Technology

Today, I have this with me, it’s the Marshall Emberton 2 portable Bluetooth speaker, note I said two, this is the second generation of this speaker. I’ve tried a few products from Marshall now, with the last being the Motiff earbuds and they are fantastic, I still use them a lot and I’m hoping that trend follows with these.

Out the box, I just love it. If you play the guitar or you’ve been in a band playing something else or if you’ve ever been to a gig and seen what a Marshall amp looks like in the flesh, it’s iconic and they’ve continued that appearance through their speakers, earbuds and headphones, which I absolutely love. The speaker has that faux leather/snake skin finish wrapped around the sides, then this criss-cross grille to the front and back, and of course, the front grille has that iconic gold Marshall logo. To the top, a large gold button that you hold in, to power on/off or play/pause, then push it left, right or up, down to control volume and content. To the left of that button, a Bluetooth connection button and then to the right, a battery indicator, that has 10 small red lights, showing the remaining battery level in increments of 10%. On the right-hand side, is a USB C port used for charging. It’s also worth noting the speaker sits on a thin rubber base, keeping it sturdy on your surface. 

Size-wise, it’s certainly handheld and it was comfortable to carry around in one hand. As for weight, it’s not too heavy but then also doesn’t feel really cheap and lightweight. If in a backpack, it shouldn’t cause too much concern. It also feels very well constructed and robust, I get the feeling it can get knocked around or dropped a little bit and survive. It is also IP67, so will withstand a splash of water. 

Spec-wise, connectivity is via Bluetooth 5.1 only, there are no wired ports available. It’s got two 2” speakers with a 10watt output each, plus two passive radiators, facing outwards from either side, so the speaker delivers sound from the front and back. Battery life is stated at over 30 hours, with a charge time of about 3 hours. There is no microphone built into the speaker, so this is not good for making calls if you do that with Bluetooth speakers. Marshall does also have their own app, which is compatible with the Emberton, so you can boot up the app to offer equaliser options and push firmware updates out to the speaker. Lastly, if you bought two speakers, which I know is a tad expensive, you can pair the two, and stack them like a cab for double the experience, kind of. 

Setting up and using the speaker is very straightforward. Turn it on, it’ll go into pairing mode, pair it with your smartphone or other device and away you go. The multi-directional button on the top of the speaker works well, it’s very easy to push up or down for volume control, left or right to change tracks. I did download the marshall app again, which I used with the Motif earbuds and it added a fair amount of functionality, however with the speaker, not so much. There are just 3 EQ presets, ‘Marshall’, ‘Push’ which is boosted bass and treble, plus ‘Voice’ for more clarity. Switching between the three is instantaneous and you can hear a difference. You cannot edit those EQ’s or create your own. The app also allows you to stack two Embertons if you have two, plus send firmware updates out as well.

Onto audio performance and I think it sounds brilliant. What Marshall has done in such a small form factor, hats off to them. I listen to a lot of rock music, so the Marshall EQ, their signature sound suited me down to a tee. At low volumes, its very pleasant, I’d have the speaker playing while working, it’s not overly boomy and the mix is fairly balanced so you get a little thud from the bass drum, vocals are crisp and prominent. Turn the volume up a little, to mid-volume and that’s the sweet spot for me. More than loud enough to fill any room in my house, the quality is good, and highs and mids do overpower the bass just a little bit but there is a small rumble on the desk. However, if you turn this all the way up to the maximum volume, it just can’t cope, the quality drops, it gets a bit tinny, it’s overly crisp, the bass is lacking and it’s not very enjoyable at all. This is a portable, Bluetooth speaker though don’t forget, if you need something with more juice, Marshall do bigger speakers for that very reason, so you’ve just got to decide on that balance before purchasing. 

I think it looks fantastic, It sounds very good when used for its purpose, don’t turn that volume all the way up. It’s got a good battery life, it can withstand a knock, it’s splash-proof and it’s portable. Price-wise, this retails at £149.99 which is on the higher side of the market and I think you are paying a bit of a premium because of the brand. The previous model can be bought slightly cheaper and from what I can see online, they should perform the same, but the first model does have a smaller battery. Obviously, you can see the speaker is black but Marshall has said this will be available in cream too which looks pretty smart and it’s got that more vintage looks to it. 

1More sent over their latest pair of buds, the Evos, the embargo has just dropped so I can talk to you about them now, although I have seen reviews go up last week for them, so I’m a tad late to the party now. Anyway, I’ve been using them as my daily driver for the last three weeks, and here are my thoughts.

The buds come nicely displayed and presented in a cardboard box and include the buds, different-sized rubber tips, and a USB C cable for charging. The pair of buds we got were white but there is also a black version too. The whole thing is a very tidy and sleek affair. Well constructed, stylish, small, and lightweight case. Subtle branding to the lid, a single indicator light to the front identifying the battery life of the case, and then the USB C port to the rear. Wireless charging is available via a Qi-certified dock. 

The buds themselves are traditional in shape and size, with a rubber tip at the end. An elegant design, white with a hint of metallic silver/rose gold. Touch-sensitive button to either bud offering various controls. The controls are the same on both buds as default and allow you to play/pause your content with a double-tap, or if you’re getting a call, double-tap again to accept or end. A long hold on either bud will scroll through the different listening modes, ANC off, ANC On, or transparent mode. There are no voice prompts when scrolling through which is quite annoying, just a short beep. That’s it on controls, no changing tracks, no volume control unless you mod the controls but ill touch on that in a bit. When you remove either of the buds, they automatically pause the music until you put it back in. You can just use one earbud, no need to use both if you don’t want to. Take one out, use it, and leave the other one in the case. 

As for features we’ve got wireless hi-res audio thanks to these including the LDAC Bluetooth codec, which can handle 24-bit audio, as long as you have a compatible device. We’ve also got ANC and transparency mode, 6 microphones, up to  28hours of battery life and an app to provide additional settings. 

Audio performance was top tier, one of the best I’ve tried this year and I really enjoyed using them. A well-balanced sound profile with ample bass that worked well with any genre of music I listened to. Out of the box, ANC on is by far the best option for audio quality and there is a noticeable drop in bass and volume when switching to either transparency mode or turning the ANC off. The ANC performance itself is very very good. Small sounds like typing away on my keyboard were gone, while cars driving past or even the crashing of the train against track is heavily reduced, offering a very peaceful environment, allowing you to zone out and get away from it all. Out of the box, the default ANC setting is set to strong but this can be tweaked within the 1More app, dropping it down to mild, or choosing WNR or adaptive. You can swap between the four options with just a click and it’ll update in real-time while you’re listening to music, so you can see the difference and pick the best option for you. 

A bit more on the app, it shows battery life per bud and the case, it allows you to control your audio modes, rather than using the touch controls. Remember I said there was no track or volume control, well there is or there can be if you want to. Via the app, go into the custom settings, and then you can change what the touch commands do. So double-tap is play pause, but you can change this to the next track, previous track or volume up or down. Triple tap activates the voice control but if you’re like me an rarely use that, you can set the triple tap to be next track or volume control. I generally adjust the volume on my phone so I kept the double-tap as play/pause and then changed the triple tap to next or previous track. Also within the app, you can use 1More’s SoundID, which is a pretty neat feature. It’s a sound test, so you select one of the default tracks provided, I went for Rock, you listen to that sample of music over and over, while the app provides two different sound profiles, A or B. You listen to both and either pick which one you prefer or say you don’t notice a difference. After the test, a sound profile is created and transferred to the buds. You can re-take the test if you want to at any point or just turn it off. Lastly, with the app, you can push firmware updates out to the buds. 

As for comfort, working at a desk, and walking the dog, on your daily commute, they are very comfortable and secure enough. However, I used them while cycling which was a bit touch and go, and they didn’t offer me enough security for me to swap over to what I currently use. All our ears differ so you may find a more secure fit for you.

Touch controls work just fine, the touch-sensitive part of the bud is large enough and easy to find. The delay between touching and the command being undertaken is minimal, nothing worth 

Microphone quality is a popular topic nowadays and I can confirm the 6 built-in microphones are pretty good. I made a number of calls with these and I had no complaints. 

Battery life seems pretty good and I managed between 4-5 hours in the buds, plus say 4 charges via the case, so about 20 hours all in which is slightly less than the stated 28hours and I imagine that’s because I generally had ANC on while testing these and might have got a bit more juice out if I turned that feature off. When the battery is low, with about 30 minutes of playback left, you’ll hear a voice prompt telling you so. The small indicator light on the case will flash amber for 50% battery life remaining and red means the case needs charging. 

Any negatives? The lack of voice prompt when switching between the audio modes, I want to know when I’m on ANC on or transparency mode. Also, the LDAC codec is compatible with iPhones or iOS in general, so something to consider if you’re part of the Apple ecosystem. 

What about cost? I’ve been told the MSRP is £159.99 here in the UK, $169.99 in the US. At that price, they’re in good company with companies like Apple, Sony, and Sennheiser, and from the others, I’ve tested, I think these can keep up and in some instances, offer a small cost saving too. As an introductory offer, 1More is offering a discount on that price too for a short period.

For more info and to purchase, head over to the official 1More Evo webpage.

I’m going to be honest with you for a moment. This is my first ever 60% keyboard that I’ve used. I’ve not avoided them, I’ve just never really had the chance to give them a proper trial. I work from home for my 9-5 which consists of a lot of typing. I work on the TechNuovo YouTube channel in as much of my spare time as possible, and again that requires a lot of typing, like this script for example. And because of this, 60% keyboards have never really interested me as I spend as much time working as I do gaming.

Unfortunately with this in mind, my fears with 60% were confirmed. The Mountain Everest 60 gaming keyboard is an absolutely lousy option if you’re going to be running it as your daily driver for work. You can see that the Everest 60 keyboard is a lot smaller than a traditional full-sized keyboard, it’s not exactly hard to see, after all they have 60% of the space to play with. And if you’re looking at the base Everest 60 product, it’s missing a number pad, though there’s an additional extra you can purchase, but more on that in a moment, and the arrow keys fall more akin to a laptop keyboard on the bottom right, with the likes of your delete and shift either side of the up arrow.

I must say their positioning is quite awkward, especially if you’re touch typing. It’s also missing insert, home, and page up and down keys, and they’re something I use quite a lot when working. It’s also missing a set of F keys which could be problematic if you’re someone who plays MMORPGs, some MOBAs rely on F keys too to fire off spells and talents. You can use the FN key and click a corresponding number, FN + 1 is your F1 key for example, but it’s not exactly ideal if you’re needing to fire off actions quickly.

Saying all of this though about how negative I found its work-life experience is, it’s actually one of the best typing experiences I’ve ever had with a gaming keyboard and absolutely shines when playing games where you’re likely stuck to WASD and surrounding keys. Think your typical FPS, battle-royale or RPG games. From the audible clicks the keys make, to the actuation of key presses through to the solid build quality of this keyboard, everything just feels amazing and absolutely premium. There’s no rattle either, that you so often see and feel with gaming keyboards, especially those from more well known and frontline manufacturers and their space bar keys. The Everest 60 has a chunky base layer of silicon, and there are also two layers of foam, all of which helps with the dampening of the key presses. Just take a listen to this.

Mountain offers a variety of switches to choose from too when you come to purchase your own Everest 60. I’ve gone for Linear 45 switches, which offer a very smooth experience, though if you’re more into your Tactile switches or shorter travel distances, then you can go for another set that Mountain offer, their Tactile-55 which offer a more clicky experience and Linear45 Speed switches which shortens the travel distance. Being fully modular, also means the switches are hot-swappable, as long as what you’re switching to are compatible with the three and five-pin Cherry MX connection. Also keycaps are swappable too, and there are a huge number of styles available on the Mountain website. Mine here is your standard black, but there are white, aqua, pink, orange, grey, blue or whatever colour combination you can think of really.

I mentioned earlier a number pad. This is also a fully modular piece of kit that you can choose as an add-on either when you purchase the keyboard, or at a later date. The great thing about the additional keypad is the fact it can sit on either side of the keyboard. There’s a switch on the underside of the keypad that you can flick left and right to extend the connection. If you’re a bit more of a traditionalist, you might opt for the keys to be on the right, like a traditional keyboard. But do remember, you’ve now effectively got the chance to have a set of hotkeys right next to where you’d usually place your hand for WASD. Again, placement is a personal preference for your playstyle, but it’s definitely a welcome feature. The Everest 60 uses a USB Type-C connection to connect to your PC, and there are three places this can go, being back left, middle or back right.

What I would like to speak about though is the Mountain software. It seemed reliable enough, though its interface isn’t the kindest. It felt to me like it was more of a way of initially setting up your keyboard. For the most part, I can’t see people diving back in once their macros and LED lighting is in place. It’s not the friendliest software to get your head around. But it didn’t cause me any issues, and the installation process was simple and it worked. That’s about as much I can say about it.

Mountain has done an absolutely superb job with their Everest 60, and if you’re a keyboard enthusiast and love a modular design to customise to your heart’s content, then the Everest 60 is well worth a look. As I said, it’s one of the best gaming experiences I’ve had with a peripheral in my time reviewing products. It’s a fantastic and premium piece of kit. With that though, comes a cost. And although it definitely fits in line with other modular and customisable keyboards on the market in terms of price, you’re still paying a somewhat hefty price tag. I’ve only got access to a European press release at the time of writing this script and I’ve had to roughly convert euros to pounds, and it states the base unit comes in at around £120, while the additional keypad will cost around £45. A custom keycap set is another £30 and switches are coming in at roughly £35-45 depending on how many switches you need. There are bundles though to give you some package prices, like for example they Everest 60 and number pad you’re looking at roughly £165-170. So, not cheap. But damn you’re getting a decent bit of kit. IF you’re looking to buy your own, head over to the Mountain website now.

Home security systems are becoming very commonplace these days. They’re so convenient to keep your most prized possessions safe while you’re not there and they’re also cheap enough to be able to run full-blown security setups in and around your home. I’ve had one for a while now in my new place, and for the most part it was fine though struggled a lot when it came to night-time shooting. So, this is where the TP-Link Tapo C320WS came in. I needed an upgrade and it’s definitely been a worthy one so far.

The C320WS is a small, rectangular-shaped security camera. It has two aerials on either side of the main housing, and a simple mounting system to the back. It’s primarily made from plastic to keep the weight down as it’s designed to be hung to the side of your house. There are two cables running from the rear of the camera for power and for Ethernet. The camera is fully wireless, so I didn’t bother running an Ethernet cable through my home, and it only needed power.

Installing the camera is easy. It comes with a template that sticks to your walls so you know where to drill your screw holes, and all it takes is three included screws to secure it. From here, I drilled a hole to the inside of my house to run my power and away I went. I angled the camera using the rear screw mount to face the direction I needed it to go and it was done. The camera booted up, I launched the Tapo partner app that needs to be downloaded, and it found the camera and asked for my WiFi details. Seriously, compared to other cameras we’ve tested here at TechNuovo, TP-Link has this down. It was so simple to set up.

Once inside the Tapo app, I have access to what looks like up to 32 individual cameras, which is mental. If you’ve got a big enough place for 22 cameras, I’m sure it’ll look akin to a security room at a bank but for now, I’ve only got the one. The home screen stores your favourite products, and that’s where I can access my camera. Once selected, I’ve got full control of what my camera does. There’s a thumbnail view at the top, with options for taking screenshots and recordings and opening the other cameras. Under that I can use the built-in microphone to talk to people in front of the camera, from anywhere by the way as long as there’s an internet signal. I can make a voice call to the camera and even set of the alarm, which by the way sounds like a nuclear warning. It’s loud, and it’ll definitely deter a nighttime intruder.

Diving into the extended options and you’ll find things like your camera name, timezone settings, privacy settings if you want to turn the camera off and all that kind of basic thing. But, what’s interesting, is the different detection zones you can set. Motion detection is pretty self-explanatory. AI detection is for detecting people. Line-Crossing detection allows you to draw a line on your feed, so it gives you an alert when something crosses it. Area Intrusion detection allows you to draw a box around an area and finally Camera Tampering is for alerting the user if the camera or cables have been touched or cut. For all of these options, you can choose to have an alert sent to your phone or the alarm to go off. Of course, I set the former, as these detection features can be super sensitive at times, and I don’t want the alarm to go off every time a raindrop floats past the lens.

But where this camera truly shines, is with its image quality. It’s a truly impressive image. Now I live in quite a dark area, and street lights are way off in the distance, and my old camera was pretty much useless at night. I couldn’t see a thing. Switching to the C320WS though, and it’s a night and day difference. Nighttime using the night vision feature is clear, and there’s even the option to use a colour sensor at night too. This turns the light on the camera on to illuminate the area, though it’s nowhere near as clear as the night vision mode. You can film in up to 1440p, but I’ve opted for 1080p to save data, and 720p is an option for those with limited data space. Now when it comes to recording there are two options. The first is Tapo Care, which is TP-Link’s subscription service, and the second is using a microSD card on the camera to save footage. Unfortunately, it doesn’t save it to your phone or save to some kind of server as it did with my old Hive camera.

I’m impressed. The TP-Link Tapo C320WS is a decent little camera that produces some decent image quality which is important, but for the most part, it was just so easy to install and set up, and I like that. No faff when it comes to the app. They don’t cost the Earth either and can be found online for around £45 here in the UK. Bargain if you ask me to keep your house protected. For more info, head over to the TP-Link website.

Edifier got in touch and they sent over their 2.1 multimedia speaker system, the M201BT. It’s been quite a while since I checked out a traditional 2.1 PC speaker system. Are they still relevant? Most desk setups I see on Instagram either have no speakers or go for the recording studio look with big and bold monitor speakers. With a retail price of £49.99, this is a budget set of speakers, so something to consider. I’ve been using these on my desk for a couple of weeks, so let’s run through my thoughts. 

Let’s start with features and specs.

• Wired and wireless connection via Bluetooth 5.0
• 68watts peak total power split between two satellites, and one subwoofer. 
• Built-in amplifier within subwoofer housing
• Controls include volume & bass control and input selection
• The two satellite speakers come on a stand, angled upwards slightly, the ideal for positioning on your desk. 
• Within the box, you get the speakers, hard-wired power lead and an aux cable too

Out of the box, the satellite speakers are small, compact and lightweight. Each satellite speaker comes hard-wired and gets plugged into the subwoofer. Plastic in construction, matte and glossy black finish. The front mesh grille can be removed if desired but the driver behind it is not all that appealing.

The subwoofer is larger, housing the 5” woofer and amplifier, with a bold, silver vent to the front, and controls to the side. The idea is to house the subwoofer on the floor by your feet, and satellite speakers on your desk. Controls on the side of the subwoofer include two rotary knobs, the top one is for volume control and input selection, and the one below is for bass adjustment. Then moving down we have the inputs, indicator light and power switch. The subwoofer does sit on four small rubber feet which will help reduce movement and over vibration. 

As for performance, it’s ok, it’s not bad at all considering the price point of less than £50. The volume is good, plenty loud enough to fill a small room. The listening experience is obviously very directional so having one speaker on either side of me while sitting at my desk, angled in slightly toward me, plus the tilt from the stand, helps, that is the prime location and moving out of that zone, the experience isn’t as good. Bass is plentiful, too much in some instances and if you turn the bass all the way up, although it does really boom, it muddies the mids and highs, which I didn’t like. I generally had the bass set slightly more than the middle, 1 or 2 o’clock position. There is no option to adjust the mids or highs.

Control-wise, for me, it was fine because once I set the input to aux and bass up high, then controlled the volume from my PC itself. If you were to position the subwoofer under your desk, regularly switch from aux to Bluetooth and or manually change the volume, it could be somewhat of an inconvenience for you to bend out under your desk. A remote control might have been handy for some but this is a budget system, and you can’t expect everything. 

If you’re on a tight budget, and space is at a premium on your desk, the M201BT’s are worth considering. If you’re looking for something a little different, without the separate subwoofer and a little more modern looking, check out the Edifier G2000 speakers. If you really love your music, save up and check out one of Edifiers more premium bookshelf speakers, you wont be disappointed. 

To find out more, head over to the official Edifier website.