TheTechLounge - Recent Reviews: Multimedia

iriver E100 MP3 Player

Sun, 13 Jul 2008 21:42:22 -0500

Despite their underdog status, iriver continues to impress with their ever expanding and evolving line of digital toys. I have generally been a fan of their various digital players and often refer friends to iriver's website when exploring non-Apple options. Their newest offering, the E100, boasts big league features at a budget price. But for $99.99, will this cheap model deliver quality or just quantity?

Meridian F80 Audio System

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 12:58:28 -0500

If you've never heard of Meridian, well, I hate to say it, but it's probably because you're just like me and can't afford to spend your entire annual income on a pair of loudspeakers. While I think it's safe to say that the F80 won't set you back that much, it's definitely not a cheap audio solution either. Let's take a closer look and see what kind of value the unit has to offer...

Logitech Squeezebox Duet Network Music System

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 14:58:35 -0500

This evolution of the Squeezebox should prove to be a winner for its new parent company. All the makings of a good sequel are there; extra goodies, unexpected surprises, a flashy new look and a slimmer and trimmer appearance. Logitech is unapologetically aiming squarely at Sonos with this one. Are the two systems direct competitors? Not exactly, but Logitech is bound to take a bite and woo away a few dollar conscious, tech savvy buyers. The included options and features are almost overwhelming to the average user. Acclimating oneself to all the various settings and streaming music account configurations takes a bit of time but pays out in a multitude of listening options. Once installed, Duet users will rarely need to fire up a browser for streaming music or launch an application to access their digital music reserve. If you are an obsessive hoarder of digital music files looking for a way to set them free, the Squeezebox Duet is tailor-made for your addiction.

Razer Mako 2.1 Speaker System

Wed, 4 Jun 2008 11:47:35 -0500

Razer's entrance into the gaming sound arena was impressive and simple, following the path they�d cut for input devices. Their audio lineup includes a superb sound card, a headset, and a 2.1 speaker system. Their sleek style stands out first, and, priced as they are--$400--quality is expected. Re-thinking the very shape of a speaker seems appropriate. Not only for Razer, but also for THX, their partner in this matte-finish affair. The center of the re-design is simple: point the drivers down, bounce the sound out in every direction. And now every spot is the sweet spot. But their combined forces multiply marketing, add to the technical BS, and I say there are faults to find.

Audioengine A2 Computer Speakers

Fri, 16 May 2008 11:32:31 -0500

When I reviewed their luscious A5s, my own music, music that I leave playing all the time, music that I can play in my head sans stereo, I... it mesmerized me. There was so much I didn't know I was missing, so much that I didn't expect to be able to hear without some studio phones. I will test these smaller, "desktop" speakers against a high standard. I will test them on an Audioengine standard.

Audioengine W1 Wireless Audio Adapter

Fri, 2 May 2008 15:15:33 -0500

Audioengine's stellar A5 "bookshelf" speakers knocked me flat with perfect sound. The fact that this company would trust invisible air tubes over good ol' copper to not screw up their performance is a compelling sign that their new Audioengine W1 is dyed-in-the-wool wireless solution, but I'm hella skeptical. While I certainly don't believe that Monster's onto something with their oxygen-free copper and gold lies, I'm not positive that I won't be able to tell the difference between wires and nothingness.

Sennheiser PXC 450 Headphones

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 13:19:30 -0500

Sennheiser creates some of the best audiophile headphones you can buy, but they also manufacture professional headsets for the aviation industry that feature an active noise-canceling technology dubbed NoiseGard. Today we'll take a look at a pair of their high-end consumer headphones, the PXC 450, that includes the same NoiseGard technology as used in some of the professional aviation models.

Audioengine A5 Bookshelf Speakers

Fri, 25 Jan 2008 14:09:53 -0600

On the floor, with my head between the speakers, I listened to my library for hours. I heard things I�d never heard before: spittle hitting the mic, catching on its wires; each of the conductors� deep, concerto-bracing breaths, the taps of the baton, the misplaced stabs at the high-hats, the time-keeping footwork too close to the bass� pickup, and heavy pick-scrapes across steel. I rocked out on my back, staring at the careful brush-strokes on my wooden ceiling, under the new coat covering the old, nicotine-stained lead paint. I couldn�t get enough�the amp sizzled under its own electrical weight, scalding-hot to the touch, and I was enchanted.

Future Sonics Atrio Canalphones

Wed, 3 Oct 2007 14:14:39 -0500

If you're in the market for a decent set of earphones (or canalphones) and have done a bit of research, you have likely heard a thing or two about Future Sonics' Atrio series canalphones. Doing a quick Google search, skimming Future Sonics' website, or even consulting the handy-dandy "reviewer's guide" they sent me reveals quite a bit of hype surrounding these particular canalphones. Future Sonics even quotes several award-winning producers, composers and artists exclaiming their profound love of the Atrio. Now, I would be concerned about a company who didn't hype their product, but everything I've heard about these canalphones leads me to believe they were crafted by Jesus himself! I couldn't wait to hear the heavenly tones of my favorite music being reproduced by these babies! Did these canalphones live up to the hype, especially with so many big names backing them up? Let's see how I felt after a month of usage, while comparing them to several other canalphones ranging from the bargain to the big-ticket...

TiVo HD

Mon, 3 Sep 2007 17:05:17 -0500

The TiVo HD is the mainstream consumer Series 3 TiVo. At $300, the device is more palatable to consumers who balked at an $800 price tag. The box has a smaller hard drive than the original Series 3 box, and doesn�t come with OLED screen, THX certification, or a fancy case. So how does a $300 HD set top box work? Well, I will say it wasn�t boring.

iriver Clix Gen 2 / Clix Rhapsody

Mon, 23 Jul 2007 00:28:04 -0500

The Clix player is a 4 gigabyte model in line with other such players as the iPod nano, Sansa e200 series, and other flash memory-based portable media players. iriver may not have the market share of the aforementioned Apple product or the distinction of being the inventor of solid state memory (like Sandisk), but they always pull out great designs that match and even surpass the feature sets of the big name players. I�m hoping the Clix Rhapsody will keep giving them a run for their money and that it lives up to all my self-imagined hype.

SteelSeries 3H Gaming Headset

Mon, 9 Jul 2007 04:32:33 -0500

Like Razer, now that the SteelSeries brand is something that can be leveraged within the gaming community, they're branching out and offering more gaming related products. Today we'll be taking a look at one of those products, the SteelSeries 3H Gaming Headset. The 3H is actually only one of a number of different gaming headsets offered by SteelSeries, and aside from their in-ear model, it's their most compact and inexpensive offering to-date. Let's take a closer look and see if the 3H can compete in the crowded budget segment and offer good value for the money.

Archos 704 WiFi

Mon, 18 Jun 2007 11:09:54 -0500

The 704 WiFi is the current flagship product in Archos's lineup, available in 40GB or 80GB capacities. While the 40GB version we tested doesn't offer the most storage space of players in its class, the 704 WiFi's 7" touch screen dwarfs the displays of most of its competition. Additionally, the "WiFi" portion of the full product title indicates what you'd expect, that the 704 WiFi packs in some wireless features as well, including web browsing. While the screen size and feature list of the 704 WiFi are quite impressive, does the product deliver on all of its promises? Let's take a closer look and find out!

Dell UltraSharp 2707WFP 27" Widescreen LCD

Wed, 6 Jun 2007 19:37:47 -0500

Behemoth that Dell is, their market share has begun to shrink in the face of competition from the likes of HP and Apple. As we've seen, though, one area that Dell doesn't slack in is the quality of their monitors. And at a regular selling price of $1199, it needs to be high quality. Of course, Dell is constantly running promotions and coupons, so if you keep an eye on our Hot Deals page you should be able to get one for about $100 less. So how did the Dell 2707WFP fare after three weeks on my desk? Well, suffice to say the desk feels awfully small.

iriver X20 Portable Media Player

Mon, 4 Jun 2007 13:11:57 -0500

I've been a fan of iriver products for a while now. Like many electronics companies they are primarily based overseas. As such, we in the States miss out on a handful of nifty little gadgets that our Asian or European brothers and sisters have in abundance. In fact, iriver showcased a select few non-U.S. market devices at CES '07. I have to admit, I didn't give them much of a glance as I figured we'd never see them again. Not so! Today I'll be playing with the iriver X20, a 4GB media player that runs with the like of the iPod nano and Sansa E200 line of PMPs. But don't expect to find one at your local Best Buy or Circuit City. The X20 is available online from our product sponsor, but is this little bit of gray-market goodness worth exploring?