Tiny Bluetooth speaker delivers big sound
I always think the portable Bluetooth speaker market is so good and so crowded that there isn't room for another. The Mass Fidelity Core system proves me wrong.
Right out of the box the setup took seconds to get a head-turning sound from the internal 120 watts of digital power. After pairing and cranking the speaker up, I agree with the Mass Fidelity's statement: "The Core produces a huge multi-dimensional sound image that's like listening to a pair of separated high-end speakers." This allows the sound to be consistent from any angle of the speaker.
They have packed inside of the handheld or desktop speaker (6-by-6-by-4-inches) five custom-designed speaker drivers with a downward-firing woofer.
They have combined the hardware with Acoustic Holography technology, which is new technology to me. That translates to big sound from the small speaker. Bass is my favorite, but not a head banging amount. The Core delivers the right amount to enhance the sound, not distract you from it.
If you want a complete multi-room system, you can connect up to eight Cores without needing Wi-Fi or any other network. It creates its own network whether you use the speakers together or independently.
The internal battery will give you about 12 hours before a charge is needed. There's also a USB port for charging your device, aux input for a wired connection and an optical input for a cable/satellite box, Roku or Apple TV.
massfidelity.com $599
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Among other things, I guess my house can now be considered a home brewery after using the Fizzics draft beer system.
The concept is to take any beer and create a beer tap system.
The system works with any carbonated beer (can or bottle), which you place inside a canister of the system and insert a plastic tube. Your beer is now ready to dispense through the tap system.
There's no need for any COS or nitro cartridges. All you need is the Fizzics, a beer and a glass.
I set it up and put a low-end beer in the Fizzics, I had a friend over who is much more of a beer drinker than me.
I wanted an honest answer on what he thought after I pulled the lever forward and poured a beer into a chilled mug. After the glass was past halfway full, you pull the lever backwards to create a great foam head, which is critical to any tap beer lover.
After a few sips and some pondering I asked what he thought and his honest answer was "I don't think this is a top shelf beer but it's definitely not a low end either." He was quite surprised when I showed him what he was drinking.
It works off of 4 AA batteries (not included), which should last for over 100 pours of a 12 ounce beer.
fizzics.com $169.99
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The Reachcase (r79x) is designed to extend the signal for an iPhone 6/6s and iPhone 6/6s plus.
It's well-built and rugged case protects your phone and is certified with drop-test protection, which exceeds military drop standards.
What makes it more than another case is that it automatically extends your smartphone's internal antenna.
Specifically, the case has an internal multi-patented, micro-thin antenna, which automatically couples with your phone to expand and extend your antenna, resulting in clearer conversations and fewer dropped calls.
Just put the case on your phone and the back-sided antenna slides out.
It's not certified by Apple but the company states an independent third party lab has validated that the case does improve the phone's internal antenna.
reachcase.com $59.99
Gregg Ellman, gadget guru, can be reached at greggellman@mac.com. Follow him on Twitter@greggellman.
This story was originally published January 20, 2016 at 12:19 PM with the headline "Tiny Bluetooth speaker delivers big sound ."