swemoney's stats
- Review count311
- Helpfulness votes197
- First reviewMay 14, 2016
- Last reviewOctober 27, 2026
- Featured reviews0
- Average rating4
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- Answer count12
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- First answerJune 10, 2016
- Last answerApril 18, 2021
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Great sound should be easy~and never stuck in one room. On its own or part of an intuitive whole-home sound system, the JBL Cove X1 Wi~Fi speaker makes immersive listening feel effortless. Powered by Dolby Atmos Music, JBL Cove X1 surrounds you with grand, ultra~wide sound that immerses you in incredible depth and dimension. Want to hear the same playlist in another room? Just long-press the Moment button on any speaker and the music follows you like magic. With legendary JBL sound, every spot becomes the best seat in the house~especially when you spread the experience throughout your home. Just pair Cove X1 with other Cove and JBL Bar MK2 devices for your dream whole-home audio setup, or add a second Cove X1 for rich stereo sound that wraps all around you. With the JBL One app, it all comes together in just three easy steps. And it's built to grow with you~add more products anytime.
Customer Rating
5
Great sound on it's own and even better as a pair
on October 27, 2026
Posted by: swemoney
This speaker sounds pretty great all on it's own but it gets better when you pair a second one. Setup was really quick and easy and combining more than one speaker is so easy that I don't have a problem moving these speakers around and adjusting the setup as I want it.
Setup is a breeze. The app takes you though everything as long as you get the right app. I don't know why JBL has so many different apps that basically do the same things just for different speakers, but it is what it is. Setup plays a sound on your speaker and asks you to press the heart button and then requests to pair on your phone. And that's pretty much it. It automatically starts an updated if there is one but the update only takes a couple minutes to complete. If you want to connect the speaker to Amazon for Alexa functionality, that's the last option step they ask you before you're ready to listen to some really crisp music.
But what if you just have way too much money laying around and you bought two of these?! The setup of the second speaker is the same as the first but now you have ✨options✨. The app makes any of the options a breeze and when you get used to how it works, the heart button (they call it the "moment" button) makes using multiple speakers even easier. Want some groovy music playing throughout your whole home? Just set up a party in the app and add the speakers you want to play on. Playing music in the bedroom and want to pick up where you left off in the living room? Just go to the living room and hold that "moment" button and the music transfers to that speaker. Want a really nice stereo setup? Set them up where you want them and in just a couple tap, the speakers are playing some tones to calibrate and tune their sounds together. They even show up in the app as a single speaker after you group them too. It's just as easy to ungroup them, too.
Sound is pretty great. I wish there was a little more bass but other than that, the sound is fairly rich to my ears. My ears aren't audiophile level ears or anything but it sounds good to me. And loud. These things can get loud. They don't have any problems filling up my split level 20' ceiling living room with sound. As a stereo pair or just alone. There's a really quick audio calibration that the speaker does and that's the default EQ it uses, but you can adjust the EQ to your liking or based on what you're listening to. Add multiple custom EQs if you're a big tinkerer.
The speaker does support a lot of streaming services but not the the huge players. For Atmos music, you can use Amazon Music or TIDAL. But it also supports iHeartRadio, Qobuz, TuneIn and Calm. But you can fill in the gaps in built in music players with AirPlay2/GoogleCast or Bluetooth or USB from other devices. AirPlay still follows you when you hold the moment button as well. I'm a little sad that Alexa on this device doesn't have support for Apple Music, though.
Bottom line here is if you're looking for some versatile speakers you can move around without a ton of work and configure in different ways, these might be for you if they're in your budget. They aren't cheap, but they sound good and premium audio equipment isn't cheap. I really like the ability to pair them as a stereo set so quickly and easily and then be able to ungroup them and move one of them to another room to extend the sound throughout my house. Give them a listen somewhere if you can and add these to the short list if you're in the market for speakers.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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The HP Googlebook 14 is a thin, lightweight laptop designed for Gemini Intelligence and seamless use with an Android phone. Its Snapdragon X Elite processor supports responsive everyday work, while the 14-inch design is suited to school, hybrid work, streaming, and staying productive on the go.
Customer Rating
3
Great hardware. Software could use some work still
on October 21, 2026
Posted by: swemoney
I'll front load this review and say that I'm fairly well entrenched in the Apple and Microsoft ecosystems for the rest of my computing needs. I have Windows and Mac computers and I have an iPhone and iPad. I've used Google/Android devices so it's not completely foreign to me, but I've never been a daily Android device user or anything so the OS doesn't come very naturally to me.
Setup was fairly simple but a little time consuming. There's a pleasant looking setup screen that allows you to use your existing Android device or an iPhone/iPad for setup. I chose my the Apple option but it didn't seem like it used my phone at all. I would assume an Android device would be able to transfer stuff much easier. The time consuming part was just updating the OS. The update was only about 1.5GB (with an extra 30MB update to follow) but it felt like it took forever to complete, even on my wifi 7 connected 2.5gbps internet. After it was complete, you're asked some basic questions and asked to log in with a Google account (you can surprisingly skip this, but I figured since this was a Googlebook, it wouldn't make much sense to try and get by without a Google account). You can specify some apps that you might want based on your use cases and it'll try and download those apps as the setup completes. Overall, it's a fairly standard setup process.
If you're familiar with Google's operating systems, you'll probably feel a lot more at home than I did. Again, I've used things like Google TV and other devices that weren't phones but based on Android. But none of those devices became daily drivers that entrenched their UI/UX in my muscle memory. All that said, they did an OK job making it feel like a familiar OS. You have a "start" button and task bar if you're coming from Windows. But just something about using the system felt a bit half baked. I think a lot of it comes from the app ecosystem needing to catch up and update to be natively compatible for a desktop. In the Google Play store, there are markers for apps that were "built for desktop" or "compatible with desktop" or "enhanced for desktop" to denote what compatibility looks like before you download. If it doesn't have one of those tags, you basically get a phone/tablet app stretched to your screen. Usability could be fine but it could not be. From the Apple perspective, this has happened a few times when the original iPad started coming out and then when phones with notches started appearing and now with the Duo. The apps just take some time to catch up and hopefully that's a big chunk of what I feel is missing here.
Speaking of the screen. If I had to pick a shining light (pretty literally too) on this machine, this screen is nice. It's super bright. It looks really good. It's OLED so you get real blacks. I can't talk enough about how nice the screen is. The biggest complaint I have about the screen isn't even screen related. I really wish I could flip the keyboard completely under the screen to turn this into a tablet.
I can expand the niceness to most of the hardware too. The build quality of this model feels good. The Snapdragon X Elite is no slouch and does a great job running pretty much anything you throw at it from the Google Play store.
512GB of storage isn't a crazy large amount of storage but in this economy and on this device (I don't expect to be editing RAW photos and movies on here), it's perfectly functional.
The keyboard and track pad both feel nice although the OS lost one gesture that I've become so used to on trackpads and it was one of the first things I tried and couldn't do. Double tap and drag to move things around seems to be missing for some reason. You have to actually "click" and drag.
Then there's the touchscreen. Adding to an already impressive screen, it's also a touchscreen device. Normally, on a laptop, I find the touchscreen to be rather useless. But in this instance, on an OS that gets it's roots from a mobile phone/tablet OS, it makes a lot of sense here. After my discovery of the missing double tap and drag gesture on the trackpad, I remembered that I could just use the touch screen for that. It works pretty well.
Sound is ok. I haven't really used laptop speakers in a very long time. If I'm going to be doing anything that will generate sound, I'll just put on headphones. But they're serviceable for laptop speakers.
So that just brings me back to the overarching OS. It just feels a bit incomplete from my general usage. One of the biggest sour spots for me was being unable to complete the setup of 1Password because every time I tried to switch Chrome to use a password service that wasn't Google's, Chrome would just restart and the setting would still be Google. Did not figure out how to fix that yet but hopefully with an update at some point I'll be able to use 1Password with Chrome.
If you can find the apps you're looking to use and they're updated to work well with desktops, you'll probably have a good experience as long as you don't run into one of the edge cases that just feel "off". For a media consumption, email responding, web browsing device, you'll probably have a good time. But then you're begged to ask why a much cheaper Chromebook wouldn't have been just as good for you.
Bottom line, I feel like the Googlebook thing could be pretty nice in an year or two. After some big updates and some rough edges being smoothed over. As it stands, I can't recommend a Googlebook for someone coming from the Apple ecosystem at all. You can get used to the device quirks but you won't feel at home very quickly. If you're Android through and through, you might fit right in here. You'll have access to a lot of the apps you use already and some of them might already be updated for desktop. But I still feel like it's a smidge too expensive and the OS is just a little too clunky for day to day use. I strongly suggest you take yourself to a Best Buy store and see if they have any Googlebooks you can try out for a little while to see if it clicks with you. It just didn't really do that for me.
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
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Ultra~slim book~style 3~in~1 wireless charger with a fold~open design for compact, travel~ready convenience. Supports simultaneous charging for your phone, earbuds, and smartwatch with fast wireless output up to 15W for compatible devices. Features a smart LED status indicator for clear charging and device feedback, all in a sleek, space~saving form factor ideal for desks, nightstands, and on~the~go use. WALL ADAPTER NOT INCLUDED. 30W POWER DELIVERY ADAPTER REQUIRED FOR MAXIMUM SPEED.
Customer Rating
4
One travel charger to rule them all
on October 17, 2026
Posted by: swemoney
If you're looking for a good charger while you're on the go, this could be a good fit if you're mostly entrenched in the Apple ecosystem. Fast charging the big three devices you probably have on your night stand in an easy to fold and go package.
There's no setup. Plug it in, unfold it and plop your devices on their spots. Your iPhone gets the faster 15W of charging power while your airpods get 5W and your watch gets 2.5W. Although, it's recommended to use at least a 30W charger to plug this into. That's not included with this set so you'll need to have that on hand already, but I feel like anyone who travels regularly is probably bringing charging bricks that can provide more than that already.
The magsafe connection with your phone and watch are strong and the recess for your airpods keeps them in place for charging. One thing that I'd recommend when storing and actually traveling with this, though, is to put it in a tighter side pocket. The charger folds shut and uses the magsafe magnets to keep it shut but since there's no second set of strong magnets from your phone, it's fairly easy to fling open. I haven't had many issues but it's definitely come loose in my bag. I just keep it in a side pocket where I know it's going to stay closed now.
There's not much more to say about a charger. If you have the "big three" Apple devices and need a convenient way to charge them all while you're on the road, this isn't a bad investment. Give it a look.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Everyone aims differently, and SABRE v3 PRO's PureVector, a CORSAIR and Aimlabs collaboration, is built for that, improving your Aim Speed by up to 81ms, 33% faster. It measures your movement and personalizes your directional sensitivity calibration, then saves straight to firmware so it works anywhere, no background app required. At just 37g, it delivers control with true wireless 8,000Hz hyper-polling at 0.25ms average click latency, 5% faster than competitors, powered by a 54-series MCU, near-zero lag optical switches, a 42,000 DPI MARKSMAN X sensor, and up to 140-hour battery life, with grip tape and skates. The Future of Aiming.
Customer Rating
5
Great feeling gaming mouse
on October 17, 2026
Posted by: swemoney
I'm no pro gamer. I like to game. A lot. But I'm not a great competitive gamer at all. A mouse is a tool for me to get work done, but this mouse has made me think about what I can improve when I AM playing some competitive games. I'm starting to "get" it.
Setup is super easy. Plug in the receiver or plug the mouse straight into your USB. Both work great and the mouse switches from wired to wireless mode pretty seamlessly. For configuration, this mouse uses Corsair's new web-based configuration and I'm a big fan. Settings live on the device so you don't need any software actually installed on your system. A web interface connects to and adjusts your mouse's settings for you and then it's just gone and you don't have to worry about bloating your system with software from every one of your devices. The only problem with it is that the web app needs a feature called WebHID which isn't supported in Safari and Firefox (the two browsers I use the most) so you'll need to swap over to something like Chrome or Edge for a moment when you need to setup your mouse. One setting I'm trying out and I really could use is "Ripple Control" which is supposed to reduce tiny cursor jitters at higher DPIs. I tend to notice a lot more jitter with this style of mouse when I click than any other style so it's a welcome feature if it can help at all with that.
The mouse feels pretty good in your hand and gives you a lot of options for tailoring the feel more to your needs. Included is two different colored grip pads and an extra set of larger skates for the bottom of the mouse to get the grip and slide to be exactly what you're looking for. If you like a light weight, this one was made for you. It feels very light in the hand but also doesn't feel cheap or fragile. It still has a very solid feel without being heavy.
Buttons and the scroll wheel have been improved (optical switches and scroll wheel encoder) that are supposed to give you near-zero-lag actuation and they claim are rated for 100 million clicks. I wasn't able to reach this number yet but I can say that the switches and the mouse wheel both feel very good to use. The scroll wheel has no extra travel so if you like a stiff wheel that doesn't unintentionally click for you every once and a while, you'll probably enjoy this one.
Battery life is supposed to be 140 hours when using the 1000hz polling rate (25 hours if you crank it up to 8000hz). I can say that with the reported battery life and aggressive default sleep times (the mouse goes into a lower power state after 3 minutes of inactivity by default. You can customize the time, though), I'm willing to believe them. After almost a full week of normal use (I use my computer a lot), the battery life hasn't budged. Perfect for me because I always forget to plug in my mouse so as long as I remember once every couple weeks, I should be in good shape.
Connection to the receiver has been good. I haven't noticed any oddities while wireless. It's pretty neat. This is the first receiver I've seen for a mouse that has a clip on it so you can clip the receiver to your clothes and make sure it's a perfect distance from your mouse for the best connection. I really wish other things did stuff like that. I know a few headphones I wouldn't mind seeing a feature like that added to.
PureVector calibration is actually really cool. Again. I'm not a pro gamer. I'm not a super competitive gamer. But I wanted to test it out and had to actually download Aimlabs for the first time just to check it out. It's a free app/game on Steam, so no worries there. You do need to create an account with them but you can use your Steam login to make the accounts. The calibration process asks you a few questions. Most of them you can answer "I don't know" if you're not sure but it's basic stuff about what you think might be wrong with your aim and how you hold your mouse. Then the calibration takes you through 5 one minute "aim and shoot the target" tasks. They're all the same and your results are reported after each task on what you're doing wrong (I overflick on the horizontal axis a lot, I guess). After the 5 rounds, a customized DPI calibration is sent to your mouse and your mouse is locked to that DPI. The custom DPI is supposed to take into account the deficiencies it picked up while doing the calibration tests to bring your aim closer to "perfect". I found it really cool and intend on using it more as I play different games to refine and see how I improve.
Overall, on the surface this looks like a pretty basic mouse. It does not have a very basic pricetag, though. If you're a competitive gamer, this is probably a no brainer mouse for you. It's built well and has a lot of features under the hood that only someone looking for that single millisecond improvement in some obscure benchmark will notice. The PureVector calibration alone might make it worth the price. If you're not a crazy competitive gamer, you might still enjoy the feel of this mouse and like to use the extra gamer features as an excuse to improve in some games you do enjoy playing. Either way, this is a gamer mouse. If it's in your budget, it's worth giving a look.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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ROG Strix GS-BE7200X Dual-Band Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be) Gaming Router, Supports 4096-QAM, Gaming Port, Enhanced 5GHz Long-Range Antennas, Smart Home Master, and Commercial-Grade AiProtection.
Customer Rating
5
Great speed and set of features
on October 16, 2026
Posted by: swemoney
I've used a handful of different routers and brands over the years and always find myself going back to ASUS after a while. This is another great offering from them and a nice step up from a lot of their cheaper offerings.
Setup was pretty simple. I was upgrading from an older/cheaper ASUS model so I made a backup of my configuration so I could restore it when I had the new router hooked up. It was mostly as simple as swapping them out. Just remember to reboot all of your devices afterwards. I was scratching my head for a little bit until I started rebooting things (even my unmanaged switch seemed to benefit from a quick reboot). Once I was back up and running, it was familiar ground and I just had some exploring to do of all the new features.
This is a ROG router so it's geared towards "gamers" and with that comes the "gamer" theme in the router software. I actually like it. It's meaningless and all, but it's a nice change from the mostly plain looking ASUS router firmware. There are a bunch of new features on the home dashboard that I didn't have on my cheaper model. A network traffic monitor and graph is front and center. A constant ping test is being sent and graphed so you can see what your ping looks like and how much it's been deviating from that over time. And what gaming centered device would be complete without RGB? Customize the lighting on the logo with a handful of options and any color you like. There's also a nightmode in case you're sleeping next to the router.
If speed is what you're really interested in, this one has you covered. It's got 4 1Gbps ports but also has a 2.5Gbps port and single 10Gbps port. I really wish the 1Gbps ports were all 2.5Gbps but I have plenty of 1Gbps devices that wouldn't benefit from more so it's not the end of the world. The 2.5 port is definitely going into an upgraded switch when I get one. Wifi 7 works great. I saw speeds around 1.6Gbps on my 2.5Gbps internet connection. Wired connections also had no problems saturating their expected bandwidth.
If you're familiar with the ASUS firmware, you'll be right at home. But if you're coming from a cheaper model like I was, you'll be pleasantly surprised at all of the extra goodies you see on the side bar. AiProtection modes are routed through TrendMicro so you need to accept their terms to use those things but they do open up some extra tools like two way IPS, infected device blocking, malicious site blocking. Traffic monitoring and analysis is available and updated once an hour on both a device and app level. There's also 4 different VPN servers you can use for whatever your needs are for connecting to your home network from away.
Bottom line here, this is a great router. If you like ASUS routers and are looking for an upgrade, give this one a look. It offers a lot of speed and extra analysis features that might be useful to you or might just be neat. Fast wifi and the ability to connect to an internet connection as fast as 10Gbps is fantastic. The only real downside I could find was last of more 2.5Gbps ports in lieu of the 1Gbps ports. If it's in your budget, put it on your list.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Hear what others miss with the HS80 v2 MAX Wireless: the premium gaming headset engineered for competitive gamers who play to win. Every footstep in your game cuts through the moment explosions or gunshots clear, thanks to 50mm non Newtonian laminate drivers that absorb residual vibration faster. Powerful bass, crisp highs, and Dolby Atmos place every cue precisely in space, while a broadcast-grade 10mm mic capsule with pop filter and NVIDIA Broadcast* keep your comms smooth and natural. Memory foam ear cushions deliver lasting comfort, alongside simultaneous dual wireless and 110-hour battery to keep you in the game all week. Hear every footstep. Every callout.
Customer Rating
4
Nice sound. Good comfort. Ok signal.
on October 16, 2026
Posted by: swemoney
I'll front load this review and say these are some pretty good sounding headphones. I also like to say when I write a review for headphones that I'm not an audiophile that can detect the slightly differences in signal frequency or anything. So if you have that ear, this review might not be for you. These sound pretty good to me.
Setup is easy as can be no matter how you want to use these. Plugging in the 2.4ghz dongle will get you up and running on your PC pretty quick. You have some basic controls in the iCue software for things like sidetone and EQ. You can control what pressing the volume dial in does as well as the RGB for the logo on the outside of the cups. Connecting to a bluetooth device is as simple as holding the bluetooth button and then selecting the HS80 from your bluetooth connection settings on your device.
Functionally, these sound pretty nice. The bass is nice and punchy without being overbearing. Everything sounds pretty well balanced to my ears. I wasn't shaken to my core or blown away but I also didn't come away from long sessions thinking about the audio sounding bad at all. It just sounds pretty good to me. Some of the better sounding headphones I've tested (and I've tested a lot). Especially for ones that are geared towards gaming and not professional studio work. The microphone sounded fine as well but I'm biased from using real studio microphones for too long that I never think headphone microphones sound very great. It's definitely good though. I really just wish the microphone was detachable, honestly. I also briefly tested the Dolby Atmos experience on my PC but the Dolby Access app requires a purchase (I tried a free trial) and it crashed after watching the first demo. It did sound good, but I don't know if I care enough to pay for it and jump through the hoops if it's going to crash so often.
Dual bluetooth and 2.4ghz is something all headphones need to do. As I've said, I've used and tested a lot of headphones and it's crazy to me how few of them allow you to hear audio from your bluetooth connected device and your 2.4ghz dongle connected device at the same time. It's nice to be able to take a phone call or listen to a quick video without needing to slip an ear bud off of one ear. Being able to use your phone and computer without needing to take off your headphones for either of them is just fantastic.
Speaking of long sessions, the comfort of these is pretty good. I would say there's a bit more pressure on the sides of my head than I'd love to have but overall, they perform well for long sessions. I've never used a headphones that adjusted without telescoping the top band in some way. These are actually supported by only the soft band in the middle. You can loosen and tighten them by undoing the velco and moving the loop a little bit until it's at the height you like. Once you get it set, you don't really need to touch it again. They're definitely not the nicest headphones I'd ever had to adjust but not needing to do it often because they slip out of their position is a plus.
2.4ghz connection is fairly good and I'll preface this section around the fact that I have a good amount of 2.4ghz interference around me. I did experience a couple subtle warbles when listening to some music on my PC, but it wasn't very common and subtle enough that it didn't feel terrible to listen to. It was noticeable but really not too bad. These aren't the only headphones I've used that have similar (and usually much worse) issues, but if you're looking for something that's immune to ALL 2.4ghz interference, you might want to try these out in your environment before committing. That said, the bluetooth connection never experienced the same issues.
All in all, these are some nice headphones. A 3.5mm jack (on the left side!) would have these competing against my old Corsair headphones as my daily streaming headphones, but these don't have any 3.5mm connection so they'll just be my wireless set for a while. Aside from some slight interference issues and slightly more pressure on the sides than I'd love, they're really good headphones and if they're in your budget, give them a look.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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The Turtle Beach Command Series KP7 Modular Keypad is engineered for speed, precision, and adaptability across gaming, creation, and productivity workflows. Use it as a dedicated keypad, macro pad, or numpad, with seamless docking to the Turtle Beach Command Series KB7 Wired TKL Keyboard via dual modular rails, or as a standalone device. Titan low-profile Hall-Effect switches rated for 100 million clicks deliver fast, precise input with adjustable actuation and Rapid Trigger. True 8K wired performance ensures 0.125ms latency. A low~profile chassis with kickstands, detachable wrist rest, programmable scroll wheel, extendable thumb bar when mounted to the right side of the Command Series KB7 or as a standalone, and per~key RGB lighting completes a premium experience. The KP7 delivers a powerful, modular control solution for users who demand adaptability, performance, and workflow efficiency.
Customer Rating
4
Great for smaller keyboard lovers
on August 31, 2026
Posted by: swemoney
I'm a big fan of smaller keyboards but the one downside is when I need a keypad. This solves that problem and still offers the hall effect keys I can't live without anymore. Probably a little pricier than I'd like but it does it's job and does it well. It's also fairly versatile.
Setup is as easy as any keyboard. Plug it in and you're ready to go. The included USB cable is braided and feels nice and is plenty long. Onboard memory means you don't always have to keep the software running but you'll probably want to install it to customize things. That's where this keypad shines.
On top of being just a ready to go keypad if your current keyboard doesn't have one, you can customize everything about every key to make it do exactly what you want it to do. Swap it to the left side of your keyboard and activate Game Mode and there's an existing configuration that turns it into a small WASD section of your keyboard. Customize profiles for a very specific game you need certain keys for. The software even has a bunch of prebuilt macros for a lot of games already included.
Customizing what each key does is one thing but hall effect keyboard are known for an extra benefit, customizing HOW each key does it. Every key can customize it's actuation point as well as well known up and down activation for rapid presses or linking two keys so the keyboard ignores the first one when a new one is pressed (great for strafing without needing to full depress a key).
The RGB is fairly basic but there are a dozen or so prebuilt settings and then you can make a custom one with limited abilities. It does it's job well enough.
The volume/scroll knob at the bottom is a little bit stiff and moves the keypad when you try and scroll it sometimes. Not ideal.
If you own the Command Series KB7, this keypad slots right in on either side. I don't have that keyboard but thought it was neat when I saw the slide track and contact on each side. You can dock the keypad to either side (or each side if you have two of these!) and make this a natural extension of your keyboard.
Overall, this is a nice keypad for those times when you're missing a keypad. But it also doubles as just a nice gaming pad when you switch sides instead of using your keyboard's standard WASD controls. The keys feel good and are as customizable as you'd expect for a hall effect keyboard. Great little pad that could be better for a few less dollars. Give this one a look if it fits your budget and you miss being able to fly in GTA 5.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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TCL - 55" Class A300L Designer Series 4K QLED TV with Ultra Matte Screen and Flush Wall Mount (2026)
TCL Designer Series TVs combine an array of art options with premium picture technologies to create a stunning image. TCL~s Art Library of over 400 artworks and AI Art capable of generating over 100,000 images to transform your living room into your personal studio. The included Flush Wall Mount and additional light wood bezel allows the Designer Series TV to blend seamlessly into any home d~cor. QLED PRO Quantum Dot technology and HDR ULTRA with Dolby Vision IQ provide enhanced contrast, accurate colors and fine details. The powerful TCL AIPQ PRO Processor intelligently optimizes the color, contrast, and clarity for an unrivaled 4K HDR experience. The High Brightness+ LED Backlight produces brighter images for an enhanced viewing experience for all your favorite movies and TV shows. Game Accelerator 240 together with Auto Game Mode provides the lowest latency for a more responsive gameplay without lag, designed to keep you at the top of any leaderboard. Including Dolby Atmos and DTS Virtual:X, the Designer Series TV provides a complete audio package. Available accessories include an easel-style Movable Stand and Table Stands. The Designer Series TV offers advanced picture quality with a beautiful lifestyle design worthy of any home.
Customer Rating
4
Good looking TV on the inside and out
on August 31, 2026
Posted by: swemoney
My wife has wanted a "Frame TV" style TV for a while now and this one doesn't disappoint. The picture is great and when it's idle and has artwork cycling through it, it really does look like an illuminated art piece.
Installation was really not that difficult. This TV comes with the flush mount for it and although the instructions are a little lacking, after a little bit of time investigating (and I found someone on YouTube that was mounting this same TV so I got some hints), we figured out how it works and the rest was pretty simple. There's no standard VESA mounting points on this TV. You need to screw the two smaller plates onto the back of the TV and then the larger plates get put on the wall. It comes with a template you can fold to the right side so you know where to drill your holes. Once that's done, you basically just "hang" the TV on the wall plates. Magnets keep everything pretty snug against the wall but allows you to swing the bottom towards you so you can access the inputs and power. Overall, I was impressed with the installation.
Setup is normal GoogleTV affair. I really wish "dumb" TVs were made again so it wasn't necessary to have a full operating system on top of your TV but gone are the days. After all the setup prompts and a fairly lengthy update process, the TV was ready to go. If you're familiar with the Google TV interface, you'll probably feel right at home. I'm an AppleTV user so I was just happy to find the setting to turn the TV on to the last used input instead of always starting on Google TV.
Picture quality is great. It's hard to find a TV these days that really looks "bad". The biggest downside you're going to find is that it's an edge-lit TV so you aren't going to get your super black blacks and a ton of contrast. You're paying a premium for the flush mount "art" TV but you still get a pretty good picture.
The art screen feature is cool as well. You have to activate it manually but it's a single button on your remote. It brings up the gallery and you can browse the art or if you don't touch anything for 15 seconds, it'll start up a full screen art display. You can customize some things to your liking. You also have Google TV's screensaver which might be more customizable but you don't have a single button to load it.
The "frame" part of the TV really does a good job disguising it. It's a thin frame but it does get rid of those standard TV bezels. The pieces are also magnetic so I'm sure you can find replacements for a different style frame if you want.
If I really had to nitpick a downside, I don't understand the really large TCL power toggle button on the bottom left. For a TV that's trying to hide that it's a TV, it really does stick out. I understand that there's probably a technical reason they decided to leave this thing sticking out of the bottom of the TV but I'm not a huge fan of it. I feel like they could have made the power button a lot less in your face.
Oh ya, also, the FIRST thing I saw when the TV was done updating and ready to use was a giant advertisement that took up a third of the screen for sports betting. I'd think the bright minds at Google would be able to come up with a way to maybe not blast ads in your face the literal second your TV is ready to use but I guess they couldn't figure that out.
Overall, it's a good TV. Not a fan of ad-ridden Google TV but you don't really need to use it if you don't like it. The picture quality looks good and the frame and flush mount make the TV look just a little better on the wall. If you're looking for a flush art TV, give this one a gander.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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ASUS ROG STRIX B850-A GAMING WIFI7 NEO AM5 ATX motherboard with 14+2+2 power stages, DDR5 slots, PCIe 5.0 Ready, 4x M.2 slots, Wi-Fi 7, 3x USB 2.0 headers, USB-C 20Gbps, upgraded gaming audio solution, advanced AI tuning with AI Cache Boost and DIY-friendly Q-design with robust thermals.
Customer Rating
4
A solid foundation. And it's pretty!
on August 28, 2026
Posted by: swemoney
After you've put together enough computers over decades, you look for something a little different. And white is the new black for me. I'm a big fan of white computer parts and this board is really nice to look at.
Setup is obviously going to depend on your experience with building PCs. I was a big fan of the number of NVMe slots that were available and how they were hidden. They're all under some sort of heatsink component but they have push button popups that are really slick instead of just unscrewing a screw to remove them.
For an 850 board, I felt like this held up pretty well. You might miss out on some of the 870 bells and whistles but it's a trade off I'll make for aesthetics. I never know how to review motherboards because performance is really going to depend on the components you're adding. The ASUS BIOS is always a pleasant experience to navigate and configure which is pretty much the only piece that's almost entirely a piece of just the motherboard.
My ultimate take is to steer towards this motherboard is you're aiming for a white aesthetic. Definitely compare it to what you'd get with a similarly priced 870 board and ask yourself if the aesthetic is worth the price difference. If it is, this might be the board for you.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Beyond the basics, the Yamaha RX300A 5.2-channel home theater AV receiver delivers standout performance and value with immersive Dolby Atmos and DTS Virtual:X sound, flexible 3.1.2-channel speaker layouts, and next-gen video support. Enjoy high-resolution, lag-free video with 4K/120 and 8K/60 HDMI (4-in/1-out) with ALLM and VRR, HDMI eARC, and advanced HDR formats including Dolby Vision and HDR10+. Automatic Room Correction optimizes sound for your space, while Bluetooth Multipoint enables seamless switching between two device sources. Scene buttons provide instant access to your favorite inputs and listening modes, making setup and everyday use effortless.
Customer Rating
4
Couple quirks but good sound
on August 23, 2026
Posted by: swemoney
It's been a while since I've upgraded my audio system's receiver but with the new TVs pushing crazier framerates and HDMI upgrades, I thought it was as good of a time as any. I'm pretty happy with the new receiver as it feels like it's a locked in, more bare bones experience which is exactly what I expect out of my receiver. It did have a couple of quirks while I was testing it out, though. Hopefully most of them can be resolved with future firmware updates.
Setup is going to totally depend on your current setup. If you're swapping one receiver for another and you have your speaker wires somewhat labeled, you're basically just dropping in the new receiver. Either way, though, it's not so bad to just get it up and running. Plug in the speakers in the back. Plug in an HDMI to the ARC channel on your TV and that could be all you need. If you want to route your video through the receiver as well, just plug your things into the three HDMI ports on the back which should all be capable of 4k120.
After your power it up for the first time, you'll pick a language and immediately get dropped into the sound calibration settings. There's a cute little cardboard standup you can build to put the sound test microphone on top of in order to simulate the height of a person sitting on your couch. The test doesn't take very long and sets up some initial volumes and distances for you so you don't have to mess with it. After that, there's not a ton more for you to do.
There's a couple basic modes during usage. I usually stick to "Straight" which basically outputs the exact audio it's receiving in the exact channels it's supposed to. This can lead to some things being fairly low volume it they weren't made for multiple channels. There's a mode for outputting a stereo signal across all of your speakers instead of just the front two. Then a Movie and Music mode. Tinker with the modes and figure out what you like.
Sound quality is good and will depend heavily on the speakers you give it. There really isn't much more to say about it. It's a good receiver and you'll get good sound out of good speakers with it.
One thing I really like about this receiver over my old one is that it's not trying to do a bunch of things I don't care about. This has bluetooth and a USB port if you want to just play music from your phone. It doesn't try and include 10 other internet radio providers onto it and wifi. It just does it's media center audio, well. I don't know why you'd need internet radio providers on your receiver in 2026 but if you do, this receiver isn't for you.
On to the quirks. The first one isn't really a quirk (I find it to be a feature), but it might bother you to some degree. This doesn't connect to your network. So there's no internet connected functionality at all. I really like that about it. But updating firmware and such takes an extra step of needing to download it on the computer and put it on a USB drive to plug in to the receiver. No biggie for me but maybe you'd prefer an easier update process. (Updates should be fairly rare)
One of the more annoying things that I've found is a bit of an HDMI control delay when it comes to volume. This could just be my TV as well, but when I try and use anything other than the remote for the receiver to change the volume, pressing a volume button once every 2 seconds works great. But if I start to press any faster than that, the volume jumps 5 or 10 steps at a time. I'm hoping a firmware update can resolve this in the future.
The larger quirk that made me go back to a pure ARC setup for now is some sort of HDMI handshake issue or just an incompatibility with my TV (there's a possible trend). When routing everything through the receiver, my TV would just blank out and nothing aside from unplugging and replugging it would get it back. I never experienced this with my old receiver so I'm thinking this is some sort of combination thing with my TV again. Going with just the HDMI cable to the ARC port on my TV works great, though. This is another thing I'm hoping gets resolved with a firmware update in the future.
Bottom line is this is a good receiver. It sound great and works with a selection of pretty basic functions which is all it really needs. It needs to take the sound from my TV and give it to my 5 speakers and there really shouldn't be anything more complex involved. If you're looking for a ton of internet connected features, move on to the next option. If you just want a receiver that "just works", this is one that could be it. My old Yamaha receiver got firmware updates for a decade after it's release so I'm hoping any small issues get ironed out over time and make this an even better receiver than I already see it as.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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With no wires in the way, Bose SoundSport Wireless Sports Earbuds keep you moving with powerful audio. Perfect for exercise and running with a sweat and weather resistant design and StayHear+ tips designed for comfort and stability. The Tile app makes your headphones easy to find if they ever go missing.
Is it possible to remove that clip on the wire?
Clip is formed plastic around the wire, so not unless you break the clip. You can move it up and down the wire. I barely noticed it, myself.
10 years, 5 months ago
by
swemoney
With no wires in the way, Bose SoundSport Wireless Sports Earbuds keep you moving with powerful audio. Perfect for exercise and running with a sweat and weather resistant design and StayHear+ tips designed for comfort and stability. The Tile app makes your headphones easy to find if they ever go missing.
Is this earphone compatible with Andriod phone?
I didn't test them out on an Android device, but they're bluetooth headphones. So if your Android device supports Bluetooth audio, they should work fine.
10 years, 5 months ago
by
swemoney