Tag: speaker

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Shopping Smart Home

Google Home Max: a smart, stylish and powerful speaker

Google Home Max speaker

In exciting news for tech lovers, Google Home Max launches tomorrow and not only is it the loudest smart speaker yet from Google, it’s also the best looking and debuts some fabulous new features.

Google Home Max speaker
The Google Home Max speaker blends in seamlessly on this kitchen bench top

Smart Sound
The first Google speaker with Smart Sound, it’s helpful to think of it as AI for your ears. Once you’ve set the speaker up, it adapts to your home environment and will automatically tune itself based on where you’ve placed it in the room. If you move it to the other side of the room it will adapt within seconds.

It’s loud!
With two 4.5-inch woofers (each with 22mm of excursion), the speaker delivers an extremely high range for its size, with particularly powerful bass that sounds clean at high volumes. And at 20 times more powerful than the original Google Home, this little guy is extremely loud and will fill any room with pumping audio.

It’s super stylish
If you could call a speaker beautiful, with its minimal lines, Google Home Max certainly is. And not only can you stand it up vertically or place it horizontally to fit in your space, it’s made from gorgeous, durable fabric too.

Google Home Max speaker

Voice technology
Google Home Max contains a built-in Google Assistant that is always ready to start your favourite song, pause or turn it up – all with just your voice. Possibly the coolest function is the Assistant’s ability to find a song with just a line of the lyrics or a few small details. Just ask “Hey Google, play that song that goes, ‘Rebel just for kicks,’” for instance. What’s even more impressive about this functionality is that it works even when the speaker is blasting. The technology is able to separate your voice from the background noise, even if you’re across the room!

Using the Voice Match technology, the Google Assistant can recognise your voice and up to five others within your home so you can all access your music services and personal playlists. When Voice Match is set up, the Assistant will play your favourite playlist, and not your partner’s, for example.

Endless music options
You can use your voice to play music services such as Spotify or YouTube Music through the speaker. Through casting, you can access hundreds of compatible apps to stream in high-quality over Wi-Fi from your phone, tablet or laptop. You can also listen to songs over Bluetooth, or plug in your record player using an analogue stereo cable.

Google Home Max speaker

Seamless pairing throughout the home
Google Max works seamlessly with Google Home, Google Home Mini and hundreds of Chromecast built-in speakers. All you have to do is create a speaker group in the Google Home app and you can play the same song in sync on all the compatible speakers in your home. You can also stereo pair another Google Max for an even wider soundstage.

Control your smart home
You can make the speaker the centre of your smart home as it works with more than 5000 devices worldwide, and more than 100 home automation devices from more than 50 brands in Australia including Nest, Belkin TP-Link and Phillips Hue.

Also, if you have a compatible smart plug and bulbs, try saying, “Hey Google, dim the lights, play a summer time playlist,” for impressive multi-tasking.

Google Home Max, RRP $549, is available from JB Hi-Fi, Harvey Norman, David Jones, The Good Guys, Officeworks and The Google Store. 

REVIEW TIME: Jen just got her hands on a speaker to review and her husband Damian, a former consumer tech journalist, will be reviewing it for us later this month! They’re already fans of the affordable Google Home Mini but let’s face it, it’s not the best sound quality!

Categories
Expert Tips Smart Home

Is Bang & Olufsen’s good looking Beolit 15 speaker worth $699?

As with all things audio, we hand over to our resident former consumer technology journalist Damian Francis, otherwise known as Mr Interiors Addict…

Let’s play a straight card on this one. The Beoplay Beolit 15 by Bang & Olufsen needs to be bloody good. Really, really, bloody good. That may sound a bit harsh to just lay down the law like you would to a young child who has just thrown his Messina ice cream all over the pavement, but it is important that boundaries are laid down early.

Why? Because the Beolit 15 is a portable bluetooth speaker… that costs $699! It costs $699 because it is made by Bang & Olufsen. And while it falls under the lighthearted entry level Beoplay brand, it still has to be held up to the same standards that all Bang & Olufsen products should be held to. It’s Bang & Olufsen after all — you don’t buy and Mercedes-Benz A-class or a BMW 1 series and walk away with a smile on your face if it drives like a Toyota Yaris.

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B&O’s Beolit15 in Shaded Rosa

So, the question is, can a portable bluetooth speaker justify a $699 price tag? Here are some of the key takeaways from a week using the Beolit 15… and an answer to the question of value.

The look. I’m going to defer to Jen on this. She thinks it’s better looking than me. And I have it on good authority that I’m pretty good looking. Ahem. There are three colour options (natural champagne, polar blue and shaded rosa), all in muted pastels that tend to soak into the background rather than draw attention. Jen loves the gold (natural champagne) version (and all gold accessories judging by our living room). Away from design aesthetics, this is good. A speaker is meant to sound good first and foremost. If it looks good too, that’s a bonus. The full grain leather strap is a bit take it or leave it in my opinion, but lovers of accessories will likely adore the touch (as Jen does).

Set up is a breeze. The hardest thing is taking it out of the box. Once you have, plug the power cord into the neatly hidden compartment at the back and you’re in business. This will charge the battery at the same time. Connecting it to your bluetooth device is just as easy. Press the bluetooth logo button on the top and hold it down. It beeps. Then search on your device for Beolit 15 and connect. Simple. There are a number of bluetooth products I have tested in my time that can’t get this step correct. Connecting becomes a laborious, time-consuming, rage-filled activity. Not the Beolit 15. It will take a couple of minutes from opening the box to playing music.

The sound. I’ll be upfront – I don’t like wireless sound, especially over bluetooth. It can be patchy, highs are often lost and bass is overcompensated in the hope that the young types will think the quality is brilliant because the speaker is vibrating. Dr Dre has a lot to answer for. Wireless over a network is better but wired is where it is at. As far as bluetooth sound goes, this is really good. Really, really good. Good to the extent that my credit card has stopped trying to cut itself in half having heard the $699 price tag and is asking to hear just one more track. The bass is good, not overpowering. Treble is balanced well. While there is certainly a little murkiness at the very top end, it takes a while to get there and is certainly not a deal breaker. In fact, for a bluetooth speaker of this size I have never heard treble balanced so well before. It dances brilliantly with lower notes, with the Beolit 15 producing a very well balanced sound. In layman’s terms — classical music sounds classical on a Beolit 15 — you won’t feel like you’re missing anything.

And the X-factor? One could argue that the $699 price tag is the X-factor! Thankfully it’s not. There is a little X in the design, a lot in the sound quality, but the real X-factor is in the versatility. It has a built-in battery that lasts up to 24 hours from full charge. You can take this virtually anywhere. But when plugged in at home, you can add another Beolit 15 to create a (extremely expensive) stereo system with proper left and right speakers. While we haven’t tried that, it is likely to be pretty good. The bluetooth technology will also allow you to connect two devices at a time for dual control and it will remember up to eight individual devices without having to connect again.

The specs. So you want to know what you are really dealing with here (if you don’t like tech specs, skip to the next paragraph)? The Beolit 15 has 240 watts of peak power thanks to four active drivers and two passive bass radiators, driven by dual Class D amplifiers. There is more, but this probably isn’t the audience for it! I’m barely the audience for that. As far as I’m concerned, tech specs mean nothing if you don’t personally enjoy the product.

So, $699 for a bluetooth speaker. Justifiable? Yes, after a little while. But when you really give it time to listen properly, the Beolit 15 will grow on you big time and won’t look bad at all in your lounge or bedroom. I’ll take two, thanks.

You can get more information here.

Disclosure: We were gifted the Beolit 15 with no guarantee of a review, let alone a positive one. But we were so excited about its good looks and sound, we had to share!

Categories
Appliances

The lightbulb you can play music through. Via your mobile!

As with anything tech, we hand over the reviewing to our resident former consumer technology journalist Damian Francis, aka Mr Interiors Addict 😉

Do you remember that time you wished your bedside lamp had a speaker in it? No, not just in the lamp itself, but right inside the actual bulb? Nope, neither can I. And yet here I am, staring at my bedside lamp with a bulb in it that contains a speaker.

Machtig, Sengled Pulse Solo - LED + Wireless Speakers, available in ES & BC (RRP $129). Pix 4LR

The company in question is Sengled and its aim is to turn your home into a connected home in a DIY fashion. No need to call in an electrician or rip down a few walls, just buy some of these Pulse Solo LED bulbs with 2×3-watt JBL speakers in them, download the app, and then boom, connected home. Kind of. In the sense that only the lights and speakers are automated via the Sengled app. Decent start, though. Carry on…

Sengled has four products in the range; the Pulse, Pulse Solo, Boost and Snap. They are all bulbs that can be controlled through the app, some with speakers in them. But they are not cheap. The Pulse Solo I tested retails for an eye-watering $129.99. Yes, it has a speaker in it. Yes, the bulb is LED and should last decades, but it’s quite a serious upfront cost for what essentially costs you a couple of dollars down at Coles for a traditional version sans speaker.

Is it worth the hernia inducing hit to the wallet for the long term benefits and the sweet sound of music coming from your lamp? Yes and no, but mostly no.

Machtig, Sengled Pulse Solo - LED + Wireless Speakers, available in ES & BC (RRP $129). Pix 3LR (1)

Let’s cut straight to the chase. It’s an app controlled light bulb and speaker with Bluetooth. For Interiors Addict readers that likely means a few things prior to purchase. It has to be stylish, it has to be functional, and it has to have a bit of ‘wow’ factor.

In terms of style, it’s heavier than a standard bulb and slightly bigger to boot thanks to the speakers. Largely white, you’re still going to want to hide this under a lamp shade. This isn’t a bulb you can show off naked. It doesn’t look bad, you just wouldn’t leave it bare.

Functionality is a big one for this bulb. It comes in E27 screw or B22 twist. It screws in easy and is ready to pair as soon as you switch it on. Once you download the app (iOS or Android) you can find the bulb and name it for easy access. You then have control of volume and brightness via a well laid out user interface. So installation and set-up are a breeze.

As for use, the Bluetooth is patchy, and that is being generous. Even with the source device within a metre of the bulb the sound would completely cut out regularly. And the sound quality – it’s just not good. Sorry, Sengled, but there is no other way to put it. For the price, consumers shouldn’t expect good sound quality, but this is certainly at the lower end of expectations. No bass what-so-ever, tinny highs, distortion. For anything other than soft background music, the Sengled Pulse Solo just isn’t up to the job.

When it comes to ‘wow’ factor, the Pulse Solo is much like the first iteration of Apple TV, the Toyota Prius or that coffee made from animal droppings. It makes you do a double take, the features seem pretty cool, but the execution just isn’t there to be continually useful or urgently needed.

If you just want a connected bulb, Belkin provides a similar system for cheaper as it doesn’t contain speakers. Personally, I would go in this direction if I really wanted to buy into the app-controlled lighting space. The Belkin solution is called WeMo and it is much closer to home automation in that you can get power sockets as well that can be controlled by the app plus proper light switches (electrician required) and motion sensing detectors. But even then, I probably wouldn’t do that. It’s just not truly necessary unless you live in a very big house.

At the end of the day, the outlay is massive for what is essentially a dimmable light controlled by your phone. Again, happy to acknowledge the bulbs last decades, but still, expensive is expensive, especially when the speaker is sub-par and the Bluetooth is patchy.

Interesting idea, but lacking execution.

RRP $129.99 (Pulse Solo). For further information or to buy online.

Categories
Designers Interviews Styling

British designer Allegra Hicks to headline Decor + Design

Globally renowned designers and stylists will gather in Melbourne for Decor + Design’s International Seminar Series this July. A highlight of the 16-19 July program, the series will be headlined by British interior designer Allegra Hicks and leading trend forecaster Victoria Redshaw.

Allegra
Allegra

Here at Interiors Addict we are particularly excited by the addition of Allegra to the star-studded lineup; with the highly acclaimed designer set to speak about the importance of colour and texture in the home. “I love the combination of different textures in a house,” explains Allegra. “Texture creates depth and colour creates mood. For instance, a turquoise velvet, a turquoise silk and turquoise cotton all do different things and create different spaces. A cotton might be used for a beach house, whereas the velvet gives mid-century elegance and the silk is very romantic.”

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With Allegra’s work spanning fabrics and rugs to homewares and fashion, she is excited about the prospect of introducing her work to the Australian market. “I’ve always been fascinated by Australia and have never been. My work has mostly been exposed to Europe and the US, and Design + Decor is an amazing opportunity to be introduced to a new market. My fabrics are distributed through Tigger Hall Design in Australia who have two beautiful showrooms in Sydney and Melbourne and I am very much looking forward to visiting them!”

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Known for her trademark style of bohemian fusion, Allegra incorporates unlikely patterns and colours to form a harmonious whole. “The best way of describing bohemian fusion is eclecticism. It’s a collection of things you have gathered; the old, the new, inherited pieces, designer pieces, vintage finds, etc. Style is about beautiful design, not about the price!”

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For the seminar schedule and to purchase tickets visit Decor + Design’s website.

Categories
Appliances

Modernise your old stereo system with this new device

If your old hi-fi system isn’t getting much use any more, this clever little device from Pure, the Jongo A2 Adaptor, could change that.

Lifestyles

Simply plug the Pure Jongo A2 Adaptor into your old stereo system and connect it to Wi-Fi. Then with a click of a button you’ll be able to stream music from any device, making your old equipment seem new again! This ingenious device comes with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, so you can transform your speakers into a music streamer. It couldn’t be easier.

Jongo_A2_Vermillion

The Pure Jongo A2 Adaptor retails for $199 and is available from Harvey Norman or online. You can also purchase a range of coloured collars that can be clipped on, for $29 each.

For more information.