Reviews | Imagination Works

Philips SHE5305 – 8.6 mm in-ears headphones with microphone, 10 Hz – 22 kHz and neodymium magnets

Company Philips continues to release great devices, this time this a 8.6 mm in-ears dynamic headphones SHE5305 with microphone, 10 Hz – 22 kHz sounds frequencies reproduction support, semi-closed acoustic architecture and neodymium magnets. Their impedance is 16 Ohms, sensitivity is 107 dB and maximal input power is 20 mW. Cable with 1.2 m length and 2.5 mm diameter is connected to both cups and is additionally reinforced with metalized wires for increased durability; in its volume control module microphone and smartphones control button ( compatible with Apple iPhone, BlackBerry, HTC, LG, MOTOROLA, Nokia, Palm, SAMSUNG and Sony Ericsson ) are built in. It is plugged to sound source via 1/8″ mini jack connector with gold-plated contacts.

Wire of Philips SHE5305 is not detachable, in places of entering into cups it is additionally reinforced with steel springs for increased toughness and wire resistance against bending and tear-off forces; both cups have only 1 driver in them; headphones have no active noise-cancellation functions, as some monitor headphones have. Philips tells about tweaking of drivers for high-quality and loud basses reproduction, in comparison with other in-ears headphones this is so, but they have long way to go to monitor headphones. Cups of device have curved external form for comfortable long-time wearing.

Headphones are supplied only in black and white color variants, their cups are made from nickel-plated steel for increased durability and reduced chatter during sounds playback. Package with Philips SHE5305 contains : 3 ears-tips pairs of different sizes ( large, medium and small ), warranty card and user’s guide. Headphones are great for internal ones : they have wide range of reproducible sounds frequencies, built in microphone and smartphones control button, as well as high sensitivity. They are oriented more on sportive exercises and trainings, as well as every day compact use. There is ability to anticipate, that Philips will not set high price on its device and it can be recommended for purchase in time of appearance in the shops. There is also need to note, that, if there is need in high sound quality, especially in basses area, over compactness, then it is better to buy 40 or 50 mm monitor headphones with approximately the same price, instead of in-ears ones.

Philips – is a company, which were founded in Dutch in 1891 year; now it has 3 large subdivisions, which develop and produce : consumer electronics, medical equipment and lighting devices. At current moment this is one of the largest companies – producers of electronics, in which around 105000 people work in 60 countries of the world. In electronics area it produces wide range of devices : from kitchen appliances to headphones and smartphones. Philips is notable for producing quality devices, providing proper technical information about them without using of large amounts of psychological marketing and for setting of optimal prices for its goods.

Huawei P9 – 5.2″ IPS Android 6.0 smartphone with 4G LTE, 4 GB of RAM, 8-cores CPU, 12 MP camera and 3000 mAh battery

Company Huawei presented its new powerful Android 6.0 smartphone P9 with 5.2″ multitouch IPS screen with Full HD 1920 x 1080 pixels resolution, 4G LTE, 4 or 3 GB of RAM, depending on modification, 8-cores 64-bits processor Huawei Kirin 955 with four 2.5 GHz cores A72 and four 1.8 GHz cores A53, 12 MP main camera and 3000 mAh battery. It also has : 64 or 32 GB of on-board memory, flash cards connector, combined with second SIM card slot or independent, and 2 or 1 slots for Nano SIM cards, depending on modification. Smartphone works in networks 2G ( GSM 900, 1800 and 1900 ), 3G and 4G LTE ( +LTE-A Cat. 6 ) and supports satellite navigation GLONASS, GPS+A-GPS and BeiDou; has acceleration and gravitation, proximity, lighting and Hall sensors, as well as gyroscope, compass and fingerprints scanner.

In Huawei P9 two good for smartphones cameras are placed : 12 MP main one with BSI CMOS sensor, lens with f/2.2 aperture and flash and 8 MP frontal one with f/2.4 diaphragm. On its external panels there are : Micro USB 2.0 port for connection to computer and battery charging, 1/8″ mini jack headphones and headsets connector, power and volume control buttons, as well as microphone and speaker. Smartphone supports wireless connections Wi-Fi ( 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, +Direct ) and Bluetooth 4.2 ( +BLE ) for remote data transfers and communications with other devices, without NFC support. Device’s body is made from aluminum, its sizes are 70.9 ( width ) x 145 ( height ) x 6.95 ( depth ) mm and mass is 144 g; battery charge is 3000 mAh, which is a good value for smartphones. It is supplied in gold, cream white, pink, gold-gray, titanium and silver color variants.

Package with Huawei P9 contains : USB cable, recharger, 2 headsets, warranty card and user’s guide. All in all, smartphone is great : it has large IPS screen with Full HD resolution, powerful system, good cameras, 4G LTE, modern wireless connections systems, satellite navigation GLONASS, GPS+A-GPS and BeiDou, large amount of sensors and capacitive battery. Its price at the time of appearance in shops will be according, but, knowing prices policy of Huawei, there is ability to say, that device’ll not be overpriced; if such characteristics of smartphone are not needed, then there is ability to buy much cheaper optimal Windows or Android smartphone + tablet PC + good photo camera with interchangeable lenses.

Mimosa – clipper ship of middle of 19th century, which carried Welsh passengers to South America

Lets begin small descriptions of ships of different types for interest, development in this area and adventures and voyages spirit. First we will talk about clipper ship Mimosa, which in the middle on 19th century carried Welsh emigrants to South America. Clippers is a class of fast sailing ships, which more glide through the water, than furrow it; have 3 masts and large sails equipment; name of type comes from English word clip, which in 19th century also had meaning “sail with high speed“, “cut through the water” and “cut through the air“. Their blossoming was at the beginning – middle of 19th century, when they carried small amount of cargo on large distances with high speed; their appearance mainly connected to need for quick delivery of tea from China and South Asia to Europe and USA. With appearance of a first steamships they started to push out all sailing ships form cargo carrying, because they are able to move without wind; however clippers continued to be used for long-distance transportations, on which copper cost exceeded revenue from goods selling.

Century of the clippers ended in 1869 year, when Suez Channel were opened, which greatly reduced path from Asia to Europe and which is easily passable by steamships and is hardly passable by sailing ships. Mimosa was built in 1853 year in Aberdeen Scotland, initially it was not designed for passengers transportation, but later were reequipped for this purpose. Max water draught of the ship is 540 tons, sizes are 42.6 ( length ) x 7.8 ( width ) x 4.8 ( height ) m. Before sailing emigrants gathered in different cities of England, from which Mimosa took them and carried to South America. In the end of its life span, when ship started to became obsolete and to wear out, it was hulked and lost after that. But some of the clippers survived till present days, thank you to protection measures, and are still in the ranks and glide through the water masses, as they did 150 years ago.

Alesis Core 1 – USB audio interface with 1 input, 1 output, 24 bits and 48 kHz and aluminum body

Among products of Alesis company there are different devices, for example, USB audio interfaces, one of them is a Core 1 – device with 1 input, 1 output, 24 bits and 48 kHz work mode support and aluminum body. On its frontal panel there are : TRS 1/4″ jack monitor headphones output, their volume control, input gain control, its work mode switch between linear and instrumental Hi-Z modes and USB port for connection to computer and powering. On its back panel there is combined XLR/TRS 1/4″ jack analogue input.

USB audio interface Alesis Core 1 ( back panel )

Alesis Core 1 works in Windows 7, 8, 8.1 and 10 and Mac OS X 10.7 and newer with support of ASIO 2.0 and Core Audio interfaces, through which it interacts with modern DAWs : REAPER, Steinberg Cubase, FL Studio, Cackewalk Sonar, Avid Pro Tools, Ableton Live and others. It can be connected to Apple iPad and iPhone via Apple iPad Camera Connection Kit; after purchase there is ability to download from manufacturer’s website DAW Cubase LE.

Package with Alesis Core 1 audio interface contains : USB cable, warranty card and user’s guide. All in all, this is a good interface of entry-level, which will fit small and in-home studios; taking into account company’s prices policy, there is ability to anticipate, that Alesis will set on it acceptable price and, when there is no need in very functional device and compactness and mobility are needed, then Alesis Core 1 can be viewed as great solution for its tasks. There is also need to note, that other manufacturers : Steinberg, Behringer, Focusrite, Roland, ESI, M-Audio and others, also have good entry-level USB audio interfaces with acceptable price.

AKG K52 – 40 mm monitor headphones with 110 dB sensitivity, 18 Hz – 20 kHz and 32 Ohms impedance

One of the novelties among monitor headphones is an AKG K52 – 40 mm device with 110 dB sensitivity, 18 Hz – 20 kHz sounds frequencies reproduction support, 32 Ohms impedance, closed acoustic architecture and price around 50 USD. Their maximal input power is 200 mW, mass is 200 g; cable with length 2.5 m is attached to only one cup, it is not removable and connects to sound source via 1/8″ mini jack connector; headphones are not foldable and are supplied only in matte black color variant. Earpads are made from leatherette.

Package contains : AKG K52 headphones themselves, adapter to 1/4″ jack connector, warranty card and user’s guide. All in all, headphones are good, they have high sensitivity, wide reproducible sounds frequencies range and large enough membranes. From one side their price is not too high; from the other : there is ability to buy cheaper 40 mm monitor headphones with the same or even better characteristics or for approximately the same price 50 mm monitor headphones with better basses reproduction. So, to buy or not to buy there is need to decide by accordance of technical characteristics of these headphones to tasks, that they’ll handle, and by availability of discount in the shops.

Xiaomi Mi 4s – 5″ IPS Android 6.0 smartphone with 4G LTE, 3 GB of RAM, 6-cores CPU and 13 MP camera for 340 USD

Company Xiaomi presented new top-level Android 6.0 smartphone Mi 4s, in which are placed 5″ multitouch IPS screen with Full HD 1920 x 1080 pixels resolution, 4G LTE, 3 GB of RAM, 6-cores 64-bits processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 and 13 MP main camera and which costs around 340 USD. It also has : graphical chip Adreno 418, 64 GB of on-board memory, slot for Micro SD flash cards with 128 GB max capacity, combined with second SIM cards connector, and Micro SIM and Nano SIM cards slots themselves. It supports 2G ( GSM 850, 900, 1800 and 1900 ), 3G ( WCDMA 850, 900, 1900 and 2100 ) and 4G LTE ( 1800, 2100 and 2600 ) networks and GLONASS, GPS+A-GPS and BeiDou satellite navigation; in it lighting, proximity, Hall and gravitation and acceleration sensors and gyroscope, electronic compass and fingerprints scanner are built-in.

Xiaomi Mi 4s has 2 good for smartphones cameras : 13 MP main one with flash and lens with f/2.0 aperture and 5 elements and 5 MP frontal one with 85 degrees wide-angle lens with f/2.0 aperture, they both support Full HD 1080p video recording. It supports wireless connections Wi-Fi ( 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac ) and Bluetooth 4.1 for remote data transfers and communications with other devices and does not support NFC. On its external panels there are : 1/8″ mini jack headphones and headsets connector, Micro USB 2.0 port for connection to computer and battery charging, microphone and speaker and power and volume control buttons. Battery charge is 3260 mAh – this is a good value for smartphones; device’s body is made from aluminum, its sizes are 70.8 ( width ) x 139.3 ( height ) x 7.8 ( depth ) mm and mass is 133 g.

Package with Xiaomi Mi 4s includes : USB cable, recharger, headset, warranty card and user’s guide. Smartphone is great : it supports 4G LTE, satellite navigation GPS+A-GPS and BeiDou, has large IPS screen, powerful system, good cameras, capacitive battery and wide spectrum of wireless connections options; for its functions its price is not hight. If such characteristics are not needed, then there is ability to buy for smaller sum optimal Windows or Android smartphone and tablet PC; also there is ability to acquire with them good photo camera.

Philips FX3BK – 40 mm monitor headphones with 8 Hz – 23 kHz, neodymium magnets and 102 dB sensitivity

Company Philips brings mirth again with its novelties in monitor headphones area and releases 40 mm device FX3BK with closed acoustic architecture, 8 Hz – 23 kHz sounds frequencies reproduction support, neodymium magnets and 102 dB sensitivity. Their impedance is 32 Ohms, maximal input power is 40 mW and mass is 154 g. Cable with 1.2 m length is connected to both cups and is plugged to sound source via 1/8″ mini jack gold-plated connector. Device’s sizes are 185 ( height ) x 173 ( width ) x 40 ( depth ) mm, they can be folded for more compact carrying and storage.

Package with headphones Philips FX3BK contains : warranty card and user’s guide; they are supplied only in black color variant. Headphones are great : they have wide reproducible sounds frequencies range, neodymium magnets, large membranes and good other characteristics; there is ability to anticipate, that Philips will not set high price on them and they can be recommended for purchase. There is also need to note, that there are 50 mm monitor headphones, providing better basses reproduction quality, with acceptable price.

Investments fond of Saudi Arabia and Egypt, policy of Central Bank of Russia, India investments into Iran port and new planet’ll not destroy life on Earth

On this week Egypt и Saudi Arabia signed agreement about creation of investments fond with 16 billions of USD capital; this should contribute to economical development of the region and implementation of large industrial projects, which will lead to increase of income of citizens and work places amount. Central Bank of Russia told, that it will decrease key rate for increasing of credits availability for companies, but with taking into account keeping inflation in acceptable range and decreasing it to 4% in 2017 year; it will not force restrictions on currencies trading and will not try to fix ruble course, to not cause disbalance in economics. Oil prices are slightly increased after publication of information about decrease of its reserves in USA, which caused small growth of key stock indices of country, there is ability to anticipate similar movements of indices of other countries too. Britain Ministry of Foreign Affairs called China to decrease steel production level to increase its prices and make plants profitable; situation is similar to oil in some respect. India is ready to invest 20 billions of USD in development of Iran port Chabahar to increase oil and gas trading amounts of two countries; by this India will also pay part of debt to Iran for supplied oil. And to conclude today, not exactly economics, but interesting anyway : astronomers told about possible discovery of new planet in Solar System, which, presumably, causes anomal movements of other bodies in this space area. It can cause deviations of comets and asteroids movements and send them into inner areas of Solar System, to Earth inclusively, hitting of which of our planet caused mass extinctions of live organisms on Earth in ancient times; but rumors, appeared in some mass media, about “Close Judgment Day” and “No later, than before the end of April” are too exaggerated : in near time ( some millions of years ) no things of such scale are foreseeable from astronomical point of view.

Alesis V49 – middle-sized USB MIDI keyboard with 8 drumpads, 4 knobs and 4 buttons

One of the devices with middle-level size and functionality of Alesis company is a MIDI keyboard V49 with 8 velocity and pressure sensitive drumpads, 4 assignable knobs, 4 programmable buttons and, as it follows from its name, 49 velocity-sensitive full-sized keys. It also has : octaves control buttons, modulation control and pitch-bend wheels, USB port for powering and connection to computer and 1/4″ jack input of sustain pedal. Keyboard is fuly powered from USB connection and has no power adapter input. It can work in Windows Vista, 7, 8, 8.1 and 10 and Mac OS X and interact with modern DAWs : Avid Pro Tools, Ableton Live, Steinberg Cubase, FL Studio, Cackewalk Sonar, REAPER and others and their VST/AU instruments and effects.

USB MIDI keyboard Alesis V49 ( back panel )

Package contains : MIDI keyboard Alesis V49 itself, USB cable, warranty card and user’s guide; after purchase there is ability to download from manufacturer’s web site DAW Ableton Live Lite 9 and program AIR Music Tech Xpand!2. Keyboard is good : it has large amount of keys, drumpads, modulation control and pitch-bend wheels and assignable controls, wherein Alesis usually does not set high price for its devices and Alesis V49 is one of the cheapest MIDI keyboards with such functions. So, it can, for sure, be recommended for purchase for long-time creative development; there is ability to wish power adapter input for work with tablet PCs and notebooks without load on their batteries, but these are devices with larger price.

M-Audio Bass Traveler – USB headphones amplifier with 2 outputs, built-in battery and volume control knob

USB headphones amplifier M-Audio Bass Traveler

Among M-Audio devices there is headphones amplifier Bass Traveler with 2 outputs, built-in battery and volume control knob. Battery is charged via USB port, wherein it is used only for this purpose and device cannot be used as audio interface. On its top panel there are : volume control knob and TRS 1/4″ jack headphones output; on bottom panel there are : device work mode selector, TRS 1/4″ jack signal input and USB connector. On its frontal panel there is battery charge level indicator; device can power 16 – 100 Ohms headphones and supports smartphones remote answer buttons.

USB headphones amplifier M-Audio Bass Traveler ( top and left panels )

Package contains : M-Audio Bass Traveler device itself, USB cable, recharger, warranty card and user’s guide. This headphones amplifier is needed only if portable deice can not give enough power for their loud sounding. But overall : it is better to choose such headphones, that sound good with available equipment and, instead of this amplifier, buy good audio interface of Steinberg, Behringer, Focusrite, Roland, ESI, M-Audio and other companies production, if headphones are used with tablet PCs or notebooks; there is need to say, that some Android and the most modern Windows smartphones also allow to use USB audio interfaces.

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