Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Audio / Video
  3. News

Wicked Audio’s CES headphone lineup includes waterproof true wireless buds

By
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Wicked Audio is known in the audio world as a company that makes great-sounding and affordable headphones featuring more youth-oriented styling. In 2019, though, it appears the company will take aim at Apple, Jabra, and other companies that currently make excellent true wireless earbuds. The company has announced an expanded lineup of earbuds that it will show off at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas next week.

More CES 2019 coverage

The most exciting of the four new models the company has announced is the Dunmore, a pair of true wireless earbuds with an IPX5 waterproof rating and 6 hours of battery life. That’s an hour more than industry leaders like Apple’s AirPods, and could make them a very enticing option. We’ve been expecting battery life to increase in true wireless earbuds in 2019, and the Dunmore are the first of many options we expect to boast battery life of more than 5 hours — a trend we’re very excited about.

Recommended Videos

The company also announced two other pairs of true wireless earbuds: The budget-friendly Gnar, which feature ambient noise protection and a mic for calls, and the Syver, a pair that come with IP65 dust and water resistance and a charging case that doubles as a portable speaker while on the go.

Related

Those who are more workout oriented may be interested in a new pair of banded wireless headphones from Wicked called The Portal. This new pair will provide an even more comfortable listening experience, courtesy of large earfins, and will likely boast even better battery life than its true wireless counterparts.

One thing we’re somewhat surprised about is the understated look of each of the new headphone models, which all appear to come in black-on-black colorways. It’s an interesting (and exciting) pivot for a company that spent years developing its brand recognition as a more-affordable Beats competitor. We’ve been impressed with Wicked Audio’s value proposition in the past, and hope that each of the new models will live up to that reputation in the broader headphone market.

All four new models will be available in spring 2019, though pricing has yet to be announced by the company. We’ll hopefully get a closer look at the headphones on the CES show floor, and will update this story with more information as we get it.

Editors’ Recommendations

Topics
Parker Hall
Parker Hall
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Parker Hall is a writer and musician from Portland, OR. He is a graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Oberlin…
Dali says its latest wireless headphones achieve electrostatic levels of clarity
Dali IO-12 wireless headphones.

Dali's latest wireless headphones, the Dali IO-12, will cost $1,299 when they hit retail later this month. That's a huge jump up from the company's previous offering, the $500 Dali IO-6, and it might even be a new record price for a set of wireless headphones, but Dali says the new noise-canceling cans are worth it because of the unusual technology that has been used to create the headphones' 50mm drivers.

The Danish company claims the IO-12 are the world's first to use a Soft Magnetic Compound (SMC) magnet system -- the same tech that Dali patented and used in its acclaimed floor-standing speakers. The primary benefit to SMC is a reduction of hysteresis -- distortion that can be caused by resistance to the voice coil in traditional magnet systems. Reducing hysteresis can lower uneven harmonic distortion "drastically," according to Dali.

Read more
$2,199 Hed Unity Wi-Fi headphones are the first to offer lossless hi-res audio
Hed Unity hi-res Wi-Fi wireless headphones.

They won't fit a lot of budgets, but if you're an audiophile who has long wished for a set of wireless headphones that can deliver truly lossless, hi-res audio, the Hed Unity are the first product that can grant your wish. The over-ear cans use Wi-Fi as well as Bluetooth and can store hi-res music within their onboard storage for access to those hi-res tracks even when you're not at home on your Wi-Fi network. The price for this ultimate level of wire-free listening? $2,199 and you can order them starting April 12 at getunity.com.

The Unity is the first set of headphones from Hed, a Swiss audio company. The company calls the Unity's Wi-Fi-based audio Full-Fidelity. "We believe that everyone should be able to listen to audiophile quality audio, whenever and wherever, simply and without compromise," said Tim Degraye, Co-Founder of HED Unity in a press release. "It’s time to demystify the process. Once you hear the difference it’s impossible to go back."

Read more
The first wireless hi-res headphones with UWB will arrive in 2024
PSB M4U8 wireless headphones.

Wireless headphones (and wireless earbuds) have been hugely popular because of their wire-free convenience and handy features like active noise cancellation (ANC), but audiophiles have never been big fans of the way they sound. Thanks to a new partnership between PSB Speakers, MQA, and Sonical, that could be about to change in a big way: the threesome is planning to launch the world's first set of wireless headphones that use ultra-wideband (UWB) technology instead of Bluetooth, in the first quarter of 2024.

The PSB M4U8 wireless headphones don't have UWB, but they could be the starting point for the first UWB model. PSB / PSB

Read more