I have received the new Pineapple Rumble K Bone Conduction Headphones as well as the water-proof Rumble KW model from the manufacturer (Pineapple Electronics). The Rumble K is a new model, which follows the previous models with the same bone transmission technology: Rumble X and Rumble Z.
Virtually all headphones work using air conduction, that is by creating sound waves that spread through the air and hit your ear drum. If the volume is too high, the hearing damage can occur. The Rumble K (as well as other Pineapple Electronics' headphones) feature bone conduction. In Rumble K, the mid and high frequencies (treble) are produced and transmitted using air conduction, but the bass and mid frequencies are produced in a separate BCT unit and are being transmitted through the skin and bones directly to the middle ear. Not only does this potentially reduce hearing damage from playing music too loud, it also creates a different sensation, most beneficial when playing computer games, watching movies and playing bass-heavy music.
I usually employ inexpensive headphones. My "collection" includes models such as Sennheiser HD201, Sennheiser HD202, Koss KSC75, Koss SparkPlug, Philips HS500, Creative EP-640, etc. Being completely new to the bone-conducting headphones, I was intrigued. After a nonstop 45-hour burn-in in my iPod connected to the AC jack with a power adaptor, I was ready to test the Pineapple Rumble K.
About Pineapple Rumble K
The Pineapple Rumble K is an in-ear headphone with a Bone Conduction Transducer for bass and midrange combined with a conventional mid and treble Air Conduction speaker. The BCT unit is rather large and rests on the outside of the ear canal, while the ear bud is in the ear canal. The hybrid silicone rubber ear buds provide a secure fit and good sound insulation. The lack of ports in the back of the headphone further contributes to sound insulation.
The headphone comes with three sizes of ear buds (medium pre-installed on the headphone, large and small supplied in the box). The headphones are black, look stylish and have replaceable ear pads (see above). The fit, finish and build quality are great.
Some specs from the box: 20-20,000 Hz frequency response, impedance of 7 Ohms, rated power of 5-12 mW, 55-inch unbalanced cord with a 3.5-mm gold-plated plug for use with portable gear. A leather carrying pouch is included.
Performance
Relatively large and hefty, the Rumble K has ear buds that are located at an angle to the BCT (bone conduction transducer) unit. I used the silicone ear buds that the headphone came pre-attached with (medium size). The good sound insulation and comfortable fit were immediately apparent.
I have played a variety of music through them, including classical, Euro-dance, pop, rock, electronic music, rap, audio books. I also listened to movie soundtracks. I used my iPod, a CD player and a laptop. For comparison purposes, I also alternated between the Rumble K, the Koss KSC75 and Creative EP-640.
I immediately noticed the low sensitivity of the Rumble K. Vibrating the bone through the skin probably requires some significant energy and I had to crank my iPod up to about 85-95% of its maximum volume, whereas I normally use 65-80% with my other headphones. The portable CD player I used at times required 100% of the volume (depending on material).
The headphone sounded warm, featured good bass, midrange and lower treble, but limited upper treble. It sounded open, even though it is technically a sealed in-ear design. The Rumble K did not struggle with complex music. But the frequency response is a bit uneven and that made me hear some instruments in my classical music recordings I haven't heard before, but also mildly suppressed some others.
The sound overall was somewhat similar to being at a rock concert or in a club. The Rumble K worked very well with rap, producing excellent bass that was not only heard but felt as well. And I could crank it up without fear for my hearing, which is a definite plus. I had to use my Panasonic SA-XR57 receiver's headphone out for that though, since my portable CD player couldn't play very loud with the Rumble K.
The movie playback was excellent. The excellent bass combined with bone conduction produced an almost 3-D effect. Explosions and car chase scenes were the best ways to experience the new technology.
While alternating between the Rumble K, the Koss KSC75 and Creative EP-640, I noticed that I preferred the Rumble K when watching movies and sometimes for listening to rap. For general music listening at lower volumes though, I prefer the Koss KSC75 (over the ear) and the Creative EP-640 (in-ear design). But if I listened to loud music with a lot of bass, or while being on an airplane, the Rumble K would work very well because of its good insulation, powerful bass and vibrating BCT. Reduced chance of the hearing damage is also appealing. Lots of bass with low ear drum pressure via the patented Sonic-Vibe EX technology cannot be beat in this application.
The Pineapple Rumble K comes with an impressive 10-year warranty. They are well-made and should be durable.
Pros: Lowers the chance of hearing damage, powerful bass and vibrations, good for movies/games/rap Cons: Uneven frequency response and treble
Bottom Line
The bone-conducting Pineapple Rumble K provides powerful loud bass while reducing the chance of hearing loss. It is ideal for watching movies, listening to rap or for listening to movies/music while traveling by plane. It might also be a great investment if you already have some hearing loss.
I have received the new Pineapple Rumble KW 100% Water Proof Bone Conduction Headphones as well as the Pineapple Rumble K model from the manufacturer (Pineapple Electronics of California) for the purpose of reviewing them. The water-proof Rumble KW is a new model, which follows in the footsteps of the previous models that use the same Sonic-Vibe EX bone transmission technology: Pineapple Rumble X and Pineapple Rumble Z (featuring 3D motion sound and bone transmission sound).
The vast majority of all headphones work using air conduction. In other words, they create sound waves that spread through the air and hit you're the listener's drum, causing it to vibrate. If the volume is too high (causing high pressure and therefore high ear drum vibration amplitude) for too long, the hearing damage can occur.
The Pineapple Rumble KW (as well as other Pineapple Electronics' headphones) feature patented Sonic-Vibe EX bone conduction technology to prevent the hearing loss. In Rumble KW, the mid and high frequencies (treble) are produced and transmitted using air conduction, but the bass and mid frequencies are being transmitted through the skin and bones directly to the middle ear. Not only does this potentially reduce hearing damage from playing music too loud, it also creates a different sensation, most beneficial when playing computer games, watching movies and playing bass-heavy music. The Rumble KW features another, unusual for headphones, feature. The headphone is 100% percent water proof. Now you can take a bath or shower with the headphones on.
I had somewhat of a "collection" of inexpensive headphones that includes models such as Sennheiser HD201, Sennheiser HD202, Koss KSC75, Koss SparkPlug, Philips HS500, Creative EP-640, and some others. I have first tried the Rumble K and then this model. After a nonstop 50-hour burn-in in my iPod connected to the AC jack with a power adaptor, I tried the Pineapple Rumble KW in my living room. No bath or shower tests are planned, but I am sure the KW is usable there. A 10-year warranty is reassuring enough.
What Is Pineapple Rumble KW?
The Pineapple Rumble KW is a 100% water proof in-ear headphone with a Bone Conduction Transducer for bass and midrange combined with a conventional Air Conduction for the treble. The BCT unit is rather large and rests on the outside of the air canal, while the ear bud is placed in the ear canal. The hybrid silicone rubber ear buds provide a secure fit and good sound insulation.
The Rumble KW come with three sizes of replaceable ear buds (medium pre-installed on the headphone, large and small supplied in the box). The headphones look stylish and solidly built.
Some specs from the box: 50-20,000 Hz frequency response, impedance of 7 Ohms +/- 20% at 1 kHz, rated power of 5-12 mW, 25.6-inch +/-20% cord with a 3.5-mm gold-plated plug for use with portable gear. A leather carrying pouch and a 39.4-inch extension cord are included. The Rumble KW is covered by a 10-year warranty.
Performance
The solidly-built Rumble KW ships with medium ear buds pre-installed, which is what I used. The BCT (bone conduction transducer) unit is sitting against your ear canal opening and the ear bud is sealing the ear canal even better for excellent sound insulation and comfortable fit.
Just as with the Rumble K, I have played a variety of music through the Rumble KW, including classical, Euro-dance, pop, rock, electronic music and rap. I also listened to movie soundtracks. I used my iPod, a CD player and a laptop as well as my Panasonic SA-XR57 receiver's headphone out. For comparison purposes, I also alternated between this Rumble KW, the over-the-ear Koss KSC75 and the in-ear Creative EP-640 headphones.
Just as with the Rumble K, I noticed the low sensitivity of the Rumble KW. Generating enough vibration to vibrate the bone through the skin probably requires some significant electrical energy and I had to crank my iPod up to about 85-95% of its maximum volume, whereas I normally use 65-80% with my other headphones. The portable CD player I used at times required 100% of the volume (depending recorded volume of the CDs).
The Rumble KW sounded open, even though it is a sealed in-ear headphone. It sounded warm, produced good bass, midrange and lower treble, but somewhat limited upper treble. The Rumble K did not struggle with complex music, but exhibited a somewhat uneven frequency response, suppressing some instruments and accentuating some others. Percussion instruments sounded the best as well as the tuba.
The overall sound was similar to being in a club or at a rock concert. As such, the Rumble KW worked very well with rap, producing excellent bass that was not only heard but also felt. And I could crank up the volume without fear for my hearing, which is a definite plus, especially for someone who already has some hearing damage. For higher volume reproduction I had to use my Panasonic SA-XR57 receiver's headphone jack, since neither my portable CD player nor my iPod could play very loud with the Rumble KW. Which in itself could be a factor in limiting hearing damage.
I also tried the KW with movies, with excellent results. The powerful bass combined with bone conduction produced an almost 3-D effect. Machine gun fire, explosions and car chase scenes were the best ways to experience the bone conduction.
While alternating the headphones between this Pineapple Rumble KW, the Koss KSC75 and the Creative EP-640, I noticed that I preferred the Rumble KW when watching movies and sometimes for listening to rap. I would have probably preferred the KW had I played computer games, but I don't even own any (Nintendo Wii doesn't count!)
However, for general music listening at lower volumes, I prefer the Koss KSC75 (over the ear) overall and the Creative EP-640 (in-ear design) when I need sound insulation. Still, if I listened to loud music with a lot of bass, or had to use headphones while being on an airplane, the Pineapple Rumble KW would work very well because of its good insulation, powerful bass and vibrating BCT.
Reduced chance of the hearing damage is also appealing. Lots of bass with low ear drum pressure via the patented Sonic-Vibe EX technology cannot be beat in this application. Then, there are applications requiring the 100% water proof technology. In the past, I have used headphones I didn't care about damaging when taking a bath and had to be careful about having them stay above water. With the Rumble KW, you can submerge in the water or take a shower while listening to your music. Cool stuff! The Rumble KW comes with an impressive 10-year warranty.
The Pineapple Rumble KW with its hearing damage-protecting bone transmission technology provides powerful loud bass while reducing the chance of hearing damage. It is ideal for watching movies and playing computer games. It also works well for listening to rap or for listening to movies/music while traveling by plane. If your usage fits the above criteria and/or you already have some hearing damage from loud music I recommend the Pineapple Rumble KW. Just make sure your gear has enough power to drive it.
I have been using an iPod Nano for a while but wandered whether a better-sounding MP3 player was available. Yes, the Nano even supports lossless audio formats, but I have heard that at least some other makers produce MP3 players that have better sound quality (regardless of the headphones used). Additionally, I wanted a player that was easy to use, had relatively high capacity, long playback time on a battery charge, could be copied files directly to (without the need for iTunes software). A compact size and low price were also preferred.
I discovered that I could get the Sony NWZ-S639F for $90 (pus tax) online. Sony MP3 players are known for their good sound quality, which is better than the iPods'. At the same time, this model was supposed to be stylish and provide good specs: 16GB of memory, 50-hour playback time, music as well as video and photo playback, 2-inch LCD screen and even FM radio. All this in an aluminum case the size of an iPod Nano. And, as I have to mention again, for much less money.
I ordered the S639 along with a silicone case and a screen protector for $3, which, together with tax, came to slightly over $100 (free shipping was nice too). The same deal might be available through this site; either below this review or on the "Compare Prices" tab.
As a side note, the price and feature set of MP3 players keep improving. It is now difficult to characterize newer devices as simply "MP3" players, since they do much more. Since the beginning of my MP3-player phase, I went through quite a few MP3 players, from the lame, but functional Philips HDD077 to excellent iPods of different generations, including Nano models. I still like the iPods, but it cannot be denied that they have their shortcomings, including relatively high price, the lack of WMA support and more.
Since I reside in CA, I have received the player and the silicone case 2 days after ordering them.
What is Sony NWZ-S639F 16GB Digital Media Player?
The Sony Digital Walkman NWZ-S639F is a portable 16GB Digital Media Player and video/photo viewer, FM radio and a portable drive. The player has a 2-inch LCD display with LED backlight (240x320 QVGA).
The player comes with 16 GB of built-in memory and a Li-Ion battery that ca last up to 50 hours in audio playback mode. It comes with Sony MDR-EX082 headphones (3 different sizes of silicone ear buds are supplied), USB cable, software and manuals.
The player is stylish and features an aluminum case, intuitive control layout, separate volume control buttons and "hold" switch. The music can be copied to the player directly over USB with no need to install any software. The same applies to files of any kind when you use this PMP as a flash drive. You can also use it with Windows Media Player 10 or 11.
The player plays MP3 at 64-320 Kbps and WMA. It also plays lossless WAV (linear PCM), AAC-LC, MPEG4, M4V, JPEG and FM radio.
The interface is USB 2.0 High speed.
Advantages Over iPod Nano
While being similar in size to the iPod Nano, this digital Walkman is quite different. Aside from the improved sound quality and battery life, which will be described below, it dispenses with a superfluous camera of questionable quality and some semi-useful Nano gimmicks and concentrates on the basics of performance and usability.
Like the iPods, the S639 uses a proprietary connector. But the music transfer to the player does not require special software: you just connect it using the supplied USB cable and copy MP3/WMA/JPEG/etc. files over. Recall that iPods require iTunes software. The supplied CD has Windows Media Player 11, which I already had installed on my laptop. I used it for ripping CDs, some in MP3, some in WMA and some in lossless WAV format and synching to the device. One advantage is the ability to get album and track info from the Internet automatically, including album art. Another is ability to add album art by copy/paste.
The album art appear when you select albums or play tracks on the Walkman, which is pretty cool. Another cool feature is video playback and the device comes preloaded with a few video clips. But sinc I mostly care about music playback, this is of little relevance to me.
The player also plays MP3. WMA (which is a file format iPods do not like, but I sometimes do), WAAV and AAC audio formats.
Ease of Use
Although it lacks the iPods' wheel, the use is intuitive and the controls are solid. The hardware volume control is very handy as well. The colors are vibrant and the screen is bright. I would say the player is as easy to use as virtually any iPod.
Sound
I have to mention I was prejudiced against Sony before I started using this player. My experience with Sony's products has not always been top-notch. Unreliability and being overhyped and overpriced were experienced by me firsthand. I still use some of them (example: a Digital8 camcorder), but try to avoid them when I can. This player is different though.
The first thing I noticed after starting to listen to this Walkman (with the same headphones that I usually employ) is that the player sounds excellent, noticeably better than any iPod I have used and better than other MP3 players I used. Even without using its enhancement modes, playing the same material on it as on my iPod Nano (both with equalizers off) I noticed that the sound was more transparent, rich-sounding and clear.
Then, there are sound enhancement modes that actually improve sound. Usually, digital sound processing makes sound different, not better and sometimes worse. This Sony has 4 enhancements (Clear Audio technologies) that actually make low-bitrate music sound better. One of them (Dynamic Normalizer) improves recordings that have poor dynamic range and frequency response combination.
Disclaimer: for an apples-to-apples comparison, I used my usual headphones of choice: Koss KSC-75 with both the Nano and the S639F. This Sony's sound is very detailed, has well-defined bass, mids and treble and the instrument separation is excellent (if you use the highest bit rate possible or, better yet, lossless WAV).
In addition to my Koss KSC-75, I used Sennheiser HD202, Creative EP-640, Zune Premium headphones as well as the supplied headphones (Sony MDR-EX82). The supplied headphones are surprisingly excellent, which is apparent even before the burn-in. They are much better than the ones usually supplied with other MP3 players. I will write a separate review of the supplied headphones shortly (note: the review of Sony MDR-EX082 is now posted here).
I listened to rock, pop and classical music (mostly latter, in lossless linear PCM format). Ernest Bloch's music sounded transparent, detailed and the instrument separation was excellent. Aram Khachaturian's Violin Concerto in D minor conducted by Aaron Rosand sounded excellent, dynamic and open.
The only slight issue I had was a minor warm coloration, which was barely noticeable. Even with it, the Sony produced the best sound of any digital music player I have used. And you the very good supplied headphones make it a out-of-the-box instant winner in terms of sound quality.
The two custom presets of graphical equalizer allowed me to customize the sound to match the frequency response of different headphones easily, virtualy transforming some of them from semi-decent to very good. The slightly hollow, slightly honky sound of Sennheiser HD202 was virtually cured in this manner, letting the HD 202 reveal its detailed sound and bass capability.
The player can play pretty loud, even with aftermarket headphones.
The radio reception is very good (the headphones have to be connected since the cord serves as an antenna, so you cannot use it as a radio through its built-in speakers with no wires attached) and the sound is also good. The radio station/frequency display is very legible and uses large lettering.
Display
The large 2-inch screen is very sharp, colorful and is informative. The icons are good-looking. The photos look very good (surprisingly for the resolution) and the backlight is bright. The video playback, but with a 2-inch screen I don't expect to watch movies on it.
Navigation
Another advantage over the iPod is the ability to navigate the directory structure directly. I frequently struggle to find any given song in my iPod Nano's memory because the search is only possible by genre, artist, album, etc. Some of my MP3s have no ID3 tags, some have them in a very non-English language, which does not help.
The Sony lets you find the song you want to play in its directory tree simply by navigating it. Or you can navigate by Artist, Genre, year, etc. There is even a feature that organizes your music by beats per minute.
Battery
The battery lasts up to 50 hours, depending on the screen usage, volume and functions used and can be fully charged in 3 hours. Awesome!
Construction
The player is compact and rather light, but feels solid. It has a stylish black aluminum body with controls requiring reasonable amount of force to operate.
USB Speed
The player has USB 2.0 High-speed interface, which is fast..
Pros: Excellent sound, great included headphones, useful sound enhancements, 50-hour battery, 16 GB, great LCD Cons: No lossless WMA (but lossless WAV)
Conclusion
With sound quality better than most MP3 players, including iPods and low price, large screen, 16-GB capacity and the battery that lasts up to 50 hours in a compact package, the Sony S639F is an excellent choice. It even comes with excellent headphones. I highly recommend it.
I must be a compulsive headphone buyer. I have a lot of headphones at home, most inexpensive and not all are being used. Some of the examples in my "collection" includes headphones such as Sennheiser HD201, Sennheiser HD202, Koss KSC75, Koss SparkPlug, Philips HS500, Creative EP-640, Microsoft Zune Premium JDA00001 headphones, Sony MDR-EX082 and a few others.
The headphones I currently use most frequently are the Koss KSC75 (when running or when I need no sound insulation), Zune Premium JDA00001 and Sony MDR-EX082, the latter three are compact, noise-insulating designs.
I already have the Creative EP-640 and use it at times. Recently I bought the Creative EP-630 and found it to be similar. Perhaps you can never have enough headphones. Perhaps I should stop browsing web sites that have headphones.
I have burned the EP-630 in for close to 60 hours, knowing that most headphones do not sound their best until a few dozen hours of burn-in.
What is Creative EP-630?
The Creative EP-630 is a Creative's model of in-ear headphones. They come with a small carrying bag, with three types of ear pads (medium size installed on the headphones, small and large supplied). The EP-630 comes in several colors, including black, pink and others.
The EP-630 look stylish and solidly-built while being compact and light. The asvertising claims are usually bold, assuring that "Powerful 9mm neodymium magnet transducers providing subsonic bass & crystal clear highs" and that "Soft Silicone Earbuds - excellent isolation from ambient noise".
Clear transmission with gold-plated 1.2mm oxygen-free copper cable is also promised. The replaceable silicone pads are of different sizes to fit your ear (I used the ones that the headphones came pre-attached with).
The specifications are impressive: 6-23,000 Hz frequency response, impedance of 16 Ohms.
Performance
The EP-630 looks exactly like the EP-640, which is a good thing. It seems to insulate the sound as well as the EP-640, which I used a few times on flights to almost completely insulate myself from the engine noise.
One thing that helps is the absence of ports on the headphones. The ports can improve bass response, but make bass less "tight", reduce overall sound clarity and reduce sound insulation. Covering ports in those headphones produced better sound overall and tighter bass, but much lower bass output. The EP630 doesn't make you deal with these issues. And the lack of ports does not prevent this model from delivering good bass while helping with overall sound quality and noise insulation.
If you need excellent noise insulation, these headphones work extremely well. They are also much more stylish than the Koss Sparkplug and feel more comfortable. The EP-630 has very good bass. The bass is powerful and "tighter" than ported designs mentioned above. The treble quality is excellent and the midrange is very good. The frequency response seems to be very wide, although I doubt it really goes down to 6 Hz at anywhere near +/- 3 or even 6 dB.
The clarity, imaging and definition are very, very good. Electronic music and simple (fewer instruments) classical music (e.g. E. Bloch Piano + Viola only) sounds great.
I also listened to Gogol Bordello and discovered excellent instrument separation in the midbass to midrange, even better than the large enclosed Sennheiser HD-202. The violins sound great also.
The sound is quite warm overall. The small concerns I have are very slightly harsh treble and the bass I with was slightly tighter. Also, there was some congestion in the upper midrange. But these are issues expected at this price range.
The EP-630 have good sensitivity and therefore can play pretty loud with portable gear, especially comparing with some other headphones I have tried. Overall, with excellent noise insulation, these are good headphones to use in a gym or on a train/plane. Since they have very good sound insulation, these are not to be worn on the street where you can get run over just because you don't hear the ambient noises.
For more complex music test, I played Preludes and Overtures of Richard Wagner through my Panasonic SA-XR57 receiver and its headphone jack and compared this model with Koss KSC75 and Sennheiser HD202. The Koss KSC75 had the most open and warn sound as well as good frequency response. The Creative did not sound as open as the other two, but had less hollow sound then the HD202 and better lower-end definition.
Then, I tried the Microsoft Zune Premium Headphone model JDA00001 and the Sony MDR-EX082 and those two had their own strengths (and weaknesses). I liked both better than the EP-630, but the latter wasn't by any means outclassed. In contrast with the Creative, the Zune Premium had more bass and overall better definition. The Sony had more pleasant bottom end and lower midrange, but worse sound insulation.
If I was going on a flight or train, the Creative would be the headphone of choice though, for the following reasons. It provides excellent insulation, is durable, sensitive and compact. And it won't bankrupt you if you manage to break or loose it.
Build Quality
The headphones are well-made and should be durable.
The Creative EP-630 headphone sounds very good, can play loud with portable equipment, is durable, stylish and features excellent noise insulation. I highly recommend it for use on a plane, train, in a gym and in other areas where noise insulation and durability, along is important, with no sacrifice in sound quality.
I was initially reluctant to buy the Norpro Meat Grinder, Mincer and Pasta Maker. My wife wanted a meat grinder and after figuring out that we didn't want to get an electric one (due to cost, complexity, counter space, convenience, durability and safety issues) I started looking at different kinds of manual grinders online.
Most were of conventional type: made of metal and needing a table lid to be attached to. That would be problematic since we wanted to use it on the marble countertop and there wasn't enough lip to it to attach such a device. Plus damaging the countertop would not be cool.
Then I saw the this Norpro Meat Grinder, etc. Made of plastic and employing a large suction cup it seemed a good solution to the above issue, albeit the plastic build was questionable in terms of durability. But the reviews I saw were mostly glowing and much more positive overall than the ones of the metal, conventional models.
I went ahead and bought it. Upon arrival, the assembly required was minimal. Ditto the disassembly and washing. The manual is small but the use is self-explanatory and the pictures on sides of the box it came in provide excellent information on locking/unlocking the suction cup. Performance
The suction cup on the base works surprisingly well and holds the device in place securely. The supplied key is similar to a little plastic wrench and helps you rotate the lock/unlock knob for the suction cup. But I was able to rotate it by hand, without the key also.
The plastic construction was suspicious at first because even the feeding screw is plastic. The only metal parts are the cutting mechanism, the two pins in the plastic feeding screw that hold the cutter and the plate with holes as well as the crank. Surprisingly, when we started grinding beef, the effort required was much less than I expected (remembering how much effort I had to apply when I used an old-school metal manual grinder) and the whole plastic-fantastic device worked superbly.
The meat we used was USDA Choice top sirloin, so there was no tendon involved, but still the ease of use was unparalleled. And due to having transparent top part, we were able to see what was going on inside, which is not necessary, but interesting.
After the use, the disassembly and washing was very easy. And it looks to be well build and therefore at least moderately durable. Will it last virtually forever like an all-metal model? Probably not, but we are not planning on using it every day either and with occasional use I suspect it will serve us for many years.
Accessories
The device comes with a sausage funnel attachment, pasta and linguini attachments, the aforementioned plastic locking key and two metal "output" plates with holes of a different sizes.
Pros: Compact, light, easy to use and take apart, suction cup, accessories, sharp cutting mechanism Cons: Questionable durability
Bottom Line
The Norpro Meat Grinder, Mincer and Pasta Maker is an inexpensive, light, compact and easy to use device. I highly recommend it if you want a meat grinder with a suction cup attachment.
After having used the 1st generation Apple iPod Nano 2 GB for over a year and the 2nd generation iPod Nano 2 GB, I also tried a bunch of other MP3 players, including the latest Sony player (16GB Sony NWZ-S639FR Digital Media Player). The Sony is my current player of choice due to its sound quality, battery life and ease of use. But iPods have always been known for their ease of use and cool features as well as appearances. So I decided to try a new 8GB iPod Nano with a camera and other cool new features.
From my experience with the 1st couple of generations of iPod Nano I expected good usability, but what about sound quality?
What is the 5th Generation Apple iPod Nano?
The Apple iPod Nano is a compact MP3 player that is miniature, thin, has a 2.2-inch color screen, a click wheel, video camera, FM radio with pause feature and stores songs in the MP3, AAC, protected AAC (from iTunes store or compressed with iTunes) or WAV format in its internal flash memory. There are 8-Gygabyte and 16-Gygabyte versions of it, both available in variety of colors. The LCD screen lets you navigate the songs and also view stored photos as well as the videos recorded using its camera.
Similarly to previous models, the new Nano is compact, stylish and easy to use. The dimensions are similar to the previous versions. The Nano uses flash memory for storing your music/data and therefore is skip-free and less energy-consuming that hard drive based players. The new version has longer battery life (up to 24 hours for audio, up to 5 hours for video) and lighter/brighter screen than the previous generation.
There is now even a speaker (mediocre-sounding as it is) and a microphone for recording voice memos or sound for your videos.
Included Accessories
The player comes with small headphones (ear buds) and a USB cable. The included headphones are mediocre in terms of sound quality, but are relatively stylish.
Use
I have not looked at the manual but rather I started using my previous iPod Nanos out the box and was able to figure out the use in no time. For the most part. The bottom line here is if you have used an iPod or another MP3 player, there will not be much to learn, just as with previous models.
Still, if you did not use an MP3 player before, you will learn in no time. I found that the new Nano is very similar in terms of usage as the older one.
Controls
The Nano has compact rectangular shape with rounded edges on the sides. The build quality is solid. The front panel houses a bright color 2.2-inch LCD screen in the upper part and a circular control cluster with Play/Pause button at the bottom, Skip Back and Skip Forward buttons left and right of it, Menu on top and the unnamed Center button in the middle (serves as a click wheel).
The Nano's controls are locked or unlocked by sliding the small HOLD switch on the top side. The bottom side houses the dock connector and the standard 3.5mm headphone jack. The player is so slim that the headphone jack takes up almost the entire width of the bottom panel. Although I find the fact that the headphone jack is at the bottom slightly inconvenient, but it is a convention nowadays with other players as well an also has packaging benefits. I am sure it would have been impossible to place it on the top panel, since the LCD screen, most likely, takes up all the internal space in that area.
The Skip Forward and Skip Back buttons skip to the next or previous song. When held, they fast forward or backward within the song. Be aware though that in my previous Nanos the internal contacts wore out and trying to push and hold the above buttons did not work anymore and resulted in skipping forward or back one track.
The MENU button lets you go to the previous menu level or, when held, to the main menu. The PLAY/PAUSE button lets you start or resume playback, pause it or turn the player off if depressed for several seconds. Same issue happened with my previous player, turning the player off became very difficult after using it for about a year. Hopefully the newer model is more durable.
The Nano features so-called click wheel. You can place your finger on any area within the outer control circle and move it clockwise or counter-clockwise to scroll through the menu items, change the volume while the song is playing or jump to any point within the song. Very cool and user-friendly feature and, at the same time, easy to control the speed of scrolling, volume change or moving within a track.
The player usage is exactly the same as with the previous generations of Nanos. But the case is less reflective and does not scratch as easily or show scratches as prominently as the 1st generation.
Click Wheel
The click wheel functionality is really cool. Although there is no actual wheel of any kind, you place your finger on the outer circle of controls and move it clockwise or counterclockwise to scroll through the menu items, adjust the volume or move to any point within the song.
The tactile response of the controls is excellent, including the click wheel. And the Nano makes a short chirping sound when you push some buttons, which is a great confirmation as well. The only issue might be the potential durability (see above).
Comparing with my 16GB Sony NWZ-S639FR Digital Media Player, the click wheel makes quick navigation a breeze. But the fact that it also serves as a volume control, whereas the Sony uses separate hardware buttons on the side makes Sony more user-friendly in volume control regard.
Connectivity
The Nano has a wide exposed connection port for use with a supplied USB cable. The supplied USB cable plugs into the port with some effort and you have to squeeze the ends of it to take it out. You can also use the USB cables from other iPods or the third-party made ones. I used one for charging from an AC adaptor bought for a low price online.
Battery and Charging
The Nano has an internal battery that recharges while the iPod is connected to the powered USB port. When I connected to my computer, the LCD screen illuminated and the icon that indicates charging appeared. My Nano came charged about 90%. I still followed Apple's recommendation and fully charged it.
According to Apple, you have up to 24 hours of continuous audio playback time on one charge or 5 hours of video, which is the same as was the case with the 2nd generation Nano. Only the first generation model claimed 14 hours. Now, 24 hours is not horrible, but my 16GB Sony NWZ-S639FR Digital Media Player features a 40-hour battery (and some sources claim 50 hours).
For transatlantic flights and traveling in general, 40 hours or more is preferred to 24 hours.
Charging from fully discharged to 80% takes only 1.5 hours and full charging takes 3 hours.
Software Installation
You can download the latest software from the Apple web site. The software in question is Apple iTunes 9, which seems to be an improvement on the previous iTunes, but not a revolutionary one. Again, I have to mention that with the Sony player I didn't have to download anything at all and simply used Windows Media Player 11 already installed on my computer.
Music Transfer
You can select an option in the iTunes software that makes the iTunes automatically start once the iPod is connected. The iTunes looks cute and is easy to use. The iPod appears as one of the folders in the left pane of iTunes and you can drag and drop the songs you want from the Library folder that represents your music library. And unlike the earlier iTunes and the iPod Shuffle, you can drag MP3 files directly from your hard drive or any other drive onto your iPod in iTunes without placing them first into your music library.
As soon as you drag and drop the songs, the data processing and transfer to iPod starts. The message is also telling you that you cannot disconnect the iPod at this stage (to prevent data corruption). The LCD display on the iPod also tells you not to disconnect the Nano at this stage.
The Nano supports USB 2.0 Hi-Speed and files are copied very fast. The transfer speed exceeded 5 MB per second. The 8GB version of Nano can fit a little less than 8 GB of music, since in addition to actual files, there are several folders created and files with information about each song are written, including album art, etc.
Depending on song length and the bit rate, you can fit anywhere from 2,000 songs (at 128 kbps bit rate) to 1,000 songs (if you want better sound quality and use, say 256 kbps VBR). You can select the default compression method and bit-rate in iTunes settings (for CD ripping).
The Nano supports Variable Bit Rate (VBR) for better sound quality at the same bit rate as CBR (Constant Bit Rate). It also supports AAC, Audible format 2-4, Apple lossless, protected AAC, AIFF and WAV. What it still does not support (and unlikely will support in future) is WMA. Windows Media is not a good friend of Apple. I have some WMA files, so no chance of playing them on Nano.
Sound Quality
Even in a portable device, the sound quality is very important to me. My Sony when I first got it became a benchmark for sound quality in a compact device. Its sound was immediately perceived as being better than that of the previous Nano I had, even without using the equalizer.
The new Nano was a letdown. The fact that the supplied headphones were only semi-decent was no surprise. The supplied ear buds lack bass and sound moderately bright overall with slight metallic treble, but the imaging was good, the clarity was decent. The supplied ear buds look stylish (even though they are white and thus do not match the Nano's color).
The single most significant improvement to the sound of any MP3 player is replacing the stock headphones. You do not even have to spend a lot to get better sound. I replaced the stock Apple headphones with the, tried and true, Koss KSC75, which is a larger headphone that is attached to your ear with a clip that curves around it.
I also tried the iPod with large enclosed Sennheiser HD202. Neither of these headphones costs more than $20, but both improve the sound dramatically. With both, the bass improved along with being able to hear warmer, more natural sound. Still, I was immediately disappointed by the iPod's lack of detail, dynamic range and definition in upper as well as lower frequencies. In fact, the sound was mediocre at best throughout the frequency range. Congested sound is not something I prefer, even in a portable device.
In the past I would fault the sound quality on the MP3 format itself. Now, I know that the same MP3 files sound much, much better on my Sony. And using lossless formats with this (and most other iPods) produces no improvement. I even tried Rockbox firmware with a previous version of the iPod and even using Rockbox's different MP3 decoder and its graphic equalizer provided no relief. Seems that iPos in general just have poor hardware when it comes to sound quality.
At least this Nano can play very loud, even with aftermarket headphones, which is not always the case with other players.
Unlike Sony players, which have graphic equalizers, the Nano only has multiple equalizer presets, all of them ineffective in curing the sound issues or compensating for the different headphones' uneven frequency responses. If you choose to get this iPod, I highly recommend Koss KSC75 headphones (reviewed here) to upgrade this or any iPod. At lest they sound decent, unlike the included buds.
Skip Protection
The Nano players needs no skip protection as it has no mechanical parts (they use flash memory) and will not skip. It is also less susceptible to damage from drops, comparing with the players that use hard drives. The use of flash memory also results in lower power consumption and compact size.
LCD
The Nano has a bright and colorful 2.2-inch LCD display. The screen has a bright backlight and features nice color scheme. It is fluid enough for playback of the mediocre-quality videos you can shoot with the embedded video camera. The photos look vivid and sharp for the size of the screen.
FM Radio
The Nano has FM radio, which sounds decent. You can even pause live radio for up to 15 minutes, then continue listening. Clever.
Durability
Having used previous generations of iPod Nano, I have my concerns: scratch-resistance and the durability of controls. I have used protective silicone cases and film screen protectors with my previous Nanos and recommend them as a cheap insurance. As for the control durability (see above), let's hope Apple improved that area.
Pros: Stylish, features, camera, orientation sensor, pedometer, FM radio with pause, speaker, screen Cons: Sound could be better, no graphic equalizer, price, battery life lower than competitors', have to use iTunes
Bottom Line
Very pleasant in use, feature-rich and stylish, the new Nano is a good choice, provided you do not require very good sound quality. If you demand the best sound quality however (as I do), you will want to look at Sony players instead, for example the 16GB Sony NWZ-S639FR Digital Media Player. I have that model and it sounds much better
My mother's computer is Compaq Presario SR5410F with 1.8 GHz Intel Pentium Dual Core E2160, 1 GB of RAM and Vista Premium, but with onboard video. The onboard video was decent for general use, but for better performance, video quality and playback on the Panasonic Viera TH-42PX80U 42-inch 720p HDTV Plasma TV something better was needed.
Games were not something that the new card was intended to be used with. Netflix streaming was the primary objective, along with HDMI output. The computer is connected to the DELL 1905FP LCD monitor.
I bought the MSI R4350-MD512H Radeon HD 4350 PCIe video card form NewEgg something close to $30, shipping, taxes and rebate factored in.
About the MSI R4350-MD512H Radeon HD 4350 Graphics Card
The MSI R4350-MD512H Radeon HD 4350 Graphics Card supports PCI-Express 2x, has a DVI, VGA and HDMI outs. It can output 1080p signal over HDMI with 7.1 sound, which is perfect for the intended purpose of watching movies through Netflix streaming and display on the TV. One 3-meter HDMI cable carries the video signal and the sound.
The card has no fan (it has a massive heat sink) and came with software and a smaller bracket for mounting in an HTC. The card has a PCIe form-factor (so it will work with PCI express of newer computers), has 512 MB of memory.
Installation
I did not have to do anything to disable the onboard video. I have opened the computer case, inserted the card, closed the case, connected the VGA cable and was able use the card in its lowest resolution in Vista. Be advised that the heat sink is tall and might render the next slot (PCIe or otherwise) unusable.
Software Installation
The software from the included disk failed at the end of the installation on Vista. Still, the driver got installed and so did the ATI Catalyst utility. The Live Update (for the card's BIOS and drivers) didn't work after repeated reinstalls, but the supplied drivers were OK.
After tweaking in Catalyst control center, I was able to have the TV (connected through HDMI) show the same as the primary monitor and I even got the sound in the TV, provided the TV was switched on before the computer.
Performance
Immediately apparent was the better contrast and sharpness on the DELL 1905FP LCD monitor, event though I am using the same VGA (D-SUB) cable. Razor-sharp fonts and edges of windows, etc.
The card is probably a very good 3D device, but I wouldn't know since I do not play games. But it works flawlessly with the flat panel monitor at 1280x1024 with 32-bit color. The DVI out is currently unused, but the HDMI out is connected to the TV. The TV is 720p Panasonic plasma and watching the Netflix streaming on it is awesome. The sharpness, contrast and textures are great. The video playback is smooth and fast with excellent colors.
Pros: Low price, razor-sharp images, 1080p HDMI out with 7.1 sound, DVI and VGA, no fan Cons: Included software not easy to use, a little buggy
Bottom Line
It might be an overkill for my purpose, but the MSI R4350-MD512H Radeon HD 4350 PCIe video card produces excellent image quality and is very fast. With 1080p HDMI out with 7.1 digital audio, DVI and VGA outs, it is versatile, capable and cheap. I highly recommend it.
