New Hardware
No, I have not been upgraded by the latest tech available from Cyberdyne Systems. No matter what Trallyus tells you. So no need to fear. I'll be back... Anyway, yes I have some new hardware. I've been saving up some and all were things I had been thinking about getting over the year so I went ahead and got them all around the same time. One thing that will not be talked about here are some NAS drives, but then again I haven't received them yet so it would be pretty hard to talk about them. I know, that's no excuse for some of you but too bad! Here I'll talk about the headphones, a monitor and an e-ink reader.
Headphones: ATH AD700, Grado SR80I and Sennheiser HD280 Pro.
The AD700 are really nice with everything from music to movies and games. They are very big though. I did not expect them to be as big as they were, even though they are very light fitting. So light fitting that I often worry that they are going to fall off, so I try to adjust them but they are self adjusting and trying to adjust them is quite pointless. I've worn them for quite a few hours and they are the most comfortable head phones I've ever worn. Playing games with these are just splendid. A lot easier to tell the direction of the action.
The SR80I are nice as well but in different ways. They have a different cushion compared to the old SR80 and are way more comfortable. I can wear them without my ears starting to hurt after an hour. Of course the sound stage isn't as open now since the drivers sit closer to the ears. That loss is made up with the more intense bass. Even with the new smaller, more comfortable cushions, they sound on par with the AD700. The cushions are smaller so the headphones look smaller and I can fit them in my laptop bag. I'm wearing them right now. Also they fit really nice and I have no worry they are going to fall off, since I can easily adjust the tightness. Though interesting they are the only ones of the three that make my ears the warm. With the new design, it feels as if the action is a few feet away in a room that is a bit smaller than before. Where as the AD700 sounds like the action is further away and the room a bit more spacious. I believe this is a result of the different cushion design, and I rather this than having my ear hurt so soon.
The HD280 are a closed design and good for when I want to block out noises and listen to music and play games with louder sounds without having others hear it. They fit tighter than the others and with the Grados using a smaller cushion, the HD280's are larger, but they also fold up to fit in smaller places. They don't sound as good as the others but then again, from a closed design, they sound pretty good. Especially with being able to have the sound really low and still hear details. They block out so much sounds though that I can't really wear them at work since I would barely be able to hear the phone or people with them on, and if I was listening to anything on them, even less able to hear the outside world. They will mainly be used in noisy places or where I don't want others to listen to what I'm playing. The sound is more inside your head than the others.
The interesting issue with the open designed headphones is that often you'll hear something and you'll look in a certain direction truly thinking you heard someone say something to you. Or you ignore it and it turns out there is actually someone there. While writing this, and listening to music, I looked up twice while using my Grados. This is something I never got used to with my old ones either, since it would happen random enough that I could never truly block it out. So if you have people randomly talk to you while you are wearing headphones you'll sometimes encounter this issue as well. Which says something that it sounds so good that it is as if someone is actually there. I've not encountered this issue with the HD280's but then again, while at my parents they had to yell in order for me to barely hear them.
Monitor: AOC 2436VW
It's a 23.6 inch wide screen monitor and it looked amazing hooked up to my laptop's external VGA connection. I set this up at my parents and had downloaded quite a bit of 1080p content to show it off. Planet Earth being one of the videos and really showed it off. Even 720p tv shows looked good. I got to a rocky start setting it up at home trying to get it exactly how i wanted, since the cd that came didn't want to work correctly. This caused me to not notice that some I-Menu software was there to control the settings on the monitor. So I fiddled with the settings via the monitor buttons for quite some time until finally I just gave up and settled. Then I found the software online and then was able to just click some buttons to see the changes quickly and have it now set exactly the way I want. The buttons are very strange though. Touch sensitive, which is easy to turn on as you just brush your finger over the power button. I had used the buttons quite a bit trying to configure it and I must say in the dark, using those controls was harder than would have been with regular controls. Then again at least I'll not have to worry about the buttons getting jammed. One downside is that the monitor's power signal is a bright enough blue led that is has distracted me a couple times. I'm thinking about using a marker on it. Then again, I've been distracted by the very low blue status light on my laptop. Yet this light is brighter on the monitor and so would rather not have to deal with it.
Like I said videos look fantastic. The same can be said for any modern monitor capable of showing 1080p content. One thing that I found surprising is that when I was playing a game on it at the full resolution, after a while I got a bit dizzy. I've not gotten dizzy while watching fast paced movies, or television shows. It could be from having the laptop keyboard sitting to the side of the new monitor instead of in front of it so I was having to look at a different angle in order to play or perhaps it was so immense it was a bit disorientating. I must say playing that game in full res though really made it look amazing. I only play a few games and one of the two games I tried wouldn't even let me configure it to use 1080p. I'll have to get more updated games and try them out. Viewing the local news paper in pdf format was very nice and photoshop really made use of all the space. Also three browser windows open at a single time side by side was very interesting. I'll have to see if there is some software or way to do it so that they show up exactly where I want and with minimal browser interface to offer even more space for content. One thing I need to try out are comics that I have downloaded. They look quite well with my smaller laptop screen, so I'm sure it'll look even better on a larger screen.
Reader: 5” EZ Reader Pocket PRO
This was purchased after being pointed out to me by Trallyus. He's been telling me about different models in the past. This was one that finally had exactly what I wanted in an ereader with the format compatibility, to size and dpi, etc. I still haven't plugged it in to charge it since it was almost fully charged when I got it. So I'll have to remember to do that today when I get home. The screen was great outside and was good inside a somewhat dark room unless I had a light on, then was great again. The same with a real book. I wasn't impressed with the books that came on the 1gb sd card that came with the device though. The books wouldn't let me increase the font more than once or twice, and would then auto rotate or kick me back to the menu of list of books. This was very disappointing and I got a little worried. I soon deleted all the books that came on the card and put one book that I had downloaded on there. I put three different versions, rtf, pdf and the rtf converted to epub in Calibre. The experience was completely different. I could increase the font size quite a few times, the zoom feature was enabled and I could choose to rotate the text if I wanted. Not sure why they would supply such lacking books on the device with so many features disabled. Now I have about five books on there and am taking it slow for now. Using Calibre has been interesting as well. I was able to download information about the book I had and download a cover to put on the ebook. So far it's been working quite well.
One thing I've had an issue with is when a book has text that is formatted the exact same as in a book with line breaks. So that text stops so that it is in a perfect line down a page, and in such cases with the ereader with larger fonts would break and mid way through the line, break and continue on the next line and so on. I'm sure there is some setting in Calibre that will fix this issue with ignoring line breaks but I haven't really gone through the settings good enough yet. Either way reading a book on it is very nice. So nice my mother now wants one. She really liked the way it would increase font size and the quality of the text. Also that it would read aloud the text and also the ability to play audio books. The line break issue only affects a few books so far that I've tried. I have a lot of texts that are in different formats so this will be nice. The screen updates fast enough, and I feel like I could easily read a book or two on there without any eye fatigue while outside. Now I have to worry about getting so engrossed in a book that I lose track of time, something that has happened to me while reading a real book. Also being able to change the battery is perfect to have a spare battery or to replace it. Though with 8,000 page refreshes with each charge it'll take a while before it needs to be fully charged again.
The feel of the device is very interesting. Very rigid and yet the rubber coating is a bit soft. Feels like the kind of rubber you get on a tire. It feels very nice to hold and I don't worry so much about damaging it. Plus using it while it is in the case is just as easy and the case has an even more soft material so it feels quite nice. I haven't tried out the audio aspects of it yet, and not sure I will since reading on it is amazing.
Headphones: ATH AD700, Grado SR80I and Sennheiser HD280 Pro.
The AD700 are really nice with everything from music to movies and games. They are very big though. I did not expect them to be as big as they were, even though they are very light fitting. So light fitting that I often worry that they are going to fall off, so I try to adjust them but they are self adjusting and trying to adjust them is quite pointless. I've worn them for quite a few hours and they are the most comfortable head phones I've ever worn. Playing games with these are just splendid. A lot easier to tell the direction of the action.
The SR80I are nice as well but in different ways. They have a different cushion compared to the old SR80 and are way more comfortable. I can wear them without my ears starting to hurt after an hour. Of course the sound stage isn't as open now since the drivers sit closer to the ears. That loss is made up with the more intense bass. Even with the new smaller, more comfortable cushions, they sound on par with the AD700. The cushions are smaller so the headphones look smaller and I can fit them in my laptop bag. I'm wearing them right now. Also they fit really nice and I have no worry they are going to fall off, since I can easily adjust the tightness. Though interesting they are the only ones of the three that make my ears the warm. With the new design, it feels as if the action is a few feet away in a room that is a bit smaller than before. Where as the AD700 sounds like the action is further away and the room a bit more spacious. I believe this is a result of the different cushion design, and I rather this than having my ear hurt so soon.
The HD280 are a closed design and good for when I want to block out noises and listen to music and play games with louder sounds without having others hear it. They fit tighter than the others and with the Grados using a smaller cushion, the HD280's are larger, but they also fold up to fit in smaller places. They don't sound as good as the others but then again, from a closed design, they sound pretty good. Especially with being able to have the sound really low and still hear details. They block out so much sounds though that I can't really wear them at work since I would barely be able to hear the phone or people with them on, and if I was listening to anything on them, even less able to hear the outside world. They will mainly be used in noisy places or where I don't want others to listen to what I'm playing. The sound is more inside your head than the others.
The interesting issue with the open designed headphones is that often you'll hear something and you'll look in a certain direction truly thinking you heard someone say something to you. Or you ignore it and it turns out there is actually someone there. While writing this, and listening to music, I looked up twice while using my Grados. This is something I never got used to with my old ones either, since it would happen random enough that I could never truly block it out. So if you have people randomly talk to you while you are wearing headphones you'll sometimes encounter this issue as well. Which says something that it sounds so good that it is as if someone is actually there. I've not encountered this issue with the HD280's but then again, while at my parents they had to yell in order for me to barely hear them.
Monitor: AOC 2436VW
It's a 23.6 inch wide screen monitor and it looked amazing hooked up to my laptop's external VGA connection. I set this up at my parents and had downloaded quite a bit of 1080p content to show it off. Planet Earth being one of the videos and really showed it off. Even 720p tv shows looked good. I got to a rocky start setting it up at home trying to get it exactly how i wanted, since the cd that came didn't want to work correctly. This caused me to not notice that some I-Menu software was there to control the settings on the monitor. So I fiddled with the settings via the monitor buttons for quite some time until finally I just gave up and settled. Then I found the software online and then was able to just click some buttons to see the changes quickly and have it now set exactly the way I want. The buttons are very strange though. Touch sensitive, which is easy to turn on as you just brush your finger over the power button. I had used the buttons quite a bit trying to configure it and I must say in the dark, using those controls was harder than would have been with regular controls. Then again at least I'll not have to worry about the buttons getting jammed. One downside is that the monitor's power signal is a bright enough blue led that is has distracted me a couple times. I'm thinking about using a marker on it. Then again, I've been distracted by the very low blue status light on my laptop. Yet this light is brighter on the monitor and so would rather not have to deal with it.
Like I said videos look fantastic. The same can be said for any modern monitor capable of showing 1080p content. One thing that I found surprising is that when I was playing a game on it at the full resolution, after a while I got a bit dizzy. I've not gotten dizzy while watching fast paced movies, or television shows. It could be from having the laptop keyboard sitting to the side of the new monitor instead of in front of it so I was having to look at a different angle in order to play or perhaps it was so immense it was a bit disorientating. I must say playing that game in full res though really made it look amazing. I only play a few games and one of the two games I tried wouldn't even let me configure it to use 1080p. I'll have to get more updated games and try them out. Viewing the local news paper in pdf format was very nice and photoshop really made use of all the space. Also three browser windows open at a single time side by side was very interesting. I'll have to see if there is some software or way to do it so that they show up exactly where I want and with minimal browser interface to offer even more space for content. One thing I need to try out are comics that I have downloaded. They look quite well with my smaller laptop screen, so I'm sure it'll look even better on a larger screen.
Reader: 5” EZ Reader Pocket PRO
This was purchased after being pointed out to me by Trallyus. He's been telling me about different models in the past. This was one that finally had exactly what I wanted in an ereader with the format compatibility, to size and dpi, etc. I still haven't plugged it in to charge it since it was almost fully charged when I got it. So I'll have to remember to do that today when I get home. The screen was great outside and was good inside a somewhat dark room unless I had a light on, then was great again. The same with a real book. I wasn't impressed with the books that came on the 1gb sd card that came with the device though. The books wouldn't let me increase the font more than once or twice, and would then auto rotate or kick me back to the menu of list of books. This was very disappointing and I got a little worried. I soon deleted all the books that came on the card and put one book that I had downloaded on there. I put three different versions, rtf, pdf and the rtf converted to epub in Calibre. The experience was completely different. I could increase the font size quite a few times, the zoom feature was enabled and I could choose to rotate the text if I wanted. Not sure why they would supply such lacking books on the device with so many features disabled. Now I have about five books on there and am taking it slow for now. Using Calibre has been interesting as well. I was able to download information about the book I had and download a cover to put on the ebook. So far it's been working quite well.
One thing I've had an issue with is when a book has text that is formatted the exact same as in a book with line breaks. So that text stops so that it is in a perfect line down a page, and in such cases with the ereader with larger fonts would break and mid way through the line, break and continue on the next line and so on. I'm sure there is some setting in Calibre that will fix this issue with ignoring line breaks but I haven't really gone through the settings good enough yet. Either way reading a book on it is very nice. So nice my mother now wants one. She really liked the way it would increase font size and the quality of the text. Also that it would read aloud the text and also the ability to play audio books. The line break issue only affects a few books so far that I've tried. I have a lot of texts that are in different formats so this will be nice. The screen updates fast enough, and I feel like I could easily read a book or two on there without any eye fatigue while outside. Now I have to worry about getting so engrossed in a book that I lose track of time, something that has happened to me while reading a real book. Also being able to change the battery is perfect to have a spare battery or to replace it. Though with 8,000 page refreshes with each charge it'll take a while before it needs to be fully charged again.
The feel of the device is very interesting. Very rigid and yet the rubber coating is a bit soft. Feels like the kind of rubber you get on a tire. It feels very nice to hold and I don't worry so much about damaging it. Plus using it while it is in the case is just as easy and the case has an even more soft material so it feels quite nice. I haven't tried out the audio aspects of it yet, and not sure I will since reading on it is amazing.