an All-Time Low Price for Prime Day
Amazon Prime Day sale: The Sony ULT Field 5 Bluetooth speaker is available for $198 as part of Amazon's Prime Day sale event. That's equivalent to 40% off. We named this model the best midrange Bluetooth speaker available, and it's now at the best price we've seen since it launched. If you were to ask me what my favorite new portable Bluetooth speaker of 2025 is so far, I'd have to say Sony's ULT Field 5 speaker. When it launched back in April, I called it one of the best-sounding Bluetooth speakers I've tested in its size class. However, it cost $330, which is pretty pricey, though I suspected we'd see it discounted in due time. Well, that time is now. The speaker has been marked down a couple of times since launch, first for Memorial Day and again now for Amazon Prime Day. Read more: Best Bluetooth speakers of 2025 In fact, a few other Sony Bluetooth speakers are on sale for good prices, including the new ULT Field 3 ($148 or $52 off) and the compact ULT Field 1 ($83 or $47 off). They're all good portable speakers, but the ULT Field 5 has the best sound of the bunch and is arguably the best overall. ULT is short for ultimate or, as Sony says, "The ultimate step into the evolution of its portable audio products." Power represents "dynamic sound pressure and deep bass." Sound translates to "as if you were in the front row at a concert." Enlarge Image The Sony ULT Field 5 (left) compared to the ULT Field 3 (right). Screenshot by David Carnoy/CNET In the past, I thought Sony's Bluetooth speakers were decent enough but not great. However, with the ULT series, Sony's significantly improved the sound quality of its Bluetooth speakers. I also like the new designs of the ULT Field 3 and ULT Field 5, which can stand vertically or lay horizontally. Both speakers are fully waterproof, dust-proof, and rust-proof, with an IP67 certification. Both include a new removable shoulder strap, which I ended up using more with the heftier ULT Field 5 than the lighter ULT Field 3. The ULT Field 5 weights 7.27 pounds while the ULT Field 3 weighs 2.65 pounds -- a big difference. (Read my hands-on first take review of both speakers). Enlarge Image The ULT Field 5 with its removable shoulder strap attached. David Carnoy/CNET The ULT Field 3 delivers more bass and volume than you'd expect, given its relatively compact size (and it offers better clarity and bass performance than its predecessor, the SRS-XE300). But the ULT Field 5's soundstage is noticeably wider and the speaker plays louder with noticeably fuller, richer sound. It also has built-in party lighting with a USB-C charge in-out port so the speaker can be used as a power bank to charge your devices. Battery life is rated at up to 25 hours at moderate volume levels or 10 hours with the party lighting activated. Read more: Best Bluetooth speakers of 2025 Don't expect real stereo separation from either the ULT Field 5 or ULT Field 3. To get true stereo separation, you'll need to link two of them together, creating a stereo pair (Sony has made it easier to link its ULT speakers in both Party Connect mode and stereo mode). Of course, not everybody can afford one of these speakers, let alone two, but it helps that they're now on sale. ULT Field 5 key specs Weight: 7.27 pounds 7.27 pounds Drivers: 1 woofer, 2 passive bass radiators, 2 tweeters 1 woofer, 2 passive bass radiators, 2 tweeters EQ: ULT1 Mode (deep frequencies), ULT2 Mode (powerful sound), 10-Band EQ, Sound Field Optimization ULT1 Mode (deep frequencies), ULT2 Mode (powerful sound), 10-Band EQ, Sound Field Optimization App control: Sound Connect app (iOS and Android) Sound Connect app (iOS and Android) Price: $330 Colors: Available in black and off white Available in black and off white Predecessor: SRS-XG300 SRS-XG300 IP67 waterproof, dust-proof, rust-proof and shock-resistant Party lighting Removable shoulder strap Up to 25 hours of battery life (10 hours with lighting on) Speakerphone (built-in microphone) In-out USB-C charge, so the speaker can be used as a power bank 3.5mm audio input Link multiple speakers with Party Connect or stereo pair To see how this model compares to others, check out our list of the best Bluetooth speakers available now. And for more great discounts, see our roundup of the best deals we've found during the Amazon Prime Day sale event.
