“Begone wires! Begone phones! Begone laptops!” is probably what someone at Streamz thought to themselves as they created the company’s first Streamz headphones. This is an HD audio capable music player and a pair of headphones in one, according to a recent press release.
Over 150 online music sites are supported by the headset, including bigshots Spotify and Pandora, and it can be controlled via its VOXXI voice-control system. Music lovers can get their daily dose in a good selection of file formats. File support includes MP3, Apple AAC, FLAC, and WAV right now, and is expected to support three more by production, including Ogg Vorbis.
If you don’t have access to wireless Internet, you can rest easy with up to 36GB of storage. The headset comes with 8GB of built-in storage, though only four of those are accessible by the user. Anyone looking to expand that would have to invest in an SD card.
Two side panels enable user control. With the one on the right, you can turn the headset on or off, play, skip, or pause music, and as raise or lower the volume. On the left you’ll find up and down cursors, an audio mode button, and an enter button. The headphones also display what you’re listening to on 1.5-inch displays.
While it does have all of that hardware to assure you a painless listening experience, the Streamz does seem to be on the rather heavy side at 16 ounces; especially considering that it speaks to a wireless audience. The Sennheiser Urbanite XL managed to impress us last spring, at a far lower weight.
The project has been kickstarted twice, and was most recently cancelled just two days after it begun. Among other reasons, Streamz decided to cancel when they heard editors and reviewers wanted sample copies before starting any widespread coverage for the device.
The device is set to debut at CES 2016 between January 6-9, and won’t be cheap. At a retail price of $400, Streamz will be available for purchase from the brand’s online store as well as select global retailers. Shipments begin in March 2016.
