If you're a diehard fan of portable players and spend a lot of time everyday with headphones on listening to your fav music, then the new gear announced by Hitachi Maxell should make you quite happy. Until now, all portable players relied on their EQs and other minimalist sound-improvement technologies to raise the quality of the played tracks; when it comes to heavily compressed files, audio quality can really become a nasty issue,e specially for the discerning listener who has to find the optimal compromise between the file size and the quality specs.

Well, the two new gadgets from Hitachi Maxell seem to add a new dimension to your portable media habits as they involve SRS WOW HD technology, a standard which is being used especially with high-compression formats in order to increase the perceived size of the stereo field and create a deeper, more natural bass response. At the same time, the SRS audio technology allows for the reproduction of high frequencies with increased clarity and adds to the overall transparency of the acoustic response.

The first piece of tech is the Hitachi Maxell Audio Transmitter/Dongle: a small module that sports an Apple DIN socket to accommodate any iPod, Mini or Nano; it will SRS WOW HD process the files being played and then wirelessly transmit them via Bluetooth to any Bluetooth-enabled headset/speakers in range. This way, you can benefit from an enhanced sound with minimal fuss and the wireless connectivity, while keeping your comfort at high standards.

The second item from Hitachi Maxell is a Bluetooth v2.0 headset, running on the same processing technology; it can connect to any compatible device such as docks, mobile phones, MP3 players and the like of these and it adds the SRS WOW HD DSP to the received signal for enhanced audio.

No pricing has been announced yet, but there are serious chances that the CES 2008 will bring full, detailed specs.

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