Sennheiser—known for their range of high end headphones and earphones—has announced some new additions to their lineup of TRAVEL Bluetooth-enabled on ear headphones. These new models offer enhanced streaming audio sound by utilizing the Apt-X codec, which aims to provide better sound in streaming application. The Apt-X audio codec offers audiophile-level sound even in streaming situations where bandwidth is at a premium, such as when listening to tunes via Bluetooth. Like the previous MM models, these updated cans are compatible with any Bluetooth-enabled devices supporting A2DP and HFP/HSP; this list includes computers, smartphones (iPhone 3G and above), tablets (iPad included), and some MP3 players (most iPod Touch models are included).
The TRAVEL series with the Apt-X codec includes:
- MM 450-/550-X: offer NoiseGard noise canceling, TalkThrough sound processing SRS Wow HD processing (550-X only)
- MM 400-/500-X: offer Bluetooth 2.1 with Apt-X, and up to 20 hours of talk time
It is important to note that no Apple products include native support for the Apt-X codec. Sennheiser sells aniDevice dongle that allows Apt-X compression and streaming, as well as a USB dongle that does the same thing for computer-based listening systems. These devices are, of course, sold separately. All the headphones are on-ear and offer some level of sound isolation (either active noise cancellation or passive sound isolation).
Mac OS X has Apt-X support…