Last year, Sol Republic debuted the Relays Sport in-ears, which were an improved version of the company’s previous Relays model. Now, those in-ears are getting another update in the new Relays Sport Wireless, announced by the company on Wednesday.
The introduction of the new model comes two years after its initial launch on Indiegogo, complete with general improvements. The obvious advantage of the Relays Sport Wireless model is, as the name implies, that it is wireless, which is key for a headphone that is targeted at physically active users.
“Exercise and sports require much more from a headphone than listening at work does. We found every headphone out there had one or more shortfalls and customer complaints along with it,” Sol Republic co-founder Kevin Lee said in a statement. “We believe music is emotion and that if it sounds better, it feels better. That’s incredibly important for workouts. A great sounding pair of headphones can deliver the emotional energy from your music to help you work out harder or let the time pass faster.”
At the core of the entire Relays series is Sol Republic’s FreeFlex, which the company says secures the ear buds in the listener’s ear without the need for in-ear or over-ear hooks. A spongy, reflexive ring sits around the exterior, expanding in your ear to keep the Relays Sport in place, no matter how vigorously the user may be moving.
Many wireless in-ears will place the electronics and battery in one or both ear buds, especially lately. Sol Republic has taken a different approach, moving both the battery and other electronic components into water-resistant “pods” that fit around the listener’s neck.
“We moved the electronics out of your sweaty ear for better reliability, resulting in more room for a larger battery and better electronics that improved sound and Bluetooth connectivity. We even included a quick-charge circuit so if you forgot to charge your headphone, you can recharge it on your way to the gym for 10 minutes and get up to an hour of playtime,” Lee said.
The company’s approach seems to have pair off in terms of battery life. The Relays Sport Wireless offer a claimed playback time of up to eight hours. Sol Republic hasn’t provided an estimate of how long it takes to charge from completely drained to full, but it shouldn’t take long based on the company’s quick charge estimate.
The Relays Sport Wireless come in Black, Mint, and Yellow color varieties, and sell for $80. They are available now from Best Buy, Amazon, InMotion, and the Sol Republic website.
Instagram is making its way to yet another screen, and this time, Apple TV is getting a taste of the Reels rabbit hole. The company has launched a dedicated Instagram app for Apple TV, bringing Reels, longer videos, and live shows to the big screen. So, if watching one quick clip on a phone somehow turns into an hour of scrolling, there's now a much larger screen for that.
Instagram brings Reels and more to Apple TV
Audio-Technica, a brand well known for making some of the best studio and professional headphones on the market, has just come out with the ATH-AWX7000, which the company itself claims to be its "finest headphones ever." The new flagship closed-back headphone has debuted at an eye-watering price of $3,799. It combines hand-finished Japanese woodwork with a newly developed 58mm driver.
The earcups are made from Kiso cypress, a prized wood historically used for Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples. Each housing is finished by hand with traditional Echizen lacquer, which brings out the grain and is expected to darken over time. The frame and sliders are finished in a deep navy kachi-iro shade traditionally associated with samurai.
This post is brought to you in paid partnership with Best Buy.
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