Decide what to buy | the Reevoo.com blog, featuring news on TVs, cameras, laptops, mp3 players & other gadgets, shopping tips and deals, reviews and more

We’re all feeling the pinch in the run up to Christmas, but with all the great movies coming on TV it’s still the best time of year to upgrade to a home cinema system.  In a gesture of seasonal goodwill, major manufacturers like LG, Sony, Samsung and Philips all have cheap home cinema systems on the market suitable for the budget-conscious.  Although you still won’t be able to pick up a Blu ray system for much less than £350, there’s lots of choice in DVD home cinema systems under £150. Here’s the pick of the bunch, plus one to avoid.*

(*we’re basing our choices on the opinions of real shoppers who really own these products, not because these manufacturers have offered to send one of these systems over if we write nice things.  Although we wouldn’t say no if one arrived at Reevoo Towers, no strings attached. In case anyone from Sony/LG/Philips/Samsung was wondering…)

LG HT304SU

Whether you’re looking for something to fit into your living room discreetly, or you’re a fan of great design, LG’s HT304SU 5.1 DVD system is one to consider.  The front, centre and rear speakers are neat little glossy black balls, but they still give out a decent 300W when teamed with the subwoofer.  It’s impressively flexible, catering for DivX and MP3 CDs, and letting you copy tracks from CDs directly to MP3 players which can plug into its USB socket.  Reviewers are generally very happy, awarding on average a score of 8.4/10, but are irritated by the short rear speaker cables.

Panasonic SC-PT170

This Panasonic home cinema system has a more traditional look, but it’s still very clever under the surface.  As well as upscaling, HDMI connections and 5.1 surround sound, it has a couple of more unusual features.  It’s very energy-efficent - up to 50% better than previous models.  Whispermode is Panasonic’s smart way to make sure you get the full effect of surround sound even at low volumes, which keeps you and your neighbours happy. Whispermode does get mixed reports from Reevoo reviews, but they’re still impressed enough with the system to give it an average score of 8.6/10.

Sony DAV-DZ280

This Sony home cinema system is the right choice if you’re looking for something to double as a hifi.  It has an iPod dock and technical wizardry to give music back what compressed file formats like MP3 take away. And with 850W of power, you won’t want more volume.  Reviewers do report the system’s tricky to set up and there were complaints again about the length of the speaker wires provided. Apart from this, owners were very happy and it was rated 9/10 on average.

One to avoid: while reviewers are very happy with Goodmans TVs and set-top boxes, lots of them have had significant problems with its HEC142 home cinema system, which is cursed with slow response time and unreliable sound and playback.

MP3 players have long since stopped being a luxury and become an essential.  As more manufacturers have started competing with Apple’s dominent iPod clan, we’ve seen players so small you could accidentally inhale them and a raft of new features, from the sensible (internet capability and audio enhancement) to features with a more niche appeal (waterproof players*).

Another advantage of the current ubiquitousness of MP3 players is a sharp drop in prices.  While the first iPod would have set you back around £240 for the 5GB model, you can pick up a 4GB model for as little as £25 these days.

With this in mind, here is our guide to some of the best MP3 players under £50

Best in class goes to the Sansa Clip 8GB.  Although these can be bought for as little as £35, they don’t scrimp on features, with a microphone and FM radio - unlike even top of the range iPods. Four colours are available and each has a built-in clip, like the popular iPod Shuffle. 8GB will hold around 2000 songs in MP3 format.

The Philips GoGear Vibe 4GB gives you a colour screen for photo viewing, a microphone and FM radio.  Very conveniently, this player charges through a USB connection to your computer.  From £38, the 4GB model will hold 1000 songs.

You can even get your hands on an iPod or under £50: the 2GB model of the newest generation of Shuffle is being sold at £40-45 by a range of shops.  Apple claims this is the world’s smallest MP3 player - an achievment made possible by moving the controls from the player to the headphone cord and replacing a screen with a voice-over telling you the artist and title information.

*(If the mention of a waterproof player at the start of this article grabbed your attention, take a look at the Nu Dolphin: 1GB storage, waterproof heaphones and special straps to hold it to your goggles for £49)

With more and more people ditching bulky CD collections in favour of the music on their computers or MP3 players, the popularity of the traditional Hi Fi is being overtaken by new music gadgets.

If you’ve got money to spare, a killer multi-room music system can be acheived with media streamers by the likes of Sonos and Philips.  A more practical solution (and simpler to set up) solution is iPod speakers: just plug your MP3 player in or slot it in the dock, and press play.  Another advantage of these devices is their flexibility: friends or family just need to plug in their MP3 players and suddenly you can listen to a whole new range of music.

Everyone’s heard of Bose’s SoundDock and, with regular updates, there’s a lot to like in their range (the Portable, starting at £322, the Original now down to £128, the Mark II from £219 and the top of the line SoundDock 10, at a hefty £699).  Here are a range of other MP3 speakers from lesser-known companies that are worth considering.

Student Sound System

If you just want something small enough to fit in a student room and cheaper than a round of drinks, take a look at the Logic 3 iStation Traveller, from £10.  This battery powered speaker is light on features, but has surprisingly good sound quality for its size, according to reviews.  An average rating of 8.6/10 indicates owners were pretty happy with this pocket-szied device.

If your loan can stretch a little further, consider the Gear4 HouseParty, with nearly 4 times the wattage and a rating of 8.9/10 overall, which costs from £50 upwards.

Style-conscious

Most ipod docks follow a well-worn design track, mainly variations on a theme set by Bose’s classic devices.  Of the few to diverge from this pattern, the Gear4 Blackbox does so with most aplomb.

The Blackbox is a sleek, piano-black cube, with a red LED clock face showing through the surface and a dock on the top.  Very well-rated for design, it falls down a little on sound quality and ease of use, but still makes a drop dead gorgeous kitchen or bedroom clock/dock.

Audiophile

There’s a bit of a caveat with this category, as any audiophile worth his/her salt will tell you that trying to get great quality music from compressed audio files (like MP3s) is about as likely as.

Having said this, if you just want to get the best sound you can from your MP3 Player, you should look at the Logic 3 Valve80.  This classy-looking amplifier/speaker set recharges you iPod while it plays, and comes with a remote that allows you to navigate through your iPod music library.  The sound quality garners high praise from owners, scoring 9.0/10.  Drawbacks include being on the large size and quite pricey, starting from £277.

If you’re serious about sound quality and happy spending a little more in pursuit of it, you could do little better than combining a Fatman iTube with a pair of high quality Hi Fi speakers.

As you may have noticed, here at Reevoo we’re all about real customer reviews.  Other people aren’t as great fans of letting shoppers be guided by the opinions of people who actually own the product they’re thinking of buying.  These kind of people - usually the makers, or sellers, or promoters of products or services - are always looking for a way to game the reviews system.

Travel review websites have long had problems with hotel owners posing as guests, and AOL Travel has a great list of ways to spot a fake travel review.  We thought we’d come up with a similar list for people looking for electricals online.

You’ll find the full list at our fake reviews Facebook group (and we’d love you to add your own tips to it!), but here are a couple of tasters to get you started:

- Does the review sound like a sales person has written it?  Is the language used a bit like an advert or promo, with lots of positive adjectives and superlatives: best, most amazing, ground-breaking, etc.

- Does it stand out? Are the rest of the reviews negative and yet this one is overly positive or vice versa?  Another lesson here is to make sure you read the best and worst reviews of a product.

Find a full list here: SAFER: Shoppers Against Fake e-Reviews

Better known for making radios, Revo also make a handful of all-singing, all-dancing models that have the ability to stream music from your PC or Mac.

How it works

Revo’s media-streaming devices use your normal household wireless network to access the music files on your computer.  Once you’ve plugged the device into the power socket, it automatically detects available wireless networks.  You’ll have to choose the network you want and provide the password and there’s also some setting-up required on the computer where the music is stored.

What to buy

Revo makes four wireless music streamers, each with slightly different features.  The first four are slight variations on each other - see the table below for exact details.

If you buy one of these four, you don’t need any other equipment to start streaming, except of course a wireless network and a computer.  Revo also make the Mondo, a component to add to an existing Hi Fi sysemt that allows you to add internet radio and music streaming to your Hi Fi set-up.

Good points

Revo’s Bliks and iBliks are great single-box music systems, and the alarm clock feature certainly makes them a boon as a bedroom music player.  The simplicity of set-up gets some praise too:

“I would wholeheartedly recommend this item to anyone. There is nothing out there to touch it. Plug it in - turn it on - connect to wifi - it works - ’nuff said!”

Sound quality is moderately praised by Reevoo reveiwers, who mainly agree with Mark from Warrington: “sound quality very good considering its just one speaker”.

The price of Revo devices is also an advantage: the Blik/iBlik/Wifi/RadioStation models mostly cost between £100 and £150, while the Mondo starts at £80.  These prices look especially good when you consider that popular DAB radios like the Roberts Revival RD-50 or RD-60 or some of Pure’s Evoke range can set you back as much.

While the combination of an iPod Dock/MP3 player line-in and music streaming capability might seem like covering the same ground twice over, this combo means that you can stream your digital music from your computer, while a friend can plug their MP3 player in if you fancy a change.

Bad points

Revo music streamers generally garner high ratings on Reevoo, from 7.6 to 10 out of 10 (although this perfect rating comes from just one very happy customer).   In general, people thought the display was too small and found the controls (both the buttons on the top of the unit and the remote) could have been easier to use.  The Mondo attracts more serious criticism in this area, with one dissatisfied reviewer saying “Its interface is very bad for virtually everything”

Because the streamers work across your home wireless network, low signal areas or other people using the network can affect their performance.  One reviewer who lives in a rural area comments: “If someone else in my household is also using the internet then internet radio is variable.” For best result, you need a fast connection and to put the Revo in a high-signal area.

Perhaps the biggest hidden pitfall of the Revo streamers is their lack of support for AAC files.  If your music has been purchased from iTunes or is stored in your iTunes library, you probably won’t be able to play it through the Revo without first using conversion software.  This can be found for free online, but the process can be fiddly and time-consuming.

The bottom line

If you’re looking for a multi-room system, then Revo is not for you.  But if you’ve got a strong wifi signal at home and don’t use iTunes, this would make a good all-singing, all-dancing upgrade to your current radio or add-on to your hi fi.

As well as letting you know about longer-running vouchers on our Dixons-specific voucher page, we had to tell you about a special 12-hour promotion from Dixons:

Get 5% off all orders over £249 between 10am and 10pm today when you enter code FIVE12 during checkout.

So there’s never been a better time to splash out on a new TV like this superb LG 50PS3000, upgrade to a new laptop or refit your kitchen with new appliances.

And even if you miss this voucher, remember that Reevoo.com always has all the available (and valid!) vouchers, included in our price tables so you can be sure to get the best deal.

In a move sure to infuriate the Daily Mail, the EU is proposing a limit on the maximum volume of portable music players.

While Disgruntled from Tunbridge Wells and their like are probably already sharpening their pencils to write to the editor, it is worth pointing out that this is only a proposal at the moment and what is proposed is only an overide-able default.  So if you love your music really loud, you’ll can just switch the upper limit off.

The idea behind this new setting is a good one.  Research has shown that as many as 1 in 10 people are risking hearing damage.  Listening to your ipod at 80 decibels can cause this kind of damage when you listen for over 40 hours a week, but notch the volume just a little higher (to 89 decibels) and the damage begins after as little as four hours.

Younger people are particularly at risk of this kind of damage, according to Meglena Kuneva, EU Consumer Affairs Commissioner.  This isn’t just because they tend to listen to more music at louder volumes, but also because they are generally unaware of the risks.  By the time hearing damage starts to show, it is years too late to do anything to stop it.

A step ahead of the game, later this month Griffin are releasing MyPhones, headphones specially designed for children with a fixed upper volume limit of 80 decibels.

So what is a safe volume limit?  Decibels are a bit of an abstract measure unless you’re an audio specialist, but this chart from Floorscan Acoustics, sound-proofing experts, should help you get a handle on different volume levels.

Girl with headphones: http://www.flickr.com/photos/flattop341/ / CC BY 2.0

First up in our series on wireless media streaming systems, we’re looking at Sonos, one of the best known names in the field.  Sonos specialise in multi-room music streaming systems, at the upper end of the price scale.

How it works

Sonos products use a wireless mesh network to stream music between the different components in the system.

Connect one component to your broadband router, and then connect other supplementary components to speakers or hifis in other rooms. The components connect to each other wirelessly, and you can use controllers to browse through the music stored on your computer and play it through the components.

What to buy

You need at least one ZonePlayer to start your system.  Plug this into your router and then into either speakers or a hifi system.  (If you don’t want music to play in the room where your router is, you can use a ZoneBridge instead of a ZonePlayer.)

Next, add another ZonePlayer in every room you want music to play, plugging each of them into speaker or a hifi.  The ZonePlayer 120 has an integrated amplifier, so can be directly plugged into speakers.  The ZonePlayer 90 doesn’t, so you would need to plug it into an amplified music system, such as a standard hifi.

There are a range of ways to control the system, from two different kinds of remote controls (the older CR100 and the newer touchscreen CR200), to an iPhone app, to a program you can install on your computer.

You can also access music from internet radio and online music services through your computer and play them on your Sonos system.  If you haven’t heard of these services yet, watch out for a blog post explaining the different options in the near future.

Sonos sells each component separately, or offers bundles of everything you need for the simplest Sonos set-up

Good points

Sonos has tried to make its systems as simple as possible to understand and to set up.  Judging from Reevoo reviewers, they’ve seem to have succeeded on the set-up front - as one reviewer puts it, “it does what it claims to do, and it does it without any setup problems”.  One happy owner of the Sonos 120 bundle commented:

“Simple to set up and use out the box. My 11 year old son set up 8 rooms in an afternoon!”

Sound quality is also highly praised by Reevoo reveiwers.

Another advantage (and one not available with all media streamers) is the ability to use Sonos systems with online music services.

Bad points

The high ratings for Sonos products on Reevoo.com (between 8 and 10/10) indicate that owners have few complaints. The appearance comes in for a certain amount of criticism - as you can see from the pictures in this post, all components are grey/white boxes - but, as one reviewer points out, “what does that matter really!”

Another down-point is the price - the cheapest you can get a bundle is a whisker under £650, and outfitting an entire house can quickly add up to much more.

Some users have encountered problems with Sonos’ wireless transmission, saying it’s patchy at times, or occasionally drops out.

Across the country, freshers are packing up textbooks, gap year souvenirs and enough clothes so they won’t have to do any laundry til Christmas.  If you - or your son or daughter - is in this situation, be sure to leave enough room in the car for the electronic kit that’s indispensible to student life.  You’ll need a laptop and a kettle, of course, but it’s the other stuff that will really make your time at Uni.
Here is our list of the top 5 gadgets you can’t do without:

iPod/MP3 Player Speakers

There isn’t enough room in most halls of residence for a big hi-fi system, but a set of iPod speakers will fit in perfectly.  An added advantage is that any visitors can plug in their mp3 player, and most ipod speakers are small enough to move around - perfect for parties.

There are options to suit any budget, but the pick of the crop are the Sony SRSGU10P, from £55, rated at 9.6/10 by people who actually own it, and the top-of-the-range Bose SoundDock, rated 9.2/10 and costing £128 upwards.

Digital Camera

Whether it’s for recording your best memories or working out what you did last night, a digital camera is essential.  Ideal student cameras are small enough to fit in a pocket, with a flash and good battery life.  Remember that megapixel count isn’t everything - see our Digital Cameras Buyers’ Guide for an in-depth guide to getting the best camera for you.

Nintendo Wii

It’s very important not to overwork yourself during your first few weeks at Uni - or for the rest of the time.  The energetic games are almost as good as going to the gym (especially if you get the Wii Fit as well) and will come in handy breaking the ice with your neighbours in halls.

Memory Stick

As surprising as it seems, students are required to do some work.  Make this part of student life as painfree as possible with a large-capacity USB stick - 2GB should be enough for all your notes and essays.  Not only can you keep all your work to hand, but this also acts as a back-up if anything ever happens to your computer.  Keep your work doubly-safe by backing it up online with a free service like Google Docs or Dropbox.

Insurance

Once you’ve bought the gadgets you want to take to uni, be sure that you’ll still be able to bring them home by buying some insurance.  Student accommodation is frequently a target for opportunistic burglars - and most students don’t have enough available money to replace a broken laptop or a lost mp3 player.  The National Union of Students recommends Endsleigh Insurance, whose special students contents insurance covers laptops, phones and other gadgets as well as everything from your bike to your winter coat.  It even covers your possessions on the journey to Uni and when you leave them in your student accommodation over the holidays.

A couple of visitors to Reevoo.com have emailed us recently asking for some help finding earphones that don’t fall out of their ears, or that actually fit in their ears in the first place.  The majority of earphones seem to be made in a one-size-fits-all way, despite the fact ears vary as much as any other part of the body.  In fact, there are so many unique variations of ear size and shape, that ear-recognition was put forward as a rival to fingerprinting by crime specialists in the 19th century.

If you’re struggling to find a comfortable fit for your delicate shell-likes or big lugs, or you just can’t seem to keep your headphones on in the gym, here’s a quick guide to the best earphones for small ears and large.

Option 1: Headphones

It might seem obvious, but the simplest way to stop the damn things falling out/not fitting in is to swap them for heaphones that sit on top of the ear.  There are a lot of reasons why people prefer earphones to headphones, but newer models of headphone have adapted to work around lots of these disadvantages.

If lugging headphones around is your concern, there’s a range of headphones that fold flat for greater portability.

If price is your concern, there are headphones from only £4.

If you’re concerned about blocking out other noise, noise reducing or noise cancelling headphones exist to do just this - some actually block noise better than earphones.

Option 2: Earclips

If you don’t fancy switching to headphones, you could try earphones with an earclip, also known as a sportsclip.  These wrap around the outside of the ear a little like the arms of a pair of glasses, and are usually found on ’sports’ earphones.

Philips make a couple of earphones with earclips that have garnered top ratings from Reevoo reviewers: the SHS3200 is rated at 9.2/10 and costs £5 at the cheapest.  The SHS8000 comes in a little more expensive at £12, but is also top rated, with scores of 9.1/10 overall.

Option 3: Adaptable size earphones

Neither of these ideas sound any good?  Luckily, certain headphones manufacturers have come up with a much simpler solution: their earphones come with different sizes of inserts to suit different sizes of ear.

See a range of headphones that come with different size inserts here.