Tag Archives: Review

Review of the RockDoc Bluetooth Speaker by Pitbull

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A few weeks ago I was contacted by the people behind this speaker requesting I review the RockDoc Bluetooth speaker endorsed by Pitbull. When I got the email I nearly laughed out loud at my desk. Someone asking me to review a speaker by Pitbull, the rapper? I love rap music, more than most people would probably understand or believe, and I even like a few songs he is featured on but he’s never made my list of rappers I love.

RockDoc Bluetooth Speaker Pitbull

Luckily for him, me, the RockDoc marketing team and VisionTek (the people that actually make it) the RockDoc Bluetooth is something I actually really do like to listen to. No one was more surprised than me. It isn’t a perfect speaker but at less than $60 on Amazon, the VisionTek RockDoc Bluetooth speaker over performs. At the end of the review I have links for a 15% discount as well as a way you can win one of these! Continue reading →

Audio-Technica ATH-M50 Preview

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I heard about the Audio-Technica ATH-M50 almost by accident one day. A friend was asking me for suggestions for a great set of affordable studio monitors and said he was interested in said headphones. My studio headphone experience was, and still is, pretty limited. Historically I have suggested people check out whatever Sennheiser studio headphone they could afford, namely the Sennheiser HD-280 Pro and HD-380 Pro, and of course the Sony MDR-7506. So I decided to give these a try.

Audio-Technical ATH-M50 headphones

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BoomBotix BB1 and BB2 Review

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Earlier this year I wrote a review of Aliph’s Jambox, a $200 Bluetooth speaker made with Apple’s iDevices in mind. The review, as you might remember, is very much favorable. The sound, build and design quality on this minuscule speaker is absolutely top-notch.

The only real issues I have with the Jambox is the price. While I do not find it overpriced for what it provides, especially considering the features, it is the first product I reviewed that required a use case section. My conclusion for the Jambox is basically this; buy it if you are a…

  • traveling salesman that puts on presentations and hates the crappy audio he gets
  • business with the need for a great conference call system on the go
  • person with money to blow and a peculiar need for portable sound

The device I am reviewing today is the quirky cousin or even the black sheep to the Jambox. The devices I’m writing about today cost $100-140 less and has looks that don’t necessarily kill but definitely stun.

BoomBotix BB2 Duo
BoomBotix Duo

The devices I am reviewing today are the BoomBotix BB1 and BoomBotix BB2 ($40/$60). They do exactly what they advertise and do it with a certain je ne sais quoi that absolutely reflects the style and personality of the people behind BoomBotix.

If you are a regular reader of this blog you probably know that when it comes to audio, I am a stickler for high quality sound. If you are looking for an “audiophile” speaker for your iPhone, this isn’t where you want to go. However, if you are looking for a great little speaker that puts out some solid tunes, is affordable, as portable as George Costanza‘s wallet and has a style all its own, I urge you to read on. Continue reading →

Jawbone JAMBOX Review

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Unless you have had your head in the sand for the last five years you know the name Jawbone, the bluetooth headset with the infamous NoiseAssassin technology. The name “NoiseAssassin” takes greater importance (is even scarier) when paired with ti’s definition “[an] adaptive signal processing technology, which was originally developed for DARPA…”

Government conspiracy theories aside, the technology behind Aliph‘s headsets has been an industry leader since its inception. The JAMBOX represents a diversion for the company from headsets to speakers. And for a first effort, it isn’t so bad.

The JAMBOX is a marvel of design and sound output versus physical size. It is feature-rich and about as sexy as a tiny speaker can get. It is also too expensive for what it actually accomplishes (depending on your use case).

If you’re looking for a bedside iPhone speaker/alarm/dock system that just might fill a room with sound, charge your iPhone and not costa  bundle, check out the offerings from Altec Lansing, Logitech, Klipsch and iHome. For the full review, read on.

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Zacuto Fast Draw Review

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Big thanks to the people at Zacuto who were kind enough to loan me an entire D-SLR rig for review a few weeks ago. The timing and setup could not have been better. After a week with the Zacuto Fast Draw, I’m here to share my thoughts on their video D-SLR solution.

My work sent me to Florida to shoot video with a D-SLR and no assistant. Whatever system I chose would have to be incredibly nimble, flexible and comfortable. Originally I was looking at some products from Red Rock Micro to pair with a Nikon D7000 and Nikon 17-55mm f2.8 lens.

It was during a Twitter conversation with my friend Zack that I was pushed into the direction of Zacuto. I remembered Zack had a Zacuto system that he really enjoyed which provided a stable shoulder rig, follow-focus and viewfinder that made fine-tuning focus on shots much easier.

I had never had the opportunity to play with his rig but was in awe, nevertheless.

It wasn’t long after I first tweeted about the need for a good video D-SLR rig that I got a message from Zacuto inviting me to try out their stuff in return for a review. Obviously I took them up on the awesome offer.

Here’s a quick video introduction to some of Zacuto’s D-SLR solutions.

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Elgato Turbo.264 HD Reviewed

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Over the last year or so I’ve been doing more and more video editing. It started when I got my Kodak Zi8 handheld video camera. It shot pretty decent 1080p HD video at a stupid cheap cost of entry. Getting the Kodak Zi8 was a no-brainer but how to handle the files afterwards proved to be a bit more complicated.

Typical Justin-style, long-winded introduction and review of the Elgato Turbo.264 HD continues below. The short story is the Elgato Turbo.264 HD is worth every penny. Read on to be entertained, informed and generally over-educated on my process and thoughts. Continue reading →