audio quality – SomeGadgetGuy

March 10, 2014

Android Reads You The Classics: Audiobook Test of the Updated Google Text to Speech Engine

Why “The Classics”? Because they’re public domain and I don’t have to shell out cash for them!

Google recently updated their text to speech app, and many android users wont realize that not only is this engine now a standalone app on Google Play, but digging into the accessibility settings, there’s now a “High Quality” mode, where you can download parts of the voice to live on your phone.

Seeing as how I come from a background of voice over production, do audiobook narrators and voice actors have anything to worry about? Let’s take a listen…

November 23, 2013

Weekend listening: Our Surface 2 Speaker Quality Test

Our first Windows tablet to hit the SomeGadgetGuy Test Bench!

We never did get our hands on the first Surface, but Surface 2 is ready to go! We’ll playback some movie and music samples to see how it stacks up to phones and bluetooth speakers! The audio level for our tablet tests is normalized to compare directly with the HTC One, so listen back to that test and you’ll be able to hear how the Surface 2 stacks up!

Previous speaker tests:
HTC One
Lumia 920
JawBone JAMBOX
LG G2
Lumia 1020
HMDX Jam Classic
Galaxy S4 Active
Nokia Play 360
HTC One Mini
LG Optimus G Pro
iPhone 5S
Pantech Discover

October 9, 2013October 9, 2013

The best comparison you’ll ever see (or hear) between a Motorola Roadster II Bluetooth speakerphone and a smartphone

We’re just covering all kinds of Bluetooth audio right now! Leading off with the Jawbone JAMBOX and then looking at the HMDX Jam Classic, now we’re taking a brief look at one in-car audio solution.

There are a number of ways that you can answer calls while on the road, though it seems the BT headset has fallen out of vogue, especially with many vehicles incorporating BT speakerphone capabilities standard. If your car DOESN’T have Bluetooth however, fret not, as there are some pretty terrific solutions you can clip to a visor. Specifically we’re going to take a listen to Motorola’s Roadster II, and compare it against a Smartphone to see how much of an improvement it might offer.

Marvel at my incredible pantomime abilities!