Gaming Headset With Head-tracking Sensors and More Exciting Audio Products Seen At CES 2020

With all the new products being showcased by the brands at CES 2020, here are some exciting audio products that have definitely got us excited.

1. Sony’s 360 Reality Audio

This isn’t quite new, being first introduced in CES 2019, but now Sony has introduced some new wireless speaker and soundbar prototypes that were available for testing at their CES booth. The sound from these two speakers were actually very decent, and the technology will definitely draw comparisons to Creative’s Super X-Fi technology.

But the most exciting part was when we had the opportunity to sit in the prototype Vision-S car that Sony unveiled and listen to the 360 Reality Audio speakers in there. With speakers built into the headrests of the driver and passenger seats, music played sounded amazing and definitely surprised us. The 360 Reality Audio was much more effective here than when using headphones or the wireless speaker.

2. Jabra’s Elite 75t

Credit: Jabra

The Elite 65t was much beloved by many when they first launched, thanks to their snug fit, decent sound and long battery life. But it’s been a few years, and the competition has caught up, so Jabra has finally had reason to launch their new true wireless earbuds, the Elite 75t.

With a smaller form factor, supposedly improved sound and battery life, we’re excited to test these out when they officially launch in Singapore in late January.

3. Creative’s Super X-Fi 2

The Super X-Fi (SXFI) technology from Creative won multiple awards when it was launched at CES 2019, and Creative has expounded on it this year with Super X-Fi Gen2, which is said to be more accurate in personalising user profiles, as well as offer more precise positioning, directionality and distance sensing for audio.

New products were also announced and we’re particularly excited for SXFI CARRIER, a soundbar which incorporates the SXFI technology, as well as the all-new SXFI GAMER, with the SXFI Gen2 technology adapted for first-person shooter games.

4. Shure’s Aonic 215

Shure has plenty of great products like the SE215, SE535 and SE846, but they’ve always been wired. The Aonic 215 is the brand’s first attempt at going into the true wireless segment, and they’ve based the offering on their popular SE215.

With a similar sound signature and fit, the major difference is that there’s a wireless module that’s connected via MMCX connectors that sits behind the ear when worn. It looks clunky, but should ensure a secure fit due to the over-ear hook design.

Shure claims the earbuds will last up to eight hours on a single charge, with an additional three charges in the carrying case for a total of 32 hours.

5. Belkin’s SOUNDFORM ELITE Speaker

Credit: Belkin

Ever wanted a Devialet speaker but couldn’t bring yourself to fork out the cash? Well, check out Belkin’s new SOUNDFORM ELITE speaker, developed in collaboration with Devialet. You’ll get Devialet’s great sound quality in a compact package which also include’s Belkin’s fast charging technology in a wireless charging pad on the top of the speaker.

The speaker definitely looks gorgeous and if it sounds as good as it looks, we might have a winner on our hands. The price is also more palatable, with an MSRP of US$299.

6. JBL’s Quantum ONE

Credit: JBL

Head-tracking sensors, 360 sound technology and active noise cancellation in a gaming headset? The JBL Quantum ONE is chockfull of features and we’re definitely excited to see how the head-tracking sensors will let gamers pinpoint a sound and follow it by tracking how the user turns their head.

There’s also JBL’s 7.1 surround sound technology, called QuantumSURROUND, in the Quantum ONE and the other four higher-end headphone models JBL is introducing.

7. Audio Technica ATH-ANC300TW

Credit: Audio-Technica

Another TWS earphone that’s introducing active noise cancelling! Unfortunately, the rest of the specs don’t seem as compelling when we compare them to the ATH-CKS5TW that we reviewed in 2019. Battery life has gone down tremendously, no doubt due to the addition of ANC.

These earbuds now use a 5.8mm dynamic driver as opposed to the 10mm driver that was in the ATH-CKS5TW however, so we’re expecting the bass to be slightly more controlled. Specs don’t show the whole picture, however, so we’ll be looking forward to hearing how these perform when we get our hands on a unit.

8. Technics EAH-AZ70W

Credit: Technics

Announced at Panasonic’s keynote at CES 2020, the Technics EAH-AZ70W appears to be a TWS earphone that could give Sony’s WF-1000XM3 and Apple’s AirPods Pro a run for their money.

With active noise cancelling, left/right signalling instead of a master/slave configuration and BlueTooth 5.1, these earphones might just be a great addition into the ANC TWS earphones segment. These are slated to launch in May, so hopefully, we’ll get a chance to try them out for a full review.

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There were plenty more audio products on display at CES 2020, but just these alone have gotten us hyped for what brands will be launching later this year, with more and more brands starting to dip their toes into the true wireless ANC segment.