Cube have announced details of their foray into earphones, the F1s or to give them their full title, the ‘CUBE F1 bio-ear headphones monitor diaphragm’.
They’ve not released much technical information about these but they sure do look quite odd. Maybe they’ve cracked the secret to perfect sound by using weird design. Maybe not.
What we do know is they use a Bayer Biological diaphragm, Daikiku speakers, Sumitomo tuning coil and have a 13.5mm driver.
Pre-release price is 209 yuan / $30.

[Via imp3]

Discuss on the MP4Nation forum

Anythingbutipod have reviewed the Philips GoGear Spark SA2925R/37, an MP3 player of tiny proportions judging by the size comparison picture.
In their full unboxing and review, photos and video, the 1.5 inch screened player comes up trumps despite being from the usually dull Philips and being only Windows compatible.
The OLED screen set it apart from other players giving it an impressive look. Unfortunately the snazzy screen does bump up the price.

Read the full review here.

The new SmartQ MID is nearly here, save a little by pre ordering it, it will make also for one great Christmas gift also.

Get the new SmartQ V7 MID for $259.50 during this presale. We expect to have the first 30 units in stock by Wednesday the 25th.

Get one today!

French tech-heads Generation MP3 have done a video review of the new Soundmagic PL50s.
It’s thumbs up all round and they concur these earphones are an improvement in packaging, accessories and most importantly, sound.
See the unpacking and review video on their site here.

Soundmagic PL-50s are available from $52.50 at the MP4Nation store.

Discuss on the MP4Nation forum.

Released into their lower end spectrum range comes the RAmos Icon T17, a 4.3 inch 8GB player released at 399 yuan / $58.
The T17 is a simple looking non-touchscreen player that uses the Rockchip RK2728 chip which offers 720P HD playback via TV-OUT for a variety of file types including H.264, MKV, RMBV, VOB and more.
A lot’s been put on the ‘floral’ UI too, boasting a colourful, simple and intuitive display.
Other features include eBook reader PlayFX audio, 5 hours of video playback and 15 hours of music.
It’s also pretty slim at just 11mm.

[Via IMP3]

Discuss on the MP4Nation forum.

With MediaCenter, the basic Nationite MIDNite Xpress media player reviewed, it’s time to take a look at the alternative, the Core Pocket Media Player (TCPMP for short) which is far meatier on functions.
See its skills after the jump.

Interface

Once the program’s up and running, one of the largest differences between MediaCenter and TCPMP is revealed.

Whereas MediaCenter’s home screen is bold colourful icons, TCPMP is a more basic list and menu affair, using the Windows drop-down lists for navigation.
That said, it’s no problem and sticking with it pays off.

The main ‘File’ menu gives the following options:
Open File…
Playlist…
Next
Previous
Chapters
Media Info
Benchmark
About…
Exit

Under the ‘Options’ tab comes these options:
Speed (ranging from 10% to 200%)
Zoom (including fit best, fill screen, stretch to screen, fit + 10, fit + 20, fit + 30, 50%, 100%, 150%, 200%)
Pixel Aspect Ratio (Auto, Square, 4:3 screen, 4:3 NTSC, 4:3 PAL, 16:9 screen, 16:9 NTSC, 19:9 PAL)
Orientation (Follow GUI, Normal, Left-handed, Right-handed, Upside Down)
View (tick boxes - Titlebar, Timeslider, Taskbar)
Video (smooth zoom (only 50%), smooth zoom (always), Dither, quality, GDI, Null Video, Disabled, Streams)
Audio (stereo, stereo swapped, mono join, mono left, mono right, preamp decrease, preamp 0, preamp increase, Audio driver: Wave output, null audio, disabled, streams)
Subtitle (sync adjust, decress, reset, incress, stream)
Repeat
Shuffle
Equalizer
Settings

From settings you get YET ANOTHER menu, each with their own huge amounts of break off settings. The headers of these are:

General
Player
Equalizer
Colors
Hot Keys
File Associations
Buffering
Advanced
Subtitle

So from the two main drop down menus, you can see that there’s a wealth of customisable options available with TCPMP and they’re just the tip of the iceburg.

For example, when opening a file, the menu can be further expanded to filter the files into any of the 60 file formats supported.

Music

The biggest and best difference between this and MediaCenter has got to be the equalizer.

Plugging in straight and then switching on the EQ reveals a world of difference. What was forced out, brash and cold music in an instant became warm, full bodied and of excellent quality.
And the best part? It’s fully customisable.

By accessing the settings tab you get EVEN MORE options, one being the equalizer display which allows you to tinker with 10 sound aspects and save up to 25 presets.
This is a fantastic addition and makes listening to music on the MIDNite Xpress a brilliant and fully customizable experience.

Navigation is done through Windows type menus but that’s no problem due to ease of use and multiple selection ability and playlists are easily knocked up, another trump card for TCPMP.

Playlists are obviously endlessly customisable and there’s no limit to the amount you can make and save.

Playback quality is, as mentioned, excellent and album artwork is displayed while the track plays.

These are the basic functions but there are endless tweaks you can make in this awesome software.

Video

Again there are a huge amount of options but the basic video quality doesn’t quite match up to that of the MediaCenter due to occasional but very minor stuttering during playback.

This can all be played with in the settings and just messing about yields some really interesting results, for example, zoomed at 200% and played at vertical orientation the picture’s razor sharp and super smooth.
Therefore it can be easily deduced that the perfect picture can be found in regular viewing but in terms of ‘plug and play’, MediaCentre takes it for video.

Photos

Like video, a tap on the screen rotates the image.
The image quality is slightly higher than that offered by MediaCenter but that does have the preview interface which is slightly more convenient than TCPMP’s list menu.
Picture are displayed bright, bold and really colourful. To demonstrate, it’s the return of the grumpy cat.

The verdict

In a word, huge. TCPMP is a vast, fully customisable media player that at the bare minimum gives the MIDNite Xpress excellent music playback and at the most provides fully customisable audio and video playback with an endless amount of useful and intelligent options.
This is a feat in free software and hugely recommended, mostly for the excellent EQ and then for the complete user control it offers.

Read part 1 of the media player tests here.

Discuss on the MP4Nation forum.

Here’s Newman’s slimline 720P PMP, the A36HD. Its 8mm width is pretty slim for a player that offers 1280 x 720p playback and the whole thing’s compact due to the 3 inch screen.
The screen’s resolution is 400 x 240, it has the choice of 4GB or 8 GB of internal memory and uses ID3 tagging for music searching.
It also has built-in speakers and supports MP3, WMA, APE, FLAC Lossless audio files and RM, RMVB, AVI, and FLV video formats.

[Via AkihabaraNews]

Discuss on the MP4Nation forum.

We get a lot of people sending in support tickets and forums threads asking us every year good gift selections, so this year we thought we would be a little better and make a list of what we think are our top 10 stocking stuffers, which will be followed up with our top 10 gift ideas for products that are sold on MP4 Nation. Our top 10 list after the jump!

10. Nationite OS-81 2GB $59.50

Well its the only MP4 player we would suggest as a stocking stuffer, mainly because of its low price, BUT, don’t think that just because it has 2GB that it won’t make for a good deal or gift. The OS-81 allows for external memory and the internal memory, for music, to be combined into one playlist, so essentially you can add an 8GB card full of music and have a total of 10GB of integrated music.

The Nationite OS-81 2GB is only $59.50 with free world wide standard airmail shipping.

9. Fiio E1 Amp for iPods $20.50

Well Fiio latest portable amp is specifically targeted toward Apple iPod users (we know, its almost blasphemy to talk about those guys here, but we’ll make this one time exception).

The E1 is basically the same as the Fiio E5, but designed for direct use with iPods, this includes the iPhone. The low price gadget will enhance the normal dribble sound quality from your fruity product.

The Fiio E1 is only $20.50 with free world wide standard airmail shipping.

8. Fiio S9 Speakers $27.63

Wait, what are you saying, i can’t hear you, this compact speaker is just so loud!

That’s right the S9 is in stock and available this Christmas, the compact speakers made by Fiio can pack a serious punch, filling most normal sized rooms with wall to wall sound. The compact speakers connect to any audio device via a 3.5mm earphone cable, so it can essentially work with any media player that uses a standard 3.5mm earphone jack. It can also make for some very nice compact PC speakers.

The Fiio S9 is only $27.63 with free world wide standard airmail shipping.

7. SoundMagic PL-30 $25.50

I don’t think we really need to say to much about these earphones, except that they are good, well liked and although a bit odd looking are worth every penny. If you want to find more reviews of the PL30 then check the following:
SoundMagic PL30 by our own Tom
Reviews of Head-Fi.org
PC World Australia
Tech Power Up Review

The SoundMagic PL30 is only $25.50 with free world wide airmail shipping.

6. Fiio E5 Amp $20.40

Probably this years most popular portable amp on the internet, which would only be right as its predecessor (the E3) was last years king of the hill. The E5 amp will improve the sound that you are normally accustomed to hearing from your earphones, these are especially recommended if you use those big headphones, these will push the bass to an entirely new level.

There are numerous reviews on this device, just google Fiio E5 Review and you will see how well liked these little gadgets are.

The Fiio E5 is only $20.50 with free world wide standard airmail shipping.

5. SoundMagic PL-50 $52.50

The PL50 are probably the lowest cost armature earphones that could still be considered very good, they are, again, by far, worth every penny that they cost and much more. Their sound quality provides for good and clear highs and mids as well as a well defined bass. If nothing else, the actual look and sound of the earphones make them look far more costly than they are, so don’t worry no one will know how cheap you got them for

The SoundMagic PL50 is only $52.50 with free world wide airmail shipping.

4. Mofi Case 6 Pack from $9.50

Oh i wish i could find a comforter made from the same soft material as these cases. These will make a great, low cost, stocking stuffer, get 6 cases per pack, each case a different color, but each of the same size. These make for very good carrying devices for various different devices, just visit each packs product page to check for the cases internal size measurements to make sure they will fit whatever device you intend to have them be used on.

The Mofi case 6 packs starts at $9.50 and come with free worldwide shipping.

3. NaNite N1 2GB $29.50

The smallest player that we have (and possible ever will) is flying off the shelves, people have come to know NaNite N1 as truly having a big sound for such a small size. How small, its about the same height as the standard height of a credit card (check the product page for a comparison). The small joystick allows for easy navigation through your songs, which on the N1 are sorted by ID3 tags into album, artist and genres.

The NaNite N1 2GB comes in Black and Purple color.

The Nationite NaNite 2GB is only $29.50 and includes worldwide free shipping.

2. NaNite N1 4GB + Betas $49.50

Well just read the praise we wrote above and change 2GB for 4GB, $29.50 for $49.50 and that with the 4GB you get a pair of our very good Beta Brainwavz Professional IEM for FREE!

This is probably the one two punch of our top 10 list, not only do you get a great small MP3 player with rocking sound, but you get our much praised Beta Brainwavz earphones for FREE.

The NaNite N1 4GB comes in Black and Purple color.

The Nationite NaNite 4GB is only $49.50 and includes worldwide free shipping.

1. Beta Brainwavz Christmas Special - $24.50

This is probably the best deal that we have for this entire Christmas, seriously, the Betas are normally sold for more at $34.50 and even at that price most people consider them far more value than that! We know it may sound like we blowing a lot of smoke, but take a look at the very many reviews for your self, all of them show the Betas for being very good and very good value (and that’s when they are at their normal price of $34.50).

The Betas will provide for a good, low cost holiday stocking stuffer or just as a normal gift, their sleek look and good audio quality will make it hard for the receiver to ever know what a great price you got them for. We are sure that they will be well pleased with the Betas as their gift.

This is also a great item to have for yourself, especially if you are used to using only ’stock’ earphones or if you want to start getting into earphones, the Betas make for a great introductory IEM.

Get the Betas, trust us, they are good, but if you don’t then read the below reviews:

ABI Review
Review on Head-fi.org
Tech Power Up Review
Good Gear Guide
IEM Review

Get the Beta Brainwavz for only $24.50 with free worldwide standard airmail shipping.

You can also get the Beta Brainwavz with an E3 or E5 amp for not that much more also!

We hope you found our top 10 list useful to you

These two-tone Japanese Zumreed ZHP-008 headphones are a little out of the ordinary and all the better for it.
It’s hard to decide where they fall in the retro/futuristic/tacky position but they’re certainly noticable.
They come in hot pink, orange/green, lime/blue, black/red and white/red and cost $36.50.

[Via Chipchick]

Discuss on the MP4Nation forum.

It’s been awhile since anyone can probably remember me actually giving a crap about Ainol, not that they make bad players, they just made the least interesting on the better brand name guys in China. Well that seems set to change, Ainol has announced their new V9000 player line, which are all slated to bbe touch screen based and we can probably assume, have the same UI as depicted in these promo pictures.

The first player in the V9000 series is the HDX, aka ‘Megatron”, it will use the new SoChip SC9800 chip, we can’t give you the low down on this chip as the information on SoChip chipsets in generally is a bit sketchy, but we can probably assure you that it will be able to handle videos upto 1080p, along with HDMI output and Ainol is stating the 4.8″ touch screen to be capacitive based.

The promo pictures make the UI seem to quite different from the rather more simple UI’s we are more accustomed to seeing on Ainol players, but i think i will just wait till i get one in my hands before i actually believe the UI looks like this.

More pictures in the gallery below

More info and discussion on the forums

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