f you’ve never heard of ZVOX, you should. They make some really great sound products and the latest I tried is the 36-inch SB400 Full Metal Jacket sound bar.
First off, when you open the box and take out the instructions and hardware, beware, they are wrong and you need to know that.
On the box of cables (including power and every sound connection cable you might need) it says it requires a 10-minute installation and they were way off.
After opening the cable box and finding the cables I needed (power and optical digital audio) I had my sound cranking in 1 minute and 38 seconds, according to the stop watch timer on my Apple Watch.
So I suggest to ZVOX that they should make this correction, and I’m serious.
I’ll add, ZVOX does accurately describe it as “streamlined, super stylish sound bars that deliver intense, earth-moving bass without the need for separate subwoofers.”
Inside, producing the 3D sound is a trademarked MegaBass 4-inch woofer system and three 2-inch full range speakers.
The outside has a brushed aluminum cabinet. You can choose the 36- or 43-inch models; both are 3.2-inches thick and 5.5-inches high.
For sound enthusiasts, the frequency range us 58 Hz — 20 kHz.
All connections are on the back including power, analog stereo input, optical digital input and coaxial digital input. Or you can just go wireless sound via Bluetooth.
The backside has two keyhole mounting sites for wall hanging.
www.zvoxaudio.com $499 for 36-inch SB400 $499 and $599 for 43-inch SB500
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The Kanex Digital Audio Adapter is a great partner for the VZOX sound bar or for anyone wanting to get great audio directly from the fourth generation Apple TV, which lacks such a port.
The adapter gives you an optical audio port to connect a sound system.
I already had the VZOK sound bar out and it worked perfectly. And, it didn’t take long to set up.
According to Kanex, with an optical audio connection, it supports 7.1 and 5.1 surround sound and 2.0 surround sound when using the 3.5mm audio port.
There’s also a pass-through HDMI port next to the audio port and an external power supply is included.
www.kanex.com $59.95
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Scosche’s new goBAT 12000 (mAh) rugged portable battery pack lets you keep an incredible amount of power for on-the-go charging.
Depending on your smartphone, you can get up to six full charges. A pair of 12 watt/2.4amp USB ports is built into the high-impact polycarbonate housing.
It’s built with an iP68 waterproof/dustproof rating enabling it to withstand splashes and dunks of water up to 3 meters deep along with a military spec 810G drop/shock construction.
An included carabiner attaches to a built-in metal alloy loop for securing it and an LED indicator displays the power level.
The battery will auto-detect the fastest possible charge speed for the device you have connected to the USB port.
www.scosche.com $99.99
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Contact Gregg Ellman at greggellman@mac.com. Follow him on Twitter: @greggellman
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