Audio Visual Gear

Roku Rolls Out New Hardware and Exciting New Ways to Find Content

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 YH-E700A Wireless Headphones Review: Over-the-Ear Comfort with Excellent Sound

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.



Hisense Has Sharp New Televisions, Projectors, and Soundbars in Store for 2022

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.


Lovesac Sactionals StealthTech Sound + Charge System Brings Invisible and Immersive Harman Kardon Sound to Your Home Theater

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.



Shure MV7X Podcast and MV88+ Stereo USB Microphones: Perfect for Content Creators

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.



Roku Rolls Out Big Software Updates and New Hardware Just in Time for Fall TV

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!


LG XBOOM 360 Combines Sound and Light in a Sleek Speaker That Will Look Great Everywhere

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…


Upgrade Your TV Watching Experience Just in Time for Labor Day and Fall Football with Roku

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!





SOUNDBOKS 3 Review: The Portable Outdoor Speaker Made for the Summer Party Season

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…


Periodic Audio Rhodium DAC Review: Ups Your Audio Game Without Breaking the Bank

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.


Roku OS 10 Announced Along with New Rechargeable Roku Voice Remote Pro, Roku Express 4K+, and Roku Streambar Pro

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.



JBL Releases New Bar 5.0 MultiBeam Soundbar and Charge 5, and Reimagines Two Collectable Classics

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!


Samsung Goes Greener and Offers More Accessibility with New TVs

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.