Audio & Visual Gear

Reviews February 19, 2010

Arctic Sound E361 Earphone Review

Earphones have become a part of all of our gadget lives. Most of our gear comes with earphones that are mediocre at best. Third party replacement options can be overwhelming with prices ranging from tens of dollars to thousands. I enjoy great sounding audio, but cannot justify spending over $100 on earphones that will be tossed in my gear bag and used everywhere. Arctic Cooling has entered the sub $100 market with a complete lineup of Arctic Sound earphones. I was provided with the E361 and E352 models, and the E352 review will be coming soon. The E361 earphones are…

News & Features February 19, 2010

Monster Introduces Their Latest: Vivienne Tam Butterfly High Fashion In-Ear Headphones

I’ve enjoyed watching the ways that Monster Cable has found to collaborate with various musicians like Lady Gaga, Puff Daddy Puffy P. Diddy Diddy and Dr. Dre to create custom headsets and earphones. The new designs are funky and fresh, but their stylish exteriors cover earphones that many are saying sound fabulous. Their latest design, in collaboration with Vivienne Tam, marks the introduction of something lovely: the new Butterfly High Fashion In-Ear Headphones, which will go along perfectly with her “Butterfly Lovers” Digital Clutch. Butterfly is a unique collaboration between Monster, a leader in consumer electronics, and renown Fashion Designer,…

Reviews February 16, 2010

Eos Converge Multi-room Wireless Audio System – Review

We live in a rather unusual house architecturally speaking. Built using post-and-beam construction, it may not look like a barn but it is built in the same manner. This means there are no joists or other type of space between one level and the next. The ceiling of the downstairs rooms is the floor of the upstairs rooms. Between one floor and another are just 6 inch thick boards. And every 8 feet there is a solid beam spanning the depth of the house. We love the house and its unusual look and feel. But during renovation it has posed…

Reviews February 9, 2010

Aperion Home Audio Link Review

Sometimes you just want to place your speakers in a different spot than your audio source. The Aperion Home Audio Link just might be a option. Let’s see how it works.

Reviews February 7, 2010

Thinksound Headphones: Green Sounds Good, Really Good

Going green and buying electronics usually don’t mesh very well. Thinksound set out to create great sounding headphones that were also friendly to the environment too. Not an easy task to say the least, but one the company took very seriously. Thinksound‘s lineup currently consists of two eco-friendly headphones. The company was kind enough to send me both to review. Does being “green” mean you have to sacrifice sound quality? Click on through to find out, but here’s a hint, in a word, nope….

Events, News & Features February 4, 2010

The Inbrics M1 Android Mobile Internet Device

Mobile World Congress will be kicking off in about a week, and the new device frenzy has already started. One of the items shown will be the Inbrics M1, an Android-based mobile internet device (MID) with a “3 screen plus” media convergence platform”. We’ve been hearing about the M1 since late last year, and it also made a CES debut. Now what some have called “possibly the ultimate Android device” may be that much closer to actually being available for purchase. The M1 has everything you could want in an MID, including Wi-Fi 802.11, an AMOLED touch screen that slides…

Reviews February 3, 2010

PhoneSuit Primo “Made For iPod, Works w/iPhone” Battery Review

The iPhone has been great for the aftermarket battery business. I don’t know any power-user who does not carry at least one additional method of charging the device. I’ve tried, and been impressed by many. Most recently PhoneSuit sent me one of their Primo Micro Batteries to try out. The last product from PhoneSuit that I had the chance to review was the Mili. It had a design similar to the original Mophie Juice Pack. I liked it a lot and got a good bit of use out of it before giving it to a friend. The Primo takes a…

News & Features February 2, 2010

Buffalo Dualie Fire Wire 800/USB500GB Hard Drive + iPhone Dock

Here’s another item for the “super-cool convergence item” file I’ve got going. The Buffalo Dualie lets you sync and charge your iPhone or iPod while simultaneously backing up or storing digital assets on the integral 500GB portable hard drive. As an added bonus, it offers a brushed-aluminum and black soft-touch two-tone finish. The Dualie works with both the iPhone & the iPod. In addition to allowing you to store files to its 500 GB hard drive it also offers two USB ports for your other USB powered accessories. So you get an iPhone/iPod dock, a hard drive and a two-port…

Reviews January 25, 2010

The Sleek Audio SA6 W-1 Wireless Earphones Kit Review

Late last year I was introduced to Sleek Audio, and among their earphones’ features, I was impressed by their unique method of insuring a customized listening experience through the utilization of removable and interchangeable in-ear ports – even on their entry level model, the SA1. While I enjoyed the SA1 earphones very much and was quite impressed with their quality, I couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to use one of their more specialized sets, specifically the Sa6.

Reviews January 23, 2010

Blue Microphones Yeti Review

While at CES this year I had the opportunity to spend some time at the Blue Microphones booth. One of the products which really “wowed” me during demo time was their “Yeti” microphone. The Yeti is being touted as the world’s first THX certified Microphone. The USB powered microphone is the perfect tool for for a wide range of projects including podcasts, vocals, live or event recording, interviews, broadcasts, instruments, bands and more. Blue Microphones was kind enough to send both myself and Joel a Yeti for review and the following dual review contains both of our observations.

Reviews January 20, 2010

Jaybird Sportsband Review

Jaybird has brought out some good stuff in the last year. The last two things I checked out were the Tigereyes and Endorphin Rush wired headphones. I liked them a lot. This time, Jaybird sent me their new Bluetooth headset, the Sportsband. Is it as good as their original headset? In a word, no.

Events, News & Features January 8, 2010

MSI Demos 3 Concept PC’s at CES

MSI demoed three interesting concept PC’s at CES this week.

Events January 5, 2010

The Klipsch LightSpeaker Shines a Light on Your Musical Tastes

I’ve got no word yet on how they sound, or whether it’s even practical, but Klipsch has come out with a way to wirelessly stream music to a dimmable LED bulb which also functions as a speaker. Their aptly named LightSpeaker screws into an existing light fixture, and when you attach a digital music player to the included transmitter, sound ensues. You can “connect two different music sources to the setup and separate the different music to play in two different zones. For example, if you’re throwing a party, you can play certain playlist on your iPod in the kitchen…

Reviews January 3, 2010

Jabra HALO Bluetooth Headphones Review

Jabra None of the previous Bluetooth headphones that I have had the chance to use have really felt “right”. Many of them were either just like two enormous earbuds in each ear tethered to each other with a wire behind my head, or were too large to chuck in my slender laptop bag that I carted to uni everyday. The idea of cutting the cord between my head and my pocket was a good one, but there were just too many drawbacks. That’s until I tried the Jabra Halo, which has brought me that much closer to wireless freedom. The…

Reviews December 23, 2009

Aerial7 Chopper2 Headphones Review

Aerial7 recently provided us with the Chopper2 headphones to review. The headphones provide a nice retro styling, and fit over the ear. Apparently, Aerial7 Choppers are very popular with athletes and professional DJ’s. Now, I’m not anywhere near the same league as snow boarder Heikki Sorsa, or DJ Neil Armstrong — who is the DJ for rapper Jay-Z (I actually was pretty excited when I glossed over the press release accompanying the review unit, thinking that it was astronaut Neil Armstrong who used the headphones, but I digress). The Chopper2 combines a vintage look with what Aerial7 states are “sneaker-inspired aesthetics.” I…

Reviews December 23, 2009

Cignias NAO Symphony Wireless Music Station Review

If you enjoy “cutting the cords” and being able to play your music wirelessly, then we’ve got a treat for you. Cignias was kind enough to loan us a review unit of their NAO Symphony Wireless Music Station. One thing to quickly note is that you can still take advantage of a big pricing discount Cignias is running if you want to snap one of these up for a last minute special Christmas gift ;). I’ve been using the NAO Symphony Noir model for over a week, and I can safely say that I’m sad to send it back. The…

Reviews December 17, 2009

Hercules XPS 2.1 40 Slim Speakers – Review

I tend to use my iMac for everything from music to tv to movies when I am in my home study. And why not? After all, the 24″ screen is great for TV and movies. (And the 27″ will be even better!!) There are, however, a few things that make the experience quite a bit better. First off, the SRS iWOW plug in adds both depth and a high level of sound configurability. Second, while the iMac’s speakers do “well enough”, a pair of external speaks make a HUGE difference! I’ve been using the Hercules XPS 2.1 40 Slim speakers…

Reviews December 11, 2009

Review: Blue Microphone’s enCore 100 and 200

Blue has long made studio mikes and other devices like the Blue Eyeball web cam with a focus on quality construction and great audio. Now they are trying to enter the live performance arena with their brand new enCore series of Microphones. Blue was kind enough to send me samples of both the enCore 100 and the enCore 200 stage mikes. Are they going to be good enough to unseat the venerable Shure SM57 and SM58? Let’s find out.

Reviews December 8, 2009

Review: Blue Microphone’s Mikey iPod Microphone

I have tried at least 2 different iPod recording solutions since the invention of the dock connector. The first one was the Belkin Tune Talk. I loved it and it allowed me to record a podcast away from my computer. Well it met an untimely demise in a toilet. Yeah it got flushed accidently. That’s all I will say about that. The next one was the Griffin iTalk Pro. Griffin no longer makes this, but I loved using it as well. However, a great new challenger has come to challenge Belkin for iPod/iPhone recording microphone superiority. It is from…

News & Features December 4, 2009

chicBoom and RockBoom rock your world fashionably

From the company that brought fashion to the portable entertainment world, ChicBlvd, Inc. lets women and men both further enjoy their music in style – and now aloud – thanks to the new chicBoom and RockBoom iPod and mp3 speaker cases. I just hope it doesn’t come down to “Does this chicBoom/RockBoom make my butt look big?”

Reviews November 30, 2009

The Motorola T215 Bluetooth Car Kit Speakerphone Review

Laws are continuously evolving to deal with technology and the potential hazards of using it while driving. As a consequence, it is now considered unsafe in many states – or it has been made illegal – to drive without some kind of hands-free solution when using a mobile phone. Many people are wearing headsets, but there is another option if you aren’t yet ready to embrace your inner Borg – a Bluetooth speaker system for your automobile. Say hello to the Motorola T215 Bluetooth Car Kit Speakerphone; let’s take a look at the hardware, and then I’ll tell you how…

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