Archive for September, 2014

Sabrent USB 3.0 to SATA Docking Station

Wednesday, September 10th, 2014

We like USB/HDD docking stations, very handy to have when you’ve got spare HDDs or SSDs lying around. And here’s a cool one from Sabrent.

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It can handle 3.5, 2.5 inch HDDs and SSDs in its dual bays with a USB 3.0 connection to the PC. The really funky feature on the Sabrent EC-HDD2 is the Standalone Duplicator, which as its name suggests allows you to clone a hard drive without being connected to a PC. Simply drop in a couple of HDDs (one being blank ideally!) and hit the copy button and let the docking station do its thing! Just to round off its features are the facts that the EC-HDD2 is hot-swappable and plug and play. What could be easier?

Interested? You should be! Check it out on Amazon.

Polk Audio N1 Gaming Sound Bar

Monday, September 1st, 2014

With the gaming fraternity squarely in its cross-hairs, the Polk Audio N1 Sound bar offers ‘The Single-Speaker Secret to Great Gaming Audio’. A wild claim may be? Not according to the reviews that are floating around for this piece of kit.

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The N1 will connect up to the gaming console of your choice with its 6 foot (2 metre) digital optical cable and will blast forth the audio from your gaming sessions. Microsoft has collaborated on the Polk N1 and it consequently has a couple of modes specifically for Halo and Forza Motorsport.

Our concern with the N1 is that by providing an output for a sub-woofer that this implies the bass is a bit lacking in the unit. This is mentioned in some of the reviews but of course at least the sub-woofer output allows you to beef up the sound if required.

Polk Audio N1 Sound Bar features and specifications

• Collaboration of game designers and audio engineers.
• Connects directly to your console
• Dolby® Digital and Polk’s patented SDA® Surround Sound Technology
• Customized, optimized audio built in

Polk Audio N1 Sound Bar reviews

Amazon – 4 out of 5
PC Mag – 4 out of 5
Crutchfield – 4.8 out of 5

Pros – Simple setup, design, multiple inputs
Cons – not for audiophiles

An average score of 4.3 out of 5 based on these 3 reviews.

The reviews are very positive claiming the Polk Audio N1 works well across the spectrum of audio. So whether you’re into gaming, movies or music, the Polk Audio N1 could well be your audio solution.