Devices View – Page 2 – a Techsponential Company

Review: LG CineBeam Q

July 5, 2024December 2, 2025 - by Avi Greengart - Leave a Comment

The market for portable cannister pico-projectors is still niche, but it has attracted the attention of larger brands like Samsung and LG. LG’s first entry strikes a nice balance between performance and design. LG’s take on the portable smart projector leans heavily on design, with premium specs for the category, but still aiming at plug-and-play use cases rather than full-on home theater. The CineBeam Qube HU710PB (which LG blessedly refers to as “CineBeam Q,” so I will, too) is a relatively compact rectangle with a rotating stand that doubles as a carrying handle. LG has finished the CineBeam Q entirely …

Audio / Games / HDTV / Television

Upgrading to Denon AVR-X8500HA — is an “A” Worth $600?

July 3, 2024December 2, 2025 - by Avi Greengart - Leave a Comment

My home theater serves a test bed for various devices for Techsponential and Home Theater View, and while I was able to test the latest display resolutions on TVs in my soundbar test rigs, my main home theater setup was based on a Denon AVR-X8500H with older HDMI inputs. My main game console is an XBOX Series X and my reference display is an LG C2 OLED 4KTV, so I already had the content and display to fully support 4K/120 gaming, I was just lacking the thing in the middle to connect them while providing extensive surround sound. Most solid-state …

HDTV / Television

Review: TCL QM8 Was a High Performance 4KTV Value in 2023; In 2024 It’s a Bargain

May 2, 2024 - by Avi Greengart - Leave a Comment

By Avi Greengart In 2023, TCL chose to push quantum dot and gaming features down its line but leave miniLED backlighting only on its higher-end QM8 line. At launch it was a strong value with great contrast and color for less than bigger brands. In 2024, prices have come down further and new TCL models have been announced, but the QM8 will remain on the market for a while — and it's now a bargain. Introduction In the U.S., TCL is best known for its televisions, but it is actually one of the largest consumer electronics conglomerates in the world. …

Accessories / Audio

Review: Edifier NeoBuds Pro 2 with Knowles Balanced Armature Drivers

March 6, 2024 - by Avi Greengart - Leave a Comment

By Avi Greengart I met with Knowles at CES to discuss their components, and after a few demos I asked that they send over something that uses their balanced armature driver (tweeter) so I could hear it in the real world. A few days after I got back from Las Vegas Edifier sent over these NeoBuds Pro 2. I've been really impressed with the sound quality, especially after I turned off the bass enhance mode (EDM and rap listeners will want to keep it on — it's good, just too much for me). That Knowles tweeter is nicely etched without …

HDTV / Television

Review: XGIMI Horizon Ultra

December 20, 2023 - by Avi Greengart - Leave a Comment

By Avi Greengart Technological disruption is often portrayed as coming fully-formed from an all-new thing that is superior to established options, but that’s not always how innovations w ork. Many disruptions come from products that provide lesser experiences at lower price points or appeal to a different set of customer needs than the industry standard. These products then improve over time and eventually hit a tipping point where their advantages overtake the status quo. The front projection market has been fairly static for a while, but that is starting to change. Smart Portable Projectors Move Upmarket Fitting millions of tiny …

Displays / HDTV / Television

Amazon Fire TV Omni QLED Smart TV Review: Better TV Tech, Much Smarter

December 3, 2023 - by Avi Greengart - Leave a Comment

By Avi Greengart, portions reprinted with permission from Techsponential Amazon introduced the Fire TV set top box back in 2014 as a way to ensure that its Prime Video content would get pride of place in the user interface, unlike competing devices from Roku and Apple. Over time, Amazon shrunk down the form factor to sticks, Borgified them into cubes, and eventually chose to build the Fire TV interface directly into televisions in 2021. Amazon’s initial Fire TV lineup was clearly aiming for volume sales, and targeted entry level sizes and display technology. In late 2022, Amazon moved a bit …

Accessories / Audio / Music

Cleer Scene is a Pretty Versatile Bluetooth Speaker

October 3, 2023 - by Avi Greengart - Leave a Comment

by Avi Greengart Cleer's Scene is a small horizontal Bluetooth speaker that stands out for its looks and versatility. The swoopy, color-on-color industrial design is absolutely gorgeous, especially in the red colorway that Cleer sent over. It may look round, but it is flat on the bottom so it won't roll away. Sonics are good; if sound quality is your primary purchase driver this isn't the last word, but at modest volumes it plays cleanly with an emphasis on midrange. This is a small portable speaker and doesn't play louder (or lower) than physics allows, but it can certainly fill …

Accessories / Audio

Review: 1More P50

September 8, 2023 - by Avi Greengart - Leave a Comment

by Avi Greengart 1More is an audio brand that somehow has flown under the radar, despite consistently offering excellent sonics at reasonable prices and getting rave critical reviews. The company's latest earbuds are a bit of a throwback – they aren't wireless, and they don't have any form of active noise cancellation. They even have a 3.5mm headphone jack! Just in case you live in 2023, the P50's do come with a USB-C-to-3.5mm adapter, along with a soft carrying case for the earbuds and accessories so that you don't lose it.1More should lead a seminar on packaging; for $169 earbuds, …

Accessories / Audio / Music

Anker Soundcore Liberty 4 Review

June 29, 2023 - by Avi Greengart - Leave a Comment

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 …

Accessories / Audio / Music

Mini Review for a Mini Speaker: Scosche BoomCan MS

April 21, 2023 - by Avi Greengart - Leave a Comment

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 …