LODs are cables that allow you to get proper line-out from a player, circumventing some of the internal circuitry in order to provide a raw signal to an external amplifier- be it a headphone amp, car audio system or home audio system. FiiO has several of these available, and unlike most companies they don’t just make them for iDevices but also for other brands. Specifically, they have LODs for the Sansa Fuze and Sony Walkman players that use Sony’s proprietary docking port. Both cables are now available at DealExtreme, priced at $8.40 for the Sony cable and $8.50 for the Fuze cable. They also have a short 3.5mm male-to-male interconnecting cable, which should be perfect for those who use headphone amps on other players and want a short interconnect between player and amp. That one is priced at $5.70, and all three have free (slow-as-hell) worldwide shipping. FiiO makes decent products, and the prices are pretty decent also.
Archive for Accessories
FiiO LODs for Sansa Fuze and Sony Players Now Available
Woot Deal: M Audio AV 40
The ever popular website Woot is having their deal of the day today for a pair of refurbished M Audio Studiophole AV 40 Professional Reference Speakers. The pair will run you $95 (with shipping) and come with a 1 year warranty. They are currently running $135 on Amazon right now. As many of our forum members are looking for desktop speakers, these could definitely do it for ya. These generally perform extremely well, albeit lacking in the bass department unless you add a sub-woofer to the mix. Overall though, they are an excellent choice for anyone currently (the deal ends today folks) searching or adding to their speaker setup. The only real downside to the offer…. no international shipping for the cool kids hanging out across the surrounding ponds. So Americans enjoy! Hit the jump for the full specs. Continue reading…
Grace Eco Extreme Review
Let’s face it, we can’t always drown out the world with our portable players and headphones. Sometimes we need to open up our sound to everyone around us. The beach season (or outdoors) is coming up, and what better time to share the audio love than now? Grace Digital Audio wants to help you out. They have come up with a rugged portable speaker system that’ll keep your valuables safe from the elements, and still put out some tunes for you and your friends. Let’s see how it stacks up. Continue reading…
New Android MP3 Player is Not What You Think…
There are plenty of Android-based MP3 players out there these days, from the Cowon D3 to the Samsung Galaxy Player. Since Android is free, it’s also being used on a lot of “lesser quality” items from the good’ol China, be it ereaders without e-ink displays or tablets that are so slow you might as well use them for something else. Something went a bit wrong when whoever is in charge of counterfitting electronics over there asked for an Android MP3 player though, as the thing that popped up on DealExtreme today is not an MP3 player than runs Android, but rather an MP3 player shaped like the Android mascot.
It has no internal memory but rather a MicroSD (not MicroSDHC) card slot for storing music, and no screen. It does however have an FM radio and line-in capabilities, both of which will come in handy with the built-in speaker. It comes with a combined charging/line in cable and a stand so you can get it a bit away from the tablet as the speaker is located in its…eh…butt…and pointing down. It also has some LEDs and you control it by twisting and tapping its head.
As fun as it is to make fun of what comes out of sites like DealExtreme (remember the world’s ugliest MP3 player? I still have nightmares about it) this thing actually looks semi-useful. Not for grown-ups mind you, but rather for kids. Assuming it doesn’t fall apart and choke the kid or poison it with whatever they use for materials, the look of the thing, built in speaker and control method. In fact it looks and function scary much like the Sansa Shaker from back in 2007 which was designed for that exact purpose. It should also make a neat, cheap gift to any Android lover- as long as they can look past the fact that the color makes it look more like a Dalek and the fact the logo says something like Golge rather than Google.
The Best of ABi: Accessories
The downside of basically any type of publishing media be it a blog, newspaper, magazine, podcast or carrier pigeon is that old stories get buried in newer ones. While a review of a MP3 player from 3 years ago is of limited use today, the same can’t be said for other types of reviews- like accessories. We’ve reviewed quite a bit of accessories over the years and some of them are as useful today as they were several years ago. that’s why I decided to resurrect a few of these to give new and old readers another peak at some of the best accessories we’ve seen through here.
Continue reading…
Win One of Three Zune Kicker Docks at Zuneboards and ABI
At Zuneboards they are giving away two Kicker speaker docks for the Zune: the ZK350 and the ZK150. If you recall my two reviews on them, they are very impressive- so you don’t want to miss these. The rules are simple just make a image signature on Zuneboards with anything kicker in it. No graphic talent needed, one Kicker dock will be chosen for the best signature and one will be chosen at random just for participating. Check out Zuneboards for the details.
But wait there is more!
Not to leave ABI out of this, we will give away the ZK500 here on ABI in a similar fashion. Simply create Zune HD wallpaper with anything Kicker in it. Details in the Zune Forum.
Flightstrap PMP mount review
Have you ever been on the plane, n the train, the bus or in the backseat of a car and been left to hold your media player so you can see what’s playing on the screen? I have, plenty of times in fact, and it can get your arms very tired very quickly depending on how you hold it. There’s a reason while portable DVD players for cars come with headrest mounts, and now you can get an accessory that will give you the same feature anywhere you have a seat in front of you. Enter the Flightstrap.
Ringke Rearth Zune HD Case Review
I am not much of a case kind of guy and prefer to let my gadgets wear like a favorite pair of sneekers or baseball cap. But to each is his own. If I were going the route of a case I do appreciate a simple silicone case to wrap up a player in a light coat of silicone. Even though silicone cases are basically the same, there are some slight differences in material grade and fit. Testing out the Ringke Zune HD case by Rearth, I have found my favorite.
Zune HD ProClip Mount Review
I have been using this mounting system for well over a year and have been very pleased with it keeping me focused on the road. I did a ProClip review not too long ago with a slightly different configuration but this one focuses on the Zune HD mount. Check out this review in the forums.
Creative ZiiSound D5 Review
The ZiiSound D5 is Creative’s flag ship compact speaker system and centered around Bluetooth audio. I have tended to shy away from Bluetooth audio devices since most of the devices I have tried came up pretty short in terms of sound quality. In short, the ZiiSound D5 has changed my opinion and showed me that if done right, Bluetooth can rival wired or docked performance.
