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Namdnas
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- Review count58
- Helpfulness votes360
- First reviewNovember 20, 2016
- Last reviewMarch 26, 2024
- Featured reviews0
- Average rating4.3
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The Levoit PlasmaPro Smart True HEPA Air Purifier completely refreshes air 5x per hour in a 403 sq ft space or 2x per hour in a 1,007 sq ft space, running with noise levels as low as 24dB. With 3-stage H13 True HEPA filtration, the air purifier filters 99.97% of airborne particles 0.3 microns in size and neutralizes household odors such as pet and kitchen smells. HEPASmart Technology filters 99.99% of bacteria and mold, as well as 99.9% of viruses, keeping your home fresh and healthy. PlasmaPro Technology releases negative and positive ions into the air, which then bind with contaminants and break them down into harmless matter. The laser dust sensor scans surrounding air for airborne particles and displays the amount detected on the PM2.5 display. With smart control, you can control air purifier settings no matter where you are, connect to third-party voice assistants, and receive real-time notifications about air quality and filter life.
Customer Rating
5
Amazed at how well this works.
on August 22, 2021
Posted by: Namdnas
from TN
I got this Air Purifier specifically because I have 3 pet Rats in a large Critter Nation cage...in a somewhat small-ish room. I work from home and this cage is also in my work room. They keep me company during the day. :-)
We fully clean their cage twice a week. As much as I love the little girls, after a few days, it always has a bit of an odor to it. We are still experimenting to see what works best in their cage to reduce cleaning and odor. So, it's not a big deal, but if I'm going to be in the room 8 hours a day, I'd much prefer ZERO odor. LOL
Until we can figure out something that works better than what we are doing now, this Air Purifier is a life-saver! Unboxing was very minimal and very easy. So was setup. You do have to twist the base off to expose the (HUGE) filter in order to remove it from the bag. But once you do this, the rest is just as simple as downloading the VeSync App and plugging in the unit. I had zero problems connecting it to the network and the app and to be quite honest, this is probably the easiest thing to set up that I've done in the past several years. So, kudos to that.
Honestly, other than the size of the unit itself (yeah, it is quite large...much larger than I expected it to be), you'd never even notice it was there. It's THAT quite. I love the touch sensitive button up top. They can be used or you can just use the app. The app is also animated, so the background shows the current fan speed as a neat little animation. I usually just keep it on "Auto" and I keep the "Plasma Pro" turned on. The Plasma Pro eliminates about 98% of any odor in the room, mostly due to the critters cage. This is fantastic. If there ever is a day we don't get around to cleaning it, I just manually crank the fan speed up to about 2 or so and it takes care of the rest and we just make sure to do our cleaning the next day.
I wanted this review to be a testament to any animal owners out there. Not just for dogs and cats, either. Any animal. Reptiles (such as Bearded Dragons), Rats, other small critters, and whatever else. Put this in the room where the animal mostly resides and you're good to go. In fact, I'm tempted, when I can, to get another one of these and put it in the living room with my Bearded Dragon enclosure.
5/5 stars. The filter doesn't cost too much and you need to replace it about every 9 months. Setup and connections were a breeze, the fan is super silent. Other than the sheer size of the thing, you wouldn't even know it's there. The Plasma Pro technology simply cannot be beat and the odor elimination exceeded my expectations. If you're in the market for an Air Purifier, this is the way to go!
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The Shark Cordless Pet Plus Vacuum with Anti-Allergen Complete Seal combines powerful suction with cordless convenience to deliver deep cleaning on all floor types. Its lightweight design and removable hand vac allow for cleaning from floor to ceiling.
Customer Rating
5
One of the best stick vacs we've used
on July 26, 2021
Posted by: Namdnas
from TN
O.K., so, we have a variety of animals and we love them all! We have a cat, a dog (hound/beagle mix) that sheds like crazy, a few rats, a Black Mexican Kingsnake and coming this week, a Bearded Dragon! So, needless to say, we needed a good stick vacuum that's designed for pets, specifically. It sure beats pulling out the full-sized vacuum when you just need to quickly vacuum something simple, like some substrate spilling onto the floor during cleaning, stray treats and such, lol.
Enter this Shark vacuum. Now, I am a huge fan of Shark/Ninja products, but I will still review honestly, as I have had some Shark/Ninja stuff that have just been "duds" in the past. However, I love their Hot/Cold Coffee Brewing System, as well as their cooking products, such as the Foodi line (grill, pressure cookers, etc). I will say that this vacuum, pun intended, sucks in all the best ways.
Unboxing is pretty standard fare for a vacuum and you do feel that you get your money's worth. Inside is the vacuum itself, several attachments for it and the instruction manual. Now, Shark/Ninja branded items are notorious for putting shipment protection stickers all over the product. Which I don't mind, as they do tend to remove easily with no residue. This is the first Shark/Ninja product I've gotten that I've had problems in this department. All of the stickers and tape, etc, came off great and left nothing behind. But there was this one notorious one on the stick part of the vacuum, closer to the bottom where it attaches to the base. It was a yellow sticker and it just peeled off in pieces and left a ton of gunk. I had to take the Goo-Gone to it. Luckily, it removed everything and didn't eat away at the paint, so that's a plus. I also wanted to comment on the color. It's really nice - it's shiny and metallic looking and seems pretty durable.
It was already about half charged when we unboxed it, so I was able to do a quick test vacuum, immediately. I put it on charge and it was done pretty quickly. I really wasn't paying attention, as I've had a lot going on this past week, but if I had to guess, it was fully charged within 45 minutes or so. It does have a 40 minute run-time, according to the packaging. With all of my use of it this week, that seems to be about on par. I've used it on both carpet and regular flooring and both settings work fantastic. I was impressed with the floor/no carpet mode as with most vacuums, on a bare floor, it just scatters the dust around. Not this guy. It pulls it right in. I even vacuumed my Gaming/Media room over the weekend and it pulled everything out of the normally problematic areas I have in there. And what it didn't, the stick attachments too care of super easily. I love the Rubber parts of the underbrush, as this works great in pulling up hard to get pet hair. Our dog sheds a TON and her fur is so thick and course, it tends to "weave" itself into other fabrics. This vacuum has tackled her fur with ease. I also love the trigger that ups the power temporarily, when needed. If you have a problem piece of debris that's stuck and just won't pull up, hold the trigger in and odds are pretty good that it'll grab it then.
Outside of the above, I can't really think of any other cons besides the stickers. If I had to nit-pick, the only thing I can come up with is that I do wish the dirt bin was larger. I'm being honest...this thing pulls up way more dirt and stuff from the carpet than even our full-sized vacuum does....as well as more than our robot vacuum, even. But just the convenience of being able to quickly spot clean without dealing with cables is fantastic. Cleaning out the snake enclosure is super easy now, as once I get all the Aspen bedding out, the vacuum takes care of what little is left, even the dust from it. Stray rat pellets and treats or other food that's found it way to the carpet all come up great.
Overall, I'm giving this vacuum a 5/5 star rating. I just hope that it holds up well, over time.
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Designed For Convenience Be dialed in—all the time, everywhere and anywhere—with the Acer Chromebook 11. Recognized as the perfect multi-media companion, this special machine is super thin, extra light and delivers unmatched value in today’s fast-paced, technology-driven world. It features an impressive HDR camera, fast wireless connectivity and a long-lasting battery life, so you can run your favorite Google apps or access your photos, videos, music and documents—all day long.
Customer Rating
5
A great basic "starter" Chromebook.
on June 15, 2021
Posted by: Namdnas
from TN
We had a larger Acer Chromebook, prior to this one. I initially got it for myself, but wound up never really using it. So, when schooling went Virtual this past year, I gave it to my daughter for home-use. I worked great for her but unfortunately, she's not learned fully on how to well care for things (ahem, electronics) just yet. Needless to say, it survived a few good drops and daily wear and tear and seemed O.K.; But one day, the screen just went out. It got "impact" damage out of the blue, even though nothing happened to it at that specific moment in time and the screen went all wonky and unusable. Luckily, there was only about a month left of school for the year and she was able to finish it out on her desktop and iPad.
I needed to get her a new laptop for the new 2021 school year, just in case there would be a need for it or if there were any Virtual days. I didn't want to get anything super expensive due, but I wanted something smaller and functional enough. So, I went ahead and got this Acer Chromebook for her...just to be safe. I've allowed her to use it over the weekend to make sure it works O.K. and we tested it for the purposes of this review. With that out of the way, it is getting put up until the school year starts and I'm giving her further "teaching" opportunities on taking care of things...especially electronics and I want this Chromebook to last her.
Unboxing was just pretty standard fare. Included in the cardboard box was the Chromebook itself, the charging cables (two pieces...the power brick and the actual cable that goes into the wall), as well as the manual, documentation and other materials. Nothing fancy and about the par for course, given the price of the product. Setting it up was a breeze. I absolutely LOVED the fact that this Chromebook, unlike our last one, does not use a proprietary charging cable. It uses USB-C, which is fantastic and totally unexpected! YAY!
After getting it initially set up - connected to WiFi, logged in with a Gmail account, updated and a few apps downloaded, off we went. It was business as normal and works great for everything! Zero issues with logging into any of her previous school apps and websites. YouTube and other similar websites work great, as does Spotify and even the Apple Music website for our accounts there.
We loved the smaller form factor (we always felt our previous one was too big, thick and gaudy) and it's slimline design. If there's one thing we don't like about it are the huuuuuuge bezels around the screen. It does make the top half look pretty cheap, but the screen itself is good enough and definitely has better viewing angles that the prior one we had. The webcam is sufficient and has a wider field-of-view than most, it seems and the battery seemed to hold up well to the advertised 10 hour life - this will all depend on various factors...such as screen brightness, audio volume and what you're doing with it. Watching Netflix? Yeah, don't expect it to last the full 10 hours.
In conclusion: It's a basic-range Chromebook, not very expensive and in many cases..."expendable", if you will. If you have kids, no matter the age, this would make a great investment for them, as it would not be costly to replace and it does what it should. It also throws into a backpack or satchel well - just keep it protected. Oh and did I mention the fact that it has USB-C charging already? Yup, that's pretty awesome.
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The CORSAIR VIRTUOSO RGB Wireless XT delivers a high-fidelity audio experience for the most discerning players, combining uncompromising sound quality with all-day, all-night comfort from its premium memory foam earpads and headband. Connect wirelessly to virtually any device with simultaneous SLIPSTREAM WIRELESS and Qualcomm® aptX™ HD Bluetooth®, or wired via 3.5mm or USB. Make yourself heard with superb vocal clarity thanks to a broadcast-grade, omnidirectional detachable microphone with wide dynamic range. Lightweight aluminum construction ensures long-term durability, while up to 15 hours of wireless battery life and 60ft of range give you absolute listening freedom. Micro-perforated aluminum on each ear cup allows RGB lighting to shine through for visual flair. With immersive Dolby Atmos® and CORSAIR iCUE software to enable custom audio equalizer settings, RGB lighting control, and more, you can be the maestro of your gaming experience.
Customer Rating
5
The best all-around headset for gaming.
on May 21, 2021
Posted by: Namdnas
from TN
I've been looking for the "perfect" headset for a while now. Well, really, since I got my PS5. I've tried a few and had settled with one as the current "best" and really...I do love it. I have a wireless headset for my gaming laptop (Alienware M15 R4), but what I really wanted was a great all around headset that I can use with both the PS5 and my laptop. I seen that Corsair was upgrading their Virtuoso line of headsets and I had to give them a try. So glad I did!
Unboxing this thing was a pleasure. You really feel like you got your money's worth. You get the headset, displayed beautifully inside the box, along with the USB transmitter, a USB-C to regular USB charging cable, a 3.5mm wired cable and a really nice quality "bag" type case. Now, normally with these type of headphones, you can only use them in wired mode on Console, which sometimes decreases their quality. I hadn't intended on using these for the PS5 at all and just keeping them to my gaming laptop. I was pleasantly surprised to find out the USB transmitter was also compatible with Playstation! After installing the updated version of Corsair iQue, I immediately started messing with the settings. I also downloaded the Dolby Access app on my PC, as you get a free Dolby license with this headset. I noticed as long as Atmos is enabled, it locks you out of the equalizer and presets in the iQue program. So, really the only thing I changed was making the RGB lighting brighter and changed the speed of it - really the only RGB options. The RGB doesn't get very bright, tho.
It took about 3 or so hours, I believe for it to fully charge. One thing that confused me was the fact that the light on the headset blinks. Constantly. It doesn't stay lit. I thought this was indicating a connection problem or something, but resorting to the manual, it explained that it's supposed to blink either green, amber or red (I believe are the colors), based on battery level. It's advertised as a 15 hour battery life and I'm still in the green. Not had to charge it yet beyond the initial charge.
The audio quality is well...OMG. Music sounds "Ok", but these things are really tuned for gaming! I started up some Cold War and was immediately blown away by the sounds of all the in game actions, from the explosion to footsteps and voices. Everything was pristine, clear and loud. I did want to add the fact that I do have a small hearing disability and I have ZERO problems with volume on these cans. Maybe about 3/4 volume is as loud as I can get them and be comfortable. Now, in my past experiences with other cross-compatible headphones, the audio quality suffers pretty bad, as does the volume, when connecting to the PS4 or PS5. I am HAPPY to say that these DO NOT suffer from that. I was ecstatic to hear that the sound levels on the PS5 were the same as what was on my PC...the only thing that was lacking was Dolby Atmos. Other than that, it sounded exactly like it did on my PC in all the games that I tested. WOW. I'm impressed with these 50mm drivers.
The omni-directional boom mic is also, hands-down, one of the BEST mics I've ever used on a gaming headset. It's advertised as broadcast quality and that is true to form. In the multiplayer matches I've tested with friends and household members, everyone can hear me loud and clear, with minimal background noise. The mic does have an LED status ring that lights red when muted. I did find this a bit annoying to see it in your peripheral vision, but thankfully, there is an option in iQue to disable it, if you'd like.
I also love the fact that this headset has bluetooth built in as well, for connecting to your phone or other devices. And for the price, well...it should. I works as any normal bluetooth device does and you can answer a call while you have them on, gaming or even listen to music from your phone while you play your game. It's fantastic and super low latency. I never once had any dropouts to either my phone or the transmitter. Everything stayed connected with no static, cracks or pops.
The build quality is also top-tier. These seriously feel like they could easily be a $500+ pair of headphones. They have some heft to them, but they are not heavy during use. The also have about a "medium" clamp force. This will, of course, vary depending on the size of your head. But for me, they're super comfy and I have no issues with my glasses OR ear gauges (00 size). They stay put, but have just a little bit of wiggle if you were to shake your head with more force than normal. I wouldn't exercise with them or anything, but they are great for regular day to day NON-gaming use, as well! Just keep in mind that the more devices you have them connected to at once, the greater toll it takes on your battery life.
The take-away: GET THESE. These are a fantastic all-around headset for PS4/PS5/PC/Mobile gaming, in addition to regular bluetooth use when connected to your phone for music, movies and calls. I literally have no complaints on this headset other than...I kinda with the mic folded in somehow or upwards, to go out of the way. But it is detachable very easily, so you can just remove it if you plan on gaming or whatever and don't intent on talking. 5/5 stars all the way - the BEST gaming headset I've owned in...well, ever, really.
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SmoothSkin Bare Plus is ultrafast, simple to use and effective in achieving permanent hair reduction, with visible results in as little as four weeks. A full body treatment takes just 10 minutes, and integrated safety sensors to ensure SmoothSkin Bare Plus never activates unless it's safe for your skin. 98% of women who tried SmoothSkin Bare Plus would recommend to their friends. SmoothSkin are the original pioneers and the world's #1 best-selling IPL hair removal brand. FDA cleared for safe and effective, permanent hair removal on your body and face. With over 30 years' IPL expertise and almost 4,000 clinical treatments performed, SmoothSkin promises to deliver real results.
Customer Rating
4
This is the brand to get for laser hair removal.
on May 10, 2021
Posted by: Namdnas
from TN
My wife has really been wanting a laser hair removal system for a while and was going to make that her next investment. But, I surprised her with this and she loves it!
Opening the product, you really feel like you're getting something worthy of the price you paid. This being our first product of this type, we didn't really know what to expect or how exactly it works. Luckily, it's pretty simple. There was some initial confusion, out of the box...but this is mostly due to everything else requiring a charge. We plugged it in to charge it (we honestly thought it needed to be charged, since it's portable and it just seems like it would be difficult using it with a cord attached...) and quickly realized that it doesn't charge...it just plugs in for power. This is an easy mistake to make, as so many of our electronics and other devices these days work mostly off of being charged. Regardless, this was just a small problem, since the cable isn't the longest. So, make sure you find a place comfortable that is pretty close to an outlet. I honestly don't know why this couldn't have been made as a chargeable device, especially given that you'll likely be using it in odd and sometimes out of the way places.
Otherwise, it works great! We did a test run on both of us with a small patch. We have fairly light skin and there wasn't anything out of the normal after 24 hours. So, she started using it on armpits, legs and chin - once a week for 6 weeks. The armpits and legs worked fantastic and no issues there. The hair was virtually completely gone. However, the chin was a bit of a different story. This has always been a problem area for her, as the hair there is a bit courser than everywhere else and she has to keep it shaved at least every other day or so. While it does work on that area SOME, it took a lot more effort and the hair never fully went away like it did in other areas. She had no side effects from any of the places she treated over the 6 week period.
The only real true complaint we had with the unit was the fact that the "flash" is VERY bright. The manual says to "look away" when pressing the button to flash and remove the hair. The problem is...it's not always easy to do that and make sure you're hitting the area you intend to, without shifting when you look away. To be honest, the first time we used this, we didn't look away at all - we just made sure not to look DIRECTLY into it or anything. Then after reading that in the manual, we kinda freaked out a bit. Personally, for the cost of the unit and with how bright the light is...they should supply you a pair of goggles or something to use to protect your eyes, just to be on the safe side.
Outside of the above, I would give this product a solid 4 stars. We also like the fact that this technology has gotten far enough now to have "unlimited flashes". You no longer feel like it's lifespan is shortening every time you use it. I also feel like this is a brand I could trust and from my research, I believe this is the best brand to get for this type of hair removal. The reasons I docked a star is due to 1) The fact that in reality, this should be a product that you charge and use wireless, given the nature of what you're doing. 2) They should have included some sort of safety glasses/goggles with the product - this would not have been something terribly expensive to include and 3) It seems to work much better on thinner/finer hair than it does thicker or more course hair.
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With the 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i7 processors enabling up to 8-cores and 16-threads of multi-threaded performance, the latest generation of Alienware m17 goes beyond its predecessor. Featuring the new NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 with Ultimate performance for gamers and creators. Realistic ray-traced graphics and AI-accelerated DLSS. Our latest thermal technology, Advanced Alienware Cryo-Tech, is an engineering approach where an Alienware system’s gaming performance is never compromised by means of electrical and mechanical methods while maintaining system stability during the highest performance states.
Customer Rating
5
Top-tier for gaming laptops. It's a BEAST!
on April 13, 2021
Posted by: Namdnas
from TN
I was chomping at the bits to get this laptop delivered. My custom desktop PC is now approaching the 5yr mark and I can tell it's starting to show it's age. It's running an i7-6700K CPU (Quad-core), which is truly the bottleneck, along with an eVGA RTX 2080 video card. I'm using a Razer 27" monitor at 2k resolution. So, while I can still pretty much max out MOST of my games, it's getting pretty close. I can consistently stay around 60-80 frames on most graphic-intensive games I play...but I know that this system will soon be very limited.
When I got my M15 R4 Alienware laptop, I immediately got to work on getting it set up. I even went out of my way and bought a nice wireless mouse for it (the Logitech G502 Lightspeed...as well as the PowerPlay mat), along with a WD SN750 2TB M.2 SSD to add in. Booted it up with zero issues, got past setup and quickly got all my normal programs installed (as well as all the regular game launchers...Steam, Battle.net, Epic Games, Origin, GOG Galaxy, etc) and let Windows fully update to the latest version. Once that was done, I ran the Alienware update utility, which got me up to speed on everything but the BIOS. For some reason, that one wasn't updating. It kept stalling out at "installing". After about 4-5 reboots due to this, I finally got aggravated enough to just go to the Dell Support site and download/install it manually. After that, ran the Alienware Update utility again and no more updates!
Once this initial setup was done and I got logged into all my accounts, I powered everything down, flipped it over, removed the back panel and got that sweet SN750 drive installed. Put everything back, booted it up and went into Disk Management. Set the drive up as my D: Game drive and formatted it. It's flawless and I didn't even need to install a thermal cover for it...but I may still contact Dell and order a copper one for a few bucks, juuuuuust for peace of mind. The drive runs regularly at 113 degrees F. Once in a while, it'll spike to 143 F for a minute or two, then drops back down to 113. Not a big deal since it's just a once or twice spike...I'm guessing just when something is being written to the drive or when the framerate dips massively (like the explosion after a match of Nuketown '84 in Cold War). The ONLY issue I've had with the SSD drive I bought and added is sometimes when I boot the system, I get a popup asking what I want to do with the removable storage. When right-clicking the drive, I get an "Autoplay" option. Not sure why the system is seeing the drive like this...it's a bit annoying for my self-diagnosed OCD, but it doesn't affect the performance or anything. So, maybe it'll fix itself as time goes on with some future Windows updates and such.
I've tested some of my regular go-to games (which aren't too graphically intensive), such as Loop Hero, Valheim and Hades, as well as Warzone and MW. I even bought Cold War on PC as an excuse to test it out, haha (I already own it on PS5, but gotta love that Cross-Save/Cross-Play). I used the "simpler" games to test for long-term stability and Cold War with everything Maxed (including Ray Tracing) and 100 on the FOV setting to test intense usage stability. Let me put it this way - I play Cold War almost exclusively all weekend, since they had a 2XP event going on. With everything maxed and the Thermals set to Performance, I played it for 3 days for hours at a time, all day, throughout those 3 days. Smooth as butter and not a single crash, freeze or hiccup. On Nuketown '84, I'm averaging 120-140 FPS...MAXED. This is nuts!!! My desktop is lucky to get 70-80 FPS, lol. Oh and this thing can handle Total War: Three Kingdoms and Total War: Warhammer II without even breaking a sweat. I'm in amazement. I also love the 300hz screen. It's bright enough - I keep it at 90 - and the 300hz means that I never really have to worry about turning on VSync, as most games will never go past my refresh rate, anyway. So, no worries of screen tearing or anything like that. League of Legends also runs beautifully on it and that 300hz screen really makes that game shine.
Honestly, if I had any negatives, I'd really be nit-picking. I do wish the Alienware Command Center had a way to sync the lights on the Keyboard with the lights on the back of the system (Alien Head/Tron). I wish it was a bit friendlier in adding a second M.2 SSD, so as it isn't recognized as a removable drive (there's not eject media/drive option or anything...just the option for AutoPlay...which should never appear on an internal drive). I'd also loved to have seen the inclusion of a num-pad off to the side, like the M17's have. It's taken me a bit of adjusting to get used to not having one. The mouse track-pad doesn't feel very firm. It has this slight "wobbly" feeling to it and I did have some issues from time to time with it properly registering a click. But I don't use it often enough for this to make a difference and it works good enough when I need it. But for the price of this system, that part just feels lacking. I've not felt this issue on other Alienware laptops, so it could just be mine, who knows.
5 stars. Get this. It's a bit pricey, but you get what you pay for and it's a long-term investment. I have a weird relationship with Alienware. I refuse to have their desktop PC's (bad luck with personal experiences), but I absolutely LOVE their laptops. As for performance, I've not dropped below 110-ish FPS on anything I've thrown at it yet. This thing is seriously becoming a replacement for my slowly aging desktop PC. Perhaps I'll upgrade that next year, lol...as I think the wife is getting annoyed at this being on the kitchen table all the time, now!
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The HW-Q950T has immersive sound quality with True 9.1.4ch sound. With Up-firing rear speakers including Q-symphony, Dolby Atmos, DTS:XUsability-, adaptive sound, game Pro Mode. Premium Design textile by Kvadrat along with seamless connectivity and built in voice assistant, this is the best fit for Samsung QLED TV.
Customer Rating
3
A great soundbar, but leaves some to be desired...
on January 11, 2021
Posted by: Namdnas
from TN
I love Samsung Soundbars. I've got a Q90R in my gaming room and I love it. When I seen this Q950T soundbar, I knew I had to get it. I wanted to replace the Q90R with this one and move the Q90R into the front room for movies and such. However, that didn't happen and this was due to one specific reason, which I will cover below.
First of all, let me say that the packaging for this Q950T soundbar is HUGE! Everything is very well packaged and despite some pretty bad damage to the box by UPS...it was packaged well enough so that nothing inside was damaged or scratched/scuffed, etc. Unboxing was really easy. Included, you get the Soundbar itself, which is humongous, the sub and two rear speakers, along with accessories (remote, batteries, HDMI cable...the usual stuff). The remote has not changed in a while and is exactly the same as my Q90R.
While I was awaiting delivery of this Q950T soundbar, I was so excited, I had to go ahead and start looking a details online. Overall, impressions seemed to be good, but there was one glaring issue that others were experiencing and in the end - would put a huge damper on this soundbar...if you're a gamer... This is the lack of LPCM support. This breaks my heart and immediately make me regret getting this soundbar. I was disappointed, before I even got it. I mean, the Q90R, which was the previous years flagship supports LPCM. Why would 2020's not??
Anyway, I decided I still wanted to go into it open-minded because, you know, sometimes the internet tends to blow things out of proportion and make a big deal out of something that isn't too big of a deal. But, I decided to hook it up in the front room instead of my game room where my Q90R is...just to test it and see how the issue was. After I received it, I unboxed it and hooked it up. It was stupid easy to hook up and also has eARC support. So, the soundbar goes to the ARC port of the TV. Normally, other devices can then go into the HDMI ports of the TV and use ARC to send the sound to the soundbar...but since I don't have any HDMI 2.1 devices in that room yet and the TV in there does not support eARC, I just hooked them into the soundbar itself for the best compatibility.
I already had the SmartThings app on my phone that I used with my Q90R. So, I went into the app after powering on the new Q950T soundbar to begin setup. I was amazed with how easy the setup was and it automatically updated the firmware. There has not yet been a firmware update since the current one that updated when I setup the soundbar. I tested the soundbar for a solid 4-5 days in order to make my decision. Will I just keep it in this room...or will I move it into my gaming room and put the Q90R in here? After a call to Samsung, it was decided. They confirmed with me via phone that this Q950T soundbar does NOT support LPCM. Now, I did try gaming on the PS4 in the front room and tried several different games on it. Without LPCM support, I did have to keep it on the Surround sound mode to get the best sound out of it and even then, it was kind of spotty, depending on the game being played. Given this, I made the decision to just keep it in the front room, as it was FANTASTIC for movies and music...and just "meh" for gaming.
One other thing I wanted to point out about this soundbar. The fabric covering over it does FEEL and LOOK fantastic...but it is a fur and dust magnet. If you have more than one animal, you may want to look for a different soundbar. We have one dog who sheds a metric-TON and a cat. All this fur draws to the soundbar like a magnet and after 3-5 days, it can get pretty unsightly. Luckily, it's easy to clean. Just get a lint roller and go over the top and sides of the soundbar. Good as new.
The final thing I want to mention...which is a HUGE design flaw of the soundbar. Some genius at Samsung decided that they would put the display on TOP of the soundbar. Yep...right where you can't see it. Every time I need to adjust the volume, I either have to do so via the SmartThings app or get up, waddle over to the soundbar and change the volume to see the number. This is absolutely horrible! I mean, I get with the type of fabric covering, it would make the display hard to see...but surely there could have been a better solution?
In the end, I'm going to give the Samsung Q950T a 3.5 out of 5 stars. Since the review system here will not allow me to give it half stars, it'll get a 3.0 there. This thing is HUGE...so make sure you have the room for it. The actual sound itself from the soundbar is spectacular when watching movies and music, but not for gaming. I never experienced any drop-outs or crackling of the rear speakers. However, the (dumb) lack of LPCM support kills this soundbar for gamers and those that use Apple TV. The fabric makes the soundbar look great, but that's about it - it's attracts so much dust and pet hair, you're forced to lint-roll it 1-2x per week. I purposefully did not dust/lint roll prior to taking pics for this review, just so you can see what it will look like in a real environment. Oh and the fact that the display is on TOP of the soundbar instead of the front is also another major issue I have.
If you watch movies or listen to music, this is one of the best soundbars you can get at this time...if you can deal with the fabric and the location of the display. If you're a gamer...skip this completely. Instead, see if you can find the Q90R soundbar, as it sounds miles better for gaming than the Q950T does (and is probably much cheaper now). OR check out their just-announced (from CES 2021) Q950A soundbar. It looks like a beast. It's 11.1.4 channels, has AVA "Active Voice Amplification", along with "spacefit" room calibration - a first for Samsung brand soundbars. I'll be keeping my eye on this one.
In the meantime, I'm walking away from the Q950T feeling kinda "meh" about it, while drooling for the future. I mean, yeah, they may add LPCM support in a future firmware update...but don't buy this soundbar with that hope.
Mobile Submission: False
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
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+4points
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Safe and convenient fast wireless charging up to 15W.* Our fastest wireless charging pad unclutters your bedroom, office, or living room while simplifying charging—just lay your phone onto the pad and go. Qi certification ensures standard compatibility and provides peace of mind.
Customer Rating
4
It's a pretty standard wirless charging pad.
on November 7, 2020
Posted by: Namdnas
from TN
I had the previous Belkin Wireless Charger (I don't recall the model, but it was white) and it worked great for wireless phone charging. However, that charger was made prior to the Airpods Gen 2 and the Airpods Pro and their wireless charging features. I tried my Airpods on it and it never worked or charged correctly. So, I now have it in the living room as a spare charger for guests and such to use.
I seen that Belkin had released this new and improved charger and of course, I much preferred the black color over my old white one, so I figured I'd give it a try. To be honest, it's more or less the same.
Included in the packaging is the round charger itself, a wall adapter and a USB-A to USB-C cable. The A end of the cable plugs into the wall adapter and the C end plugs into the back of charger itself. Charging works as it should for my iPhone 11 Pro Max and my wife's iPhone XS Max. While charging and in use, there is a white LED light on the front that comes on and then goes off when the device is removed.
Next up, I was excited to try my Airpod Pros on the new charging pad, since I didn't have much luck on the old one. I sat them down and this new one actually shows it as charging (the old one didn't) with the white LED light on the front lighting up. However, it didn't do much. I left it on charge for about an hour and the battery of the case went up by maybe...3%? I laughed and just put the case on my lightning charge cable and went about my day... I tried it with and without the case, with no difference.
So, in conclusion, I'm giving this one a 4 out of 5 stars. It has a solid build quality and charging is great for phones. Just don't expect much in the way of accessory charging for AirPods and such. Additionally, given the bare-bones functionality of this item and with the new MagSafe charging feature that is out now for the new iPhone 12's...since this is backwards compatible, I honestly may wind up using that more than this Belkin charging pad once I get my new iPhone 12 Pro Max. We will see...the put-down and pick-up simplicity of this is nice, without having to worry about pulling off a magnet from the back of my phone. MagSafe may just go in the bedroom and this Belkin may go in my work room for mid-day top-offs.
Mobile Submission: False
I would recommend this to a friend!
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+1point
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Crafted together with Blizzard Entertainment, Blue’s Yeti X World of Warcraft Edition professional USB mic can change the sound of your voice for a fully immersive streaming experience. Stun your audience by summoning the sound of your favorite World of Warcraft denizens using advanced voice modulation with Warcraft presets. Celebrate victories and entertain your stream audience using hundreds of HD audio samples from Shadowlands and the World of Warcraft universe. With Yeti X World of Warcraft Edition, you can create a unique audio broadcast that elevates your stream to new levels.
Customer Rating
5
The best mic for ANYTHING. Period.
on November 5, 2020
Posted by: Namdnas
from TN
Ok, I'll admit. I'm a HUGE fan of Studio Blue's microphones. For the price they cost, they are the best value and the best sounding ones. I'd even go so far as saying even for regular game streaming and podcasting. Granted, there will be better ones out there, but they cost significantly more and honestly, can just be a matter of preference. I currently own the original Yeti and have used it as a mic on my PC and even my PS4 for voice chat. These things ROCK.
I missed out on the Yeti X initially because I was just so happy with my original Yeti - I normally like to keep things upgraded, but the Yeti is still such a great mic that I just didn't feel it was necessary. Now, I used to play WoW religiously for the first 7 years or so it was out. It was ALL that I played. I never really touched my game console or any other PC game for that matter. Things changed and I slowly drifted away. I don't play it much any more and even dabbled in Final Fantasy XIV (which I loved!), but I drift back occasionally to WoW and I expect to do so once Shadowlands releases later this year. That's when I'm really excited to take full advantage of this guy.
So, naturally, being a big WoW guy from back in the day, I lit up like a Christmas Tree when I seen this edition of the Yeti X and I just HAD to have it. I didn't seem to keen on the gold banding around the mic and the case...it just seemed a little ....tacky.... to me. However, once it came and I unboxed it, it's soooooo much nicer than I'd expected! Pictures do NOT do this thing justice. The laser-etched runes are unreal and accent the whole thing perfectly. The build quality is superb and on par or even better than my original Yeti mic. Plus, it has TONS of features! This thing is just solid, all the way around.
The voice changing feature and and other audio samples (as well as the fully customizable LED lighting) require Logitech G-HUB and Blue Voice for Yeti X WoW Edition. This is a simple download form the bluemic website for this particular product. I'm pretty familiar with G-HUB, as I have it on my spare gaming PC that my daughter uses because I have a Logitech Keyboard and Mouse on it.
Now, granted, I felt that the voice-change features might be a little gimmicky and that wasn't too far from the truth. I mean, they're nice to have and really fun to play around with...but when doing Raids or any other huge group activity (regardless of the game you play...WoW, FFXIV, etc), my guildies and other party members just preferred me to use my regular voice, as it was easier to recognize in the heat of the action. BUT...this won't stop me from using the fun voices in PUGs (pick-up-groups for the uninitiated) and other smaller auto-grouped dungeons, just for the heck of it. I mean, what are they gonna do, drop me?
Outside of the voices, LED's and other fun stuff, this mic has 4 pick-up patterns. 1) Cardioid, which is pretty much your standard for talking directly in front of the mic while gaming. 2) Omni, which picks up sound from all around the mic and is great for group talking and such. 3) Bi-directional, which is great for podcasting or picking up voices from two people...one on each side of the mid. 4) Stereo, which honestly would be my least used one - it's mostly for recording custom sound samples with Blue Voice. All are pretty great, but I'll mostly just keep mine on Cardioid, unless I have a more specific-use case in the future.
One final note, the stand can be fully removed so it can be placed on a mic stand to free up desk space and such...this is great if you're a full-time video streamer on any of the various platforms, YouTuber or pod-caster.
All around, I'm giving this guy a 5 out of 5. I'd totally give it more if I could! It's amazing, the sound is great (I've actually been complimented several times on the quality and clarity of my voice...even by strangers), as is the build quality. Wait, did I say great? Let me say "superb", again. I'm even planning on hooking this up to my PS5 and possibly my Xbox Series X (the PS5 will be my planned primary system, but this may or may not change...) as a dedicated voice mic and a companion to my gaming headset. On top of all this, it's just pure eye-candy and very professional and sleek looking.
This mic is simply amazing - I can't quit gushing. I even gave it a few extra days before writing my review because I've enjoyed it so much and I simply cannot find a single complaint about it (trust me...I tried). With that being said, I'm actually saving my original Yeti that I've had 6+ years for my daughter, so she can use it if/when she decides to try her hand at streaming or for any chat-related activities. Blue mics truly stand the test of time.
Mobile Submission: False
I would recommend this to a friend!
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0points
0of 0voted this as helpful.
The A20 Wireless headset Gen 2 is designed to give you gaming audio freedom on several levels. Its 2.4 GHz signal provides an extended wireless range and with the flip-to-mute microphone you can easily choose if you want to be heard or not. Additionally, the headset’s long lasting comfort and battery life allow you to game through those marathon sessions.
Customer Rating
3
Not the Astro's you know...
on October 18, 2020
Posted by: Namdnas
from TN
I love Astro headsets. I have the A40 TR's (previous gen before the current) on my Gaming PC and the A50 (current gen) on my PS4 Pro. I've also owned several other Astro's in the past. They are, without a doubt, some of my favorite gaming cans. Now, a while back, Logitech bought Astro, but kept the Astro branding. That's finally starting to show and I'm beginning to feel the lower quality is starting to kick in... Let me explain.
As my current gen A50 wireless cans are what I've been using on my PS4 Pro, I may be a little spoiled by them. I love those headphones. I have a small hearing disability and the volume can get LOUD, while keeping it's superb quality. I listen to it at between 1/2 to 3/4 of the max volume, depending on the game and it's comfortable enough for me. I've always kept the firmware updated on them (I hook it to my PC and check every few months) and have never had any issues. There's a reason I'm prefacing the review of these A20's with this. And yes, I know you cannot fairly compare the A20's to their flagship A50's. But there are some elements and differences I'd like to discuss.
Now, with the PS5 and Xbox Series X coming around the corner, my A50's will require an HDMI Adapter from Astro, if I want to keep it fully functional - this has a built-in optical input on it, so you can still use the game/voice balance feature. But, here's the problem - that adapter is only HDMI 2.0b...NOT HDMI 2.1. I want to be able to take advantage of HDMI 2.1 when I can and do not want any "bottlenecks", so to speak. I'm using the new LG CX TV and it is ready to go with FreeSync Premium and all the other features. I'm rocking the Samsung Q90R Soundbar as well, but I'm running everything via e-Arc. So, when I seen these A20's, I thought it would simplify my setup and I could just move my A50's to my Gaming PC and take the A40's and use them on my daughter's PC.
Now, for the biggest selling point of this headset - you can buy the USB transmitter for the other system and can use one headset for both systems. While my A20's (for PS4/PS5) were being shipped, I went ahead and ordered the Xbox USB transmitter, just so I'd have it for when I got my Series X. When I got my A20's, I was so ecstatic. I couldn't wait - the packaging was so nice. I tore into them and put them on charge immediately. They were not fully charged out of the box, so it took a few hours to get fully charged. All that was included inside was the Headset, the USB Transmitter, the USB-C (nice!) charging cable and a quick-start guide.
Ok, they're charged. First thing I do, as with any new gadget/device, is to check for a Firmware update. So, I put the Transmitter in my PC and verify it's on PC mode (a white light). Fire up the Astro Command center and...they're not detected. Ok, odd. So, I figure you have to hook them up via the USB cable. I plug them in (while leaving the Transmitter in as well) and ...no-go. I spent about 20 minutes trying to get it recognized. Counting it as a loss, I e-mail Astro and then plug them into my PS4 Pro. Tap the button to switch to PS4 mode (a blue light) and everything connects and is defaulted correctly. I put them on, change the Audio from "Chat Only" to "All Audio", like normal and...no audio. Looking at the side of the cans. the volume wheel is labeled "Voice" and "Game". I have it all the way over to the Game side and there's nothing. After about 15 minutes of troubleshooting, rotate the wheel all the way to the Voice side and I have audio. But it's not very loud. I keep scrolling and welp, looks like this is about as loud as they get... Slightly disappointed at the overall volume (I was playing Shadow of War at the time), I discover that the blue wheel controls the volume and that the "Game" and "Voice" are actual BUTTONS and not just indicators on which way to scroll the wheel, as they are on other Astro headsets. Please note: The Voice and Game balance buttons do NOT work on PS4/PS5. These only work on PC and Xbox systems.
I change games to Nioh 2. The Darkness in the Capital DLC just came out and I'm working my way through it. The audio on Nioh 2 is a bit louder than it was on Shadow of War. So, I've got the volume wheel maxed as far as the audio will go. At max, the volume is about where it is on my A50's at 1/2 - 3/4 of the way. So, I'm slightly disappointed in how loud these get. I was hoping there would be a firmware update to possibly increase this. Speaking of - I did get a reply from Astro. The A20's do not yet currently have an update and is not compatible at this time with their Command Center software. They are working on updates, however. But who knows when this will go live. Astro also said that these would fully support the Tempest audio engine of the PS5 - which I thought was weird because Sony will not allow any 3rd party headsets to use Surround Sound via USB. This is limited to only their 1st party headsets. Hopefully, this will change soon.
I also wanted to touch base on how they feel and comfort and go over the audio quality. Now, for the price, I don't expect them to feel as premium as my A50's. Which is fine. The A20's are super light-weight and feel great on, but my biggest issue is they just feel stiff. The ear cups do NOT rotate. At all. This would be my biggest caveat with them. As for audio quality, outside of the overall volume, they do sound a bit hollow and "tinny", compared to my other Astro's or even other brands of gaming cans I own. Maybe a firmware update will help, but I'm basing my review on the out-of-box experience, since that's not currently available. Being a bit disappointed, I cancelled my Xbox USB Transmitter. They'd been on order for over a week at this point, never billed and never shipped. So, I'm gonna move these over to the "spare" headset category for my wife and daughter to use on the PS4 in the front room. I'll remain on the search for a better pair of PS5/Xbox headphones.
Conclusion: These will be the first pair of Astro's where I give less than 5 stars. I'm going with 3 out of 5 stars for these due to the max volume level, quality of audio and the general "stiffness" of them. I'll continue to look elsewhere for some gaming cans that better fit my needs and expectations.
Mobile Submission: False
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
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+3points
5of 7voted this as helpful.
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