Category Archives: Product Reviews

Gadget, gear, and technology

Gadgets, Product Reviews

Sony MDR ZX110 Headphones

Sony pretty much invented Portable Hi-Fidelity Audio with the WalkMan back in the 1980’s. While one can debate the validity of cassette tapes as an audiophile format, you can’t argue that Sony has a history of offering some of the best affordable, high quality headphones for both professionals and consumers. I still use the same pair of Sony MDR V-150 Studio Monitor Headsets I bought 20 years ago for my video editing today.

In my ongoing quest to find the best “cheap” headphone I tried out Sony’s ZX110 heaphones. They come in a range of colors, I picked up a white colored pair on Amazon which were on sale for under $10 (regular retail price $15). They come shipped in a cleanly designed cardboard box. This is a nice step up from the usual vacuform clamshell packages of their competitors like Panasonic and JVC.

The headphones retained my V-150s design cues on the ear cup , while improving on their compact stowability. Cord was an ample 4ft long with good solid feeling amount of wire insulation for durability. The audio jack had a clever dimple design on a right-angled 3.5mm jack.

Wearing them, I found them to be more comfortable than my old V-150’s, which have to fit tightly on the head to reduce sound-leak along the ear pads. The ZX110 head a looser more light feel along the ears while providing decent sound isolation. The earpads are replaceable.

Audio quality was balanced but underwhelming compared to my studio headphones. Performance was very similar to Pansonic HF100’s with slightly weaker bass response but clearer in the mid-range. The bass was its weak point, sounding more rattling than thumping on a House music track. Those used to bass-biased power speakers, like Beats will be disappointed. But the overall balance was good and likely to be straining on the user when listening to spoken word, Classical, Jazz, or Acoustic Pop.

Overall the headphones were among the performers in the Budget sub $20 price tier. These headphones are available on Amazon. Please use my Affiliate link to support my work: https://amzn.to/3764DoW

SPECS

CORD: 3.94 ft

IMPEDANCE (OHM): 24 ohm (1KHz)

PLUG: L-Shaped 3.5mm

FREQUENCY RESPONSE: 12–22,000Hz

DRIVER: 1.18 in dynamic – Dome type

SENSITIVITY: 98 dB/mW

Product Reviews, Shooting Sports

SVBony SV46 20-60×80

SVBony, the Hong Kong based maker of budget astronomical telescopes, sent me a their mid-range SV46 spotting scope to test and evaluate. I reviewed the SVBony SV28 a few months ago and found it to be good value in the sub-$100 price tier. The SV46 is a big step in features and a moderate step up in price.

This is 80mm scope is heavier and has a more robust and detailed build. It is IPX waterproof rated and its front lens cap was so well fitted that I seriously had a hard time pulling it off. It has the stacked coarse and fine focus knobs found in pricier high end spotting scopes. Its eyepiece was large, removable, and featured an independently turning magnification ring.

But for a sub-$500 scope there has to be a trade-off and in the SV46’s case, its in the optics. Looking through the glass I found softness around the other edges. At x60 there was noticeable purple fringe. In the USAF-51 resolution test, I was able to resolve down to Element 4 in Group 0 which is quite good for a scope under $500 but this sharpness only applied to the center of the image as the focus got significantly softer about a 1/3 out from center.

The It’s optics, while underwhelming, are on-par with similar scopes in this price tier and magnification range. The Athlon Talos has better glass but has less features and looks and feels cheaper in comparison. The SV46 has a well built tube, adjustments, and controls normally found on spotters twice its price. As evidenced by very tight seal on the lens cover, is extremely water tight.

PRO

  • Built in Sun Shade
  • Water tight seals
  • Built in eye-cup
  • Fine and Course focus knobs
  • Indexed mounting ring

CON

  • Shallow eye-relief
  • Not sharp from edge-to-edge
  • Chromatic aberrations

USAF51 RESOLUTION
Group: 0 / Element: 4

Available on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3wgo1bf

Gadgets, Product Reviews

Panasonic HF100 Headphones

The HF100 is one of Panasonic’s most affordable wired headphones. They feature a clean modern design in a semi-open headset; the ear cups do not completely cover all of your ear. The ear cups do feature padding that provides a good sound isolating seal around your ear though some may find the squeeze uncomfortable over long periods of time.

They are a step up from their HT21 budget headsets but sound quality is very similar. They are well balanced for headphones under $30, though far from audiophile quality. Those looking for thumping bass will be disappointed. They are better than the free headphones issued on flights (unless you’re in Business class).

Unlike the HT21, these headphones also include an inline microphone and volume controls in the audio cord. The flat insulated wire cord feel somewhat silicone coated and ends in a standard 3.5mm TRRS jack. These lend themselves for use as inexpensive gaming or Zoom headsets, though they lack the heavy bass and venting for the former.

For the price and the microphone feature, these headphones are a good option for travel headsets or headsets you can send with your kids to school. They are inexpensive enough that you won’t have to cry about losing or breaking them. Though their lightweight construction does make me question their durability?

They come in a variety of colors (white, red, pink, black, and blue). I purchased these blue headsets from Amazon and they are also available from Best Buy, Walmart, and other retailers. Purchase through my Amazon Affiliate link to support my channel: https://amzn.to/3LmZoQr

Product Reviews, Shooting Sports

Pridefend Gunsmith Bubble Level Kit

A gun accessory company sent me a Pridefend bubble level kit to test and review. I had never heard of the “Pridefend” brand before this review. This odd sounding name hinted at bad Chinese to English Goggle translate or MadLibs. Their low $6 price on Amazon (at the time of this review) made me a bit trepidatious, since you often get what you pay for.

When they did arrive, I was pleasantly surprised they came packed in a nice metal tin. The kit included two types of bubble levels and a 1.5mm Allen wrench to adjust them. I checked them against a 3-position carpenter’s spirit level and found the larger of the two Pridefend was not true but I was easily able to re-true it using the Allen wrench. I thought the other bubble-level, with a ‘P’ decal, was also not level but this was due to the off-center magnet at its base. After attaching it to the metal case, I found that it was level.

Taking it to the range, I found the bubble levels to be useful in leveling my CZ rifle to correctly align my scope after changing its Picatinny rail adapter. Despite the need to initially adjust one of the level (so you do need a known and trusted spirit-level or reliable phone App), I was pleasantly surprised at the usefulness of this tool.

Needless to say, I’m pleased enough that I WONT be returning this. It’s going into my range bag where the magnet has been additionally useful in policing my odd collection of allen wrenches in my mini range toolkit.

The kits are available from Amazon: https://amzn.to/3DHNpda

Gadgets, Product Reviews

VeGue VM30 USB Mic


VeGue sent me their VM30 USB Condensor Microphone to test and evaluate. It is powered by a USB 3.0 cable which connects via USB-A or USB-C to your device or PC. Connecting via USB eliminates the need for a microphone mixer/pre-amp. While audio engineers and audiophiles will insist that a budget mic with a built-in, analog-to-digital audio converter will probably be sub-standard for master recordings, I doubt the average user or consumer will notice any difference or deficiency; I can not.

The shortcomings of this budget mic are a low sensitivity and dynamic range. One really needs to get very, very close to the microphone to achieve a warm resonance in tone. But the mic often clips when you get too loud but sounds very muted if you get more than a few inches away from it.

It has some nice features such as a 3.5mm headphone monitoring jack, a built-in gain dial, and a mute button (for Zoom meetings this is handy). Its shortcomings are its cheap plastic build, unforgiving dynamic range, and low audio sensitivity. This budget mic retails for about $30 and is a good starter microphone to give a boost in quality to any Zoom meeting or for recording Voice-Overs for Powerpoint Presentations or for beginning vloggers and podcasters.

Available on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3NJyyDQ

Gadgets, Product Reviews

GoTega CD/DVD USB Drive

I was asked to supply a CD of music for the school’s Talent Show. A CD? In 2022?! While I still buy my games on DVD and movies on Blue Ray, it’s been well over 10 years since I last owned a computer that had a DVD burner in it. So how the heck was I supposed to supply a CD?

So I went on Amazon and looked up their Editor’s Choice for an inexpensive USB CD/ROM drive. This USB 3.0 is a step up from an older USB 2.0 drive that has since broken on us years ago. This drive is powered directly from a single USB 3.0 cable integrated into the bottom of the drive making it super portable.

No drivers were required to install on my 2015 Macbook Pro (Big Sur v11.6). The drive showed up on my desktop and the 20 year old contents of the CD I tested showed up (albeit with a lag). The drive is made by Gotega, a brand I’d never heard of. It retailed for less than $25 and is available from Amazon: https://amzn.to/3KDyDaa

Product Reviews, Shooting Sports

CVLife Rifle Slings

Nowadays everybody is customizing and modding out their PCCs, ARs and rifles with red dots, tac lights, thumb clamp rests, bipods, 45º BUIS, and every tactical accessory on God’s green Earth. But one of the most often overlooked rifle accessories is the humble sling. This is probably the most practical accessory for both accurate shooting and transport.

CVLife sent me some samples of their basic nylon slings, including their combo sling-and-swivel mount package. The combo package includes 2x M-Lok compatible QD sling mounts. These H&K-style slings have spring loaded hook ends allowing you to connect them to the QD sling mounts (somewhat redundant) or to traditional non-removable slings and weapons.

Having purchased similar slings in the past and narrow hook openings are a constant issue with these types of slings. These new hooks are an improved design with a cut-out that allows their mouths to open and hook onto larger diameter objects. In addition, these slings have cloth covered bungie ends which provide a little shock absorption.

Available on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3DSR7kc
20% discount code: 82ZPTM2H

Gadgets, Product Reviews

Wincent Biometric Gun Safe

Wincent sent me their π1 Biometric Portable Gun Safe Lock Box to test and evaluate. I was hesitant after reading some negative Amazon reviews. Some early models of this safe had issues with the biometrics lock, which would unlock using any body part.

But this new lockbox worked correctly. I set the biometric reader to my right thumb and was unable to open it with any other finger (or palm). It opened every time with my right thumb. As with any gun accessory, two is one and one is none. Biometric reader may fail at the most inopportune time. That’s why it come with a key to open the box manually. So keep the key hidden but accessible.

The box had enough internal space to fit my Glock 17 with an attached Streamlight TRL-1. It would not accomodate my O-Light Valkyrie or Surefire X300. But there was ample enough room for 2-3 spare magazines and a backup EDC light, in addition to my pistol.

This safe is available on Amazon https://amzn.to/3HHujV2

Product Reviews, Shooting Sports

Pinty 4-12×50 Scope Kit

This Pinty scope is the epitome of Tacticool tropes, featuring a decent 4-12×50 rifle scope but tacking on both a full-sized reflex sight and a green laser designator to create a top-heavy scope/optics package. This is an example of the whole being less than the sum of its parts. Any one of these three accessories would be fine on its own but together it is ridiculously unnecessary.

Still, if you buy the package you can detach and use each part separately for good effect. The scope isn’t bad optically; well not great. It held zero with a .22. Will it hold zero on a .308? Who knows, but would you expect it to?

A big shortcoming about the scope is when you attach the reflex sight, you can’t read the elevation knob. And the reticles is the generic Chinese “range finder” that was common in the 70’s and 80’s for buck hunting but that never adequately explains how you use it to determine the range to your target for other applications.

Purchased separately the various pieces would cost more than buying this package. Is it a “bargain” well… my daughter won this in a fun match so yes, I guess it was since it only cost $10 for her to enter the match. Your milage may vary. This scope is available on Amazon: https://amzn.to/30k8GdE

RESOLUTION

Group: -2
Element: 3

OVERALL RATINGS (out 5)
Build: 3
Glass: 2
Reticle: 2
Holds Zero: 5
Box Test: 5
Turrets: 2
Eye Box: 3
Value: 3