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  • Best All New Wireless Headphones for 2021

    Best All New Wireless Headphones for 2021

    Whether you’re looking for a good pair of headphones for working out or just something to wear while drowning out sounds during your commute, not having to fuss with wires is a huge plus. No one wants to worry about the tangle of wires in their pocket or bag, or their cord snagging on something and damaging their headphones. Thankfully, there are some stellar Bluetooth headphones on the market. Here are some of our top picks.

    Jabra Elite 75t

    If you like having wireless earbuds for sports activity, we can highly recommend the Jabra Elite 75t. These new earbuds fit snugly in most ears, and they have a great sound quality for their small size. The drivers are solid, offering punchy bass, good mid-levels, and decent overall sound: while these won’t be beating any dedicated audiophile headphones, they’re good for their price point and size.

    A notable draw to the Jabra Elite 75t is their microphones. They work incredibly well as a headset for taking phone calls, doing a great job of filtering out background noise. If you like wearing earbuds while jogging, cycling or other types of activity, this is a great draw. Taking a call while getting in your workout is a great two-in-one feature for busy professionals.

    Sony WF-1000XM3

    Sony has finally taken its wildly successful WF series headphones and put them into a smaller package. The WF-1000XM3 takes the quality of their full-size headphones and puts them into a smaller earbud form factor.

    Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless

    If you’re looking for the intersection of portability and sound quality, you’re looking for the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless earbuds. These wireless earbuds offer incredible sound quality and accurate reproduction of recordings. They’re incredibly light: you might even forget they’re in your ears. When you need a good set of earbuds for taking with you on trips or to work and back, these are a great go-to.

    While they’re not the best for sports or activity, the Sennheiser earbuds are great for daily activities like walking or commuting. For the person who wants portable wireless earbuds that can be tucked into a pocket but still wants the best sound quality, these physics-defying little earbuds are the best option.

    AirPods Pro

    If you’re already in the Apple ecosystem, these are a no-brainer. Their intuitive gesture controls allow you to change the song, adjust the volume and answer calls quickly and without having to pull your phone out.

    The 2020 update brings even more useful tricks to the AirPods Pro. With Apple’s propriety H1 chip they feature snappier Siri integration. You can send messages, start playlists and ask for internet searches all while jogging, cleaning or whatever you’re doing while wearing the AirPods. If you love high-tech integration and cool fashion statements, the AirPods are a great pick for you.

    Beats Solo Pro

    Apple has finally stepped up the quality of their Beats headphones. The Beats Solo Pro is a set of over-ear, active noise canceling, headphones. They used the same noise-canceling technology featured on their more premium, over-ear, Studio3 Wireless. The H1 wireless chip makes sure they are easy to connect to your phone and feature full Siri support. They’re a bit more expensive than the average headphones, but their great technology integration and stellar sound quality on phone calls makes them great for people on the move.

    PowerBeats Pro

    If you love the idea of the AirPods but want a more fitness-oriented set of wireless earbuds, the Beats Powerbeats Pro are for you. The same technology that went into the second generation AirPods is on display in the PowerBeats Pro, just in a more fitness-oriented shape. The over-ear design on display here helps the earphones stay on your ears while your exercise, making them great for any active person.


  • 5 Best Portable Bluetooth Speakers for Summer

    5 Best Portable Bluetooth Speakers for Summer

    As my old buddy Brad used to say, Its summer time and we’re living easy. I’m sure you all have great summers plans in place,  with boats and beaches, golf, good friends, great times and noodle salad, but have you accessed what you are going to use for music during all this fun in sun? I didn’t think so and that is why I’m here, to tell you about the 5 best portable Bluetooth speakers you can take with you anywhere you go this summer. To make this list they will need a few requirement, for one they have to be IP water resistant. The second is they need to have full 360° sound.

     

    5. TREBLAB HD55

    Wonderful sound, With HD55, you’ll feel as if you’re at a live concert, with clear high notes, deep bass and 360° true HD sound. This advanced Bluetooth speaker has the latest state-of-the-art double 12W drivers and double bass radiators. Great for the  Office, traveling & late nite LA gangsta style pool parties. IT is waterproof with a rating IPX4.  Amazon pricing of only $69.97

     

    4. Soundcore Flare Portable Bluetooth 360° Speaker

    Much like the HD55, the SoundCore Flare has the 360° and is IPX7 waterproof. This has great mid range sound, great acoustics and will keep the singing going on all night. It secured the number 4 position for one terrific reason, its $10 cheaper at $59.99.

     

    3. JBL Xtreme 2 Portable Bluetooth Speakers

    The JBL Xtreame is know for delivering earth-shaking powerful stereo sound. The speaker is armed with four drivers, two JBL Bass Radiators, a rechargeable 10,000mAh Li-ion battery supporting up to 15 hours of playtime. Its also IPX7 certified waterproof.  At $299 it starts off our top 3 Portable Bluetooth Speakers for summer. 

    2. Bose SoundLink Revolve+

    You can never go wrong with Bose. They have mastered commercial sound. And this is the best-performing portable speaker from Bose. It ultimately delivers Deep, loud, jaw-dropping sound with True 360-degree coverage. Ipx certified and fits beautifully in the golf cart.  At $299 its a steal. 

     

    1. Ultimate Ears MEGABLAST

    And the winner is…UE’s most powerful speaker with 360° intensely rich sound, stunning clarity, and heart-pounding bass. With up to 12 hours of battery, it brings your music to life wherever the summer leads you. With  Amazon Alexa hands-free voice control you can now just ask Alexa to blast tunes from Spotify. It is waterproof and virtually indestructible: Never worry about going easy on it, your music will always be on point. The speaker is IP67 rated and can be immersed in water for up to 30 minutes. Yes I tried it. It is by far the loudest on this list, the most durable and at $190 the best value Portable Bluetooth Speakers for your summertime listening pleasure.

     

    The Final Thought

    This is going to be the best sounding summer ever. Get me  my speedos and a REM playlist!!

  • Get Your Groove on With These Bluetooth Headphones

    Get Your Groove on With These Bluetooth Headphones

    If you love listening to music and don’t want the hassle of tons of cords and cables you’ve certainly tried out tons of Bluetooth headphones. And if your experience is like mine, tons of them are really sub-par! Let’s run down some of our favorite Bluetooth headphones and save you the hassle of picking a dud!

    Sony WH-1000XM2

    We love these noise-canceling wireless headphones from Sony. These have fantastic sound quality, with clear highs, crisp mids and deep bass, comparable to similar offerings from Bose. These headphones also come with some neat functionality: a Quick Attention mode allows for the sound canceling to stop briefly so you can hear someone trying to get your attention.

    Similarly, the headphones have an ambient noise mode to allow mid- to high-frequency sounds to pass through so that you don’t fully lose situational awareness. The only downside to these headphones is their luxury pricing: They retail for right around $300.

    Bose QuietComfort 35 Mk. 2

    It wouldn’t be a “best-of” headphones list without Bose showing up at least once! The sound juggernaut doesn’t fail to impress with the QuietComfort wireless headphones. These boast some of the best noise cancelation in Bluetooth headphones, comparable to the WH-1000XM2 from Sony, and with longer battery life.

    These also sport Google Assistant support, which is an awesome added bonus! As the name suggests, these headphones are very comfortable and great for long flights. Similar to the previous entry, however, the QuietComfort headphones are expensive. Coming in at $329, these are definitely priced for those who are serious about sound quality and audio canceling and have serious cash to shell out for it.

    Plantronics BackBeat Pro 2

    If you’re looking for a more affordable noise-canceling pair of headphones, the Plantronics BackBeat Pro 2 is a great choice. For about $150 you can pick up these headphones, making them desirable when compared to Sony and Bose’s offerings. These sport a handy auto-off feature when you take them off, helping maximize its already-excellent battery life, which makes these great for travel!

    While these headphones are high-quality and affordable, their style might not be for everyone: they have an almost-retro chrome style that is very distinct. This is a matter of preference, but when compared to more muted and understated designs they are very noticeable.

    Optoma NuForce BE Sports3

    NuForce’s wireless earbuds prove that you don’t have to be over-ear headphones to be a good wireless audio device! These stylish earbuds have awesome sound quality, great battery life and durability to spare! For a stellar $70 retail price, you can’t go wrong with these earbuds. Great for jogging, traveling, working and everything in between, the NuForce BE Sports3 easily slips in your pocket when not in use! If you’re looking for high-quality, no-frills headphones with no cord and good battery life, these are for you.

  • Muse Speaks to Me While I Drive

    Muse Speaks to Me While I Drive

    Speak Music’s Muse is terrific way to bring Alexa voice commands to your car. Plug the Oreo-sized accessory into your car’s USB port or lighter socket and connect it to your phone via Bluetooth and you’ll be able to order Alexa to play and control your music, get the weather, add items to your to-do list, control your smart home device

    The Great

    • Small
    • Inexpensive
    • Easy setup
    • Lets you stream music

    The Not

    • No turn-by-turn directions
    • Lacks Spotify integration
    • Alexa slow to respond

    The Conclusion

    This small Bluetooth dongle lets you use Alexa while you’re driving, but the voice assistant could respond faster.

    I Said To Myself

    Do you have no one to talk to while you drive? Have you ever said to yourself I wish I could bring Amazon’s versatile voice assistant to your car and say goodbye to boring commutes or fumbling with the phone. Be productive and entertained while keeping our eyes on the road and hands on the wheel but no one was there to listen to you? Well Now there is

    Muse Auto is a small Bluetooth device that brings the power and convenience of Amazon Alexa to the car. Just plug it in, pair with your smartphone and say “Alexa”.

    How Does It Do

    Like other in vehicle Alexa peripherals this needs to link to your phone and use your phone’s data through the Muse app. I found connecting to the Muse by Bluetooth plus using cellular data chews through my battery super fast. I end up closing the app when I leave my car and restarting it each time I get in the car. I also plug in my phone to keep it from dying. Pretty easy workarounds.

    For voice commands you need to say the wake word, wait a few seconds until you hear a low sound, give the command, then you hear a second sound that the command was received. My trouble is the first sound is too quiet and not distinctive so I can’t always tell if the Muse heard my wake word.

    Very easy to install. Downloaded the app and it walked me right though it. The device is small and I mounted mine on the driver’s side of my center console where only I can see it.  Yeah I’m stealthy like that. When I want to interact with Alexa I just set the car audio input to Bluetooth, a one button push in my Ford, and it works. It’s pretty cool to be able to “talk” with Alexa in my car. The kids like to play 20-questions and I get the news read to me on the way to work. There is a short delay between calling out “Alexa” and hearing the soft tone which indicates the device is listening to you, but I got the timing down after a few tries and now she obeys my every command! I’m king of the car again

    The Final Thought

    Overall the Muse is adequate if you don’t mind yelling “Alexa” a whole bunch, or plugging in your phone, or fiddling with an app when you start or leave your car. Not ideal for quick trips but if you’re taking a long trip or have a substantial commute it can be worth setting it up before the trip. Most of the issues can be handled with software updates so I’ll hang on to it. And there is something cool about turning up the thermostat when I leave work then pulling in the driveway saying “I’m home” and having the lights turn on. So there is a little Alexa magic. It’s just not seamless yet.

  • A Plus + to the Bose Soundlink Revolver +

    A Plus + to the Bose Soundlink Revolver +

    Bose SoundLink Revolve+ is the best-performing portable Bluetooth® speaker from Bose, is engineered to spread deep, jaw-dropping sound in every direction.

    The Great

    Portable
    Waterproof
    360-Degree Sound,
    Multiple speaker party mode
    16 hour play back battery life

    The Not

    No connection ports
    No digital assistant capabilities
    Lacks volume

    The Conclusion

    Despite no Siri or Alexa built in this is still the best Bluetooth speaker you can get. Sound quality, durability, versatility is what you want in a portable speaker

    I Liked the Last Soundlink

    I’ve been a fan of the Bose Soundlink mini since it’s conception. When it was first released if filled a big void in tech we all had been experiencing. I need a wireless speaker that connects to my smartphone and sounds good. Boom, we got the Soundlink mini. I took mine everywhere, boats, golf carts, strapped to my bike , it upped the game and brought the party. I gave the Soundlink to everyone having a birthday, graduation, weddings, holiday, they all got a Soundlink mini. So I’m excited to say the least to get the new Soundlink resolve plus

    Out of the Box

    When you open the box, you are greeted with sleek cylindrical shape of the speaker and the reality of the build quality. This speaker weighs almost two pounds and is built like a tank. The body of the speaker is one piece metal construction with a plastic base and rubberized buttons on the top. There are six buttons on the top of the speaker; power, Bluetooth, Aux, volume up, volume down and a multi-purpose button. The battery needed charged right out of the box but the speaker turned on after a few minutes of being connected.

    Yep it Sounds Like a Bose

    The sound coming from this speaker is so immersive and full, stereo sound is a non-issue. There is an app for this speaker, Bose Connect but its pretty lackluster, only offering volume and connectivity options, oh and you can use it to rename the device and select the voice language. It also gives you the option to pair multiple Soundlink together for a party mode.. this will come in handy later. I’m convinced the attitude at Bose is “we know how your music is supposed to sound” and you’re going to like it. It’s got Great Dynamic Range for a portable speaker. The mids and highs are crisp and clear, and the bass is good. It could get louder, I know it would start to loose quality at a much higher volume, but sometimes you just got to crank it up. Like most Bose speakers, the bass is not heavy. This is the first speaker I have ever used that emits sound in all directions equally. Every time I listen to it I’m so impressed and glad it’s there to crank the mood for any situation.

    The Final Thought

    The Bose SoundLink Revolve+ is an extremely well-rounded product that deserves the praise it has been getting. I never leave home with out it and I’ve found my go to gift of the next 5 years.