LG today introduced the Music Flow family of “smart hi-fi” speakers and soundbars, said to be among the first to support Google Cast Wi-Fi streaming from Android and iOS devices.
Audio snobs might cringe at the idea of visiting a Best Buy but did you know that the chain’s Magnolia Design Centers sell McIntosh electronics and speakers from B&W, MartinLogan, and Sonus Faber?
Pioneer today announced that four new AV receivers, ranging in price from $400 to $700, will hit stores in April. The announcement marks the first products to be released under the new Pioneer & Onkyo U.S.A. corporate umbrella.
AT A GLANCE Plus
Extra boom for bass hounds, especially fans of hip-hop and dance music
Minus
Clunky
Can create a buzzing sensation when worn on a belt
One more wire to deal with
THE VERDICT
Woojer is not for everyone, but it can add a visceral element to mobile listening that may appeal to gamers and fans of dance, hip-hop, and other bass-driven music.
Can a small device that clips to your belt produce the visceral sensation of a live musical performance or the deep, pulsating bass felt in a dance club? Can it wow mobile gamers with spine-tingling bass?
Kickstarter-funded Woojer (“See Me, Feel Me,” April 2014) aims to do just that with a “wearable subwoofer” that connects between your music player (or any audio source) and headphones. Technically speaking, Woojer is a polyphonic tactile transducer that converts audio frequencies below 500 hertz into low-frequency vibrations to “make your body feel like it is exposed to high acoustic energy.”
Plasma may be dead but it’s not buried. In response to last week’s poll question—What kind of TV do you plan to buy next?—just over a third of the respondents indicated that they plan to hold onto currently owned plasma TVs for the foreseeable future.
AT A GLANCE Plus
Cheap and easy to set up
Boosts Wi-Fi signal in far-flung areas
Minus
Approaches the cost of a new 802.11ac router
THE VERDICT
The DAP-1520 provides a simple and inexpensive way to improve spotty Wi-Fi coverage and set the stage for improved streaming.
Tell me you haven’t had to deal with Wi-Fi drop-outs when you move to the outermost regions of your humble abode with a laptop or tablet in tow? You know, the old 4-3-2-1-0 bar shuffle… I got so fed up with fighting to hold onto the signal from the sofa in my family room that I planned to move my router to a more central location. It sits in my basement office at one end of the house, admittedly, about as far away from central as you can get. But when I thought about having to snake wires across joists and up through the floor, I decided to find another solution—a quick fix, if one existed.
LG has announced pricing for a number of the 4K/Ultra HD (UHD) TVs it showed in January at CES. All models are promised for “spring” delivery. Whether that means later this month or late May/early June, we don’t know.