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PlayStation Gold Wireless Stereo Headset

2016/01/08 By staze

golden-edition_imgAfter I got a Playstation 4, I quickly realized that the time I was able to play was often after my toddler son had gone to bed, and that also my LCD TV had terrible stereo separation. So I started looking into headphone options. While some get amazing reviews, they often cost $250, which I wasn’t willing to spend. However, Sony produced a set of headphones called the PlayStation Gold Wireless Stereo Headset that got good reviews, sounded good, were comfortable, and only cost $99. For $99 on Prime, with the Amazon credits I had, I was more than willing to give them a go. So, I ordered a pair, and waited.

They showed up pretty quickly (Prime and all), and first thing off the bat is that they’re big. They’re not Sennheiser HD280 big, but they’re close. That said, they’re comfortable. They may actually be MORE comfortable than my HD280’s with my glasses on. You do have to fiddle with the headband a bit though, as if it’s too “loose” the ear cups tend to dig into your “TMJ” joint, and cause some discomfort (at least they did on me… but that was fixed my tightening the headband so the cups sat more “off” my jaw). The other thing of note is the headphones require the USB dongle (i.e. they’re not bluetooth). Meaning on the PS4, one of your two precious USB ports is now dedicated to your headphones (but, the advantage is, they should work on any device with USB (that supports sound))! The disadvantage is you can’t really charge your headphones and controller at the same time without unplugging the dongle. On the plus side, they configured immediately, and sounded awesome.

I usually find myself disabling the mic (button on the headphones) when not playing with others as the sound it picks up is replayed into the headphones and causes some odd audio effects (though it is nice if you’re expecting to get called to dinner). There are other sound profiles for the headphones that you can load via the PS4 app, but I haven’t found myself needing them. The difference playing Farcry 4 with and without them, is awesome. Before, eagles or honey badgers would sneak up on me, and I’d be trying to frantically kill them after they had already hit me. With them, I can hear them a mile away and am facing them as they “charge”. Fallout 4 has been much more enjoyable than 3 or New Vegas were because of the headphones (I may actually replay them both with the headphones now that I have them).

I liked the headphones so much, I bought a second pair on eBay and brought them to work to use on my computer there. I’d give them a perfect rating if they were bluetooth, but sadly, they’re not.

[xrr rating=4.5/5]

Filed Under: Reviews Tagged With: Gold wireless headset, Playstation 4

Ubiquiti UniFi UAP AC LR

2016/01/08 By staze

uap-ac-lr-medSince purchasing the Edgerouter X SFP a couple weeks ago, I realized that I wanted to upgrade my wireless network as well. I’ve been using my older Airport Extreme (5th Generation) in Bridge Mode to do my home networking, but I’ve been having odd issues with it when the cabinet its in is closed (I think it’s overheating). The Airport is rated up to 20W of power, which seems a bit extreme, but the device is a full on router, so there is some extra hardware in there. I had previously purchased a ceiling mount for the unit, and have it mounted in the middle of my house. This gives it very good range, with only a couple very small dead spots. But, the power usage, and the oddities with the overheating, made me decide it was time to jump to something better.

The Edgerouter X SFP supports Ubiquiti’s 24V Passive POE on all ports, so I figured I’d try one of their UniFi access points. They recently released their AC access points, but availability was very limited. I called/emailed a dozen or so places only to be told they were backordered for at least 2 months! Then, I found a place right here in Oregon, Invictus Wireless (which I would be traveling within a mile to for Christmas), and called them. They had one in stock! I purchased it, and had a family member pick it up since they were closing early for Christmas eve. =D

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Reviews Tagged With: Invictus Wireless, Ubiquiti, UniFi AP AC LR

2354-07 iXO 4V Skil Max Lithium-Ion Palm-Sized Cordless Screwdriver

2015/12/25 By staze

Skil 2354-07I do a fair number of repairs at my bench, which is in my home office (well, it IS my home office), and all my power tools live either in the garage, or in the shed, so I needed a small electric screw driver for doing repairs. I’ve known about the Skil iXO’s for a while, but just recently I found a USB chargeable one! The 2354-07, which oddly has a MicroUSB connector on the base, charges via USB, and gives pretty decent performance for it’s price. I was able to use it to easily unscrew and open the MOTU 828 I recently repaired, and just about everything else I’ve thrown at it. My only real complaint is the driver doesn’t have any kind of clutch, so it pretty much will (un)screw with all available torque, which is a fair amount given it’s 400RPM speed (enough that you’ll find your hand/wrist twisting before realizing you need to let go of the trigger). The unit is small, and if you had bigger hands that medium, you’d find yourself pressing the forward/reverse selector (something I’ve seen people complain about online). But ultimately, this unit is meant for light duty. I could really see it as being useful in a network or server closet for racking gear. I may pick up a second one for that purpose in the future, if I expect to be re-racking a lot of stuff.

[xrr rating=4.5/5]

Filed Under: Reviews Tagged With: Skil iXO

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