HiFiMan Sundara (2020) Planar Magnetic Headphones REVIEW

Welcome to my review of the HiFiMan Sundara (2020) Planar Magnetic headphones which retail for £299.

Key Features

– Featuring a newly developed diaphragm that is 80% thinner than the HE400.
– New diaphragm produces a wider frequency response, faster and more detailed
– New 3.5mm Headphone connector for enhanced durability
– Frequency Response: 6Hz – 75kHz
– Impedance: 37 ohms
– Sensitivity: 94dB
– Weight: 372g

Video Review

Conclusion

An incredible sounding pair of headphones from HiFiMan. Now with minor revisions for 2020, including lower the price to £299, make these a must have headphones. 9.5/10.

Useful Links

HiFiMan Sundara on Amazon UK

Google Pixel Buds 2 review & comparison against the competition

Welcome to my review of the Google Pixel Buds 2 which retail at £179.

The Key Features and Specifications

– Earbud weight 5.3g
– Sweat- and water-resistant (IPX4)
– Bluetooth 5.0
– Custom-designed 12 mm dynamic speaker driver
– Passive noise reduction
– Spatial vent for in-ear pressure reduction and spatial awareness
– Dual beamforming microphones and Voice-detecting accelerometer
– Earbuds: Up to 5 hours of listening time and up to 2.5 hours of talk time
– Earbuds with wireless charging case: Up to 24 hours of listening time and up to 12 hours of talk time
– 10-minute charge of earbuds in the wireless charging case delivers up to 2 hours of listening time and up to 1 hour of talk time
– USB-C charging port
– Qi-certified

Video Review

Conclusion

If you are looking for a neutral sounding wireless earphone, with a small footprint, IPX4 and that is usable for the gym along with Google Assistant features, the Google Pixel Buds 2 will fit the bill.

Rating 7/10

Useful Links

Google Buds 2 Click HERE.
Anker Soundcore Liberty 2 Pro Click HERE.
AirPods Click HERE.
NuraLoop Click HERE.

NuraLoop Wireless Earphones REVIEW – Personalised Epic Sound with ANC

Welcome to my review of the NuraLoop earphones. The NuraLoop retail for £199. Nura the company behind the NuraLoop have set out to re-invent the headphone by ensuring every user has their own personalised sound profile. To protect their I.P. Nura have a number of patents in force. Their first headphone was the over ear Nuraphone. To help with its funding, Nura started a Kickstarter, which became the biggest ever Kickstarter in Australia. In addition, the Nuraphone was worlds first headphone to have features added in July 2018 via a software update which includes automatic noise cancellation.

The special sauce is the personalised hearing test that occurs during setup. With its special mics , two on each earbud , these help carry out an otoacoustic hearing test. With passive sound isolation from the ear tips, the inner microphone on each bud monitors otoacoustic emissions, by detecting the activity in the cochlea inside the ear to learn how your ear hears sound and the respective frequencies. This takes a couple of minutes, which then creates your custom profile. To see this in action, please watch the video below.The end result is terrific sound quality, some of the best ANC and decent battery life. To learn more about these jump over to watching the video.

Key Specifications

– In box range of ear tips 10.5mm, 12mm, 13.5mm and & replacement filters, case, magnetic charge cable & 3.5mm cable,
– 16 hours battery life , 10 min quick charge for 2 hours,
– APT-X HD , APT-X, AAC , SBC
– Bluetooth 5
– IPX4 sweat resistance
– ANC
– Social Mode
– Immersive Control
– Customisable Touch Controls
– Personalised Sound

Video Review

Update 7th September 2020 – new firmware includes the following features based on Customer feedback:

– Manual On/Off mode – New setting to manually turn NuraLoop on/off. If you don’t want to use this method, the auto on/off is still the default method.
– Double Tap Button functionality – Further customise your TouchDials with double tap.
– Voice Calls – Improved reliability and enhanced clarity of voice calls.
– Plus – Additional bug fixes such as improved fit detection and reduced analog cable latency experienced by musicians.

This new firmware works extremely well in my testing and makes the nuraloop and even stronger recommendation.

Conclusion

Highly recommended 9.5/10.

Useful Links

nura on Amazon UK

nura website

Darkness strikes at Sunset over Dartmoor National Park – Shot with a Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro

Last night, I went out to capture the sunset over Dartmoor National Park. Above Merrivale Stone Rows spanning 268 metres.

A few minutes later the sky turned blue and then this ominous cloud formation appeared over the Merrivale Stone Rows.

About 10 mins later, the skies darkened and I captured the moody view of Great Staple Tor.

The clouds did clear to allow me to capture the sun just as it set behind Great Staple Tor.

Before the sun set, I photographed the Merrivale Stone circle. There are some incredible landmarks around Merrivale on Dartmoor National Park.

Above, Merrivale Quarry and Great Staple Tor.

And finally, a shot of Great and Little Mis Tor. All the photos were taken using the Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro.

Sunset and Shadows around Dartmoor National Park – Shot with the Huawei P40 Pro

Last night I went out to photograph the sunset over Dartmoor. It was a risk due to the clouds as to whether I would get the shots I wanted. Above Merrivale Stones, a long line of ancient stones covering a total distance of 264 metres!

Foxgloves are seen growing wild everywhere on Dartmoor. Above view of Great and Little Mis Tors in the background.

Just before the sun set, ominous clouds appeared creating some fantastic shadows over the landscape. Views of Great Staple Tor at sunset shown below.

All the photos were shot on the new Huawei P40 Pro.

Huawei P40 Pro REVIEW – beautiful hardware!

Welcome to my review of the Huawei P40 Pro. The P40 Pro retails for £899.

Key Features

– The HUAWEI P40 Pro 5G comes with the new HUAWEI AppGallery and is not compatible with Google Play Store and Services.
– Leica Quad Camera: 50 MP Ultra Vision Sensor (1/1.28 Inch Ultra Vision Sensor, RYYB colour filter array, Octa PD Autofocus), 40 MP Ultra Wide Cine Camera, 12 MP Telephoto Cameras, 3D Depth Sensing Camera
12 MP Telephoto Camera: 5x Optical Zoom, 10x Hybrid Zoom, 50x Max Zoom.
– Wi-Fi 6 Plus: Using Dynamic Narrow Bandwidth technology, the Wi-Fi 6 Plus enabled phone penetrates more walls and floors. Supporting 160 MHz bandwidth, it brings out optimal speed reaching up to 2.4 Gbps
– 5G and Outstanding Performance: Embrace the ultra-fast speed with the world’s first integrated 5G SoC, Kirin 990 5G chipset. Thanks to the 7nm+ EUV technology and innovative CPU architectures.
– Fast Charging Battery: 4200 mAh battery and the 40 W HUAWEI SuperCharge and 27 W Wireless HUAWEI SuperCharge.
– Quad-curve Overflow Display, IP68: The Quad-Curve Overflow Display is innovated to dissolve the barriers of vision and imagination on every edge. Plus with the 90 Hz refresh rate, you can enjoy an immersive view over the entire fluid screen
– Splash, Water and Dust Resistant is IP68. Water and dust-proofing are not permanent, and resistance may decrease as a result of normal wear over time. Do not charge the phone when it is wet or in moist environments
– 8gb ram, 256gb storage

My review includes –

– Camera
– Camera Tricks
– Walkthrough
– Apps & Google

Video Review

Conclusion

The P40 Pro 5G is a stunning piece of hardware. The lack of Google is a real shame, but the new Petal Search app from Huawei makes finding your favourite apps a lot easier.

Useful Links

Huawei P40 Pro 5G on Amazon UK

Huawei Petal Search Widget – the new gateway to a million apps

Huawei has a new search tool powered by the Petal Search engine that has been created in partnership with Global and European search engine leaders to offer Huawei users an innovative and diverse search experience.

Huawei, the global leading technology company, have announced the availability of the ‘Petal Search – Find Apps’ search widget, which comes pre-installed on the latest HUAWEI P40 Series and is already available for download via AppGallery. The new search tool offers Huawei users an open gateway to a million apps and a way to easily search for the things they need – including news, images and more – directly from the home screen of their device.

Gateway to a million apps –

It is now even easier for Huawei users to have the apps they want on their HMS devices.

1) Phone Clone – One easy way to transfer your apps, contacts, data, files and photos from your old smartphone to your new smartphone, in a few simple steps.

2) AppGallery – Huawei’s official app store with more than 420M monthly active users and a constantly growing list of apps. It features a 4-layer detection mechanism to ensure apps featured are safe to download and use. Simply browse and download the apps you need.

3) ‘Petal Search – Find Apps’ search widget – one of three ways in which Huawei users can find and download apps on to their HMS devices, alongside AppGallery and Phone Clone. Simply use it directly from the home screen of your device.

A new search experience

Powered by the Petal Search engine, the search widget brings an alternative search experience that locates and aggregates information, delivering the most accurate and relevant results for each user in order to enable them to fully personalise and manage their smartphone experience.

In addition to news, images and entertainment, the search tool lists apps from multiple sources – always listing the source origin. Huawei’s AppGallery is completely integrated into the widget and any apps already available in the AppGallery will appear at the top of any search in the new tool. Hundreds of new apps continue to be added to the AppGallery every week.

Created in partnership with global and European search engine leaders, including Qwant and Yandex, the ‘Petal Search – Find Apps’ brings together the best in hardware-based security and safety technologies, combined with the unparalleled privacy standards set by these leading privacy-by-design search engines, to ensure the highest standards of data privacy and security for Huawei users.

Availability

The ‘Petal Search – Find Apps’ search widget currently supports more than 40 languages and is available in 45 countries and regions, including the UK, with plans for wider rollout to even more countries in the future. The new search tool will come pre-installed on Huawei’s latest flagship HUAWEI P40 series, including the P40 Pro, P40 and P40 lite and for existing Huawei users, it is now available to download from the AppGallery by simply searching for Petal Search – Find Apps.

For more information on the search widget please visit:

https://consumer.huawei.com/uk/campaign/favourite-apps/?

Sony ZV-1 Real User Review – Sony’s new vlogging camera

Welcome to my review of the new Sony ZV-1 vlogging camera which comes with a 1 inch Sony sensor. It retails for £699.

Key Features

– The ZV-1 is designed for vlogging, featuring a vari-angle LCD screen, recording lamp for selfie-shooting, secure grip and easy operation.
– A premium camera, with Soft Skin Effect, natural skin tones and optimised brightness for faces.
– Record high sound quality – a directional 3-capsule mic and wind shield is supplied with this camera.
– Featuring Product Showcase Setting for perfect product review videos and Bokeh Switch for easy background blur control.
– Sony’s innovative Real-time Eye AF technology locks on and tracks people’s eyes, even when shooting 4K movies.

Video Review

Conclusion

Whilst not 100% perfect, it is likely the best video solution available. Highly recommended.

Useful Links

Sony ZV-1 on Amazon UK
Sony GP-VPT2BT grip on Amazon UK

Anker Soundcore Liberty 2 Pro True Wireless Earphones Review – Redefining Bass

Welcome to my review of the Anker Soundcore Liberty 2 Pro True Wireless earphones. These has a recommended retail price of £139.99, although if you use the link at the bottom, these are currently available for £119.99.

Key Features

– Astria Coaxial Acoustic Architecture: A state-of-the-art design which integrates a customised Knowles balanced armature and an 11mm dynamic driver into a single body. Aligned direct-to-ear, Astria completely eliminates interference while producing harmonised treble and bass for jaw-dropping sound.
– In-Ear Studio Performance: Liberty 2 Pro is recommended by 10 Grammy Award winning producers. Sound is delivered at stadium-scale with impeccable depth and nuance.
– HearID Custom Sound: To ensure everyone gets a perfect listening experience, HearID intelligently analyses your unique hearing profile and creates a tailor-made sound setup just for your ears. Or take complete control of the sound with an adjustable EQ or 22 preset sound profiles.
– 32-Hour Playtime: Get 8 hours from a single charge and then another 4 full recharges from the charging case. The charging case recharges via fast-charge USB-C or wireless charging, and provides the earbuds with 2 hours of listening from a 10-minute charge.
– Quad-Microphone Calls: With 4 microphones and cVc 8.0 noise reduction, your voice is isolated and transmitted in high-clarity for a seamless hands-free experience.

Time Index for Video Review

0:00s Intro
0:54s What’s in The Box
2:08s Close-up on the Earphones
3:46s Companion App
5:01s Call Quality
6:16s Connectivity
6:37s Sound Quality
9:44s Latency
9:54s Conclusion

Video Review

Conclusion

One of the most dramatic wireless earphones I have heard for bass impact without ruining the treble and midrange. Highly recommended.

Useful Links

Latest pricing on the Anker Soundcore Liberty 2 Pro on Amazon

Microsoft Surface 2 Headphones review vs Razer Opus

Welcome to my review of the new Microsoft Surface 2 Headphones versus the Razer Opus Headphones. The Surface 2 retail for £239 and the Razer Opus £199.

The video below provides a detailed look at both. The time index is as follows –

0:00s Intro
0:45s Hard cases comparisons
1:19s Headphones folding comparison
1:48s In the case
3:10s Headphone design differences
4:36s Headphone functions & differences
9:42s Sound quality
13:48s Companion apps
16:12s Conclusion

Video Review

Useful Links

Razer Opus headphones on Amazon
Microsoft Surface 2 Headphones