Review | Harman Kardon Receiver

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Toshiba NB520 Review

The new dual core netbook by Toshiba looks great and different from other netbooks, chiefly due to the fact that it boasts Harman Kardon speakers which are integrated into the palm rest. The netbook looks very sophisticated, thanks to its textured finish on the hood with brushed metal feel.

Under its skin, you will find the Intel Atom N550 processor, 1GB of DDR3 RAM and a 250GB hard disk drive that absorbs shocks as well so that your data remains safe. The Toshiba NB520 runs Windows 7 Starter operating system that is commonly found on almost every cheap netbook out there, but there are certain special features that this netbook carries, such as:

Special, high quality speakers mentioned above
Dual core N550 processor
USB sleep and charge function - this allows you to charge your USB powered devices while the netbook is asleep

Performance-wise, it beats all the single core Atom netbooks with ease. It runs on dual core Atom N550 processor and is great for casual web-browsing and photo editing on-the-go. Even though it has those Harman branded speakers, I did not expect miracles from it, but with 2 watts from both channels, I was nothing but impressed. The speakers support Dolby Digital audio technology to further enhance the audio quality. However, if you listen to music at higher levels, you will find that the sound distorts slightly.

The netbook offers sleep and music function that allows you to plugin an MP3 player into the 3.5mm input jack and play the output music through the speakers even if the netbook is switched off. The Toshiba NB520 weighs around 1.3kg (including battery) which makes it ideal for traveling. It comes with a 6-cell battery that delivered around 6.5 hours with Wi-Fi web browsing. I am pretty sure you can cross the 9 hour mark if you turn the Wireless LAN off.

Keyboard on the NB520 is great. Key travel is perfect and you can use it to type a few novels if you wish to. Touchpad works like a charm and the mouse buttons are not mushy either. Overall, it is the best netbook Toshiba has ever produced.

Klipsch HD 300 Review

You Save:$99.01 (25%) At Amazon www.amazon.com I picked this speaker combo up with the Harmon Kardon AVR-1600 that Amazon was running a deal on. I must say I've always wanted Klipsch floorstanding speakers, but cost (at this point in my life...post college age) has prohibited me from purchasing. When I saw this deal on Klipsch speakers I jumped to the opportunity. I took two days to run all of the speaker wires through the walls of my house (living room) and mount the front three speakers on the front wall, and the back two speakers on the ceiling beside our couch. I used 16 guage wire from the local "BB" big box store. I ran my AVR-1600s "mic" to our listening position, ran the setup test, and threw in the movie Clash of the Titans on Blue Ray. I could tell I was outputting the audio in Dobly Prologic II and or Dobly DTS sound, via my receiver, and it sounded awesome! I watch movies through my PS3, to my receiver, and to my Sony KDLXBR5. I can't say enough about how good the sound with these speakers sounded to me. I realize that they're not the best you can buy by any means, but they sound very clear. The bass at first sounded a bit weak at times so I moved it farther to the right, within a foot of the 'right' wall and now it sounds great! Also, I was a bit worried about the power of the speakers when I bought them because I have a "great room" style living room that opens up to my kitchen/dining room on the side, and a long entrance way to the back (no rear wall) so ...