by Kira Grunenberg

Despite most music consumers not being audiophiles, people are exposed to product after product meant to improve their private or group listening experiences. Sure, not everyone is up on their production jargon or audio file types but that doesn’t mean you can’t appreciate high quality playback, right? Add this to the ever increasing use of portable music devices and sound tech companies can have a field day trying to create the ideal combination of quality and convenience for personal consumption. Bose is a prime example of such, providing products for stationary listening and mobile use while also being a publicly well known brand.

Bose not being the only powerful sound tech company on the block, another company, SRS Labs, describes itself here as a company that is…

“More than simply a manufacturer of audio products, we have studied both the sending and receiving of audio, and we design and create solutions that enable listeners to enjoy natural, restored sound from an incredibly wide variety of audio devices.”

SRS Labs has improved upon an older piece of its own tech, called the iWow 3D, which was advertised in a website news announcement back in January of 2011, as an adapter meant to, “deliver an immersive, high fidelity audio experience.” That device was catered specifically for use with iPods, iPhones and iPads but not any other OS or device.

This morning, SRS Labs has announced the release of a second adapter product called the iWow-U, (short for iWow Universal), that eliminates that restriction by utilizing a standard 3.5mm headphone jack connection, rather than the 30 pin dock connection of most Apple “i” devices. The expansion of product compatibility isn’t the only development though. With the iWow 3D, customers could obtain specialized settings for listening between headphones, car stereos or stand alone speakers but, this was only available if one downloaded the SRS iWow App. The app is free, yet these customizations were not inherent in the “3D” device. The iWow-U device includes customized tunings for headphone and car playback.

Although the written description of the iWow-U’s capabilities remains similar to its predecessor, the implication given is still a purer experience and the iWow-U is an improved tool to provide it. SRS Labs states in their website announcement that the new device,

“retriev[es] audio cues that are buried deep within the original source material to restore the integrity of the original recordings, providing an immersive three-dimensional sound stage with renewed depth and clarity, as well as deeper bass.”

The iWow-U also works with in-line control on applicable headphones and has microphone pass through ability as well (also lacking in the 3D.) Finish up the package with a single button UI and marketable, interchangeable, colored face plates (An available and technologically identical “iWow-UF” package will include the faceplates,) and SRS Labs seems to have hit a steady balance between quality and convenience with what is essentially a ’2.0′ version of their work. Official prices have not been disclosed yet but if the iWow 3D pricing of approx. $59.99 (this being a year after launch,) are any indicator, that’s at least a base number to work up from if you plan on buying an iWow-U.

Below is a video with a brief look at the adapter’s appearance.

Kira is an old school music nerd with a love for all things creative; always searching for music’s common ground. She graduated with an M.A. in Performing Arts Administration from New York University. Drop her a tweet @shadowmelody1

 

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