SRS Labs, Inc., a provider of surround sound, audio enhancement and voice technologies, has announced the release of iWOW 2, the latest version of the popular and award-winning iTunes plug-in for Macintosh computers.
iWOW 2 uses several patented audio enhancement technologies from SRS Labs to provide full, 3D audio over desktop and laptop computers as well as external speakers and headphones. iWOW 2 promises to bring Mac users a richer, more powerful and brilliant audio experience when listening to music, videos or podcasts and also provides new preset options and offers listeners the ability to listen and enjoy movies and videos on iTunes in surround sound over headphones.
With iWOW 2 users are now given the ability to create and save presets for specific songs, videos and podcasts. An ‘Auto-preset’ option, also new to iWOW 2, automatically chooses the best iWOW preset based on the information in the music or video. Additional presets were created specifically for podcasts, techno and acoustic music plus there are three new playback settings for videos. With iWOW 2 users can easily customize their audio experience for different types of content.
Another new feature is iWOW 2’s Movie Mode, which offers users a unique way to enjoy movies and videos in iTunes. With virtual surround sound over headphones, users can enjoy a home theater-like experience from their videos on the go or at home.
The incorporation of several SRS audio enhancement technologies allows iWOW 2 users more control and flexibility over the audio content in iTunes. For instance, the addition of SRS Headphone 360 creates amazing virtual surround sound over headphones for videos and movies. SRS WOW HD improves the audio performance of compressed and uncompressed audio by expanding the size of the audio image in the horizontal and vertical sound field and creating a deep, rich bass response. SRS 3D creates a three-dimensional stereo enhancement for mono or stereo content while SRS 3D Center Control uses a virtual “zoom” lens to dynamically extracts and position the dialog in the foreground or background of the audio mix. SRS TruBass maximizes bass response as SRS FOCUS optimizes speaker output to compensate and reposition instrument placement. SRS Definition delivers a more lively and brilliant sound by highlighting the high frequency details and restoring data originally present in the audio source but was lost during the audio compression process.
“SRS Labs is dedicated to introducing complete, customizable audio solutions to strengthen Mac users’ multimedia experience,” said Tom Yuen, Chairman and CEO, SRS Labs, in the press release. “As the popularity of Mac’s as entertainment devices increases, so does the demand for enhanced audio to ensure the best experience. With iWOW 2, music and video can be experienced with superior audio that complements the visual experience.”
System requirements for iWOW 2 are any Macintosh running OS X 10.2 or better with iTunes 6 or better. The plug-in is available for download directly from SRS Labs at http://www.srslabs.com/iwow
The plug-in sells for an introductory price of US$19.99 after a brief trial period. Users who have previously purchased iWOW 1 can try the new version and upgrade for $11.99.
pah iWow my arse. Is it available on XP? NO! Well it might be I didn’t look.
Bloody kids.
too bad I’m deaf in one ear.
There’s an XP/Vista version for the devoted disciples of Leopold von Sacher-Masoch. But you have to beg for it first.
Go on. Beg. Good doggy.
What is SRS Labs thinking, releasing software for iTunes?!
Don’t they know that iTunes is dead as a door nail, the victim of Amazon MP3?!
Oh well, I hope the three iTunes users now left in the world enjoy their new plug-in.
I was impressed with the sound in the audio demo of the Christina Aguilera song (under the “Consumers” tab) at the srslabs site. Anyone have experience with this product in it’s previous version?
iWow version 1 is awesome! The difference between iTunes without iWow and with is like night and day. I had a lot of trouble with iTunes producing garbled, distorted sound. iWow totally fixes this.
i’ve used iWOW 1.x and it sounds great…really enhances the audio experience. wish it was available to other applications (like DVD Player)
iWow 1 rocks. It’s more than worth the money if you’re using laptop speakers, iMac speakers or small desk speakers. If you’re streaming to a good sound system, though, I find that iWow just gets in the way.
Firstly, I agree w/ Shogun that this is a small speaker solution. It’s simply not needed for running sound through a good stereo system, and does seem to muddy the down-stream signal.
That said, iWow sounds good on the lap top. So does another EQ sound shaper called “Volume Logic” from Plantronics.
http://www.volumelogic.com/index.asp?content=VL_download_iTunesMac
Both offer free demos. Both cost 19.95.
iWow sounds demonstrably better than Volume Logic to my ears. Now here’s the crazy part; the best sound is had by using both together!
Go figure the subtle nuances of psycho-acoustic sound perception . . .
( ( ( (^_^) ) ) )
nJoy.
The Wow begins now (somehow) for the first 4 posters… especially girly pants
Let me tell you about the SRS lab…
iWow makes music sound muddy. Must be for all the hip-hop people who think their 30″ car subs sound “tight”. And it has a stupid interface.
Volume Logic sounds far superior to me. Much cleaner.
iWow seems like a Creative Labs/Windows style product to me. Lowest Common Denominator.
I Want SRS Wow on my iPod
Can be an improvement with a lot of song files,
but you’ve still got to deal with a really creepy
hifh school Mafiasoft UI from hell.
And that gets old kinda fast…
‘i’ve used iWOW 1.x and it sounds great…really enhances the audio experience. wish it was available to other applications (like DVD Player)’
And it’s better than both iWow and Volume Logic: OSS 3D. It requires a little more configuration, but it is amazing; it’ll work with ANY open application (think VLC or MPlayer OSX, or even Quicktime), and you can manage them right in the interface. I have been very, very happy with it. There’s a wee learning curve, but the instructions are very clear. Awesome. Check it out:
http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/16926
And incidentally, it has caused no problems whatsoever on my machine.