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- Review count3
- Helpfulness votes186
- First reviewApril 5, 2015
- Last reviewMarch 7, 2017
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- Average rating4.7
- Review comment count7
- Helpfulness votes19
- First review commentMarch 13, 2015
- Last review commentDecember 4, 2016
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- First answerNovember 2, 2016
- Last answerNovember 2, 2016
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WhiskeyTangoActual's Reviews
![Miss Hokusai [DVD] [2015]](https://pisces.bbystatic.com/image2/BestBuy_US/images/products/5714/5714285_sa.jpg)
Customer Rating
5
a brilliant exercise in "everyday suchness"
on March 7, 2017
Posted by: WhiskeyTangoActual
MISS HOKUSAI is an ambitious and visually sumptuous anime interpretation of the Edo period historical manga _Sarusuberi_, written/illustrated by Hinako Sugiura. The film is a brilliant exercise in the Japanese Buddhist concept of "everyday suchness."
When you look at a centuries old Japanese painting of a young girl in a garden, staring into a bamboo aquarium containing goldfish and bare accouterments, you may think you know what you see, but can you really see what the artist experienced in order to create that painting, let alone the ideas underlying the images?
I'm told that the manga source material is disconnectedly episodic in nature and that it's a real stretch to claim that there is any main character therein, even though the historical figure Katsushika Hokusai pops up repeatedly early in the series.
Hokusai's most famous historical work is a woodblock print series, yet, for the entirety of MISS HOKUSAI, we never see him work on a single woodblock. We only see Hokusai paint. Does that mean director Hara, screenwriter Maruo and ProductionIG are messing with us? Far from it. The elder Hokusai is not the point of this story.
The Edo period is a time when chronic illness turns to death in the blink of an eye.
Even though Hokusai pays little attention to healthy living, he is highly adverse to spending time with his terminally ill youngest daughter, for fear of catching something that might prevent him from living to be 100. For reasons known only to him, Hokusai believes he will achieve artistic mastery at that nice round age.
It's a daring move to make Hokusai's older daughter, Katsushika O-Ei, the seemingly central character of MISS HOKUSAI. Yes, she is in nearly every frame of the film, beautifully and sparingly drawn. Yes, MISS HOKUSAI is a feminist tale, too.
O-Ei is the chosen vehicle for telling the anime's story which is larger than just her. She, too, is a rather accomplished painter. Later in the manga series, O-Ei grows more prominent, without becoming central. Don't expect anything from O-Ei, but do be mindful and aware as you observe her context. Just relax in your seat and this should happen naturally. The only burden on the observer is to remember.
As in real life, O-Ei's personality is very much like her father's, yet O-Ei is judged by many, within the story and by some in the audience, as being "harsh" and "unlikeable," while drunken and slovenly Hokusai is well admired by many more.
O-Ei is a woman far ahead of her time, even as she willingly carries out "traditional" duties of assisting her father in his work. She knows that she is honing her own skills through the experience, while being far from subservient.
Valuable lessons, harsh though they may seem, from Hokusai to O-Ei, about composition and balance, are literally and tersely depicted in the context of the story's moments.
O-Ei is highly opinionated. She suffers no fools. She is pursued by some for her beauty, by some for being Hokusai's daughter and by others for her art. O-Ei is devoted to her sickly younger sister, O-Nao, and gets along well with her mother, who lives amicably apart from Hokusai. O-Ei is far from maladjusted.
MISS HOKUSAI shows us everyday Edo period life as an artist, who just happens to be O-Ei, experiences it.
All things depicted matter, no matter how diffusely.
We learn that O-Nao is blind and that she "sees," with her mind's eye, that the goldfish pets given to her by O-Ei are having great fun inside their bamboo aquarium, which brings O-Nao equal joy and respite from her illness.
MISS HOKUSAI includes many direct representations of how elements of everyday life become ukiyo-e prints and paintings, often emphasized in perfectly timed freeze frames that do not interrupt the flow of the film.
Sisters in a riverboat, fingers trailing in the rippling water, speculating about the dangers of rough open seas. Tiny ripples become waves, becoming an imaginary tidal wave about to engulf the riverboat, scene turning into woodblock print. Visual poetry.
O-Ei walking at sundown, through the shadows and light between the city structures lining her way home. She passes Hokusai ambling along, in the opposite direction, across the street. As they pass, O-Ei is aware. Hokusai might not be. Both are in shadows, neither acknowledges the other. Then as O-Ei passes out of shadow, she admires the fresh rays of light streaming between her fingers. A scene brimming with symbolism.
(The more you know about Hokusai's work, the more Easter eggs you will find in this film.)
Mindfulness, awareness and context, within everyday life, are what MISS HOKUSAI is all about. Not "character development." Not "plot." Don't let western cultural conventions/blinders keep you from absorbing and enjoying what MISS HOKUSAI shows us about everyday suchness.
Understand how O-Nao manages to see/sense so many things within the limits of what her young mind can comprehend. She's not always "correct," but she is "in touch." At every step and turn, we all face limits, but everyday suchness allows for that. It's not about correctness or finality.
Too much has been made about how trivially O-Ei's "marriage" is narratively tossed off in an end title card.
The real O-Ei was briefly married to a fellow art student BEFORE she became an assistant to her ailing father. She divorced, because she found her husband to be a comically poor artist. She never had any need to remarry, period. The anime treats O-Ei's one marriage as seriously as she did. We also get to see the gist of that earlier "relationship" play out in O-Ei's later interactions with her male contemporaries as depicted in the film.
While MISS HOKUSAI is anime aimed at an adult audience, I can't say that it's not for kids. Yes, there are "s.e.x.u.a.l situations" that are tastefully depicted, but they are not beyond the scope of informed discussions between guardians and wards of a certain age. No relationship depicted is age-inappropriate or perverse. Not one thing remotely within the realm of SOUTH PARK. There are far too many other things to talk and think about in MISS HOKUSAI to outright ban it from supervised viewing.
...
So, now, what do you see when you look at O-Ei's painting of O-Nao in a garden admiring her goldfish?
Perhaps you see a tranquil blind girl, intently focused on the joyous watery sounds of her pets. She is also surrounded by the dotted red beauty of fallen tree blossoms all around her. The little girl, in a peaceful garden, is surrounded by death.
O-Ei's painting is a wistful remembrance/celebration of her dearly departed sister, for which words can do no justice.
That is the context of a centuries old painting. That is a deep taste of everyday suchness. That is the point of MISS HOKUSAI.
Even if that wasn't your cup of tea, I thoroughly enjoyed every drop.
My Best Buy number: 2914521589
I would recommend this to a friend!
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The SoundLink Color Portable Bluetooth speaker II was engineered to deliver bold sound wherever life takes you. From the pool to the park to the patio, its rugged, water-resistant design lets you enjoy the music you love in more places. Voice prompts make Bluetooth pairing easy. And up to 8 hours of listening per battery charge lets you keep your playlists playing.
Customer Rating
4
significantly redesigned SLCII, 3.5*s
on November 2, 2016
Posted by: WhiskeyTangoActual
Here's a quick rundown on what's new and improved over the first gen SLC (in no particular order):
IPX4-rated water-splash resistant (*not* immersible/submersible)
NFC enabled Bluetooth pairing (just enable NFC & BT, then tap to pair)
Speaker phone functionality over Bluetooth, with call controls located on the SLCII
Other notable facts:
The built-in Lithium-ion battery is still not user replaceable.
The built-in Lithium-ion battery is still not user replaceable.
The SLCII's radio for music/speakerphone is still strictly Bluetooth (no WiFi).
Two SLCIIs cannot be Bluetooth paired for wide-field stereo (although this could be accomplished with a *custom* made line-in stereo-stereoR-stereoL splitter cable - where all three plugs have to be three-element stereo).
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According to BOSE Tech Support, the SLCII is a true stereo speaker. with two, closely spaced, 40mm active drivers, one each for left and right channels. They are so close together, though, that you'd have to be very, very close (~6") to the SLCII to notice the stereo effect.
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According to BOSE Tech Support, the SLCII is a true stereo speaker. with two, closely spaced, 40mm active drivers, one each for left and right channels. They are so close together, though, that you'd have to be very, very close (~6") to the SLCII to notice the stereo effect.
My intention is to primarily use the SLCII as the main external speaker for a powerful, yet tiny, portable AM/FM/WX/AIR/SW radio receiver that is replacing a much larger, luggable, 30 year old, rugged, workhorse multi-band radio that finally gave up the ghost. The tiny portable isn't Bluetooth capable and only has a built-in 1.5" speaker and 3.5mm line-out. That 1.5" speaker performs amazingly well, for its size, but has all of the acoustic limitations that one must expect from a speaker that size. (The radio sounds unbelievably good using quality earbuds.) Using a 3.5mm, male-male, standard stereo cable between them, the SLCII is a perfect match for both voice and music programs, creating a room filling table radio sound.
That said, the equalization of the SLCII is *not* aimed at high fidelity sound reproduction. The default EQ seriously over-emphasizes the bass, sloppily booming way too much ~150Hz, with complete roll-off somewhere above 60Hz. This is true whether using Bluetooth or 3.5mm cables, no matter how the unit is physically placed (for bass reflectivity). There are some EQ differences in the upper/mid ranges; Bluetooth sounds brighter than hardwired, using the same source devices, playing the same content examples in Bluetooth vs line-in testing.
One thing that BOSE should seriously consider is a firmware update to the SLCII that programs the amp to produce a flatter frequency response curve from the SLCII when using the line-in connection. There is no reason to treat line-in on the SLCII the same as Bluetooth, specifically because of the ongoing limitations with Bluetooth audio codecs. For line-in, a flatter frequency response in the SLCII is to be highly preferred.
Fortunately, I have very good music players on my various Android devices that enable me to adequately compensate for the SLCII's weird EQ, so that, for indoor listening, a high degree of acoustic fidelity can be teased out of the SLCII, period, not just good sound "for its size."
The EQ shipping on the SLCII is most likely optimized for outdoor use; but, outdoors, the SLCII is going to face many limitations based entirely on its size.
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- Battery and Charging issues
I knew that the unit would ship with only a partial charge (30% as required by law), but I was surprised at how erratically my first SLCII announced that it had reached a full charge.
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- Battery and Charging issues
I knew that the unit would ship with only a partial charge (30% as required by law), but I was surprised at how erratically my first SLCII announced that it had reached a full charge.
If I had to guess, based on BOSE's stated cycle life of 300 deep discharges before battery failure and the prohibition in the full PDF user manual (p 21) against long term storage of the SLCII with a fresh full charge (indicating, to me, heightened thermal instability at full charge), I'd infer that BOSE put a Lithium Manganese Oxide (LiMN2O4) battery inside the SLCII. If I had a say in the matter, I would prefer a Lithium Titanate (LiTi5012) battery, because it can survive >3000 deep discharges and is highly thermally stable at all states of charge.
The first thing I did after examining the SLCII for any possible shipping damage was to plug it into to a 2.0A USB charger. I was very surprised to suddenly hear the SLCII announce that it had reached a full charge (with a steady green LED light) after only 20 minutes of charging. I suspected that something might be very wrong.
It turned out that my hunch was right. The first SLCII charged erratically, pre-maturely reporting full charge. Eventually, it failed to power on or charge, at all, and even resisted an undocumented BOSE "hard reset." Fortunately, BOSE dispatched a replacement.
Wildly varying recovery charge times simply should not be observed immediately after a supposed full charge of any properly working battery, Lithium ion or not.
The useful calendar lifespan of consumer electronics Lithium-ion batteries really benefits from keeping the battery's charge above 50% of the originally rated total mAH capacity. If one can't reliably know that a battery is, indeed, "fully charged," then there is no way to even begin to guess about where 50% of a full charge might be.
Routinely deeply discharging, or discharging below 50% of a factory-rated full charge, will dramatically shorten the calendar life of a consumer electronics Lithium-ion battery. This is where the 300 charge cycle calendar life controversy with the original SLC comes from. Keep the Lithium-ion topped up as much as possible. On the other hand, a Lithium Titanate battery would be good for at least 1000 full charge cycles. It seems cynical, to me, for BOSE to knowingly use a 300 cycle battery on a one year warranty product.
It would be also very nice if the SLCII would give visual/audible notice that it has discharged to 50% of original capacity, so that people will know when to plug back into external power, should they care about maximizing their battery calendar life. It's potentially the difference between 300 full cycles and 500 or more top-off charges.
Non-user-replaceable batteries and battery calendar life were problems with the original SLC.
The replacement SLCII sent to me took just under two hours of out-of-the-box charging to report its first full charge. After 10 minutes off charger, doing nothing, the SLCII then took 9 minutes back on charger to report a full charge. Another 10 minutes off charger, then 5 minutes back on charger to report a full charge. Finally, another 10 minutes off charger, then only 1 minute back on charger to report a full charge. This pattern satisfies me that the battery and charging circuitry are AOK in the replacement SLCII. Once again, the replacement SLCII never got warmer than ambient room temperature during any of these charging tests (as measured with an IR temp gun). If your SLCII gets hot during charging, that is likely another sign of battery problems to come.
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- Bluetooth pairing
I had no need to use the BOSE Connect app for Bluetooth pairing.
Standard Bluetooth pairing worked with all of my Android devices and the SLCII.
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- Bluetooth pairing
I had no need to use the BOSE Connect app for Bluetooth pairing.
Standard Bluetooth pairing worked with all of my Android devices and the SLCII.
Deleting all previous SLCII pairings, NFC Bluetooth pairing also worked with all my NFC-capable Android devices, but sometimes it took more than one tap and/or twist to find the NFC sweet spot on each Android device. Nevertheless, NFC Bluetooth pairing always worked for me.
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- Speaker phone capability
I don't plan on using this feature much, if at all, but a lot of people asked for it. I prefer to use wired headsets for privacy and confidentiality. Should I get around to testing speaker phone capability, I will add a comment to this main review.
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- Speaker phone capability
I don't plan on using this feature much, if at all, but a lot of people asked for it. I prefer to use wired headsets for privacy and confidentiality. Should I get around to testing speaker phone capability, I will add a comment to this main review.
I assume that the SLCII behaves exactly like a Bluetooth headset when it comes to making and receiving speaker phone calls. Via the multifunction button on the SLCII, there is call control on the device, too.
BOSE Tech Support could not tell me whether or not the speaker phone capability of the SLCII is full-duplex or half-duplex. This matters a lot in situations where there is a lot of ambient background noise on either end of a call, especially outdoors.
- Bottom Line on the BOSE SoundLink Color II
For what I am going to mostly use it for, the SLCII sounds dramatically better than the much larger integrated, luggable device that it is replacing, given what I've written above, at far less than half the size and less than a quarter of the total weight.
For what I am going to mostly use it for, the SLCII sounds dramatically better than the much larger integrated, luggable device that it is replacing, given what I've written above, at far less than half the size and less than a quarter of the total weight.
The SLCII does not seem to be intended to be a high-fidelity music/sound reproduction device, but I personally also find that to be the case for the entire BOSE SoundLink product line. I've auditioned them all, indoors, with my sound source devices and content, and I hear differently distorting EQ with ALL of them. The SoundLink III and SoundLink Mini do have more stereo separation. The SLCII (and the entire SoundLink line) is engineered to deliver sound with DYNAMIC PRESENCE, not high fidelity. As such, the SLCII is more like an instrument unto itself, rather than purely a sound reproduction device. If you insist on high-fidelity sound reproduction, you'll have to look somewhere other than the BOSE SoundLink for the time being.
As an external speaker for Android devices, given my ability to tweak player equalization on the Android side, the SLCII is a remarkably good sounding portable powered speaker. The IPX4 splash rating is welcomed. NFC Bluetooth pairing just works according to the simple instructions.
If BOSE makes firmware updates available for the SLCII, and if the BOSE Connect app can apply said firmware update to the SLCII, then I may have a use for the app. But I have seen no firmware updates for the SLCII, to date.
Despite the fixable issues with charging and battery management, I still recommend the SLCII to others looking for a highly portable, multi-function, external speaker for music and/or voice reproduction.
My Best Buy number: 2914521589
I would recommend this to a friend!
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+74points
185of 296voted this as helpful.
![Interstellar [Includes Digital Copy] [Blu-ray/DVD] [Only @ Best Buy] [2014]](https://pisces.bbystatic.com/image2/BestBuy_US/images/products/3049/3049001_sa.jpg)
Posted by: WhiskeyTangoActual
exquisite LOVE STORY, magnificent SciFi setting
Christopher Nolan and INTERSTELLAR were rudely slighted in the past award season. It should have been nominated for Best Picture, Original Screenplay, Director, Cinematography, in addition to the actual nominations in the Sound, Production Design, Score and Visual Effects (winner) categories. (In a time of gratuitous green-screen/CGI-everything, all of the interior sets were practical.)
First and foremost, INTERSTELLAR is an healthy and heartfelt love story - about fathers and daughters. It's about smart, capable and caring female characters (who never need to ape macho-alpha-male-ness in order to hold their own); about humanity transcending ecological/planetary apocalypse; and about immensely innovative and entertaining Nolan-esque visual and dramatic presentations of science (physics/relativity/cosmology, biology/ecology, the psychology of survival - individual and genomic) all truly in service of story. With thanks and praise for the active participation of Kip Thorne (read his fantastic companion book _The_Science_of_Interstellar_).
There any many, many layers to this story, that fully merit multiple, caffinated viewings over time. There are new things to discover with each attentive viewing, I promise you. Never once was my intelligence, or my gut, abused or insulted.
None of us, today, are functionally-aware five-dimensional beings, so, INTERSTELLAR is the closest you can get to thinking/feeling like one for the time being, no pun intended. There are also no glaring, stereotypical conflicts between "scientific" and "spiritual" interpretations of this film. How wonderfully deep and refreshing.
You might very well notice loving homages to 2001 A SPACE ODYSSEY, among other time-proven cinematic classics, but none of that is gratuitous or a rip-off. They are respectful nods to the broad artistic shoulders that Nolan stands on today.
I also think that the film was perfectly cast, from end-to-end. Can't go into that anymore without giving away spoilers.
My remaining wish is that the *entire* soundtrack eventually be released on CD, not just the subset that is currently for sale. Oh, and the rumored alternate ending, too.
If you missed INTERSTELLAR on the big screen (70mm IMAX film was the BEST), treat yourself to it now. Even if you did catch the theatrical engagement, there is still more to mine from every successive viewing. How cool is that?
(What a TRAVESTY that BestBuy failed to stock the 2BR/DVD/UVHD "Collector's Edition" of INTERSTELLAR. Not for everyone, but a must have for FAN BOYS, like moi.)
My Best Buy number: 2914521589
I would recommend this to a friend!
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WhiskeyTangoActual's Review Comments
![The Tale of the Princess Kaguya [3 Discs] [Blu-ray/DVD] [2013]](https://pisces.bbystatic.com/image2/BestBuy_US/images/products/1722/1722114_sa.jpg)
Overall5 out of 5
5 out of 5Studio Ghibli overshadowed by Disney "partner"
By WhiskeyTangoActual
This is one of the few times that Studio Ghibli's partnership with Disney, via Pixar, caused it to be beggared at the 2015 Academy Awards. As much as I enjoyed BIG HERO 6, THE TALE OF PRINCESS KAGUYA really deserved to win Best Animated Feature Film.
This is a lyrical and beautiful retelling of Japanese folktale, The Bamboo Cutter's Story, mainly from the perspective of the magical Lunar being who is eventually named Princess Kaguya.
While there is obvioously a lot of computer power behind the final film, the style of animation is hand-drawn/rotoscope and every bit as impressionistic as the most beautiful of watercolor paintings as found in any culture, not just Asian.
The story depicted is full of heart and love, best (if misguided) fatherly intentions, unconditionally nurturing motherhood, and a tragically misunderstood would-be human princess of celestial origins. Kaguya is always observant of Nature as she grows to become both wise and shrewd, but she is ultimately rendered powerless over her own destiny as a woman by the customs and culture of feudal Japan.
Alomg her journey from "discovered" forest sprite to womanhood, she encounters many friends among the common folk, a would-be soulmate, and the adventure of the beauty of the seasons/nature.
Not enough people got to see this film in theaters.
Correct that misfortune by treating yourself to a viewing on disc.
WhiskeyTangoActual
I forgot to commend the English language "dub"
March 13, 2015
One of the great strengths of the ongoing partnership between Studio Ghibli and Pixar/Disney is the excellence of the English language dubs, which are vastly superior to mere "translation."
Great pains are taken to *interpret* the cross-cultural essence of the original Japanese dialog into the English langage dub. Culturally relevant interpretation is a very tricky thing to achieve. It is an additional artistic burden heaped on top of just-so voice actor casting and then the mechanics of synching interpreted dialog with animated speech.
That is also why there are two different English language subtitle tracks accompanying this story - one is a more literal translation, to be used when viewing the film with the original Japanese language dialog, and the other is a transcription of the brilliant English language dub.
The English speaking cast is pitch perfect, too.
That said, I highly recommend at least one viewing with the original Japanese language dialog, just to get a better feel for the spirit and emotionalism of the original.
And, as I mentioned before, in a more perfect world, this film should've won the Oscar.
+1point
1of 1voted this comment as helpful.
Keep your home dust-free with this Bissell AirRAM cordless vacuum. Its high-performance F.U.E.L. cell provides up to 30 minutes of run time, while the advanced compression technology lets it store as much dirt as typical bagless vacuums. This Bissell AirRAM cordless vacuum has a low profile for easy maneuvering around furniture.
Overall
1 out of 5
1 out of 5not a 2-in-1, but needs to be...
By WhiskeyTango
BISSELL AirRam "1984" cordless stick vacuum cleaner
It seems that the Bissell AirRam cordless stick vacuum is a rebranded Gtech AirRam Mk2 sold in the UK.
Gtech also sells a "K9" variant of their AirRam Mk4, where high wear and tear plastic parts, inside the head unit, are replaced with more durable metal parts. The Bissell AirRam does not appear to have any of the heavier duty "K9" metal components.
The Bissell AirRam is also not a "2-in-1." The AirRam is strictly for floors, crucially with no crevice and/or vertical surface cleaning capability.
The AirRam is intended for dry vacuum cleaning only, no fluids may be vacuumed. Also, for very delicate carpets/floor coverings, the AirRam's brush roller can be removed (and replaced by a special cap/plug) to turn the AirRam into a pure vacuum device. This mode of operation is also recommended on floor surfaces with deep crevices. The AirRam is not intended for use on rough concrete or tarmac surfaces.
The AirRam has a user washable, pre-motor air filter, but this is not a HEPA rated filter. (Apparently, the AirRam's ability to expel micro particulates into the air is enough of a problem that Gtech's K9 Mk2 variant comes with scented plugs, that are inserted inside the washable pre-motor air filter, to cover the aroma of flying pet dander.) After washing, the cleaned air filter can't be re-inserted into the AirRam until it is completely dry. The AirRam cannot be operated without a filter in place or else the motor will be damaged.
I tested the AirRam on carpeted and hard tile floors. The roller brush is driven by the air flow of the motor. Where ever the roller brush makes direct contact, the AirRam is fairly effective in removing dirt. One problem that I noticed with runner carpets, is that the tiny gap along the sides of the runner significantly degraded the AirRam's ability to remove debris from the adjacent surface below the runner. This necessitates a minimum of three or more passes to fully clean along raised edges. The AirRam is also not very effective along the wall edges of wall-to-wall carpeting, where the roller brush makes no contact. While it is a novelty to have the air flow drive the roller brush, that same air flow is not available for edge pickup vacuuming. Removing and replacing the roller to leverage edge pickup can become a tedious chore.
The charge level LED indicators perform double duty. All four LEDS flash red anytime the roller brush becomes entangled and jams. Once a roller jam has occurred, the AirRam automatically cuts power. The LEDs will remain red for approximately 10 seconds thereafter. At that point the AirRam can be restarted, provided that the jam has been physically cleared. As charge level indicators, the LEDs glow green, but they only provide a very rough gauge of charge level. I was very surprised to learn that when the AirRam's battery drained down to two LEDs (50% charge), in use, immediately thereafter plugging the charger into the battery resulted in only one LED flashing green. I want to maximize the calendar life of the AirRam's Lithium ion battery, so I want to start recharging whenever the Lithium ion battery drops to 50% of a full charge. It's very annoying to me that two lit green LEDs during operation can routinely conceal that the battery is really somewhere between 25% and 50% of a full charge.
The relatively small dust cup fills up quickly, requiring several cycles of emptying before a large room has been completely vacuumed. You will know that the cup requires emptying when the AirRam begins leaving balls of debris behind, rather than picking everything up. Also, too, the AirRam does nothing close to pelletizing/compressing debris inside the dust cup and emptying can take many swipes of the ejector slider to completely empty the cup. Proof that you can't believe everything you see on YouTube.
I can identify two very likely points of failure on the AirRam.
The tab that secures the dust cup emptying cap is made of very thin plastic. That tab can also make potentially damaging contact with the dust cup ejector slider, if you accidentally try to close the cap without first pushing the ejector slider further back. (The ejector slider should have a spring that automatically pushes the slider out of the way when closing the dust cup cap, but it doesn't.) I predict that the dust cup cap closure tab will break sooner, rather than later, from normal wear and tear.
The surprisingly fragile item is the washable permanent filter. The closed end of the filter has a tongue-and-groove rubber gasket that fits over the corresponding end of the hard plastic filter housing. I was astonished to see that gasket fall away with ejected dust cup contents in the first day of AirRam use. Somehow, debris got lodged around the seam, between the rubber and the open cell foam filter, such that ejecting the debris tore the rubber gasket off the the filter. When I called into Bissell about this showstopper problem, I was informed that Bissell has no replacement filters in stock at this time, with no estimated date of inventory relief. This is simply not acceptable for a brand new product line. Keep in mind that the Gtech AirRam in the UK uses the exact same filter and has been on the market for several years.
When functionally intact, I can only rate the Bissell "1984" AirRam stick vacuum as a light duty floor vacuum, with very problematic edge cleaning capabilities.
Given the lack of spare filters in inventory and the seeming fragility of the filter in everyday use, I cannot recommend the Bissell AirRam to others, at this time.
Once the parts shortage is corrected, only then can I resume evaluating the AirRam for possible recommendation to others.
This item was originally mis-described as a 2-in-1 vacuum. It would be significantly better for edge/crevice/corner cleaning if it were a 2-in-1, or was offered with a comparable companion hand held vacuum.
WhiskeyTangoActual
still no replacement filter, not a good sign
November 2, 2016
Rolling into Nov 2016 and not a peep back from Bissell about a replacement washable filter for the one that broke. They are supposed to get back to me when they have an estimated date for relief.
If/when replacement washable filters become available in the US, I highly recommend getting TWO of them, to avoid SHOWSTOPPER failures like I one I encounteted.
A second filter can also put the AirRam immediately back into production, while a freshly washed filter is waiting to completely dry.
The ongoing lack of availability of spare parts for the AirRam does not speak well for Bissell Customer Support.
I still can't recommend the Bissell cordless AirRam to others. Buyer beware...
0points
1of 2voted this comment as helpful.
The SoundLink Color Portable Bluetooth speaker II was engineered to deliver bold sound wherever life takes you. From the pool to the park to the patio, its rugged, water-resistant design lets you enjoy the music you love in more places. Voice prompts make Bluetooth pairing easy. And up to 8 hours of listening per battery charge lets you keep your playlists playing.
Overall4 out of 5
4 out of 5significantly redesigned SLCII, 3.5*s
By WhiskeyTangoActual
Here's a quick rundown on what's new and improved over the first gen SLC (in no particular order):
IPX4-rated water-splash resistant (*not* immersible/submersible)
NFC enabled Bluetooth pairing (just enable NFC & BT, then tap to pair)
Speaker phone functionality over Bluetooth, with call controls located on the SLCII
Other notable facts:
The built-in Lithium-ion battery is still not user replaceable.
The built-in Lithium-ion battery is still not user replaceable.
The SLCII's radio for music/speakerphone is still strictly Bluetooth (no WiFi).
Two SLCIIs cannot be Bluetooth paired for wide-field stereo (although this could be accomplished with a *custom* made line-in stereo-stereoR-stereoL splitter cable - where all three plugs have to be three-element stereo).
.
According to BOSE Tech Support, the SLCII is a true stereo speaker. with two, closely spaced, 40mm active drivers, one each for left and right channels. They are so close together, though, that you'd have to be very, very close (~6") to the SLCII to notice the stereo effect.
.
According to BOSE Tech Support, the SLCII is a true stereo speaker. with two, closely spaced, 40mm active drivers, one each for left and right channels. They are so close together, though, that you'd have to be very, very close (~6") to the SLCII to notice the stereo effect.
My intention is to primarily use the SLCII as the main external speaker for a powerful, yet tiny, portable AM/FM/WX/AIR/SW radio receiver that is replacing a much larger, luggable, 30 year old, rugged, workhorse multi-band radio that finally gave up the ghost. The tiny portable isn't Bluetooth capable and only has a built-in 1.5" speaker and 3.5mm line-out. That 1.5" speaker performs amazingly well, for its size, but has all of the acoustic limitations that one must expect from a speaker that size. (The radio sounds unbelievably good using quality earbuds.) Using a 3.5mm, male-male, standard stereo cable between them, the SLCII is a perfect match for both voice and music programs, creating a room filling table radio sound.
That said, the equalization of the SLCII is *not* aimed at high fidelity sound reproduction. The default EQ seriously over-emphasizes the bass, sloppily booming way too much ~150Hz, with complete roll-off somewhere above 60Hz. This is true whether using Bluetooth or 3.5mm cables, no matter how the unit is physically placed (for bass reflectivity). There are some EQ differences in the upper/mid ranges; Bluetooth sounds brighter than hardwired, using the same source devices, playing the same content examples in Bluetooth vs line-in testing.
One thing that BOSE should seriously consider is a firmware update to the SLCII that programs the amp to produce a flatter frequency response curve from the SLCII when using the line-in connection. There is no reason to treat line-in on the SLCII the same as Bluetooth, specifically because of the ongoing limitations with Bluetooth audio codecs. For line-in, a flatter frequency response in the SLCII is to be highly preferred.
Fortunately, I have very good music players on my various Android devices that enable me to adequately compensate for the SLCII's weird EQ, so that, for indoor listening, a high degree of acoustic fidelity can be teased out of the SLCII, period, not just good sound "for its size."
The EQ shipping on the SLCII is most likely optimized for outdoor use; but, outdoors, the SLCII is going to face many limitations based entirely on its size.
.
- Battery and Charging issues
I knew that the unit would ship with only a partial charge (30% as required by law), but I was surprised at how erratically my first SLCII announced that it had reached a full charge.
.
- Battery and Charging issues
I knew that the unit would ship with only a partial charge (30% as required by law), but I was surprised at how erratically my first SLCII announced that it had reached a full charge.
If I had to guess, based on BOSE's stated cycle life of 300 deep discharges before battery failure and the prohibition in the full PDF user manual (p 21) against long term storage of the SLCII with a fresh full charge (indicating, to me, heightened thermal instability at full charge), I'd infer that BOSE put a Lithium Manganese Oxide (LiMN2O4) battery inside the SLCII. If I had a say in the matter, I would prefer a Lithium Titanate (LiTi5012) battery, because it can survive >3000 deep discharges and is highly thermally stable at all states of charge.
The first thing I did after examining the SLCII for any possible shipping damage was to plug it into to a 2.0A USB charger. I was very surprised to suddenly hear the SLCII announce that it had reached a full charge (with a steady green LED light) after only 20 minutes of charging. I suspected that something might be very wrong.
It turned out that my hunch was right. The first SLCII charged erratically, pre-maturely reporting full charge. Eventually, it failed to power on or charge, at all, and even resisted an undocumented BOSE "hard reset." Fortunately, BOSE dispatched a replacement.
Wildly varying recovery charge times simply should not be observed immediately after a supposed full charge of any properly working battery, Lithium ion or not.
The useful calendar lifespan of consumer electronics Lithium-ion batteries really benefits from keeping the battery's charge above 50% of the originally rated total mAH capacity. If one can't reliably know that a battery is, indeed, "fully charged," then there is no way to even begin to guess about where 50% of a full charge might be.
Routinely deeply discharging, or discharging below 50% of a factory-rated full charge, will dramatically shorten the calendar life of a consumer electronics Lithium-ion battery. This is where the 300 charge cycle calendar life controversy with the original SLC comes from. Keep the Lithium-ion topped up as much as possible. On the other hand, a Lithium Titanate battery would be good for at least 1000 full charge cycles. It seems cynical, to me, for BOSE to knowingly use a 300 cycle battery on a one year warranty product.
It would be also very nice if the SLCII would give visual/audible notice that it has discharged to 50% of original capacity, so that people will know when to plug back into external power, should they care about maximizing their battery calendar life. It's potentially the difference between 300 full cycles and 500 or more top-off charges.
Non-user-replaceable batteries and battery calendar life were problems with the original SLC.
The replacement SLCII sent to me took just under two hours of out-of-the-box charging to report its first full charge. After 10 minutes off charger, doing nothing, the SLCII then took 9 minutes back on charger to report a full charge. Another 10 minutes off charger, then 5 minutes back on charger to report a full charge. Finally, another 10 minutes off charger, then only 1 minute back on charger to report a full charge. This pattern satisfies me that the battery and charging circuitry are AOK in the replacement SLCII. Once again, the replacement SLCII never got warmer than ambient room temperature during any of these charging tests (as measured with an IR temp gun). If your SLCII gets hot during charging, that is likely another sign of battery problems to come.
.
- Bluetooth pairing
I had no need to use the BOSE Connect app for Bluetooth pairing.
Standard Bluetooth pairing worked with all of my Android devices and the SLCII.
.
- Bluetooth pairing
I had no need to use the BOSE Connect app for Bluetooth pairing.
Standard Bluetooth pairing worked with all of my Android devices and the SLCII.
Deleting all previous SLCII pairings, NFC Bluetooth pairing also worked with all my NFC-capable Android devices, but sometimes it took more than one tap and/or twist to find the NFC sweet spot on each Android device. Nevertheless, NFC Bluetooth pairing always worked for me.
.
- Speaker phone capability
I don't plan on using this feature much, if at all, but a lot of people asked for it. I prefer to use wired headsets for privacy and confidentiality. Should I get around to testing speaker phone capability, I will add a comment to this main review.
.
- Speaker phone capability
I don't plan on using this feature much, if at all, but a lot of people asked for it. I prefer to use wired headsets for privacy and confidentiality. Should I get around to testing speaker phone capability, I will add a comment to this main review.
I assume that the SLCII behaves exactly like a Bluetooth headset when it comes to making and receiving speaker phone calls. Via the multifunction button on the SLCII, there is call control on the device, too.
BOSE Tech Support could not tell me whether or not the speaker phone capability of the SLCII is full-duplex or half-duplex. This matters a lot in situations where there is a lot of ambient background noise on either end of a call, especially outdoors.
- Bottom Line on the BOSE SoundLink Color II
For what I am going to mostly use it for, the SLCII sounds dramatically better than the much larger integrated, luggable device that it is replacing, given what I've written above, at far less than half the size and less than a quarter of the total weight.
For what I am going to mostly use it for, the SLCII sounds dramatically better than the much larger integrated, luggable device that it is replacing, given what I've written above, at far less than half the size and less than a quarter of the total weight.
The SLCII does not seem to be intended to be a high-fidelity music/sound reproduction device, but I personally also find that to be the case for the entire BOSE SoundLink product line. I've auditioned them all, indoors, with my sound source devices and content, and I hear differently distorting EQ with ALL of them. The SoundLink III and SoundLink Mini do have more stereo separation. The SLCII (and the entire SoundLink line) is engineered to deliver sound with DYNAMIC PRESENCE, not high fidelity. As such, the SLCII is more like an instrument unto itself, rather than purely a sound reproduction device. If you insist on high-fidelity sound reproduction, you'll have to look somewhere other than the BOSE SoundLink for the time being.
As an external speaker for Android devices, given my ability to tweak player equalization on the Android side, the SLCII is a remarkably good sounding portable powered speaker. The IPX4 splash rating is welcomed. NFC Bluetooth pairing just works according to the simple instructions.
If BOSE makes firmware updates available for the SLCII, and if the BOSE Connect app can apply said firmware update to the SLCII, then I may have a use for the app. But I have seen no firmware updates for the SLCII, to date.
Despite the fixable issues with charging and battery management, I still recommend the SLCII to others looking for a highly portable, multi-function, external speaker for music and/or voice reproduction.
WhiskeyTangoActual
speaker phone is BT-only, FDX & (very) unreliable
November 2, 2016
The speaker phone is strictly Bluetooth only. I only tested it for the sake of thoroughness. I don't plan to use it much in real life.
First, you can't get it to work with a four-element 3.5mm patch cord, because BOSE didn't wire up the SLCII's 3.5mm port to their microphone function. That's a short-sighted design decision, in my view.
Half the time, when the Bluetooth speaker phone works, it just does, FULL DUPLEX. There is no voice activated answering or placing of calls. You still need to manipulate the handset (or the SLCII), unless your handset is configured to auto-answer incoming calls).
The problem is that the other half of the time, either my voice starts out so garbled that the other side of the call can't understand me, while I am clearly receiving them, OR the other side comes across too garbled to comprehend, while they can understand me clearly. There is no apparent rhyme or reason to these random failures, but I'm betting that the problem is in the SLCII's Bluetooth codec struggling with FDX. The garbling sounds like people trying to talk with marbles in their mouths. Thus far, this has not impaired both sides of a call at the same time. Replacing a garbled call usually solves the problem, for that call.
Falling back to half-duplex would be a quick-and-dirty fix, but it would also make the speakerphone completely USELESS to me. HDX speakerphones are garbage 85% of the time, for both sides of a call. FDX is do-able and ought to be fix-able.
Annoyingly, the speakerphone function does NOT work with handset, hands-free voice command. All my Android devices are setup for voice commands over headsets, but that fails with the SLCII. I would use BT voice command on the SLCII, if it worked. That is probably outside the scope of what a firmware update can add to the SLCII.
Another reason for a timely SLCII firmware update, BOSE. Flatten the line-in audio EQ and fix FDX speakerphone.
I do still recommend the SLCII as a portable sound source.
+10points
12of 14voted this comment as helpful.
The SoundLink Color Portable Bluetooth speaker II was engineered to deliver bold sound wherever life takes you. From the pool to the park to the patio, its rugged, water-resistant design lets you enjoy the music you love in more places. Voice prompts make Bluetooth pairing easy. And up to 8 hours of listening per battery charge lets you keep your playlists playing.
Overall4 out of 5
4 out of 5significantly redesigned SLCII, 3.5*s
By WhiskeyTangoActual
Here's a quick rundown on what's new and improved over the first gen SLC (in no particular order):
IPX4-rated water-splash resistant (*not* immersible/submersible)
NFC enabled Bluetooth pairing (just enable NFC & BT, then tap to pair)
Speaker phone functionality over Bluetooth, with call controls located on the SLCII
Other notable facts:
The built-in Lithium-ion battery is still not user replaceable.
The built-in Lithium-ion battery is still not user replaceable.
The SLCII's radio for music/speakerphone is still strictly Bluetooth (no WiFi).
Two SLCIIs cannot be Bluetooth paired for wide-field stereo (although this could be accomplished with a *custom* made line-in stereo-stereoR-stereoL splitter cable - where all three plugs have to be three-element stereo).
.
According to BOSE Tech Support, the SLCII is a true stereo speaker. with two, closely spaced, 40mm active drivers, one each for left and right channels. They are so close together, though, that you'd have to be very, very close (~6") to the SLCII to notice the stereo effect.
.
According to BOSE Tech Support, the SLCII is a true stereo speaker. with two, closely spaced, 40mm active drivers, one each for left and right channels. They are so close together, though, that you'd have to be very, very close (~6") to the SLCII to notice the stereo effect.
My intention is to primarily use the SLCII as the main external speaker for a powerful, yet tiny, portable AM/FM/WX/AIR/SW radio receiver that is replacing a much larger, luggable, 30 year old, rugged, workhorse multi-band radio that finally gave up the ghost. The tiny portable isn't Bluetooth capable and only has a built-in 1.5" speaker and 3.5mm line-out. That 1.5" speaker performs amazingly well, for its size, but has all of the acoustic limitations that one must expect from a speaker that size. (The radio sounds unbelievably good using quality earbuds.) Using a 3.5mm, male-male, standard stereo cable between them, the SLCII is a perfect match for both voice and music programs, creating a room filling table radio sound.
That said, the equalization of the SLCII is *not* aimed at high fidelity sound reproduction. The default EQ seriously over-emphasizes the bass, sloppily booming way too much ~150Hz, with complete roll-off somewhere above 60Hz. This is true whether using Bluetooth or 3.5mm cables, no matter how the unit is physically placed (for bass reflectivity). There are some EQ differences in the upper/mid ranges; Bluetooth sounds brighter than hardwired, using the same source devices, playing the same content examples in Bluetooth vs line-in testing.
One thing that BOSE should seriously consider is a firmware update to the SLCII that programs the amp to produce a flatter frequency response curve from the SLCII when using the line-in connection. There is no reason to treat line-in on the SLCII the same as Bluetooth, specifically because of the ongoing limitations with Bluetooth audio codecs. For line-in, a flatter frequency response in the SLCII is to be highly preferred.
Fortunately, I have very good music players on my various Android devices that enable me to adequately compensate for the SLCII's weird EQ, so that, for indoor listening, a high degree of acoustic fidelity can be teased out of the SLCII, period, not just good sound "for its size."
The EQ shipping on the SLCII is most likely optimized for outdoor use; but, outdoors, the SLCII is going to face many limitations based entirely on its size.
.
- Battery and Charging issues
I knew that the unit would ship with only a partial charge (30% as required by law), but I was surprised at how erratically my first SLCII announced that it had reached a full charge.
.
- Battery and Charging issues
I knew that the unit would ship with only a partial charge (30% as required by law), but I was surprised at how erratically my first SLCII announced that it had reached a full charge.
If I had to guess, based on BOSE's stated cycle life of 300 deep discharges before battery failure and the prohibition in the full PDF user manual (p 21) against long term storage of the SLCII with a fresh full charge (indicating, to me, heightened thermal instability at full charge), I'd infer that BOSE put a Lithium Manganese Oxide (LiMN2O4) battery inside the SLCII. If I had a say in the matter, I would prefer a Lithium Titanate (LiTi5012) battery, because it can survive >3000 deep discharges and is highly thermally stable at all states of charge.
The first thing I did after examining the SLCII for any possible shipping damage was to plug it into to a 2.0A USB charger. I was very surprised to suddenly hear the SLCII announce that it had reached a full charge (with a steady green LED light) after only 20 minutes of charging. I suspected that something might be very wrong.
It turned out that my hunch was right. The first SLCII charged erratically, pre-maturely reporting full charge. Eventually, it failed to power on or charge, at all, and even resisted an undocumented BOSE "hard reset." Fortunately, BOSE dispatched a replacement.
Wildly varying recovery charge times simply should not be observed immediately after a supposed full charge of any properly working battery, Lithium ion or not.
The useful calendar lifespan of consumer electronics Lithium-ion batteries really benefits from keeping the battery's charge above 50% of the originally rated total mAH capacity. If one can't reliably know that a battery is, indeed, "fully charged," then there is no way to even begin to guess about where 50% of a full charge might be.
Routinely deeply discharging, or discharging below 50% of a factory-rated full charge, will dramatically shorten the calendar life of a consumer electronics Lithium-ion battery. This is where the 300 charge cycle calendar life controversy with the original SLC comes from. Keep the Lithium-ion topped up as much as possible. On the other hand, a Lithium Titanate battery would be good for at least 1000 full charge cycles. It seems cynical, to me, for BOSE to knowingly use a 300 cycle battery on a one year warranty product.
It would be also very nice if the SLCII would give visual/audible notice that it has discharged to 50% of original capacity, so that people will know when to plug back into external power, should they care about maximizing their battery calendar life. It's potentially the difference between 300 full cycles and 500 or more top-off charges.
Non-user-replaceable batteries and battery calendar life were problems with the original SLC.
The replacement SLCII sent to me took just under two hours of out-of-the-box charging to report its first full charge. After 10 minutes off charger, doing nothing, the SLCII then took 9 minutes back on charger to report a full charge. Another 10 minutes off charger, then 5 minutes back on charger to report a full charge. Finally, another 10 minutes off charger, then only 1 minute back on charger to report a full charge. This pattern satisfies me that the battery and charging circuitry are AOK in the replacement SLCII. Once again, the replacement SLCII never got warmer than ambient room temperature during any of these charging tests (as measured with an IR temp gun). If your SLCII gets hot during charging, that is likely another sign of battery problems to come.
.
- Bluetooth pairing
I had no need to use the BOSE Connect app for Bluetooth pairing.
Standard Bluetooth pairing worked with all of my Android devices and the SLCII.
.
- Bluetooth pairing
I had no need to use the BOSE Connect app for Bluetooth pairing.
Standard Bluetooth pairing worked with all of my Android devices and the SLCII.
Deleting all previous SLCII pairings, NFC Bluetooth pairing also worked with all my NFC-capable Android devices, but sometimes it took more than one tap and/or twist to find the NFC sweet spot on each Android device. Nevertheless, NFC Bluetooth pairing always worked for me.
.
- Speaker phone capability
I don't plan on using this feature much, if at all, but a lot of people asked for it. I prefer to use wired headsets for privacy and confidentiality. Should I get around to testing speaker phone capability, I will add a comment to this main review.
.
- Speaker phone capability
I don't plan on using this feature much, if at all, but a lot of people asked for it. I prefer to use wired headsets for privacy and confidentiality. Should I get around to testing speaker phone capability, I will add a comment to this main review.
I assume that the SLCII behaves exactly like a Bluetooth headset when it comes to making and receiving speaker phone calls. Via the multifunction button on the SLCII, there is call control on the device, too.
BOSE Tech Support could not tell me whether or not the speaker phone capability of the SLCII is full-duplex or half-duplex. This matters a lot in situations where there is a lot of ambient background noise on either end of a call, especially outdoors.
- Bottom Line on the BOSE SoundLink Color II
For what I am going to mostly use it for, the SLCII sounds dramatically better than the much larger integrated, luggable device that it is replacing, given what I've written above, at far less than half the size and less than a quarter of the total weight.
For what I am going to mostly use it for, the SLCII sounds dramatically better than the much larger integrated, luggable device that it is replacing, given what I've written above, at far less than half the size and less than a quarter of the total weight.
The SLCII does not seem to be intended to be a high-fidelity music/sound reproduction device, but I personally also find that to be the case for the entire BOSE SoundLink product line. I've auditioned them all, indoors, with my sound source devices and content, and I hear differently distorting EQ with ALL of them. The SoundLink III and SoundLink Mini do have more stereo separation. The SLCII (and the entire SoundLink line) is engineered to deliver sound with DYNAMIC PRESENCE, not high fidelity. As such, the SLCII is more like an instrument unto itself, rather than purely a sound reproduction device. If you insist on high-fidelity sound reproduction, you'll have to look somewhere other than the BOSE SoundLink for the time being.
As an external speaker for Android devices, given my ability to tweak player equalization on the Android side, the SLCII is a remarkably good sounding portable powered speaker. The IPX4 splash rating is welcomed. NFC Bluetooth pairing just works according to the simple instructions.
If BOSE makes firmware updates available for the SLCII, and if the BOSE Connect app can apply said firmware update to the SLCII, then I may have a use for the app. But I have seen no firmware updates for the SLCII, to date.
Despite the fixable issues with charging and battery management, I still recommend the SLCII to others looking for a highly portable, multi-function, external speaker for music and/or voice reproduction.
WhiskeyTangoActual
problematic BOSE Connect app
November 11, 2016
BOSE needs to re-code their Connect app TO NOT ALWAYS REQUIRE LOCATION PERMISSION.
I have NO NEED of Connect to BT pair. SLCII BT pairing just plain works, vanilla. Thank you, BOSE. You got that completely right.
I do want to use Connect to search for FIRMWARE UPDATES to the SLCII. I may run these firmware searches with NO CONCURRENT BT CONNECTION to a SLCII. So, I should not be required to grant the Location permission for a firmware search.
If/when a firmware update becomes available, I will use Connect to BT-push the firmware update to the SLCII. Then and only then, Connect should ask for Location permission. (Thus far, there's no sign of any such firmware update on the horizon.)
The way Connect behaves now, it's COMPLETELY USELESS to me.
You paying attention to any of this, BOSE???
+1point
5of 9voted this comment as helpful.
Keep your home dust-free with this Bissell AirRAM cordless vacuum. Its high-performance F.U.E.L. cell provides up to 30 minutes of run time, while the advanced compression technology lets it store as much dirt as typical bagless vacuums. This Bissell AirRAM cordless vacuum has a low profile for easy maneuvering around furniture.
Overall1 out of 5
1 out of 5not a 2-in-1, but needs to be...
By WhiskeyTango
BISSELL AirRam "1984" cordless stick vacuum cleaner
It seems that the Bissell AirRam cordless stick vacuum is a rebranded Gtech AirRam Mk2 sold in the UK.
Gtech also sells a "K9" variant of their AirRam Mk4, where high wear and tear plastic parts, inside the head unit, are replaced with more durable metal parts. The Bissell AirRam does not appear to have any of the heavier duty "K9" metal components.
The Bissell AirRam is also not a "2-in-1." The AirRam is strictly for floors, crucially with no crevice and/or vertical surface cleaning capability.
The AirRam is intended for dry vacuum cleaning only, no fluids may be vacuumed. Also, for very delicate carpets/floor coverings, the AirRam's brush roller can be removed (and replaced by a special cap/plug) to turn the AirRam into a pure vacuum device. This mode of operation is also recommended on floor surfaces with deep crevices. The AirRam is not intended for use on rough concrete or tarmac surfaces.
The AirRam has a user washable, pre-motor air filter, but this is not a HEPA rated filter. (Apparently, the AirRam's ability to expel micro particulates into the air is enough of a problem that Gtech's K9 Mk2 variant comes with scented plugs, that are inserted inside the washable pre-motor air filter, to cover the aroma of flying pet dander.) After washing, the cleaned air filter can't be re-inserted into the AirRam until it is completely dry. The AirRam cannot be operated without a filter in place or else the motor will be damaged.
I tested the AirRam on carpeted and hard tile floors. The roller brush is driven by the air flow of the motor. Where ever the roller brush makes direct contact, the AirRam is fairly effective in removing dirt. One problem that I noticed with runner carpets, is that the tiny gap along the sides of the runner significantly degraded the AirRam's ability to remove debris from the adjacent surface below the runner. This necessitates a minimum of three or more passes to fully clean along raised edges. The AirRam is also not very effective along the wall edges of wall-to-wall carpeting, where the roller brush makes no contact. While it is a novelty to have the air flow drive the roller brush, that same air flow is not available for edge pickup vacuuming. Removing and replacing the roller to leverage edge pickup can become a tedious chore.
The charge level LED indicators perform double duty. All four LEDS flash red anytime the roller brush becomes entangled and jams. Once a roller jam has occurred, the AirRam automatically cuts power. The LEDs will remain red for approximately 10 seconds thereafter. At that point the AirRam can be restarted, provided that the jam has been physically cleared. As charge level indicators, the LEDs glow green, but they only provide a very rough gauge of charge level. I was very surprised to learn that when the AirRam's battery drained down to two LEDs (50% charge), in use, immediately thereafter plugging the charger into the battery resulted in only one LED flashing green. I want to maximize the calendar life of the AirRam's Lithium ion battery, so I want to start recharging whenever the Lithium ion battery drops to 50% of a full charge. It's very annoying to me that two lit green LEDs during operation can routinely conceal that the battery is really somewhere between 25% and 50% of a full charge.
The relatively small dust cup fills up quickly, requiring several cycles of emptying before a large room has been completely vacuumed. You will know that the cup requires emptying when the AirRam begins leaving balls of debris behind, rather than picking everything up. Also, too, the AirRam does nothing close to pelletizing/compressing debris inside the dust cup and emptying can take many swipes of the ejector slider to completely empty the cup. Proof that you can't believe everything you see on YouTube.
I can identify two very likely points of failure on the AirRam.
The tab that secures the dust cup emptying cap is made of very thin plastic. That tab can also make potentially damaging contact with the dust cup ejector slider, if you accidentally try to close the cap without first pushing the ejector slider further back. (The ejector slider should have a spring that automatically pushes the slider out of the way when closing the dust cup cap, but it doesn't.) I predict that the dust cup cap closure tab will break sooner, rather than later, from normal wear and tear.
The surprisingly fragile item is the washable permanent filter. The closed end of the filter has a tongue-and-groove rubber gasket that fits over the corresponding end of the hard plastic filter housing. I was astonished to see that gasket fall away with ejected dust cup contents in the first day of AirRam use. Somehow, debris got lodged around the seam, between the rubber and the open cell foam filter, such that ejecting the debris tore the rubber gasket off the the filter. When I called into Bissell about this showstopper problem, I was informed that Bissell has no replacement filters in stock at this time, with no estimated date of inventory relief. This is simply not acceptable for a brand new product line. Keep in mind that the Gtech AirRam in the UK uses the exact same filter and has been on the market for several years.
When functionally intact, I can only rate the Bissell "1984" AirRam stick vacuum as a light duty floor vacuum, with very problematic edge cleaning capabilities.
Given the lack of spare filters in inventory and the seeming fragility of the filter in everyday use, I cannot recommend the Bissell AirRam to others, at this time.
Once the parts shortage is corrected, only then can I resume evaluating the AirRam for possible recommendation to others.
This item was originally mis-described as a 2-in-1 vacuum. It would be significantly better for edge/crevice/corner cleaning if it were a 2-in-1, or was offered with a comparable companion hand held vacuum.
WhiskeyTangoActual
finally, Bissell ships a replacement air filter...
November 30, 2016
... and, while that replacement filter looks good-to-go, it is VERY TROUBLING that this mission critical part remains un-orderable due to ongoing supply chain problems. It really makes good sense to have TWO of these filters on hand, so that one clean/dry filter can keep the AirRam in production, while a washed filter is drying.
So, THANK YOU, Bissell, for the replacement filter.
Bissell would do better to manufacture these "washable," pre-motor dust/air filters SOMEWHERE in North America, and to redesign that filter to be HEPA-rated. Fine particulates floating around in indoor air is only becoming a more serious health and safety problem in the 21st century.
-1point
0of 1voted this comment as helpful.
Keep unwanted hair to a minimum with this Philips grooming tool. The waterproof design lets you use it in the shower, and eight attachments make this trimmer perfect for grooming different sections of the face. This Philips grooming tool has a turbo setting to increase cutting speed, and it charges in just one hour to reduce wait time.
Overall4 out of 5
4 out of 5another Multigroom, in the tradition
By WhiskeyTango
Philips-Norelco Multigroom Series 7400 Wet/dry Groomer - Black/chrome
I happen to own several electronic personal "grooming" tools that aren't dedicated facial hair shavers. Some were from purchases I made, others, the most "expensive" and, surprisingly, least useful, were well intended gifts. While I won't mention those hardly ever used and very pricey brands/models by name in this review, I will make specific mention of the other Philips-NORELCO personal groomers that I do use on a regular basis.
I learned how to properly cut head hair using comb, hair cutting scissors and eye-sight, with professional results. While I can't accurately ruler-free/free-hand cut to specific millimeter lengths, I have always had an innate ability to visually divide-cut existing lengths by visual fractions (1/2, 1/3, 1/4 of original) to within 1-2mm of measured accuracy. It's a skill set that transfers to DIY grooming.
Personal grooming means DIY, not handing a tool to a second party to do the job. Personal facial hair grooming requires a minimum of one mirror, but benefits from two or more mirrors, a 2nd to obtain a profile view and a 3rd, frontal spot mirror for magnification. Personal head hair cutting, with the intention of obtaining anything other than a "military" look, requires a minimum of two mirrors. My facial hair grooming needs do not go beyond upper lip moustache trimming, but exceeds what a dedicated electric shaver is capable of on a weekly basis. I do cut my own head hair on a three week interval, and I always obtain professional results with a non-single length, styled look.
DIY "styled" hair cuts are a messy process, so the best place to work it is in a dry shower stall, where the clippings may fall where ever and then be swept up for disposal prior to actual showering. I also classify my hair as thicker and coarser than average. No Multigroom can ever replace a dedicated facial shaver in my world, but, for all other DIY work, I find P-N Multigooms to be very useful.
When I received the Multigroom 7400 I noticed it's close similarity to the Phillips-NORELCO MultigroomPro (QG3386). While there are cosmetic differences in their outer shells, the Lithium ion battery life, motors, charge/run times and chromium steel primary trimmer blades are the same across these two models. P-N called the MPro "water resistant" and calls the M7400 "shower proof." The MPro and M7400 have slightly different accessories. Common across the two models, functionally, but not physically identical, are: the Precision/Detail trimmer, Bodygroom shaver, Nose trimmer. The MPro also has a Mini foil shaver, for fine edge work, which the M7400 dropped. In my experience, the Pro's Mini foil shaver was not useful to me, so it's not missed in the M7400's load out. Across Multigroom (Pro/7400) models there are 3 adjustable combs: Hair clipping (3-20mm); Beard/Moustache (Pro, 1-18mm) vs Stubble (7400, 1-12mm); Body trimming (3-12mm). All of these attachments are 100% interchangeable between the MPro and M7400. All combs are adjustable at 1mm increments; but the Pro suffers from a manufacturing/design flaw that makes it very difficult to land on the odd-numbered mm comb settings -- fully fixed in the 7400.
(If you happen to prefer the MPro's Bodygroom shaver over the M7400's, the former is sold separately by P-N as a single retail accessory.)
There are two operational buttons on each model, a power button and a Turbo mode button, the latter of which increases motor speed and battery drain. The Turbo mode button on the MPro remembers that you set it to Turbo between off/on durations of upto a minute. The M7400 requires that you manually turn Turbo mode back on with each and every off/on cycle -- which is an annoyance, because I prefer to always run both in Turbo mode.
I've never fully immersed either unit completely in water, but I can confirm that both are in-shower-use water resistant. Both models do not short at the electrical switches when operated under a shower water stream and the main body of the shaver handles have passive top-to-bottom drain-through slots (that also merit specific cleaning with compressed air between uses to prevent clogging).
The interesting thing is that my main GoTo tool for head hair cuts remains the significantly lesser Phillips-NORELCO All-in-1 G480 Grooming Kit. This G480 is pre-Multigroom, is NOT water resistant or shower proof and only has a Ni-MH battery that delivers 35 mins max runtime. Ni-MH also requires periodic full discharge to prevent charge "memory" effects. The G480 only has one motor speed that's equivalent to Multigroom Turbo mode. The G480's design and accessories have functional Multigroom similarities, but are not interchangeable, with Multigrooms'. G480's combs only adjust at 2mm increments. The G480 has a Fine detailing blade that is half the width of the Multigrooms' Precision trimmers/mini foil, but I've found no use for it.
The main reasons why I prefer the G480 for general head hair cutting are the physical dimensions of it's combs, even though the comb teeth widths, teeth counts and cutter blade widths are IDENTICAL. They somehow manage to perform DIFFERENTLY.
Cutting my own head hair, I use the equivalent of 20mm + a two finger scalp-level hair pinch, 20-18mm free-hand and 5mm free-hand. I use straight cuts and thinning cuts. Yet, for whatever reason, I achieve the exact same overall results with only the older G480 in about 20-25 minutes, where using either Multigroom, alone, seems to take 30-35 minutes. The difficulty I encounter is with 5mm head hair edge work, achieving a tapered effect that is pleasing to me. No matter what Multigroom combs I choose, I have to work twice as hard to avoid winding up with a choppy "FlowBee" edge result, whereas I can quickly free-hand the same edge tasks using the G480. The only thing that I can think of to suggest to P-N, should they care to solve this problem, is to put more comb teeth in the Multigroom combs, perhaps doubling the number, reducing, by half, the distance between teeth, and narrowing the overall outside width dimension of the comb assemblies (not the overall width of the actual teeth array).
Another thing about P-N combs is that the plastic material that they're made of becomes brittle and prone to breakage, during normal use, in slightly more than two years of use. I don't use harsh chemicals or soaps cleaning them, just warm running water and air drying. Overtime, the plastic teeth become pitted and develop tiny internal hairline cracks, then teeth finally break. I haven't had a Multigroom long enough, yet, for comb teeth breakage, but it has been a problem with the G480. G480 combs are prone to teeth breakage and length setting slider cracks. I anticipate that Multigroom combs will eventually encounter teeth breakage over time. Fortunately, Norelco has been very good about providing replacement G480 combs when I have asked. Hopefully, they'll be just as generous replacing broken Multigroom combs.
In comparison with other manufacturers' water resistant personal groomers that I've tried, their collective main shortfall has been too low a chromium content in their cutting steels. Too little chromium and the steels rust if you breathe on them. They require applications of machine oil after each and every steel use/washing, sometimes even requiring full steel disassembly, to fight rust formation (because cuttings ALWAYS gets in between sliding steels). P-N has found the sweet spot between carbon and chromium content in their groomer steels. Stays sharp over time without rusting.
While the MPro and M7400 each came with a small tube of clear light machine oil for lubrication, should you need it, it's not needed for rust prevention. This is a huge plus because I always wash personal groomers and accessories after each use. I've never had any P-N personal groomer develop rust. In fact, I have yet to use a single drop of lube oil provided with a P-N Multigroom. Just washing, compressed air blow outs and air drying is almost all the maintenance I have ever had to do for a P-N groomer.
Periodically, I have had to loosen to hex screws on the Multigroom main cutter blades to use compressed air to blow out trapped tiny hair clippings; but this is far short of full disassembly. This happens less than twice a year.
The only things I do for Multigroom battery maintenance is to avoid more than 50% battery discharge and leave them plugged into to their AC chargers between uses. The chips in the Lithium ion batteries and the P-N provided chargers avoid over-charging and simply maintain a full charge. Left in standby AC charging mode, neither the Multigrooms nor their chargers become warm to the touch.
Using the G480 mostly for edge work, I wind up running a Multigroom for ~15-20 minutes, in Turbo mode, for all other cutting tasks. That's well under P-N's runtime claim of 60 minutes, in non-Turbo mode, and very likely less than whatever all-Turbo mode runtime must be. (I fully rundown the G480's Ni-MH batteries once every other use, before fully charging, with no standby charging between uses. Once fully charged, the G480 doesn't support standby charging.) My Multigrooms fully recharge in less than an hour, usually in less than 1/2 hour, because I never fully discharge them. A fully discharged G480 needs 10 hours to fully recharge. My G480 is more than three years old and still on it's original battery, with no loss in performance. My MultigroomPro is coming up on two years, is also on it's original battery and performs very similarly to the brand new 7400. I expect the 7400 to have similar longevity.
I recommend the Phillips-NORELCO Multigroom 7400 as a buy for DIY groomers. You might find it to be the only weapon that you need in your grooming arsenal, but I will still be keeping my dedicated shaver and trusty P-N G480.
WhiskeyTangoActual
about the plastic external cutter fittings...
December 4, 2016
Here's an important observation about premature failures of twist-on cutter plastic connectors.
The Multigroom motor drives the cutter attachments via an off-centered, spinning, stainless steel, ball-tipped drive pin. Inside each of the cutter attachments, there is a reciprocating and slotted nylon plastic receiver.
To prevent damaging the plastic body-to-body quarter turn twist connectors, on the Multigroom handle body AND on each cutter attachment, you must be certain that the ball-tipped steel drive pin gets fully seated INSIDE the nylon slot/groove of the attachment's drive receiver BEFORE you quarter twist to finalize the body-to-body connection.
It is possible (some might rightly say, too easy) to accidentally get the ball-tipped steel drive pin jammed to either the extreme right or left side of an attachment's reciprocating nylon receiver and NOT into the intended slot in the middle.
When misaligned, it is still possible to force the final body-to-body quarter turn, albeit with slightly more force than when everything is correctly aligned. Sometimes, the Multigroom will also sound different from normal use when drive pin misalignment occurs.
Astonishingly, even when extreme left or right side drive pin MISALIGNED, the Multigroom will still cut, but with diminished performance (akin to a half-stroke vs a properly aligned full-stroke).
What will result, over time, of repeated misaligned Multigroon use are: 1) abnormal motor wear and tear and 2) damage to the cutter attachment side of the body-to-body quarter-turn connector.
I am always very careful about making sure about correct drive pin alignment EVERY TIME I connect a cutter attachment. My older MultigroomPro is coming up on two years of service with no loose/damaged body-to-body twist connections and the connectors on the MPro are exactly the same as on the M7400.
I also have to say, as a Maker and engineering type, that THIS IS A DESIGN FLAW on P-N's part.''''
Multigroom motors spin in only one direction, there is no "reverse" spin mode - nor is there a need for a reverse spin.
P-N should be able to leverage that one fact to redesign each cutter's reciprocating nylon receiver so that even an initially extreme left or right side misaligned drive pin can spin it's own way into the correct and desired spot within the cutter's nylon receiver. The straight line slot in the nylon receiver block needs to instead be S-curved, to accommodate drive pin self-slotting/self-correction during spin. That will then prevent abnormal wear and tear, on the motor and on the body-to-body connection point.
I'm betting that the slotted nylon receiver is injection molded, so, changing the shape and dimensions of the receiver slot should be TRIVIAL.
Yet for every iteration of the Multigroom, no one at P-N has bothered to do this.
Why not???...
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Keep unwanted hair to a minimum with this Philips grooming tool. The waterproof design lets you use it in the shower, and eight attachments make this trimmer perfect for grooming different sections of the face. This Philips grooming tool has a turbo setting to increase cutting speed, and it charges in just one hour to reduce wait time.
Overall4 out of 5
4 out of 5another Multigroom, in the tradition
By WhiskeyTango
Philips-Norelco Multigroom Series 7400 Wet/dry Groomer - Black/chrome
I happen to own several electronic personal "grooming" tools that aren't dedicated facial hair shavers. Some were from purchases I made, others, the most "expensive" and, surprisingly, least useful, were well intended gifts. While I won't mention those hardly ever used and very pricey brands/models by name in this review, I will make specific mention of the other Philips-NORELCO personal groomers that I do use on a regular basis.
I learned how to properly cut head hair using comb, hair cutting scissors and eye-sight, with professional results. While I can't accurately ruler-free/free-hand cut to specific millimeter lengths, I have always had an innate ability to visually divide-cut existing lengths by visual fractions (1/2, 1/3, 1/4 of original) to within 1-2mm of measured accuracy. It's a skill set that transfers to DIY grooming.
Personal grooming means DIY, not handing a tool to a second party to do the job. Personal facial hair grooming requires a minimum of one mirror, but benefits from two or more mirrors, a 2nd to obtain a profile view and a 3rd, frontal spot mirror for magnification. Personal head hair cutting, with the intention of obtaining anything other than a "military" look, requires a minimum of two mirrors. My facial hair grooming needs do not go beyond upper lip moustache trimming, but exceeds what a dedicated electric shaver is capable of on a weekly basis. I do cut my own head hair on a three week interval, and I always obtain professional results with a non-single length, styled look.
DIY "styled" hair cuts are a messy process, so the best place to work it is in a dry shower stall, where the clippings may fall where ever and then be swept up for disposal prior to actual showering. I also classify my hair as thicker and coarser than average. No Multigroom can ever replace a dedicated facial shaver in my world, but, for all other DIY work, I find P-N Multigooms to be very useful.
When I received the Multigroom 7400 I noticed it's close similarity to the Phillips-NORELCO MultigroomPro (QG3386). While there are cosmetic differences in their outer shells, the Lithium ion battery life, motors, charge/run times and chromium steel primary trimmer blades are the same across these two models. P-N called the MPro "water resistant" and calls the M7400 "shower proof." The MPro and M7400 have slightly different accessories. Common across the two models, functionally, but not physically identical, are: the Precision/Detail trimmer, Bodygroom shaver, Nose trimmer. The MPro also has a Mini foil shaver, for fine edge work, which the M7400 dropped. In my experience, the Pro's Mini foil shaver was not useful to me, so it's not missed in the M7400's load out. Across Multigroom (Pro/7400) models there are 3 adjustable combs: Hair clipping (3-20mm); Beard/Moustache (Pro, 1-18mm) vs Stubble (7400, 1-12mm); Body trimming (3-12mm). All of these attachments are 100% interchangeable between the MPro and M7400. All combs are adjustable at 1mm increments; but the Pro suffers from a manufacturing/design flaw that makes it very difficult to land on the odd-numbered mm comb settings -- fully fixed in the 7400.
(If you happen to prefer the MPro's Bodygroom shaver over the M7400's, the former is sold separately by P-N as a single retail accessory.)
There are two operational buttons on each model, a power button and a Turbo mode button, the latter of which increases motor speed and battery drain. The Turbo mode button on the MPro remembers that you set it to Turbo between off/on durations of upto a minute. The M7400 requires that you manually turn Turbo mode back on with each and every off/on cycle -- which is an annoyance, because I prefer to always run both in Turbo mode.
I've never fully immersed either unit completely in water, but I can confirm that both are in-shower-use water resistant. Both models do not short at the electrical switches when operated under a shower water stream and the main body of the shaver handles have passive top-to-bottom drain-through slots (that also merit specific cleaning with compressed air between uses to prevent clogging).
The interesting thing is that my main GoTo tool for head hair cuts remains the significantly lesser Phillips-NORELCO All-in-1 G480 Grooming Kit. This G480 is pre-Multigroom, is NOT water resistant or shower proof and only has a Ni-MH battery that delivers 35 mins max runtime. Ni-MH also requires periodic full discharge to prevent charge "memory" effects. The G480 only has one motor speed that's equivalent to Multigroom Turbo mode. The G480's design and accessories have functional Multigroom similarities, but are not interchangeable, with Multigrooms'. G480's combs only adjust at 2mm increments. The G480 has a Fine detailing blade that is half the width of the Multigrooms' Precision trimmers/mini foil, but I've found no use for it.
The main reasons why I prefer the G480 for general head hair cutting are the physical dimensions of it's combs, even though the comb teeth widths, teeth counts and cutter blade widths are IDENTICAL. They somehow manage to perform DIFFERENTLY.
Cutting my own head hair, I use the equivalent of 20mm + a two finger scalp-level hair pinch, 20-18mm free-hand and 5mm free-hand. I use straight cuts and thinning cuts. Yet, for whatever reason, I achieve the exact same overall results with only the older G480 in about 20-25 minutes, where using either Multigroom, alone, seems to take 30-35 minutes. The difficulty I encounter is with 5mm head hair edge work, achieving a tapered effect that is pleasing to me. No matter what Multigroom combs I choose, I have to work twice as hard to avoid winding up with a choppy "FlowBee" edge result, whereas I can quickly free-hand the same edge tasks using the G480. The only thing that I can think of to suggest to P-N, should they care to solve this problem, is to put more comb teeth in the Multigroom combs, perhaps doubling the number, reducing, by half, the distance between teeth, and narrowing the overall outside width dimension of the comb assemblies (not the overall width of the actual teeth array).
Another thing about P-N combs is that the plastic material that they're made of becomes brittle and prone to breakage, during normal use, in slightly more than two years of use. I don't use harsh chemicals or soaps cleaning them, just warm running water and air drying. Overtime, the plastic teeth become pitted and develop tiny internal hairline cracks, then teeth finally break. I haven't had a Multigroom long enough, yet, for comb teeth breakage, but it has been a problem with the G480. G480 combs are prone to teeth breakage and length setting slider cracks. I anticipate that Multigroom combs will eventually encounter teeth breakage over time. Fortunately, Norelco has been very good about providing replacement G480 combs when I have asked. Hopefully, they'll be just as generous replacing broken Multigroom combs.
In comparison with other manufacturers' water resistant personal groomers that I've tried, their collective main shortfall has been too low a chromium content in their cutting steels. Too little chromium and the steels rust if you breathe on them. They require applications of machine oil after each and every steel use/washing, sometimes even requiring full steel disassembly, to fight rust formation (because cuttings ALWAYS gets in between sliding steels). P-N has found the sweet spot between carbon and chromium content in their groomer steels. Stays sharp over time without rusting.
While the MPro and M7400 each came with a small tube of clear light machine oil for lubrication, should you need it, it's not needed for rust prevention. This is a huge plus because I always wash personal groomers and accessories after each use. I've never had any P-N personal groomer develop rust. In fact, I have yet to use a single drop of lube oil provided with a P-N Multigroom. Just washing, compressed air blow outs and air drying is almost all the maintenance I have ever had to do for a P-N groomer.
Periodically, I have had to loosen to hex screws on the Multigroom main cutter blades to use compressed air to blow out trapped tiny hair clippings; but this is far short of full disassembly. This happens less than twice a year.
The only things I do for Multigroom battery maintenance is to avoid more than 50% battery discharge and leave them plugged into to their AC chargers between uses. The chips in the Lithium ion batteries and the P-N provided chargers avoid over-charging and simply maintain a full charge. Left in standby AC charging mode, neither the Multigrooms nor their chargers become warm to the touch.
Using the G480 mostly for edge work, I wind up running a Multigroom for ~15-20 minutes, in Turbo mode, for all other cutting tasks. That's well under P-N's runtime claim of 60 minutes, in non-Turbo mode, and very likely less than whatever all-Turbo mode runtime must be. (I fully rundown the G480's Ni-MH batteries once every other use, before fully charging, with no standby charging between uses. Once fully charged, the G480 doesn't support standby charging.) My Multigrooms fully recharge in less than an hour, usually in less than 1/2 hour, because I never fully discharge them. A fully discharged G480 needs 10 hours to fully recharge. My G480 is more than three years old and still on it's original battery, with no loss in performance. My MultigroomPro is coming up on two years, is also on it's original battery and performs very similarly to the brand new 7400. I expect the 7400 to have similar longevity.
I recommend the Phillips-NORELCO Multigroom 7400 as a buy for DIY groomers. You might find it to be the only weapon that you need in your grooming arsenal, but I will still be keeping my dedicated shaver and trusty P-N G480.
WhiskeyTangoActual
about the cutter plastic twist fittings...
December 4, 2016
The Multigroom motor drives the cutter attachments via an off-centered stainless steel ball-tipped drive pin. Inside each of the cutter attachments, there is a reciprocating slotted nylon plastic receiver.
To prevent damaging the plastic body-to-body quarter turn twist connector, on the Multigroom handle body AND on each cutter attachment, you must be certain that the ball-tipped steel drive pin gets fully seated INSIDE the nylon slot/groove of the attachment's drive receiver BEFORE you quarter twist to finalize the body-to-body connection.
It is possible (some might rightly say, too easy) to accidentally get the ball-tipped steel drive pin jammed to either the extreme right or left side of an attachment's reciprocating nylon receiver and NOT into the intended slot in the middle.
When misaligned, it is still possible to force the final body-to-body quarter turn, albeit with slightly more force than when everything is correctly aligned. Sometimes, the Multigroom will also sound different from normal use when drive pin misalignment occurs.
Astonishingly, even when extreme left or right side MISALIGNED, the Multigroom will still cut, but with diminished performance (akin to a half-stroke vs a properly aligned full-stroke).
What will result, over time, of repeated misaligned Multigroon use are: 1) abnormal motor wear and tear and 2) damage to the cutter attachment side of the plastic body-to-body quarter-turn connector.
I am always very careful about making sure about correct drive pin alignment EVERY TIME I connect a cutter attachment. My original MultigroomPro is coming up on two years of service with no loose/damaged body-to-body twist connections and the connectors on the MPro are exactly the same as on the M7400.
I also have to say, as a Maker and engineering type, that THIS IS A DESIGN FLAW on P-N's part.
Multigroom motors spin in only one direction, there is no "reverse" spin mode - nor is there a need for a reverse spin.
P-N should be able to leverage that one fact to redesign each cutter attachment's reciprocating nylon receiver so that even an initially extreme left or right side misaligned drive pin can spin it's own way into the correct and desired spot, within the cutter's nylon receiver. The straight line slot in the nylon receiver block needs to instead be S-curved, to accommodate drive pin self-slotting/self-correction during spin. That will then prevent abnormal wear and tear, on the motor and on the body-to-body connection point.
I'm betting that the slotted nylon receiver is injection molded, so, changing the shape and dimensions of the receiver slot should be TRIVIAL.
Yet for every iteration of the Multigroom, no one at P-N has bothered to do this.
Why not???...
0points
0of 0voted this comment as helpful.
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WhiskeyTangoActual's Answers
The SoundLink Color Portable Bluetooth speaker II was engineered to deliver bold sound wherever life takes you. From the pool to the park to the patio, its rugged, water-resistant design lets you enjoy the music you love in more places. Voice prompts make Bluetooth pairing easy. And up to 8 hours of listening per battery charge lets you keep your playlists playing.
I want a nice little radio that I can listen to on my deck or take in the house and listen to ballgames or good jazz.
The SLCII is not a public address speaker, but it is capable of room filling sound.
For HiFi, you'll need to be able to re-equalize your device's output to correct for the deliberately distorted EQ that BOSE placed on the SLCII's amp.
Highest fidelity is achieved indoors, with player-out EQ adjustments and a 3.5mm hardwired connection. Bluetooth codecs just can't handle HiFi audio. Placement of the SLCII near a hardwall or near a hardwall corner increases bass response.
For HiFi, you'll need to be able to re-equalize your device's output to correct for the deliberately distorted EQ that BOSE placed on the SLCII's amp.
Highest fidelity is achieved indoors, with player-out EQ adjustments and a 3.5mm hardwired connection. Bluetooth codecs just can't handle HiFi audio. Placement of the SLCII near a hardwall or near a hardwall corner increases bass response.
7 years, 5 months ago
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WhiskeyTangoActual