HiFi

I have had the CD Edition of the Eversolo Play in my living room for over a month. This version of the Eversolo Play is an all-in-one that features a CD player as well as a music streamer, DAC, and amplifier in a compact and inviting form factor. While I have no regrets ordering this device for my home, there are definitely a few areas where Eversolo could have enhanced the user experience. After thirty days of usage, the Eversolo Play has left me with a mix of positive and negative impressions that we should discuss here.

I uploaded a video on YouTube showcasing my initial reaction to the build and design of the WiiM Sub Pro after removing the subwoofer from the box. However, it’s important to note that this video is not a review as I haven’t even powered on the system or connected it to my WiiM Amp Ultra or WiiM Ultra. The video is embedded below or you can view it directly at YouTube.

Any opinions or information expressed in the video may change as I haven’t had the opportunity to review the product or write an article about it. While I intend to publish a comprehensive review in an article, I currently don’t have any plans to create a full review video.

It's been awhile since I reviewed anything Hi-Fi but this summer I brought into my house what what I call budget premium audio equipment. Audio equipment designed and built better than the price suggests offering the latest in streaming, room correction, and amplification. Lately, my focus has been on WiiM, a brand brand owned by Linkplay Technology. Linkplay is a company that has been backed by teams from such companies as Google, Broadcom, InterVideo, and Harman.

This past month I replaced a line of Hi-Fi speakers I've listened to and enjoyed for the past 20 years with a pair of new floor speakers from Klipsch. It's an acknowledgment that my hearing and tastes have changed and it's time to listen to my music through a new stereo system. This recognition of needing to do things differently has become a common theme for me lately. I'm finding the old ways aren't working and perhaps joy can be found again by doing something new. With this theme on change, instead of blogging only when I'm inspired by great ideas or events, I decided to blog every few days as I take part in the 100 Days to Offload challenge.

​​​​​​Running my weather station and media server on a Mini PC. Beelink's Mini PC and those like it are the future.

A few months ago, I purchased the Beelink U59 Pro Mini PC with only a few reviews available at the time. Despite being a longtime Windows and Linux PC I've been skeptical of the mini PC market  in general and have avoided making a purchase in the past. So much skepticism that my first introduction to this small form factor was last year's purchase of an Apple Mac Mini M1 despite not being a huge fan of the macOS operating system. Luckily, this Beelink Mini PC has convinced me that "small is better" for Windows and Linux as well.

Surprisingly, I recently sought out and purchased a vinyl record turntable. This is a surprise to me because I've spent the last three decades moving from the opposite direction as my music collection evolved from vinyl and cassette tape to compact discs and then finally to digital music stored as MP3 files on my computer and mobile devices. In this century, I don't even know if you can call it collecting music because I now subscribe monthly to an endless library of artists and songs through various music streaming services.

I'm a mid-aged man living in the future where vinyl records are in our past; so I thought. Yet, here I am. I'm looking at turntables and relearning all over again the importance of a preamps and amplifiers when connecting the turntable to a set of speakers. What happened?