There's been growing attention and focus toward audio products that deliver better and truer sound quality. Neil Young's Pono player breached 6 million dollars in crowdfunding, all for the purpose of high fidelity music. Many new headphones and speakers focus on the listening experience with the intent to make the music sound as best it can. One such speaker stands out quite a bit, not only because it touts itself as delivering stereo hi-fi. This Dash 7 speaker is small. When it comes to this size of speaker, it's hard to expect anything better than average, let alone close to incredible. So how does the Dash 7 fare? Lets see. Design The Soundmatters foxL Dash 7 speaker is shaped like a skinny remote control and holds just as nicely. The thin profile makes it easy to carry along with you wherever you go. This speaker is ready for people worldwide, as the package includes additional socket adapters for other countries. Hate wall sockets? You can still charge up the speaker through tried and true USB.  Like a king-size candy bar There isn't much to do with the Dash 7 speaker, in that there's only three buttons and a single LED. The buttons themselves are subtle, blending into the speaker grille. The designers must have assumed that skinny-fingered waifs are the target market for this speaker, as the buttons are teeny tiny. You're better off using a fingernail to poke at the volume. Repeatedly, as there are no sounds to confirm anything. The Dash 7 speaker is completely silent except for the music that comes out. Powering on/off or hitting the min/max volume levels are accompanied only by an LED flash. You're likely to cover that LED when powering the speaker on/off, too. There is no noise for Bluetooth connectivity, so you get to assume that everything is set to go. Despite such minimalist approach, the speaker does have commands, performed through various button presses. I think that these button combinations are so smart that it's dumb. No one (ok fine, I don't) want to commit such things to memory. The bottom of the Dash 7 speaker has feet made of a soft gel. Whatever you do, don't accidentally ruin these somehow, as they're absolutely mandatory. That is, unless, you want your speaker to dance away from you while playing music. Even so, some music played loud enough can and will propel the speaker around. You've been warned; there's some serious power within. Also included in the package is a case that doubles as a stand. As a case, it's not bad. Keeps the dust off. Looks fancy. It requires a firm grip while holding, lest the speaker slide out from the middle like the contents of an open burrito. As a stand, it's mostly for decoration. The concept and execution don't meet eye-to-eye, as any music played at higher volumes shakes the stand apart and tips the speaker over. You're better off lying the Dash 7 flat and ditching the stand. Sound Quality My initial impression of the Dash 7 speaker is that the sound comes out extremely clear and vibrant. Following that? Loud. But the unexpected kind of loud, as if to witness Chihuahua bark yet hear a bear's roar instead. The Dash 7 reaches exceptional volume levels for such a small size, easily matching a speaker a few… Continue reading TechnologyTell Review: Soundmatters foxL Dash 7 speaker The post TechnologyTell Review: Soundmatters foxL Dash 7 speaker appeared first on GadgeTell.  Want to know what has been and continues to be a hot item? Wallets. Search around on Kickstarter, past and present, and you'll find an abundance of successful projects made of metal, leather, plastic, or cloth. The unifying aspect of most of these wallets is the slim design, intended to reduce bulk. People are totally into it – no one should have a hamburger of a leather wallet in the seat of their pants. If you want to go one step further in maximizing wallet potential while minimizing size, the Wocket Smart Wallet is accepting pre-orders right now. The beauty… Continue reading Wocket Smart Wallet challenges your bulky dumb one The post Wocket Smart Wallet challenges your bulky dumb one appeared first on GadgeTell.   As Apple's iPhone 5s rapidly nears its one-year anniversary and Samsung's Galaxy S5 is barely three months old, you'd think the latter would have no problem eclipsing the former's sales. Especially since not one, but two iPhone 6 models are on the horizon. Also, even the most rabid iFans can probably concede defeat against the GS5 in the never-ending spec wars. Yet somehow,… Continue reading Research shows iPhone 5s sales continue to outpace Samsung Galaxy S5 demand The post Research shows iPhone 5s sales continue to outpace Samsung Galaxy S5 demand appeared first on GadgeTell.   Inexpensive Chrome OS-running notebooks, aka Chromebooks, are definitely moving up the PC market ranks, against all odds and in spite of a painfully sluggish start back in 2011. Still highly dependent on the web, they're nearing Windows popularity stateside, especially among tech users on tight budgets, thanks to decent hardware configurations and a rich slate of Google manufacturing partners that includes Samsung, Toshiba, Dell,… Continue reading Microsoft ready to take on Android, Chrome OS with $99 Windows tabs, $199 laptops The post Microsoft ready to take on Android, Chrome OS with $99 Windows tabs, $199 laptops appeared first on GadgeTell.  As the digital age debate heats up here at Tell, so does my blood. Tell writer Scott Wikander shared some Gen X philosophy today and referenced my "7 myths" story about why the Internet rocks in an attempt to invalidate my own philosophies. You know, the ~*~fallible~*~ Millennial philosophies such as, "I can learn anything I want immediately and that's probably a good thing."  His argument falls apart because… Argument #1 took my access to information celebration and: Just because you're good at trivia doesn't mean you are smart. True intelligence lies in the ability to process information and then apply it. Sure, the internet is the largest repository of data in the history of mankind, but how many of us are really putting that to use? The average person is on Wikipedia trying to find out if Channing Tatum was ever one of Beyonce's back-up dancers, not looking up schematics to help them build a better rotary engine. But in his opening statement he: The discovery of fire lead to arson, the printing press begat propaganda and the internal combustion engine gave us NASCAR. It's not technology I distrust, it's people.  If you're not picking up what I'm putting down, it's that Wikander undermined his own argument before he even really got started. Technology isn't a "problem", people are. One of my favorite philosophies to live by is that people are the same everywhere and through all of time, so how is technology not a solution? TVs may be "idiot boxes" but if you don't think folks… Continue reading Why ’4 delusions of the digital age’ is stupid, based on science The post Why ’4 delusions of the digital age’ is stupid, based on science appeared first on GadgeTell.  | |
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