Targus has launched a product that doesn’t quite fit into its regular field of notebook accessories, cases and bags, namely a high definition sound enhancer. Not entirely unlike the Creative Xmod. Targus SoundUP is a small gadget that you simply connect to the 3,5″ jack of the device you want to enhance, and then you connect your headphones to the SoundUP. You can even connect a second pair of headphones if you want to share the experience. The device separates compressed digital media and enhances the audio to CD quality with a three-dimensional sound envelope.
It simply recreates the bits and quality lost during the compression. We did some digging and it seems SoundUP uses the Ss3 audio signal processor from Phantom Technologies. The white papers and press release from Targus state that the SoundUP will be capable of enhancing sound quality by 20-25%, lifting and revealing previously unheard parts of compressed media. SoundUP is powered by a single AAA battery, measures 75x24x38mm (3″x7/8″x1.5″) and weighs less than 55g (2 oz).
SoundUP is mainly intended to be used with portable media players, but you can of course use it with any kind of device that plays compressed media. Targus SoundUP has a MSRP of $29.99 and will become available soon.
