Not all speaker sets are created equal, that much is certain. Altec Lansing has sent me their latest — and what I consider their best — the Altec Lansing Expressionist Ultra Speakers. The Expressionist Ultra is currently the top of the Altec Lansing line. This very stylish three speaker system boasts 200 Watts of power, and its tremendous sub woofer is bigger than the computer the system is connected to.
I am not one of those guys who thinks that everything goes better with Bluetooth. At the same time, I do see the usefulness of Bluetooth in a variety of items. I like using Bluetooth headset, have had some positive experiences with Bluetooth stereo headphones, and I swear by the Bluetooth speakerphone in the car. I had not, however, ever tried a Bluetooth portable speaker before taking a look at the TENQA SP-99 Bluetooth speaker. Am I sold on this Bluetooth gadget? Let’s take a look…
I’ve never had a great iPod speaker. I bought a cheap one at Kroger that didn’t last a month. It also required you to have it hooked to the wall all the time which limited its use. The inMotion CLASSIC that Altec Lansing sent me solves both the quality issues with my old speakers and let’s me be free of the wall. While the inMotion CLASSIC isn’t the first speaker dock to have integrated batteries, it is my first one and that has to be my number one favorite feature of the inMotion CLASSIC. If I want some music while…
Last year Judie reviewed the Altec Lansing Orbit speaker. It was an interesting speaker that can be used with any device sporting a normal 3.5 mm headphone jack. The downside to using such a speaker with a laptop is that the internal sound card in most laptops can be a bit noisy. Altec Lansing recently sent me a sample of their Orbit USB iML237 speaker. It solves the sound card issue perfectly.
I have a confession to make. I love iPods. I have been a consistent user of the iPod since I got my first one about the time Mac OS X Tiger came out. Back then I was a Mac OS X fan and I had a PowerBook. I loved my PowerBook. I used iTunes on my Mac back when it was still clean and sleek. Now iTunes is a bloated mess that I just dislike dealing with. I have also transitioned to using Linux as my OS of choice, which can make life difficult if you love iPods, but not…
I was searching for a Bluetooth speaker system to use with my T-Mobile G1 and lo and behold I came across the Cy-Fi Wireless Sport Speaker. This nifty little speaker can attach to the handlebar of your bicycle or motorcycle allowing you to rock out as you ride. This spacey looking speaker weighs only 5 ounces and is very slim. You can slip it one of your pockets and use it indoors as well as on the bike. It comes with a dock, power supply and 2 different brackets. Probably the most shocking thing is that it comes with a…
I was looking for a new speaker system to use in my kitchen with my laptop or mp3 player, when I came across the expressionist PLUS system from Altec Lansing. The Altec Lansing expressionist PLUS is a attractive speaker system that not only looks good, but sounds good as well.
One thing I like to do when cleaning house is listen to podcasts or music. I don’t have much of a stereo system in my home, and I wouldn’t want to make to have the whole household suffer from me listening to the latest from one of my many Linux podcasts. So most of the time I have earbuds or headphones on while working around the house. Sometimes, it’s just not convenient to wear the headphones, so I need a small speaker. With that in mind, when I saw the Neek Speaker I couldn’t help but wonder if it would…
My buddy Dimitri recently had the chance to review Audioengine’s A5 speakers over on WhatsOniPhone. He loved the big sound and excellent build. I’ve recently had a chance to take a look at the far smaller A2s; at about 1/3 the size of the A5s, the A2s are like the smaller sibling and while they don’t pack the SAME punch, they hold their own rather well. Let’s take a look…
Back when Judie was a fixture The Gadgeteer, she and I would occasionally write dually reviews. This was a term we coined that basically consisted of a review where we would chat back and forth about the product in question. Today we’re going to revive that fun format, with a review of the Squeezebox Boom Network Music Player from Logitech. My comments will be in regular Black text, while Judie’s will be in Blue italics. I have a bit of experience with the Squeezebox as I had the opportunity to review the previous two versions of this device. The first…
My wife calls it the silver bullet. I think from behind, it looks like a twisted alien face, staring out at you. In reality, however, it is one of the most unique speakers I have ever used. Modeled after the Zeppelin flying machine, if this speaker sounds half as good as it looks, then I think we will have a real winner here. Hit the jump and listen along…
When I was in college, it seems like someone was always throwing a house party. For those of you who are not familiar, it is a pretty basic concept. You throw open the front door of your house, condo, apartment, dorm room, or wherever you live; set out some refreshments; crank the music and wait for the people to show up…and they will. It is kind of like The Field of Dreams. If you throw a party, they will come. The problem, back in those days of the early 1990’s was the sound system. Most of us had music centered…
In case you have not been able to tell from my plethora of media player and headphone reviews, I am something of an audiophile (heck, I was even a DJ at parties and weddings in college). I have built my home theatre system over the past couple of years, carefully selecting each component. The one thing which has always eluded me, however, are quality speakers which will fit in my space without sacrificing sound quality. I have a set of bookshelf speakers that I got in law school. They were cheap…and they sound cheap. Not terrible, but nothing to write…
Back in the late 80s, when every spare dime I had went into car stereo components, I bought my first KICKER product. It was a subwoofer speaker box which fit perfectly into the space behind the seats in my silver Alfa Romeo. Never mind that it took up valuable cargo space; I still had a trunk, and I got a free back-massage every time I turned on my stereo. When I sold that car, I was able to unplug a few wires and easily remove my rear speaker system; that box was eventually transferred into several more vehicles before I…
A couple of months back, I asked my LEGO friends Beetle and Maynard with their girlfriends Sunshine and Faith to check out the new Fingertip Mini Cube Speaker that Thomas at USB Fever sent from overseas. (see the review: Make Some Music) Sunshine: “We were looking for an upgrade to a dual speaker setup. It was then that Judie from GearDiary told us about the Stereo Mini Portable Sound Box from USB Fever. That Judie girl ROCKS, because it as exactly what we were looking for!” (L to R) Beetle, Maynard, Faith and Sunshine with the Stereo Mini Portable Sound…
Rear speakers have been pretty much the bane of my existence for most of my married life. OK, let me back up for a minute. I love stereo equipment. To me, it ranks right up there with my mobile devices. I have been an aficionado of multi-channel sound since it was first introduced back in the early 1990’s. While 5.1 surround sound (and now 7.1) is a phenomenal way to add an extra dimension to your television and movie watching experience, it does come with one major drawback. The rear speakers, which must be on the opposite side of the…