Panasonic publicizes new wi-fi SoundSlayer neck speaker for avid gamers

Firms maintain attempting to make neck audio system a factor. Folks have to be shopping for them, although, as a result of Panasonic is releasing a brand new one: the GNW10 SoundSlayer, a wi-fi neck speaker with AI voice isolation (which it confusingly calls “AI voice management”) for telephone calls and in-game voice chat. The SoundSlayer is $299 and will probably be obtainable in late October of this yr.

That is basically an up to date model of the wired SoundSlayer neck speaker that Panasonic launched two years in the past. The largest change is that the brand new SoundSlayer employs a small transmitter that plugs into your console or PC and sends audio with a proprietary 2.4GHz wi-fi protocol that Panasonic says is nice for underneath 20ms of latency. That’s lower than you’d usually see with Bluetooth audio, which might be delayed by a whole bunch of milliseconds, so the sound ought to be extra rapid. That may be essential in, say, a first-person shooter.

The opposite headline characteristic is what Panasonic is asking “AI voice management” (a complicated identify for its beamforming noise-cancellation skills since you possibly can’t really management the speaker together with your voice). The wired SoundSlayer additionally has noise cancellation, however Panasonic claims that the brand new product will leverage AI to raised lower out background noise and echo throughout calls. Whether or not it really does a greater job will stay to be seen till it makes its technique to the general public.

The brand new SoundSlayer additionally has a 60 % bigger housing than its predecessor did, which the corporate says will enhance bass.

Like its predecessor, this SoundSlayer mannequin has 4 audio system and 6 sound modes for various eventualities, together with three distinct recreation modes for RPGs, first-person shooters, and dialogue-heavy titles.

Panasonic says it “recognized factors of fatigue and discomfort” generally shared by neck-worn gadgets and designed the SoundSlayer to not “burden” your trapezius muscle tissues — the muscle tissues that run out of your neck throughout your shoulders and down to a degree in the course of your again — or dig into your clavicle bones.

Comparable wi-fi neck audio system embody the discontinued Bose SoundWear Companion — which The Verge’s assessment known as enjoyable if typically impractical — and Sony’s Bravia XR-focused neck speaker.