The Logitech Litra Beam Key Light: A Low-Cost, High-Performance Wireless Audio earbud for Pixel Phones
Happy Saturday, folks! Ever since they arrived on the scene in mid-2022, we’ve considered Google’s noise-canceling Pixel Buds Pro to be the wireless earbuds for Pixel phone owners — partly because of their great feature set and partly because they addressed the connectivity issues that plagued earlier models. The best part is they are often on sale for much less than the MSRP. Right now, for example, you can buy them at Walmart and Best Buy for around $139 ($60 off) which is the second-best price to date.
Truth be told, I’ve never been a huge fan of most key lights, many of which opt for a circular or square-ish design that’s a bit of an eyesore when placed above your monitor. Logitech’s Litra Beam takes a more subtle approach to illumination, however, relying on a low-profile form factor that should sit neatly atop your monitor or the included stand. What’s more, it’s currently available from Amazon, Best Buy, and Logitech for $89.99 ($10 off), nearly matching its all-time low.
As you might imagine, Logitech’s full-spectrum LED key light is purpose-built for streaming, podcasting, or taking video calls from home. Because it is so sleek, you can use it as a desk lamp or align it to the top of your monitor, even if you aren’t streaming. You can choose between a warm 2700K or a cool 6500K color temperature and use either the onboard hardware controls or the G Hub desktop app. It works with both Windows and macOS, but you will need to plug in the cable for the power, no matter which connection method you choose.
The Creative Aurvana Ace 2: Review: Sound Insane Solid-State Earbuds for Gym and Sauna Time
Speaking of gym time, you’ll have no problem breaking a sweat in these, or at least I didn’t, thanks to an included IPX5 rating for water resistance. I used them for many trips to my gym and even some time in the sauna with no issues.
One thing I do like is their simple, easy-to-understand code for telling how much battery is left in the charging case. A red light means 0 to 30 percent, yellow 31 to 70 percent, and green 71 to 99 percent. It’s simple, and it’s helpful for those of us who leave buds in bags for gym time and rarely take them to the charger.
Touch controls on both sides of each bud allow you to play music, pause music, or increase or decrease volume, but the left and right sides turn it on and off. The buttons were hard to use, I used the Creative’s app and my phone’s controls to mess with the buds.
Both pairs of Creative’s new earbuds appear almost identical from the outside, sporting familiar elephant-trunked designs in black with copper-gold accents on the outside of each bud. Which pair is from the charging case? The standard Ace come with an opaque black shell, whereas the Ace 2 come with a see-through gray that reveals a shiny gold interior to the clamshell.
Source: Creative Aurvana Ace 2 Review: These Solid-State Earbuds Sound Insane
Silicone earbuds: a step towards a leap in sound quality for iPods and other wearable devices (like AirPods)
The past decade has been a lot for us who are able to listen to music on the go. We’ve seen the rise of AirPods—and the associated loss of the headphone jack—in addition to a vast array of microphone, noise-canceling, and other feature improvements that make listening on the go more convenient. One thing we haven’t really seen? There was a big change in audio quality.
With its new solid-state drivers, California-based xMems has finally offered us a real leap in how earbuds generate sound. The Silicon earbud drivers use the same technology that was pioneered for producing microchips, which gives them a flatter, cleaner overall signature as well as significantly added robustness.
