A recent study found that 73% of people use players like Pandora or Spotify but only 20% will pay for that music.
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Edifier is an international manufacturer of a number of electronics accessories, including iPhone/iPod docks like the Tick Tock Dock. While I was less than impressed with the sound and design of that retro alarm clock dock, Edifier's e30 Spinnaker Bluetooth Speaker System (US$399.99) looks like it's going to be a winner for the company. Let's take a look at these visually striking (and great-sounding) speakers.
The first thing that hits you when you see the Spinnaker speakers is the design, which is unique amongst Bluetooth speaker systems. These gently curving cones look either like rhinoceros horns or fully deployed spinnakers on a sailboat. Available in black or burgundy, the speakers stand about 16 inches tall.
Each Spinnaker includes three amplifiers pushing a 10 W tweeter, a 10 W 2-3/4" midrange speaker and a 25 W 4" downward-firing bass speaker. The Spinnaker set includes a small dome-shaped Bluetooth remote -- and what I mean by that is that it's a manual remote that communicates with the Spinnaker via Bluetooth. You turn it clockwise to turn up the volume, just like a volume knob, and the bottom glows red to let you know that it's communicating with the speakers. The control also works to skip to the next or previous track, pause and resume playback, and adjust the volume. The remote is rechargeable via an included USB to micro-USB cable.
Not only can you bump your tunes to the Spinnaker speakers over Bluetooth, but the speakers also include an AUX input and an optical audio input (cables included) for connectivity to gaming consoles and multimedia systems. For extra bass, there's a separate subwoofer output. The two speakers are tied together via a proprietary cable, and there's a 5 V power brick that supplies juice to the active speaker.
As with all speaker and headphone reviews, it's important realize that sound reproduction methods and the sounds perceived by the reviewer are very subjective, so your results may vary from mine.
I found the sound quality to be excellent, as one would expect with three separate amplifiers and three decently sized drivers per speaker. If you use the speakers next to a Mac (the Edifier site shows one Spinnaker on either side of an iMac, for instance), expect to be blown away by the volume and clarity of the Spinnaker system.
One interesting note: when I played music from my iMac (late 2009), the sound quality was often choppy. Playing the same tunes from a late 2010 MacBook Air, iPhone 4S or third-generation iPad resulted in amazing sound quality and additional volume. My guess is that it's the Bluetooth 4 capabilities of the newer Mac, the iPhone and the iPad that work so well with the speakers. So that's a warning to potential purchasers -- pairing with a fairly new Apple product will get you best sound quality over Bluetooth.
If you want more than the plain box shape on a good-sounding Bluetooth speaker system, then you'll definitely want to take a look at the Edifier Spinnaker. The speakers look great and the sound is hard to beat. Audiophiles with recent Bluetooth devices who want to beam tunes to these speakers will be quite happy.
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Edifier Spinnaker Bluetooth Speaker System: Striking appearance, amazing sound originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Mon, 06 Aug 2012 23:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
The new iPad comes with 4G, but this is still not available in Lebanon! Check which iPad 3 to buy so that it be compatible with the 4G likely to be available in Lebanon shortly. <a href=http://www.ipadlebanon.org/ipad-3-connectivity/>iPad 3 Connectivity in Lebanon</a>
Microsoft updated its Xbox LIVE app for iOS and added a much needed remote feature for the iPad. This feature allows users to use the tablet as a remote control for browsing through the console's media and controlling playback of content. Though new to the iPad, the remote control was already present on the iPhone, Windows Phone and Android. You can download the Xbox LIVE app for free from the iOS App Store.
Xbox LIVE iOS app adds iPad support originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 17 Jul 2012 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
