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The boom stick. Makes your cheap headphones sound better than beats...

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What if those lame EarPods that Apple included with your iPhone could sound like top-of-the-line headphones?

I'm no audiophile, but even I can hear a clear difference between cheap headphones and high-quality headphones. That is, until I plugged my crappy headphones into the new BoomStick.

A tiny $99 gizmo, the BoomStick plugs into your headphone jack, and you plug your headphones into the BoomStick. Turn it on, and like magic, your headphones' quality soars dramatically.

In a few weeks of testing, I found that the BoomStick made a pair of $10 headphones sound even better than $200 Beats by Dre Solo2 headphones (without the BoomStick). I actually preferred my cheap headphones, when they were plugged into the BoomStick over the $200 headphones that were plugged right into my phone.

When I used the BoomStick with the Beats headphones, the sound was off-the-charts awesome.

With BoomStick, you hear instruments you wouldn't otherwise hear. But it's not just louder -- sounds are more realistic, making it feel like you're immersed in the music. When watching videos, sounds feel like they're coming from all around you -- approaching you, moving away from you, off in the distance or up close.

The secret sauce in the BoomStick, according to parent company BoomCloud 360, is a chip with some particularly smart software. Inside the BoomStick, the chip analyzes the sound profile of the content you're listening to, and in real time replays it in a more natural sounding way, with deeper bass and better-optimized high-frequency sounds.

"With the BoomStick, you can make your free earphones outperform expensive headphones or you can take your expensive headphones to a whole new level of enveloping sound," said according to George Appling, co-founder of BoomCloud 360, which makes the BoomStick.

There are a couple of notable, unfortunate quirks to the BoomStick.

For example, it's a bit awkward carrying your phone and your connected BoomStick in your pocket, particularly if you're using your phone while listening to music -- it just kind of dangles off your phone and weighs it down.

It also has a confusing button system. One button turns the power on, but another toggles the BoomStick's software on and off.

The company says that's designed so that you can easily hear the difference between the sounds your headphones play -- with and without the BoomStick. But I didn't see a point to that. Why would you want the BoomStick to be on while you hear lower-quality sound?

Another quirky feature: Hold down the button for a few seconds to hear even better sound, which BoomCloud says is designed specifically with cheap headphones in mind. I actually often found that feature to make music sound worse, with over-saturated sounds -- particularly in the bass range.

You've really got to jam your headphones into the BoomStick jack, too. I had to twist my headphone plug in a few times to make sure the sound wasn't just playing in my left ear.

As amazing as the BoomStick is, I kind of wish the company just made a really great set of $99 headphones. It would be simpler and less awkward to carry around.

Still, if you're someone who appreciates great-sounding audio, the BoomStick is worth a try.

The BoomStick will hit stores on March 1.

http://money.cnn.com/2016/01/03/technology/boomstick/index.html

An interesting idea.... Wonder how popular it could be with gamers, for example who don't have to keep the gadget in their pocket? Or wether future designs can come to terms with the bulky pocket issue...

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Looks a bit of a con to me.  Surely it is nothing more than an audio processor which if you search around enough you can more or less do for free anyway depending on device.

 

I know Sony for instance has ClearAudio+ on nearly all their devices which drastically improves quality (even over cheaper headsets).  HTC have their own version as well and I'd assume Samsung do too. There are a few very decent apps available for other Android or IOS devices which really make a huge difference to the perceived quality of what comes out of your headphones which are only a couple of quid each on the stores (PowerAMP being my choice)

 

This "Boomstick" just seems like it wants to target people who have no idea how to set this up for themselves just using apps and such and want a "plug and play" solution

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Looks a bit of a con to me.  Surely it is nothing more than an audio processor which if you search around enough you can more or less do for free anyway depending on device.

 

I know Sony for instance has ClearAudio+ on nearly all their devices which drastically improves quality (even over cheaper headsets).  HTC have their own version as well and I'd assume Samsung do too. There are a few very decent apps available for other Android or IOS devices which really make a huge difference to the perceived quality of what comes out of your headphones which are only a couple of quid each on the stores (PowerAMP being my choice)

 

This "Boomstick" just seems like it wants to target people who have no idea how to set this up for themselves just using apps and such and want a "plug and play" solution

I'm sure you Are right about a plug and play solution that people want. But it could just be easier- maybe they have more than one device they want to use? As I mentioned mAybe gamers want the option to plug in a headset to a computer? Or music through a car speaker system...

I think for me it's where it could lead to that excites me. There's no reason why a model of this cant be produced to increase the quality of lower end in home music systems . Between the separates and the speakers.

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Instead of having crappy $10 headphones and $99 boomstick why not just buy $100 headphones that don't have celebrity endorsement doubling their cost, but do the job just as well?

Well if beats are $200 and this gadget is $99 and your crappy headphones are $10, wouldn't you in fact be saving money?

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My cheap headphones do sound better than Beats

 

Instead of having crappy $10 headphones and $99 boomstick why not just buy $100 headphones that don't have celebrity endorsement doubling their cost, but do the job just as well?

 This

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  • 1 month later...

Using Beats as a yard-stick by which to measure quality audio? Nah. 

 

$200 for a set of Beats headphones is absolute waste - Beats headphones are effectively a pair of $30 headphones (manufactured in china for all of $5 probably) marketed to people who don't understand nor care about good audio - more concerned with fashion and owning the latest 'in' thing. 

 

You're better off investing in a set of decent Sennheiser headphones where audio quality is the main concern. 

 

This BoomStick is essentially just a small pre-amp which will lift the volume and equalise the different frequencies - something a free app on your phone will probably do for free - basically putting a plaster on your cheap headphones. 

 

If you value your music experience then save up and invest in a decent set of headphones (such as Sennheiser or similar) that have received decent reviews from a trusted source.

 

I feel bad for people who buy Beats headphones. 

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Using Beats as a yard-stick by which to measure quality audio? Nah. 

 

$200 for a set of Beats headphones is absolute waste - Beats headphones are effectively a pair of $30 headphones (manufactured in china for all of $5 probably) marketed to people who don't understand nor care about good audio - more concerned with fashion and owning the latest 'in' thing. 

 

You're better off investing in a set of decent Sennheiser headphones where audio quality is the main concern. 

 

This BoomStick is essentially just a small pre-amp which will lift the volume and equalise the different frequencies - something a free app on your phone will probably do for free - basically putting a plaster on your cheap headphones. 

 

If you value your music experience then save up and invest in a decent set of headphones (such as Sennheiser or similar) that have received decent reviews from a trusted source.

 

I feel bad for people who buy Beats headphones. 

 

This. There will be products and apps out there that can 'get more out of your existing headphones' but in reality they will most likely just be boosting a few things to give them more perceived loudness at certain frequencies. If you want better audio quality then you need good headphones in the first place, there's no substitute for good drivers and speakers in headphones. 

 

I have a pair of these and they sound fantastic http://www.dolphinmusic.co.uk/recording/monitoring/94101-sennheiser-hd25-1-ii-professional-studio-dj-headphones/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=shopping&utm_campaign=base&gclid=CKaTt5nU4MoCFQ2eGwodbwUDgw 

 

I've converted several folks from getting Beats to a pair of these Sennheisers because they sound better and are cheaper. Maybe the Beats sound better for Hip-Hop but that's not the only style I listen to. 

 

On a side note - Poweramp is a great music player for phones, I run it on my HTC. It plays any file type so you can have lossless formats on your phone and has something like a 12 band EQ which is really nice. This app would probably do some of what the 'Boom Stick' does too. 

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This. There will be products and apps out there that can 'get more out of your existing headphones' but in reality they will most likely just be boosting a few things to give them more perceived loudness at certain frequencies. If you want better audio quality then you need good headphones in the first place, there's no substitute for good drivers and speakers in headphones. 

 

I have a pair of these and they sound fantastic http://www.dolphinmusic.co.uk/recording/monitoring/94101-sennheiser-hd25-1-ii-professional-studio-dj-headphones/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=shopping&utm_campaign=base&gclid=CKaTt5nU4MoCFQ2eGwodbwUDgw 

 

I've converted several folks from getting Beats to a pair of these Sennheisers because they sound better and are cheaper. Maybe the Beats sound better for Hip-Hop but that's not the only style I listen to. 

 

On a side note - Poweramp is a great music player for phones, I run it on my HTC. It plays any file type so you can have lossless formats on your phone and has something like a 12 band EQ which is really nice. This app would probably do some of what the 'Boom Stick' does too. 

+1 for poweramp  :thumbup:

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I have a pair of these and they sound fantastic http://www.dolphinmusic.co.uk/recording/monitoring/94101-sennheiser-hd25-1-ii-professional-studio-dj-headphones/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=shopping&utm_campaign=base&gclid=CKaTt5nU4MoCFQ2eGwodbwUDgw 

 

I've converted several folks from getting Beats to a pair of these Sennheisers because they sound better and are cheaper. Maybe the Beats sound better for Hip-Hop but that's not the only style I listen to. 

 

The Sennheiser HD25's are the industry standard for DJs and have been for several years now. Great build quality, great sound and perfect for production / DJing because they are pretty much flat response - not built to change the original sound like Beats are.

 

Beats are made specifically to boost mid/low range frequencies so that people who buy them think they are getting a great set of cans because 'it makes my music sound louder / there is loads more bass'.

 

What you actually want from a decent set of headphones is flat response which can then be boosted / reduced using some sort of equaliser depending on the music you're listening to - this way you get quality sound to begin with that can then be tweaked to preference.

 

Good work on converting people to the Sennheisers - people need educating. It's incredible that people will go and spend £200 on Beats without doing their research first. Like I said though, it's mostly down to people wanting that bright red headband as a statement of fashion as opposed to quality. 

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