FSL Xylem In-Ear Monitors

 

So I’ve had quite a few headphones I’ve reviewed on here. Most are completely adequate, with passable sound and mostly work with all my devices with minimal hiccups. I was ready to lump Future Sound Lab’s wooden in-ear monitors with them; All sizzle and very little steak. I was wrong. FSL earbuds are the goods. Let me share why.

FSL uses a solid piece of eco-friendly wood for each ear, which is sonically superior to plastic and metal. It’s drivers deliver solid, quality sound with good bass response and sharp, clear highs. I would say they easily have superior sound than earbuds I’ve paid twice as much for. The wire is thin, but not so prone to tangles as some products out there. The microphone pics up voices well and does a decent job of filtering out ambient noise. The gold-plated 3.5mm connector snaps in solidly to all my devices, from laptops to tablets to phones to MP3 players. The controls work with every mobile device I own, which is a first. FSL even includes 3 different sizes of silicone tips to accommodate pretty much every ear size.

The hits don’t stop there, though. FSL includes a neat self-closing neoprene case to carry my earbuds everywhere, and keep them shmutz free. Because let’s be honest, nothing is nastier than sticking earbuds in your ear with all manner of crud stuck to the silicone tips. But wait, there’s more! FSL believes so much in the quality of their in-ear monitors, the back them with a 3-year warranty and lifetime support for customers. Now that is impressive. Good luck getting anything more than 90 days of warranty from most consumer electronics. For under $13, you are seriously getting more than your money’s worth. I can’t tell you how many earbuds I’ve tried in this price range and been horribly disappointed more times than I can count. These are the best ones in this price range I’ve tried, and better than sets costing twice as much. I’m glad I got to try them, and I recommend them highly.

Connect with FSL:

• Online
• On Amazon

I received the above product(s) free of charge from FSL.  I am not obligated to provide a positive or favorable review, just my honest opinion.  My review is based on my experience with the product and/or brand, which may differ from yours.

 

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Sentey B-Trek H9 Bluetooth Headphones w/Mic Ls-4560

 

So, it seems when Sentey makes a product that hits, it hits a home run. But sometimes, it’s just a foul ball over the left field fence. Not quite a homerun but a solid hit none the less. This is one of those. You’ll recall from my last Sentey Flow headset review, the sound was nothing to write home about. These B-Trek Bluetooth headphones fix that in spades. The sound is pretty good. The 40mm drivers have even tones, decent bass, and don’t sound tinny or blown out. Wired or wireless, the sound is quality. These are Bluetooth V4.0 compatible, and have been tested to work solidly with my laptop, hubby’s Nexus tablet, and our phone. It holds the connection well too. Where it falls short, again, is in the “gaming” category.

See, the last thing I want to hear is the carnage and destruction inherent to one of hubby’s Battlefield 4 multiplayer sessions. Especially while I’m painting my nails. And we thought this headset would be the solution. But, despite pairing with the Playstaion 3 with ease, try as we might we could not get sound through these headphones to save our lives from the unit. Not for the game, for Amazon Prime videos, for music…nothing. Just static and ticking. It was a huge let down. We have an email in to Sentey about this, but as of this writing we have yet to hear back*. If you want a decent set of bluetooth headphones that won’t break the bank, these fit the bill. If you want it for PS3 (or PS4, one assumes) gaming, you might want to look elsewhere.

I don’t feel the lack of PS3 support should be a dealbreaker. The sound is good, they seem well constructed and of better materials than the Sentey Flow headset I mentioned previously. They also fold up for travel, come with a spiffy hard-ish travel case that holds the headset, the charging cable and the 3.5mm wired connection. The wired connection also works without having the lithium polymer battery charged (Sentey reports battery life of over 8 hours!), so your tunes aren’t dependent on your battery either. You have play, pause, skip and volume controls on the headset as well (device support dependent, obviously), which is nice. They fit my head, and even hubby’s big ‘ol pumpkin head, so they should fit just about everyone nicely. The ear cushion cups are snug enough for workouts or light jogging, but know that prolonged listening during these activities might cause some trapped perspiration, but the upside is there’s very little sound bleed from the earpieces. They were comfortable to wear and not so heavy that you feel like your head weighs an extra 10lbs. Overall we’re fans of these Sentey B-Trek Bluetooth Headphones, but there’s definitely room for some improvement here.

*A quick note: I attempted on 2 separate occasions to get some support from Sentey about the PS3/Bluetooth issue. Both went unaswered. I’m dismayed that, knowing this product was sent as promotion and knowing that I would review it, and their after-sales support, they ignored me. Maybe they’d be better about product support with a paying customer, but I’ll leave my readers to draw their own conclusions here. Major disappointment for us, though.

Connect with Sentey:

• On the web
• On Facebook
• On Twitter
• On YouTube
• on Flickr
• On Amazon

I received the above product(s) free of charge from Sentey.  I am not obligated to provide a positive or favorable review, just my honest opinion.  My review is based on my experience with the product and/or brand, which may differ from yours.

Liztek: PSS-100 Portable Wireless Bluetooth Speaker #Review #PortableWirelessBluetoothSpeaker

Liztek PSS-100 Portable Wireless Bluetooth Speaker with Built in Speakerphone, 8 Hour Rechargeable Battery (Black)

So lest you think that my blog is all about cooking and beauty, a girl’s gotta stay on top of tech these days too. And bluetooth speakers are all the rage these days. Because, even though they’re convenient, mostly earbuds suck. At least the cheapies I’m use to. There are some very high end ones out there that can reproduce fantastic sound. And while my phone and laptop have passable speakers, they’re not winning any awards for sound quality either. Hubby’s tablet is passable in a pinch, but speakers as thin as a nickel aren’t really cutting it for us.

Enter Liztek’s awesome little bluetooth speaker, the PSS-100. I got to try this little guy for a bit now and for our devices, there’s no going back to the stock speakers for media. With play, pause, skip and back buttons on the speaker, it’s a cinch to control your music. Even watching a movie in bed on Hubby’s Nexus is a treat. Streamed music? Tinny no more! YouTube videos? Dy-no-mite! We can even stream TV shows, again, snuggled in bed, and the days of sharing ear-buds are no more.

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Retail Price Point: $36.95 via Amazon. Liztek products are carried at Costco, Fry’s and BestBuy too!

But hold on, did I mention this little guy has a mic? Yup, it’s also a hands free speakerphone. No more having the phone on the counter, no more wired earbuds and mic that rubs against your shirt and muffles every word. With the bluetooth 3.0 technology, we’re good up to 33 feet away. I have yet to break out Hubby’s tape measure to see, but we’re good with my purse and phone down the hall in another room. Answer and end buttons right there on the speak too. Snazzy. I think I’m in love. Normally, gadgets are strictly hubby domain. I think he’s been yoinked.

At less than 13 ounces, and less than seven inches long, and just under 2 inches wide it feels tiny, but the twin 40mm speakers will fill an average size room with full, rich sound. It has a slightly rubberized feel so there’s no fear it’ll slip and fall and die a horrible death on the tile floor either. It’s rechargeable lithium ion battery is charged in 4 hours and is good for about 8-10 hours in optimal conditions. It also comes with a 3.5mm audio jack for those devices lacking bluetooth. There are audible notifications on connection, and while Liztek lists those as benefits, it’s the one single thing I don’t love about this device. It’s quite jarring to hear a loud female voice saying “Connecting!”. I could do without it, but it’s a minor quibble overall.

The Liztek PSS-100 comes in a host of colors and has a 100% satisfaction guarantee. It also has universal connectivity with Apple, Android, and just about any devices with Bluetooth capabilities. I’ve so far successfully paired it with our LG phone, HTC phone, Asus laptop and Nexus tablet. That’s 4 different manufacturers and zero problems. It comes packaged with a charging cable, the audio jack, and instructions. And it just looks cool too. Yup. Definitely yoinking this one. Sorry, hubby.

Connect with Liztek at:

• Amazon
• On-line
• Twitter
• #Liztek  #PortableWirelessBluetoothSpeaker

 

I received the above product(s) free of charge from Liztek.  I am not obligated to provide a positive or favorable review, just my honest opinion.  My review is based on my experience with the product and/or brand, which may differ from yours.