Jabra Elite 5 - No Fuss. Plenty of Features

For some reason Jabra seems to fly under the radar a little when it comes to earbud options in New Zealand.

Perhaps this is just my personal perception but although Jabra was always a go-to when those single bluetooth earpieces real estate agents seemed to wear all the time were in fashion, and many reception and call-centre staff will be familiar with the name appearing on their softphone headsets, it seems like Jabra is yet to achieve quite the same brand cut-through with its true-wireless earbuds.

This weird because I am constantly and consistently impressed by every pair of Jabras I try, often promoting them to my daily use, even after I've finished reviewing them.

This is primarily due to a pleasing form-factor and an excellent fit.

As I've often talked about before, for me, there are three primary concerns when selecting true-wireless earbuds; how do they sound? How do they look? And most importantly, how do they fit?

Let's pop the latest Jabras in and find out if they measure up.

When my Jabra Elite 5 earbuds arrived for review, I was stoked to discover I'd been sent the Gold Beige option, rather than the Titanium Black. All too often we tech geeks get stuck with basic black or boring white so it was a refreshing surprise to take this warm, neutral case out of the box, flip the lid and see the Jabra logo embossed over the distinctive triangular, gold control buttons on each bud.

This is another feature I find extremely appealing with Jabra earbuds; physical buttons rather than the capacitive touch controls found on so many other brands. As technologically clever as those touch controls might be, all too often I find myself accidentally skipping my podcast when it's only halfway through or hanging up on my mother mid-call - never a good idea. Because the fully customisable Elite 5 buttons basically make up the whole side of each bud, they're easy to find and you can't really press them by mistake.

You can tailor your controls and preferences using Jabra's Sound+ app, although this isn't required for initial setup; pairing is very easy - either via Google Fast Pair, Microsoft Swift Pair or just hold down both buttons simultaneously and follow the voice prompts. There's a good selection of the latest bluetooth codecs to ensure a super clear and strong connection and I certainly haven't experienced any dropouts or interference.

Like most ANC-capable earbuds these days, you can toggle noise cancelling on or off or introduce a pass-through feed if you need to hear the outside world for some reason. Jabra uses a mix of both external and internal mics to cancel unwanted sound - they call this Hybrid Active Noice Cancellation and it's certainly quite effective.

This pairs well with the passive cancellation Jabra achieves with the Elite 5's excellent, excellent, excellent fit. (Yes, that's three "excellents") The snaking shape and small size of the tips allow these buds to nestle quite a long way into your ear canal and I've found once they're in, they simply don't budge. Not even a little bit. Not even in the rain or when sweating - lucky they carry an IP55 dust and water resistance rating.

But how about the 6mm drivers? What has Jabra managed to pack into these relatively small and light packages sound-wise?

The dynamic contrast of Pink Floyd's "Poles Apart" is a lovely piece of audio production to begin with; acoustic guitar behind Dave Gilmour's slide lead licks, followed up with the mysterious and slightly creepy carnival organ and church bells in the middle of the track, panning all around my head. The Elite 5's impress with their accurate reproduction across all frequencies.

My personal preference is to wind the bass up a bit - which I'm easily able to do via the Sound+ app. There are several preset EQ's but you can also noodle around with the 5-band equaliser yourself, creating and saving custom presets of your own.

Having my bass boosted really paid off when "Raleigh Twenty" by Fat Freddy's Drop came up in my mix. The moog bass and retro synth drops just sound so clean and punchy. 

Ultimately my general impression of the Elite 5 mix is it's so precise, it lacks a little bit of warmth. On the upside, there's little or no muddying and I certainly never encountered any distortion - even at high volumes.

There's another odd feature in the Sound+ app; Soundscape. This converts the Elite 5's into noise-blockers only; offering you a selection of sound-masking background ambiences - ranging from rainstorms to ventilation fans. This is effectively a third method of noise cancellation; you have the passive effect of the snug seal, the active NC we've already talked about and now you can flood your ears with songbirds or a babbling brook when you really need to block out the rest of the world (or at least the rest of your office).

Just a warning; this next bit is going to get a little gross. So brace yourself.

One downside of the Elite 5's being able to fit so effectively into your ear canal is wax. There's no easy way to say it; the trade-off for this incredible fit is I have to keep an earbud and a tissue handy when I take them out because there's usually a little bit of gooey goodness embedded somewhere in the tips. Sorry - but I did warn you. This phenomenon is not unique to the Jabra Elite 5 design of course; most earbuds require a pretty regular clean to maintain both hygiene and audio clarity. It's just that these ones in particular, especially in this lighter colour, seem a little more prone to picking up gunge. Hey, let's not rule out the possibility I may have particularly gungey ears.

Don't let any of that put you off - I'm definitely happy to carry out a bit of waxy maintenance now and again in exchange for such a rock solid fit.

Battery life is decent - not world beating, but decent - up to seven hours from the fully charged buds and up to twenty-eight hours in the case. Oh, that's with ANC on. I've just discovered Jabra claims up to 36 hours use with the case if you keep noise cancelling off. Sheez. That's actually rather impressive. You can also fast charge via the USB-C connection although my preference is to pop the case down on a wireless charger when I'm not using it. Once you go wireless, you'll never look back.

Priced at NZ$239.00, the Elite 5 buds are certainly not cheap, but given their very full suite of high-end features, they're considerably less expensive than many other options with similar specs. I consider them excellent value and to be honest, can't really see a reason to take them out.

    

Click here for more information and pricing on the Jabra Elite 5.

The Best Smartwatch Is Better Again

I'm going to get it out of the way right at the top; there's one serious problem with the Apple Watch... It only works with iPhone. You can only set it up with an iPhone and it will only sync with an iPhone. So if you don't have an iPhone, it's the worst smartwatch available.

Except...

Over the last few years I have only become more and more enamoured with Apple Watch and I'm now more convinced than ever it is easily the best smartwatch on the market (with a single possible exception we'll get to shortly). 

In fact, I'm so attached to my Apple Watch, I'd go so far as to suggest it's worth swapping phones to use it.

Not convinced? Read on, dear friends. Read on...

I also can't deny the Apple Watch Series 8 bears a striking resemblance to last year's version. That's because it's literally the same shape and size. Once again, you can choose an aluminium case or upgrade to a more durable stainless-steel option - although the latter doesn't come in (PRODUCT)RED so personally, I don't think it's worth it. The colours have been tweaked ever so slightly for 2022 - well, the red has anyway; it's a brighter, more lively shade this year which absolutely suits me down to the ground. As usual, there's also quite the array of new band colours and materials, including some fetching sports band options from Nike. Of course, the good news is, because the Watch Series 8 is the same shape (in either 45mm or 41mm size options) any existing bands and accessories are still compatible.

As a reminder, Apple Watch was already a very durable device, with a thick, crack-resistant crystal (sapphire glass if you go with the stainless-steel version) an IP6X dust resistance rating and swim-proof, with WR50 water resistance. These features, combined with the easily swappable bands means it's definitely a watch you can wear anywhere, doing pretty much anything. Beach, dinner party, mountain, office, worksite or gym, it always looks great and keeps on ticking. (Obviously it doesn't actually tick. You know what I mean)

While there might be other watches that can match this level of wear and tear and perhaps there are some that could be considered equally as stylish, I think you'd be hard pushed to find both those attributes combined into one nifty package as successfully as it is with Apple Watch.

But it's the out-and-out functionality where Apple Watch simply has no rival. No other watch I've used integrates with apps I already use on my phone every day like Apple Watch does. Whether it's receiving clear, full-colour snapshot preview notifications from my security cameras and doorbell camera or controlling audio apps like Spotify and Pocket Casts right from my wrist, the experience is just smoother, more efficient and more feature-rich with Apple Watch.

And that's before you get into the more specifically designed functions like health and fitness tracking, navigation and communication.

This is where the line between hardware and software becomes completely blurred and that's why I think this is a near-perfect device. The latest software experience, watchOS 9 offers much more than mere cosmetic upgrades like new icons, colours and watch faces. For example, the compass now lets you set waypoints on your journey and you can retrace your steps. In fact, as I look at it now I've just discovered it also keeps track of where I've parked my car - I didn't even have to tell it to.

In the past, some critics have decried a lack of detail when it comes to fitness tracking. Well, that really is in the past now. I'm getting splits and pace information just when I walk the dog! For serious trainers metrics like stride length and ground contact time can also be monitored - even multisport athletes can leave it to the watch to detect when they change from on activity to another. Apple Watch has unquestionably come of age as a legitimate fitness tool.

Health tracking has been significantly boosted too. Sleep monitoring used to be a bit once-over-lightly within the Health app but now there are insights galore. This is aided by the Series 8's new fast-charging abilities; previously many users would have left their watches to charge overnight, so sleep tracking wasn't really an option. Now I've found I can just plonk it down on the charger while I'm preparing for bed and it's pretty much all topped up by the time I'm ready to go to sleep.

That's important because one of the really significant upgrades on the Series 8 is the temperature sensor. The Apple Watch can now track your wrist temperature and you can access these overnight trends via the Health app. Not only can this be an early indication of the onset of illness but it adds much more precision and automation to cycle-tracking for women - to the point it can be used as a family planning tool after a couple of months of calibration. For anyone concerned about this kind of personal information being kept private, rest assured it's only stored on the devices themselves unless you choose to upload it to iCloud where it remains encrypted anyway.

Finally, let's talk crashes. It seemed to be all Apple wanted to discuss at its big launch event earlier in the month. That's because both the new iPhone 14 range and the new Apple Watches have some very advanced crash-detection features built in; listening for sudden loud noises, feeling sudden changes in momentum and sensing sudden alterations to the air-pressure - like when airbags go off. In that situation the Apple Watch Series 8 will automatically call the emergency services unless you instruct it not to. At the aforementioned launch event, we heard many stories about how iPhones and Apple Watches had already literally saved people's lives. It looks like that's something Apple has now upgraded too.

Seriously, what other watch can compete with all that? Well, actually - it looks like Apple has now come up with one itself. The Apple Watch Ultra was also launched at that event and if it can deliver all the things it promises... let's just say we might be heading for a new era in smart wristwear.

    

Click here for more information and pricing on the Apple Watch Series 8.

20 Years of Awesome Action

It's taken me a long time to understand what GoPro is really all about.

When I first saw one, I couldn't get my head around the way users would just point and shoot, often without paying any attention to how things were lined up or focussed or... or anything.

It reminded me of the old days when you used to take your film into the chemist to get developed only to discover most of the friends in your shots had glowing red eyes and the rest of them were blurry. 

And yet, people have been using and loving GoPros for two decades now. What was I missing?

It wasn't until I started using them, really using them I began to understand the point of it all. The genius of GoPro is you just trust it to capture everything. Push record and do whatever it is you do - the GoPro will take care of the filming; you focus on the adventure. 

Of course, what really blew me away is how good a job these little cameras did.

This year is GoPro's 20th anniversary and as a result, I've heard a little bit from some of the guys who actually design and make them. That's also given me a real insight into why this product performs its tasks so brilliantly. These guys are crazy. And they want other people to see just how crazy they are.

The HERO11 Black looks very similar to its predecessor which in turn, looked pretty much the same as the HERO9. But with GoPro, it's what's inside that counts. The HERO10's GP2 processor marked a true evolution in performance and this year the addition of a larger 1/1.9" sensor has taken things to an even more impressive level. Sensor and processor combine to offer higher resolution photos - up to 27MP, a significant upgrade to GoPro's already standout digital stabilisation tech, HyperSmooth 5.0 and perhaps most eye-catching and brain-bending of all; you can now shoot at up to 5.3K in an all new 8:7 aspect ratio.

This last feature essentially means you now get all the benefits of GoPro's legendary wide-angle capture both vertically and horizontally - an acknowledgement that a lot of unmissable action happens up and down, as well as side-to-side. Obviously, this can be cropped to other aspects depending on your preference using the Quik app - without losing any of the new, incredible image quality.

In saying that, I did run into a few challenges with my all new, uber high-res footage when it came to editing. Quik still remains an unbelievably user-friendly, phone-based editing tool. The way you can use the Studio feature to automatically create an AI-generated highlights video is insane - instantly swapping out formats, themes and music beds. If you have the Auto-Upload setting activated, GoPro now even sends you an edit of your footage - you don't even have to do anything.

However, it was a different story once I tried to add my flash, new highlights package to the video below - to be fair, I was only using iMovie to mash my videos together but it did not respond well to my super-res footage and I had to compress it to get it to play nicely with the rest of my files. Don't you just hate it when your movie is too professional for your editing skills?

That being said, hopefully you still get the idea...

Another new option made possible by the new image sensor is HyperView; here the HERO11 takes your 8:7 footage and digitally transforms it into an even wider-angle 16:9 video. This is not really for distance shooting as there's a kind of wall-eye distortion to it but it's a fabulous way to film action selfies. The effect is like you're bringing the viewer inside the video with you - particularly immersive for activities like surfing, riding and skating.

Ah, there's so much to share here; 10-bit colour brings even more life to what were already stunning images. Horizon Levelling now keeps things straight at angles up to 27-degrees. And now you can use Horizon Lock instead; even if the camera rotates completely (jumps, tumbles, crashes) the viewer won't be disorientated as a result.

There are new time-lapse modes that let you take scintillating Star Trails, Light Painting and Vehicle Lights vids. Like I say, there's a lot to dig into with this new camera.

There's even a new battery; specifically developed for better cold-temperature performance. GoPro promises up to 38% longer recording time in normal temps over previous batteries. More battery life is always good news.

And I haven't even touched on the accessories! As you'll see from the video below, GoPro continues to come up with just the best accessories. Not to mention the best action cameras. Twenty years in the business pretty much guarantees the HERO11 Black delivers unprecedented performance, still in a typically tiny package. What's more, yet again I can't believe the price; right now cheaper than most smart phones, on special for NZ$729.99.

    

Click here for more information and pricing on the GoPro HERO11 Black.

Click here for more information and pricing on the GoPro Gumby Flexible Mount.

Up Your Streaming Game with These Two Tools

Am I a streamer?

Not really. Not unless working in radio counts as streaming. Which technically, it kind of does I suppose; you can stream Newstalk ZB. Sometimes I'm on Newstalk ZB. So okay then, yes; you can stream me.

Audience statistics would suggest I do a pretty good job of helping make good radio. Whether good radio makes for good streaming? Well, that's another question.

All I know is I'm lucky to have a lot of technical resources at my disposal to make New Zealand's number one breakfast show sound as good as it does; from mics and headphones to the very sophisticated computer system that allows me to play fart noises to the nation with the click of a mouse.

What a time to be alive.

The good news is the internet lets you do pretty much the same thing - with cameras - from the comfort of your own home. Getting an audience? Well, that's kind of up to you. Making your content look more professional? Elgato can help with that.

There's a reason the famous movie-making phrase, "Lights! Camera! Action!" starts with, "Lights!" Decent lighting is perhaps the most important ingredient when it comes to quality video. If the pandemic has taught us anything, it's that some people look great when they're being interviewed from their attic studies, while others look like serial killers. Often, it's not due to the camera quality but the lighting. 

If there's more light behind you than in front of you, or perhaps just not enough light at all, no matter how good your webcam is it's unlikely to show the world much of the real you - more like just your silhouette.

The Elgato Key Light Air is an elegant solution to bring you out of the shadows and place you front and foremost in centre stage. Effectively, it's just a light. Technically, there's a lot going on that makes it one of the most useful things I've ever added to my desktop.

To begin with, it's extremely well engineered; a solid, durable base and easily adjustable stand, complete with a push-in channel at the back to conceal the generously long power cable. The ball/socket mount for the light itself is a little bit fiddly to attach but once you have, it offers a good range of motion to ensure the Key Light Air is pointing in exactly the right direction; at you.

It uses 80 premium Osram LEDs (forty warm, forty cold) and the temperature and brightness are fully customisable through the companion Control Center app. You see, the Key Light Air connects wirelessly to your PC, Mac or phone. Because the LEDs are positioned on the edge of the light, facing in, with their light reflected out by a specially designed aluminium film, you won't find yourself staring directly into a blinding glow. Instead, the light - although bright - is softly diffused and I often forget I have the Key Light Air switched on, long after I've finished filming. It helps that LEDs glow cool, of course.

But to make using the Key Light Air even easier, it also fully integrates with one of the most genius things I've ever plugged into my computer; the Elgato Stream Deck Mk.2.

Like the Key Light Air, the concept here is so simple; a set of shortcut buttons you can customise to... well, to do pretty much anything you want.

I can't begin to imagine the technical wizardry behind the Stream Deck but the upshot is, you plug it in, download the Stream Deck app and you can immediately begin streamlining your workflow. This ranges from designating buttons to be physical switches for accessories like the Key Light Air to firing off captions, title sequences or whole video inserts in your live feed.

I've been using the Stream Deck for a week or so and I've only scratched the surface of its full functionality. I have buttons to launch combinations of my favourite apps. I have a button to turn on the light and get my video recording programme ready to go. I even have a button to turn all the buttons off at night and one to light them up again the next day.

When you assign a shortcut, depending on what it is, Stream Deck will designate a default icon, although you can choose or even design your own. For example, the button I've set to open the Newstalk ZB Technology page now sports the Newstalk ZB logo.

But there's so much more to it than that. The Stream Deck Store offers over a hundred plugins, ranging from Spotify controls to presentation shortcuts for meeting apps like Teams and Zoom. You can create different sets of buttons under different profiles and you can even assign those profiles to change automatically depending on which app you have open.

And just because there are only fifteen buttons, that doesn't mean you're limited to just fifteen shortcuts. You can assign folders to buttons; perhaps I'll have a sound effects button; once I push that it opens my SFX folder with another fourteen buttons to play my sounds with. Here's the crazy thing; you can have folders in your folders. And folders in those folders. It's like The Matrix.

That's one way to do it. You can also just add extra pages, navigating from one to the next via an arrow key.

The options. Are. Limitless.

It's actually quite overwhelming. Obviously, being primarily designed for streamers and gamers there are whole sections of default actions just waiting to be dragged onto a button. Start audio commentary? Screen capture? Post to your socials to let your followers know your stream is about to start? Too easy.

I've found the best way to use Stream Deck is to wait till I find myself doing something I feel like I do the same way every day. Then I create a button for it. Sick of typing out your delivery address for people? I was. Now it just happens with the push of a button.

See? So simple. And my life is so much better.

    

Click here for more information on the Elgato Key Light Air.

Click here for more information on the Elgato Stream Deck MK.2.

The Bar that Looks as Good as it Sounds

Funny how people have different priorities.

I have a very nice soundbar connected to my TV. Not only is it one of the best-sounding models available but it also connects wirelessly to a pair of surround-sound satellite speakers, resulting in a fairly premium home-theatre experience.

Pretty sweet, right?

Domestic Manager hates it. The soundbar is quite large. In fact it's so tall it partially obscures the very bottom of our TV screen. I mean the very bottom... like probably not even a centimetre. Given half the stuff we watch is in wide format anyway, it doesn't even make a difference - all it's blocking is a tiny section of blank screen.

Still, I suppose she has a point.

That's the first thing the Harman/Kardon Citation Multibeam 1100 has completely sorted; it's much flatter. To be honest, it's a fantastic-looking device all round. Even the Domestic Manager thinks so. Not only does it nestle in comfortably below my low-standing telly, it's completely encased in cosy Kvardrat real-wool fabric - Winter Grey or Classic Black - it doesn't just look amazing, it feels amazing too.

I particularly dig the asymmetrical style of the speaker cones at each end, resembling some kind of fighter jet-engine or perhaps a rocket booster from exactly the kind of sci-fi movies I enjoy watching and listening to with my home theatre.

But before we get to how the Citation 1100 sounds, let's talk setup - or lack of it anyway. More often than not it's pretty common to require a smartphone and an app to set up anything; especially AV gear. Hey - no problem; I'm a tech guy and if one bit of tech requires another bit of tech to get it going, as far as I'm concerned that just makes the process more fun.

Again, this is something the Domestic Manager and I don't really see eye-to-eye on. She just wants an on switch and an off switch (preferably the same switch) and expects the device in question to "just work" in the meantime. In 2022, that's probably not such an unreasonable request. So that's exactly what the Citation 1100 does. Of course there are a few tweaks you can make and we'll get to those but I plugged it in, connected my TV via the HDMI(eARC) input and I was instantly up and running - and sounding damn good actually.

However, if you 'd like to sound even damn gooder, there are certainly options. What's more, refreshingly, these controls are available on the remote, as well as on the soundbar itself, via the small but bright and clear LCD touch-screen, situated top and centre. I'd usually claim I'm no fan of light-up displays on soundbars on the grounds they're far too distracting on a device that's literally sitting in front of your TV. I make an exception for the small display on the Citation 1100 for two reasons; a) because it's recessed into the top of the soundbar you don't really notice it from across the room and b) it's actually really useful.

You can use this screen to connect and select external sources; either hardlined via HDMI or wireless through bluetooth, Chromecast or Apple AirPlay. Even Alexa Multi-Room Music (MRM) is built in so there's pretty much nothing this speaker won't connect to. Whatever streaming service you subscribe to, you'll be able to play it through the Citation 1100.

You can also adjust bass and treble, turn Dolby Atmos and surround sound off and on but perhaps most helpfully of all, you can run a quick calibration test. This fires weird noises in different directions around the room and sets up the speakers accordingly, in effect providing the perfect soundscape, unique to your particular listening environment.

I've done this kind of thing with other sound systems before but it often requires a particular type of phone or in some cases, even a separate, plug-in microphone accessory. The Citation 1100 does it with the push of an icon on the screen or a button on the remote. Too easy.

And the results speak for themselves; literally. Apart from anything else, the speech-enhancement abilities of the Citation 1100's central speakers are very effective, raising the intelligibility levels of Chris Pratt's mumblings in Terminal List from about 10% to being able to understand almost every second thing he says. A true sonic miracle.

Seriously though, the eleven drivers that are packed into this premium piece of hardware do an incredible job of creating a sense of space and height - yes, there are also upward-firing speakers to achieve the 3D effects that make things like gunfights and explosions so much more convincing.

With a total speaker output of 630W, this is a powerful soundstage indeed, with plenty of bottom-end and excellent clarity. Admittedly, you're still going to struggle to get truly discernable separation between left and right - especially in a big room like the one I have it set up in; Harman/Kardon's beamforming tech is pretty crazy but it isn't actual magic. Luckily you have the option of pairing with Citation surrounds and compatible subwoofers for a genuine home theatre experience, although I haven't had the opportunity to do so here.

There's also all the hardware you need for wall-mounting the Citation 1100 included in the box.

When I review a soundbar, no matter how good it is, I'm generally pretty keen to reconnect my usual home theatre so I can once again enjoy the big bass and 3D surround-sound effects I've grown used to. This time, oddly, I'm not really in such a hurry to change back. That's how effectively the Citation 1100 manages to throw its sound pictures around the room. It's also very easy to use (controlled via my usual remote over the HDMI (eARC connection) and of course best of all, Domestic Manager thinks it looks just great.

    

Click here for more information on the Harman/Kardon Citation Multibeam 1100.

A Slightly Smarter Breath of Fresh Air

Never have we been more concerned with air quality.

Justifiably so; once upon a time it might have just been dust, pollen and pollution we were worried about, now of course there are a fair few new airborne threats we're pretty leery of.

And that's before you get to most people's preference to live in an environment free of cooking and pet smells. Well... that's certainly my preference, anyway. I don't mind the cooking smells when I'm actually cooking - but waking up to them the next day? Not so much.

So my initial thought is; surely I can "gadget" my way out of this?...

Samsung agrees. It has an entire range of AX5000 domestic air purifiers available and I've been cranking up the AX60T5080 at my place in an effort to clean up my act - or at least my air.

Getting it out of the box was a bit of a mission; it weighs over 10 kilos and is pretty tightly packed in there. The good news is, once out of the box it's effortless to move around as it rests on four almost frictionless casters. Actually, compared to most of my other gadgets this one requires very little setup at all; a few bits of sticky plastic to be removed, a filter to be unpacked and reinstalled, plug it in and you're pretty much good to go.

Yes, although this is technically a smart device, it doesn't have to be. I switched it on and was immediately presented with a set of illuminated controls on a clear (but not intrusive) display showing me the relevant data about the air in my home I was about to clear. There's also a status LED strip that sums everything up in a glance; cool, calm blue means all systems normal, red is a warning you're breathing all kinds of bad stuff.

If you decide you'd like to be able to access the AX60T5080 remotely, or you'd like to take advantage of some of its automated scheduling capabilities, that's where Samsung's SmartThings app comes into play. Pairing with my phone was straight-forward enough, although slightly tedious - not quite the one-touch NFC bump Samsung offers on its smart TVs. Once you've added the air purifier to your list of SmartThings devices you can monitor the air quality, turn it on and off from you phone and set up schedules for it to run - different times on different days if you like. The SmartThings app now even has a dedicated Pet Care setting, co-ordinating appliances like TVs and air purifiers to keep your fur babies company and free of weird smells while you're out of the house.

But technically, what does the AX60T5080 actually do? Well, there are three layers of filter, easily accessed by removing the relatively stylish magnetic front cover. Firstly, there's a washable (and vacuumable) pre-filter for all the big bits, like pollen and pet dander. Then there's an activated carbon filter to soak up any harmful gases. This is attached to a genuine HEPA layer which takes care of ultrafine dust and even bacteria. Unfortunately, filters are the downside of air purifier ownership - they don't last forever and need replacing regularly. The carbon/HEPA filter for the AX60T5080 retails for about $130 - something to keep in mind if you're planning on adding air purification to your budget.

However, at least being a "smart" device, you'll be notified exactly when the filter is due to be switched out - you don't have to do it based on a purely arbitrary "recommended" period.

The other main feature of the AX60T5080 is its three-way airflow system; it blows clean, filtered air from a big vent at the top and two smaller vents on either side. This means your up-to 60 square-metre room is freshened up pretty damn quick, although I've found it also means you're subjected to quite a draft if you're sitting anywhere near it while it's operating. Fine in summer. Not so fun on a cold night in winter. I'd prefer some way to vary the airflow - obviously you can increase or decrease it but you can't divert it away from one vent to another.

You can set the AX60T5080 to sleep mode though. This turns off the LED display and reduces fan noise to an almost imperceptible 21dBA - essential for bedroom use.

Which might be right where you want it if you suffer from asthma, severe allergies or just super-annoying hay fever like I do, especially at this time of year. Dust, pollen and other nasties make many people's lives a misery but consistent use of an appliance like this can dramatically improve things - which might also mean a dramatic reduction in the amount of medication required to treat symptoms. (Suddenly that filter doesn't sound so expensive after all)

There are two sensors built into the side of the AX60T5080 - one for particles and one for gases. You'd be surprised how often dangerous gases can build up to high levels in your air-tight, sealed-up, cosy little home - especially if you have an internal garage. It's not just engine pollutants that can sneak their way in, as I already mentioned, stale cooking smells and pet odours are no fun for anyone and too much CO2 can lead to drowsiness and even headaches. We use gas for cooking and I often get alerts from my indoor weather station to warn me about CO2 levels around dinner time.

The carbon filter in the AX60T5080 is all over it. I see stark differences in these readings every time I use it.

Has it miraculously cured my hay fever yet? I don't think Samsung would be bold enough to make any such medical claims but there's definitely something about coming home to a room full of fresh air. If you're prone to a nose full of trouble like me, you have even more serious respiratory concerns, or maybe you just can't stand waking up to the smell of last night's takeaways, Samsung could have the smart solution you're looking for.

    

Click here for more information and pricing on the Samsung AX60T5080 air purifier with Wi-Fi.

One for All you Landline Lovers

I want to make this quite clear; I don't understand you.

Why do you need a landline? I've asked people who insist they do so many times and no-one has convinced me yet. The closest thing I've heard to a good reason is that people already have their number.

I guess, given I'm the type of guy who wishes less people had his number, I don't really see changing it as a massive issue. But then, I don't even like talking on the phone anyway.

However, if you can't be bothered letting your mates know you're now only on mobile, perhaps you have a small business with a memorable landline number, or if you're just... you know... somebody's nana (no offence, Mum) there is now a way you can enjoy the benefits of 2022-style Wi-Fi - even though you insist on using 20th-Century talking machines.

The DSL-X1852E is not one of D-Link's new line of AI-enhanced EAGLE PRO mesh Wi-Fi devices. So you won't need the EAGLE PRO app to set it up. In fact, you won't even need the D-Link Wi-Fi app to set it up. That's because you can't use an app to set it up.

This is another example of why I suspect there are lot of people working on a lot of different things at D-Link but perhaps they don't have as many company-wide staff meetings as they should. I'm not complaining about the quality of the products - far from it. I've been reviewing various D-Link bits and pieces for years and I've seldom been disappointed. But why you wouldn't just have one unified app to set up everything is a mystery to me.

Anyway...

That means setting up the DSL-X1852E is a little more cumbersome than most of us are now used to. Which is ironic, because perhaps the main reason someone would opt to upgrade their modem/router for this particular device is the fact it offers not one but two FXS ports for Voice Over IP (landline phone). If that's the case, you might be someone like... you know... my mum - which means you need to keep the setup process as simple as possible.

To be fair, if you are someone like... you know... my mum - you're still coming to terms with the fact smartphones have apps. Or indeed, what apps actually are. Which again, is probably why you're still so attached to that landline of yours. So maybe D-Link's web-based browser-only setup for the DSL-X1852E isn't such a silly plan after all.

Of course, this is how most modem/routers used to be set up so it's not a total culture shock. The instructions are also pretty clear - both in the quick installation guide included in the box and once you run the setup wizard on the aforementioned browser page.

There's a real merging of old and new going on with the DSL-X1852E. For example - it still has a DSL port and comes with an xDSL microfilter/splitter if you're still on a VDSL connection instead of fibre. I didn't mean that to sound condescending. Did that sound condescending? Sorry for being condescending. I keep forgetting not everyone has access to fibre. Even now. In 2022.

In fact if it's ports you're looking for, the DSL-X1852E has heaps; WAN ethernet to connect your fibre modem of course, those two VoIP ports, a USB 3.0 slot (for shared network storage or perhaps to create your own media server) and an impressive four LAN ports to connect devices via hard line.

This is certainly a device designed to be the central hub of connectivity in your home - and as such, you'll need to take that into account when you're positioning it. If you're hardwiring things like smart TV's and phones into it, there's no point hanging it on the wall in the garage; unless you've get some serious data cabling running through your house. 

The other consideration is Wi-Fi coverage. In my testing I was very impressed with Wi-Fi speed and also the range offered by the DSL-X1852E. All my devices connected reliably both inside and outside my large, four-bedroom home. This is thanks to the raft of modern Wi-Fi protocols which are now commonplace in most of D-Link's recent home-networking devices; Wi-Fi 6, OFDMA and Smart Steering are all technologies designed to optimise the Wi-Fi bandwidth available, avoiding multiple devices having to queue up for the internet access they require to function to their full potential.

That's good news, because my testing also revealed this particular router doesn't necessarily play that well with others - not in terms of the recent line of mesh extenders I've been trailing for instance. D-Link makes no claim about the DSL-X1852E having any mesh abilities but I thought I'd try pairing it with a couple of extenders just for funsies to see what would happen. Disaster. When connected through the extender my download seeds dropped from the 100's of Mbps down to low double figures. I was literally better off without them. So I unplugged them and happily carried on with the whole-house coverage provided by a single modem/router.

Another spinoff advantage of the rather retro browser-based setup and settings access is the ability to separate the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands, giving them unique network names if you wish. Lately I've read a lot about offloading your home's IoT devices onto the slower but more far-reaching 2.4GHz band if possible, thereby freeing up the more zoopy-doopy 5GHz space for things that really matter, like PC's, laptops, phones and above all else, your TV. Recently I've tried quite few routers that won't let you split up the two bands making keeping your devices out of each others' way impossible. Just something little to think about anyway.

Finally, let's talk lights. If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times; I hate little lights. Fortunately, most D-Link routers these days let you deactivate any status LEDs once you've set everything up. UNfortunately, not the case with the DSL-X1852E. Which is a real bummer because there are a lot of lights - one for each port (including power and WPS) - all lined up at the front of the device, which can be pretty distracting if it's somewhere prominent, like under the TV. Luckily, these particular lights are incredibly small so the green disco effect they create is actually quite hard to see from across the room.

Unnecessary lights aside, I've been impressed by the good-old, plug-it-in, set-it-up and it just works nature of this device. The Wi-Fi coverage is fast and strong and there aren't too many other home modem/routers out there right now offering this range of connectivity options. And hey, if you need two landline phones (and who doesn't?) it's an absolute no-brainer.

    

Click here for more information and pricing on the D-Link DSL-X1852E modem/router with VoIP.

Sony Presents a Strong Case

The battle for noise cancelling supremacy rages on. Perhaps nowhere is this battle fought more fervently than in the high-end, over-ear headphone market.

Opinions, as they always have been, are divided but my general sense of things is most believe Sony has been leading the game for a while, providing a complete package; style, comfort, superior sound and arguably the most advanced active noise cancelling chip on the market.

So the pressure's on. Where do you go from here? When you're on top, how do you go higher? It's very easy to for the king to rest on his laurels while the pretenders conspire to steal his crown.

Have I been watching too much House of the Dragon? Perhaps. But you get my point. Making the best better is never easy.

The new Sonys have totally nailed it. Except for the name, of course. WH-1000XM5? Why? Anyway, it is what it is. And what it is is the very best headphones you can buy. Again.

I was going to start with the case - because it's the first thing you see and it's the first thing that impressed me - but let's go back a step further; if you thought the packaging for Sony's recent generation of true-wireless earbuds was unusually disposable, wait till you see how recyclable the box for the XM5 is. There's no plastic in the packaging at all. It takes a bit of getting used to; chucking the box for your $599.00 headphones straight in the recycling but I guess we need to do what we can. Like everyone, Sony is also committed to using recycled materials in the headphones themselves.

But first, that case. No longer a heavy, solid-walled, symmetrical oval. The new case accommodates the fact the XM5's don't collapse into themselves quite the same way as their predecessors. Instead, the padded interior of this case is specifically moulded to store the headphones flat. Due to the new, much slimmer headband, this means one end of the case is also a lot flatter, making it dramatically easier to stow in a bag, briefcase or seat pocket. There's also a magnetic lid on the accessory compartment to keep things tidy. In short; a much more premium case befitting of these best-in-class cans.

Alright, to the actual headphones. While the previous couple of versions were almost identical in appearance, Sony has made quite a leap in looks here. Unusually skinny headband, yet still nicely padded. The arms connecting that band to the ear cups are uniquely angled and also minimalist, yet there's no hint of a lack of durability and the slide adjustment seems just as firm as the previous one-notch-at-a-time design. The ear cups are perhaps a more familiar shape, although they also seem slightly smaller and lighter to me. The overall effect is something less in-your-face - definitely more comfortable and less claustrophobic than many other over-ear designs.

None of this matters at all if the XM5's don't deliver sound-wise though. Not to worry. They definitely do. Interestingly, the main driver has actually shrunk - from 40mm to 30mm - I don't care at all because to my ears sound quality has only improved. Noise cancellation is even more effective than ever while everything seems more clear - right across the frequency range.

"Miss Atomic Bomb" by the Killers sails along atop a rolling bass and tom-tom tide, complimented by an expansive guitar and keyboard soundscape. Brandon Flowers' sweeping lead vocals dive through the track like a seabird swooping beneath the waves then surging into the sky again - or at least how it sounds to me through the XM5's. So much space. So much warmth.

Even much older tracks like "Layla" sound as though they've been painstakingly remastered to emphasise each element; Clapton's legendary lead riff in a space all its own, vocals in another sonic room, rhythm section not jumbled or muddy in the slightest.

This is probably due in no small part to Sony's DSEE Extreme AI tech. Supposedly it's capable of upscaling digitally compressed files in real time in much the same way a good high-definition TV can take lower resolution content and enhance it to look more detailed. From what I can hear, it seems to be working.

Controlling the WH-1000XM5 hasn't really changed, although it seems to work better now. I've never been a massive fan of the swiping and tapping gestures on the right-hand ear cup. In the past I've often found this to be too inexact and ended up skipping tracks (swipe forward) instead of turning up the volume (swipe up). No real drama when listening to music but a real pain in the arse if you accidentally jump out of the middle of your podcast. Sony seems to have refined this system somehow and I've yet to make the same mistake on the new model.

As usual, other features like ear-fit, firmware upgrades and equalisation options are accessible through the Headphones app, not to mention more advanced tweaks like Speak to Chat and Adaptive Sound Control, which lets the headphones decide just how much ANC is required depending on your physical environment.

Somewhat surprisingly, estimated battery life has stayed pretty much the same at around 30 hours - although Sony has definitely upped their fast charging game - just a three minute burst should buy you another three hours use.

Best of all, there's still an AUX socket and cable included, so I can use these (with ANC turned on) at work. Monitoring a three hour breakfast radio show is an absolute pleasure wearing the WH-1000XM5. It's like having your ears in butter.

    

Click here for more information and pricing on the Sony WH-1000XM5.