Woburn ii bluetooth speaker

We’ve reviewed a great many Bluetooth speakers over the years – I half-suspect Seth has built an extension to his home out of them. I’ve generally not been tempted myself. If I’m at home, I’m either streaming to the hifi in the living-room, or playing through the (wired) B&W MM-1s in my office. If I’m out & about, I’m listening through my B&W P5 headphones. But there are times when you get chatting with friends about music and you all try to listen to an example on the iPhone speaker, and that doesn’t really cut it. A very portable speaker with a decent enough volume level for a few people to hear would be handy. While I’m generally pretty fussy about sound quality, this scenario isn’t enough to justify investing in anything expensive, but this one looked the part and for $55 (down from $99) it seemed worth a listen … Ok, I’ll admit it: it was the anodised aluminum that got my attention. It definitely looks a lot more expensive than it is. The speaker … [Read more...] about Review: Inateck MercuryBox, a $55 portable Bluetooth speaker that hits the right notes

I’m a strong advocate of the philosophy of buying the right thing once. My view is for any activity you care about a lot, it’s cheaper in the long run to buy an expensive product that will keep you happy for a great many years – maybe even for a lifetime – than a cheap product you’ll end up wanting to replace a few years down the line. Buy cheap, buy twice, as they say. My hi-fi system is a great example. When I was a lot younger, I splashed out on a Bang & Olufsen hi-fi system that was more than twice the price of everything else I tested. Twenty years on, it now looks like an extraordinarily good value. It’s so old it has a cassette deck (yes, really!), but all it took to bring it back up to date was the addition of a simple Wi-Fi audio receiver to add AirPlay support. Standalone Bluetooth speakers have therefore been of very limited interest to me – and I’d never have dreamed that one could ever replace a proper hi-fi system. So I was intrigued by one that claimed it … [Read more...] about Review: Devialet Phantom, the $2000 single-unit Bluetooth speaker that aims to replace your hi-fi system

You can scarcely turn around these days without bumping into a new Bluetooth speaker. We’ve reviewed many of them . The Scosche BoomBottle manages to set itself apart from the crowd, however, by targeting one specific market: cyclists. The speaker is the same size and shape as a large drinks bottle, so it fits into a standard bicycle bottle cage – and it’s weatherproofed, to survive the elements. I took it for a spin … Look & feel The BoomBottle is a ribbed, grey cylinder topped with black speaker grilles at each end. The casing has a smooth, rubbery feel to it, with a little bit of give if you press hard – which Scosche describes as ‘shock-absorbing.’ The speaker is around 8 inches long by a little under three inches in diameter, and fitted well (and snugly) in the bottle cage on my main bike. There are just three controls, each a decent-sized rubberized black button you can operate with gloved hands. One is a multi-function control I’ll get to in a moment, the … [Read more...] about Review: Scosche BoomBottle weatherproof Bluetooth speaker for cyclists

L to R: UE Mini ( review ), Roll ( review ), Boom ( review ) and Megaboom ( review ), JBL Charge 2+ ( review ) and Charge 2 ( review ), Bose Soundlink III ( review ) and Soundlink Mini 2 ( prev review ) There’s nothing like having a summer moment free to listen to your favorite music with your friends. The combination of portable Bluetooth speakers and great music apps like Apple Music with Beats 1 radio can make this an instant spontaneous event as long as you’ve got the right gear. There are tons of Bluetooth speakers around but we’re cutting through the noise and signaling the best from three top brands today: Bose, UE and JBL. In last year’s exhaustive holiday season Best Bluetooth Speaker Review , I gave the title of best speaker to the JBL Charge 2 for having nearly the best sound, cylindrical portability, great looks, long battery life and the ability to charge your phone for around $120 . JBL has updated their game with the Charge … [Read more...] about The Best Bluetooth Speakers 2015: JBL Charge 2+, Bose Soundlink Mini II and UE Roll/Megaboom

Naim Audio isn’t a household name outside of audiophile circles, but this British company has for many years made some of the most respected amplifiers in the business. Naim long had an informal partnership with Linn, and if the standard audio system fitted to Bentley’s ultra-expensive cars isn’t good enough for you, the optional audio upgrade is to a Naim system. You’ll also find it available through the Apple Store . The company is notoriously conservative when it comes to new technology, refusing to even consider making a CD player for most of the 1980s, relenting only in 1989, when it felt the technology had developed sufficiently to allow it to deliver the quality it sought. It’s therefore no surprise that Naim has waited so long to launch its first wireless speaker system, the mu-so – nor that it has done the job properly when it finally did so. The price is also no great surprise … Getting your hands on the Naim mu-so will set you back a cool $1500. Like the even … [Read more...] about Review: Naim’s first wireless speaker, the mu-so, is worthy of the company’s audiophile heritage

Review The new AirPods Max are turning heads with a high price tag and excellent audio quality. But is what you get worth the $549? AirPods Max design AirPods Max come in five different colors, sky blue, green, pink, silver, and space gray. Each color is two-toned, featuring a lighter color on the anodized earcups and a darker one for the headband. AirPods Max have one of the most bespoke designs ever created for a set of headphones. The top portion of the headphones is made of stainless steel before being coated with a premium soft-touch material akin to silicone. The canopy is made from a proprietary mesh that is designed to wrest just atop your head. AirPods Max Each arm of the AirPods Max extend to accommodate user's heads of different sizes. Anodized aluminum makes up the cups themselves, which is lighter than the steel and allows for the svelte anodization Apple is known for. Each of the cushions on the earcups are a similar mesh … [Read more...] about Review: AirPods Max don’t make it easy to justify the price

Danish Queen offers VN support on climate change (17-09-2009) Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung meets Danish Queen Magrethe II in Copenhagen. — VNA/VNS Photo Duc Tam COPENHAGEN — Denmark believed in co-operation with Viet Nam, especially in the fields of climate change, environment and education and training, the Queen of Denmark, Magrethe II, said yesterday. Speaking at a reception for visiting Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung in Copenhagen, the Queen said she highly valued developing bilateral ties between the two countries and hoped it would continue. Dung replied that the Vietnamese Government wished to strengthen its friendship and many forms of co-operation with Denmark. He said the friendship was a priceless asset and a foundation for further co-operation and looked forward to a long term, stable and mutually beneficial "Partnership for Development" during the 21st century. The Prime Minister expressed his hope that the Danish Queen and Royal … [Read more...] about Danish Queen offers VN support on climate change

New leadership gets cards, letters (05-07-2006) Ha Noi — Leaders of a number of countries have sent congratulatory letters to Viet Nam’s new leaders, who were recently elected and appointed by the National Assembly. Newly elected President Nguyen Minh Triet received letters from Singaporean President S.R. Nathan, Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II, French President Jacques Chirac, German President Horst Kohler, Swiss President Moritz Leuenberg and Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister and Trade Minister Somkid Jatusripitak. Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong as well as German Chancellor Angela Merkel, British PM Tony Blair and Luxembourg PM Jean-Claude Juncker sent letters of congratulations to new Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung. National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Phu Trong was congratulated by Cambodian Senate Speaker Chea Sim and Parliamentary Speaker Heng Samrin, as well as Speaker of the Thai Upper House, Suchon Chaleekure. … [Read more...] about New leadership gets cards, letters

President Nguyen Minh Triet and Finnish President Tarja Halonen yesterday agreed to increase two-way trade turnover to US$1 billion this year and Finnish investment in Viet Nam to $1 billion in the next few years. HELSINKI — President Nguyen Minh Triet and Finnish President Tarja Halonen yesterday agreed to increase two-way trade turnover to US$1 billion this year and Finnish investment in Viet Nam to $1 billion in the next few years. The agreement was made at a meeting in Helsinki on the occasion of the official visit of President Triet to Finland at the invitation of President Halonen. The two leaders exchanged information about their countries and discussed specific measures to strengthen ties in foreign affairs, development, trade, commerce and investment, labour, education and training and climate change. Regarding the trade target, in order to achieve the agreed goal, the two leaders were unanimous that they would create favourable conditions for enterprises of both … [Read more...] about Viet Nam, Finland target $1 billion trade

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (first left) and Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc (second left) in their talks in Hà Nội. Việt Nam and India issued a Joint Statement on the official visit to Việt Nam by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. – VNA/VNS Photo Thống Nhất Viet Nam News HÀ NỘI – Việt Nam and India issued a Joint Statement on the official visit to Việt Nam on September 2-3 by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The following is the full text of the Joint Statement. At the invitation of H. E. Mr. Nguyễn Xuân Phúc, Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic of Việt Nam, the Prime Minister of the Republic of India H.E. Mr. Narendra Modi paid an Official Visit to the Socialist Republic of Việt Nam from September 02 - 03 2016. On September 3, 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was accorded a ceremonial reception. This was followed by bilateral talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc. Thereafter, the two … [Read more...] about Việt Nam, India issue Joint Statement