Grace Notes

Cleer’s motto “Be In the Moment” couldn’t be more apparent with a new product lineup that takes advantage of many new technologies emerging lately, including voice activation, heart rate monitors, and ruggedness for today’s active lifestyles. The 2018 lineup includes a series of new headphones, a smart speaker, and a VR headset.

While many companies are producing smart speakers with added features such as built-in video screens, Onkyo is flipping the script and adding a camera and home monitoring features into the VC-FLX ($280).

With so many companies making big announcements, Shure is going low-key with an announcement about a new line of detachable cable options for their wireless earphones. It doesn’t seem like much to get excited about, but it actually is.

While you might think Anker is only known for making oddly luxurious battery power banks, they’re venturing into the audio world in a big way by joining with Dolby to create the Zolo Model Zero, a new smart speaker with Google Assistant.

CES 2018 kicked off this morning with the always entertaining, always optimistic Monster Press Conference hosted by head Monster Noel Lee, who launched the company's 39th year in the industry with the motto "Takeover 2018." Along with an array of new speakers and headphones, Monster announced a variety of new products that will capitalize on the popularity of smart speakers and headphones with MonsterTalk, powered by Speak Music’s Melody voice service.

Days are shorter, snow is on its way, and temperatures are plummeting. It’s getting cold and we’re all looking for ways to stay warm, without giving up our music. Sound Huggles are wireless Bluetooth headphones that double as comfy earmuffs. Okay, so I live in Florida and I’m still in shorts and flip-flops, but I know some of you are bundling up to head to work on frigid mornings or out for your evening jog. Wouldn’t a pair of toasty-warm, snuggly headphones make your ears happy?

Voice-activated speakers are hitting the market hot and heavy with everyone vying to be the only system you’ll invest in. Amazon is hoping you’ll pick Alexa, and Cortana is hoping to get some traction in the market. Once you’re a Google family, odds are you’ll stay there. To that end, JBL just released a new line of Google Assistant voice-activated speakers, and the LINK 20 is the perfect balance of features, sound quality, and portability. Yup — that’s right — a voice-assistant that’s not only portable, it’s waterproof too so it can go anywhere.