Neon MCB1534D micro stereo system

Rating: 5/5

Review:
An excellent little stereo system

I was sent this small stereo system for review.  I liked the look of it and expected it to be pretty good, but it is far better than I expected at this price both in build and sound quality, and I think it represents excellent value.

The unit looks very nice – it is very compact and has a simple, neat front panel in brushed metal.  The speakers are shiny black, again with a simple front grille, so the whole thing is elegant and will fit neatly into even a small room.   It is easy to set up and has a good instruction manual.  It has an excellent range of inputs:

DAB and FM tuners

CD player with the ability to play mp3 discs too

Bluetooth 3.0

USB drive

2 x auxiliary inputs for things like record deck or connection to TV

They are all good.  There are no number buttons on the remote, so you have to scroll to the track or station you want, but otherwise it's functionally excellent.  Bluetooth pairing was simple both conventionally and via NFC and the connection is stable up to about 5 metres.  Radio tuning and reception is very good.  (Unlike another reviewer here, I find the DAB reception excellent even with just the supplied wire aerial.)  In short, everything works well.

It was the sound quality which really surprised me.  Obviously, you're not going to get top-end hi-fi from a unit like this, but it's very, very good – especially for its size and price.  I have put it through its paces using my Test Playlist which begins with Tudor choral music and ends up with London Grammar and includes most styles in between, and everything sounds very good indeed.  There's a firm but not overbearing bass, the middles are rich and tops are very clear and bright, giving a very well-balanced sound to my ears.  The articulation is very good so that individual instruments and voices are clear even in complex music, a string quartet is very well balanced, rock and acoustic music are great…I can't really fault it.  There's a selection of five EQ presets if you want them, and individual treble and bass controls, so you have the ability to adjust the sound to your taste.  It goes loud enough for a reasonable-sized party and it's just a very good unit.

In summary, this is an excellent stereo at this price.  It is well made and elegant, with surprisingly good sound.  The remote could do with some numbered buttons, but that's the only thing I can criticise in any way, so if you're looking for a very compact system I can recommend this very warmly.

Amazon page HERE

Archeer 237, 20W Bluetooth speaker

Rating: 4/5

Review:
A good compact speaker

I'm quite impressed by this speaker. It's well made, functional and stylish, and it has good sound.

The speaker is nicely proportioned at 21cm x 5cm x 8 cm and weighs around 500g, so it has a good solid heft but is still very portable.  The charging port is on one end, along with three inputs AUX, USB and a slot for micro-SD card, so it's good and versatile. The controls are neat and very clear on the top of the cylinder and all work well. Volume, skip forward and back and pause/play are self-explanatory, and hands-free calls are accepted using pause/play. The manual is just about adequate, and you also get a jack-to-jack AUX lead for wired connection and a standard micro-USB lead for charging.

The speaker seems robust and solidly made and I would expect it to last well even if it's knocked about a bit as it's moved around as a portable speaker. In use, it all works very well. Bluetooth pairing is simple and I found the signal solid up to 8 and sound is equally good whichever input you use.  It does have a loud and intrusive start-up jingle and a loud female voice announcing the mode, which I don't like but which many people find handy.

The sound quality is good, especially for a small unit in this price range. The top and middles are crisp and well-defined, and the bass is firm.  Real, deep bass isn't there, but it's fine for everyday and the overall balance is good. I have tried this with a lot of music, including my Test Playlist which I use on all audio products for a fair comparison. It begins with Tudor Choral music and ends up with London Grammar, and everything comes over well. Classical music sounds rich and full, with a string quartet sounding well balanced and orchestral music rich and crisply articulated, rock is good and punchy, and so on.

I think this is a very good unit at this size and price (£32.99 at the time of writing). It is solidly made with very good sound and I can recommend it.

Amazon page HERE

Ausdom M08 headphones

Rating: 4/5

Review:
Very good quality headphones with dominant bass

Ausdom sent me these M08 headphones for review and I am impressed. They are very well made, exceptionally comfortable and have very good sound - although I find the bass a little dominant.

The headphones are very nicely packaged and come with a standard mini-USB charging lead, a good jack-to-jack lead for wired connection and a comprehensive User Manual in good English. They look very nice, I think, and fold up for easy transport and storage. They offer both Bluetooth and wired connection, and I noticed no difference in sound quality between the two modes. You can use wired connection to connect to non-Bluetooth devices, of course, and also use it if the headphones are out of charge which may be a handy feature.

They are light and comfortable; the ear pads are some of the best I've tried for comfort, and they will be fine for prolonged listening. The controls are the usual you'd expect: on/off and volume + and - buttons which also serve for pause/play and skip forward and back and standard phone controls, and there's a perfectly decent microphone. Bluetooth pairing is simple (standard pairing only - no NFC). I found both the battery life and range good.

Sound quality is very good for many types of listening, but not ideal for me. The bass is extremely full: in some forms of music that's great, but not in all. I test all headphones and speakers (and I've tested a lot) using a playlist of test tracks which give all aspects of the sound a thorough trial. It starts with 16th Century choral music, it ends with London Grammar and it has most things in between - orchestral, choral, vocal and chamber music, classic rock, acoustic music and so on. For rock and the like these are great; the powerful bass really gives it a kick and the deep bass in London Grammar's Hey Now sounds fabulous. However, in classical music I think there's a slight flabbiness in the treble and the bass is too dominant and rather boomy, so articulation of individual instruments and voices isn't always clear.

This may not bother you at all, and if you like a real bass boom in your music these will serve you extremely well. They are certainly very good headphones at this price: they are functional, stylish and comfortable. Ausdom make good headphones; I have tried several sets from them and they have all been of very good build quality. These also seem solid and durable so you can buy with confidence, so if you're looking for a set of Bluetooth and wired headphones with really strong bass, I can recommend these.

Amazon page HERE

Amazon Basics - Washcloths (Pack of 12)

Rating: 5/5

Review:
Good flannels

These are nice washcloths.  They are 100% cotton (essential, I think) and a good thickness.

The cloths are a good size, they are well stitched at the hem, feel quite thick and soft and are comfortable to use on my face.  Describing them as having "a spa-like feeling of luxury" may be stretching it a bit, but they're as good as any other cloths I buy from places like Boots and Superdrug, and I find them soft enough and just large enough to use as little hand-towels, too. 

There's not much more to say about bathroom flannels.  In short, these are perfectly decent quality and recommended.

Amazon page HERE

T W Steel - Maverick Chronograph Watch, Model MB13

Rating: 4/5

Review:
Good quality, very big - and expensive!

This is a huge, shiny watch which demands to be noticed.  It seems to be good quality but it seems expensive for what it is.

The presentation and packaging is very stylish: mine came in a large, solid faux-leather box with a polishing cloth and guarantee card (already filled in by hand).  The watch itself is very large (45mm diameter and 14mm thick), it is quite heavy and very shiny.  The mesh steel strap is good and easy to adjust.  This is billed as a unisex watch but on my reasonably large male wrist it looks very big and I suspect it might be too big on a female wrist.

The face is bold, clear and very easy to read.  The crown and chronometer buttons are proportionally large, which also makes them very easy to use.  The second hand is in one of the sub-dials, while the sweep second hand is for chronometer use.  (This makes the chronometer more accurate, of course, but personally I prefer a normal sweep second hand.) The quartz mechanism keeps good time and functionally it's just a good watch, with high quality materials and good construction.

Frankly, this is a bit macho for my taste and I think it is overpriced at well over three hundred pounds (especially with a quartz mechanism), but there's no doubt that it's a "statement" watch and is obviously good quality so if that's what you're looking for it may well suit you.

Amazon page HERE

Charles Wilson Plain Crew T-Shirts, 5-pack

Rating: 5/5

Review:
Good quality and excellent value

Charles Wilson sent me these T-shirts for review; I think they are good quality and represent excellent value.

The T-shirts are made of medium-weight cotton.  I can just make out the darker colour of my jeans through my white ones - but only just - which will give you an idea of the thickness: perfectly adequate but not heavyweight luxury cotton.  They are well made with very solid seams, no stray threads and a soft band over the seam at the back of the neck to stop it irritating, which is a very nice extra touch.  They seem to keep their shape pretty well in the wash, although it's a bit early to tell fully.

Sizing is as expected.  I'm 6feet tall and fairly normal medium build for a man in his early 60s.  I prefer a looser T-shirt and have XL, which fit me nicely across the shoulders and are a good length.  They are comfy and look fine.

There's not a lot more to say about T-shirts.  These are very nice quality and, at just over four quid each, are very good value.  Recommended.

Amazon page HERE

Umi Ultra-Slim Wireless Keyboard

Rating: 5/5

Review:
A very good keyboard

I like this keyboard very much.  It's smart, it's very nice to use and it works.

I have tried this with a Windows 10 tablet and an Android 6.0 phone, bith of which work fine with it.  Be aware that it wouldn't work with an older Android 5.1 phone; I don't know whether this is a foible of the phone or a general incompatibility, but be cautious if you intend to use it with older Android versions.

That aside, set-up was very simple.  You'll need to supply 2xAAA batteries for power (rechargeables work fine); after that, pairing was quick and simple, the connection was solid and the keyboard works perfectly.  I found the keys and the trackpad very nice to use, and it's a good size for my hands: fairly compact but comfortable to use as a normal keyboard.  It does the job very well. 

Umi make good quality products, and this is no exception.  It's smart with an aluminium back and it's very thin with a rest to angle it slightly for ease of use.  It feels solid and robust and I'd expect it to last very well.

In summary, I like the look of it, it's durable and I can just use it without any fuss or difficulty, which is all I want from a keyboard so there's not a lot more to say about it other than to recommend it warmly.

Amazon page HERE