Etekcity Kitchen Scales

Rating: 5/5

Review:
Very good kitchen scales

The manufacturer sent me these scales for review and I think they are excellent. I use kitchen scales a lot so I want something really good, and these fit the bill.

The scales look very stylish and they are also extremely good in use which is the critical thing for me. They seem very robust and should stand up to the knocks, scrapes and drops of frequent kitchen use.  They sit solidly on non-slip feet and have a good sized weighing surface (about 22cm x 19cm). The surface is brushed stainless steel, covered with a very tough, clear plastic layer, so the surface doesn't get smeared with fingerprints and so on and is extremely easy to clean. The display is backlit, large and very easy to read and the control buttons are convenient and easy to use.

The scales have four units: grammes, ounces, fl. oz. and ml.  (Personally, I never fl. oz. and ml, but others may find them useful.)  I have tested them and they are accurate to 1g or 0.1oz and have a tare (or zero) function so you can reset to zero once your container is on the scales and just weigh the contents as you add them. They use 3 x AAA batteries which are supplied and are easy to get when you need replacements. 

I'm very pleased with these scales. They are well made, they look very good and they work very well.  At just over ten quid at the time of writing I think they are excellent value, too, and I can recommend these very warmly.

Amazon page HERE

Etekcity 4-way power strip with USB ports

Rating: 5/5

Review:
A good quality power strip

This power strip was sent to me for review: it is very good.

It comes very nicely boxed and has an instruction booklet, which is largely redundant because all you have to do is plug it in, turn it on and use it.  There's not a great deal to say about a power strip, but the two important things are that it seems very robustly made so it should last well and that it is nicely designed.  It is slim and discreet, and very easy to use.  There is a single on/off switch, so the four sockets are not individually switched, but it does have surge protection.

The four USB charging ports are grouped at one end, which is a design I like.  Some other strips I have tried have the ports in parallel with the power sockets, so plugging in a larger power unit sometimes blocks a USB port.  The ports work just fine on my devices; they are rated up to 2.4A and automatically charge your device at the appropriate rate.

That's it, really.  It's a well made, well designed power strip which does the job it's made for and I can recommend it.

Amazon page HERE

Reshow car cassette adaptor

Rating: 4/5

Review:
A good adaptor

I was sent this adaptor for review and so far it has been good.  A car cassette adaptor is a pretty niche item these days, but I still have an elderly and much-loved car with a cassette deck.  I have used FM transmitters to connect my phone or mp3 player to the radio but there are so many pirates as I drive around that the connection is pretty unreliable so an adaptor like this is very handy.  This one works well; it's dead simple to use and gives reasonable sound.

The adaptor comes simply packed and with a basic guide – but you don't need much.  You just push the adaptor into the cassette player, plug the jack into the headphone socket of your music source and the music will emerge from your car stereo.  You can move the output lead to emerge from the body of the adaptor in various positions, so it should fit pretty well all car cassette players and it seems solidly made.

The sound is pretty good. I find the level quite low, but boosting the volume of both source and car stereo gives decent volume.  It's not as bright as it might be on the trebles – but that may just be my cassette player, which is not in the first flush of youth.

Overall, this is a very decent item which is reasonably priced and well made.  I will update this review if I have any problems with durability, but I'm not expecting any and if you need a car cassette adaptor, I can recommend this one.

Amazon page HERE

Zeskit silver-plated copper 3.5mm jack-to-jack cable

Rating: 5/5

Review:
Very good quality cables

Zeskit kindly sent me a couple of these cables for review.  I think they are very good; the materials are high-quality and they are well made.

The cables are nicely presented in a smart box (which may be slight overkill for a headphone cable) and look very nice themselves.  The straight plug is very nicely finished in whichever colour you chose; I have silver and dark grey which both look very smart. It has a step-shape which enables it to fit a lot of socket designs.  The right-angle plug is robust plain black plastic.  Both plugs have a very solid feel with good strain relief and gold plating on the contacts and they slide very nicely into and out of all the sockets I have tried.  The cable is sheathed in a ridged plastic which is nicely flexible and doesn't tangle much and which has very little friction noise when in use.

Whether these cables will transform the sound of your headphones is debatable; I have used them to connect my Hifiman Supermini player to Cleer DJ High-Definition headphones, which is a pretty good quality combination.  The cables certainly do a very good job, but I can't really say that they improve the sound massively - they are probably more a part of a sort of Dave Brailsford package of "aggregation of marginal gains."  However, they are very good quality cables which will certainly do a good job and should last very well.  Recommended.

Amazon page HERE

Lasmex H120 headphones

Rating: 4/5

Review:
Very good headphones with some limitations

I was sent these headphones for review and I think they are very good. They are well made, they have a distinctive style and very good sound in many types of music.  I think Lasmex C45 headphones are probably the best I've ever heard at under thirty quid, and these perform well at a higher level, too.

The H120 come beautifully boxed and are plainly a quality product. There is a very nice carry-case and two leads; one plain lead and one for connection to phones with a microphone and simple button control.  There is also a decent user manual, although there's no guidance on using the phone controls.  As the instructions seem to be pretty much "Press to receive and press again to hang up" this isn't a big problem.

The headphones are well made. They are quite weighty and have solid metal earcups with a nice style and a very highly polished finish (which does collect finger marks very easily, I find). The padding is very good and I have found them comfortable for several hours use. They grip well and seem to be made to accommodate a pretty large head, which is welcome.  They fold neatly and have a robust feel to them.

Connection is wired only, which suits me just fine and means that the makers' focus has been on sound production.  They have done a good job on this; I test a lot of headphones and these have a fine depth of tone and a very strong, rounded bass. They perhaps lack a little precision in articulation at the top as a result, but the overall sound, especially in modern music is very pleasing. Tops are bright and distinct, middles sound lovely and rich and the bass is strong and very deep. 

I have listened to a lot of music through these headphones, including my Test Tracks list, which gives all aspects of the sound a thorough trial. It starts with 16th Century choral music and ends with London Grammar.  I found rock and modern music in general sounded great: punchy, clear and with a real bass kick – and the really deep bass in tracks like London Grammar's Hey Now or Never Ending Circles by Churches comes over really well.  Acoustic music is pretty good and has a fair amount of space and air in it.  Classical didn’t do so well, though.  The very dominant bass can sound a bit boomy in the lower strings (really noticeable in the Karelia Suite, for example) and chamber music is clearer but can sound a bit unbalanced with an overbearing cello.

Whether these headphones will suit you will depend on your listening.  For wider listening, and especially classical, they may be a bit bass-heavy.  For more balanced sound in a similar price range I prefer Cleer DU (which I think are outstanding), Brainwavz HM5 or Noontec Hammo 2.  Sound is a very personal thing, though, and there's no doubt that these are very good headphones.  I have given them four stars because of their performance on some of my preferred music, but if you want headphones for modern music and like a good kick in the bass, I think you'll find Lasmex H120 excellent.

Homdox Steel 30l waste bin

Rating: 3/5

Review:
OK, but not the best quality

This bin was sent to me for review.  It's not bad, but it's less well-made than I had hoped.

The bin arrived in no fewer than three cardboard boxes, one inside the other.  In spite of this, there were a couple of dents in it which I'm not impressed with.  There is a permanent dent in the lid which doesn't look great, and a large dent in the body of the bin.  This one was easy to push out – which gives you an idea of the thinness of the steel.  Compared to, say, a Brabantia bin it's really quite flimsy which may not matter much in normal use, but isn't confidence inspiring.

It looks nice (dents notwithstanding).  The steel has a good brushed finish (not polished as stated on this page) and it's nicely proportioned.  The pedal mechanism is OK but a bit stiff; the lid opens fairly easily but well short of vertical.  Also I'd expect a pedal to be fairly flat but this one sticks up at a rather alarmingly priapic angle.  This isn’t a problem as such, but it's not what I'd expect.  The lifting handle on the hinge is solid enough, but it's twisted; again, not really a problem in use, but I'd expect better.

The inner plastic bin is very solid, with a capacity of about 30l.  However, it is not perfectly round so it has to be positioned very exactly or the lid doesn't close properly.  Even then I sometimes have to give it a tap to close fully, and the inner bin's imperfect shape makes it a little difficult to fit a liner so that it doesn't show too much.  The lid doesn't fit quite true all the way round, with a bit of an overhang toward the back, which doesn't show much but doesn't suggest real quality in the build.

So…it's OK, but not the greatest bin in the world.  It is cheaper than bigger-brand bins, but the difference in quality is pretty evident.  That said, it looks good in the kitchen and does the job fairly well.  I wanted a second bin for recyclable waste and this seems OK for that.  I will edit this review if I have any durability problems after using it for a while; for now I'd say it's adequate but it may be worth paying a little more for better quality. 

Amazon page HERE

Electronic Mall CD/DVD drive

Rating: 1/5

Review:
Not compatible with Windows 10?

I was sent this CD/DVD drive for review, but it won't work with my Windows 10 laptop or notebook.  I contacted the distributor who sent me a replacement – with the same result: it simply doesn't register in File Explorer.  I have contacted them again, but have received no response this time.

Although it says on this page that it is compatible with Windows 10, on the box the compatibility list only goes as far as Windows 8, and I suspect that this is simply not supported by Windows 10, making it useless for many, many people.  It may possibly work on older versions of Windows or with other OS, but if you have Windows 10 don't buy this!

Amazon Page HERE

Thinp Neck & Back Massager

Rating: 4/5

Review:
A good massager

This massager was sent to me for review.  It's good; I have found that it does ease knotted neck and shoulder muscles pretty well.

The first thing to say is that this has nothing at all to do with shiatsu, which (whether or not you believe in its basis) is a skilled form of diagnosis and massage.  This is just a muscle massager – and there's nothing wrong with that. 

The massager is well made.  The materials are good and it seems very solidly stitched and constructed.  It's simple to use and works well: you plug it into the mains (but it's only 12V when it gets to the massager, so there's no danger) and the controls are simple and easy to use.  Two rotating lumpy things (sorry to be technical) then massage your shoulders and neck, and I've found it easy to manoeuvre the massager into exactly the right position and move it to the correct muscles.  The pressure of your hands in the slings which hold them can control how hard the nobbly bits dig in and there are controls for speed (three settings), reversing the direction and a heater (which is lovely!).

I find it pretty effective.  There's no substitute for a human touch, of course, but this does ease knotted neck and shoulders pretty well if not perfectly.  I find that it can be a lot rougher than you think, and the first couple of times I actually felt bruised after 5-minute session until I got the hang of it.  (And don't make the mistake I made of lying down with it under your neck – I thought I'd caught my neck in a vice.)  Now, a more gentle 5-10 minute massage with this does leave me more comfortable even if it's not a complete solution.

So, overall a good massager.  It's not cheap but it does seem to be a quality item.  I will edit this review if I have any problems with durability, but I'd expect it to last a good long time.  If you're looking for a mechanical neck and shoulder massager I can recommend this one.

Amazon page HERE

Homdox Glass Jug Kettle

Rating: 2/5

Review:
A kettle with problems

I was sent this kettle for review and I've had some real problems with it.

The kettle comes simply but solidly boxed and you get a basic but perfectly adequate user manual.  It looks nice and the basic construction of the kettle seems solid.  However:

1) It doesn't sit very firmly on the base and wobbles enough to be a little worrying.  I don't think its unsafe at all, but it doesn't feel solid in the way I'd like a kettle to be.

2) The lid doesn't open easily.  In fact, I find it infuriatingly difficult.  The picture on this page shows a thumb gently lifting the latch.  Oh, I wish!  This doesn't release the catch; the only way of doing it is to press down on the back of the catch while lifting the front, which is incredibly inconvenient and not really what you want to be doing on a hot kettle, either.

3) The plastic has a strong chemical smell when you open it which hasn't yet worn off on mine.  Worse, on boiling it up there was a truly horrible smell of rotten eggs.  Seriously, it was so bad that I thought a member of the family had…er…committed an anti-social act after eating something which disagreed with them.  It took me a little while to realise that it came from the kettle.  After a few (reluctant) further boilings it's fading, but the chemical smell is still there and it doesn't make me want to drink the water, that's for sure.

Also, this is quite a low-powered kettle (about 2KW on UK voltage) which means that it's quite slow to boil.  It takes about 3 minutes to boil I litre, which is 50% longer than my existing 3kW kettle which does it in 2 minutes..  This may not be a big problem for you, but is something to bear in mind.

I'm sorry to have to be so critical; previous Homdox products I have tried have been very good, but this kettle really doesn't come up to the mark and I'm afraid I can't recommend it.

Amazon page HERE

Hifiman RE-400 IEMs

Rating: 5/5

Review:
Clear, beautifully balanced sound

I was sent these Hifiman RE-400 earphones for review, and I think they are excellent.

The sound is the most important thing for me, so I'll start with that. The sound took quite a few hours use to open out and after probably 40 hours or so is still developing a bit, I think.  It is now extremely sharp and accurate with a very nice balance.  Articulation is crisp and very clear over the whole range and there's a very good balance; bass is restrained but very solid, middles are lovely and tops are bright without any harshness.  The sheer detail audible through such small units is remarkable and I find them a real pleasure to listen to.  I have listened to a lot of music through these now including my Test Playlist which I use to compare audio products. This runs from 16th-Century choral music to London Grammar and covers most things in between and I think everything sounds really good. Articulation of individual orchestral instruments is excellent, chamber music sounds superb and crystal-clear, acoustic music has lots of light and air, rock really rocks, and so on. I love the clarity and balance of these, but they aren't tuned for massive bass, so if you're looking for bass to smack you in the side of the head you'll need to look elsewhere (perhaps GGMM Cuckoo IEMs).

They earphones are very smartly packaged and you get a nice little carry case and a selection of silicone tips, which I needed because it took me a while to get the positioning exactly right.  There are no controls of any kind – these are engineered for music listening and don't have any frills for phone calls etc.

They seem well made and look smart and discreet.  I see that others have had some durability problems with the cable; I'll edit this review if I experience the same, but for now they are doing a very good job.  I have used a much-loved pair of RHA MA600 for many years and more recently I have been using GGMM Cuckoos for more bass-heavy listening.  I think I prefer these to either; I'm delighted with them and can recommend them very warmly.

URclever programmable plug-in timer-switch

Rating: 5/5

Review:
A good timer-switch

This timer-switch was sent to me for review.  I think it’s very good: it is neat, robust, simple to use and works very well.  (NOTE: the timer has a UK plug and socket even though the picture currently on this page shows non-UK fittings.)

There is , thank heavens, a decent user manual, which is basic but tells you pretty well all you need to know in good English, so the unit is easy to set up.  Time and day setting is very simple, and there's a very handy and simple function to switch between Summer Time and GMT without resetting the whole thing.  You can programme up to 10 periods during the day for the switch to be on; each can operate every day, only on a given day, only on weekdays, only at weekends and in other combinations of days.  There's also a "random" setting, which may be handy if you want to make a house look occupied when you're away.

The unit is powered from the socket it's plugged into, but there's a built-in battery with a pretty long life (given as ">100 hours", but I suspect it's far longer) so that it doesn't lose all its settings if it's unplugged.

Quite simply, it just works.  Once you've got the hang of it (which doesn't take long) it's dead simple to use and then gets on with the job with no fuss.  It's nicely designed so it's pretty unobtrusive and it looks as though it will last for a good long time.  (I will update this review if I have any durability problems, but I'm not expecting any.)  It's a good unit so if you need a simple but flexible timer-switch I can recommend this warmly.

Amazon page HERE

EUGO temperature and humidity gauge

Rating: 4/5

Review:
A good gauge

I was sent this temperature/ humidity gauge for review and I think it's good.  It seems well made and it does the job well.

The gauge looks very smart.  It's pretty big at roughly 10cm square and 2cm thick, but the large display does make it easy to read.  It can be stood up on a surface using the stand or there's a little hole in the back for wall mounting, but no hook is provided.  It's powered by a single AAA battery (supplied).

Once set up, it's very simple and clear.  Setting up isn't completely straightforward because the user manual is in such dreadful English that I found I was doing it mostly by trial and error.  However, it's fairly intuitive and after only a few minutes, just a couple of oaths and a moment of panic when I thought I couldn’t turn off the alarm (it's OK, I could) it was set up and working well.

The main display is temperature and humidity.  The temperature is accurate and although I have no way of calibrating the humidity reading it seems to give reasonable readings.  There is also a smaller clock display and the date in yyyy/mm/dd format which I don't like much, but can live with.  There's a backlight which is activated for 5 seconds by a button push and an alarm function if you need it.

Everything works fine.  My only small gripe is that the screen is quite sensitive to viewing angle and is hard to read if you're looking down on it rather than straight at it.  Not a big problem, but a noticeable one.  Other than that, this seems a robust and functional gauge which works well looks smart, is good value and which I can recommend.

Amazon page HERE