News and ReviewsMac Edition Radio produces reviews and news stories about the latest technologies, digital imaging, music, & photography.
Review – Seagate Backup Plus Ultra Slim 1TB & LaCie Porsche Design 2TB Mobile Drives

Seagate’s most recent releases for portable hard drives include the Seagate Backup Plus Ultra Slim 1TB Mobile Drive and the LaCie Porsche Design 2TB Mobile Drive, sporting a USB Type-C port. How do these new drives stack up? With Seagate’s acquisition of LaCie, the difference between a LaCie and Seagate drive, at least in the portable arena are blurring. Want to know how these drives stack up? Then read our review to find out!

Harris Fogel, with additional reporting by Ken Kramar, posted 7/16/2016

Review – High- Res Audio for Summer Listening from HD Tracks with The Clash, Van Morrison, Santana, Paul McCartney, Bob Dylan, & Paul Simon

Summer’s here and the time’s right for high-resolution music! The continued releases of newly remastered music include some classic reissues and new releases. Here is a short list of some recent titles that we think sound great and fill your soul. The unexpected release of Van Morrison’s “It’s Too Late to Start Now” in expanded form, Paul Simon’s “Stranger to Stranger”, Bob Dylan’s “Fallen Angels”, “Santana”, “Abraxas”, “Pure McCartney”, and The Clash’s “London Calling” are great summer listening.

Harris Fogel, posted 7/15/2016

Review – Oppo Sonica Wi-Fi Speaker System

Two products that the consumer tech world is awash with are cell phone cases and wireless portable speaker systems. So, when Oppo announced a new small wireless speaker we were interested. A small company, Oppo has garnered just about every award and commendation for their line of Blu-ray players, planar magnetic headphones, and high-quality headphone amplifiers and DACs. So, we wondered what would differentiate their take on a wireless speaker from the rest of the pack. After spending time with the Oppo Sonica Wi-Fi Speaker System, it turns out they had plenty of tricks up their sleeves! With new music from HD Tracks and Chesky Records we put it to the test. Read our full review for the details.

Harris Fogel, with additional reporting by Thomas Fogel Burlan, posted 6/20/2016 

Review – ASAP Connect USB Cable & Snakable Armored USB Cable & PhotoFast Micro SD Card Reader

Although we were all promised a cable free future, for the most part we are as tied to cables as ever. Even the myriad wireless induction based charging systems ultimately need an AC source.  So, our lives, especially mobile lives tend to be ruled by USB cables of varying design. Here are a few ones that we found are unique enough to merit attention. Cables all have weak points, and these designs are specifically designed to address those issues. The ASAP Magnetic USB cable makes connecting your phone a snap, and the Snakable Armored USB cable is designed to avoid damage to stress points. The PhotoFast PhotoFast iOS Card Reader is designed to allow you bring files into or out of an Apple iOS device using the Lighting connector.

Harris Fogel & Nancy Burlan, posted 6/11/2016

Review – Alan Price – Savaloy Dip, and The Rave Ups – Town + Country from Omnivore Recordings

Spring is here, and with it comes great new releases. You might not have heard of Omnivore Recordings, but it's time you did. Omnivore is a new label created by industry executives with extensive experience in reissues. They have created a unique, atypical label with passionate and beautifully produced releases ranging from a long lost album by Alan Price, to releases by an eclectic catalog that includes Big Star, Alan Ginsburg, Maynard Ferguson, The Bangles, The Kingbees, 10,000 Maniacs, to Southern California favorites The Rave Ups. Read on for our full review of Alan Price – Savaloy Dip, and The Rave Ups – Town + Country.

Harris Fogel, posted 5/18/2016

Review – Recent music from HD Tracks and Chesky Records

Summer is almost here, and with it comes great new high-resolution releases. HD Tracks has been busy with a long list of new releases, including a Doobie Brother’s box set, a Grateful Dead concert long on the wish list of Deadheads, American Pie from Don McLean, and new releases from Chesky Records titles by Noah WallDavid Chesky, and a new Audiophile Hi-Res System Disc from 2xHD. Read on for our full review.

Harris Fogel, with additional editiorial input by Nancy Burlan, posted 5/10/2016

Review – Cutting the Cable Cord - Antenna Direct ClearStream™ 2V, SiliconDust HD HomeRun Connect TV Tuner, & Channels for Apple TV

Increasingly, more people are abandoning cable or satellite TV in favor of a combination of free Over-the-air content with a streaming service such as Netflix or Amazon Prime. We look at the Antenna Direct ClearStream™ 2V, SiliconDust HD HomeRun Connect Tuner, andChannels for 4th generation Apple TV. Will this combination work for you? Can you quit the cable addiction? Read on for our full review.

Harris Fogel and Nancy Burlan, posted 4/25/2016

Review - Wharfedale Diamond 220, 220C and D8 Subwoofer Speakers

Wharfedale is one of the oldest, and most respected names in audio, whose first speakers were produced in 1932. They have an extensive product matrix, with small entry level affordable speakers garnering critical praise. In this review we look at their well-known Diamond 220 series coupled with the D8 Subwoofer for an affordable 5.1 surround system. With content from HD Tracks and the Blu-ray version of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, we put the speakers to the test!

Harris Fogel and Nancy Burlan, posted 4/12/2016

Review – MyCharge HubMax Portable Charger, & Ventev powercell 10000+ battery charger

As much as battery technology has changed, our devices are ever more dependent on batteries then ever. If you are looking for a portable power source, these two battery packs won't let you down. The MyCharge HubMax 9,000mAh Portable Charger and Ventev powercell 10000+ battery charger are solid, stylish, and well-executed designs. Read our review to find out the details that will keep your phone or tablet charged when you need it.

Harris Fogel, Posted 3/15/2016

Review – City of the Sun – to the sun and all the cities in between & Alexis Cole – Dazzling Blue – The Music of Paul Simon - Chesky Binaural+

With all the discussion of high-resolution audio, especially as it pertains to reissues of older recordings it's easy to forget that a true high-resolution title starts as a high-resolution recording. Couple that with a first-rate set of musicians, careful engineering using a binaural microphone system, and the result is City of the Sun - to the sun and all the cities in between, a tour-de-force of acoustic guitars and Alexis Cole's Dazzling Blue, Cole’s tribute to some of the less known music of Paul Simon, both recently released by Chesky Records. Both use Chesky Records Binaural + recording technique said to create recordings that sound at home on both headphones and speakers. Read our review of these two new titles.

Harris Fogel, posted 2/25/2016

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