Ok... before you laugh at the brand names ridiculous prefix, hear me out. I have listened to the iHome stuff for the iPod- a few of the clock radios and they sound fantastic for the price, so I’m pretty hyped to see one for the Zune. I have a few Zunes laying around that need a home (yeah what a terrible problem to have).

Cesar over at Zune Insider reports that this is the first clock radio (ZN9) for the Zune that will features a gradual wake or sleep to your favorite crunchy tunes. Additionally, you have the ability to set the alarm for weekends and weekdays. The table radio (sorry not pic available) is housed in a “retro-classic” wooded speaker cabinet with a line in for other non-Zune gadgets.

I will definitely pick one up, but I really wish they would change the brand name- it kind of creeps me out.

[iHome via ZuneThoughts]

A few of us in the forums have been hacking together our own custom cables for the sport of it, but additionally we don’t want to pay monster prices for cables. David Randolph, a 12 year video broadcast engineer is joined by Diggnation co-host Kevin Rose to discuss the hype of overpriced cables (I know the video is wicked old, but still very relevant). Most of the episode is a great how to on making your own high end reference cables for a fraction of the price of those expensive cables your find at Best Buy. Not only will you get a great quality cable you also stand to gain in sound quality by not having excess cable wound up on the floor.

This is an absolute must watch for the AV enthusiast that values their hard earned dollar looking to squeeze out every bit of performance with just a little more effort than driving to the local big box retailer. Also, a quick note that if you decide not to roll your own cables, please check out MonoPrice for the same quality cables you would find in the store.

[Systm]

Sleeping with headphones, particularly IEMs, would be more common then you think. Lately people have been dozing off with the Q-Jays since they are so small and nearly disappear in your ears. While it may not be the safest thing, considering possibilities of a midnight strangulation, there are some low-fi but safer alternatives.

We have reported on previous sound pillows, but they were merely decorative (and ugly). The Sound Asleep pillow is actually a standard pillow which you can throw your own pillow cases on blending it in nicely with your bed set. Teamed with an MP3 player containing a sleep feature- you have a pretty nice bed time set up.

The Sound Asleep pillow is only selling in the UK at the moment for £20, but we will keep our eyes out for a US release.

[Sound Asleep Pillow]

There are a few problems with in-vehicle accessories such as player docks and other player specific accessories. Let’s say that you bought an iPod and had a dock professionally installed to look and work seamlessly with your car’s stereo or after market head unit. Then you finally see all the cool features and devices you are missing outside of the fascist iPod ecosystem. Now you have to tear out that incredibly slick install you just paid top dollar for.

IME has developed and answer to this problem with the IME Dock. The modular dock system will give you a clean install and allow you to upgrade your device across different brands. Each dock will power and supply audio and video line out to your factory stereo or after market head unit.

Currently docks for Microsoft Zune, SanDisk Sansa, and iPod. But IME also has future plans for other players and mobile phones. An interesting thing that I found out while talking with IME was that the Zune dock system has been selling the most preorders. Go Zune!

Soon to be released the dock system will sell for $250 and include one snap on dock for the brand of your choice. When you are ready to change brands a new dock will only cost you around $90. I will be checking one of these out as soon as they are released. This will be a very useful accessory for my massive collection of MP3 players.

[IME Dock]

Samsung had nothing new to show in terms of MP3 players, but I did find out from a Samsung rep that they will be releasing a 16GB version of the P2 sometime in Q1 of 08.

I did get a chance to check out the S5 which will replace the K5. It sounded just as good but slims down and gets a color screen and Bluetooth. This will actually make an interesting accessory for Bluetooth mobile phones being that it will give you a nice and loud speaker phone conferencing set up. The S5 is available now in the US in 4GB versions and can be picked up for around $180.

The other interesting portable audio accessory was the portable Bluetooth speakers, the BS300. It sounded a bit better than the speakers in the S5 and K5 from what I could tell over all the noise. It will tie into your Bluetooth MP3 player or operate as a speakerphone with its built in mic for your cellphone. It retails for $130.

I snapped a few pics at the booth- a bit blurry but still fun to look at.

Confirmed Fake- sorry for the bad info =\

As if the all the current features were not enough for the P2, it will now get more with an addon cradle. The cradle will attach to the bottom of the player and add 4 brand new editions: Wi-Fi, MicroSD, FM transmitter, and even a built in speaker. This is really interesting in that it brings the P2 in closer competition with the iPod Touch. Maybe even as to trump the iPod Touch on features. This is a very welcome features really making the P2 a jack of all trades MP3 player. No pricing or availability is know right now, but we will find out more at this years CES.

Check out the video below and if you didn’t get a chance, check out the Samsung P2 review.

Rarely does anyone get too excited over stick-on decals, but I found this one to be especially interesting and flawlessly executed. Almoxil, one of our forum members, took customizing his Meizu miniPlayer M6 to another level. The M6 is wrapped in a custom vinyl skin that is blended beautifully with a custom background. The vinyl skin has a removable adhesive and a special “rapid air” feature that lends itself to bubble-free installation.

Almoxil claims that the printing is top notch and creates no problems with the M6’s touch interface. He is planning on making another custom skin for his Meizu M3 and will post the pics soon. Stop in the forum for more pics and details on how you can get your own for around $12.

[Custom Skin]

Replacing the phono jack on your headphones is a fairly easy process if you know how to solder and an easy skill to learn with a few practice wires if you don't. There are a few reasons you may want to replace the jack. First, you may be getting some crackling caused by a bad connection. Second, an angled plug may work better for your particular MP3 player than a straight plug. Third, you may want to upgrade the plug to something more sturdy and rugged (Neutrik, Switchcraft, or Canare to name a few).

The cost of this project is minimal. Even if you went with a higher-end military grade plug, you will only be set back about $4 for the plug. If you don’t have any of the soldering tools, plan on spending another $10-$20 on a starter soldering kit and the tools needed.

One of our forum moderators put together a great how-to on this. Check it out.

[Replace Minijack]

Ah, teamwork. Against all odds and despite widely held beliefs, all the king's horses and all the king's men managed to put Humpty back together again after all.

All that reconstruction really did a number on his identity, though. Now going by the name Hipper 50, he's become a portable 2-watt DAP speaker and 10-LED mood light that changes colors in time to music or nothing at all. Even though he sports USB, line-out, headphone, and power ports on the back and what looks like player controls on the front, he can also behave himself and keep a constant white glow for solemn Easter dinners.

Standing 7" high, the Hipper 50 is available from various UK retailers for between $70 and $90.

[via Gadget Candy]

If you can believe it, the i.Sound MovieTime Universal is actually not designed exclusively for the iPod. Actually, the portable speaker dock plugs into a standard 3.5mm headphone jack, so we don't know why it's being advertised as an accessory targeted for use with the PSP, Zune, SanDisk players, and the iPod.

In any case, the 1.25-inch speakers (12 watts RMS) run on four AA batteries or AC power and have some sort of "Surround Effect." Not too impressive for the price (about $80), but it's not every day that you see something beginning with "i" plugged into a Zune.

[Product Page (French) via Coolest Gadgets]

It wasn't that long ago when wooden blocks were just toys that kids used to, you know, build stuff to get their creative juices flowing. Now they're choking hazards that kids of all ages plug stuff into to get their music fix.

This is the 1.18" x 1.02" x 0.75" I.dear speaker (1.5W) that connects to a computer via USB or a CD player or DAP through a standard headphone jack. Its non-removable lithium polymer battery lasts for up to 5 hours on a single charge, which is actually not too shabby for a $25 speaker that (according to the product page) can double as a cell-phone charm.

[Product Page (Korean) via Coolest Gadgets]

When a former BMW designer founds an audio-system company, you can be sure that its products won't appear in an aisle at Wal-Mart. Available exclusively at Hammacher Schlemmer, these 200-watt isobaric O'hEocha Audiophile's Speakers are handcrafted of aluminum and PVC/steel composite and stand 41.75-inches tall. The speakers' 1-inch tweeter, two 6.5-inch midrange units, and two 11-inch subwoofers work together to produce the "clearest three-dimensional soundstage performance."

Complementing the 55-pound speakers' alien-like look is a price tag that is equally out of this world: $8,999.95! But don't take that hammer to your piggy bank just yet. Incredibly, the speakers are "unexpectedly sold out." No word on when they'll be in stock again, so you might as well use the money to, you know, pay for college, put a down payment on a car, or save for your future.

[Product Page via Crave]

At Samsung’s CES booth they were showing off a few accessories specifically built for the K3, T9, and a few for the K5 - most of them from iLuv. First off, the iLuv will be selling an FM transmitter built just for the K3 and T9. It may also work for the K5 since they share the same dock port. No word on pricing, but you will likely see this at retailers like Best Buy. iLuv also showed off some other accessories like cases and screen protectors. Nothing major, but worth mentioning that there are more Samsung specific accessories on the way.

There will also be a add-on battery pack that will connect to a T9, K3, or K5. It may also work for the iriver products since they share the same dock connection and use the same cablesto charge and transfer music. No other specs or pricing were available.

Another notable accessory for the Samsung line-up will add some bling to your player. Made by Gariz, silver and gold sticker decals can add a personal touch to the T9, K3, or K5.

More photos below.

As I discussed in the Creative CES 2007 post, Creative is really pushing the X-Fi line-up and will be moving more into the portable area. So far I have been impressed with the X-Fi product I got a chance to listen to. In the near future they will be launching headphones with built in X-Fi and noise cancelation.

This product could possibly go head to head with the Bose noise canceling headphones probably definitely at a much better price. However, the pricing and release date for the Creative X-Fi headphones have not been announced.

I was disappointed to see that there was no new player released by Creative this year at CES. Many of us were hoping for a follow-up to the Zen Vision:M. (They could be holding out until after Apple makes their announcement. It's a long shot, but possible and would make strategic sense.)

Despite the letdown, the X-Fi they showed off sounded really good. It would be safe to say that it is not just hype. It carried more depths and sounded brighter. The best way I can describe X-Fi is that it sounds like you're pulling back curtains that were in front of speakers.

More photos and info below.