Bluetone 100 a flashy sound option
Q. I was intrigued by your recommendation of the Cambridge Audio Bluetone 100 for $299. I was thinking of buying the Bose SoundLink III for the same $299. Have you compared them and which do you think is better? -Hannah Frank, Bellingham, Wash. A. I have heard both speakers and it isn’t even close. When discussing the art of writing, Mark Twain once said, “The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug.” In this case, the Bluetone 100 is the lightning, the SoundLink III, the lightning bug. The Bluetone 100 has deeper bass, plays louder, and sounds much, much richer.
Please note the Bluetone 100 is noticeably larger and needs to be plugged in to operate. While both are portable, you can put the SoundLink III in a computer bag. The Bluetone 100 is a bit too big for that. See them at www.bose.com and www.cambridgeaudio.com.
Q. You recently wrote a review of a self-contained portable charger for phones that works without a plug so you can charge anywhere. I looked on your website high and low and cannot find it for the life of me. If you could please tell me the name or the website that I can purchase this from, I would really appreciate it.
-Frank Nelson, Pittsburgh
A. I’ve written about two power bank chargers recently, so I do not know which specific one you want. I will tell you about both of them, and then address the issues with my website.
The first one I wrote about is the jHub Elite from Modern Portable. It has 8,000 mAh capacity and two charging ports, including a fast charge 2.1-amp port, and currently sells for less than $20. You can see it at www.modernportable.com.
The second is the Limefuel L150XR rugged power bank which is dustproof, crushproof, waterproof, vibrationproof and shockproof. It has a capacity of 15,000 mAh and two 2.4-amp fast charge ports for $84.95. You can see it at www.limefuel.com.
Please note that both of these chargers can charge any USB device, from a phone to a table to a portable game system to a GoPro camera. Since I started writing about charging in December, I’ve been deluged with questions about the subject. I was unaware there are so many misconceptions about USB charging, or that people did not know that devices like power banks even existed!
A number of readers have contacted me about my current website lately, asking for more updates, product reviews, or columns to be archived on the site. I haven’t been updating my current website for two reasons. First of all, I’ve kind of neglected it due to some health problems of my own, followed up by health problems of a family member that have kept me preoccupied.
I am also working on a new website that is much better. As for the new site, it seems like I am never quite satisfied with the organization and content, and I tweak it mercilessly, rather than just launch it and go with it. It’s mostly a matter of organization and getting everything easy to find, as there is a lot of content. My soundadviceblog.com has more than 500 pages, and I have not even been working on it regularly! The new one will be even bigger and better.
In the meantime, readers, I do answer the emails that come in so if you have a question and can’t find the answer online or on my site, drop me a line!