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- Review count146
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- First reviewMay 2, 2014
- Last reviewMarch 29, 2024
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- First answerJune 3, 2016
- Last answerJuly 9, 2020
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Give in to your free-spirited side and turn every moment into a sensory frenzy. Introducing Devialet Mania, the first portable smart speaker from the acoustic engineering company behind Devialet Phantom. A mobile evolution of Devialet’s groundbreaking innovations, Devialet Mania ushers in a liberated approach to sound: more spontaneous, more adaptable, more obsession-inducing than ever. Cutting-edge Devialet technologies elicit expansive 360° stereo sound, augmenting every space and interaction and leaving an emotional imprint that lingers. Devialet Mania, metamorphic sound.
Posted by: Jturn
The Mania was a speaker that I was incredibly excited to try out. The reviews for this thing are generally glowing, owing to the seemingly physics-defying presence and low end heft that leaves the listener wondering just exactly how they've done it. After spending a few days with the Mania, I can whole heartedly say that the hype is justified, though certain aspects of the speaker are surprisingly disappointing.
I'll get this out of the way now. I'm not a fan of the app, and the software of the speaker in general. For instance, using Bluetooth feels like more of a chore than a Bluetooth speaker has any business making it. Powering on the speaker takes what feels like 15-20 seconds, and it takes another 15 seconds to connect to my phone via Bluetooth. I'm not sure if this is just the combo of Android and the Pixel 6 Pro not working well with it, but it's not a great experience. The app is mostly not useful to me. I genuinely appreciate the fact that they've added WiFi streaming in the interest of giving us the best possible sound quality, but the options in the app don't align with what my listening preferences. However, I did try wifi streaming for a bit and it did work well. The quality is expectedly great and could be a solid option around the house. Finally, Devialet has baked in Alexa voice integration. I haven't used this much to be honest, but the commands work well enough.
Issues aside, once it is connected... Wow. The sound quality of this thing is jarring. It projects sound that took me completely by surprise, across the entire sound spectrum. Generally speaking, it's not difficult for speakers to have great highs and decent mids since high and mid drivers don't need much size, but it's almost always the low end where they fall apart. Not the Mania. The drivers on this thing pump out a low end thump that fills most rooms and is present even in the outdoors. In fact, my favorite use is to throw the Mania in the lower compartment of a stroller and listen to tunes while going for walks with my daughter. I've gotten a few comments around the neighborhood inquiring about what kind of system I have. I can't stress just how great this thing sounds in all scenarios. I've thrown the gauntlet at this thing; prog rock, singer/songwriter, metal, and rap, and it handled it all. Beyond that, turning things up, there was zero hint of distortion. This speaker really is just composed in every situation.
I'm summary, from a sound quality perspective, this is my new favorite speaker. It excels in virtually every scenario, giving you portable sound that sounds like a much larger system. I just wish they would tweak a few things on the software front to streamline the overall experience.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Bowers and Wilkins Pi5 S2 True Wireless headphones deliver hi-resolution, crystal-clear audio quality for your movies, music, and phone calls. Featuring TWS+ with Qualcomm aptX adaptive technology, these earbuds ensure stable wireless connectivity whether you are streaming from your smartphone, tablet, or PC. Download the Bowers & Wilkins Music app (available for iOS and Android devices) to enjoy high-quality music streaming from Deezer, NTS Radio, Qobuz, SoundCloud, TIDAL, and TuneIn. The Pi5 S2 showcases improvements to its predecessor, Pi5, like the end-cap construction with a revised antenna design for extending its connectivity range to up to 25m whilst keeping the wireless connection stable. The Pi5 S2 headphones feature active noise cancellation that gets activated with a touch of a button, along with call-clarity enhancing microphones that pick up ambient noise and cancel it for clear call quality. The touch-sensitive button on the right earbud also allows you to enable voice assistance. Another stand-out feature of these headphones is the intuitive detection sensors that put the earphones on standby or reconnect them depending upon whether they are removed or put back on. The Pi5 S2 comes with a sturdy and attractive charging case with 16 hours of battery life for charging the earbuds when not in use. These earbuds add four to five hours of playback time with an increased battery life of 25 percent.
Posted by: Jturn
I had high hopes for the Pi5 S2 earbuds from B&W. Being one of the best brands in the business of sound, I expected to be blown away by these. I've been blown away, but for all the wrong reasons...
The setup process with these was nothing short of a nightmare. Pairing to my Pixel 6 Pro (on the latest version of Android) took the better part of an hour. The phone could see the earbuds almost immediately, but simply wouldn't connect. After multiple tires, restarts, holding the pairing button on the case, removing and replacing the buds, it eventually worked for reasons that are unknown to me. Incredibly frustrating from the very beginning... Perhaps this is an anomaly in my specific case (I sure hope it is tbh). I did notice that it listed "iPhone" as a previous connection in the app so either there's a bug in the app on first load, or these were previously used which maybe would explain my pairing woes.
The ergonomics on these things is pretty poor. They look great, no denying that, but the case door has a propensity to close on its own, which wouldn't be an issue except for the fact that it took me forever to pair them and you have to leave the door open while pairing. Once they're in your ear, the design makes it difficult to remove them, at least for me. Negating that, the fit in my ears is great, though. Took about 5 seconds to realize that you place them in the "vertical position" and rotate them. I just wish they were easier to grab to remove.
Finally, I'm quite disappointed with the sound quality. The aforementioned issues are ones I could look past, but once I finally got these working, I was blown away by how pedestrian they sound to my ears. They lack the kind of punch in the lows and presence in the mids that I've come to expect from ear buds of this caliber (at least price wise). I own a number of noise cancelling buds from other brands, and these don't hold up from the sound quality perspective.
I really wanted to love these ear buds. I was fully ready to retire my Bose and Sony buds, but these just aren't doing it for me. My experience was tainted by the setup process and then completely crushed by the sound.
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
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The 4th generation Motion Series ushers in a new era of design and aesthetics for MartinLogan. The three modern, yet timeless, colorways can compliment any room while being a focal point if so desired. Motion evokes a unique look and sound, pairing high-performance woofers with exclusive Folded Motion Tweeter technology, a staple of MartinLogan products. The Motion Waveguide enhances the Controlled Dispersion of the Gen2 Folded Motion Tweeter to a generous 90°(Vertical) by 90°(Horizontal) to accommodate a wide range of seating and speaker placement options, while avoiding clarity destroying sound reflections within the environment.
Posted by: Jturn
MartinLogan's MP10s are part of their newly revamped Motion series which have been an absolute revelation for me. These share a lot of common traits with the C10 and F10s I also have, while providing a slim design that allows for a host of mounting options.
As with the other speakers in the range, the build quality and finish on the MP10s is stunning. I have the piano black color, which looks phenomenal. Initially, I was leery of the slimline, slanted design of these, but after using them and mounting them on my wall, I can unequivocally say the function of the design makes these a great surround option, especially if you have a challenging or limited space.
The sound quality on the MP10s is great. They have a fullness and balance that's quite unexpected given their stature. While listening to movies, the hold their own, which is somewhat uncommon with surround speakers. They have a reasonably decent low response (though there frankly isn't a lot of low end extension here unsurprisingly), but the mids and highs are spot on. As with the other speakers, the tweeter very much impressed me, providing an even soundscape that at times feels almost omnidirectional in a way that dome tweeters never do, and it's paired with a mid driver that sounds great. Frequency response is unexpectedly even and well balanced through the upper lows through the highs. Listening to music through these tells the same story; the highs and mids are incredibly well composed, but the low end drops off fairly steeply after a certain frequency.
Given the intended usage of the MP10s as surround speakers (or height speakers if you're running an Atmos setup), they perform incredibly well. Their design is a bit odd at first, but once you deal with mounting them, it becomes clear just how much utility and flexibility that design gives. Overall, I feel as though the bookshelf speakers in the 10 series will produce a fuller sound and might be a slightly better option for those with the space, but these have a huge leg up on versatility while still giving you great sound.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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The 4th generation Motion Series ushers in a new era of design and aesthetics for MartinLogan. The three modern, yet timeless, colorways can compliment any room while being a focal point if so desired. Motion evokes a unique look and sound, pairing high-performance woofers with exclusive Folded Motion Tweeter technology, a staple of MartinLogan products. The Motion Waveguide enhances the Controlled Dispersion of the Gen2 Folded Motion Tweeter to a generous 90°(Vertical) by 90°(Horizontal) to accommodate a wide range of seating and speaker placement options, while avoiding clarity destroying sound reflections within the environment.
Posted by: Jturn
MartinLogan's latest series of Motion speakers are an absolute juggernaut, with the F10 being the new anchors to my home theater providing a stellar mixture of sound and build quality that I've not previously seen on a set of speakers. This is a complete winner, and those willing to spend the money will be rewarded with speakers that feel truly upscale well beyond their price point, provided you have an amplifier or receiver capable of driving these at 4 ohms to reach optimal performance.
Like the C10, unboxing the F10 speakers was an experience. While not being particularly large floor standers in dimension, they have an immense heft, build quality, and style that make these feel ultra premium. I have the piano black finish, and it's a stunningly luxurious looking finish that makes these feel like they should be more expensive than they are. As with the others in this series, MartinLogan ditched the monolothic style speaker grill cover in favor of covers that only cover the drivers, allowing you to show off your speakers in all their glory. One other thing to note here is the feet they've bundled in with the F10s. The feet attach to the bottom and give you some isolation and allow you to level the speakers. These feet are incredibly well designed, and make leveling painless. I've seen this style done before, but this is far and away the best implementation I've seen.
Onto the sound... Wow, what a sound it is. I've had various other speakers around this price range over the past 10 years in my home theater, but these absolutely blew me away. Their balance and definition are truly captivating, giving new life to all types of content that I've previously watched. Everything from dialog heavy Tarantino movies to action packed James Cameron blockbusters absolutely jumped out of the F10s in a way that makes these feel like a long term home theater fixture. The response from the highs to the lows was always composed, not once feeling fatiguing or strained over a week of listening so far. What amazes me most about these is that the entire spectrum of sound is accounted for and evenly reproduced until you get into the lower frequencies. The the folded tweeter design shines, throwing out an unexpectedly balanced high end with an equally unexpected dispersion that exceeds any of the various dome tweeters I've had. Mids are present and highly intelligible, and blend seamlessly between the highs of the tweeter and the lows of the two subs. If there's a downside or complaint to be had, it's probably with the lows. My best description of the bass response of the F10s is that it's adequate. It's plenty punchy and present for the most part, but to be honest, you're doing yourself a disservice if you don't pair these with a subwoofer. This is especially evident compared to the frequency response up the range where the tweeter and mid driver effortlessly handle everything. That being said, a subwoofer isn't absolutely necessary, as the F10s do a decent job of low end extension, likely in part do the down firing bass port. This gives you added flexibility to place these closer (or further) from your walls than others with rear firing ports. The immense sound stage thrown out by the F10s is not only evident with movies, but also with music. Whether you're running these in stereo or as part of a surround setup, you will not be disappointed. I put these through the paces of various genres from folk to hip hop to metal, and they never once flinched. Listening to Steven Wilson's Hand.Cannot.Erase made evident just how great these things are. The album has a wide range of sonic sound scapes, and the F10 nailed every one of them, breathing a new life into the songs that I hadn't really experienced before. These honestly sound so good that I question whether MartinLogan has properly priced these. I can only guess just how absolutely incredible their new XT range of speakers are given how amazing the F10s are.
As with my C10 review, I've run out of compliments to levy at the F10s. They so far exceeded my expectations that I can't help but feel that even at their relatively steep asking price, you're getting a bargain. If you're in the market for a set of stereo or home theater speakers in this price range, you will not be disappointed with these. Just plan to budget for a subwoofer if you're the type of person that loves to be engulfed with bass as that's the singular area that these didn't blow me away.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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The 4th generation Motion Series ushers in a new era of design and aesthetics for MartinLogan. The three modern, yet timeless, colorways can compliment any room while being a focal point if so desired. Motion evokes a unique look and sound, pairing high-performance woofers with exclusive Folded Motion Tweeter technology, a staple of MartinLogan products. The Motion Waveguide enhances the Controlled Dispersion of the Gen2 Folded Motion Tweeter to a generous 90°(Vertical) by 90°(Horizontal) to accommodate a wide range of seating and speaker placement options, while avoiding clarity destroying sound reflections within the environment.
Customer Rating
5
Amazing Sound & Build Quality, and Versatility
on March 7, 2023
Posted by: Jturn
MartinLogan's latest series of Motion speakers are an absolute juggernaut, and C10 is the centerpiece of the 10 series lineup that provides a stellar mixture of sound quality mixed with a build quality I've not seen on a set of speakers. This is a true winner, and those willing to spend the money will be rewarded with speakers that feel truly upscale well beyond their price point.
Upon unboxing the C10, two things immediately struck me; the heft of the speaker and the incredibly luxurious finish. Mine is adorned in a piano black, and it looks like nothing I've had previously. The seams are flawless, and for the most part, everything looks great. The one issue I do have is that there were a couple of scuff marks on the shiny black finish, which detracts from the overall appearance a bit, but overall, these looks absolutely amazing. Along with looking great, the speaker is is versatile; MartinLogan cleverly designed the top with a slight angle, allowing you to either place the speaker parallel to the ground, or flipped and angled slightly upwards. This is a big bonus for those of us that need to put the C10 below their screen. They've also made the logo reversible making inverted placement seem totally deliberate. My final note on the aesthetic is the grill covers. They've done something fairly unique here; whereas generally a speaker's entire façade is covered by speaker grill, they've designed these to have grill covers only over the drivers. This lends to a really unique look, and lets you show off just how great these things look.
The sound quality of this speaker, along with the other 10 series speakers in the new Motion range, is simply put phenomenal. The C10 has an evenness to the response that's difficult to explain. After years of other brands of speakers, I've grown somewhat accustomed to the inaccurate and colored sound you get elsewhere, but hooking these up and taking them for a spin, it was immediately apparent just how great they are. This speaker covers a pretty wide range of frequencies, lending greatly to pulling center channel duties for both home theater listening. Dialog is unexpectedly precise and forward in a way that simply blows away nearly every other center channel speaker I've tried in the past 10 years. This is likely due to MartinLogan's "2.5-way" design, which cleverly uses two identical drivers but tuned with different crossovers, allowing one to handle more mid range while the other handles a bit lower registers. I say "a bit" because you're not getting a lot of bass here, but that's frankly not the point of a center channel. Combine this with the unbelievably great sounding folded tweeter design here and you have what I can only explain as a speaker that completely blows everything else in the price range away that I've tried (from most major brands). This is my first experience listening to a speaker with this folded design, but I'm a believer. The response, clarity, and dispersion completely blow away other tweeter designs I've heard. This speaker handles everything from aforementioned dialog heavy scenes through to action scenes without even a hint of struggle. Beyond that, it is great for music listening as well. I ran the gamut from classical to hip hop to progressive rock and metal, and not once did it feel like the C10 was out of its element. I threw on one of my favorite albums, Hand.Cannot.Erase by Steven Wilson to give this speaker a test drive with something I'm completely familiar with. The experience did not disappoint; this album has a lot of challenging passages and as mentioned already, the C10 knocked it out of the park, with instrumentation definition and balance that I frankly haven't heard in my home theater previously. This speaker gave new life to this album, along with virtually everything else I've heard through it.
At this point, I feel like I've run out superlatives to describe how great this speaker is. As a center channel speaker, it fills the sonic space directly below my display better than any other speaker I've tried. The C10, along with the others in the range I've acquired, has frankly been a game changer for my home theater, both from a movie/TV show perspective, but also from a music perspective. It has a clarity and definition that I believe is likely in a league of its own in this price range. Add to that a build quality, and suddenly, this feels like an absolute bargain for what you're getting.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Capture video of the road ahead and your vehicle interior with this Rexing 4K front and cabin dash cam. The ultra-wide-angle lenses capture more of the surroundings and the infrared night vision lets you capture clear footage any time of the day. This Rexing 4K front and cabin dash cam features a parking monitor that automatically begins recording after detecting vibrations.
Customer Rating
5
Solid Video Quality w/ Lots of Extensibility
on November 7, 2022
Posted by: Jturn
The Rexing V5C Plus is a solid dash cam that provides decent video quality, and gives a wide array of installation options that'll fit nearly every scenario. Additionally, the camera has a number of extra features that elevates it over some cheaper and more basic units.
Mounting the camera was straight forward with the given components in the box; mounting plates, doubled sided sticky pads, cable routing mounts, etc. Since the cabin facing camera and MicroSD card were already installed, there was nothing more to the process. This thing is the definition of plug and play. In my experience, using the provided power cable gives the best results for ensuring you have enough juice to power this thing, but if your USB port can supply at least 2.5 amps (many cannot), you could streamline the setup by using a USB cord instead.
Video quality on this unit was surprisingly decent. It's not iPhone or Pixel quality video, but it is better than some cheaper units I've used in the past, owing some of this to the available "WDR"/wide dynamic range setting. Zooming in to see things like license plates is actually usable, and overall quality is more than adequate for what you should expect a dash cam to provide. Beyond video quality, the camera has a plethora of additional features that make the V5C very user friendly. As expected, it has onboard GPS, so you'll get real time speed recording and also lets you chart your routes against Google Maps, but it has extras like wifi capability and voice control. I found the Rexing app to be more than sufficient for transferring videos to my phone using the mentioned wifi feature, which is a very nice quality of life feature that saves the hassle of pulling the MicroSD card out and having to go to a computer to retrieve footage. And the voice control is nice, albeit not something I'll use often. Being able to tell the camera to turn the display off (the most useful of the voice commands for me) was actually a nice hands-free experience which allowed me to keep my hands on the wheel and my eyes on the road. Other features I found useful are lane depart and forward collision warnings which use the camera to detect whether you're drifting over the lines or about to hit an object. The warnings are fairly useful, and while I don't leave these on all the time, I do turn them on when I'm driving tired. Finally, there's a G sensor function which triggers when a collision or impact has occurred and automatically records a 20 second locked video. Very useful in the event of a crash that you need to document.
Also of note, the Rexing has a number of add-on features that can extend usability even more, including things like a back up camera, and a hardwire kit that'll convert this to a parking monitor as well as a dash cam. This would be extremely useful, given that the V5C has collision detection which will automatically trigger a locked video recording, giving you some context around what might have happened. This isn't included in the package, but having the extensibility is ALWAYS a welcomed additional feature.
Overall, the Rexing V5C Plus is a very solid dash cam, existing in a market of many, many budget no-name options. The V5C sets itself apart from others with some very useful features, including the wifi enabled app video transfer and the modularity/extensibility. This is great option for anyone in the market for one of these cameras.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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The 2nd-gen wired Nest Doorbell is always on, so you can know what’s happening at your front door around the clock.₁ Get built-in intelligent alerts about people, packages, and animals, and 3 hours of event video history. Add up to 10 days of continuous recording with Nest Aware Plus.₂ And manage your doorbell easily using the Google Home app.
Customer Rating
3
Not Truly an Upgrade Over the Original Nest Hello
on October 26, 2022
Posted by: Jturn
I've been patiently waiting for the successor to the incredibly good Nest Hello Doorbell that launched a few years ago, and it's finally here in the Nest Doorbell Wired. It features an upgraded aesthetic and supposedly upgraded imaging, but in practice, I'm not sure it's truly an upgrade, especially when factoring in that they force you towards the Google Home app instead of the far superior Nest App.
Setup is straightforward. If you've got an existing wired smart doorbell, this will be a mostly trivial swap over. One important point to note, though, is if you are coming from a 1st gen Nest Hello, make sure you remove the chime connector for that; it’s explicitly stated to not be compatible with the 2nd gen doorbell. Registration to the Google Home app was seamless for me, and I had this up and running in a matter of minutes.
The Doorbell Wired features an incredibly attractive aesthetic (honestly, the best looking smart doorbell out there in my opinion) with a metal exterior and VERY solid metal button. This is one area that's a very clear upgrade from the Nest Hello, which wasn't a bad looking device either at the time it launched, but whose plastic exterior makes it look quite dated side by side with the new version. There are a few color choices that might make them blend more seamlessly with your home styling, and while I appreciate the effort in making a more contemporary looking device, I do wish they at least offered an all black version for those not looking to make a style statement.
Overall, the doorbell works well enough. However, I can't help but feel like this was an overall step backwards from the Nest Hello for one primary reason; the app. The Nest app worked very well for what its purpose was; the timeline view just worked and notifications/alerting just worked. I've found the Google Home app to be woefully inadequate in terms of reliability, timeline views, and notifications. At this point, they phased out the Nest app years ago, and they STILL don't have a true 1-1 feature parity set, let alone a superior app in Google Home. They've made a lot of strides quite recently, but in general, the app has hindered my true enjoyment in using this Doorbell.
In terms of picture quality, the camera is good. Here again, however, it feels like a minor step back, settling for a lower resolution compared to the Nest Hello in favor of AI based HDR upscaling. The net effect in my usage is a night vision experience that's slightly inferior, but a daytime viewing experience that's mostly superior. Additionally, the field of view has been reduced, but the aspect ratio has also been adjusted, meaning you actually get more vertical viewing frame but less horizontal view. Being honest, the changes to the optics as a whole are a step back for me, which is not great given this is a years newer device which probably would've benefited from a better camera.
Other features for the Nest Doorbell are mostly tied to their Nest Aware subscription service. Since I have a number of Nest Cameras around my house already, I'm able to fully utilize this doorbell to the maximum, including 30 days of event history and 10 days of continuous video recording. I'd recommend opting for at least the base subscription. While you do get 3 hours of event history without a subscription (which is pretty solid), if there's an event that happens overnight, it'll be wiped from your video history before you awake to see what happened. If you're not overly interested in being able to go back in time, you'll likely be very pleased with what you get out of the box without a subscription as compared to a lot of the competitors, including features like intelligent motion, people, and package alerts. I'm glad they've moved towards offering more features for free instead of locking more of them behind a paywall, which seems to be the direction of the industry at the moment.
In summary, I'm left feeling underwhelmed. Taken at face value, the Nest Doorbell is one of the best on the market, giving you solid features with and without a subscription in a package that looks simply great. Compared to the device with which this is the true successor, the Nest Hello, however, it fails to truly impress, seemingly taking some steps backward for reasons that I don't quite understand. Optics aside, I'm hopeful (though not totally confident) that the app issues I've seen will be improved over time with software updates. However, I've seen this before with Google's Nest Hub devices. They made upgrades over time that actually severely degraded the performance of those devices, so unfortunately, I'm not entirely hopeful they'll rectify the issues here either.
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
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You've got enough on your plate, let Yale get the door. Fitting into any lifestyle, this lock offers increased convenience and security giving you one less thing to worry about during your day. With multiple ways to unlock, the ability to share and track entry codes, and advanced Auto-Lock with DoorSense, the Yale Assure Lock 2 protects your home and family. Add a Yale Smart Module to control your lock from your smartphone or voice assistant when you’re away from home.
Customer Rating
3
Attractive Smarts, But It Needs the Wifi Module
on October 21, 2022
Posted by: Jturn
The Yale Assure 2 is a very streamlined, attractive smart lock that adds incredible convenience to your home. It does a lot of things right, but this particular model lacks out of box integration with Google Home, meaning its true smarts are hindered without fairly expensive add ons.
Installation was quite straightforward. In my case, my door didn't have a cutout for a deadbolt, so I had to add this myself (via a bit set that made this fairly easy). Linking to the app was also easy after installation. Overall, this was much simpler than I expected.
Using the Assure Lock 2 is a mixed bag. On one hand, the built in Bluetooth functionality works well in my experience most of the time. The mostly hands free experience using geofencing hasn't stumbled yet, making this a futuristic feeling lock experience. In usage, this means you can set the lock to auto-lock and unlock when you leave the house. When this works (and let's be clear, it doesn't work 100% of the time), it feels like a truly nice feature that'll be difficult to not have if we decide to move away from smart locks in the future. However, the smarts sort of end there. If you have an Apple Home enabled home, there's additional functionality to explore, which I couldn't because I don't have it. The lack of onboard integration with Google Home (or Alexa or SmartThings) means a lot of the smart features which you'd come to expect (like remotely checking lock status, unlocking for guests, etc) are not available. This can be added with an additional Wifi module which then loops in Google Home integration, but for me personally, the Apple Home integration is completely of non-use and would've been more functional to replace this with Google Home integration.
Some other thoughts; you can create guest PINs and also grant guest access via the app. This enables you to give your family and friends the ability to get into your house should the need arise without coordinating keys or any of that frustration. This is my single favorite feature of smart locks, and it works very well here. This particular model features physical buttons vs the touchscreen controls you may see on more expensive models in the line. I prefer this for one simple reason; it seems more secure. The touchpad would be susceptible to people trying to guess the combo, and that's not a problem here. Over time as the buttons become worn, it may be a concern, but overall I like this better. Finally, battery life thus far has been as expected. What I truly appreciate, however, is that if I'm every locked out with a dead keypad, there are two terminals on the bottom of the outside panel where you can place a 9v to provide the necessary short term juice to get back into your house. This is a nice peace of mind safety net.
Overall, I'm torn on this lock. It works well with the app, and the Bluetooth is mostly reliable (though not completely as mentioned above). I can't help but feel this is a hamstrung product, though; with no deep integration with smart home protocols beyond Apple Home (which I don't currently have), it feels like it's missing a key chunk of features that define a "smart lock." If you don't need that broader integration, or can accept the ability to add this down the line for a price, this might be a great lock to consider.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Enjoy the versatile speakerphone for Hybrid work and beyond with the Sync 20 Personal USB/Bluetooth Smart Speakerphone with Noise and Echo Reduction. For remarkable conference calls and music anywhere. Take it wherever you go. Its battery lasts for hours and can charge your smartphone. You’ll always hear and be heard. The multimedia quality sound is a music-lover’s delight. Designed specifically for today’s professional, it’s sleek, compact, and filled with smart features to keep conference calls simple.
Customer Rating
5
Setting the Standard for Tele-Comms Speakers
on October 7, 2022
Posted by: Jturn
I've migrated to the Poly Sync 20 after years of using a Jabra puck for work. My typical day consists of roughly 3-5 hours of virtual meetings and conference calls since I've transitioned to full time work-from-home 4 years ago, so I've had a good chance to evaluate the Poly Sync 20 over the past two weeks, and I can say without hesitation that it's a big upgrade over the Jabra.
The most immediate and noticeable upgrade is in the sound quality of the Sync 20. It has a much nicer sound profile than the Jabra I've been using, and is even suitable for casual music listening. The Jabra, by contrast, has sound quality that's poor enough that music sounds bad on it, but that is adequate for voice calls. It was immediately noticeable how great the Sync 20 sounded after plugging it in.
On that note, it should be mentioned that this thing is completely plug and play on both Windows and Mac. It was instantly recognized on both platforms for me, and the Teams functionality worked out of the gate. My company uses Teams as the sanctioned employee instant messaging platform, so this speakers fits in very well with my usual work flow. The Teams button is actually quite handy; it allows you to bring up your Teams instance regardless of what you have going on on your screen. Additionally, the macro function is quite nice too, offering a customizable way to quickly perform various actions. I haven't used it much thus far, but once I find the solid use case, I'm sure I'll use it daily.
If you're looking for a speaker to up your tele conferencing game, the Sync 20 has to be at the top of your list, especially if you routinely use Teams. It offers great sound quality and great functionality and is likely an upgrade to any WFH'er's current setup.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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With the Razer DeathAdder V3 Pro, victory takes on a new shape. Refined and reforged with the aid of top esports pros, its iconic ergonomic form is now more than 25% lighter than its predecessor, backed by a set of cutting-edge upgrades to push the limits of competitive play.
Customer Rating
4
Solid Performance and Ergonomics but Quite Large
on September 28, 2022
Posted by: Jturn
The Razer DeathAdder is an iconic line of gaming mice that's been around for years. This latest version continues the line's focus on hyper performance an ergonomic package. Unlike the Basilisk line of mice, this is a comparatively no frills affair, lacking RGB and flash, but for gamers looking for a wireless mouse, this should be on your short list.
The DeathAdder V3 Pro does a lot of things right. Here are the highlights of my experience with the mouse after just under a week of usage.
Ergonomics are on point for the most part, though I see two issues with the design. First, if you have small hands, you're going to find this mouse cumbersome and likely too big for comfort. It's an oddly large mouse that didn't exactly feel natural in the hand at first, but given the overall shape, I got used to it fairly quickly. Secondly, it's non-ambidextrous so this is for righties only. If these two points aren't of concern, you'll find a mouse that's comfortable for LONG gaming sessions and will not cause hand or arm fatigue. It's an understated shape and design, but that's a good thing in my book.
Performance is on par with the best of my other mice, including the wired ones. Being wireless is a huge benefit, giving you one less distraction while gaming, provided the wireless protocol the mouse uses is a sound implementation. The good news here is that the Razer implementation is indeed sound, giving you wired performance without the wires. One bummer here is that the mouse is HyperPolling enabled but doesn't include the necessary hardware in the box. That is, this mouse supports a polling rate of up to 4000mhz, but that's enabled only if you spend an additional 30 dollars for their HyperPolling dongle system. Out of box, you get a 1/4th of the performance at 1000mhz. For the average gamer, this isn't a big concern, but given the DeathAdder's target market of hardcore gamers and casual alike, this feels like a letdown to not have the performance handicapped out of the box.
Battery life in the standard 1000mhz polling mode is quite impressive. Razer quotes upwards of 90+ hours of usage, and I'm inclined to believe this. This is probably the result of them utilizing the larger size of the mouse to include a bigger battery, and also the result of the mouse having zero RGB functionality. Having owned a Basilisk Pro (the previous V2 version) in the past, it had some great RGB functionality but suffered greatly in the battery life department. That's not the case here.
My primary issue with the DeathAdder is a problem I've had with all Razer mice I've tried; the scroll wheel feels subpar. While it has a smooth scroll feel, the detents are too soft for my liking. The result of this is difficulty in fast weapon swapping maneuvers in FPS games. So far, I haven't observed any mis-scrolling (missed scrolls, over-scrolling, etc) but it feels like over time, it's going to be an issue for me.
Overall, this is a very good mouse. It has the performance and ergonomics to please even the most serious of gamers, provided you have medium to large hands. If you're looking for a new mouse, this one should be on your short list.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Jturn's Answers
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