Anker Soundcore Liberty 4 Review

by Avi Greengart Anker has steadily built its Soundcore brand on two key values: sound quality and low — but not bargain basement — pricing. The multi-driver Liberty Pro 3 are one of my favorite sounding earbuds at any price, but they is apparently priced too close to more traditional brands (read: Apple) and the company has been slow to upgrade them with competitive noise cancellation. Instead, it has focused on its more affordable non-Pro Liberty, first launching the $129 Liberty 4 last year (they were fine) and now the $99 Liberty 4 NC. Despite the lower price and similar …

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Mini Review for a Mini Speaker: Scosche BoomCan MS

by Avi Greengart The Scosche BoomCan MS came in really handy yesterday when my flight was cancelled, and I needed to spend another night working on the road. This adorable little Bluetooth speaker attaches magnetically to recent iPhones where it acts as a kickstand and bounces audio off the table for a bit of added reverb. It's using the magnets just to attach, not connect or charge; it will connect to any Bluetooth source, not just iPhones. It's tiny, so it's hardly the ultimate in fidelity, and it works better with show tunes and pop than Rock or Metal (Muse …

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Review: ifi Audio GO link

By Avi Greengart, Lead Analyst, Techsponential Just because Apple decided that nobody needs a 3.5mm jack on what has become people's primary music device (and all of its competitors followed) doesn't make it true. If you have wired headphones, earbuds, or IEMs (in-ear monitors), you'll need an adapter. The thing is, phones output digitally now and when companies removed the headphone jack, they bypassed the DAC that the silicon typically provides. That means this is a more complicated adapter, as it needs to have its own DAC (digital to analog converter) embedded in there. Apple started the problem, and it …

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Monster “UHD 8K Cobalt” HDMI Cable

Monster pioneered the premium audio accessories business, starting with thick, oxygen-free copper speaker wires before moving to more questionable interconnect cables and other accessories, eventually landing on headphones and Bluetooth speakers. The original speaker cables were genuinely (and demonstrably) better than the thinner wires due to a combination of physics and quality control. They sold well because Monster did a tremendous job on marketing at point of sale; in some years, they made up the majority of consumer electronics retailer profit (sell the TV and VCR at cost, make money on the cables). With the rise of the Internet and …

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TCL’s MTRO 200NC First Impressions

TCL is best known for its high-value televisions, but it is actually one of the largest consumer electronics conglomerates in the world. TCL runs its own factories and is investing $8 billion in its latest display panel fab. TCL's mobile division sells Alcatel and TCL branded featurephones, smartphones, and tablets, and the parent company also makes washing machines, refrigerators, consumer IoT devices, and more. I have tested some of TCL's super-inexpensive in-ear headphones — some as low as $10 — and found them to be ridiculous values; they sound as good as products 10x the cost. So I was eager …

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Avi’s Audio Heirarchy

A practical guide for the order in which you should upgrade (or build) your AV system: Avi's Audio Heirarchy: External speakers – even a cheap soundbar – are nearly always better than the tinny ones built into your HDTV. More speakers and discrete surround sound are always better than a soundbar.  Subwoofers in particular make a movie sound like a movie. (Note: I have found that there is often gender bias when it comes to subs – stereotypical men want them to make things go boom, stereotypical women don't think they watch movies where it will make a difference. The …

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Sonos Play:1 – Hands On

Sonos sent over a pair of Play:1 speakers for review. In my review of the Sonos PLAYBAR I found too many setup limitations, but I absolutely love the Play:1's. A single Play:1 fills any small or medium sized room with rich, clear sound, and it serves as a perfect entry point to building a full multi-room, multi-source music system. My full report for Current Analysis clients is up; here's an excerpt:  Sonos notes that multi-room audio sales have been rising 80% year-over-year, fueled by streaming music. With most consumer electronics categories losing ground as consumers put more of their money into …

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