Darryl Wilkinson

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Remotely Possible
Quirky's SwitchFlip Offers Basic Lighting Control for Switched Outlets
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Jan 11, 2018  |  1 comments
Quirky's new SwitchFlip system takes a standard, switch-controlled outlet and turns it into a single-room, multi-fixture smart lighting system.
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CEDIA 2014
Rachio Waters the Lawn with Wi-Fi
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Sep 11, 2014  |  0 comments
When it comes to gardening, some people have a green thumb. Others say they have a brown thumb. In my case, I happen to possess one of the few thumbs covered in sand and tumbleweeds. It’s not that I hate plants. (Although, it seems, plants evidently hate me…) I simply can’t remember to take care of them. It’s always weeks after plants at my home have turned to petrified wood when the thought finally pops into my head that I ought to give them some water. Lawn care is similarly problematic for me. Fortunately, Rachio is a new company that offers an alternative to brown lawns and dead gardens.

The Rachio Smart Irrigation Controller is a DIY sprinkler controller that...

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CEDIA 2011
Rack of Ages
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Sep 09, 2011  |  4 comments
While not brand new, Omnimount’s RE27 enclosed rack still elicits feelings of want and desire. The RE27 is a 19-inch rack that works with standard 19-inch rack shelves and accessories. It ships fully assembled, has integrated cooling with top and bottom ventilation, and has front and rear access with removable side panels. (If you can’t get to the component or cable you need to reach with this rack, you’re simply not trying…) All total, the RE27 is supposed to be able to hold up to 750 lbs of your most valuable gear. The $699 price is a steel – which also happens to be what the rack is made of.
Audio Video News
Radio Free HD Radio
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Oct 04, 2006  |  0 comments
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Remotely Possible
Rainy Days and Updates Always Get Me Down
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Nov 13, 2012  |  0 comments
I recently had to send my favorite watch in for repair. I am especially fond of this watch because, in addition to looking expensive, it has both an analog dial and a digital display. Unlike with audio, about which one can argue whether digital or analog sounds better, the two timekeeping technologies combined in my watch are identical in terms of displaying the correct time. And, quite the opposite of so many digital AV devices nowadays, in the 12 years I’ve owned this watch, I’ve never once had to download new firmware or a new time-deciphering codec in order to keep the watch current.
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Wireless Multiroom Speaker Reviews
Raumfeld Wireless Multiroom Audio System Review
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Dec 01, 2015  |  2 comments

Stereo Cubes Speaker
Performance
Build Quality
Value
One S Speaker
Performance
Build Quality
Value
PRICE $2,944 as reviewed

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Intuitive, easy-to-use app
Classy, minimalist cosmetics
Supports up to 192-kHz/24-bit files
Minus
No Bluetooth or AirPlay
Only four currently supported online music services
No subwoofer outputs

THE VERDICT
The Raumfeld system’s excellent-sounding active/passive speakers, ability to handle hi-res audio, and very intuitive app make it a top-notch competitor and a standout in a category that’s spawning a plethora of me-too Sonos imitators.

It’s mandatory at the beginning of any wireless streaming audio system review to mention Sonos. The company is a Goliath that launched the category more than a decade ago and now dominates it. The reason is simple: Sonos gear sounds good, is reliable, and is about as easy to use as it gets. That doesn’t mean, of course, that Sonos is perfection incarnate, nor is it totally without flaws. (There are chinks in every suit of armor.) But you do have to feel at least a modicum of pity for any manufacturer that decides to pick up a slingshot and take aim at the Sonos colossus.

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Audio Video News
Read My HDTV Lips
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Jun 27, 2006  |  0 comments
Good things come to those who wait, but great video sometimes takes longer to arrive than great audio thanks to the extensive image processing that is typical with high-definition video. The result is a kind of psychic audio ability wherein the viewer is able to hear things before he actually sees them. Although it has nothing to do with Millie Vanillie or Ashlee Simpson, the phenomenon is technically known as "lip-sync error".
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Subwoofer Reviews
REL Acoustics R-328 Subwoofer
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Mar 13, 2012  |  3 comments

Performance
Build Quality
Value
Price: $1,799 At A Glance: Front-firing active driver with down-firing passive radiator • Independent volume controls for simultaneous use of high- and low-level inputs

So, who the hell is REL Acoustics? That’s a question you might be asking yourself if your favorite places to shop for the latest in A/V gear happen to be Sears, RadioShack, or Big Jim’s Family Pawn & Gun Shop. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with those establishments (well, Big Jim’s might be a little iffy), but REL’s subwoofers are not a cash-and-carry kind of thing. As a matter of fact, REL—a British company that makes only subwoofers—claims its products “are not traditional subwoofers, but true sub-bass systems.” Starting with this slightly different concept of what a subwoofer should be, it’s no wonder that REL subs require a somewhat out-of-the-ordinary setup and that the company recommends parameter settings that are a bit unusual. As a result, REL subwoofers are found only at retailers that have silk-robed salespeople who have been trained by mystical, shoeless REL Zen Bass Masters to be highly skilled in the ancient acoustical arts of transducental bass reproduction.

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Subwoofer Reviews
REL T3 Subwoofer
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Feb 19, 2008  |  Published: Feb 20, 2008  |  0 comments
Depth charged.

Last year, my family and I moved from our little house near a noisy city airport to a more pastoral setting where, aside from a nearby neighbor who likes to bulldoze anything with leaves on it, the loudest thing is an old four-wheel-drive F250 pickup we bought for hauling things (including our butts) around the farm. Although it's in surprisingly good shape, some things don't always work, like the original factory radio, for instance.

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Remotely Possible
Reliefband 2.0 Relieves AR/VR-induced Motion Sickness
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Jan 10, 2018  |  1 comments
"No Vomiting For Me!" isn't the catchiest of slogans to see on a press release at CES 2018. (Considering I had the flu for the first three days I was here in Las Vegas, I understand just how "catchy" vomiting can be.) Reliefband Technologies, though, is actually in the business of keeping people from throwing up—or, at least, doing the best it can to minimize the nausea that many people experience as a result of motion sickness or chemotherapy.
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