Earth Day is on April 22. Record Store Day is on April 22. And the same day—April 22—House of Marley will be celebrating the launch of its first turntable, the sustainably designed Stir It Up.
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The Chant Bluetooth Mini Speaker from Marley. One speaker. One family. Let’s get together and feel alright.
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Last year, I decided to post a wrap of the gadgets I’d bought or tested during the year that found a way to fail spectacularly. That seemed to go over fairly well, so I’m doing it again this year, with the 2015 edition of my Festivus of Gadgets.
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Speakers, headphones, and earbuds all make for great holiday gifts. GeekDad Publisher Ken Denmead rounds-up a bunch of review units sent to him over the last couple months.
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I just wrapped up two weeks of camping at Arrowhead provincial park (a few hours north of Toronto). While there, I took advantage of the time and activities to put some of the gear I’ve accumulated recently through extended, real-world tests.
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I’m a fan of House of Marley gear, especially the company’s use of natural materials (yeah, I’m a sucker for the use of wood in high tech gear) and willingness to release interesting products like the Roots Rock Bluetooth speaker. Marley audio products don’t just sound good; by combining natural materials like leather, bamboo, and aluminum with recycled cloth and skipping the usual form factors, they stand out visually in a crowd. House of Marley recently sent me a pair of Liberate XLBT Bluetooth headphones to try out. They look good, feel good, and sound good, making for a compelling alternative to some of the more mainstream competitors.
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I’ve had the opportunity to test many speaker docks and wireless speaker systems in my day. One trend I’ve noticed over the past few years as portable Bluetooth wireless speakers have become increasingly popular, is the boring conformity that so many of these devices exhibit. In an effort to make them as portable as possible, manufacturers have a tendency to adopt a compact rectangular form factor, usually small enough to hold in one hand, two drivers are the norm, with a plastic case (typically in black) and black mesh speaker covers. There’s nothing inherently wrong with this approach and some of them sound quite decent. But I like things a little different. I want good sound, along with a design that’s interesting too. Something that stands out a little. My own speaker dock purchases reflect this preference: a JBL Radial and a Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin (still my all-time favorite for sound and looks). I just wrapped up a few weeks with a Roots Rock Bluetooth portable audio system and I have a candidate for my new favorite in the portable category.
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