Category Archives: Music

Edifier’s NeoBuds Pro 2: The Pinnacle of Earbud Technology for Audiophiles

In a world where the audio industry continually evolves, there’s always something fresh on the horizon for audiophiles. The latest entrant vying for a spot in the premium segment of personal audio devices is the NeoBuds Pro 2 by Edifier, a brand synonymous with quality and innovation. With its groundbreaking technology and elegant design, the NeoBuds Pro 2 is here to set new benchmarks in the realm of auditory experience.

Edifier's NeoBuds Pro 2: The Pinnacle of Earbud Technology for Audiophiles
Edifier’s NeoBuds Pro 2: The Pinnacle of Earbud Technology for Audiophiles

At the heart of this cutting-edge product is the patented Edifier Wide-Band Multi-Channel ANC (Active Noise Cancellation) technology. This feature broadens the noise cancellation depth to a staggering -50dB and the bandwidth to 5kHz, which is a notable advancement in the ANC domain. It’s not just about silencing the world around you; it’s about immersing you in a sound experience like no other.

One of the standout features of NeoBuds Pro 2 is the Spatial Audio with Visualized Head-Tracking technology. This innovative feature, aided by a built-in gyrometer and accelerometer, tracks your head movements to adjust the sound stage, offering a 3D auditory feast that surrounds you with lifelike audio from every angle. With the Edifier Connect App, you can visualize this technology in action, taking your listening experience to a whole new level.

Edifier's NeoBuds Pro 2: The Pinnacle of Earbud Technology for Audiophiles
Edifier’s NeoBuds Pro 2: The Pinnacle of Earbud Technology for Audiophiles

Now, let’s talk about the quality of music streaming. The NeoBuds Pro 2 makes streaming over Bluetooth, supporting up to 192kHz/24bit, a reality for the first time, thanks to the latest LHDC 5.0 HD codec. This is a leap from the standard streaming quality, offering audio enthusiasts high-resolution streaming over Bluetooth.

Edifier didn’t stop at just delivering superior sound quality; the brand went a step further to enhance the calling experience. With 4+4 built-in microphones paired with an AI voice pick-up algorithm, the earbuds effectively filter out environmental and wind noise, ensuring crystal clear calls, regardless of where you are.

The NeoBuds Pro 2 doesn’t shy away from showcasing its Hi-Res certification. Boasting a Knowles balanced armature driver, composite diaphragm dynamic drivers, and an array of audio coding including LDAC, LHDC, SBC, and AAC, these earbuds are truly a cut above the rest. The Superior Digital Signal Processing with Active Cross-Over further refines the audio signal, ensuring precise sound details and a rich presentation.

For gamers and those who love an immersive audio-visual experience, the low latency audio gaming mode is a boon. This feature significantly enhances the gaming experience by reducing audio lag, ensuring what you see on screen matches what you hear in real-time.

The design also embodies a blend of elegance and durability. With IP54 dust and splash resistance, these earbuds are your perfect companion whether you’re working out or caught in a drizzle. The fit is personalized with seven different sized ear tips, ensuring comfort for all ear shapes and sizes.

Battery life is often a concern with wireless earbuds, but not with the NeoBuds Pro 2. The fast-charging feature coupled with long playback capability provides 22 hours of battery life from the charging case alone, while a quick 15-minute charge offers two hours of playback time.

The aesthetic appeal is not left behind; the sleek design accompanied by a textured metal plate and changeable LED strip light mirrors the sophistication of a supercar.

Available at a price of £129.99, the Edifier NeoBuds Pro 2 is a steal for the plethora of features it offers. It’s not just a pair of earbuds; it’s a statement of luxury and value for audiophiles seeking the next level of audio experience. Check them out here

With the NeoBuds Pro 2, Edifier has indeed raised the bar in the personal audio segment, proving once again that high-end audio technology can be both accessible and affordable.

Celebrity Sound Engineer Launches BoomBocs STUDIO – a Portable Speaker Set to Rock the Market

Retro-styled, colourful, feature-packed, and delivering pro-audio quality sound, BoomBocs STUDIO is the latest portable speaker created by celebrity sound engineer Jonny Williams 

Jonny Williams BoomBocs Founder
Jonny Williams BoomBocs Founder

Disruptive speaker brand BoomBocs has launched its latest portable speaker, STUDIO. With BoomBocs fans already including industry heavyweights like Lady Gaga and Steven Tyler, STUDIO is the latest model from the brand’s founder, expert sound engineer Jonny Williams. Set to shake up the lacklustre wireless speaker market with vibrant colours, retro design, and studio-quality sound, the supremely cool STUDIO is made for music fans that want more than just an anonymous black box with ‘tinny’ speaker sound. (RRP £149, on offer now for £129)

BoomBocs STUDIO
BoomBocs STUDIO

From humble beginnings building suitcase speakers in Jonny’s Brixton living room, to huge celebrity clients and customers including Rita Ora, Kylie Minogue, and Shaznay Lewis of All Saints, BoomBocs speakers encompass everything artists and consumers love about the British music scene with the brand’s stand-out retro design and studio-grade quality sound. Custom Fender ‘tweed’ wrapped versions of the original BoomBocs speaker have appeared on stage at London’s Hyde Park with Tom Petty, and GRAMMY Award Winning Lady Gaga took delivery of 11 customised BoomBocs’ for herself and her team, including her parents.

BoomBocs STUDIO
BoomBocs STUDIO

The latest product, BoomBocs STUDIO, is the ultimate portable speaker offering all the BoomBocs quality and style in a smaller, more affordable design with some nifty new features. STUDIO features built-in streaming services including Spotify, Deezer, and Amazon Music to free up your phone, internet radio, wireless connectivity, and a dedicated app. The efficient built-in amplifier and stereo full-range speakers are tuned by Jonny to deliver true pro-audio sound quality, wherever you are. With a battery life of up to 15 hours, that can be in the home, at the park, or at an all-night rave with friends.

BoomBocs STUDIO
BoomBocs STUDIO

STUDIO comes in five fantastically stand-out colours – pink, orange, green, black, and white – that make most wireless speakers look like anonymous monotone boxes. Like all BoomBocs speakers, STUDIO plays homage to retro portable speakers of the past, with its large, stereo speaker drivers on full show. The drivers use aluminium cones for their high-power handling and better moisture/impact resistance than cheaper paper cones.

BoomBocs STUDIO
BoomBocs STUDIO

Founder Jonny, who is currently on tour with pop sensation Anastacia, knows music – he has worked as a sound engineer for some of the biggest names in the industry including Stormzy, Rita Ora, James Arthur, Wu-Tang Clan, Kylie, Thundercat, Jessie Ware, Maribou State and Pendulum among many more. His expert hands-on knowledge has helped him to create the BoomBocs signature sound, and cram that performance into the most compact, affordable, and technically advanced BoomBocs to date.

“BoomBocs has always done things differently and design has played a big part in that,” says Jonny. “For the STUDIO speaker, I was tired of seeing portable and Bluetooth speakers which all looked the same – black boxes with grills on – and sounded rubbish. STUDIO completely breaks that mould, bringing the retro style and big-speaker performance of previous BoomBocs models to a smaller, more affordable design. BoomBocs is all about delivering exceptional sound quality and a stand-out style which looks great in your home or while you are out and about.”

Jonny Williams BoomBocs Founder
Jonny Williams BoomBocs Founder

Jonny’s passion for music and creativity was passed down from his grandfather who played the trumpet. From a young age, Jonny knew music was what he wanted to pursue, beginning to play the drums at age seven and teaching himself to play a vast array of other instruments thereafter. Fascinated by how science and music work together, Jonny studied at university in his native country, Wales. He was touring and mixing arena-sized concerts by the time he was 22, starting out on world tours with Queen and Pink Floyd tribute bands.

Jonny soon became a sought-after name in the pop music scene, working with huge names like Kylie Minogue and All Saints for many years.

Jonny says: “I have a specific style when it comes to being a sound engineer and I like to mix everything to deliver an AC/DC style sound; driving drums and percussive instruments to deliver real energy and passion. Artists like my style of mixing as it really ups the ante when they play live, and I have tried to distil that balance and all of the passion into the sound tuning of STUDIO.”

STUDIO is a compact portable speaker with dual-band Wi-Fi and Bluetooth v5.0 connectivity, and a host of streaming services built-in so you don’t need to keep your phone tethered to play music. These include Spotify, Deezer, Amazon Music and Internet Radio, all controlled via the top panel buttons and the built-in LCD display or through the slick, UNDOK app (iOS & Android). The app expands the number of presets available to tune the sound as well as offers seamless music playback control across services. STUDIO also offers a 3.5mm AUX input for legacy sources at home, and USB Type-A for playback of music on portable drives.

Other features include access to 50k internet radio stations, podcasts from various services, a rechargeable battery lasting up to 15 hours on a single charge, and an alarm clock and sleep timer making it the ideal rock n roll bedroom partner.

https://boombocs.com/

Edifier Announces TWS6 Now Available in the UK

Ultra-high Clarity Balanced Armature Driver In-ear Headphones with Bluetooth 5.0, 32-Hour Battery Life and IPX5 for water and sweat resistance.

Edifier® International, prominent designers and award-winning manufacturers of consumer audio electronics, announce the availability of the new TWS6 in the UK. The TWS6 won an iF Design Award 2020 for consumer electronics by the Hanover-based iF International Forum Design GmbH.

The Edifier TWS6 Earbuds feature outstanding sound quality in a compact, ergonomic 12mm design. With built-in balanced armature drivers from leading manufacturer Knowles, paired with an electroacoustic structure, vivid, high-resolution sound is delivered with exceptional clarity, enriching every detail of the sound.

With clear Voice capture (cVc) noise cancellation technology, sound clarity is improved, producing an immersive listening experience and excellent call quality. Thanks to Bluetooth 5.0, Qualcomm aptX audio and the Laser Direct Structuring antenna, the TWS6 offers fast transmission with ultra-low latency and a range of up to 10m (33ft). The touch controls also offer easy playback.

The IPX5 water resistance will protect the earbuds against sweat or rain, making these the perfect partner for a gym workout. The interchangeable earplugs come in three different designs – foam, silica and ear wings – for maximum comfort. Varying sizes of each provide the user with an excellent and stable fit for prolonged and secure wear.

The TWS6 provides up to eight hours of playback in a single charge, and the efficiently designed, 22mm charging case is easily portable. The case allows for three extra charges, totalling 32 hours of use between mains charging.

Edifier does not sacrifice aesthetics for sound quality. The TWS6 earbuds have been created with the LG scratch-resistant finish, ensuring your earbuds stay in top condition. Along with being durable, this finish is also environmentally friendly, avoiding the need for paint, electroplating and post-production surface treatments. With the seamless and sleek design of the earbuds and charging case, comfort, style and great technology are at the user’s disposal.

Main Features:

  • Built-in Knowles balanced armature drivers feature, reacting to weak signals, enriching each sound and producing exceptional sound quality. 98dB sensitivity.
  • Bluetooth 5.0 with Qualcomm aptX audio and Laser Direct Structuring antenna offering fast transmission and ultra-low latency.
  • Up to 32 Hours of Playback; with one charge providing eight hours of battery life and the slimline, wireless case providing three additional charges. USB Type-C charging also available.
  • IPX5 water, sweat and dust resistance, perfect for intense workouts and sport activity.
  • Lightweight, ergonomic design including a variety of earplugs and wings to ensure a comfortable fit.

Price & Availability:

The Edifier TWS6 is available at £89.99 from Amazon:       https://amzn.to/2WpWJ1k

Gadget Man Episode 157 – James Hazell Mix Tape Part 2 – Energy 52 – Cafe Del Mar

This morning was the second of my Mix Tape tracks played by James Hazell on BBC Radio Suffolk. I’ve attached the YouTube playlist again below which will play the interview followed by the track.

This is probably one of my favourite pieces of music ever, I don’t know quite where I first heard it, but it is a very, very, very popular dance track.

I went on holiday with my parents and some friends in Portugal. We had a villa and I brought this CD that someone had lent me, which was free on the front of Ministry Magazine, Hooj Choons.

I took that with me and it was a beautiful Villa and I went in and dragged the stereo system out beside the pool and put this on and had it blasting out sitting by the pool, and it was, it was like being in Ibiza when I was 20. It was fantastic!

Great Tune!

This doesn’t include the abrupt ending broadcast today on air!!

Below is a playlist which includes the track after the interview.

 

 

Gadget Man – Episode 138 – Universal Music and the Importance of Backing up Your Data

Keeping backup copies of your data has never been so important and only this week it has been revealed that a fire at Universal Music has resulted in the loss of the original master tapes of some of the worlds most famous artists.

To compound the issue, the backups were kept in the same vaults and seemingly perished resulting in the total loss of the original recordings of the likes of Buddy Holly, Eminem, Sheryl Crow, Tupac and Tom Petty (to same but a few!).

With digital photography now the primary method of capturing images, it is now more important than ever that these sometimes precious images are also kept safe. Hardware failure or loss of devices is more common than ever before, so multiple backups are extremely important!

Hardware failure is a real and present issue
Hardware failure is a real and present issue

Today I spoke to James Hazell on BBC Radio Suffolk about backups and my experience of how to keep your data safe.

To find out more, listen into the stream above. Don’t forget to Like, Subscribe and Comment with your experiences of backup successes and failures.

See you in the next episode!!

Matt

Gadget Man – Episode 132 – Retro Gadgets – Part Two – Sony Walkman

In the second of my 10 Retro Gadgets of the Week, I talk about arguably one of the most important inventions of the 20th century!

Don’t forget to listen in to the podcast link above where I talk about the gadget and its functions.

Sony Walkman

The Sony Walkman was a portable cassette player launched in 1979, it started a revolution in personal audio cassette players and altered the listening habits of people and brought music to the masses wherever they might be.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YH2T94XWqck

 

Soundabout, Freestyle and Stowaway

Originally invented as the Sony Pressman to allow journalists to record interviews using a compact device, it became a personal entertainment device shortly after, settling on the name Walkman after being names the Soundabout, Freestyle and Stowaway. It very quickly became very popular and Sony began marketing it under a single brand-name, the Sony Walkman was born.

Originally the Walkman came with two headphone sockets with individual volume controls and a Hotline button which lowered the volume levels and opened the microphone to allow for station announcements to be heard or the user to have conversations with other people.

Sony Walkman Hotline
Sony Walkman Hotline and twin Headphone sockets

Other manufacturers such as Aiwa, Toshiba and Panasonic soon followed suit launched competing products, but the devices all became known as a “Walkman” as the brand-name crossed over into popular culture and entered the Oxford English Dictionary in 1986.

Walkman Effect

The Walkman was used when walking, exercising and running. Sony launched the ‘Sports Walkman’ which offered a degree of waterproofing and allegedly drove the fitness craze of the late ’80s. It was during this time that cassettes began outselling vinyl as millions of people chose the Walkman for their entertainment.

As music delivery advanced forwards, Sony was quick to adapt the brand to suit new formats, thus they launched the Sony Discman for the CD marketplace, the Sony DAT Walkman, MiniDisc Walkman and Sony Watchman TV.

Without the Sony Walkman, we wouldn’t have modern personal music players and most certainly would never have seen the Apple iPod. Sony continued the brand of Walkman into the modern smartphone marketplace.

Don’t forget to listen to the podcast above! Like, Share and Subscribe and I will see you next week for the Retro Gadget No.3

Thanks to Matt Marvell at BBC Radio Suffolk for having me on his show as a guest again this week.

Matt Porter
The Gadget Man

Gadget Man – Episode 129 – Gadgets in the Home

It was great to be on BBC Radio Suffolk this morning, talking with Wayne Bavin about Gadgets used in the home.

Following the first episode of Hard to Please OAP’s on ITV1, I spoke to Wayne about Gadgets which are used regularly and less regularly in our homes.

It was fun to chat about Soda-Stream, Amazon Alexa, Sandwich Toasters, Waffle Irons and all the good and bad tech now found in our homes.

You can listen in to the latest podcast to hear what I had to say and also how I managed to link this to watching an old episode of Terry and June.

Enjoy listening and don’t forget to Like, Share, Subscribe and I will see you next time!

Matt

Gadgets Featured in this Podcast on Amazon
Gadgets Featured in this Podcast on Amazon

 

Silicon Power Armor A65 1TB Military Grade Rugged Portable Hard Drive

Following on from our Tesla Road Trip, I thought it would be a good opportunity to review one of the great pieces of equipment we were able to take with us on the trip.

SP Armor A65 1TB reviewed by Matt Porter We had planned to travel some 1200 or so miles from Ness Point to Ardnamurchan Point (and back again) in an electric car, part of the adventure was to try and document the trip. We planned to document the trip using a variety of equipment from Smartphones, stabilised cameras to 4K Drones.

We would likely be presented with many gigabytes of footage and it was therefore imperative that we had a durable solution for data backup and somewhere to copy footage and imagery taken during the trip.

Our rugged backup solution was indeed a Silicon Power Armor A65 portable 1TB hard drive with it’s shockproof and waterproof housing that gives it military grade protection, to U.S Military MIL-STD-810G 516.6 Procedure IV and IP67 Standard for dust and water ingress.

SP Armor A65 1TB reviewed by Matt PorterOut of the box, the SP Armor A65, comes with a rubberised casing and IP67 sealed USB 3.0 Socket. IP67 means the device components are sealed from dust and immersion in water up to a meter deep for 30 minutes. The USB 3.0 cable is a full sized male connector at each end, this makes connection to a PC or Laptop very easy as the cable works in either direction. The case also had a slot for either securing the cable to the drive or as a belt clip.

SP Armor A65 1TB reviewed by Matt PorterInside of the heavily protected three layered case lies a Silcon Power 1TB 2.5″ Hard Disk with 1 Terabyte of storage, our brief tests for performance showed  a very decent Blackmagic Disk Speed Test score of 71/70. The drive was used extensively both before, during and after the trip and became our ‘go to’ hard disk for the trip.

Included with the drive is Silcon Power’s HDD Lock Utility which runs on MS Windows. This allows you to encrypt all the data stored on the device to give a greater level of security for users

We tested the device for use when we were using both drones and laptops in the field and the added resilience of the device gave us a greater degree of confidence that our data would remain safe even in the most extreme circumstances. It was also used to backup our laptop during the journey.

If you travel often and need the convenience of a simple to connect device that is both rugged and secure, the SP Armor A65 is most certainly worth the investment and can be purchased from the link to the left.

 

[amazon_link asins=’B01EYY4A6C’ template=’ProductCarousel’ store=’uk=1′ marketplace=’UK’ link_id=’8f5217e7-e630-11e7-885f-931e4eb187dc’]

 

Orbitsound ONE P70W – Connected Speaker Review with All-in-one Airsound, Subwoofer, Wi-Fi and more!

It is always particularly interesting to test technology that has been developed by leaders in their particular sector, so I was very excited about visiting Orbitsound in London to have a demonstration of their ONE P70W Speakers.

Orbitsound ONE P70W - All-in-one Airsound with Subwoofer and Wi-Fi and more! review by Matt Porter, The Gadget ManOrbitsound was founded by Ted Fletcher, the inventor of Airsound™ technology. Ted has been working for many years as a  musician, audio engineer, electronics designer and studio designer, to give the listener a more realistic, more immersive sound experience. These years of experience in the industry led to the release in 2017 of the Orbitsound ONE P70, the worlds first multi-orientation speaker, meaning regardless of where you stand, it sound remains the same.

Orbitsound ONE P70W - All-in-one Airsound with Subwoofer and Wi-Fi and more! review by Matt Porter, The Gadget Man
The controls for the Orbitsound ONE P70W are found at the side of the speaker

The P70W is designed in such as way that it can be shelf or wall-mounted. It has a narrow design (700mm wide x 173mm deep x 77mm high), this allows for comfortably mounting below a flat screen television or on a wall as a ‘party’ speaker. It’s built from wood and steel and can be purchased in matte black, bambo or bone white weighing in a 5.1kg.

Orbitsound ONE P70W - All-in-one Airsound with Subwoofer and Wi-Fi and more! review by Matt Porter, The Gadget ManSound is provided by two (front and top) 2″ ‘Orbitsound MK4 drivers’, a Sub-bass low-profile 5.25″ driver and 2X2 Airsound Orbitsound MK4 drivers. By positioning the main speakers both front and top mean that sound production is maintains regardless of how the speaker mounted.

Connectivity is provided by Bluetooth, Optical cable, 3.5mm stereo jack and the Wi-Fi. The Wi-Fi feature is the most impressive as it allows streaming of audio from a variety of sources without the loss of quality associated with Bluetooth, effectively allowing for uncompressed playback of music. It also allows for multi-speaker / multi-room playback with perfectly synchronised sound and zero delay. This is achieved by using the Orbitsound Smartphone app (Android and iOS) which supports streaming providers and internet radio stations and allows you to ‘group’ sets of speakers to create one virtual speaker. When I was given a demonstration of this at the Orbitsound offices, 3 separate speakers, both wall and shelf mounted were grouped together using the app. I was then asked to close my eyes to try and decide where I thought the sound was coming from. It was unearthly as it sounded like it was coming out of thin air, very impressive!

Orbitsound ONE P70W - All-in-one Airsound with Subwoofer and Wi-Fi and more! review by Matt Porter, The Gadget Man
The Orbitsound App running on Android. Streaming from Tunein

The app currently supports TuneIn, iHeartRadio, Spotify, Tidal, Napster, Apple Music (iOS only) and of course your own device stored music. If you are absolutely focused on using other services such as Google Play Music or Amazon, then you can of course stream using Bluetooth. I used the speak in conjunction with my Amazon Dot, as well as my iMac and Xperia XZ Premium, all worked flawlessly.

I was also able to connect the speaker to my Freesat HD box using the supplied optical cable. This worked great, although the Freesat box had a bug with Netflix which meant it would only broadcast Dolby sound. This was a simple configuration on the Freesat box and all was working again.

The speaker comes with very nicely designed remote control and you can also use you own remote control using the speakers ‘learning mode’. I was able to control the speaker using my TV remote within a couple of seconds of setup.

The people at Orbitsound definitely had the environment in mind when they designed the P70W as it is built to power-down  components that aren’t used, but power up instantly when required.

Orbitsound ONE P70W - All-in-one Airsound with Subwoofer and Wi-Fi and more! review by Matt Porter, The Gadget ManQuite a bit of thought has gone into small details on the P70W with the inclusion of reversible LED information display and Orbitsound badge. This might seem small things but they count as you really wouldn’t want to be showing off your new speaker to friends and have the badge upside down. integrated wall mounting and 200mm VESA bosses and bolts are included to allow you to get going straightaway with unnecessary visits to AV stores to buy mounting kits. There is also a protective sleeve for the speaker, to protect it when not in use.

The speaker also comes with a standard power cord, aux cable, quick-start guide and safety and warranty information, all packaged up in a very smart box. The useful inclusion of a carry handle was helpful too, as I carried a demonstration unit to the train station.

The Orbitsound P70W feels like a speaker that can fit many needs, be that as a Sound-bar for your TV, a party speaker for gatherings of people and the facility to extend your listening experience to multiple speakers. The smart design of the speakers means that it they would sit very comfortably in a professional or public environment. The whole family has really enjoy the quality and versatility of the speaker and we’ll be sad to see it go.

At £399, the Orbitsound P70W is great value for buyers looking for a richer smoother sound regardless of their position in the room.

First Products of the Tech Giants – Play our Quiz!

We all have to start somewhere and so did some of the biggest tech companies. Play our quiz and see if you can guess what their first products were? You might be surprised at some of the answers!

Don’t forget to comment with your score and don’t forget to like and share!!