T3 India

Entertainment

Review: Yamaha TW-E5B

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Price: ₹14,200

Yamaha has experienced, replicated, and engineered probably every sound that can be produced by wind, string, membrane, or any other vibrating surface. A leading manufacturer of audio equipment and easily one of the most recognisable brands in musical instruments, Yamaha traces its origins to a legend surrounding reed organs. And this is the legacy and expectation that their debut line-up of true wireless earbuds tries to live up to. The TW-E5B is the mid-range model in Yamaha’s TWS line-up and joins a crowded and competitive space. 

The Yamaha TW-E5B comes in the largest charging case we have ever seen, and it is certainly not comfortable to be carried in your jeans pocket. The earbuds too are uncomfortably big. To give credits where due, both the case and the buds offer premium build quality. The device carries IPX5 ingress protection rating, making it resistant to water splashes. There is no touch interface, but the physical buttons are quite responsive and offer much better control than most touch sensitive buds. The earbuds have a twist-to-fit design. The fit depends much on the shape of your ear and the size of your ear canal. Yamaha has included four sizes of eartips. Even though I managed to get a good fit, the top-heavy design and the large protruding body made it extremely uncomfortable to wear during my walking and workout, checking the fit often. I also felt the tips were sensitive to temperature changes since the buds were coming loose often while flying onboard chilled aircraft cabins.


The E5B doe not feature active noise cancellation, and hence noise cancelling depends on the fit of the buds. The buds connect with smartphone via the Headphone Control app. Like the earbuds, the app is quite basic. It lets you activate ambient sound mode, gaming mode and Listening care mode. It also provides an equaliser with six presets along with a customisable user setting. Apart from the ambient mode, we did not find much difference in sound by toggling the other settings. The equaliser certainly helps in fine-tuning the sound profile, but with a limited range. The app shows battery status only for the buds and not the case.

Coming to sound, the earbuds offer a more or less balanced sound with emphasis on strong bass, like we Indians prefer, which is enjoyable to most people. However, we felt some overlap in certain instruments like cymbals and high-hats in addition to amplifying the uncomfortable background hum in husky male vocals. The percussion and jazz notes sounded particularly pleasing. The earbuds use 7mm drivers. The E5B does not offer a lot of volume range and hence you could find it restrictive while playing old tracks with low reproduction volume. I found myself playing music at full volume, which Apple Health app found to be around 65 dB. Overall, the experience was quite enjoyable, particularly when the earbuds could afford a proper fit.

The TW-E5B offers Qualcomm cVc (Clear Voice Capture) technology for better voice clarity during calls. The buds support SBC, AAC, and aptX codecs, making it compatible with high-res audio from a wide range of devices. It also supports Siri and Google Assistant. The earbuds provide up to 6 hours of playback time on a single charge and the case holds enough juice for three additional recharges.

<strong>Rating</strong>

WE’RE IMPRESSED Excellent sound quality, IPX5 rating, supports a wide range of codecs, battery life

WE’D IMPROVE Hefty design, the fit is more like a hit-or-miss, software needs much improvement  

THE LAST WORD As a first attempt from Yamaha, the TW-E5B is a decent release. However, it’s a highly competitive space, and others are doing much better.

Review: Sony SRS-XV900

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₹79,990, sony.co.in

Sony’s magic hat never ceases churning out goodies, and 2022 has been particularly trying for us reviewers, thanks to their never-ending series of launches. After exotic flowers and rabbits, the brand has pulled out a massive, ear-shattering party speaker, the SRS-XV900, just in time for the New Year blast.

The SRS-XV900 is a full-size party speaker 88 cm high and weighs 26.6 kg. Like all Sony sound systems, the polycarbonate exterior provides a rugged feel with a matte finish that enhances the premium look. For the ease of moving around this monster speaker, Sony has incorporated two wheels at the back along with a sturdy ring-type handle on top. With this, you can lug the speaker around like a trolley bag without much effort. The touch-responsive control panel on top allows you to control volume, activate Mega Bass, and configure lighting effects. It also includes a Bluetooth button. On the rear are the physical connectors that include a USB port, 3.5 mm audio jack, and optical port for input. The USB port also offers 5V/1.5A DC power output to charge your smartphone. It also offers two karaoke MIC input jacks with individual volume controllers, one of them doubling as a guitar input. There are two buttons, one for switching to guitar mode and the other to activate Battery Care feature. The speaker connects to Sony Music Center app, which provides more than the basic adjustments including an equaliser. Connecting with Fiestable app allows you to access more party features like lighting and karaoke. The device supports SBC, AAC, and LDAC codecs.

The SRS-XV900 is designed to deliver omnidirectional sound with an X Balanced main speaker unit aided by six tweeters, making it ideal for large parties. The front tweeter is approximately 50mm in diameter, while the side and read tweeters are approximately 40 mm in diameter each. The midrange speaker is approximately 120 mm in diameter while the woofer is about 320 x 320 mm. The tweeter pairs are positioned at the front, sides, and top for optimal spread. The device offers distortion-free sound even at high volumes. The speaker’s size has been utilised to its full capacity with a jet bass booster at the base providing a large chamber and optimised horn for thumping bass. With Mega Bass feature, this offers earth-shattering lows that do not interfere with other notes or drown the vocals in its reverberation. The speaker offers a Live Sound mode for the best party experience. The XV900 offers a TV Sound Booster feature that provides louder and clearer highs. In this mode, the speaker balances the position of sound to match the TV’s position even with non-central placement. If you are living in a multi-storied apartment, you may not be able to enjoy the speakers beyond 60-70 per cent volume.

The speaker offers a playback time of up to 25 hours on a single charge. It features quick charging feature that provides three hours of playback time with 10 minutes of charging. The device offers a Battery Care mode that prevents overcharging and optimises the charging cycle. The speaker supports Party Connect via Bluetooth pairing, which enhances the possibility of expanding the size of the party even further by connecting with up to 100 compatible Sony Bluetooth speakers.

Rating

WE’RE IMPRESSED Balanced distortion-free sound, high volume with fine control, deep and optimal bass, battery life, castor wheels for transport

WE’D IMPROVE Looks complete from our side

THE LAST WORD This speaker can serve any size of party you can think of and function as your personal TV or multimedia speaker when you are not partying.

Review: Sony LinkBuds WF-L900

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Price: ₹ 19,990

The buds with the hole, to let the world through—would be an apt catchline for the LinkBuds if we could borrow it from Nestle’s popular mint brand. The WF-L900 is unlike any true wireless earbuds we have seen, with a ring-shaped driver and a hollow at the centre.

The WF-L900 comes in a small case made of recycled plastic. The case has a mechanical closure and can be opened by pressing a button. The earbuds are also quite small compared to the usual TWS. Even the buds are held in place with plastic pegs inside the case. Wearing the device is quite a task initially. The ring stays in your ear canal, while the rubber supporter has to be fitted inside the upper cavity and twisted a bit till it is secured firmly. Sony provides five pairs of supporting rings in the box, and it is very important to select the appropriate one. After the initial fiddling around, it is quite comfortable to wear and use. The buds weigh approximately four grams. The light construction and non-protruding design ensure that the device does not slip out even during your runs. The buds hold an IPX4 rating for protection against splashes and sweat.

The open-ring design facilitates full-time audio transparency. Though loyal ANC-lovers could have a hard time liking this, the open design makes it extremely comfortable, without any pressure difference felt in the ears. The Headphones Connect app allows you to update firmware and activate, set up, and customise Speak to Chat, Equaliser, 360 Reality and other features. With adaptive volume control, the device ensures that the background sounds do not overpower the audio. Sony has designed the LinkBuds to facilitate all-day wearing without discomfort, and features like Speak to Chat combined with transparency makes this possible. Speech detection sensitivity and pause duration can be adjusted from the app. If this is not done properly, you will find the music pausing even without speaking a word.

With a 12mm ring driver, the L900 delivers competent audio similar to other Sony TWS devices, though with a more natural feel closer to open-back headphones than the restrictive sound you get from usual headphones. In fact, you don’t feel that you are wearing a pair of headphones. Call quality is excellent with clear pick-up and providing a great listening experience with a clear voice. You can control the device by tapping on the buds or the front portion of your ears. The buds are not too loud, and even at the maximum volume, you don’t feel any discomfort. It features DSEE (Digital Sound Enhancement Engine) to enhance audio using Sony’s integrated processor V1 that powers their flagship. The headphones support Google and Alexa voice assistants. Fast and Swift Pair offer quick Bluetooth pairing.

Sony claims a playback time of up to 5.5 hours on a single charge and up to 17.5 hours with the charging case, but a realistic figure would be somewhere around three hours and 10 hours respectively, at least with our experience with initial charging cycles and with 50 per cent volume. It also offers 90 minutes of playback with 10 minutes of quick charging. On the negative side, though the charging indicator lights up while charging, it doesn’t indicate once the device has been fully charged.

Rating

WE’RE IMPRESSED Lightweight and compact design, balanced sound profile, extremely comfortable for continuous listening, speak-to-chat function


WE’D IMPROVE No ‘charge full’ indicator


THE LAST WORD The Sony LinkBuds is a refreshingly new device that is made for all-day listening and provides an audio experience that is close to the natural.

Review: Sony WH-XB910N

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Price: ₹14,990

Recently, we reviewed Sony’s latest TWS earbuds, and here we are, with the latest of their over-the-ear headphones. If the WF-1000XM4 features a balanced sound profile, the WH-XB910N is specially made for bass lovers as Sony brands the XB series as Extra Bass.

The headphones are available in black and blue colours, and we received the blue version. The device has a nice matte finish on the exterior with a rougher pattern on the headband. The top of the band has a faux leather wrapping on the exterior along with a soft cushioning pad at the inner surface. The earpieces rotate about 120 degrees, flex about 30 degrees to adjust to the contours of your head and can be folded inward for storage. The headphones come in a sleek oval-shaped hard fabric case, which also includes a USB-C to USB-A cable and an aux cable. The overall finish feels premium, and the top of the pivot area has a glossy finish that enhances this feel. The Sony branding on both ends of the headband completes the styling. The left earpiece houses the physical controls and ports, which include the power button, noise cancellation/ambience button, 3.5mm aux jack and USB-C charging port. The right earpiece looks plain, but the broad flat surface hides a touch panel that can be used to pause or play music, control volume and switch the tracks. You can also make use of the Quick Attention mode by placing your hand over the right earcup, which pauses noise cancelling mode momentarily, allowing you to listen to ambient sound. At 252 g, the headphones are quite light. The soft earpads are comfortable and do not cause any discomfort or pain even with extended use.

The WH-X910N uses a 40 mm driver unit and features dual noise-cancelling with feedforward and feedback mics on each side. The noise cancellation is effective but not quite the best we have experienced in premium headphones. The device supports 360 Reality Audio for an immersive experience with a suitable audio input. The headphones offer 48 ohms impedance in wired connection with the unit turned on, and 16 ohms while it is turned off. This makes it compatible with most smartphones and other low-power devices, irrespective of the type of connection. The headphones are compatible with LDAC codec for high-res audio playback in Bluetooth mode. As mentioned earlier, this device is made for thumping bass, and it remains true to this assigned role. In fact, the device is a bass lover’s haven, bringing out those fine reverberations in percussion. The Headphones companion app offers adaptive sound control, switching the sound profile according to your location and status. It offers a number of equaliser presets such as Bright, Excited, Mellow, Relaxed, Vocal, Treble Boost, Bass Boost, and Speech, along with Manual and two Custom modes so that the sound is always within your control when you are on a call or listening to music. Though you can tweak the sound via custom modes to bring up the mids and highs for some balance, it still remains faithful to bass. If you are using an iPhone, you can tweak the sound even better from the EQ mode.

The XB910N can be paired with two devices over Bluetooth, and the headphone intelligently switches between the two inputs. However, when paired to a laptop and a smartphone, the 910N would pause music played on the laptop when there is an audio notification on the phone and would not resume playback automatically. The headphones are stated to provide up to 30 hours of battery life, and we found this to be quite close. Of course, this depends on the volume of playback and ANC. You can top up the battery quickly for 10 minutes for up to 4.5 hours of extra playback with an optional AC adapter.

The device offers voice control with Google Assistant and Alexa.

RATING

WE’RE IMPRESSED Multi-device connection, high-res audio support, comfortable fit, good battery life, companion app

WE’D IMPROVE Some sound leakage observed, playback doesn’t restart after phone notification

THE LAST WORD These headphones offer good comfort and convenience. True bass enthusiasts will appreciate its sound profile.

ViewSonic Debuts Experience Zone in India

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Ribbon cutting ceremony at ViewSonic Experience Zone – New Delhi

ViewSonic has announced the launch of its first Experience Zone in New Delhi. The Experience Zone aims to provide an engaging and immersive experience to enable users to access all its AV and IT products and solutions. With the launch of its first experience zone in India, ViewSonic has also entered a new segment of LED Video Wall and announced the launch of its All-In-One LD135-151 Direct View LED Display. The company’s initial experience zone is divided into three different product ranges and solutions, namely Corporate Zone, Hybrid Learning Classrooms and Entertainment Zone.

Eric Wei, General Manager, ViewSonic – Asia Pacific said, “We are extremely excited to launch our first-ever Experience Zone in India. Our futuristic zone will create an outstanding and compelling experience for our users, exhibiting all our products and solutions. We aim to offer our users an experience of advanced technology, innovations and features embedded in our solutions. India is a key market for us and we understand the diversified needs of our consumers and strive to provide them with our unmatchable range of solutions and services. We are positive that the Experience Zone will help our target consumers make a sound purchase decision. We plan to launch more experience zones in other key Indian market and strengthen our position in the country in the coming year.”

The corporate zone showcases all its professional products in one area. Entering a new segment, the newly released LD135-151 is available in 4 different sizes (108”, 135”, 163 & 216”). Its large screen display is embedded with Gold Bonding Wire, boosts easy installation, operation and maintenance. The zone also included wireless presentation display ViewSonic CDE20 series.

The hybrid learning classrooms will display various products from edtech categories, which aim to help both teachers and students streamline and smoothen the teaching and learning methodology. It will show the new ViewSonic IFP52-A series, on which the teachers will conduct lectures and the recording will be flashed on the student’s device at home, using a PTZ Camera. Educators will also make extensive use of ViewSonic’s proprietary and integrated software, myViewBoard.

Entertainment Zone

The entertainment zone comes with acoustic room with a recliner and a home theatre system. The site will also showcase their upcoming flagship model X1000-4K+ HDR Ultra Short Throw Smart LED Soundbar Projector along with the X100-4K+ Projector which is equipped with 4K UHD resolution and an integrated 40W Harman Kardon-customised soundbar.

Talking about the launch Muneer Ahmad, Vice President, Sales and Marketing – AV and EdTech at ViewSonic India said, “We are delighted to launch our first experience zone in India, this will enable us to associate with our consumers directly and closely. It not only strengthens our relationship with them but will help in building brand loyalty. We are committed to bringing high-quality products that prioritise innovation and technology. Our newly launched LED Video Wall is one of its kind equipped with best-in-class features and advanced technology, giving a perfect amalgamation of corporate viewing experience. We are also hopeful that our newly launched professional projector will be well received, and our hybrid learning solutions will create a positive impact in the Indian market.”

The experience zone will also showcase launches in monitor’s segment such as ELITE XG270Q, a 27″ IPS G-SYNC compatible gaming monitor. Additionally, ColorPro Series VP2468a Pantone Validated and touchscreen monitor TD1655 has been included. The zone also showcased other monitors such as VX3211-4K-MHD, used for both gaming and entertainment purpose.

Commenting about the launch, Sanjoy Bhattacharya, Director – Sales & marketing, IT Business, ViewSonic India said, “The launch of experience zone is one of ViewSonic’s biggest accomplishment to strengthen our brand position in the Indian market. Giving first-hand experience of all our products and solutions to the users will help us establish ourselves and build a close-knit relationship with our customers. Our display solutions have gained significant momentum in the Indian market with innovative technology and unique features. Our experience zone will showcase our recent monitors, such as ColorPro and ELITE Gaming Monitors. In addition, we will also showcase a new product, ‘Pen Displays’, inbuilt with software which eases the internal communications in the corporates. With this zone, we are expecting to see more engagement with our customers and expand our reach in other cities.”