Product review: Audio Extension Cable 16ft by ZHUOSHENG

I have an old desktop PC that does not have built-in Bluetooth.  When I work on this machine I use wired headphones, but the cable that came with the headphones is only 3 feet long and puts me on a very short leash.  When I reach for things on my large desk I constantly yang on the cable.  This audio extension cable gives me the freedom of movement!

This extension cable is 16 feet long.  It forms a firm connection with my original audio cable. I have been using it for a week and have not a single break in transmission.  In the attached video, I demonstrate the cable with an external speaker attached to my phone. First I use the original short cable from my headphones and then the original cable attached to the extension cord.


This inexpensive cable made my working environment better.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Satechi Audio Move SD Portable MP3 Player Stereo Speaker

Satechi speaker is a small wired speaker and MP3 player (from micro SD media source). It has a crisp and pleasant sound at most ranges but at the very deep bass it does not deliver the full sound. The volume of music cannot be made super loud, but it is sufficient if you are near by or if you want to have quiet background music in a larger room. The speaker is 5.35" long, 2.5" wide, and 1" tall. It has rounded sides so it cannot be balanced on its sides, only on the back panel with the speaker facing up.

The speaker runs on a lithium battery. It is charged by a standard USB cable.

In the attached video I show MP3 operation from a micro SD memory card as well as using the speaker as a wired external speaker for my tablet (this speaker is not a bluetooth speaker).

To help me evaluate and compare different speakers I always use the same pieces of music to test the speakers. This way I can compare the speakers using this "apples-to-apples" comparison. As a stress test for the bass I use Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor. Satechi speaker handled the most of Bach Fugue well, with the exception of the section with the deepest bass where it sounded a bit muddy. However it did not crackle and handle that section better than many small speakers.

This speaker is not going to satisfy an audiophile but given the price this is a nice little speaker.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

Product review: Amdemin 3.5mm Audio Cable – 3.5 feet Auxiliary Cable Aux Cord

I got one pack, it is 3.5 feet long.  It is heavy duty thick audio cable with a braided nylon jacket.  It has a nice look and feel. The cables fit firmly both into my Android phone and speakers.  The sound quality is good, on par with my favorite cables.  I like the read color as it stands out from my other cables, so it is easy to untangle when I need to do it.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Miracase Wireless Sports Bluetooth Headphones In-Ear

Miracase Bluetooth headphones paired flawlessly with my two phones.  The sound is nice and clear without distortion.  The Bluetooth range is fine with the phone resting in my pants pockets phone or on the table while I work.  However, if I walk away about 5 feet the sound begins to break up.  I use these headphone while working to cover up the distracting conversations and noises by pleasant music.  The headphones are comfortable and I am able to wear them all day long.  The range is a bit less than advertised but perfectly fine the way I use them (pocket or desk).  I really like how comfortable they are and their sound.  They are much better then having wired headphones as I can move between my two computers without having to worry about the cord.

Update: I have been using the head phone for about a month. I noticed that the distance at which Bluetooth streams music without breaks decreased.  Now when I carry the phone in my pants pocket the sound breaks up.  It works better when it lays on the desk while I am wearing the  headphone sitting in front of the computer.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review★★★☆☆

Product review: ECOXGEAR - ECOROX Rugged and Waterproof Wireless Bluetooth Speaker

I am very impressed with ECOROX Bluetooth Speaker. In my video I included two small snippets of music to illustrate my review of this speaker. I used several pieces of music to test this speaker, including Bach Toccata and Fugue in D minor which is a stress test for the bass. Some speakers crackle and can't handle the bass, but Grace Digital GDI-EGRX601 ECOXGEAR Speaker handles it extremely well.

In the video I start with the music playing through the built-in speakers of the tablet, then turn on blue tooth and then the sound switches to the speakers. You can see how much richer, fuller, and louder the sound is when the speakers are used. There is no cracking and sound distortion even in the most challenging parts of the Bach Toccata.

The speaker is 5.5"L x 3.5"W x 2.5"H. Its weight is 10.6 oz.

The bottom of the speaker has a screw type mounting hardware (purchased separately) Grace Digital GDI-EGSCM Suction Cup Mount. I used the Suction Cup Mount to mount this speaker in my shower and it holds it very well giving me fantastic acoustics in the shower. The speaker can also be mounted on a bike using Grace Digital GDI-EGCBM Handle Bar Mount purchased separately.

I am very impressed with this speaker, especially how it handled the bass! I hope the video gives you a good idea of what to expect.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: BOHM MATE Rechargeable Bluetooth Speaker with DuoLink

Let me start by saying that these speakers have a nice sound. They sound rich and they can handle base. I really like the surround sound effect I am able to get with them. They worked well streaming music from my phone via bluetooth. I liked the sound so much that I decided to hook them up wired to my den TV and this is where I ran into some limitations. I would describe setup with two speakers as quirky (see details below), but the main issue is that the duo link introduced sound delay by a second or so and everything looks and sounds like a dubbed movie where the lips are not synchronized with the words.

Duo link introduces a bit of complexity into set up. I hope my notes will add additional details to the manual and save someone time.

Power indicator light has several meanings:
(1) Solid red means the speaker is charging. You can charge and play at the same time.
(2) Slow flashing blue means the speaker is on and active.
(3) Fast red and blue means it is in pairing mode

The LED ring around the on/off button has several meanings.
(1) Blue ring means bluetooth mode
(2) Green ring means aux wired mode

You need to hold on/off button down for a few second to turn on and off.

Bluetooth connection
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To connect the speakers to a mobile device I paired the first speaker. Speaker appeared in bluetooth as "Mate". The speaker was not detected by my older tablet that does not support Bluetooth 4.0, but no problem with the newer devices.

Once I connected and tested a single speaker I paired the two speakers together. First, I turned on the second speaker, then pressed "M" twice on the first speaker. The speaker power indicator starts blinking red and blue. The I pressed "M" twice on the second speaker. The manual is not clear whether you need to press twice at the same time or not, and initially I tried pressing both buttons at once but that did not work. Pressing first button twice and then the second button twice worked. The speakers have an audio indicator that it worked. This operation does not need to be repeated if the speakers turned off and then turned on, they continue to be linked.

For the mobile devices that have Bluetooth 4.0 the set up was fairly easy and the sound is excellent.

Aux connection
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To set up the Aux connection with the TV took several attempts. It is possible that this was because I already had a bluetooth connection set up, I am not sure. Later I discovered that I can delete the bluetooth connection by pressing and holding Prev and Next buttons together for 2 seconds at the same time. Both speakers need to have this operation done to remove history from both speakers.

Connecting the first speaker was easy. I put an audio cable from TV into the AUX port of the first speaker, turn on the speaker, and hit "M" once to switch to AUX mode. It worked well, there were no delays.

Then I tried pairing the second speaker. First I repeated what worked for me in the Bluetooth mode: double press "M" on both speakers. This did not turn on the second speaker. Then I tried connecting two speakers with an audio cable using headphones connections on the first speaker and aux port on the second speaker. The instruction say that inserting cable into the headphone port turns off disables the first speaker but the speaker can be reactivated by holding "M" button on the first speaker for 5 seconds. This did not work for me right away. However, as I removed the audio cable both speakers became active.

So the final set up I have is the first speaker is connected by an audio cable to the TV and the two speakers are paired to each other via bluetooth. I have both speakers plugged into the power continuously as I wanted them to be permanently hooked up to the TV. I hear no interference when I am using the speakers while they are charging.

This set up was not easy, the sound is excellent, but there is a small delay so when people on TV speak their lips do not match the sound.

What can be better?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It would be better for watching TV if duo link did not introduce a slight delay.

Pairing dance could have been simpler. Maybe having more buttons rather than overloading one button to do so many things would have made things more straightforward.

Each speaker comes with a AC converter plug. Each plug has only one USB port and each plug covers up 2 slots. It would have made more sense if the AC plug that came with the speakers had two (or more) USB outlets. I am using a different AC converter as I did not want to give up 4 slots for 2 speakers.

Overall, my experiences average out at 4 stars - below expectations for TV and excellent for music on mobile devices. In attached video I show the sound of one, then both speakers. I have short snippets from bluetooth operation with my phone and then wired mode with my TV.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

Product revieww: Brainwavz R3 Dual Dynamic Driver Earphones

I thought these earphones sounded very good, but I did not find them very comfortable to wear. The driver housings is bigger than any of my other earphones and they felt to be too large for my small ears. The earphones come with a large selection of tips (6 pairs of silicone tips, 1 pair bi and 1 pair tri-flange tips, 1 set of foam tips). I have tried a number of them but I could not find a pair that helped with how the housing fit in my ear. The metal housing from tip to tip is 1.5" inches. The earplug is located 1/4" from the top of the earphone.

The earphones have a stiff memory wire built in which can be hold the weight of the housing by wrapping the wire up and over the ear. However I felt the stiffness of the wire and I had to fiddle with the wire ever time I put the earphones in. The manufacturer notified me that the memory wire will be removed in the next version of these earphones, the new version without memory wire will be marked as "version 2".

Even though my small ears were not a good match for these earphones, the sound they generate is rich with a good separation, and to me they sounded good at all levels. Because of the fit for me they are 3.5 stars, for someone with a bigger ear it is likely to be a much better fit.

The package includes not only the tips but a very nice hard shell, which is large enough to fit my MP3 player on one side and the earphones on the other side. Also included are an airplane adapter, an 6.3mm adapter.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

Product review: Soaiy Lastest Bluetooth 4.0 Car Hands Free Visor Speakerphone

The best thing about this speaker is the clip that allows to place the speaker on a visor, which makes it very convenient to control and answer phone calls. The speaker performed well when making phone calls.  The sound was clear and loud for voices. The positioning on the visor was very convenient. The speaker works to stream music from the phone but Soaiy speaker does not have a lot of range, so the music did not sound as good as with some other small speakers.  My video includes small snippets of both a music clip and making a phone call. 

The worst thing about the speaker is the charger that comes with it.  There are many things in the car that I want to charge and I want to have one charger that is cable of charging the phone or a GPS or a speaker.  This charger is not cable of charging anything but the speaker.  The charger kept the phone from discharging but did not charge it up. I performed the two tests I use to test all chargers - a current monitor and a 10 minute test. A 10 minute charging test showed 0% charging.  The current monitor showed 0.57A/4.64V reading, which is about half of what is needed to charge my Android mobile phone.  I repeated the test with my own charging cable in case the cable that came with the charger was a data cable (data cable provide lower speed of charging), but got exactly the same results. When I took the charger out of the car port after two  10 minute tests I smelled a slight electrical burning smell and the charger was warm.  I would not recommend using this charger to recharge anything but the speaker. If you want to have one charger in the car that charges both the speaker and the phone look for another car charger.

Soaiy S-31 bluetooth speaker mounts on the visor and 5" wide, 1.875" high and 0.75" thick (without the clip) and 1.65" with the clip.  It comes with a 47" charging cable. The car plug is 3" and has a 1 port.

The front of the speaker has volume up and down buttons as well as a big answer button. The microphone is located right under the phone icon on the answer button. This speaker support Bluetooth 4.0 which has lower power consumption.  According to documentation the built-in battery can last up to 30 days on a single charge when it is in a standby mode.  It can support connections to two phones.  Bluetooth turns off automatically to save power when it is not in use.  To pair the speaker with the phone turn on the device and it will flash blue and red LED to indicate that it is in a pairing mode.  To connect two phones, pair the first phone then hold the bluetooth button for 5 second pair the second phone.  At this point the first phone becomes disconnected but can be connected again by tapping on connect on the phone.  This will result in both phones being connected to the speaker. When the speaker is connected to a device the battery status indicator will be displayed on the phone. When the battery is low a red indicator on the speaker will flash quickly three times every 3 seconds. When call comes in the speaker generates an alert and it will be pick up the call if you hit the answer button.  To disconnect the call you need to hit the answer button again.  If the switch on the bottom of the speaker is in 'off' position, the speaker will not generate alerts for incoming calls.

To summarize, The highlight for me is that it can be placed on the visor and that it works well for phone calls. On the strength of that feature I rate it 4 stars. The weakest point is the charger and I threw it away and use the speaker with another charger.  The overall star rating for both is 3 stars as I give more weight to the good speaker.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★☆☆

Product review: amzdeal Pixel Cube Portable Compact Bluetooth Speaker Mini Wireless Speaker

This speaker looks pretty cool - it looks like it is made out of small black cubes. It has a mat black finish. It works both with Bluetooth devices and comes with a 3.5mm audio jack cable for those devices that are not bluetooth enabled. The speaker weights 13.6 oz and is sized 3.5" x 3.5" x 3.5". It is not large, but not what I would consider to be travel size.

I am attaching a video which has a short snippet of music to demonstrate the speaker's sound. I like using Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor to test various speakers, because I noticed that some speakers cannot handle the deep base sections of this music, they begin to crackle or hiss. This gives me an easy way to compare different speakers - can they handle it or not.

Pixel Cube handled Bach's Toccata well, it sounded good through out. In the video you can see me switching between the Magic Cube and built-in speakers of the tablet. You can hear that the speaker produce the sound that is noticeably richer and louder than the sound the the built-in speaker. You cannot make it super loud to fill the room, but at this price range you would not expect that type of performance.

If you use the audio jack, the buttons on the front of the cube are disabled. If you want to control the volume of the speaker, you need to adjust the sound using the audio device it self. Note that if audio jack is connected you cannot enable or use bluetooth.

Pairing the bluetooth required holding down the multi-function power button for a few seconds, until female voice said "ready". If you let go of the button after the beep before the "ready" the connection is not established. The device appeared as "Pixel Cube" on my iPad Mini. The bluetooth connection is remembered when the speaker is powered off and does not need to be re-enabled. In the bluetooth mode the buttons on the front of the cube are operational.

Charging the speaker takes relatively short time, it took me 1.5 hours to fully charge the speaker. A full charged battery lasts 4 to 6 hours playing music. In the stand-by mode the battery lasts 100 hours according to documentation.

I received this speaker for testing and an honest review (whether positive or negative) from the manufacturer. I thought this speaker sounds good and has a unique look. It is a reasonable choice for a speaker in the $30 price range.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product: Rokit Rokit Boost Bluetooth Speaker

This speaker looks a bit like a space saucer. The black are on top is the fabric covering the speaker. The three "feet" on the bottom side are actually buttons that control different functions. If you push on the top the speaker you will compress the "button" feet. I found myself pushing the feet directly as the response was more immediate when I did it that way.

This is a bluetooth speaker, it has no 3.5mm audio jack. Bluetooth paired easily and reconnects automatically after I disable it.

The speaker weighs 4.4 oz and 3.125" across and 1.75" tall. It comes with a proprietary charging cable which 20 inches.

How did this speaker sound? It sounded quite good in mid range. When I played music with a deep base it added a rumbling noise. To help me make compare different speakers I always use the same pieces of music to test them, so I can compare speakers using this "apples-to-apples" comparison. As a stress test for the bass I use Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor. There are two section of very deep bass some some speakers do not handle well. Unfortunately, this was the case with this speaker. However, other than those two segments it sounded quite good and was richer and louder than the built in speaker of the tablet.

I am attaching a video which has a short snippet of music to demonstrate the speaker's sound. In this snippet I switch between bluetooth speaker and tablet built-in speaker so you can hear the difference.

It takes me three hours to fully charge the speaker. A fully charged battery lasts 8 hours (while it is still new, this will decrease with time). In the stand-by mode the battery lasts 100 hours according to documentation.

If it is paired with a mobile phone it can be used to answer calls, to end calls, to reject calls, and to transfer calls.

I received this speaker for testing and an honest review (whether positive or negative) from the manufacturer. Other than the deepest bass it produced clear and good sound, it is small and attractive. I thought it was a good speaker for its price range.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

Product review: Alaska Bear® Portable Bluetooth Micro Mini Speaker and MP3 player

Alaska Bear mini speaker is a compact speaker with a big sound. It can operate as a bluetooth speaker, wired speaker, and as an MP3 player. MP3 player uses a TF memory slot. TF memory slot is used for reading regular micro SD memory cards.

In the attached video I show MP3 operation from a micro SD memory card as well as streaming music via bluetooth from my iPad Mini.

♦ I tested bluetooth with my iPadMini tablet and it worked very well. The sound is crisp and clear. Even bass sounded good for a speaker of this small size.

♦ The speaker can be made quite loud. The volume control and next/previous are control by the same buttons. If you hold the button it control volume, if you press and release it will perform next/previous operation.

♦ It works well as an MP3 player that I can listen to without earphones.

♦ To help me evaluate and compare different speakers I always use the same pieces of music to test the speakers. This way I can compare the speakers using this "apples-to-apples" comparison. As a stress test for the bass I use Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor. Alaska Bear speaker handled the most challenging part of the Bach's Fugue well. A lot of small speakers crackle in two spots of the Fugue, but this speaker handled it well.

♦ The speaker weights 5.8 oz. It is 2" tall and 2.25" in diameter. It feels heavy and well constructed.

♦ The speaker runs on a lithium battery. It tooks me 2 hours to fully charge it. It is charged by a standard USB/micro USB cable.

♦ Bluetooth Version is 3.0, with a range of 10 meters (32 feet)

♦ In addition to the speaker the package includes a dual cable which is both a charging cable and an AUX cable.

Overall, I thought it produced really nice sound plus I its versatility of being both an MP3 player and a bluetooth speaker.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: August SE50 Bluetooth Speaker System with FM Radio

The August Bluetooth Boombox with FM Radio combines an FM radio with a Bluetooth speaker for your mobile device. It also comes with an audio cable, so it can work as a speaker for devices that do not have bluetooth. The Boombox is 12"L x 4"L x 4"W and it weight 2.11 pounds (or 2.15 pounds if you count the power supply). It has a 39.5" metal antenna (the collapsible type) that extends from the back of the radio. It provides excellent reception for the radio but you need to allow 39.5" of vertical space when placing it to take the full advantage of its power.

Its finish is plastic which is made to look like dark wood. It runs on AC power and does not do have a battery. On the back there is on/off switch, which allows you to turn off electricity draw for the display if you are not using the unit all the time. The display is only used when using the radio, otherwise it just displays the model number SE50.

The FM antenna is 39.5" and this fairly long length gave me an excellent reception for a large number of stations. The radio allows you to save 10 different stations as preset. The display in the front of the radio shows you the station and as well as the preset number. The only thing I wish the radio did that it does not do is have an automatic scan function. I had to hit FM+ or FM- to scan the entire FM range manually to find the stations I wanted to store as my pre-sets. If you want to listen to one of the presets you need to click through all presets preceding the one you are interested in, there is no way to select a specific preset directly.

The bluetooth pairing worked easily with my iPadMini. The pairing was easy, and the settings was remembered when when I turned off and turned on devices back on.

The speakers plug into the AC source with a cord which is 59" long. The speakers are power by 15V power supply and can be made quite loud. In my video I turn up the volume to the max for a demo and sitting next to it during the test was not pleasant due to the loudness.

The speakers did fairly well at most ranges with the exception for the deepest bass, where the sound became a bit muddy. I use Bach's Fugue in D minor as my stress test for the bass because it is easy to see how different speakers handle bass by listening for a short snippet of this music.

Overall, I am pleased with August Boombox. I've set it up in the laundry room so now I have something good to listening to as I fold fresh laundry! It gets good FM reception and I can listen to Pandora without having to carry my tablet with me.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

Product review: Hype Mini Capsule Bluetooth Speaker

In the last year I have tested a lot of small bluetooth speakers, I rank HYPE Mini Capsule speaker sound quality as good overall. It has good mid-tone and OK bass. The sound is louder and richer than the built-in speaker of my tablet, but even at the max volume HYPE Mini Capsule speaker is not as loud as some of the other small speakers.

I am attaching a video which has several short snippets of music to demonstrate the speaker's sound. As one of the top reviewers I get asked to test and review a fairly large number of speakers. This allows me to compare a large number of speakers to each other. To help me make this comparison I always use the same two pieces of music, so I can compare speakers using "apples-to-apples" comparison. As a stress test for the bass I use Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor. I use Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No.1 to test the mid-range. The HYPE speaker performed well in these tests.

In the video I switch between the tablet's built-in speaker and HYPE speaker so you can compare the sound. You can hear that the speaker produce the sound that is richer, fuller, and louder sound the the built-in speaker. However this speaker does not have a super loud sound even at its max. In the video both the speaker and the tablet have the sound set to its maximum volume.

HYPE speaker is 2 1/8" tall. It weighs in at 3.1 oz. Its fairly small size makes a good travel companion.

The speaker comes with a charging cable.

A note on pairing: The initial pairing works well but even though the speaker remain connected if you turn it off and then turn it back on, so you still need to manually reconnect the audio by clicking on the device in bluetooth settings.

I received HYPE speaker from the manufacturer for testing. Based on other speakers of similar size/price I rated this speaker as 4 stars. The HYPE speaker performed well with music without strong base as well as when I listened to spoken human voice (e.g. news), bass sounded fairly good for a speaker of this small size.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★☆