Project Gadget » Portable Audio

Eton Soulra XL Solar BoomBox

Michael Vorel — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 23:23:50 +0000

At the consumer electronics show last year I spent some time in the Eton booth and loved the Soulra XL. It wasn’t available at the time and now it is which is great news. The Soulra XL is an Apple iPhone or iPod enabled boombox with a 72″ monocrystal solar recharging panel built in. In 5 hours you can recharge the system or your iphone in the sun and allows you to enjoy music at the beach, outdoor party, etc. The sound quality is excellent and with rubberized buttons and cover for phone you are protected against the elements. Perfect for playing itunes or streaming Pandora or Spotify you are ready to roll!

Side View
You will see a connector that is for the included strap.

Solar Panel View
The solar panel folds down onto the unit and a remote is included on the design.

Charging times:

5 hrs to fully charge in sun
8 hrs of playback
4 hrs to fully charge iPod/iPhone

Demo Video

The official specs are: Dimensions: 8.125″ H x 15.125″ W x 5.25″ D and weighs in at 7 pounds.

In summary, with 8 speakers (2x tweeter, 2x woofer, 4x passive radiator), portability, solar charging and sound quality this boombox makes it onto my favorite gadget list.

Want One? Check out the Eton Store

iMego Earth Headphones

Michael Vorel — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 17:02:53 +0000

Recently I had the opportunity to check out a new line of headphones from iMego. The colorful and stylish iMego Earth series come in 4 vibrant colors with cool mosaic patterns on the side. For the review I was sporting a pair of light blue ones with a mosaic design and although they wouldn’t be the style for me I liked them very much.

Looking to mix things up a bit I took the video review outside to a waterfront park in Tampa, Florida. You can see the video on YouTube here.

My Thoughts
I appreciate that they’re trying to blend together design, art and sound together. This creates and opportunity to display your personal style with headphones and taps into a whole new demographic. The fit was adjustable and easily went around your neck (during the playback on the video shoot I used them to listen to audio recordings are were great).

The 40 mm drivers were adequate (not going to blow you away) but enough that you can hear your music without having your iphone on max volume. The 3.5mm plug is standard and the cord was just the right length (not to short or long). Perfect for a plane trip, editing audio tracks or just cruising around town.

Environmentally Friendly
They use eco-friendly materials and packaging – recycled paper and rPET (recycled Polyethylene Terephthalate). Have to appreciate that touch.

About iMego
They are new brand that launched in 2009 with distribution across Europe, Scandinavia and North America. They are creating products that are not only cool but with high quality sound. Watch out for these stylish headphones on the street, club & studios. You can visit the website here

Headphone Specs:

4 different colors
high performance 40mm drivers
3.5mm stereo plug
Frequency Response 20Hz~20kHz
Impedance 32 ohms
Sensitivity 105±5dB
Cost around 35 Euros ($46 USD)

Overall, I liked the headphones as an inexpensive and portable solution to express your personal style on the go. I wanted to thank iMego for sending them over and now ready to review the iMego retro series next

Sony Digital Voice Recorder ICD-SX750

Michael Vorel — Sat, 20 Nov 2010 17:43:57 +0000

A few months back I purchased a Sony Digital Voice Recorder ICD-SX750 with Dragon Dictation and never looked back. The compact wonder records in stereo mp3 format up to 320kbps and holds 32-750 hours of amazing quality sound.

If you haven’t looked at compact voice recorders in a few years you need to take another look. What’s great is that you have a professional recorder that can be used for podcasts, interviews, sound effects and recording music (see more on that below as it’s amazing).

Watch the Video Review ( Michael Vorel of Projectgadget.com, provides an unbiased review of the Sony Digital Voice Recorder 2GB ICD-SX750 with Dragon Dictation).

An important feature is that you can record live music in stereo or with the line in microphone you can output from another music source (pandora, sirius, rhapsody) and record at 192KBS original quality. Although the unit can record at higher levels, Pandora stops at 192kbps so save the room. The result is a perfect match.

The unit syncs wit the PC easily and is the preferred computer to work with. When I was running Vista it was perfect but when I moved to Mac I had to run in VMware virtualization of Vista. If you are Mac only, it will record in a nice mp3 file format so easily played and perfect for podcasts, interviews, etc.

Sony audio tools is a nice feature to use with the PC and allows you to edit the files, slow down, speed up. etc. The battery is rechargeable and last forever and includes a windscreen, portable stand with tripod hole and docking station for transfers and charging. The Sony Digital Recorder is a solid gadget to own and at $149 add it to your arsenal of gadgets! Check it out at Amazon Sony Digital Voice Recorder

Sony Portable Audio Recorder PCM-M10

Michael Vorel — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 02:08:28 +0000

Wow, this is cool as I have been looking for a portable audio recorder with professional sound quality for under $300. Imagine the possibilities of recording live 2 channel audio at a concert, a live podcast or just to play around with. The Sony PCM-M10 Mobile Audio Recorder just landed on the project gadget list!

What’s Cool about the Recorder?

Tiny Size
Screen Display
High Resolution Digital Recorder (records in WAV 16,24 bit and MP3 63-320kbps Recordings and audio sizes depending on settings)
Pre-Record Function (5 second buffer)
Pitch Control
Works with Tripod
Stereo Microphones
Inputs: (1) Stereo Mic In (Mini Jack) in case you want a better microphone setup. (1) Standard 3.5mm line inputs allow you to connect to a music player, computer… got the idea now…
Headphone Out
3v Power In
Batteries (Has 2 AA batteries inside and can use NIMH for 19-46 Hours)
Micro SD Card Slot / Memory Stick Micro (Perfect for multiple recording sessions)
4MB of built in memory = 2 hours of audio at 24-bit/96kHz
USB
Dimensions: 2.5 x 4.5 x 0.9″ (64 x 114 x 23mm)
Sound Forge LE Software
Weighs 6.6 oz

Overall a solid unit for musicians, sound effects people or just gadget geeks!

Place to Buy:
(I receive credit if you purchase so thanks – feeds the addiction to gadgets)
- Shop the official Sony store for exclusive products & services, special offers and savings.
- Sony PCMM10 Portable Audio Recorder (Glossy Red)

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Ipod 4GB Shuffle – Smallest Music Player in World

Michael Vorel — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 14:59:01 +0000

Apple just announced the new 4BG Ipod Shuffle that is not only the smallest music player (1.8” tall x .3”) in the world but has some cool new features. It has all controls on the earbud with Voiceover so you can navigate songs by voice. That is definitely great for working out, biking, skiing, etc. You get the picture right!

Size Comparison