Cyrus Audio makes seriously good home audio components for the audiophile. Now they are making travel technology for portable audio enthusiasts. I have owned their CD players, DACs and audio amplifiers for over nearly 30 years, so it's an understatement when I say that I am a fan. They are a small firm based in England with a highly enthusiastic and dedicated team of boffins ...
travel music
Deezer – FLAC Lossless streaming music on demand [REVIEW]
I admit it. I am snob when it comes to music quality. If I'm at someone else's house, their music system can sound just fine to me but, at home, no, only the best will do. I'm like the princess and pea. Something just isn't quite right. High fidelity is a very personal and subjective experience. Each time you upgrade an audio component, you train your ears to hear just a ...
Best Portable Bluetooth Speaker – Bose Soundlink vs Harmon Kardon Esquire Mini
There's a Best Buy store near one of the offices I do some consulting at and I often drop in to test whatever gadgets they have on display. In particular, I like to test out their wireless speakers in order to find the best portable speakers with good bass. Prices have dropped considerably over the years, but it's still a risk to buy a crappy wireless speaker because you ...
Rock Lobster – Eton Ruckus Rugged Solar Ghetto Blaster
Every article I come across goes on about how great these speakers are for use by the pool (because they're splash-proof), or wonderful for camping (rugged), or by the beach (solar-powered), yada-yada... But, as far as I'm concerned, they miss the most obvious utility, which is that it can be used to jump-start my car. Actually, no, it can't do that. Although, it does look ...
Cordcruncher Earbuds – No More Tangles
There have been many attempts to create earphones that won't get tangled up when stowed away, but here's one that's pretty simple, straightforward, and ingenious. The Cordcruncher lets you pull the earphone cords into a sleeve, so they won't get tangled. The sleeve itself is a bit long but it can be plugged into itself (as a loop) and put away - or, even, worn around your ...
Audyssey Audio Dock Air – Portable Airplay enabled speakers
For iOS users, Airplay is a Godsend. It allows you to wirelessly stream audio/video/photo content from your iOS device over to another iOS-enabled device. When it first debuted, it was limited to Apple's own products. For instance, you could send audio-visual material from your iPad over to your Apple TV in order to watch it on the big screen. Eventually, along came ...
Damson BT5 Surface Mounting Bluetooth Portable Speaker
We've played around with surface mounting speakers before and there is always a trade-off between size and quality of sound. The primary advantage of the surface mounted speakers is their ability to create deep bass (dependent, however, upon what surface you attach them to) despite their diminutive size. The Damson Audio BT5 is a Bluetooth compatible portable speaker that ...
Portable Speaker in a Bag
We can't vouch for the sound quality but here's a speaker to match your Birkenstocks: the House of Marley Chant. ...
Minirig Portable USB Speaker – Yes, we like it LOUD
If you like your sound LOUD but don't care about stereo imaging, then why not drop a nice big can from Minirig down on your desk? It's rough and tough - made from an anodised aluminium reminiscent of the MacBook Air. It pumps out 15 watts of sound from a little can that is 72mm x 102mm in size. And it's battery can last up to 50 hours on a single charge! Okay, there's a ...
Airplay Speaker – Loewe AirSpeaker
If you are an iPhone/iPad user, you are probably already familiar with AirPlay and its ability to stream audio/video content from any of your Apple devices to other AirPlay devices. For instance, send video from your phone, laptop or iPad to your AirPlay compatible television, or any television with an AppleTV device attached to it. Several manufacturers have already put out ...