Sebastian and Alex
Sebastian's Picks
True to form, whenever afforded the opportunity to stretch beyond PC components, I will begin with a couple of peices of audio gear. Hi-Fi equipment is certainly something of a sickness once smitten, and the market can be as overpriced as retail jewelry – but there are some gems (see what I did there?) on the budget side that can make spending any more seem like profligacy. Let us begin!
- iFi Nano iDSD LE – $129, Amazon.com
The Nano iDSD LE from iFi is the "light edition" of the successful Nano iDSD portable USB DAC/amp that omits only a manual filter switch and coaxial output. This new version is very affordable at $129 considering what you get, which is a very capable external USB sound card with a solid headphone amp built in. The DAC onboard is a Burr-Brown supporting up to 32-bit, 384 kHz PCM with native single and double-rate DSD support. Remarkably for its price the Nano iDSD LE also uses separate AMR clock generators for proper decoding of 44.1 KHz and 48 KHz-based content without resampling. It sounds really good (kind of important), and it includes a built-in battery for up to 8 hours of portable use. I'm very happy with mine, and it's good enough to make me question getting anything more expensive.
- Audio Technica ATH-AD700X Headphones – $104, Amazon.com
This pick isn't new or particularly exciting, but when discussing a product like the above iFi external DAC/amp the conversation will natually shift to headphones, and I still haven't found anything as good as my Audio Technica AD700X at the ~$100 price. These headphones offer detail and clarity, impressively neutral frequency response, and the widest stereo of any headphone I've ever used. Bass is good but not heavy, and they do leak sound as they are an open-back design, but if you value clarity, width, and accuracy it's pretty much impossible to beat these at the price. Oh, and they are really, really comfortable with very soft earpads and a floating suspension that makes the headphone larger overall, but doesn't add to the surprisingly light weight.
- HyperX Alloy FPS Pro TKL Keyboard – $79.99, Amazon.com
Of all the keyboards I had a chance to use in 2017 this ended up being my favorite, with its combination of great feel and responsiveness, compact size, and relatively low cost for a premium mechanical keyboard. Not everyone will be a fan of the red lighting – which can of course be switched off – but as a TKL gaming option that has a fantastic feel for typing I heartily recommend it. I reviewed this TKL version with MX Cherry Red switches and I instantly became a fan – though MX Blue and MX Brown switches are available from HyperX in the standard 104-key version as well.
Alex's Picks
With the holiday season, around here that brings snow, and snow brings power failures. Power protection is cheap insurance against brown and black out induced hardware failures and data loss.
- CyberPower Sinewave UPS 1500VA/900W- $119, Amazon.com
- APC Back-UPS 600VA $57.49, Amazon.com
Also weather related, dash cams!
- Bekhic 1080P Dash Cam – $119, Amazon.com
I really like the streaming
I really like the streaming devices like the roku that Jeremy listed. HOWEVER, ATT blatantly throttles video streams and I have to use vpn.
Any recommendations for a
Any recommendations for a wireless headset? Wired ones haven’t been surviving my kids lately.
I use these wire pair and
I use these wire pair and they are built like a tank. (metal construction) and if they do break out side of the warranty, they will give you %50 of the value of the headphone as a discount if you buy another.
V-Moda Lp Crossfade with boom mic add on.
I am pleased with the JBL
I am pleased with the JBL E-Series. Not too expensive, quality sound, easy setup.
On the other hand, I’m on the fence to jump on to the AirPods bandwagon.
I wish that CyberPower
I wish that CyberPower Sinewave UPS 1500VA/900W UPS was 119 and not actually 214 🙁
No love for the low end
No love for the low end gamers?
I think it is strange for
I think it is strange for anyone to recommend the ROG Zenith Extreme. Other options may not be as flashy, but greatly better value.
It’s probably the best board
It’s probably the best board available for X399, with a lot of value add. It was available for $379 on Black Friday. Too bad that price wasn’t extended through the end of November.
have u guys tried idrive?
have u guys tried idrive?
I’ve used them before, it’s
I've used them before, it's pretty good.
Hmm I was just looking at
Hmm I was just looking at iDrive's pricing and it seems they don't offer a 10TB tier anymore? Maybe that was a special thing for Crashplan converters, not sure but it is what i had for a year. I did see that they have a 50% off discount for students though and if you need less than 5TB of data it actually comes out cheaper than Backblaze, if you need more than 5TB of data Backblaze would be cheaper. One neat thing about IDrive is that it is almost one click easy to backup your social media stuff like Facebook.
Are they having production
Are they having production issues with the 8700k, or did they just rush it out without stockpiling enough before release. It was a relatively quick response to Ryzen. I would be curious as to whether it is a separate die or a repurposed Xeon of some kind. Are the six core Xeons a separate die or salvaged from production of an 8 or more core die?
i think it was a rush to
i think it was a rush to compete. AMD has outsold them since the release of the ryzen.
I use the MS ergonomic
I use the MS ergonomic keyboard at work and it’s hysterical when someone asks if they can drive at my desk. The look on their faces when they see the keyboard!
I had a secretary who has been typing for more years than I’ve been alive look lost as she tried typing on the keyboard. She reverted to hunting & pecking.
Couple that with an ergonomic mouse and co-workers think I’m from the future. Yeah, like 2005!
I had the predecessor at home and used it until I started gaming more. There were just a few too many keys on the right side of the keyboard for me to make the reach.