29 Apr
Blog

Level Lock Review: Innovation at a Significant Price

Level lock in the door

Level Lock Review: A furtive, expensive Smart Lock

"A miracle of technology that stores all the components of an intelligent lock."

  • Discreet, minimalist design

  • Quick installation

  • Shared access with guests

  • Locks itself automatically

  • Expensive

  • Can't tell if the door stays open

Intelligent locks have become more sophisticated. Some high-end models offer fingerprint unlocking, shared access codes, traffic jam protection, and other innovative features. While they all strive to provide comfort and security to homeowners, they all have one thing in common: a distinctive design. You know that the striking properties make it an intelligent lock, e.g. B. a digital / physical keyboard that is clearly positioned in front of a door.

This can accidentally make them targets, especially for some crafty hackers with a shameful agenda. Who wants to come home to find a compromised Smart Lock? Against this trend, the Level Lock pays off as an invisible Smart Lock and represents a drastic departure from its competitors.

Complete the installation in less than 10 minutes

The beauty of Level Lock is its quick and easy installation, which took no more than 10 minutes to complete. From start to finish, the process is far more rational than any other Smart Lock installation I've done. All you have to do is replace the latch, install the new motor and then attach the lock housing.

All components are hidden and invisible, so my door has the same look and finish as before – something I can't say about other smart locks. How is it powered? There is a single CR2 battery that fits discreetly into the latch and enables the six-stage stainless steel transmission to operate. Although this is unusual, the “normal” use of the CR2 battery is designed to last for more than a year. So far it has taken me two months, but there is no indication in the app of how much juice is left.

The best thing about the level lock is that you can't tell it's just a smart lock by just looking at the door. So there is no reason for anyone to deal with it. You still use most of the original components of your existing lock, such as the rotary knob, the lock cylinder and the keys.

Simple functions

Unlike its contemporaries, the level lock pales in comparison to features, especially when you consider the price of $ 249. It works just like any other smart lock because you can lock / unlock it with a smartphone. As for the rest? There is the automatic locking function that locks my door within a set period of time after the break. It's useful when you're in a hurry, but even the longest setting (1 minute) is pretty short – so it would be nice to have longer options.

All components are hidden and not visible.

Homeowners will appreciate Level Lock's shared access via an invitation. This is useful if you plan to be away and need a friend, neighbor, or family member to check your place – or if you happen to offer your home on Airbnb. You can grant them either administrator or guest rights and set specific dates and times for access to the lock.

Apple users get an additional incentive because the level lock supports HomeKit and gives iPhone or Apple Watch owners the ability to lock / unlock by asking Siri to do so. It's a shame that Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant are not supported. I have turned to Level and although there are plans to expand to other platforms in the future, there are currently no details.

These functions have been standard with standard smart locks so far, and an obvious omission would notify me if my door stays ajar. In all cases where I have deliberately kept it open, the automatic locking function is activated and the locking process is initiated – even though the door is open. I would expect a smart lock to be smart enough to determine whether a door is actually closed or not, but that doesn't happen here. Notifications will be sent to me if the lock is blocked and cannot be locked completely.

A hollow bar

As mentioned above, Level can achieve a minimalist design by hollowing out the latch to act as a battery compartment at the same time. The integrity of the lock is addressed. I haven't tried to kick my door down to test it yet, but Level assures that it is built from the ground up for strength and durability. The company is even brave enough to claim that it exceeds the highest industry standards and has been stress-tested for over 1,000,000 cycles to maintain its structural and operational shape.

Level Lock hollow boltJohn Velasco / Digital Trends

Our opinion

The level lock doesn't seem to differ too much from its competitors due to its list of features, but it does set a technical benchmark for design. That alone makes it bothersome and innovative.

Is there a better alternative?

For the price? Yes! The level lock is expensive at $ 229. In the same price range, the Lockly Secure Pro for $ 300 offers an extensive range of features such as fingerprint unlocking and a digital keyboard for access for a little more.

Conversely, at the other end of the spectrum is the $ 100 Wyze Lock. You save a lot more for the same functions as the level lock.

How long it will take?

There is a two-year limited warranty that covers material and workmanship defects under normal use.

Should you buy it

Yes. The level lock is hidden in your door. There is no keyboard outside your door that makes it clear that it is an intelligent lock.

Editor's recommendations




29 Apr
Blog

Robo C2 Review | Digital Trends

Robo C2 rating

"The C2's excellent user interface warmed our hearts, but the unheated print bed gave us cold feet."

  • Excellent printing performance

  • User-friendly control panel

  • Robust, slim design

  • No heated bed

  • Requires frequent maintenance

We won't say a word when we say that Robos 3D printers are some of our favorites among a variety of mid-range models. What is not to love about the company? It started in 2012 as a Kickstarter project among a group of students from San Diego State University and is now one of the largest 3D printer manufacturers in the United States.

As the successor to the company's breakthrough R1 printer, the C2 is part of the company's ongoing effort to make 3D printing accessible to everyone through intuitive interface designs, reliable printing, quality results and a price that the average consumer can afford. With the first three points, the C2 generally met our expectations – although the price might be a bit too high for some. Here's what we thought of it after a few months of intensive testing.

Features and specifications

Compared to most mid-range printers, the C2 has a footprint at the larger end of the spectrum that's five inches long, five inches wide, and six inches high. This is certainly not a huge envelope, but it is large enough to hold most of the objects you can find in Thingiverse and other online object repositories.

Robo C2 rating
Robo C2 rating

Ed Oswald / Digital Trends

The only disadvantage? The printer's build platform is not heated. While this reduces the device's power consumption during printing, it also makes the C2 more susceptible to warping and poor adhesion, which increases the likelihood that you will get a faulty print and have to start over.

This is a huge improvement over the functional design of the R1 – the company's first product.

Fortunately, you don't have to mess around with bed calibration – it comes with an automatic leveling feature that makes it a breeze to keep the printer in good condition.

Finally, interact with the C2 through a large, bright 3.5-inch touchscreen at the bottom of the printer. The user interface is intuitive and contains wizards that can be used to guide beginners through typical maintenance processes.

All in all, this printer offers a fairly good selection of features for $ 800.

Setup and configuration

Good news for less mechanics: the C2 is almost completely assembled. All you need to do is attach the print bed, attach the spool holder, attach the filament guide tube to the machine, and pass some plastic filament through. This is all a bit standard when it comes to setting up 3D printers – but Robo makes it easy with a top-notch walkthrough wizard.

Robo C2 verification "data-image-id =" 1320073Ed Oswald / Digital Trends

Ed Oswald / Digital Trends

Even if you are new to 3D printing, you should have no problem getting the C2 up and running in about 20 minutes. We left the setup to someone completely unfamiliar with the technology, and they still managed to get the machine up and running with little trouble. Setup is not always that easy, so we appreciate the company's efforts here.

A quick tip: While Robo's instructions recommend completing the Wi-Fi setup after running a test print, we recommend doing the Wi-Fi connection process first. It will make your life easier and there is really no reason to end up doing it.

Construction quality and design

Robo receives good grades for the design of the C2. This is a huge improvement over the functional design of the R1 – the company's first product. While a 3D printer may never be something you want as a showpiece in your living room, here Robo has at least one design that looks slim on a table top.

The C2's touchscreen is one of our favorite features.

The beauty of the C2 is not just skin deep. The design of the machine also feels robust. Weighing just over 20 pounds, it's not a particularly heavy printer, but it's still heavy and sturdy enough to withstand shaking and shuddering while the print nozzle is moving at high speed. This ultimately leads to more accurate and consistent print results, but we'll cover all of these fun things in a moment.

Overall, the design of the printer is a win – although it has some flaws that we simply cannot overlook. The most outrageous of these is the C2's unheated print bed mentioned above, which forces you to use adhesive pads that need to be changed regularly to ensure adhesion. With this type of setup, you cannot determine when liability will fail. You have to get used to changing the pads regularly.

It's also limited to a single extruder, which is a bit of a disappointment given that an increasing number of printers for the $ 800 price tag for the C2 now include double extruder setups. To be fair, you have the option to add a second extruder or even replace extruder modules – but all of this is available separately.

User interface and software

The C2's touchscreen is one of our favorite features. There you will find almost all the important features and functions that you need to access. However, we found it a little difficult to use the smaller screen – especially when it was time to enter our WiFi password (the keyboard was just too small). Despite these minor problems, the actual user interface is one of the most user-friendly of all printers that we have ever tested.

If you're looking for a workhorse that doesn't require a lot of maintenance, this is probably not the printer for you.

As with desktop software, the C2 is designed for use with a customized version of Cura. Cura is also one of the most feature rich and intuitive slicer programs currently available, making the software easy to use. Unfortunately, you have to set everything up manually, but again Robo's well-written instructions save the day. As long as you know how to read and follow instructions, you'll be fine.

If you are patient enough, we strongly recommend performing the additional step of installing the Octoprint plugin so that you can print directly from Cura. It's a good deal of work to set up, but we think that convenience is worth the one-time effort.

Printing performance

To get a feel for how well the C2 works, we went through our standard test print suite along with some random objects to get things mixed up. These include the infamous 3DBenchy torture test tractor and the CTRL-V benchmark, both of which are intended to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of a printer.

Robo C2 verification "data-image-id =" 1320068Ed Oswald / Digital Trends

Ed Oswald / Digital Trends

With all of our prints, the results were admirable for a printer in this price range. Fine details came into their own (especially at higher resolutions), and the C2 had minimal problems with tricky features like unsupported spans and overhangs. Objects were also very consistent from layer to layer. The printer suffered almost no wobble on the Z axis – which is probably due to Robo's robust construction.

Overall, the C2 offers solid print performance, but unfortunately its otherwise admirable print jobs were too often hampered by the device's only shortcoming: the unheated print bed.

His admirable print jobs were often hampered by his only shortcoming: the unheated print bed.

Since the surface of the printer does not heat up, it is difficult to fix the printouts correctly. And more importantly, stay anchored until the object is complete. We found that we exchanged the painter's tape-like adhesive pads about every half a dozen prints, because if we didn't, the prints would lift off the build plate and screw everything up. Even when printing with rafts (supporting structures to improve bed adhesion), we were not always confident that the C2 would successfully complete a specific print job.

In other words, while this printer prints wonderfully under optimal conditions, it is definitely not the most reliable device we have ever tested.

Maintenance, repairability and upgradeability

Maintenance with Robo 3D printers is largely easy thanks to the example wizards mentioned above. No matter what goes wrong or which parameters you need to adjust, the integrated software from Robo makes it a breeze.

Software updates can be sent wirelessly to the C2 or downloaded and installed on a USB stick by opening them directly on the printer. The USB stick option is useful because you can print directly from there – in case you don't want to (or can't) connect the printer to a Wi-Fi network.

In the case of hardware problems, the C2 seems to be easy to repair (at least for the basic things), since most of the important components are easily accessible. Fortunately, we didn't have any hardware issues during our tests, but we're confident that if we did, we could fix them ourselves. Robo provides extensive troubleshooting and repair documentation on its website.

Warranty information

The Robo C2 has a one-year warranty with a spare parts service.

Our opinion

Simply put, we loved the C2. It is a good looking and powerful printer that is ready to use. The device's intuitive and user-friendly interface makes it an excellent choice for beginners in 3D printing. That said, it's definitely not perfect. Robo's decision to omit the critical heat bed feature may have kept the price down, but also resulted in a printer that is less reliable and requires less maintenance than some of its competitors.

Is there a better alternative?

At $ 800, the Robo C2 offers a lot of money – but because the 3D printing scene is currently so competitive, there are many printers that offer similar features at a cheaper price.

There are many printers that offer similar features at a cheaper price.

For $ 700, you can purchase the Maker Ultimate printer from Monoprice: a device with a larger construction area (7.8 x 7.8 x 6.8 inches), a heated bed and functions for automatic leveling. However, the Monoprice user interface is nowhere near as sophisticated or accessible and does not have a touchscreen.

Another notable competitor is Robo's previous printer: the Robo R1 +. The company no longer manufactures them, but you can easily find them for sale online. The R1 + doesn't have any of the fancy new connectivity options or a clear user interface of the C2, but it does have a heated bed and a larger build area. Depending on where you find one for sale, you can grab one of these puppies for around $ 500 to $ 700.

If you're not afraid to assemble something more, you can also buy a Prusa i3 MK2 kit for around $ 700. The i3's design, which emerged from the open source RepRap project, has been tested, optimized and perfected by thousands of different 3D printing enthusiasts over the years – so it's a pretty solid little machine. It's bigger, smarter, and more powerful than the Robo C2, but you have to build it yourself.

How long it will take?

We have no doubt that the C2 will offer you years of trouble-free service. But as I said, you can expect constant improvements to ensure high quality prints: it's just a reality of how relatively new 3D printing technology is. As far as we know, Robo plans to maintain these printers with software and firmware updates in the foreseeable future. Given the fact that the company still offers parts for previous generation printers, we don't see why this isn't the case for the C2.

Should you buy it

If you're brand new to 3D printing and looking for something that is extremely simple and easy to use, then yes – the C2 is one of the most user-friendly machines you'll find in the under $ 1,000 price range, and you should buy it.

If you value reliability and printing performance more, we recommend that you look elsewhere. The fact that this printer doesn't have a heated bed makes it less reliable than others we've tried. If you're looking for a workhorse that doesn't require a lot of maintenance, this is probably not the printer for you.

Editor's recommendations




28 Apr
Blog

Overcome Your Lack of Motivation the Right Way

It is the old familiar story. They know you should do that – eat real food, go to the gym, do mobility work, and still fall back into old habits and miss it. Again. They tell themselves that you only have to get more motivated and motivated. You watch everyone else go ahead and feel a bit shitty in comparison. Morning; tomorrow you will do it

This is usually the part of a "motivational" article where I tell you that you only have one life. So get out there and live it! Or I tell you to get up, clap your hands, stand up, and then give you vague, unhelpful advice on how to find your why.

However, this is not a motivational article. It is not meant to make your blood pump, raise your shouts, and be ready to spit poison. Because frankly, this shit probably won't work for you. Not even the “inspiring” videos, in which someone with an incredible story tells them about a moving soundtrack before telling you that you are unleashing the fire and with a few feel-good tunes and the inevitable “If I can do it, know me you can too. "

I don't know anything about you, but anything that feels a bit empty doesn't it? I mean you get it. You know what to feel, but it's not quite what it should be.

Fight the subconscious

If you think you don't have time to exercise (whether true or false), you won't exercise. If you think you are too tired, you will not exercise. And if you believe that there is no hope for you, no training will take place.

However, if you think you are on the right track to become a better version of yourself, you can easily convince yourself to go to the gym. If you believe that change is possible and you have time and can still have a good session without motivation, you will find a way to exercise no matter how you feel.

Most of the time, the beliefs that dictate your actions are much deeper than many of us want to admit, both emotionally and consciously. For example, the belief "I am destined to be a failure" could have been stopping you for years. In addition, it may be buried so deep in your subconscious that it takes a lot of digging and observation to find it.

The most powerful beliefs live deep in our subconscious. Let us repeat what subconscious means: you are largely unaware of it. The deeper these beliefs are in our subconscious, the more they determine our behavior, thoughts, emotions, and physical condition.

In addition, the subconscious mind is infinitely more powerful than the conscious mind. While the subconscious may be able to overwrite the subconscious for a short time, the subconscious story will always win in the long run.

Motivation alone will never work

When you analyze a top athlete, it doesn't just come from a place of motivation. Generally they are:

  • Cool, calm, and confident (This is often confused with arrogance, and yes, it's a close call).
  • With a feeling of lightness, even when going through difficulties or struggles.
  • Do not strive, but take everything.

In short, they don't rely on motivation, but on thinking. As my brilliant mentor, Dr. Brian Grasso; "You cannot over-motivate an unsuccessful way of thinking."

Have you ever been in a fluent state? If so, you will recognize the feeling of lightness that defines it. This is how it feels when you get your mindset straight to the point. I can imagine what some of you think … "So it's all great and everything, Tom, but how can I fix it?"

A champion has four principles in mind:

To build the mindset of a champ: 1. Perspective

The perspective sees the situation without prejudice. This training session, this lift, this week is not the be-all and end-all of your sporting progress. If things are not going well, what then? You can do the next lift better.

If you crush it, be humble. You don't know it will go on like this, so keep working hard and do the job. You can improve your perspective by creating a long-term strategy. Think about who you want to be in 2-3 years. Goal for that. Play the long game.

Most athletes spend too much time focusing on tomorrow's results, rather than how what they do will affect in three years. This is usually an unconscious narrative that is about proving yourself. It is time to think about a long-term goal. This allows your subconscious to slowly adapt to a more helpful approach.

To build a champ's mindset: 2. Awareness

A great athlete will not only pay attention to his own physical performance, but also to other indicators. You will be attentive to what you are saying to yourself and others, you will be observing your body language, you will be attentive to your body.

However, a bad athlete does the opposite. They ignore everything except the physical result and then wonder why it is not what they hope for.

By being aware of the internal and external environment, we can get a wider perspective on a situation. In short, we learn to recognize the signs before the symptoms appear.

A really useful tool is to write down all the important sentences that come to mind during training. You want to hear your soliloquy clearly. Only when we do that can we begin to change our unconscious narrative.

How to build the mindset of a champ: 3. Consistent elegance

  • elegance: A surprisingly simple, brilliant solution to an apparently complex problem.
  • Consistent: Follow the same principles, courses, forms, etc. over time.

Most athletes try to complicate their training, diet and mobility. Tony Robbins has a great quote: "Complexity is the enemy of execution." The more moving parts we have in the game, the more decisions we make and the more mental fatigue and overwhelming we encounter.

Consider this question: what is the smallest amount you could possibly do and still achieve your 2-3 year goal? If you want to do more after you've reached your "elegant" crowd, do more, but primarily hunt for consistent elegance.

To build a champ's mindset: 4. Embrace the hardship

Comfort is not the same as fulfillment. So don't chase him. Conversely, you will improve if you chase and accept the need.

Do you find this set difficult? Good. Embrace the difficulty. Do you want to eat crappy? Good. Now is the chance to break a habit. Can't bother going to the gym? Good. Do it and get stronger.

There are two types of difficulties:

  • Intentional hardship: what you encounter on purpose – the number of repetitions or sets you need to do, or the diet plan you choose.
  • Accidental hardship: you didn't want to come across it, but you're still there – you've missed sleep and now feel tired.

In the event of deliberate hardship, remember that you have decided to meet her. So keep in mind who you are on the way to becoming and accepting the need.

When it comes to utilities, you're here anyway. So what are you going to do? Embrace it!

Pace yourself

Relying on motivation is outdated and doesn't work. We have to change the unconscious story first. Think about PACE:

28 Apr
Blog

5 Reasons Why High-Rep Bodyweight Workouts Are Hurting You

5 reasons why high-rep weight workouts hurt you - fitness, functional fitness, body weight, cortisol, volume, high-intensity workouts, home workouts, high reps, pushups. Lunges, squats, claps, jump squats, reverse plank

While the world of functional fitness has consistently tended to do hundreds of squats, burpees, and lunges in the past six weeks, trainer James Fitzgerald warns that this will do more harm than good. Fitzgerald, winner of the first CrossFit games in 2007 and founder of OPEX Fitness, said:

"They are not functional and cause cortisol dependency. Performance drops during body weight circles, although they look chic on a zoom call with a class, result in poor motion compensation and a depth of 1,000 repetitions," he added.

Although 200 lunges for the time could lead to a "sweaty workout" that many people seem to yearn for, according to Fitzgerald, the five main reasons to avoid programming training such as squats, pushups, lunges and burpees "for the time" are as follows:

  1. You do not achieve sustainable results
  2. They reduce immunity and resilience
  3. They lead to poor movement patterns and compensations
  4. They are not functional
  5. They cause cortisol junkies and poor behavior when exercising

So 200 lunges for the time are up, what's in?

Fitzergald explained that there are safe and effective ways to program body weight training that can make long-term progress. This is possible if you follow the basic principles of programming.

He gave the following as an example of a more effective way to use body weight movements than four laps over time:

  • Max set of gossip pushups. Pause 60 seconds.
  • 20 squats. Pause 60 seconds.
  • 60 seconds back plank. Pause 60 seconds.

Repeat four times.

Why is this a better approach?

Fitzgerald asks you to consider the following principles of body weight training:

The dose response of body weight training

To achieve effective body weight training, you need to understand the “dose response,” that is, the stimulus or outcome of each workout. According to Fitzgerald, these are three things:

  1. Intent: What is the goal of this program and what is the customer working towards?
  2. Modality: What kind of movements does the client do?
  3. The single person: Who am I programming for? What are your individual skills, abilities, limitations, training age?

If you understand who (i.e. person), what (i.e. modality) and why (i.e. intention), you can control the dose response and ultimately the resulting adjustments and results.

The limits of body weight training

Before you put together a body weight program, you also need to understand its limits.

These restrictions mainly concern activities with a closed chain and relative strength, ie strength against body weight, and strength endurance, ie the ability to do repetitions at submaximal loads.

They also have relatively little variability because they have no access to equipment and novel means of performing movement patterns.

As a result, many trainers prescribe many repetitions of very similar types of muscle contractions, which can become a problem for most as poor movement patterns are then repeated for a large number of repetitions.

In addition, body weight training effectively lacks intensity, at least in terms of maximum exertion, since you have no access to external stress. For stronger and fitter customers, this means that endurance efforts are sometimes converted into metabolic efforts that become glycolytic. In other words, they are starting to take advantage of the anaerobic milk system, which is a great way to lower immunity and bring about negative metabolic adjustments as it promotes the use of sugar as a fuel.

Three final tips for an effective design of the body weight program

Once you understand the above, you can start thinking about how to program body weight training effectively.

Fitzgerald recommends programming whole body resistance, which includes upper and lower body movements as well as core movements.

From there he says:

Tip 1: Create a progressive program

As with any effective program, be it a strength or endurance program, a body weight training program should be progressive over time, building up from the previous one every week. Three ways to do this include:

  1. Increase the volume over time and add repetitions for every session and every week.
  2. Increase the speed of contractions over time, from motor control to endurance to dynamic movements
  3. Adjust the pace and increase the eccentric or lowering phase of an exercise

Tip 2: split the days

For most lifestyle athletes, Fitzgerald recommends adhering to a simple exercise program that focuses on durability and alternates between full-body resistance training days and aerobic training days.

Regarding # 3: consider the individual long-term

Just make sure you understand your client's physical abilities, goals, and intentions, and then design workouts that are “within your client's abilities”.

If you would like to learn more from Fitzgerald, you can find out about its various training options at OPEX Fitness.

28 Apr
Blog

10 Tips to Restarting Fitness After Childbirth

No two women are the same, from their bodies to their deliveries to their recovery and then the healing process. And although each person can be different, the main rules remain the same if the woman feels ready to start exercising again after birth.

The important thing is to wait for your body to heal. Your body must be able to cope with the physical demands of the training. Until you have been clarified by a doctor, which can be between six weeks and six months depending on your contractions, you have to be careful.

Even if your body is ready and you have been cleared, there are a few more things to consider because If you are physically released for training, it does not mean that you can go straight back to your old routine.

And that definitely doesn't mean that everything is perfect inside. There is still a risk of bleeding, tearing, or your body's inability to meet the requirements of the exercise. However, you will be able to do something and then gradually increase your activity as you become stronger and more comfortable.

This gradual development could consist of walking your baby in the stroller and doing a few laps every day, or using the stationary bike in the gym with a routine with light resistance. Once you're cleared up, there are a few things you should do to make sure the transition back to training is as smooth as possible. Remember to prepare mentally. This may take some time.

Get the all-clear

I recently spoke to a midwife who told me that some local authorities in the UK are no longer doing the six-week follow-up. This may be the case, but it does not mean that you do not have to go to your provider, especially if it is your first baby and everything is new to you.

Once you are approved for training, you can gradually increase your activity. Please note that this does not mean that you can go straight to the spin course and give your all, but gradually move more and participate in light activities. You might be cleared up after six weeks or if you had a caesarean section or 10-12 weeks for a nonsurgical delivery, either way, It is important that your doctor approves you first.

Listen to your body

Body weight exercises are a great way to get back to things once you are physically active again. Squats, sitting on the wall, pelvic floor exercises and deep abdominal breathing are good starting points.

You may find that many of the things you could do before now go a little beyond you, and that's fine. Your nuclear power may have completely disappeared, and that's okay. It won't be like this forever because you will start to rebuild your body and become stronger.

However, if you pounce on it and try to go straight back to your previous level, there is a good chance that you will do more damage to your body and set yourself back further – or even do long-term damage. Listen to your body if you think you can try something more challenging, give it a try, but take it easy and stop when it doesn't feel right.

Avoid anything that is tiring

Are you thinking of going into a HIIT class or following an extreme course? Think again

Aside from the fact that your body is still recovering from an enormous amount of stress, you have probably not been physically active for some time.

Not to mention that you still have the relaxin hormone in your body that makes your joints more supple and increases the risk of joint injuries, especially if you walk back and forth or try to do a hard movement at speed. Instead, opt for options with less impact and less risk and focus on options where you have full control.

If cardio is your thing, the stationary bike is a great way to do sports again and build your aerobic fitness. If you prefer weights, it's also great to lift a few weeks more easily than normal (and avoid building pressure in your belly) and a fantastic way to get your body used to lifting again.

Ignore the scales

This is important because it is so tempting to think about the scale, but there are other things that affect the number that stares at you.

For example, breastfeeding, how much you feed, how much sleep you get, and whether you can eat whole meals affects your overall weight. This does not apply to all other factors such as stress, hormones and energy levels.

You have enough reason to worry about your new bundle of joy without adding pressure, losing a certain amount of weight or worrying about how you look. It can be tempting to judge your progress on the scale. There are better options.

Instead, pay attention to how your body strengthens during exercise and how your energy level increases. Another measure is to determine how you feel in your clothes and how they fit you.

Take your time for Bond

Most importantly, it's time to connect with your new baby and not worry about anything else. You will not get those precious moments back. So make the most of your time with loved ones, take them one day at a time when you do sports again, and be patient with yourself.

Give yourself time to heal and time to recover.

28 Apr
Blog

10 Tips to Restarting Fitness After Childbirth

No two women are the same, from their bodies to their deliveries to their recovery and then the healing process. And although each person can be different, the main rules remain the same if the woman feels ready to start exercising again after birth.

The important thing is to wait for your body to heal. Your body must be able to cope with the physical demands of the training. Until you have been clarified by a doctor, which can be between six weeks and six months depending on your contractions, you have to be careful.

Even if your body is ready and you have been cleared, there are a few more things to consider because If you are physically released for training, it does not mean that you can go straight back to your old routine.

And that definitely doesn't mean that everything is perfect inside. There is still a risk of bleeding, tearing, or your body's inability to meet the requirements of the exercise. However, you will be able to do something and then gradually increase your activity as you become stronger and more comfortable.

This gradual development could consist of walking your baby in the stroller and doing a few laps every day, or using the stationary bike in the gym with a light resistance routine. Once you're cleared up, there are a few things you should do to make sure the transition back to training is as smooth as possible. Remember to prepare mentally. This may take some time.

Get the all-clear

I recently spoke to a midwife who told me that some local authorities in the UK are no longer doing the six-week follow-up. This may be the case, but it does not mean that you do not have to go to your provider, especially if it is your first baby and everything is new to you.

Once you are approved for training, you can gradually increase your activity. Please note that this does not mean that you can go straight to the spin course and give your all, but gradually move more and participate in light activities. You might be cleared up after six weeks or if you had a caesarean section or 10-12 weeks for a nonsurgical delivery, either way, It is important that your doctor approves you first.

Listen to your body

Body weight exercises are a great way to get back to things once you are physically active again. Squats, sitting on the wall, pelvic floor exercises and deep abdominal breathing are good starting points.

You may find that many of the things you could do before now go a little beyond you, and that's fine. Your nuclear power may have completely disappeared, and that's okay. It won't be like this forever because you will start to rebuild your body and become stronger.

However, if you pounce on it and try to go straight back to your previous level, there's a good chance you're doing more damage to your body and going back further – or even doing long-term damage. Listen to your body if you think you can try something more challenging, give it a try, but take it easy and stop when it doesn't feel right.

Avoid anything that is tiring

Are you thinking of going into a HIIT class or following an extreme course? Think again

Aside from the fact that your body is still recovering from an enormous amount of stress, you have probably not been physically active for some time.

Not to mention that you still have the relaxin hormone in your body that makes your joints more supple and increases the risk of joint injuries, especially if you walk back and forth or try to perform a hard movement at speed. Instead, opt for options with less impact and less risk and focus on options where you have full control.

If cardio is your thing, the stationary bike is a great way to do sports again and build your aerobic fitness. If you prefer weights, it's also great to lift a few weeks more easily than normal (and avoid building pressure in your belly) and a fantastic way to get your body used to lifting again.

Ignore the scales

This is important because it is so tempting to think about the scale, but there are other things that affect the number that stares at you.

For example, breastfeeding, how much you feed, how much sleep you get, and whether you can eat whole meals affects your overall weight. This does not apply to all other factors such as stress, hormones and energy levels.

You have enough reason to worry about your new bundle of joy without adding pressure, losing a certain amount of weight or worrying about how you look. It can be tempting to judge your progress on the scale. There are better options.

Instead, pay attention to how your body strengthens during exercise and how your energy level increases. Another measure is to determine how you feel in your clothes and how they fit you.

Take your time for Bond

Most importantly, it's time to connect with your new baby and not worry about anything else. You will not get those precious moments back. So make the most of your time with loved ones, take them one day at a time when you do sports again, and be patient with yourself.

Give yourself time to heal and time to recover.

28 Apr
Blog

Google Pixel Buds 2 Review: New Design, Better Sound

Pixel buds 2

Google Pixel Buds 2 is currently under review: new design, better sound

"Google's latest Pixel Buds significantly improve audio quality."

  • Optimized setup

  • Attractive look

  • Excellent language integration

  • Useful functions

  • Average battery life

  • No noise cancellation technology

This is an ongoing review. We'll update this review after spending a few days with Google's new Pixel Buds.

It was only a matter of time before Google brought its first real competitor into the real wireless earphone arena. To be honest, I'm surprised it took so long.

Google today launched its second-generation Pixel Buds, a pair of earphones for $ 179 that scraps the wire that holds the originals together and adds new design elements and countless features. I didn't have enough time with the Pixel Buds for a full review, but I listened long enough to have some thoughts.

Out of the box

The packaging for the Pixel Buds – technically the Pixel Buds 2, for which I will use the official name of Google in this test – is tiny, white and decorated with various pictures of the buds themselves. Inside are the buds, which are in a wireless charging case, as well as additional earplugs, a USB-C charging cable and the corresponding documentation.

Google Pixel BudsNick Woodard / Digital Trends

I usually unpack everything, take a quick look at the product, and then check the quick start guide to see if there are any setup quirks that I need to stick to. But I never opened the brochure with the Pixel Buds.

When I pulled the first bud out of the shell, a notification appeared on my Pixel 2 smartphone asking me to pair with the buds. A second prompt followed, instructing me to download the associated app and starting the rest of the setup process from there.

All thanks to the "Fast Pair on Android" function from Google, which allows you to pair your Pixel or Android 6.0+ device with the earphones immediately. I'm the first to admit that most earphone setups are fairly simple, but this was as simple and rational as possible, and more closely matches how Apple's AirPods work.

The original buds, which were $ 20 cheaper when they first released, had a fair amount of connectivity issues. It's a small sample size, but I haven't seen any of these issues in my time with the new Pixel Buds that have Bluetooth 5 technology.

design

The Pixel Buds aren't the smallest earbuds in the game (at 5.3 grams, they outweigh Apple AirPods by over a gram each), but they're not the heaviest either – both the Samsung Galaxy Buds + and Amazon Echo Buds weigh more . You are right in the wheelhouse, which is all we can ask of most earphones these days.

Google Pixel BudsNick Woodard / Digital Trends

However, it is the actual design of the Pixel Buds that fascinates me the most. In our view, the original pixel buds were loose-fitting, and although they never fell out, they didn't create the seal in your ear canal that is important for noise isolation. Google has listened and created a pair that is almost flush with your ears and offers a much safer feeling. I managed to do a five-mile run in my first few hours with the buds and had no problem moving it around during transportation.

The Pixel Buds will only be available in the cute color "Clear White" at launch, but then with the options "Fast Black", "All Mint" and "Oh So Orange". The charging case is more like an egg than the pill-shaped carriers that Samsung and others have adopted. It's also heavier than any case except the Echo Buds, but still pocket-friendly.

properties

At first glance, the functions of the Pixel Buds remind me of a classic baseball power hit. You will meet some doubles and homers if you can tolerate a hint here and there.

Google Pixel BudsNick Woodard / Digital Trends

Double: A weatherproof IPX4 degree of protection that protects you from splashes and sweat. You won't want to submerge them, but the Pixel Buds should be strong enough for training.

Home run: The Pixel Buds are the first Hotword-enabled earphones from Google Assistant. So you just have to say "Hey Google" or "OK ​​Google" to have your own voice assistant at your disposal. This is of course not new to the industry as Amazon and Apple are ahead in this regard. But Google made it effortless to use, to the point where I preferred to ask Google to change a title or increase the volume using the built-in gesture commands on the bud. These are easy to use, but the hands-free function of the buds is more attractive.

Swing and a miss: The Pixel Buds have a battery life of five hours on a single charge. Which, to be fair, is on par with the Apple AirPods and Amazon Echo Buds. But five hours is not much anymore, not when the Samsung Galaxy Buds + sets standards with 11 hours of playback time. With the included charging case, which is QI certified and can be charged wirelessly with any compatible charger, the Pixel Buds have a remarkable total life of 24 hours.

Double: The return of Google Translate via the conversation mode with Google Assistant or the Google Translate app. The feature was a highlight of the first generation Pixel Buds and remains an entertaining tool to translate the words you or others speak into different languages. It is an advantage that not everyone will use, but which can be used again and again when needed. The same applies to the possibility to ask Google directly how to get anywhere, or to read out notifications from practically every app on your device. Not absolutely necessary, but neat.

Look dismayed: Google has decided against adding noise cancellation technology to the second generation buds, and I think this is a missed opportunity. Sure, the fit is much better this time, which allows passive noise reduction. And yes, Apple's second-generation AirPods don't offer this feature at $ 20 more. But the Amazon Echo Buds did it, and they sell for $ 50 less than the Pixel Buds. It's not a drawback that the Pixel Buds don't have noise reduction, but if they really wanted to make a current move in the real wireless earbud category, this would have been the way to go.

Audio quality

When I started hearing the Pixel Buds, I wanted to be sure of what I was hearing. So I passed it on to my partner, played the track that Brothers Osborne had just auditioned (Love the Lonely Out of You) and asked her for a description of the sound.

Google Pixel BudsNick Woodard / Digital Trends

She took the word I was thinking of – crisp. The Pixel Buds have custom 12mm dynamic speaker drivers and a design Google has called "hybrid acoustic design", designed to seal the outside of the earbuds, but with spatial vents to reduce the feeling of a clogged ear. The result is music for your ears.

It will take me a couple of hours before I can justify the comparison with one of the top competitors I mentioned. And they are definitely not comparable to something like the Sennheiser Momentum Wireless 2, but who is it? That being said, I can definitely say that the Pixel Buds have improved by leaps and bounds compared to the sound of the first version, which, as we put it, was "okay". The lower end is there, but not overbearing, the vocals are as clear as a day and the middle section is well balanced.

Google Pixel BudsNick Woodard / Digital Trends

There is no equalizer in the Pixel Buds app, but I probably wouldn't use it even if there was one. Songs like The Wood Brothers & # 39; Luckiest Man were a pleasure and made me feel like I could hear the strings behind every single note. Google also suggested listening to 8D content on YouTube that re-produced existing songs to sound as if they were moving in the listener. It's not music that is specific to the Pixel Buds, but it does help when solid-sounding buds recreate Freddie Mercury's legendary vocals that dance back and forth over your head.

The few calls I made were clear, and those at the other end of the conversation noticed that I sounded better than trying other buds. The Pixel Buds have a pair of beam-shaping microphones that are designed to focus on your voice for listening in louder conditions or on the go. It's been a limited experience so far, but so good so far.

I would be very happy if I didn't mention the Adaptive Sound function in the Pixel Buds. In the same way that you can have your phone automatically adjust the brightness depending on the environment, Google gives you the ability to adjust the volume of the Pixel Buds depending on your location. It's subtle, but it should be, and I thought it was good if I walked outside on a busy street.

Conclusion

The pixel buds are filled to the brim with functions. However, in order to access the best ones, you have to be at least partially invested in the Google / Android ecosystem. They have significantly improved the design and audio quality of the originals, but have given the latest version an average battery life and lacked the ability to suppress noise.

I will repeat this assessment again after spending more time with these buds. Currently, Google’s Pixel Buds have made some important adjustments. Because of this, they may be the best Android earbuds you can get right now. But they left room to grow. There may be too much space in today's fast paced real wireless world.

Editor's recommendations




27 Apr
Blog

5 Reasons Why High-Rep Bodyweight Workouts Are Hurting You

5 reasons why high-rep weight workouts hurt you - fitness, functional fitness, body weight, cortisol, volume, high-intensity workouts, home workouts, high reps, pushups. Lunges, squats, claps, jump squats, reverse plank

While the world of functional fitness has been tending to do hundreds of squats, burpees and lunges over the past six weeks, trainer James Fitzgerald warns that this does more harm than good. Fitzgerald, winner of the first CrossFit games in 2007 and founder of OPEX Fitness, said:

"They are not functional and cause cortisol dependency. Performance drops during body weight circles, although they look chic on a zoom call with a class, result in poor motion compensation and a depth of 1,000 repetitions," he added.

Although 200 lunges for the time could lead to a "sweaty workout" that many people seem to yearn for, according to Fitzgerald, the five main reasons to avoid programming training such as squats, pushups, lunges and burpees "for the time" are as follows:

  1. You do not achieve sustainable results
  2. They reduce immunity and resilience
  3. They lead to poor movement patterns and compensations
  4. They are not functional
  5. They cause cortisol junkies and poor behavior when exercising

So 200 lunges have expired for the time, what's in it?

Fitzergald explained that there are safe and effective ways to program body weight training that can make long-term progress. This is possible if you follow the basic principles of programming.

He gave the following as an example of a more effective way to use body weight movements than four laps over time:

  • Max set of gossip pushups. Pause 60 seconds.
  • 20 squats. Pause 60 seconds.
  • 60 seconds back plank. Pause 60 seconds.

Repeat four times.

Why is this a better approach?

Fitzgerald asks you to consider the following principles of body weight training:

The dose response of body weight training

To achieve effective body weight training, you need to understand the “dose response,” that is, the stimulus or outcome of each workout. According to Fitzgerald, these are three things:

  1. Intent: What is the goal of this program and what is the customer working towards?
  2. Modality: What kind of movements does the client do?
  3. The single person: Who am I programming for? What are your individual skills, abilities, limitations, training age?

If you understand who (i.e. person), what (i.e. modality) and why (i.e. intention), you can control the dose response and ultimately the resulting adjustments and results.

The limits of body weight training

Before you put together a body weight program, you also need to understand its limits.

These restrictions mainly concern activities with a closed chain and relative strength, ie strength against body weight, as well as strength endurance, ie the ability to do repetitions at submaximal loads.

They also have relatively little variability because they have no access to equipment and novel means of performing movement patterns.

As a result, many trainers prescribe many repetitions of very similar types of muscle contractions, which can become a problem for most as poor movement patterns are then repeated for a large number of repetitions.

In addition, body weight training effectively lacks intensity, at least in terms of maximum exertion, since you have no access to external stress. For stronger and fitter customers, this means that endurance efforts are sometimes converted into metabolic efforts that become glycolytic. In other words, they are starting to use the anaerobic milk system, which is a great way to lower immunity and bring about negative metabolic adjustments as it promotes the use of sugar as a fuel.

Three final tips for an effective design of the body weight program

Once you understand the above, you can start thinking about how to program body weight training effectively.

Fitzgerald recommends programming whole body resistance, which includes upper and lower body movements as well as core movements.

From there he says:

Tip 1: Create a progressive program

As with any effective program, be it a strength or endurance program, a body weight training program should be progressive over time, building up from the previous one every week. Three ways to do this include:

  1. Increase the volume over time and add repetitions for every session and every week.
  2. Increase the speed of contractions over time, from motor control to endurance to dynamic movements
  3. Adjust the pace and increase the eccentric or lowering phase of an exercise

Tip 2: split the days

For most lifestyle athletes, Fitzgerald recommends adhering to a simple exercise program that focuses on durability and alternates between full-body resistance training days and aerobic training days.

Regarding # 3: consider the individual long-term

Just make sure you understand your client's physical abilities, goals, and intentions, and then design workouts that are “within your client's abilities”.

If you would like to learn more from Fitzgerald, you can find out about its various training options at OPEX Fitness.

27 Apr
Blog

Gears Tactics Review: Solid Tactics in a Rich Universe

Gear Tactics Rating Grainy Grub Fun Gearstactics 00

Gears Tactics Review: New genre, same bloody Gears chaos

"… Gears Tactics doesn't have to keep up with the latest major series game to convey the franchise's big ambitions in terms of global conflict."

  • Deep yet accessible gameplay

  • Feels like a natural extension of the franchise's best features

  • Another interesting kick for the constantly evolving tradition

  • A new way to take in an old world

  • Some control and camera problems

  • The texture popup remains

  • The presentation looks and feels a bit boring

Gears Tactics is another attempt to lure viewers into the longstanding franchise that has Microsoft's Xbox 360 firmly on the map. After more than 14 years of harsh voices and plump biceps, turn-based death and destruction wrapped around the series' signature sauce are the most exciting addition to the saga since Gears of War 2.

What we have here is a turn-based strategy title that deals with the favorite band of all block-headed brothers and their struggles against the infamous Locust horde.

Commanding a tiny but high-spirited team to splash freaky lizards feels familiar, yet different enough to free Gears veterans from their third-person roots, and to offer strategy fans the kind of odds with small odds of which you live.

Gears Tactics doesn't hold your hand, but it will inspire you to follow the maggot control strategies that your online friends would normally mess up. It is evidence of a franchise that has perfected the bloody struggle from the start, and this tactical approach to its format should have been done years ago.

Gears Tactics gameplay

Gears Tactics is a prequel set 12 years before the first game when Gabe Diaz takes over the reins. His team's job is to murder Ukkon, the enigmatic engineer behind the legendary monstrosities of Brumak and Corpser, and he's not afraid to use his grotesque creations to stop you.

Scratch 12 maggots

To defeat Ukkon, recruit and replenish heroes and foot soldiers, with roles determined by one of the five legendary weapons they prefer.

It may not sound like a lot to play around with. Still, the tight design helps keep the core elements of the fight simple, with more sophisticated strategies emerging from the direction you choose to take your unique talent trees as they advance in battle.

Since a cutscene only occasionally drives the narrative forward, you almost always compete against the enemy. There is very little menu fluff to get stuck in. This is good because the menus on a cell phone are not out of place.

As soon as you are outdoors, all hands are on deck. No matter which of the four types of missions you are in, your squad of four or fewer units will land in the same position, and the fog of war will cover almost everything until you advance through the mud.

There is a decent amount of variety when it comes to mission goals, but they all boil down to the same thing: kill some crazy lizards.

Every turn looks, feels and sounds like a Gears of War battle.

Each unit consumes a limited amount of AP per round between offensive and defensive actions, and you can cycle through your team to optimize your budget.

Performances return and are encouraged to make the most of your team's strict action limit. Without them, it really wouldn't feel like a Gears game.

The way Gear's legendary action sequences translate seamlessly into this turn-based formula creates combat dynamics that are shockingly accurate to the starting material, while offering a welcome new perspective. The idea of ​​taking over an existing Gears game and simply moving the camera up makes sense here.

Gears tactics passive skills

Each round looks, feels and sounds like a Gears of War battle that takes place from a different angle. Units slip into cover and shoot (and miss) from behind, and the cinematic kill cam occasionally goes over the shoulder of a unit to bring you closer to the action.

Loot caches scattered across each battlefield award random weapon accessories and gear at the end of the mission, filling up the time between tasks with numerous character customizations. Once you recruit more allies, spend a good five to ten minutes between each mission to ensure that their equipment and capabilities are aligned.

Banging a boomer's head and bursting wretches with his grenade launcher is just the icing on the cake, and throwing a pineapple into an emergence hole still feels worthy of a high five from anyone nearby.

Tactics on the battlefield, strategy in the menus

The progression of history and mandatory side missions ease the need for reserve troops. You cannot retrieve a unit's equipment if it is used even once in a multi-mission chapter. Hence, loot management is another thing you should keep an eye on. Once you get to some of the later acts, the Wonky customization menu starts to complicate things.

Gears Tactics effectively communicates the franchise's great ambitions with regard to global conflicts.

If you are not a master tactician, it is not easy to remember the dozen passive and active skills of each unit. A list of the characteristics of each unit can be obtained, but trying to get the most out of each round is serious mental training that can strain newbies.

It's the kind of information overload veterans of the series have to fall in love with, and one that wouldn't be quite as problematic if you could involve the same team in every mission.

Gears Tactics gameplay

Gears Tactics' slower turn-based pace breathes new life into the franchise, which is about an almost endless war of wear. The series has started to feel more open, but instead of exploring before another big fight, Sera's decimated world helps it feel more alive than ever when it has the time to move during an ongoing battle.

As with the previous entries, Gears Tactics is still plagued by texture pop-in issues, and everyone except the lead actors see and sound a bit stiff. Once things are loaded properly, Gears Tactics effectively communicates the franchise's great ambitions in terms of global conflict.

You are more likely to cheer for a good grenade throw or a happy critical hit than to complain about technical quirks or methods of calculating hits.

Just like with Gears 5, my keyboard and controller constantly struggled to take control of the action and caused conflict between the camera and cursor. Coupled with the inability to check the enemy's chances of hitting just to leave the line of sight, I sometimes felt that the game was not entirely fair.

But on a lower difficulty level there was far more jubilation about victory than tears of fear. There were gameplay sessions that, along with a menu that feels touch-like, can easily be transferred to mobile devices at some point in the future. XCOM did it and I wouldn't mind getting Tactics on the train.

Our opinion

Gears Tactics has been my favorite Gears game for years. It's not nearly as feature-rich as the main series titles. Still, the slower pace is an exciting new way to enjoy Sera's crumbling civilization, whether you're a longtime fan or a newbie looking for a new strategy title on a budget.

Aside from a couple of technical issues, this has revived my love for a franchise that I really thought would not survive the leap of the next generation. It turned out that it wasn't the increasingly complicated story that distracted me from the franchise, but the same tired gameplay loop that it has used in the past decade and a half.

Gears Tactics is a brilliant next step for a series that hasn't seen much innovation since its launch. It's not very ambitious, but it's a hell of a lot of fun.

Is there a better alternative out there?

It is XCOM in the Gears universe. Both games have many years of history behind them that are not necessary for their fun at all, so they are the same at the moment. You get the same core experience. It's more a question of which world you prefer to dive into first.

How long it will take?

A couple dozen hours, sure. It all depends on how much preparation you put into each round. There are several difficulty levels with important modifiers for strategy games to increase the warmth. If you want to face a challenge, you will continue to play it for a long time.

Should you buy it

Depends on. As a Microsoft IP, every game in the franchise is somehow available on GamePass. For hardcore gears fans, it's worth the $ 60 price and absolutely worth a few dollars to get through quickly if you're new to the franchise.

Editor's recommendations




27 Apr
Blog

JBL Bar 9.1 Review: Wireless Dolby Atmos With A Few Flaws

JBL Bar 9.1 wireless Dolby Atmos soundbar speaker

JBL Bar 9.1 review: Wireless Dolby Atmos with a few bugs

"JBL's Bar 9.1 offers a unique, fully wireless design, but this feature comes at a high cost."

  • Super easy setup

  • Large, powerful bass

  • Convincing Dolby Atmos and 5.1 sound

  • Practical wireless speakers

  • Supports eARC, 4K, Dolby Vision

  • Not enough entries

  • Not enough EQ settings

  • Dialogue needs a boost

  • Mediocre for music

Sound bars do a tough job. The really good ones somehow manage to replace a full 5.1 home theater surround system with just a single elongated speaker cabinet and possibly a wireless subwoofer.

Any soundbar that uses satellite speakers – whether connected to the soundbar or connected to an electrical outlet – may produce better sound, but at the expense of convenience and physical space. This is the real reason why sound bars make sense for so many people.

That's what makes JBL's Bar 9.1 so convincing: With a pair of battery-powered, completely wireless satellites, it not only promises the real acoustic separation of the physical speakers, but also brings Dolby Atmos into the mix for an impressive 3D experience – everything for round $ 1,000.

JBL has set a high standard for Bar 9.1. Succeeds? Let's find out.

design

JBL Bar 9.1 Dolby Atmos Soundbar side viewSimon Cohen / Digital Trends

I personally don't think soundbars should attract attention – at least not visually – and Bar 9.1 tries to keep its physical presence to a minimum. Frankly it's boring, but in the best possible way.

The dark gray plastic case has only the slightest shine and is still only 47 inches long, even in its widest form – with both satellite modules at the ends. Take these modules off and you barely have 35 inches left.

It's also amazingly short and just under 2.5 inches tall. That should fit under all but the shortest TV stands. The minimal set of four controls on top can easily be ignored, and the scrolling LED indicator on the front is hidden behind the speaker grille and is completely invisible when not in use.

The bar 9.1 reduces its physical presence to a minimum. It looks boring, but in the best possible way.

The subwoofer is a different story. It's a very bulky and boxy unit that turns out to be a challenge if you don't want it to remain visible.

JBL Bar 9.1 Dolby Atmos soundbar subwooferSimon Cohen / Digital Trends

If you're wondering how these detachable wireless satellites work when the Bar 9.1 is wall-mounted (which you can do with the included hardware), that's pretty impressive: the docking magnets are incredibly strong. Sitting requires a concerted effort – and sometimes both hands – to pull them freely. And although I haven't tested it, there is an option to mount the satellites on the wall at their secondary locations.

When the satellite is fully charged, you have a playing time of approximately 10 hours. A warning message appears on the bar display, informing you when a boost is required. Docking again is the easiest way, but the satellites cleverly have their own micro USB ports. This means that you can leave them technically in the rear or wall-mounted position and simply run a micro USB cable to them to charge them continuously. This can be an appealing option if you are planning sequential screenings of Lord Of The Rings films, as the satellite's batteries will take three hours to fully charge after discharging.

Sound bars are said to be easy to set up and use, but the JBL Bar 9.1 takes simplicity to a new level

This otherwise excellent design has only one irregularity: in some markets, JBL contains a set of four end caps to cover the exposed charging contacts on the bar and the satellites when they are not docked. Given the possibility of keeping the satellites permanently in this state thanks to these micro USB charging ports, this makes a lot of sense. What makes no sense is why Bar 9.1 doesn't always come with them. For example, our test unit didn't have one in the box.

To install

JBL Bar 9.1 Dolby Atmos soundbar displaySimon Cohen / Digital Trends

Yes, sound bars should be easy to set up and use, but the JBL Bar 9.1 takes simplicity to a new level. After connecting the soundbar and subwoofer to the appropriate sockets and connecting the HDMI output of the bar to the HDMI ARC (or eARC) connector on your TV using the supplied HDMI cable, you are done with the basics.

The last step is to calibrate the system. Drag the surround modules from their houses next to the main bar and place them next to you. Pressing one of the buttons on the remote control for three seconds triggers a short but loud test tone, which is recorded by the bar's built-in microphones. Place the environment in its final positions and repeat the test. That's it. It took me longer to unpack the components than to set them up.

You can also connect the Bar 9.1 to Wi-Fi for AirPlay or Chromecast music streaming. Oddly enough, this has to be done using either the Apple Home app or the Google Home app on a smartphone or tablet. My attempts to use Apple Home failed, but Google Home got it working.

links

JBL Bar 9.1 Dolby Atmos soundbar connections at the rearSimon Cohen / Digital Trends

Simplicity is great until it gets in the way of what you want to do. The connections of the JBL Bar 9.1 are a good example: You get an HDMI input, an HDMI ARC output, an optical input and a USB connection.

This means that with multiple source devices like streaming players, Blu-ray players, game consoles, etc., you need to make some decisions about how they are connected and how to switch between them. At this price, the Bar 9.1 should behave like a real A / V receiver replacement with at least four HDMI inputs.

Including the optical connector can be helpful for older non-HDMI ARC televisions. However, please note the following: Dolby Atmos does not work via an optical connection. So if you want the full Atmos experience on an older TV, use your Atmos source. The device must be connected to the bar's only HDMI input.

The USB port is honestly a mystery to me. JBL says you can use it to play music from a USB stick or external drive, but I can't imagine why you want it to. Only MP3 files are supported and playback cannot be controlled at all.

Intelligent functions

JBL Bar 9.1 Dolby Atmos soundbar with remote controlSimon Cohen / Digital Trends

Despite the fact that most premium sound bars are now compatible with some kind of voice assistant, the JBL Bar 9.1 does not claim to officially support any of them. Maybe it's an oversight. I was able to configure the soundbar in both the Google Home and Apple Home apps. Google Assistant and Siri recognized them and initiated music streams.

Amazon's Alexa seems the weird A.I. however out.

A more puzzling question is why the Bar 9.1 with its two built-in microphones was not designed as a real smart speaker. With the Sonos Beam, you can talk to Google Assistant or Alexa for less than half the price. The $ 400 link bar from JBL acts as a Google Smart Speaker and Android TV streamer.

Sound quality

JBL Bar 9.1 Dolby Atmos soundbar expandedSimon Cohen / Digital Trends

Overall, the JBL Bar 9.1 lives up to its promise to offer a powerful home cinema experience. When it comes to films and shows with a Dolby Atmos soundtrack or even just a Dolby Digital 5.1 track, immerse yourself in a sound ball.

I had a lot of fun watching John Wick, Chapter 3: Parabellum, a film tailored to demonstrate the strengths of Bar 9.1. Gunshots were heard with precision from different corners of the room, while in the motorcycle chase you could feel the growing whine of the motors of the motorcycles as they approached from behind and then with Wick & # 39; s ride (if only briefly) were level.

You may be tempted to leave the rear speakers docked to the soundbar, but this should be avoided. The bar 9.1 relies heavily on the placement of these satellites to provide an impressive experience and is difficult to restore spatial audio without it.

With a subwoofer that is as big and heavy and powerful as the one that comes with the Bar 9.1, you can expect serious basses that won't disappoint. The 10-inch submarine that shoots down will let go of your fillings effortlessly if you allow it to. With 300 watts of power, it's a good thing that you can choose from five levels of bass playback with the remote control. I found that level five can get a little uncomfortable at times.

But don't put the bass back too much. At the lowest level, the bar 9.1 loses a significant amount of low-end and it becomes clear that the drivers in the soundbar were not set to work well without the sub. It is definitely a package deal.

The biggest gap is the lack of a dialog improvement mode.

As good as the Bar 9.1's surround sound chops are, there are some limitations that prevent them from performing as well as I expect a soundbar to do at this price.

The main disadvantage is the lack of EQ settings. Yes, you can change the bass level, the degree to which the Atmos speakers unfold their magic, and the volume intensity of the satellites, but that's all she wrote. There are no discrete settings for movies, TV shows, or music, and no way to control the treble or middle independently. Even budget sound bars offer more options. The biggest gap, however, is the lack of a dialog enhancement mode.

There have been many times in which I had to crank up the total volume to overcome the under-emphasized central channel. My family noticed it too; My wife asked me why it felt like our television had become so loud lately.

Bar 9.1 is also a mediocre music machine. If you only play tracks that benefit from the latest recording techniques, such as Beck's Hyperspace album or Billie Eilish's No Time To Die tracks, it is actually very pleasant to be surrounded by these songs. However, take a journey back in time to more traditional mixes, and the tracks sound encased in the soundbar case.

This problem is exacerbated by a clear lack of midrange definition. You can use bar 9.1 as a Bluetooth speaker, but I recommend sticking with AirPlay or Chromecast, which both sound a lot better.

Wireless problems

JBL Bar 9.1 wireless Dolby Atmos soundbar speakerSimon Cohen / Digital Trends

Every time you disconnect a physical connection between a source and a speaker, there is a risk of interference and other connection problems. I've seen this more than once on real bluetooth earbuds. Unfortunately, this can also affect the performance of the Bar 9.1 wireless satellites.

I noticed several times that both wireless speakers suffered from poor connection. It was not a constant – most of the time things were very stable, but every now and then I heard them interrupted. Given what I do for a living, my media room may have slightly more wireless devices than average, which could have helped, but the room itself is relatively small. The speakers were never more than a meter from the soundbar and always had a line of sight without physical barriers.

Of course, this will vary depending on your personal area, but it is something you should be aware of. These speakers are only wireless. So if you find that their connection is not stable, there may be very little you can do to improve it.

Our opinion

The JBL Bar 9.1 is an innovative solution to an age-old problem: better immersive sound without losing the simplicity of a sound bar. It works out. With an effortless setup and wireless speakers that you can put up almost anywhere, it's a very chic design. However, barebone input options, minimal audio settings and matte music playback are difficult to swallow at this price.

Is there a better alternative?

When freedom from fully wireless rear satellite speakers is a must in a sound bar, the JBL Bar 9.1 is not just a good choice, it's the only choice. But be prepared that JBL has restricted other functions and even the sound quality by offering this cool function. If you agree with wired rear speakers, the Vbyio SB36514-G6 36 ″ 5.1.4 Dolby Atmos soundbar is a much better value.

How long it will take?

The Bar 9.1's construction and materials are excellent, and the wireless satellite modules are also built to last, so they'll likely be able to withstand a lot of docking and undocking over the years. However, keep in mind that all rechargeable batteries will eventually run out and we don't know how easy (or expensive) it will be to replace them when they're done.

Should you buy it

If you're a movie dog who loves big, bold basses and has a strong desire to avoid laying cables at all costs, the JBL Bar 9.1 may be a good choice despite its shortcomings. Everyone else should think long and hard before spending $ 1,000 on this soundbar – you can find great Dolby Atmos sound for a lot less.

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