Marshall now has the new Major IVs, a continuation of the popular on-ear series. I added about popularity for a reason: I meet people with Marshalls on their heads regularly. The new generation, like all its predecessors, looks interesting, sounds good and works for a long time. And now about everything in order in our review.

We love retro

On-ear headphones are distinguished by their recognizable design, they cannot be confused with others if you wish. Firstly, the Marshall logo flaunts on the cups, white letters are clearly visible on a black background. Secondly, the manufacturer can be easily identified by its almost square, retro-style cups.

At the same time, if you compare the new product with the models of previous generations, you will feel the difference. For example, leather-like trim was replaced with soft-touch plastic. The soft padding in the headband has also disappeared.

I liked the on-ear headphones not only for the old-fashioned style, but also for their useful practical qualities. For example, they are lightweight, yet the construction is strong, metal hinges are used, and the cups can be folded. But they do not fit into every pocket of a winter jacket, this also needs to be borne in mind.

The headphones are simply pleasant to look at: the side surfaces are finished with vinyl, the headboard is made of eco-leather, for complete happiness, except that there is not enough cover for carrying all this beauty in a backpack.

The reasonable conservatism of Marshall is to my liking, because the concept of management has not changed either. You can switch tracks and change the volume with a convenient large golden joystick. It is convenient to use, and most importantly, you do not have to take off your gloves when listening to music outside in the cold season.

I had no complaints about the landing of the Marshall Major III, but in Major IV, according to the manufacturer, the ear pads became even more comfortable: the shape changed a little, they became a little softer. According to subjective feelings, the emotions remained the same: the headphones sit tightly on the head, do not press, but do not fall off, the adjustment range is sufficient. In winter, of course, it gets a little warmer with headphones, but in summer it will most likely be hot in them.

The soul sings

The headphones connect to the audio source via Bluetooth 5.0, they don’t have aptX support, only the basic SBC codec. The size of the drivers has not changed compared to the Marshall Major III – as I understand it, the same 40 mm drivers are used. Headphones without Active Noise Cancellation, so noise isolation is dependent on the fit of the earcups and the surroundings. In the subway, you will have to turn up the music, so be wise and don’t turn it on to the maximum, so as not to damage your hearing.

You can also find a wired cable included with the headphones, if you want to listen to music by connecting the wire to the 3.5 mm jack. Such an exotic scenario is also envisaged, when two pairs of Marshall headphones are connected via a wire, and the sound from the source goes via Bluetooth. I’m not sure if this feature will come in handy every day, but on a trip, when you want to watch the same movie together, you can remember about it.

Talking about the sound of Marshall Major IV is interesting from the point of view that these are not the most omnivorous headphones. But they have a soul and their own “dirty” character and are more tuned to rock and guitar with an emphasis on low and high frequencies, emphasizing the bass. Classical music sounds not so interesting on them, there is not enough volumetric stage – however, if you listen to tracks over a wire from a high-quality source, you will be able to hear the instruments separately. In the case of Bluetooth listening, this is not always the case.

With the stability of the connection, everything is in order, no breaks or annoying “plugs” while listening to music. Of the other pleasant moments, I will allocate memory for two devices: for example, you can listen to music in turn from your phone and laptop.

Forget about charging

With regard to the Marshall Major III headphones, in terms of operating time, the progress is simply gigantic: instead of 30 hours of operation, we get a record 80-odd hours. It is too long! For example, if you listen to music for two to three hours a day, then the headphones can be charged only once a month.

By the way, the earbuds now support both wired and wireless charging. In the first case, you will need a USB Type-C cable, it is included in the kit, there is no power supply, as usual. There is also fast wired charging: after 15 minutes of charging, the headphones will work for 15 hours. In the second case, you need a compatible Qi-charging, the headphones are charged through the right cup, take this point into account.

Money matters

At Amazon, at the time of this writing, the price of the Marshall Major IV headphones is $ 149.99.

If you want an active noise canceling system in Marshall headphones, then I will remind you of the existence of a model like the Marshall Monitor II A.N.C.

Conclusion

I liked the Marshall Major IV headphones primarily for their design. This is a beautiful, high quality and a little old-fashioned thing. As for the sound, the situation has become a little better, the bass bulges a little less, although in general the Major IVs sound close to the old model. But now they have added wireless charging, and the battery life has just become very, very long.

When it comes to good sound, there is always a choice problem. There are a huge number of brands, in different budgets, with different technical and design solutions. But in the end it all comes down to what you like best, both in terms of sound and price.

Today on the agenda we will have a TV soundbar from Creative. And it will be an affordable, but very high-quality and interesting solution for buying. Moreover, the Creative company has occupied its place of honor among the leaders of the audio equipment market for the general public for decades.

The review will include the Creative Stage Air soundbar, which is slightly different from the original model, since it does not have an external subwoofer and there are also a couple of small simplifications of designs, but the price tag is such that you can only enjoy this splendor. We will not talk about exact prices, because in our country everyone has long forgotten what stable price tags are, and it’s better that you yourself will find the current prices at the time of reading this review. So let’s finally start looking at Creative Stage Air. And we will start, as it should be, with unpacking!

Unboxing the Creative Stage Air

In front of us is a rectangular box made of good thick cardboard, and even with a pretty nice design. The typography is, as it should be, at a high level. The information content of everything that is printed on the box is also excellent. Here we immediately see how the soundbar looks, and its features, and connectivity.

The delivery set is rather modest, although you won’t have to expect anything else. Inside the box, we see the soundbar itself, a USB cable, an audio cable and some waste paper. Everything is according to the classical scheme and nothing more.

There is nothing else to look at in the unpacking, so let’s go directly to the Saudbar itself.

Creative Stage Air design and appearance

This device is visually very similar to the original Creative Stage Air, but only smaller in size. The design is beautiful in its rigor and simplicity. On the front side, we have a protective mesh with the Creative logo in the very center. The rest of the body is made of glossy black plastic, which can be called a very controversial decision, but it looks very good. But still, fingerprints, dust, as well as small scratches from frequent wiping from dust – all this will definitely be here.

The shape of this speaker, of course, is made in such a way that it fits perfectly into the base of a TV, monitor and other things with screens.
On the right side, we can find rubberized control keys. It is intuitive, light and relaxed here. Keystrokes effortlessly.

On the back panel, we see a special “compartment” with all physical interfaces for connection that are available in this speaker.

Onboard there are USB Type-A port, microUSB port for power and AUX. Everything is quite simple, non-trivial, and the arrangement of ports in one pile can be called an excellent solution, because it will be easier to lay cables and you should not have to look for them. Well, you won’t scratch the glossy plastic of the case, because a special matte ABS plastic is provided here, which will cope with everything that you prepare for it.

At the base there are two rubberized feet, the functionality of which is difficult to dispute. They will not allow the speaker to roll on the surface, and also perfectly dampen vibration when sounding.

In work

It goes without saying that onboard the Creative Stage Air there is also a wireless option for connecting to a sound source. And for this, Bluetooth version 4.2 with the SBC codec is used. We won’t even talk about the connection process, because it’s all trivial, and each of you knows how to do it.

The connection is as stable as possible, you will never hear interference, interference and long delays during operation. You can control sound playback without even taking your smartphone out of your pocket.

Be sure to clarify that Creative Stage Air is a completely self-contained portable speaker, because there is a 2200 mAh battery on board. And on a single charge, it will work up to 6 hours at the highest volume level.

To this we must add the player built into the column, which is friendly with all popular audio formats and can read whatever you want from an external medium.

And once again we want to say that sound quality is a very subjective concept. Each person has their own hearing, their own preferences and so on. Therefore, before buying, we still recommend that you first listen to any audio equipment yourself, and never rely on any reviews like ours. After all, it’s one thing if we like the sound, but it’s important that you like it (no matter how silly it sounds now).

Well, we can say with confidence that Creative Stage Air is completely satisfied with its sound quality. And with a pure heart, I can say that I liked the sound quality very much. The sound can be described as very rich, accurate and even “lively”. The column copes well with low frequencies, which is very pleasant for watching some action movies. Yes, and I liked listening to music, too, and therefore the volume margin is sufficient here, and there is even a surround sound effect. In general, with the sound, in our opinion, everything is fine. And how could it be any different if it’s a product from Creative? After all, this brand has never done bad things over the decades of its existence.

Conclusions about Creative Stage Air

Despite the fact that Creative Stage Air belongs to the budget segment and costs very modest money, the sound quality is very high here. Moreover, there is a battery on board, which allows you to use the speaker without being connected to the network. And the autonomy is solid, and there is also a built-in player. To all this, we add a beautiful and austere appearance. Therefore, Creative Stage Air is absolutely definitely considered as a good addition to a computer, all-in-one or TV. Well, or if you are a special esthete, then it is also suitable as a regular Bluetooth speaker.

Of the minuses, it can be noted that the glossy case, which will delight you with its shine for a very short time. Otherwise, Creative Stage Air is an excellent choice if you are puzzled by buying a soundbar for reasonable money.

In the subject

Among the modern robotic vacuum cleaners arrived: today we will tell you about the excellent model Roborock S7. Recently, the annual international exhibition CES 2021 was held, at which numerous innovations in electronics were presented, including the hero of our today’s review. The device works with the latest ultrasonic surface sensing technologies, and for each of them the robot selects the appropriate cleaning mode. So, just one device can clean all the rooms in the house, and for this you do not need to remove carpets or rearrange something, but you can create a cleaning route if you want. Multifunctional, quiet, beautiful: this is how the Roborock S7 can be described. Now let’s take a look at the gadget in all its details.

The Roborock S7 robot vacuum cleaner is available in two classic colors – black and white. The body of the device is made of durable ABS plastic and is 35 cm in diameter and 9.6 cm in height. The model features a self-cleaning base and it looks like it will only be available in black. In general, we can say that the design of the novelty is discreet, but cute: such a gadget will become the main assistant in the house, which, due to its neat appearance, can not be hidden in the closet.

Design

It is thanks to the design of the Roborock S7 that so many functions are available. When changing surfaces, the cleaning cloth is automatically lifted and the appropriate mode is set, which means that when wet cleaning the carpet will not get wet. The main cleaning brush here is not the same as usual: there is a silicone roller, which treats the surface more thoroughly. The design of the water tank, improved compared to previous models, makes it easy to remove: you do not need to turn the vacuum cleaner to do this. When cleaning is complete, the device returns to the charging station.

Performance

Let’s start with the fact that the volume of the dust collector is 470 ml, and the water tank is designed for 300 ml: these volumes are enough for 300 square meters of dry cleaning and 200 square meters of wet cleaning. And perhaps the most remarkable thing is the self-cleaning function after cleaning. The Roborock S7 robot vacuum cleaner performs ultrasonic wet cleaning with a wiping frequency of 3000 times per minute. Such activity ensures high-quality removal of even old, dried contaminants of various nature. The vacuum cleaner has a built-in 5200 mAh battery. The suction power is 2500 Pa.

Cleaning cards

Roborock S7 can be programmed to tackle difficult routes. The vacuum cleaner works with the new RR Mason 7.0 positioning system, with which you can create a cleaning plan suitable for your home. As a rule, there are different floor coverings in the premises: for some, wet cleaning is needed, for others, on the contrary, dry cleaning. Zones of both types of cleaning can be limited by highlighting areas on the map: this is done via a mobile application. After defining the zones, the intelligent system itself builds the optimal route, so as not to miss a single section and not to wind through the same places. The device can also work with several cards, moreover, in each individual parameters are set: you can choose a dry or wet type of cleaning, adjust the intensity of water supply.

Coverage recognition

The vacuum cleaner works in tandem with a mobile app, but can also be controlled by voice. If you do not set up the cleaning map, the Roborock S7 will still not be confused: the device is able to determine the surface on which it finds itself, automatically increasing or decreasing the suction power, turning on or off the water supply. So, for example, when hitting a carpet or a long-naped carpet, the vacuum cleaner will turn off the water supply, remove the cleaning cloth and set the maximum suction power. This means the Roborock S7 will not get stuck on an unsuitable surface or wet the carpet. Sensors are also responsible for safe and continuous movement: lidar protects the vacuum cleaner from getting stuck, and height sensors prevent it from falling off somewhere (for example, from steps). With such efficiency, it’s amazing how quiet this model is.

Other features

The Roborock S7 is equipped with a reusable washable E11 class HEPA filter, which protects the user from air pollution during cleaning: you will not smell dust and will not get allergies from pathogens entering the air. The peculiarity of this filter is that during the cleaning process all the collected dust and dirt remains inside, and this also applies to the smallest particles: the air comes out of the vacuum cleaner already clean. By the way, when water is supplied to the cleaning element, it also first passes through the filter. Another advantage is good permeability: if the vacuum cleaner encounters an obstacle whose height does not exceed 2 centimeters, it will easily pass them. With as many as six height sensors, the robot vacuum cleaner can be used in homes with multiple floors. In addition to creating cleaning cards, you can also set a schedule: for example, indicate the preferred order of cleaning rooms.

Battery

The capacity of the Roborock S7 vacuum cleaner is 5200 mAh, and on a full battery charge the device is capable of continuous cleaning for 2.5 hours. Surprisingly, most modern models provide up to one hour of work.

CPU

Roborock S7 is powered by an intelligent CPU + GPU with GLSLAM algorithm. This filling, among other things, allows the vacuum cleaner to better navigate and adjust the settings for the current cleaning on the go.

Voice control

One caveat: the manufacturer says that voice control will initially only be available to those who speak Chinese. However, not all is lost, as updates will be released over time, and the vacuum cleaner will learn to recognize all languages.

In conclusion

It is expected that the release of the Roborock S7 robot vacuum cleaner will take place on March 24, 2021, and the cost of the model will be $ 649. Considering how much such a device can make life easier, the price is fair. Such vacuum cleaners were not always ideal, although the simplest options save a lot of time and effort. Now, thanks to past mistakes and new developments, modern cleaning robots are able to perform thorough, high-quality cleaning, following a program drawn up for a specific space. Isn’t it a miracle!

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Roborock S7 specifications

• Model: Roborock S7
• Device type: robot vacuum cleaner
• Cleaning type: dry and wet cleaning
• Fine filter: HEPA filter E11, included
• Control: from a smartphone
• Battery capacity: 5200mAh
• Battery life: 3 hours
• Dimensions: 35 x 35.3 x 9.6 cm
• Body color: white, black
• Side brush: yes
• Main brush: silicone roller
• Building a room map: yes
• Cleaning time calculation: yes
• Scheduled cleaning: yes
• Laser distance sensor: yes
• Fall protection: yes
• Suction power: 2500 Pa
• Noise level: 67 dB
• Water tank volume: 300 ml
• Dry cleaning area: 300 m2
• Wet cleaning area: 200 sq.m