Bren's stats
- Review count265
- Helpfulness votes1,766
- First reviewDecember 27, 2016
- Last reviewJuly 2, 2026
- Featured reviews0
- Average rating4.8
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- Answer count11
- Helpfulness votes1
- First answerDecember 27, 2016
- Last answerNovember 4, 2021
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HOT NIGHTS, COOL TUNES - Paul W. Klipsch passed down the gift of the horn-loaded tech so party people could get powerful and clear sound. The Klipsch Miami combines that same proprietary engineering with a highly efficient horn-loaded compression tweeter, dual 5.25" woofers, and custom front ports ~ for an unforgettable sound that will drive your dance floor.
Customer Rating
5
Aesthetically pleasing & acoustically excellent!
on July 2, 2026
Posted by: Bren
To start this review, I want to come right out and say that this speaker looks amazing, not overly gaudy or silly looking like some party speakers. It fits the professional aesthetic of a standard professional-grade speaker and can turn the lights off, but it can also light up to match the mood of the gathering! It is quite a large speaker at over 40 pounds, but it makes great use of a built-in collapsible handle, secondary hard handle, and wheels to make mobility with this a breeze. Furthermore, it even has compatibility with pole mounts! Of this Klipsch party speaker lineup, I believe that this Miami probably has the most versatility and reasonable use cases for general user as compared to the New York and Vegas variants.
This speaker honestly has versatility and outstanding performance in so many areas that I think should interest most music enthusiasts. Most things you can think about doing with this speaker, it will do for you. Simple Bluetooth connection to music for your phone or other devices? Check. Two 1/4" inputs for the included wired microphone and an instrument, like an electric guitar? Check. Auxiliary output for daisy-chaining speakers? Check. Built-in battery for wireless music play and plugged-in play as well? Check. The list truly does go on too! Altogether, when it comes to the different purposes a speaker like this can serve, this has you covered. While the included microphone is wired, I am sure this would have no problem with wireless microphone capability like many of the 1/4” wireless variants that are out there on the market.
This speaker gets LOUD. It has a peak volume of 105 dB, which, for context, is the peak volume level allowed at many concerts and live shows. Therefore, for a nice party in the park, a backyard, or even a pretty decent-sized auditorium, this speaker should have enough volume to deliver music and vocals alike to attendees’ ears. The horn-loaded tweeter and two 5.25” woofers do serious heavy lifting to bring out some of the best aspects of the music.
Overall, I am very pleased with this speaker. It is top notch for some really great uses and is going to help this summer be fun and rocking with our music!
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Congratulate yourself on a new level of lazy. Maxim is the champion of clean tech, built to give you a truly hands-off floor-care lifestyle: the Autonomous Clean Experience (ACE). Press GO, walk away, and let Maxim handle the rest. Maxim doesn~t just ~clean~ ~ he dominates mess. With a ferocious 22,000 Pa of suction power and tangle-resistant brushes, he inhales dust, crumbs, and pet hair without stealing a single minute of your day. His EdgeReach side brush sweeps debris out of baseboards and corners, while the extendable mop arm presses in along edges and around furniture legs to wipe where most bots leave a dirty outline. Translation: fewer missed crumbs, fewer wall-hugging dust lines, and noticeably cleaner edges in every room. And here~s the best part: Maxim is the rare smart device you can actually trust. Maxim keeps your home~s visuals where they belong ~ on the robot. No cloud. No servers. No ~upload to improve your experience.~ With 100% on-board, off-cloud vision processing and real-time navigation engineered in the U.S. and Canada, Maxim cleans with intelligence you can trust. He never sends images anywhere, period. His brain is just as serious as his muscle. Maxim~s navigation and software are engineered entirely in the U.S. and Canada, combining LiDAR with our QSLAM~ technology and real-time, 100% on-board processing. No ~training sessions.~ No wandering around. Maxim identifies rooms quickly, builds an immediate, detailed, color-coded map in the app, and lets you call the shots. Draw NoSweep zones, custom clean areas, schedules, and room-by-room routines ~ and Maxim follows like a pro. And when vacuuming isn~t enough, Maxim brings the shine. Dual-scrub mopping pads rotate in counter-motion to scrub hard floors, while intelligently avoiding carpets using FloorSense technology. Paw prints, kitchen streaks, and ~mystery marks~ don~t get a chance ~ Maxim deletes them. Big home? Maxim can freshen up as many times as needed, recharge, and resume to finish the mission. And when Maxim needs to freshen up, the extra-large charging station takes over and delivers on the promise of all-in-one: debris self-empties into an odor-blocking, activated-carbon-lined bag; mop pads get washed and hot-air dried; and the station keeps itself fresh ~ so you~re not dealing with dirty pads or swampy smells.
Customer Rating
5
Incredible versatility and autonomy!
on June 19, 2026
Posted by: Bren
This robot vacuum/mop has completely and positively changed how we manage our downstairs cleaning during the week! We are a busy two-professional working household with a toddler, dog, and another kiddo on the way, and it likely goes without saying that we have had trouble keeping up with cleaning, particularly in the highest traffic areas of our kitchen and dining area where we do everything from messy arts and crafts to dealing with the daily spectacle of pieces of food being tossed asunder by our energetic two-year-old. We are fortunate to have a wireless stick vacuum that we frequently use, but even so, we are rarely able to get a good “reset” of our kitchen and dining room as we would really prefer.
Enter the bObsweep Maxim. This All-in-one robot vacuum and mop has really blown us away with its versatility and, most importantly, its autonomy in cleaning! This is truly about as “set it and forget it” as you will get for a vacuum/mop robot. Not only does it have the ability, via the dock, to empty the vacuum and dirty mop water this robot collects, but it can also do a hot-water wash and heated drying of the mop pads!!! This feature alone is critical and sets it apart from other vacuum/mop robots I have used that leave this chore to the user (and generally as a result, gets completely neglected).
The setup of the bObsweep was straightforward and easy to follow via the included paper instructions. Parts boxes were labeled and pull tabs and plastic wraps were clearly marked with where and when to remove them during the setup process. After getting it set up and connected to Wi-Fi, I went ahead and put it on a mapping-only trip. This process took about 15 minutes for my approximately 950-square-foot first-floor living space, and I was quite impressed by the map it churned out on the other side of its exploration. It is worth mentioning at this point in the review that I think the app is quite mediocre in 2026, but it is serviceable and usable for navigating various settings and, in this case, setting room boundaries and labels for our downstairs living space. Once this was accomplished, I set it up to run nightly, alternating between vacuum-only cycles and vacuum-and-mop cycles. This has seemed to be a good balance for cleaning for us and has appeared to help keep the use of the cleaning solution and water reserves well managed.
On mop nights, I have it set to do a medium-depth mop and vacuum. Once a week on our Sunday nights, my wife and I decided to make it our “tidy up” night, and I have the bObsweep Maxim set to vacuum and mop in depth for the whole downstairs, which is a combination of carpet, artificial hardwood flooring, and area carpets. I am happy to report it performed this task with excellence when we ran it on the first Sunday night, taking about 52 minutes total, and, at the end, emptied out some pretty disgusting mop water from the bObsweep and picked up quite a lot of dirt from our carpets too. I really think it is hard to convey to folks who don’t have kids or pets just how dirty a place can get, even after a few days. Humans and dogs, to say the least, are not sterile creatures, haha! Additionally, after this in-depth whole downstairs clean, we did not find any evidence of “accidents” with the robot mopping carpet or getting it wet. It actually, both impressively and incredibly, retracts its mop pads way up above its lowest points of contact to ensure that they come into no or minimal contact with any of the carpeted surfaces, which is quite impressive indeed!
Altogether, I am extremely pleased with this vacuum/mop combo robot. I will come back to this review if I need to edit it based on longevity or maintenance concerns, but at this present time, I am quite thrilled with the performance over a solid week of daily use. 5 out of 5 stars, and especially when this goes on sale, I would recommend you buy it without hesitation.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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As part of the ongoing Cobra legacy, the Cobra RAD 490i elevates your road awareness with more range and coverage. Backed by decades of excellence in radar detection, Cobra is empowered by customer feedback, integrating enhanced Digital Signal Processing technology that filters out false alarms while maintaining peak sensitivity to legitimate threats. The bright white OLED display delivers clear visual alerts in addition to audio warnings, ensuring you stay informed without distraction. The Cobra RAD 490i connects seamlessly with our Defender Database and nationwide driver network, providing real-time intelligence beyond what any standalone detector can see. With continuous firmware updates that optimize performance over time, this detector represents our commitment to keeping you protected with technology that evolves as you drive.
Customer Rating
5
Peace of mind for daily commuting!
on June 19, 2026
Posted by: Bren
I want to start off my honest review by making it abundantly clear that I am no racer or Need for Speed driver. I am honestly just a guy who drives an older, lifted Tacoma and commutes to work every day on the same roads in a town of about 86,000 people. However, we are ridiculously oversaturated with the most uptight law enforcement officers this side of the Rocky Mountains, and I am certain that some rule must be continuously violated by them, given the number of random speed traps, speed vans, and cameras they have been putting up relative to the population in my area. Unlike some more permissive states, these traffic enforcement cops are literally pulling people over for going less than 5 or 8 miles per hour over the speed limit, even in non-residential backcountry areas with speed limits of 45 to 55 miles per hour. These are the same speed limits as when the roads were single-lane, poorly paved, with tractors and cattle on them. Now, the same speed limits, but two lanes, more traffic, and way too many speed traps.
With all that background, I was extremely excited to get this Cobra RAD 490i Radar and laser detector for my truck. I have it mounted on the dash, and thanks to the handy USB-C power system (a must, in my opinion, for vehicle accessories in 2026), I was able to get this powered up and working with no problems. Now I feel I am truly able to take a more proactive approach on my commutes. I am catching both K and Ka alerts easily on the high-sensitivity setting, and, again, while I am no racer, I do sometimes go a little faster than the signs may indicate when I have no one around me on dry roads. The peace of mind I have now with this system cannot be understated.
I really like the easy-to-see OLED screen that has a little status bar flashing back and forth while idle and powered on, so at a quick glance, I can tell that this is powered on and working. I respect how sensitive this detector is because I am also picking up modern vehicles' blind-spot monitoring radar signals (usually K alerts). I would turn this setting off, but because there are still speed traps and cameras that use K band radar, so I am leaving it on for now. I do love the auto-mute function that, after the initial loud alert tones, reduces the volume of the ongoing alert so I don’t have to reach over and manually mute it while I have my hands on the wheel.
Altogether, I have no criticisms to offer. This detector is doing exactly what it is advertised to do and I have already been able to slow down a few times in some corners where a patrol car or speed trap van just happens to have set up out of eyeshot from a distance. I would recommend you look into this detector and compare it to other Cobra offerings in the lineup, but this one was simple enough even for a novice like me to set up. Thanks for reading and I hope it helps!
I would recommend this to a friend!
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GAME IT ALL. The GIGABYTE GAMING A16 redefines accessible gaming with a perfect synergy of AI-powered performance and ergonomic design. Featuring an AMD Ryzen~ 7 260 Processor and up to a NVIDIA~ GeForce RTX~ 5070 GPU, the GAMING A16 is ideal for casual gamers, students, and professionals exploring generative AI. Equipped with GiMATE - an intelligent AI agent - this laptop, personalizes your computing experience by adapting system operations to your unique needs. With a focus on user comfort, the GIGABYTE GAMING A16 introduces the premium GIGABYTE Golden Curve Keyboard and a versatile 180-degree hinge design, accommodating various usage scenarios from gaming to productivity. Perceive every game winning moment on a panoramic 165Hz display with slim bezels and a 16:10 aspect ratio while Dolby Atmos~ creates an immersive audio experience.
Customer Rating
5
Excellent performance at 2026 prices!
on June 15, 2026
Posted by: Bren
The TLDR of this review is that if you can get a great deal or something on sale, laptops from a year ago may be a better fit for raw gaming performance and build quality at the price, given the tolls of inflation and shortages of RAM, etc. However, a massive thumbs up I will get out now for your interest in comparison is that the power management and capabilities with this Ryzen 7 260 CPU are just fantastic and truly allow this laptop to excel both in the game room and the lecture hall. I will detail it more below, but with the right settings, this laptop can stretch its battery life for very long indeed, and, alternatively, can make even some modern AAA gaming titles look and perform super well! What is further encouraging is that this laptop has upgradable DDR5 RAM, with only a single channel utilized with a 16GB stick in it, so it has some futureproofing compared to soldered-on RAM competitors!
This gaming laptop requires minimal software tweaking to let its versatility as a portable work or school machine shine once it's off the charger. I found that the drop-down tab in the GiMATE software labeled “Power Saver Mode” setting forces the discrete Nvidia GPU off and communicates with the Windows 11 settings to put the computer into power-saving modes and, overall, did seem to yield staggering results in terms of extending battery life. Legitimately, switching from a gaming optimized software settings state to a power savings optimized state takes this from being like a 2-hour battery life laptop to a 10-12 hour laptop EASILY for every day productivity. Furthermore, and highly impressive, this power-saving mode kept the laptop silent, with the fans hardly spinning up at all as I worked. I was able to type this very review in basically complete silence, without ever hearing more than the very soft, satisfying thumping of the keys. I would have zero embarrassment bringing this laptop to a quiet lecture hall, library, or work meeting. The important takeaway is to make sure you get into the software and make the power-setting changes. I had a scenario where I unplugged the laptop after a long gaming session and left it open at full brightness with a YouTube music video playlist rolling side by side with a Word document on my normal gaming settings in Balanced and Optimus mode, and found that, to my shock, the battery had gone from 100% to 50% in only an hour and a half or so! Changing the settings to match the workflow you will be doing matters on this computer.
The keyboard is excellent. As a usual MacBook user, I am really enjoying typing on this keyboard. Everything feels intuitive, and there are no strange key placements. The RGB backlighting works just fine and lights both the primary and secondary functions of every key on the keyboard without issue. The typing experience is quiet, precise, and satisfying for a membrane keyboard, with nice travel, a soft but assertive bump at the bottom of the key stroke, and an excellent rebound back to the top, making my typing essentially as fast as any keyboard I have ever used. While gaming, the keys feel great, and the laptop deck is smooth and at a comfortable height and angle that does not cut into my wrists. Gigabyte was true to its marketing, and the “ASWD” zone is indeed cooler than the rest of the keyboard when gaming or other heat-intensive activities are underway! I pulled out my grill infrared thermometer and sure enough, the WASD keys were around 100F at peak gaming intensity while the keys beyond and especially in the periphery were closer to 110F! This is a huge difference that you can really feel!
The trackpad is also smooth and quite serviceable for a “springboard” style trackpad without manual buttons. I had no issue using the trackpad and all gesture controls worked. Of course, as a gaming laptop, I mainly used a mouse, but it is nice to know that the trackpad works so well for everyday use or portable on-the-go use! The webcam also works well enough for its purposes and has Windows Hello capability, which makes logging into the laptop a breeze! Another positive in this system is the 1TB SSD. They chose a Kingston drive that is excellent and as speedy as you could ask for with a laptop at this price! I got 4800MB/s read speeds and 3850MB/s write speeds which is comparable to the speeds on my 2021 MacBook Pro 14 and results in excellent load speeds of both the operating system and all games and programs I tested!
The screen and speakers leave much to be desired on this laptop. The screen, while it does have decent scaling with its 16:10 aspect ratio, is only 1920x1200, which is essentially just normal high definition to the untrained eye, and while that works okay on a 16” screen, what doesn’t work so well is how dim it is. 300 Nits of brightness is quite low and essentially limits this laptop to indoor areas and well-shaded outdoor settings. The high refresh rate of 165Hz, however, is highly welcome and results in both gaming and everyday use feeling very crisp and clean! As for the speakers, they are gratefully clear in the audio they produce but lack solid bass and also have a pretty low maximum volume that won’t quite fill a room.
I had to actually come back and rewrite my review on gaming performance. To basically be as succinct as possible, the gaming performance on this machine gets a MASSIVE improvement when you turn the MUX switch on in the GiMATE settings and come back and put everything on gaming, and high-performance mode throughout the various settings. A great example is my performance on Doom: The Dark Ages. I was getting fairly uninspiring performance of 60-70FPS on high settings with everything on balanced mode using the typical Optimus switch, but with the above settings selected, I got a smooth and VERY consistent 80-110FPS that really just looked stellar on this 16” FHD screen! Coming from a player normally on a desktop PC with a desktop 4070 Super GPU that has 12GB of VRAM, I truly was not upset with the performance here at all! Even the 8GB of VRAM which is perhaps the more limiting factor in this system along with single channel RAM acquitted itself very well! Another game where this outstanding performance boost was noted was Subnautica 2. I was able to go from 90-120FPS on medium settings with DLSS on Auto, up to high with frame rates in the 100-120FPS range! Also, and much to my happiness, these fans are neither whiny nor ridiculously loud yet kept the CPU and GPU nicely cooled! My CPU on the optimal settings above never peaked higher than 87C and the GPU never exceeded 80C on the memory! This is excellent performance and demonstrates an excellent balance between high performance for plugged in gaming but also quiet and unobtrusive performance when in quieter settings.
In my experience and testing, this laptop never felt CPU bound; every frame dished out felt smooth and stutter free which tells me the CPU was more than up to the task. The trouble in performance only came when I tried to bump up the graphics settings on games like Doom: The Dark Ages and found the system to really get bogged down and sluggish at the point where its VRAM limit was exceeded. What I would say is that for a laptop in this crazy year of 2026, when memory and storage prices are through the roof, this is pretty darn capable for what you are getting at the price. It is only tough, though, when you look back 2 or 3 years and see that at this price, what you used to be able to get was close to the flagship offering of many gaming laptop companies.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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The HS35 v3 Gaming Headset is essential gear for game-changing sound on whichever platform you prefer. It features a universal 3.5mm plug, so you can easily connect to your PC, Mac, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, and more. Enjoy immersion-enhancing audio from the 50mm neodymium drivers that deliver excellent audio wherever you play. A floating headband and soft fabric earpads provide enhanced, long-lasting comfort, perfect for marathon gaming sessions. Chat with friends and get crystal-clear comms with the HS35 v3~s omnidirectional mic. Convenient earcup controls allow you to quickly adjust your audio and mute your mic without digging through in-game menus.
Customer Rating
5
Awesome performance on a budget!
on June 13, 2026
Posted by: Bren
This headset has genuinely impressed me. The overall sound quality is excellent and the ambient sounds come through with impressive clarity. The bass is powerful and adds depth to the audio without overpowering the rest of the sound or becoming overwhelming. It strikes a great balance, creating an immersive gaming experience whether you're playing something heavy on action sequences or something more quiet and atmospheric. Comfort is where this headset really stands out for me personally. As someone with sensory sensitivities, I tend to dislike wearing headsets for long periods of time, but I genuinely forgot I had this headset on. It’s very lightweight, the earcups are well padded and breathable, and the floating headband design helps distribute weight evenly across the top of your head so the overall fit is snug without applying excessive pressure anywhere. I would happily recommend this headset to anyone looking for one that doesn't sacrifice comfort or sound quality for the sake of price.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Peak performer by day, entertainer by night. Power through the day with an AMD Ryzen processor, delivering reliable performance for everything. With fast memory and spacious storage, apps load quickly and multitasking stays smooth. Featuring a 23.8" display with 100% sRGB, 350 nits brightness, and a 75Hz refresh rate for smooth, vibrant visuals you can easily stay focused on every task. With HP Eye Ease to reduce blue light and a sleek 3-sided borderless design, it~s built to keep you productive and comfortable all day long.
Customer Rating
5
Utility and beauty at a great price!
on June 13, 2026
Posted by: Bren
This is really quite a great deal for an all-in-one computer that is nice enough in looks and performance to adorn the desks or study nooks of almost anyone. Asus has done a fantastic job here of creating a computer that will suit the needs of most all basic and casual computer users while skipping on some of the features that would add ridiculous costs to the price tag.
This computer functions excellently as any above-entry level computer should in 2026 in my opinion. It is equipped with 16GB of soldered RAM which is as low on RAM as I think anyone should tolerate on their Windows PC in 2026, and the Snapdragon CPU is snappy and handles the basic productivity multitasking I have thrown at it including multiple browser tabs, Word documents, and background processes running at the same time. All the while, this computer is running nearly silently! Qualcomm processors in my experience seem to run more efficiently and take less noisy airflow to cool them than their Intel or Ryzen counterparts. Additionally, the use of the Qualcomm components in this PC rather than Windows or Ryzen is probably how they were able to keep costs so reasonable on this device.
Asus made some bold decisions with this All-in-one. One of them was to decide to keep the screen itself thin and unobtrusive by sticking all the I/O and ports on the tower instead, along with the internals of the computer itself with both speaker and fan noise coming out of the stand of the computer. This is a cool choice that is part of how this has such nice lines and aesthetics, but it does limit some of your optionality: this stand has tilt but no height adjustment, and because the computer IS the stand, you will not be detaching the screen and attaching it to, say, a monitor mount. Your best bet is to use desktop risers if you need to increase the height and adjust the angle up or down as needed. The screen itself is beautiful and at 1080p resolution with 75hz refresh, a 24” screen like this feels plenty smooth and detailed enough to use. The touchscreen ability is an excellent “touch” (pun-intended) and it just further increases the diverse use cases for this computer. The screen also gets plenty bright, for even my sunlit office in the afternoon and the anti-glare works super well. I also noticed that the viewing angles are great to where I can be standing at an almost complete bladed angle to the screen and have perfect clarity of the image or text on the screen.
The peripherals leave something to be desired. I was surprised to find that while the all-in-one computer itself is a nice modern pure white color, the peripherals are actually more off-white eggshell colored, closely akin to the 90’s computers of old with their grayish-white accessories. I wouldn’t say that this is too bad of a color match, but the mouse and the keyboard themselves are also just not the greatest quality I would have hoped for. The mouse is quite small to my medium sized male hands and just doesn’t slide around the best on my mouse pad. The keyboard is actually quite pleasant to type on, but it has only one setting for angle with a built-in hump on the back and this angle isn’t my favorite for my cranky wrists. Of course, at this price, Asus like other manufacturers, probably wager that if you are the type of computer user to really care about peripherals, you will likely go buy or already own peripherals that suit your needs rather than using these included accessories. A redeeming quality that I will mention then is that both the mouse and the keyboard connect to a single USB-A dongle that is extremely low profile and plug in nicely to one of the multiple included USB-A ports on the stand. Altogether, maybe budget for some different accessories if you want them, but this entire review has been written on this PC with its included keyboard, for what its worth and I did not suffer from any serious fatigue or problems compared to some keyboards I have used.
The webcam, while equipped with Windows Hello (Facial recognition) login abilities, is lacking overall in quality. I used webcam test and found that the resolution of the camera is pixelated and blurry. It is serviceable, but not the best for certain. Privacy was kept in mind though. A white indicator light turns on when the webcam is operating and there is also a physical privacy shutter built in for rigorous privacy needs. I can also appreciate that rather than doing a little webcam (hump) at the top of the screen as some all-in-one makers have done, Asus just elected to make the entire top bezel of the screen raised to be in line with the webcam which is a nice touch.
The audio from this computer is a little lackluster. With the sound originating out of two tiny 3W speakers out of vents at the bottom of the narrow tower facing the user, it feels almost more like mono rather than stereo sound. Asus can say they got Dolby Atmos certification as much as they like, but the proof is in the pudding, or rather, the end-users’ auditory canals. Bass is almost completely lacking and at higher volumes, I experienced some distinct rattling noise from the speakers. This is following driver and software updates so there is nothing to blame there.
Altogether, if I could, I would give this computer 4.5 stars. I am going to give it 5 stars based on the Best Buy rating system, and here is why. The complaints and concerns I expressed are very likely not going to concern or affect 99% of buyers looking for an All-in-one desktop like this. Peripherals, audio, etc. are not the concerns of someone just looking for a great computer where they can browse the web, send emails, and maybe edit some PowerPoint presentations or type some documents or edit spreadsheets. The aspects I am most concerned about with the computer are honestly subjective and don’t affect the actual use of the computer. What really matters that I must emphasize with wrapping up this review is that this computer functions smoothly and provides EXACTLY the user experience it advertises. With all of that said, at this price tag, I would definitely say you should pick up this computer and give it a place in your home for your computing needs!
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Listen in an effortless style. OpenDots Air combines an open-ear design with a compact clip-on form that fits securely and comfortably. Designed to blend naturally into your look, it wears more like an accessory than a device~easy to put on, easy to live with.
Customer Rating
5
Engagement and comfort in your surroundings!
on June 7, 2026
Posted by: Bren
The OpenDots Air earbuds from Shokz are honestly a refreshing wireless earbud option in a day and age where bulky headphones and/or expensive mainstream earbuds seem to be the predominant listening modality. Whether it is podcasts, audiobooks, or music, my listening experience has been great with these earbuds. Both my wife and I shared them, and even with our different ear shapes, as pictured, and the presence of multiple ear piercings in my wife’s case, these earbuds ended up being comfortable and nice to wear for both of us.
The general package and quality you get here in the hundred-dollar range are excellent. The wireless charging case is actually about the same size, if not a little smaller, as an AirPod Pro charging case, and even lighter, which helps the sensation of carrying the case around disappear that much more into the background of your consciousness. The charging case is USB-C rechargeable, and there is no “right” or “left” earbud; they are usable on either side!
Putting them on the first few times took some practice, but it became intuitive after using them for a while. The initial difficulty I had was getting used to the earbuds' touch controls. The “tap” function on the earbud's stem for pausing and taking calls is a little finicky, and I had to make repeated attempts to get it right. The Shokz app does provide a gesture tutorial to help you get used to it, and after a bit of practice, I did. Speaking of the app, it is quite smooth and handy to use, and even prompted me to update my firmware with some very specific and easy-to-follow instructions, which was handy! The app also allows customization of the touch controls, so it is great that they give users that ability!
The listening experience on these earbuds is absolutely fantastic. I feel like these earbuds let me stay well engaged with my environment while still delivering high-quality audio, without having to have an earbud buried uncomfortably deep in my ear canal or bulky, hot headphone cups clamped over my ears. These are very low profile, and I would honestly say they should be right at home for frequent gym goers and people who work out in general, as they really do stay in place! I am one of those unfortunate people who, no matter which AirPods earbud size I use, will still end up having them fall out of my ears during intense workouts. These OpenDots Air earbuds are rock-solid during my workouts and, as someone who runs hot, seem to let more cool air flow in and around my ears than when I have an earbud jammed deep in there. The only natural downside of this is that these earbuds do not have (nor do they claim to have) active noise cancellation or high-quality noise isolation. So, if your listening environment is going to be full of loud ambient noise like a construction site or an airplane flight, these may not be for you.
Overall, I would give these earbuds a solid 5 out of 5 stars for what they are! I think the price-to-quality is spot on with these, and there are plenty of people who will benefit from using them over competitors’ options in the same price range. Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy these!
I would recommend this to a friend!
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BlueParrott Pro B450 combines rugged durability, crystal-clear call performance, and all day-comfort for drivers who go the distance. With industry-leading AI voice isolating microphones, Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) for listening, and IP55-rated protection, it delivers dependable clarity and durability in any environment.~ideal for long-haul truckers, food delivery drivers, regional drivers, ride-share drivers, farmers, landscapers, RV drivers, off-road enthusiasts, or anyone on the move. Get up to 45 hours of talk time (the longest runtime in any BlueParrott headset) with 98% noise cancellation and fast charging. An extended, reliable wireless range and multi-device Bluetooth~ connectivity keep you connected, while 100% VoiceControl~, a customizable BlueParrott Button~, and a soft ear cushion, padded headband, and padded T-bar pad support all-day wear.
Customer Rating
5
Voice Isolation that WORKS!!!
on June 5, 2026
Posted by: Bren
Whatever your needs are for a headset like this, there can be no doubt from my testing that the voice isolation and ambient noise cancellation work! After I first unboxed this, I immediately (and intuitively) turned it on, paired it with my iPhone via Bluetooth, and then went straight to making a phone call while walking past very loud speakers blasting music. I was utterly impressed when I asked the person I called if they were noticing any background noise at all, and they said no! Furthermore, despite the loud music, I could still hear them really well through the headphones! I am confident that this headset would suit anyone working in and around loud environmental noise settings like machine shops, concerts, big rigs, etc., and I am certain that even my AirPods Pro 2’s do not compare to how good the microphone isolation is!
One of the other positives of the headset I noticed was how comfortable it felt on my head, wearing it for a very long stretch of time. It is so lightweight that there were times were I most definitely forgot it was on my head at all! I additionally liked how easy it was to mute the mic just by flipping it up and out of the way. I am a very tactile guy and I like features like this that really make it certain you will be muted when needed rather than having to rely on some fiddly, small buttons with uncertain outcomes.
Overall, if you are in the market for a headset like this, I think the BlueParrot Pro B450 is definitely one you should consider! The ability to have constant ear monitoring with one uncovered ear while having the ability to go ANC or ambient on your headphone is honestly such excellent customizability that I wouldn’t give it a second thought. Cheers!
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Alienware 27 240Hz QD-OLED Gaming Monitor. Take in superb QD-OLED visuals and fluid gameplay on the 27" flat panel monitor featuring a fast 240Hz refresh rate.
Customer Rating
5
Gaming and productivity excellence!
on June 5, 2026
Posted by: Bren
This monitor is truly such an incredible value at the price. If a monitor like this had existed in this price range 2 or 3 years ago, people would have thought it was a scam for sure. Even today, it is certainly a value too great to overlook! A monitor that is OLED at 1440P on a 27” screen with such an incredibly high refresh rate is, in my opinion, truly a sweet spot for gamers in 2026. I am currently playing on a gaming desktop with a 13700K CPU and an NVIDIA 4070 Super GPU, and this is the perfect pairing for this monitor’s capabilities. My favorite newer games that push my system a bit and struggle to run at much higher than 100FPS at maximum graphics settings, like Subnautica 2 (early access) and Doom The Dark Ages, are stunning indeed, and complemented by the perfect blacks and response time of this monitor to create a smooth and immersive experience. Some of the older games I enjoy, like World of Tanks and games in the Halo Master Chief Collection, can make full use of every smooth, buttery, glorious frame this monitor can deliver to your eyeballs. I honestly don’t know if I will need anything other than this monitor for many, many years to come!
The monitor’s out-of-the-box setup is super easy. It seems that to create a high-value, high-quality monitor at this price point, Alienware (Dell) decided to focus all development on the monitor itself, rather than the stand or the monitor housing. The stand has a tilt-and-rotate function, similar to a lazy Susan, and is height-adjustable, but does not appear to have built-in cable management. This really did not matter to me, as I use dual monitor arms with VESA mounting, and after the initial review, I just went ahead and mounted this on the arm! It is nice, though, to have a monitor with full movement and customization, and one that also allows you to smoothly swap to a VESA mounting solution when you are ready without much hassle. Additionally, one HDMI cable and one DisplayPort cable are included, so you're ready to go for gaming with your device of choice, whether it be PC or most consoles. Finally, I appreciate that this monitor has its power management built in, so you can just plug it into a wall outlet with the included, highly available 3-prong (IEC C14) "kettle" style cable.
Altogether, I have truly no criticisms to offer at this price for this monitor. There are no unnecessary bells, whistles, or aesthetic distractors on this monitor that would drive up the price needlessly. What you are getting here is excellent value for your dollar in the gaming monitor space! Hope you found this review encouraging and that you enjoy your new monitor when you get it!
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Enjoy thumping bass from your personal playlists with these Skullcandy Crusher Bluetooth headphones. The wireless functionality lets you listen from across the room, and the thick padded earpieces keep your ears comfortable during long listening sessions. These Skullcandy Crusher Bluetooth headphones are adjustable to fit a variety of head sizes.
Customer Rating
5
Best experience for Bassheads who want to feel it!
on June 1, 2026
Posted by: Bren
As with the other Skullcandy Crusher headphones I reviewed, these are truly one of the best experiences for people who want the physical, tangible FEEL of bass-laden music, not just the auditory experience of low bass notes you get from normal headphones. These headphones really make you feel the music, thanks to the bass slider that lets you ramp up or down the haptic bass feel. I absolutely love these on-the-fly adjustments, as I am quite an eclectic music listener and my playlists span everything from 70’s country to the latest pop songs, so I am always grateful to be able to adjust my bass experience as I move through my music!
As compared to the Active 540 Crusher’s from Skull Candy, these are an awesome deal for almost half the price. They may lack a bit of the audio clarity and treble and mid presence that I enjoy from the more expensive, higher-end headphones, but it honestly isn’t a make-or-break part of the audio experience with these headphones. I think a lot of what counts for headphone users is present here. They are low profile and stylish, and they have comfortable, easy-to-access volume and music controls on the right ear cup for easy navigation without having to pull out your phone for all such functions.
Where I would question or have concerns about these headphones at all is in two key areas. The first is build quality. While these are not necessarily bad out of the box, the hinge regions of the ear cups have a bit of a feel that, if one were to get them badly bent the wrong way, such as in a backpack with other items like coats and books mashed in, they might snap. Ergo, careful storage and handling are a must. The other area of concern is the external plastic on the ear cups. It feels like material that would easily scratch or show gouges in this black color I received for review in the right circumstances.
A couple more things to mention if you are comparing these to the higher-end Skullcandy Crusher 540 Active headphones. While both are possessed of excellent noise isolation qualities, the ear cups on the 540 Active’s run just a bit cooler in feel as they are, indeed, intended more for active users or gymgoers, and that can make a difference for some users. Another consideration is that the Crusher 3.0 headphones fold for storage, while the Active 540’s do not. Another consideration is that the Active’s headphones, while apparently meant to be more solid on the head, actually feel LOOSER on my medium-sized male head than these Crusher 3.0’s! So weirdly enough, the non-active branded headphones in this case actually feel better suited for intense movement activities than the Active branded ones! Finally, this is a bit more subjective, but I am quite certain the Bass on the high end of the slider is far more punchy feeling on the Active 540’s. Now, is that worth almost double the price? I will let you, the buyer, decide.
With all this information, I would give these headphones a solid 5 out of 5 stars for their price and competitors. People who love bass are going to want to pick these headphones with near certainty over any other headphones in this price range. Others looking for different build quality or a more balanced approach to the audio range are going to want to keep looking, but should still give these a try, by my recommendation!
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Only at Best BuyPlay your way to the top with this HP OMEN notebook. The Intel Core i7 processor provides lightning-fast response times, and the 1TB hard drive is enough for all your favorite games and apps with room to spare for music and video files. This HP OMEN notebook has a full-size backlit keyboard for fast, easy typing.
What is the RPM of the 1 terabyte hard drive?
7200rpm, much better than the 5400rpm hard drive found in my $1600.00 MSI Stealth Pro :(
9 years, 6 months ago
by
Bren