Amazon is coming for literally everything in your home. Your books, home security, entertainment systems, car — even how you sleep — can all be connected, and Amazon wants to be that connection. The slew of new Amazon hardware and software features they announced this week shows they’re impressively close, and we are slightly overwhelmed just thinking about it all!
There are a lot of streaming services all competing for your attention these days. Worse, shows are jumping between services, and it’s always a question mark where to find whatever you want to watch. And then you need hardware to stream it all…but Roku has been and continues to be one of the best at bringing hardware and software together to make the viewing experience as smooth as possible.
Yamaha continues to impress with their Bluetooth headset lineup with the YH-E700A Wireless Noise-Cancelling Headphones. Yamaha fits a ton of tech in these large headphones, including Yamaha True Sound, Advanced Active Noise-Cancelling, Listening Optimizer, Ambient Sound, Listening Care, Bluetooth 5 with aptX Adaptive, and more. Retailing at $349.95, the Yamaha YH-E700A are over-the-ear wireless headphones for serious audiophiles.
It took almost three years of tinkering and perfecting, but The Haymaker has finally launched. Dubbed ‘the only headphone you will ever need,’ The Haymaker was designed to be perfect for travelers, fitness junkies, audiophiles, gamers, and more. The company says that you can use these headphones in almost any situation, and they claim to impress the moment you open the box.
If there’s one thing we’ve learned after a prolonged pandemic, it’s the increased importance of a good television in our everyday lives. Well, hopefully, we’ve also learned the importance of washing hands regularly, but two years of binge-watching has definitely led to a new love for the glowing box that streams the world to our living rooms. If you think it’s time to improve your setup, Hisense has you covered with some amazing new announcements at CES 2022.
When you think of home theater set-ups, you usually picture a soundbar under the TV with speakers and a subwoofer set up around the room. That all changes with the Lovesac Sactionals StealthTech Sound + Charge System, which puts the home theater audio components inside your sofa, for a deep and immersive Harman Kardon sound experience that you can feel and hear but don’t see.
I don’t have a huge living space, so I’ve never bothered with surround sound or big speakers. Still, sometimes you just want to enjoy music in a 360-degree experience, so I was very excited to check out the iLive Indoor/Outdoor Dual Bluetooth Speakers. How did they handle my space? Read on to find out!
Shure makes some of the best microphones on the market, and their portfolio just got a bit bigger. They’ve just introduced two new microphones, the Shure MV7X Podcast Microphone and the Shure MV88+ Stereo USB Microphone. Each serves a different kind of creative and, if past experience with Shure microphones holds as I expect it will, both will be awesome.
With the resurgence of vinyl as a popular audio medium, so too are the devices to play those records. Amazing sound mixed with classic style is always a great thing. Fender has announced a partnership with Mobile Fidelity Electronics (MoFi), the legendary foremost audio technology company, to offer the Fender x Mofi PrecisionDeck Turntable to play your favorite recordings.
Roku is an incredible company in many ways. They’re not Amazon, Apple, or Google, yet they’re the heavyweight in the streaming world because they’re a neutral party. They don’t care what you watch, but they do care deeply that your experience finding and enjoying what you watch is the best one possible. And they want to keep that exacting standard with new OS updates and hardware for your fall viewing enjoyment!
Need a classy-looking portable speaker that can also function as a light? Take a look at the LG XBOOM 360. Made to radiate sound in all directions for up to 10 hours when on battery power, the LG XBOOM 360 is one of the more sleek and stylish portable speakers we’ve seen. Inside the LG XBOOM 360’s conical-cylindrical body, there is a 5.25″ glass fiber woofer and a 1″ titanium horn tweeter; LG says that the reflector structure of the tweeter and woofer will deliver 360 sound with minimal distortion indoors and outside. Available in four colors, including Burgundy, Peacock…
Roku is America’s number one TV streaming platform and a favorite brand among Gear Diary staff because of its easy-to-navigate UI that’s found on multiple manufacturer’s smart TVs as well as Roku’s affordable smart speakers and stand-alone streaming hardware. With Labor Day coming up soon as well, along with the fall football season, we wanted to point out some of the ways you can upgrade your TV enjoyment without necessarily replacing your television — although there are excellent Roku deals to be had on smart TVs right now, too!
Over the last few weeks, I’ve been testing the Movo MA5L; it’s an omnidirectional condenser microphone that plugs into a Lightning port so that it will work with iPhones and older iPads. It promises to make your Zoom calls sound a bit clearer for the person listening, but there is a major caveat that you should consider before purchasing this particular model.
Earlier this year, Anker announced the limited edition Anker Nebula Capsule II R2-D2 version of their popular Nebula Capsule II smart mini projector to positive reception in this galaxy. We were able to get our hands on one of the 1000 units, and while it might become a collectible in the years to come, it’s also an excellent smart portable projector that you can enjoy right now.
July 4th is when we celebrate our awesome country and spend time with friends and family. Good eats, good drinks, and a good time outdoors are what we most like to partake in. With that in mind, here are a few cool products that will spice up your July 4th party plans.
We’ve previously covered SOUNDBOKS speakers, so when the latest SOUNDBOKS 3 Bluetooth Speaker arrived at my doorstep, I already knew this wasn’t the typical “Portable” Bluetooth speaker. Built for performance, the SOUNDBOKS 3 speaker looks more like a monitor you’d see in front of a stage at an outdoor summer concert. It’s truly a massive speaker at 31.5″ tall by 19.69″ wide by 15.75″ deep, and it weighs about 35 pounds. The SOUNDBOKS 3 has carrying handles built on two sides — perfect for dragging it to the pool or toting from the parking lot to the beach to truly turn up…
When Apple removed the 3.5mm headphone jack from their mobile devices, we saw explosive growth in the wireless headphone market. Sadly, it was also another step toward prioritizing convenience over audio quality. As we have seen, some wireless headphones deliver exceptional sound but, there are times when you want the BEST sound. That’s where the Periodic Audio Rhodium DAC comes in.
I had one of the first Roku streaming devices when they first came on the scene but, over time, had moved to Apple TV. Last fall, I bought one of Roku’s current streaming devices, and was impressed by how much the platform has evolved; it’s fantastic! Never one to rest on their laurels, Roku has just announced Roku OS 10 as well as their latest hardware, the Roku Voice Remote Pro, Roku Express 4K+, and Roku Streambar Pro.
Every CES, I learn about new technology and new brands and am always amazed that I never checked them out. One of those brands is SKYWORTH. The Chinese brand has been making products since 1988, and they have just announced their upcoming TVs.
JBL’s products are everywhere. In fact, at their press conference, they mentioned having sold over 100 million pairs of headphones and portable speakers. To mark their 75th anniversary, they are releasing a pair of limited-edition classics that have been reimagined for 2021. But that’s not all. There is also a new JBL Bar 5.0 MultiBeam soundbar and a new JBL Charge 5 on the way too!
At Samsung’s (virtual) press conference presentation yesterday, the company announced new products and initiatives that reflect their commitment to innovation. Televisions that are more immersive than ever were on display, as were innovations that can make entertainment more accessible to more people. Here’s a look at some of what they shared.