PulseAudio Vitality Wireless Bluetooth Stereo Headphones

Every once in a while you come across a product that you didn’t know much about and didn’t see much use for, until you try it, and suddenly understand what all the hub-bub is about. That’s exactly what happened to me with these PulseAudio Vitality bluetooth headphones. I now don’t know how I ever got along without them. Come with me as we explore why.

Let’s be honest, there’s few things on this earth more annoying than having your earbuds ripped out of your ears. It’s somewhere between “nails on a chalkboard” and ” loud high-pitched whine”.  And we mostly do it ourselves because our earphone cord hangs down and gets caught on whatever (Or whoever) is nearest. I’m here to tell you that with PulseAudio’s Vitality bluetooth earbuds, that’s a thing of the past. And it doesn’t mean sacrificing every drop of sound quality either. Because the sound? It’s quality. It’s not like it’s reference quality, but I’ve paid more and gotten less when it comes to the sound, and they weren’t bluetooth either. And lest you think that means some giant ungainly boxes over your ears like the old FM radio headphones of yesteryear (Full disclosure, I actually owned some of those. Not to date myself here or anything!). No, these are fairly small, fairly light, but set securely in your ear and have plenty more to offer still. They are BlueTooth 4.1 compliant, and also offer NFC wireless capabilities, so all your latest devices are guaranteed to work. They come complete with a nifty little travel pouch, a charging cable, and multiple sizes of silicone buds/stabilizers for all ear sizes and types!

See, these also have controls for volume, and can double as a hands-free headset for your smartphone! Honestly, I’m shocked they managed to cram so much in such a small package. Powered by lithium-polymer batteries, they have plenty of power (Up to 8 hours!) to last you pretty much all day. If I had a nit to pick, it would be that a couple of the buttons were hard, if not nearly impossible to get to easily by our resident sausage-finger, aka, Hubby. The price is pretty steep too, considering that rival bluetooth earbuds could be had for less than half the cost, but without knowing the quality of the sound of these rivals, I can’t say, dollar for dollar, if they are truly a value. Also, at $59.99, they could have included a wall charger instead of piggy backing on one you already own, or your handy USB charging hub. But they do include a 1-year warranty, so that’s a major plus as well. So overall the positives far outweigh the few minor negatives, and I’m very happy with these PulseAudio Vitality headphones.

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I received the above product(s) free of charge from PulseAudio.  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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Pecham 12,000mah 3-Outlet Portable Power Bank

In this digital age, we only go as far and as fast as our various sundry devices’ power allows. Sometimes we fall a little short. Especially when short-sighted manufacturers decide to not make our devices with removable batteries. So we have become increasingly dependent on power outlets, wireless charging, or portable power banks. One such goody is Pecham’s 12,000mah Power Bank. Yes, you read that right. Twelve thousand milliamp hours. This power bank is no slouch, and can easily power your phone, tablet and .mp3 player all at once! Or be the belle of the ball and power you colleague’s cell phones along with your own! There is plenty of juice to go around!

No content with the single outlet offered by the majority of power banks on the market, Pecham decided that 3 was the way to go. Not all of them are “full power” though. One is a 2.4A outlet, the other two 1A outlets, which are sufficient for trickle charges. I was able to successfully charge both Hubby’s Nexus 7 and our LG l90 to full power, together at once, and the Pecham Power Bank still showed some juice available. That’s pretty cool in my book.

While it’s a touch on the large size (about the size and thickness of a 5″ screen cellphone), the lithium-polymer battery gets the job done and looks pretty stylish doing it. It has a rubberized non-slip finish on the body, and a bright white ring around the outside edge. There is a blue lit LED ring at the power button that actually gives you a readout of approximately how much power is left in the bank. 4 blue mini lights tells you you have 75-100%, 3 is 50-75%, 2 for 25-50%, and one for 0-25%. I love this feature because before, with most of the power banks I’ve used, I had to hope there was plenty of power left to get a decent charge. No more guessing with the Pecham Power Bank. Included in the box is a three-head charging cable, that serves double duty to not only charge the bank via micro USB cable, but has connectors for any available 5V device on the market! It has smart circuitry that automatically shuts down if overcharging (voltage/current), over-discharging (voltage/current), short-circuits, or overheating occurs. It will also automatically shutdown if the device has finished recharging. At $21.99 (at time of this writing) it’s competitively priced with other power banks with similar features, but has almost all of them beat by having 3 ports instead of the standard one or two. No risks, all rewards. Sounds like my kind of gadget!

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I received the above product(s) free of charge from Pecham.  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.

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.

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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.

 

The Amazing MagicFiber Premium Microfiber cleaning cloth

As we move up in cost with our gadgets, keeping them clean and protected is essential to their long life. No one likes dropping heavy coin on new tech just to let them get schmutzy and smudged. Especially with expensive camera lenses and screens. Going from a point-and-shoot to a DSLR or mirrorless camera usually means you end up spending as much or more on peripherals as you did on the device itself. Lenses, filters, cleaning supplies, bags, memory cards, lens covers, lens hoods, MORE memory cards…you can go broke keeping up. Enter Digital Goja. They make being a camera owner fun again, without breaking the bank!

So when Digital Goja offered me a chance to try out their Amazing MagicFiber premium cleaning cloths, I said you betcha! And let me tell you, they are, indeed, amazing!

You see, I was used to those little kits that came “bundled” with my old point-and-shoot cameras. You know th ones, with little disposable tissues, and a bulb thing, and some liquid that evaporated in a couple days. After a while, you used your sleeve, your pants leg, or a facial tissue to clean the myriad of fingerprints and mess off everything. I can hear Hubby cringing as I type this from across the room. You see, every paper product is made of wood. So, every time you use a napkin, or paper towel, or tissue, you’re rubbing wood particles all over your (very expensive to replace) lenses. Ouch. And if I were to ever get little wood pieces near our new DSLR lenses or mirrors, I think Hubby would have a conniption. So imagine my glee with these Amazing MagicFiber Premium cloths! I got an assortment, from small for carrying with the camera case, to larger ones for the TV, tablets, phones and computers. Don’t stop there, though, as they’re good for sunglasses, eyeglasses, binoculars, windows, mirrors or any screen you want to look it’s best! They come in black, gray and blue, and from sizes ranging from a small 6X7″ square to a giant 16″ square. They come in resealable packets to keep them clean, and can be washed with just a little warm water and then air dried Though it is safe for the washing machine). Ultra gentle, with no loose fibers, strings, or coarse edges.

The Amazing MagicFiber Premium Microfiber Cleaning Cloth has keep every device looking shiny and new, especially with Mr. Fumble Fingers getting prints all over the camera lenses. And as anyone who’s upgraded their camera will tell you, a 3″ screen right where one presses their cheek to look through the viewfinder means many a smudged screen, especially with makeup! Yikes! Thankfully, I always have my MagicFiber cleaning cloths handy, and I think all of you should, too. And Digital-Goja Stands behind every product 100%. If you don’t love the Amazing MagicFiber Premium cleaning cloth (but you will), they’ll take it back at their expense, no questions asked! Now that’s confidence!

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I received the above product(s) free of charge from Digital Goja.  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.

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.

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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.

Sentey LS-2214 30w 4-Port USB High Speed Wall Charger

The hits just keep on coming here with Sentey. I’m a fan of yet another of their products, and once again it’s a product you smack yourself on the side of the head and say “Why, oh why, did I not have one of these before?!”. This time, it’s a 4-Port USB wall charger. It’s happened to you. Trying to squeeze a bunch of little proprietary charging cubes into one wall socket. Who gets priority? His phone? Her phone? The tablet? The camera? Can I get just enough juice to make this one text, this one call, this one email, take one pic??? Madness, says I.

Now you can stop the madness and just plug your stuff in. All your stuff. All their stuff. And no one gets left in the cold, juiceless. Sentey has even put variable outputs into the plugs, with two 5V/2A USB outlets and two 5v/1A USB outlets. All four are high speed charging ports, not trickle chargers. It has a blue LED light to let you know it’s getting power, and comes with built-in overvoltage, over current and short circuit protections. And it automatically stops charging when the device is full, so there’s no overcharging concerns!

Now I see you sitting there and wondering “Yeah, but how much do they want for this little miracle device?”. Less than $10 will bring peace to your household. For $9.99 you never have to play favorites with your family’s devices again. You even get a cool little microfiber pouch to take it with you on the go if the need arises! At under 9 ounces, I doubt you’d even know you were carrying it! If I had one complaint, it would be with orientation of the wall plug and the ports. I solved this issue with an angled triple tap, but out of the box it’s not going to be an unobtrusive device because of it’s distance from the wall. But that is a very minor gripe from a picky gal who doesn’t want things sticking 4+ inches off the wall. It more than makes up for that with clearing up the rat’s nest of little cubes and wires I had running everywhere. I may even pick up a couple more for other rooms in the house, or even for friends and family. This one is a must-buy.

 

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• Grab one right here!

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.