Company M-Audio released new external sound card Micro DAC, allowing to reproduce sound with better quality, than built-in sound cards of mobile devices, and having sizes of flash drive. Device has : 1/8″ mini-jack analogue headphones output and digital optical, high/low impedance switch for headphones, USB plug for connection to computer ( desktop or portable ). Sound card supports 48 kHz and 16 bits work mode; is powered from USB port; and its body is made from aluminum.
External sound card M-Audio Micro DAC, connected to notebook
Package contains : M-Audio Micro DAC external sound card itself, warranty card and user’s guide. From one side : novelty is interesting and allows to receive sound of higher quality, than built-in audio cards of mobile devices, and has small sizes and mass. From the other side : its price is 100 USD – for smaller sum there is ability to buy high quality entry-level studio audio interfaces of Steinberg, Behringer, ESI and other manufacturers and receive much more functions and support of 192 or 96 kHz and 24 bits per sample work modes. Yes, they are larger and have bigger mass, but give much more possibilities and the same way allow to receive sound of much higher quality, than built-in audio cards of mobile and desktop computers give.
Among dynamic monitor headphones with great value/price ratio there is need to note Superlux HD-681 B device with semi-open acoustic architecture, 50 mm membranes and 30 USD cost ( many other overbranded manufacturers would ask 10 times more for devices with simillar characteristics ). Their membranes are moved by neodymium magnets, they can reproduce sounds in 10 Hz – 30 kHz frequencies range, sensitivity is 98 dB, impedance is 32 Ohms and maximal power input is 300 mW. To one of the cups 2.5 m not detachable cable is mounted with 1/8″ mini-jack gold-plated plug for connection to sound source; device’s mass is 276 g; earcups are covered with leather.
In each cup of Superlux HD-681 B there is only 1 audio emitter, device’s mass without wire accounting is 235 g; headband automatically adjusts to listeners with different heads sizes and forms, it and cushions have soft structure for comfortable wearing during long-time listening of sounds and music. Headphones have no active noise-cancellation function, as some other monitor headphones have, they are not foldable and are supplied only in black color variant. Their cable has no clip and slider for tangling and clinging to clothes and surrounding objects prevention.
Package contains : Superlux HD-681 B headphones themselves, carrying and storage case, warranty card and user’s guide. Headphones are great and with such price they have no analogues among monitor headphones with 50 mm membranes, so when one search for such device, these ones are the first to look on. They ‘ll fit very good to professional work in studios and on concerts, as well as high-quality every day sounds and music listening.
Superlux – is a company, which main office is located in Taiwan development and testing laboratories and facilities in Hong Kong and other China cities. This name is a brand of company Goang-Fann Co. Ltd., which in 1997 year acquired Tenlux – company-producer of microphones and started to release headphones, microphones and other audio equipment under this name. Company is known for production of very functional devices with very attractive prices; so, when according sound devices are being choosen, it is useful to look on products of Superlux.
Russian company Irbis released new tablet PC TW80 with 8″ multitouch IPS screen with 1280 x 800 pixels resolution and 189 PPI density and installed Windows 10 OS. In some sources it is said, that it supports satellite navigation and work in phone mode, but this is not so : it supports only 3G, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connections. In it following are built-in : 4-cores processor Intel Atom 3735G, working on 1.83 GHz frequency; Intel HD Graphics video chip, integrated into CPU; 1 GB of RAM; 16 GB of built in memory with ability to extend via Micro SDHC flash memory cards with 32 GB max capacity ( probably, larger memory cards are also supported ); and SIM cards slot. It supports only 3G connections for data transferring without support of GSM and 4G LTE connections and work in phone mode; it has no satellite navigation; and has only acceleration and gravity sensor.
Tablet PC Irbis TW80 ( back panel )
In Irbis TW80 two weak cameras are placed : 2 MP main one and 0.3 MP frontal one without LED flash; tablet supports Wi-Fi ( 802.11 b/g/n ) and Bluetooth 4.0 wireless connections for remote data transferring and communication with other devices, without NFC connections support. On its external panels following can be found : Micro USB port for Li-ion battery charging and external devices connection via OTG cable; 1/8″ mini-jack headphones output; memory cards slot; and mono speaker; without HDMI port. Battery charge is 4000 mAh : this is enough for 6 hours of work and 170 hours in stand-by mode; body of device is made from plastic; its sizes are 208 ( width ) x 126 ( height ) x 9.6 ( depth ) mm and mass is 380 g.
Package contains : Irbis TW80 tablet PC itself, Micro USB cable, OTG cable, warranty card and user’s guide. Device does not differ from other 8″ IPS Windows tablet PCs, its price is around 70 USD, there is ability to buy tablet PC Prestigio MultiPad PMP881TD for 65 USD; and there is ability to look on Chinese devices Aoson R83C with metal back panel and Onda V820w with 2 GB of RAM and 2 operating systems, which cost more, than current device.
Company Pioneer in the beginning of year released whole series of headphones of different types, among them there are in-ears SE-CL541i with 10 Hz – 24 kHz frequencies range. Their sensitivity is 108 dB, impedance 16 Ohms and maximal imput power is 100 mW. Membrane diameter is 10.5 mm, cable length is 1.2 m with microphone and smartphones control buttons, compatible with Apple devices, in volume control module; to signal source they are connected via 1/8″ mini-jack with gold-plated contacts; cable is reinforced with polymer for better toughness and entanglement prevention, it also has clip for comfortable connection to clothes. Device mass is 7 g; package contains : Pioneer SE-CL541i headphones themselves, 2 sets of 4 interchangeable heads, carrying and storage case, warranty card and user’s guide. Device is quite good for in-ears headphones, but its price is quite big at launch time : around 40 USD, probably, after some time it will go down and they’ll become more acceptable; in the meantime there is ability to look on other headphones of different types of this one and other manufacturers.
Among professional audio interfaces for large studio use there are devices, which can work through FireWire/USB/MIDI ports, for example, Behringer FIREPOWER FCA610; it can work with smapling rates up to 96 kHz and 24 bits per sample precision. On its front panel there are : 2 combined XLR/TRS 1/4″ jack inputs, able to work in instrumental Hi-Z and microphone modes, instrumental mode, compressor, +48 V phantom power and PAD function switch buttons and their LED work indicators and amplification level control knobs for both inputs ( to them MIDAS preamplifiers are connected ); 2 TRS 1/4″ jack headphones outputs with volume control knobs, stereo/mono and Direct Monitor function switch buttons with their states LED indicators; indicators of states of analogue inputs and outputs, FireWire, USB, MIDI, optical and coaxial inputs and outputs, digital connection selection switch, volume and mixing balance knobs and button-selector of channels for volume control. Back panel of card has : power adapter input; MIDI input and output; USB and FireWire ports; Kensington Lock slot; optical and coaxial inputs and outputs; 8 balanced linear TRS 1/4″ jack outputs; and 2 linear balanced input connectors of the same type.
Audio interface Behringer FIREPOWER FCA610 ( back panel )
Connectors of Behringer FIREPOWER FCA610 have following characteristics : frontal inputs ( 102 dB dynamic range, impedance 1 MOhm in instrumental Hi-Z mode and 3 kOhms in microphone mode ), back panel inputs ( dynamic range 100 dB, 47 kOhms impedance ), outputs ( 200 Ohms impedance, 8 dB maximal output level ), headphones outputs ( 10 Ohms impedance, 22 dB maximal output level ); device can receive power from 100 – 240 V and 50/60 Hz power lines and consumes 20 W of energy. Audio interface sizes are 50 ( height ) x 241.3 ( width ) x 161 ( depth ) mm and mass is 1.1 kg ( it seems, that its body is made from aluminum ). For it drivers are released for Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 8.1 and 10 with ASIO 2.0, WDM and MIDI interfaces support; in Mac OS X device works without additional drivers with support of Core Audio interface; through them device works with modern DAWs : FL Studio, Cackewalk Sonar, REAPER, Avid Pro Tools, Ableton Live, Steinberg Cubase and others.
Package contains : Behringer FIREPOWER FCA610 external audio interface itself, USB and FireWire cables, power adapter, warranty card and user’s guide; after purchase there is ability to download from manufacturer’s website DAWTracktion and VST/AU effects and instruments sets. Audio interface is great : with large amount of connectors and good characteristics, it is designed for professional studio use and has according price; for smaller sized studios there is ability to find audio interfaces of Steinberg, Behringer itself, Focusrite, Roland, ESI, M-Audio and other manufacturers production with smaller connectors amount, the same quality of components and lower price.
Company ZTE released new Android 5.1 smartphone Blade X3 with 4000 mAh battery and 4-cores Cortex-A53 processor, working on 1 GHz frequency, with 100 USD cost. It has 5″ multitouch IPS screen with 1280 x 720 pixels resolution; 1 GB of RAM; 8 GB of built-in memory with ability to extend via flash memory cards with 32 GB max capacity; and 2 Micro SIM cards slots. Smartphone can work in GSM ( 900, 1800 and 1900 ), 3G and 4G LTE networks; supports GPS navigation and has acceleration, proximity and lighting sensors.
Smartphone ZTE Blade X3 ( side view )
In ZTE Blade X3 two cameras are placed : 8 MP main one with autofocusing and flash and 5 MP frontal one; it supports wireless Wi-Fi ( 802.11 b/g/n ) and Bluetooth 4.0 connections for remote data transfers and communications with other devices, without NFC support. It has Micro USB port for connection with computer and Li-ion battery charging and 1/8″ mini-jack headphones output; device’s body is made from plastic; its sizes are 145 ( height ) х 71.5 ( width ) х 8.9 ( depth ) mm and mass is 160.9 g.
Package contains : ZTE Blade X3 smartphone itself, USB cable, recharger, headset, warranty card and user’s guide. All in all smartphone is very good : with powerful processor, 1 GB of RAM, capacious battery and 5″ IPS screen, costing around 100 USD at the same time. Wherein there is need to note, that there are Android tablet PCs with larger screens and more powerful processors with 2 SIM cards, which can be used as phones and cost 1.5 – 2 times less.
Among tablet PCs, produced in China and released by brand of this country, there is Aoson R83C – Windows 8.1 tablet PC with 8″ multitouch IPS screen with 1280 x 800 pixels resolution and metal back panel ( this makes it more wear resistant ). In tablet following are built in : 4-cores 64-bits processor Intel Atom Baytrail-T Z3735F, working on 1.83 GHz frequency; graphical chip Intel HD Graphics Gen7 4EU, integrated into CPU; 1 GB of RAM; and 16 GB of built-in memory with ability to extend via Micro SD/TF flash memory cards slot with 32 GB max capacity ( usually tablets support 64 and 128 GB cards, even if manufacturer tells about lower-capacity cards support ). Device has no built-in slots for SIM cards and ability to make phone calls and connect to internet, but it can do this via external USB modems; it has no satellite navigation and has only gravity and acceleration sensor.
Tablet PC Aoson R83C ( back panel )
In Aoson R83C two relatively weak cameras are placed : 2 MP main one and 0.3 MP frontal one; it supports wireless Wi-Fi ( 802.11b/g/n ) and Bluetooth 4.0 connections for remote data transfers and communications with other devices, it does not support NFC connections. On its body following are placed : Micro USB port for Li-ion battery charging and remote devices connection via OTG cable; 1/8″ mini-jack headphones output; memory cards slot; and mono speaker. Battery’s charge is 4000 mAh, this is enough for 170 hours of stand-by or 6 hours of work; back panel of device is made from metal, rest is plastic; device sizes are 207 ( width ) x 121 ( height ) x 9.6 ( depth ) mm and mass is 610 g.
Package contains : Aoson R83C tablet PC itself, Micro USB cable ( OTG cable is not included and there is need to buy it separately ), battery recharger, protective film for screen, warranty card and user’s guide. All in all tablet is good : having 8″ IPS screen, powerful processor with integrated graphical chip, metal back panel and other characteristics. There are device variants with already installed Windows 10 OS. However there is need to note, that there is ability to buy for slightly larger sum tablet PCOnda V820w with 2 GB of RAM and 2 operating systems, but with plastic back panel.
Among products of Focusrite company there is external USB audio interface Forte, having 117 – 118 dB real dynamic ranges. It can work with sampling rates up to 192 kHz and 24 bits per sample precision; to its microphone inputs Focusrite preamplifiers are connected. Its top side has LCD display and work indicators and combined knob-button control; frontal side has TRS 1/4″ jack headphones output. Its back panel has : power adapter input, USB port for communication with computer and powering, loom socket ( allowing to use different kinds of inputs connectors ) and analogue balanced left and right TRS 1/4″ jack linear outputs. Loom connector has XLR and TRS 1/4″ jack inputs for microphones and other signals sources; one of the device sides has Kensington Lock slot. To microphone inputs +48 V phantom power can be separately connected, it is available only with power adapter use; they also can work in instrumental Hi-Z mode.
External audio interface Focusrite Forte ( back panel )
Chips of Focusrite Forte, handling digital to analogue and analogue to digital conversions work with 120 dB dynamic range; accounting analogue part values for them go down to 118 and 117 dB accordingly, these are very good characteristics for audio interfaces. Card’s ports have following characteristics : microphone inputs ( THD+N 0.0007 %, noise level -128 dB ); linear inputs ( SNR -116 dB, THD+N 0.003 % ); instrumental inputs ( SNR -111 dB, THD+N 0.003 % ); analogue outputs ( THD+N 0.0008 % ); headphones output ( SNR 116 dB, THD+N 0.0008 % ); channels isolation is 90 dB. Device is bundled with Focusrite Midnight plugins suite, having VST instruments and effects, and Forte Control application; for it drivers are released for Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 8.1 and 10 and Mac OS X with ASIO 2.0 and Core Audio interfaces support, accordingly, via which device can work with modern DAWs : FL Studio, Cackewalk Sonar, REAPER, Avid Pro Tools, Ableton Live, Steinberg Cubase and others. Device body is made from aluminum, its sizes are 170 ( depth ) x 116 ( width ) x 36 ( height ) mm and mass is 476 g.
Package contains : Focusrite Forte sound card itself, USB cable, loom connector, power adapter, warranty card and user’s guide. Audio interface is great : it has high sampling rates, precision and dynamic ranges and compact analogue inputs connection; before purchase there is need to look on prices of this device and close audio interfaces of Steinberg, Behringer, Focusrite itself, Roland, M-Audio, ESI and other manufacturers production, choosing the most appropriate one for specific tasks.
External audio interface Roland Super UA with additional module
Company Roland released compact audio interface Super UA for recording and playback of sound with support of 352.8 kHz sampling rate and 32 bits per sample precision. With such frequencies it communicates with computer, internal digital to analogue and analogue to digital conversions are performed with sampling rates up to 192 kHz. On its frontal panel 1/4″ jack and 1/8″ mini-jack headphones outputs are placed; on top side : buttons for microphone inputs 1 and 2, linear input, headphones outputs and linear outputs work modes control, volume control knob and signal levels indicators. On device’s back panel there are : power adapter input, ground connector, USB port for communication with computer and powering, additional module connector, left and right TRS 1/4″ jack linear outputs and the same type left and right linear inputs. On additional module there are : 2 XLR microphone inputs with +48 V phantom power indicators and 2 XLR linear outputs. Analogue inputs and outputs of device are balanced.
External audio interface Roland Super UA ( back panel )
Ports of Roland Super UA have following characteristics : maximal headphones output power 200 mW + 200 mW for 40 Ohms headphones and 65 mW + 65 mW for 300 Ohms headphones; analogue connectors noise level is -96 dB; linear inputs have 112 dB dynamic range, microphone inputs 111 dB and linear outputs 118 dB. Maximal current draw by device is 1000 mA; sizes of main module are 115 ( width ) x 161 ( depth ) x 44 ( height ) mm and mass is 490 g, of additional module 136 ( width ) x 65 ( depth ) x 42 ( height ) mm and 360 g. For sound card drivers are released for Windows 7, 8, 8.1 and 10 and Mac OS X 10.8 and newer operating systems with ASIO 2.0 and Core Audio interfaces support, accordingly, through which it can work with modern DAWs : Avid Pro Tools, Ableton Live, Steinberg Cubase, FL Studio, Cackewalk Sonar, REAPER and others; device can also work in DSD mode.
Package contains : Roland Super UA external sound card itself, power adapter, USB cable, warranty card and user’s guide. Audio interface is very good : high sampling rates and precision, balanced inputs and outputs and large amount of connectors; here is need to look on its price, quite possible, that audio interfaces of Steinberg, Behringer, Focusrite, M-Audio, ESI and other manufacturers production are better money investment, because for small and medium sized studios 96 – 192 kHz sampling rates and 24 bits per sample precision are enough.
These days most of the electronics and their parts are manufactured in China and its citizens started to export it under their own brands, creating very good devices with very attractive prices. Among these devices there is Dual Boot tablet PC Onda V820w, having 2 operating systems Windows 8.1 ( with ability to upgradet to 10 version ) and Android 4.4 ( also with ability to upgrade to newer versions ) and 2 GB of DDR3L RAM ( this is a fully functional office computer and PC for other tasks, that load system not intensively ). Wherein it costs around 80 – 90 USD : even cheaper, than office desktop computers. Also it has : 8″ multi-touch IPS screen with 1280 x 800 pixels resolution; 4-cores 64-bits processor Intel BayTrail-T Z3735F, working on 1.83 GHz frequency; Intel HD Graphics Gen7 graphical chip, built into CPU; 32 GB of built-in memory ( it is divided on 16 GB for Windows and 16 GB for Android ) with ability to extend via Micro SD flash cards with 128 GB max capacity. It has no SIM cards slots and support of built in 3G or 4G connections ( they can be added via external modem ), as well as ability to make a phone calls; it has no satellite navigation and has only gravitation and acceleration sensor.
Tablet PC Onda V820w ( side view )
In Onda V820w two weak cameras are placed : 2 MP main one and 0.3 MP frontal one; it supports wireless Wi-Fi ( 802.11 b/g/n ) and Bluetooth ( 4.0 ) connections for remote data transfers and communications with other devices, it has no NFC connections support. Outer panels of tablet has : Micro USB 2.0 for battery charging and external devices connection via OTG; Micro HDMI port for monitor connection; 1/8″ mini-jack headphones output; built-in microphone; memory cards slot; and mono speaker. Li-ion battery has 4200 mAh charge, which is enough for 6 hours of work or 170 hours in stand-by mode; body is made from plastic; device sizes are 205 ( width ) x 120 ( height ) x 9 ( depth ) mm and mass is 331 g.
Package contains : Onda V820w tablet PC itself, recharger, Micro USB cable ( OTG cable is not included, there is need to buy it separately ), warranty card and user’s guide. All in all tablet is great : 2 OSes, 32 GB of built-in memory, 2 GB of RAM and Micro HDMI output – this is a fully functional computer in compact body, which can be taken into long trips and to which external devices can be connected. Especially accounting its low price, with which only other Chinese tablets can make competition to it; there is only need to look on reliability of seller to replace or repair tablet, in case of breakage.
