A little over a year ago, I reviewed the Fiio X3 digital audio player (DAP). I liked the sound (still do) and its ability to play higher resolution files than my trusty iPod Classic. However, its interface suc… left a lot to be desired. Plus the arrangement and purpose of buttons was confusing at best. […]
FiiO X3-II (2nd Gen) portable high resolution lossless music player review Read More
I freely admit that the new Logi (formally Logitech) Blok keyboard case is the first iPad keyboard I’ve ever used. iPad keyboard cases just never held any interest to me—until the Blok came out. For some reason, the Blok intrigued me where no other keyboard cases had before. So, this review is from a newbie
Logi Blok iPad Keyboard Case review Read More
A few years ago, Bowers & Wilkins set the bar on speakers designed for the (then) new digital music age with their iconic Zeppelin speaker. Nothing looks like it—then or now. It’s a design standard in form and function. Time marches on and the new Zeppelin ditches the dock and goes totally wireless incorporating Apple’s
The new and improved Bowers and Wilkins Zeppelin leaves the dock behind Read More
It’s no secret I really like Braven speakers. Their small 600 series of speakers were sonic wonders which Braven eventually replaced with the newer 700 series. However, it was the 850 the knocked it out of the ballpark for me. When new, this large and heavy Bluetooth speaker blew away every other Bluetooth speaker I
Braven Balance Bluetooth speaker review Read More
Even though I review mostly audio gear, I jumped at the chance to test the Cree LED High Power Searchlight. My interest was piqued when I bought a 250 lumen flashlight to replace my aging Maglight and its pathetically weak bulb. But once I saw that the Cree light was 800 lumens, I couldn’t resist.
Lifestyle 800 Lumens Cree LED flashlight review Read More
Over the past couple of years, I’ve become a fan of small (and not so small) portable Bluetooth speakers. Yeah I know, they don’t have the audio chops to qualify as anything near “audiophile” and stereo separation is almost nonexistent. But despite all that, they are portable and that counts for a lot. But what
Thonet and Vander Kürbis Bt Bluetooth speakers review Read More
V-MODA has been kinda quiet for a while. Their headphones are still popular, but now V-MODA has entered the wireless world with the Crossfade Wireless Over-Ear headphone. V-MODA states that they worked years to get the wireless sound equal to analog (wired) with no compromises. Their dual-diaphragm 50mm driver is a refined version of the
V-MODA presents the Crossfade Wireless with uncompromised Bluetooth audio Read More
One of the fun parts of buying Apple products is the unboxing. You just know that any company that spends that much time and effort on packaging will spend even more effort on the product inside. Bowers and Wilkins products are like that. Unboxing their many headphones is almost as much fun as using them.
Bowers & Wilkins T7 Bluetooth speaker review Read More
Leave it to RHA (Reid Heath Ltd) Audio to continually surprise us with new products. After years of going upmarket with model after model at dizzying speed, RHA has dialed back a bit by releasing an extremely affordable earphone, the S500i. The 500i aluminum shell is ultra compact in size partly because of its micro
RHA Audio goes small after years of going bigger Read More
Sonic Unity may be new, but its founders are two veterans with a lot of experience in Audio. Rick Hopkins has a background in concert design, consumer and pro audio. He’s worked concert events for Bryan Adams, Rush, Van Halen, Rod Stewart and The Rolling Stones. Ian Lim co-founded NuForce, a high-end audio brand that helped popularize
Sonic Unity Encore Rockmaster Headphones review Read More
Reid Heath Acoustics (RHA) is a an audio company with a problem. They can’t seem to let a new earphone be their signature product for more than a few months before they come up with one that tops that. Don’t these guys ever rest? Apparently not, because their excellent T10 earphone released less than a
RHA turns it up to 20 with the T20 in-ear headphone Read More
Another day, another review of earphones with tunable filters. What was once a rare occurrence isn’t uncommon anymore. RHA, Torque and others have jumped on the filter express and it doesn’t show any sign of slowing down. British audio company Rock Jaw has now made the filter leap with its Alfa Genus earphone.
Rock Jaw Alfa Genus earphones review Read More
French company Focal makes some stunning, but outrageously expensive speakers, but they also make way less expensive headphones that not only sound great, but are well built and extremely comfortable. Now Focal has focused on the in-ear market with the new Sphear. Sphear was designed to have Focal’s “Spirit of Sound” signature that’s incorporated into
Focal focuses on in-ear headphones Read More
Anyone familiar with Logitech and their products may not know that Logitech is now called Logi. The newer, design-savvy Logi has released their first product: The Blok series of iPad cases. These cases are—well, blockier with straight edges and squared corners. The 90° corners provide more absorbing protection from drops than a rounded corner will.
Logitech turns a new corner Read More
I can almost guarantee you have never heard of Celsus Sound or its CEO, Jason Lim. Mr. Lim is the person behind NuForce, whose excellent—and affordable—earphones and digital audio converters have been reviewed by The Gadgeteer over the past few years. Last year, NuForce merged with Optoma freeing up Lim to start Celsus, which is
Celsus Gramo One open-back in-ear headphone review Read More
Some say that true genius is making something difficult look easy. Bowers &Wilkins’ repeatedly prove that point. They may not be the first high-end speaker company out of the gate with products such as bluetooth speakers (T7) or headphones (P3,P5,P7), but when they decide to tackle something, people notice. Case in point: the new B&W
Bowers & Wilkins has cut the cord on their P5 headphone Read More
Last year, I reviewed the Phiaton Bridge MS 500 headphones and found them to be stylish (if you like red), well-made, comfortable, and sound quite good for the price. At a slightly higher price, Phiaton offers a wireless Bluetooth headphone with active noise canceling. The Chord MS 530 is more comfortable, lighter and yet still
Phiaton Chord MS 530 Bluetooth headphone review Read More
When a company has a successful product launch and needs funding for follow-up products, more and more of them are turning to funding sites like Kickstarter. Kickstarter has been responsible for many successful product launches; the most famous probably being Neil Young’s PONO music player. In 2013, I reviewed the Torque t103z in-ear-headphones and was
Torque Audio t096z earphone and t402v headphone review Read More
As earphones become ubiquitous in our daily lives for music on the go, it becomes more important than ever to consider sound quality. Are we getting the best sound for our money? Probably not. Is there better audio available than what we get from our stock ear buds that came free with our smartphones? You
Phiaton MS 100 BA Balanced Armature earphones review Read More
With all the headphones I review, there’s only been one or two that were wireless. While I appreciate the convenience of Bluetooth, it’s not something I look forward to regarding headphones. Headphones are capable of revealing too much information in music and all the minuses of Bluetooth seem to be magnified when they are wireless.
Pendulumic Stance S1+ Bluetooth headphone review Read More