Thought Craft: A Psychological wellness and rehabilitation clinic

Leading Psychologist Shreshtha Dhar is now available for consultation in south Kolkata at Gariahat.

IOGEAR USB Theater Sound Xperience - User Review

You may be owing a great laptop with HD display but what is the use if you miss the theatre sound, while watching a movie on it. The only option till date was to attach a portable speaker set or, a stereo headphones. These will never give you the cinematic experience, you are looking for. Iogear Theatre sound experience has come with a solution.

This is actually a USB audio adapter and it will override your inbuilt sound card when you plug this in.

When you will watch a movie and plug in a pair of decent quality headphone, you can appreciate its audio processing quality of 5.1 channel audio.It reproduce the dimension of sound nicely, as if you are in front of a real HT system. The bass even are also pretty nice. You may not get so good effect if you use a pair of in-ear head phone. The size of the driver does matter.  

For two channel stereo movies, this may not give you the surround sound effect, which is natural, but the dialogues will be much clearer than if you listen it directly on headphones.

Wharfedale Moviestar Home Theatre speaker Moviestar 65+ - User Review

First Look

Wharfedale. the name itself says the product will be well above your expectation, however they look. The Moviestar 65+ comes to you as a neatly packed box with strongly built  real wood finish. The surrounds are also sleek to fit your palm. The subwoofer will also not create any visual annoyance. Set us will be done in a breeze.  

Technical aspects

Keeping in the mind the price you paid for it, it ought to be simple, and it is so. The material is ABS plastic, in place of very high grade one to keep the system affordable.

The satellites houses full range 3" paper cone driver capable of handling frequencies 130Hz to 20kHz. The houses a 8" long throw bass driver and handles frequency of 35 Hz at the lowest end.

Bottom line

Bottom line of course is the rock bottom pricing. In this price range you are getting a full fledged no frill home theatre system from a reputed company like wharfedale, is a steal. The system is very compact and in terms of sound quality, it will pay back every penny you have spent for it.

Boston Acoustics Sound Ware XS 5.1 - User Review

First look

This is an ultra compact and pocket friendly Home theatre system from Boston acoustics. XS stands for extra small! The 5 satellites are literally very small with only 2.5" woofers set edge to edge. Though it has a nicely built  sub woofer with a 8" driver, where no compromise done.

Technical Aspects

Though the speakers are tiny but Boston acoustics has not made any compromise in their built quality, designing or mounting procedures. Ergonomically also they are good enough. They can be mounted anywhere, even the ceiling. rubber feet are provided, in case you want to place them on floor.  

As expected the cross over frequency to the subwoofer is set to 180 Hz, about 100 Hz greater than recommended. Many critical voice and instrument frequencies fall in this range. So you should keep the sub woofer close to your TV set, otherwise there will be spatial confusion!

Bottom line

The movie sounds are excellent, considering the cost of the system but real challenge it face while delivering the music.

The resolution is high for higher frequencies but there is hiccups at the bass or, midrange frequencies, though you cannot say it is absolutely bad. Yes it has its limitations.

Those who are on tight budget and looking for a small home Theater system with some non serious music listening, this is a good buy. 

Fazon Home Theatre Speaker System From Dali - User Review

First Look

The look will definitely impress you. Beautifully curved body of Fazon's F5 is more a show piece at your room than a speaker. Tapered top end and its metal base is eye catching beauty by itself.

Technical Aspects

Dali is known for marvelous designing and equally good sound reproduction in their products.

The system consists of Fazon F5 floor standing fronts, Fazon LCR as central, and Fazon SATs as satellites. Basically all of them are made of aluminum frame. All of them has metal finish, which keeps the resonances low and increase the life of the speakers. All the speakers are protected with metal grill, which also includes the sub woofer and the tweeeters. The ultimate finish is with wood fibre, which preserveds the tonality of the sounds intact.

setting will take some time. Look at the manual while setting up. It is necessary to fit the mounting bracket and the table stand properly. The central speaker needs to be connected with a thinner gauge cable, as their connectors are smaller in respect to others.

You will like the surrounds as they can be rotated 360 degree on the stand, which is very useful. You can angle the speakers as per your requirement.

The subwoofer has 12" front firing driver and aluminum body frame to give its required rigidity.

Bottom Line

Yes... This is a fairly costly package. Mostly due the Fazon F5 floor standers. But when you consider their efficacy as full fledged towers and their capability of stereo reproduction, you have to accept that you get what you pay for. For music listening better not to turn the sub woofer on.

The system will suit all kind of rooms, including the big ones. Placement is also easy. In short it is a fantastic package, if your budget permits. 

Quadral Chromium Style Home Theatre speaker System - User Review

First Look

The speaker system is available in two colours. Black and white. Choose according to your need and your room decor. The speakers looks pretty as they don't have any sharp edges and they have ribbon tweeters in place of dome tweeters. The grill have magnets on them for fixing instead of push buttons.

The style 100 floor standing speakers are a bit unique in the sense that they don't stand straight on floor but tilt a little backwards. You have to fix the speakers on the transparent round base with three screws.

Technical Aspects

The basic technology of any home theatre system lies with the frequency response of each set of speakers. No particular speaker set should handle frequency beyond their capabilities.

In this system The front speakers, style 100 operates from 32Hz to 65Hz, and they are crossed over at 100Hz. The centre speaker style 10 handles from 49Hz to 65Hz and the surrounds style 30 operate between 40Hz to 65Hz.

The speakers can effective handles the output from AV receivers from 40 to 100 watts capacity.

The subwoofer has power rating of 150 watts and have all the necessary controls like power on off, auto and crossover settings. No wireless connectivity is available. you have to connect it through high grade RCA cable.

Bottom line

You need a moderately big room for this system to work comfortably. The extreme glossy finish need careful handling too. Installation is easy. Aesthetically it is a marvel, so is the build quality. The tonal response is very fast and crisp, you can enjoy the vocal tracks nicely in this system. Proper positioning and proper cleaning will give long term listening pleasure. While selecting AV receiver, they should be capable of delivering 60 to 100 watts output, which will do proper justice to the system.

Monitor Audio Shadow 50 Home Theatre speakers - User Review

First look

 One of the first few names come in our mind when we think of speaker system is Monitor Audio. Decade old monitor Audio is now ready to compete with the today's sleek fashion speakers for the slim TVs with Shadow series. Monitor audio has made their series 50 wall mountable and pretty sleek, yet being very sturdy and reliable.

Technical Aspects

The shadow set comprises of a pair of shadow 50 as fronts, a pair of shadow 25s as surrounds and a shadow centre as the central speakers. Maintaining today's trend this system does not have any dedicated subwoofer. You can choose from 8", 10" or, 12" according to your preference and size of your room.

Monitor audio recommends their 500 watt RXW12 with class D amplifier, the 12" subwoofer from silver series suitable for 300 Sq Ft room or, R370D from Radius series, the latter being a 10" option.

Bottom line

Performance wise this speaker system does a decent job as long as you consider it as a speaker set meant for your living room fitted next to your flat panel TV. You will be disappointed if you install it in a Home theatre room with a projector. This system has slight dip in the lower mid range frequencies from 400 - 600 Hz, particularly noticeable during chaotic or, war scenes.

Zensor 5.1 Home Theatre Speaker System From Dali - User Review

First Look

The whole system is very well crafted. Though today's fashion is changing towards the slim sized audio system, yet there are many who still like big cabinets. The entire set up is very easily manageable and will suit almost every decor.   

Technical Aspects

The Zensor 5.1 set up comprises of a pair of floor standing Zensor 7 as fronts; a pair of Zensor 1 bookshelf speakers as surrounds; Zensor Vokal as centre and lastly DALI E-12F, the sub woofer.

Zensor 7 is essentially a 2 way floor stander with a 1" soft dome tweeter and a pair of 5.25" fibre cones.

Zensor vokal is essentially of same configuration as Zensor 7.

Zensor 1 has single soft dome tweeter and a single wood fibre cone.

As with most base level speaker system the cabinet is made of MDF with adequate measures to keep away the acoustic problems.

E-12F, the sub woofer is not from the Zensor family of DALI. This speaker used with other set of speakers too.  It is equipped with a 12' woofer with a pure aluminum cone to provide stiffness. This also have class D amplifier of 170W RMS within it to deliver great linear response.

Bottom line

To extract its full potentiality, you have to choose an amplifier or AV receiver, which are aggressive tonally and upbeat. This set up has excellent entertaining capability, very much user friendly and need minimum maintenance. Lastly and not of course the least, it is Pocket friendly too!

Flat panel 5.1 HT Speaker Package Mythos XTR-60 - User Review

First Look

This speaker set will change the idea that flat panel speakers are no good option. In fact it delivers more than what you expect. This package consists of XTR-60, used as fronts and the centre, XTR- 20BP as surrounds and a giant subwoofer with a beautiful remote control SC 6000.

The look of the speakers is really great. The front speakers are mounted on smoked glass base, while the center and the surround speakers has their own feet to stand upon. You can very easily place them on the wall, either horizontally or vertically.

Technical aspects

The XTR-60 is enclosed in an aircraft grade aluminum with aluminum dome tweeters and aluminum dome XTDD drivers to deliver mid bass frequency. It has total eight 3.5" drivers.  

The XTR- 20BP surrounds are bipolar, each comprises of two 3 1/3” mid-bass drivers and disperse the sound nicely in wide area.

The super cube 6000 or, better known as SC 6000 is probably the most interesting. It is equipped with a remote control, you can now change the crossover frequency , right there from your sofa. More so with additional wireless kit you can connect this subwoofer wirelessly too. The subwoofer has one 9" active bass driver and two 10" low bass radiators. The subwoofers crossover settings can be adjusted from 40Hz to 100Hz in 5Hz increments and above 100Hz,the increments are set at 10Hz.

Bottom line

This HT speaker package is very nicely suited for a average sized room like 14'L x 14'W x 12'H. Subwoofer delivers nice bass effect. The other 5 speakers are quite sensitive and it will not ask you a very powerful AV Receiver for its performance. Little disappointment is there in the low mid range frequency, which the music lovers will be unhappy with. By the way in terms of movie viewing, for which it is meant it delivers dynamically without any sort of distortion or restrain.

Marantz NR1403- User Review

First Look

Marantz NR1403 is a slim Av receiver, looks more like a CD or DVD player but performance wise it is near pro! This product comes from the Marantz slim line series and it has come after its 1402 brother with some more HDMI inputs and sheeding off some analogue ports, keeping the pace with the time. Now the HDMI ports have 3D porting capabilities. The 3.5 mm front auxillary input is replaced by a front HDMI input, which might be useful for some and but inconvenience for many!

Technical Aspects

Marantz NR1403 is complete 5.1 AV receiver. This receiver will fulfill all the common needs, one expect from a AVR. 5 HDMI inputs with 3D pass through is really a great inclusion for the coming days. Among these 5 HDMI inputs, one is provided in front for quick access is also a nice idea. Only if, they could retain the 3.5mm auxiliary port also!

Another great inclusion is proprietary M-X Port with optional receptacle. With this you can play streaming musing from your bluetooth devices.

Note You will get only one co axial and one optical digital input. By chance you need more than these, you will be disappointed.

The power output is little low at 50 watts per channel, but fairly good enough for the small satellites.

Bottom Line:

keeping in mind that, this is not one of the expensive models, it delivers all the functionalities, which an AVR is meant to. It delivers the quality of Marantz as well. You can control the modern apps of iOS and android, which is a bonus. Thremote is simple and a pleasure to handle. A slim instrument will fulfill most of your music and movie needs. now the choice is yours.  

How to save Messages from Nokia phone in computer

I spent lots of time to find a way to save my important SMS es from Nokia phone to my computer as text, pdf, xls or xml format. At first I tied with Nokia suite, which has an option to export sms es to xls format but was never active! Though most of the forums was telling that it can be done in that way. I like many could not do it. Many forums have stated there is no way you can do it! I found a symbian software “best message storer”. It was a demo of 2 weeks but was working fine.  I tried to buy but failed.

Ultimately after week long search I found the way how you can save you messages from Nokia phone to .rtf, .pdf, or, html and many other format.

Now the steps:

1. Download Nokia suite connect your phone and back up your messages in .nbu format

2. Download NBU explorer from sourceforge and install. Be careful while installing. Choose custom installation otherwise you browser will be hacked. Deny any free software while installing, it will be installed cleanly.

3. Open the .nbu file you created with nbu explorer. You can see the messages. Though there is an option of export, it does not export in .xls. Don’t worry. Export the messages you want to save in any folder. They will be in  .vmg formats.

4. Get another free software ABC Amber Nokia Converter. Google it and you will get it. Take same precaution while installing as NBU explorer.

Open all .vmg files with ABC Amber Nokia Converter and you are done. Export it to any format you like. All options are working fine.

How to upload multiple .vcf files to google contacts in one go!

If you have multiple .vcf files in a folder , may be you have saved them from your old or nokia phone and now want to upload them in Google contacts, so that they can be synchronized in your new android phone, you will be disappointed. Google does not allow multiple selection of .vcf files for uploading. Here is the way, how you can do it: Start command prompt (Win+R then type cmd) Suppose you have kept the folder of your .vcf files named contacts in c: drive Then type cd C:\contacts Then.... Type: copy /B *.vcf combined.vcf AND YOU ARE DONE! A single big file of combined.vcf will be created in the same directory. Upload this file to your google contacts.

Cambridge Azur 551R - User Review

The sound of movies has to be loud and the necessary speed and spice to let you feel the thrill of cinema, while the music sounds you want classy with finer resolution and smooth to your ears. Azur 551R is here to satisfy you in both this fronts.

First Look

Look wise Azur 551R has not changed much. it is same as all other models of cambridge, but who cares! let us see what it actually delivers.

Technical Aspects

Azur 551R  AV receiver is a 7.1 channel unit.

It is meant to deliver 60watts of power into seven 8ohm loudspeakers when all can be driven at the same time.

The Azur 551R is capable to handle an amazing range of frequency response from 10Hz and goes up to the 20kHz

In audio processing front, the Azur 551R is has Cirrus Logic DACs for all the channels of audio. The Cirrus Logic DAC also activated  when you will use the HDMI cable from your Blu-ray player to playback. In connectivity this Av receiver will give you all kinds of options.

Bottom Line

There is 3D pass-through, which means the AV receiver can handle 3D video. The Azur 551R can deliver 60watts of power into seven loudspeakers, and this does matter in ultimate sound reproduction and experiencing. The crisp and dynamic nature of the sound and host of connectivity options, this AV receiver is really a steal at the price it is selling.

Marantz AV- 8801 and MM-8077 pre-power AV receiver - User Review

First Look

This combo retained the legendary porthole design which has become an identity for Marantz. Build quality is very sturdy and heavy. The back panel is highly populated as expected.

Technical Aspects

The Marantz combination has two parts: The pre-section and the power section.

The pre section, AV-8801, is in reality the brain of this Marantz setup, armed with their most advanced multi-DSP audio processor. It features a wide range of surround sound decoding capabilities to support for  the latest high resolution audio formats like Dolby TrueHD and DTS HD Master Audio. With 11.2 channels offerings, the AV- 8801 also delivers expanded multichannel decoding namely Audyssey DSX and DTS Neo X.This gives you giving you opportunity to add additional front height and width channels for a truly expansive and immersive surround sound experience.

The Marantz AV - 8801 is equipped with the Audyssey MultEQ XT32 automatic room measurement and correction capability. The unique feature about this version of the Audyssey is that it corrects the time domain of the setup as well, whereas most other versions corrects only for the frequency of the setup. So while setting up, you don’t have to manually enter the time delay for surround speakers (if required) - the software will do it for you.

Marantz has also included the highly successful Audyssey LFC (low-frequency containment) option. This feature (also present in many other AV receivers. This utility adjusts the bass response to minimise leakage of sound to adjacent rooms or apartments, while at the same time delivers a satisfying wide range of listening pleasure.

In the video department, apart from all possible connectivity, Marantz have also incorporated the ability to upscale SD and HD to ultra high definition (4K). Also, it can accept and pass-through 4K content, which does make sense if you have 4K or UltraHD displays with you but feeling bad as there are no 4k content in the market to play.

Let us now look into the MM 3077, the power section of the combo, it features Marantz’s unique current feedback discrete power amp is capable of extracting the maximum detail from latest high resolution audio formats. The powerful amp is capable of delivering a reasonable 150watts in each of the seven channels.

Bottom line:

Pros are: Directivity in sound, Ease of use, Convenient set up procedure.

Cons are: When you will compare  price and the quality of sound, you might be disheartened.

Cambridge Audio Azur 751R - User Review

Cambridge Audio has produced extremely cost effective audio products since last three years and most of them were vere popular . Let us see what Cambridge has offered in Azure 751R

First look

Surprisingly  This product is not bulky as expected it is slim yet sturdy. Though the front and back panels are full of switches and ports but they will not scare you.

Technical Aspects

To keep this gadget slim Cambridge has introduced a technology called X Tract, which combines radiator and fan to cool its massive transformer. Being small it has not reduced its connectivity. It has six HDMI inputs and two outputs (both ARC compliant). It is also equipped with three high definition  Capable component video­ ins and one out, one for second zone use. The regular connections like S-video and composite video also find their space surprisingly.  There is also a set of 7.1 outputs (with the option to run twin subs) to feed a separate amp. Though it has no Ethernet connection, but it is compensated by a back panel USB Type B port. It allows you to connect a Windows computer or Mac and play audio files with resolution of up to 24bits and 96kHz with the help of  an onboard digital to-analogue converter (up to 192kHz with a downloadable driver).

751R is capable of delivering at 120watts into 8Q with all seven channels, 170 into 8Q with two channels, and 200watts into 6Q with two channels driven.

Bottom line:

Cambridge Audio always prioritize  its top quality for audio performance over everything else and same trend is reflected  in the Cambridge Audio 751R. While it lacks a bit on the auto calibration front (bass correction) and also Ethernet connectivity, it more than compensate with its fabulous audio performance in this price-range. So if your priority is sound and you can live with without certain modern day features, then the 751R is definitely a good buy for you.

Lenovo Idea Tab A2107 – Budget friendly Tablet

Basic Specifications:

DESCRIPTION	A2107 TABLET
CPU	·         MediaTek 6575 1.0GHz Cortex A9 processor
Operating System	·         Google Android™ 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich
Memory	·         512MB LP DDR2 (WiFi model) ·         1GB LP DDR2 (3G model)
Dimensions	·         192mm x 122mm x 11.5mm (7.6" x 4.8" x 0.45")
Camera	·         0.3MP webcam (front) ·         2.0MP (equivalent D-value 3M) webcam (back)
Display	·         7.0" (1024x600) LED display with 5-point capacitive multitouch
Weight	·         400g (0.4 kg)
Audio	·         2 speakers
I/O Ports	·         Micro-USB ·         MicroSD card ·         Combo jack
Storage	·         8GB, 16GB (eMMC)
Wireless Connectivity	·         802.11 b/g/n WiFi ·         Bluetooth® 4.0 ·         GPS (Select models)
Battery Life	·         Up to 10 hours WiFi browsing

Software Offerings

PRELOADED APPLICATIONS

·         AccuWeather ·         Amazon MP3 ·         Applorer ·         Cut the Rope ·         Docs to Go ·         ES File Manager ·         Evernote ·         Exent Android Console ·         GO Text ·         Hotel Reservation System ·         imo.im ·         Kindle ·         Leadertech Registration ·         Lenovo App Shop ·         Magicshare ·         Mediacorp e-Book Reader ·         NavDroyd ·         News Republic ·         Next Issue Media ·         Norton Mobile Security ·         ooVoo ·         Papaya Mobile ·         PokeTalk ·         Print Anywhere ·         Rara ·         Shazam ·         Skype ·         Slacker ·         Sugarsync ·         Vendetta Online ·         Viki ·         Viewster ·         Zinio ·         5 Card Games ·         7 Digital

Should I buy Lenovo Idea Tab A2107: read on….

This is a pocket friendly 7-inch Android tablet. This is nice for them whio wants to see movies, read books or play games in a budget friendly gadget

Some useful features which you will not be able to find in many tablets are this is equipped with a rear and front camera which allows you to make skype calls. Of course you can use whatsapp for sending photos and videos. Mic do pick up some background noise.

The screen will disappoint you . it is not as vibrant as its rivals like Google Nexus 7, viewing angle is also not great.

Battery will give you 6 hours of video play back and about 6 hours of Wi-Fi web browsing time.

However it is fine for normal web browsing, checking mails and other basic tasks.

The choice is yours. If it fulfils your requirement , go for it. It is from a reputed company and budget friendly too.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF3 CSC Camera – User Review

The third generation Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF3 is at present world’s smallest CSC camera available in the market. You can carry this in your pocket. Impressive isn’t it? 

14mm pancake lens , comes with the package, has f/2.5 aperture, the equivalent of a wide-angle 28mm on 35 mm film camera. It's sturdily built, with an aluminium shell, small front grip and rear thumb pad to keep the camera steady for your handheld shots. This is an useful feature, as with its competitor Nikon J1, the GF3 doesn't have an image stabilised camera body, nor is the pancake lens is equipped with anti-shake. However, other lenses in the range have the stabilizing feature built in. 

Autofocus is near instant, resolution is 12.1 megapixel and RAW capture is available alongside JPEG. 

 GF3's three-inch, 460k dot LCD has touch screen feature but fixed. Along with the good set of physical control, touch screen ease the operation to a good extant. 

The Expressive shooting mode is really good. In this mode you will get much brighter and colorful snap than the standard default mode. 

 Like its competitors, it shoots full HD video but the sound will be recorded in mono. The autofocus is very helpful when shooting video, adjusting silently and smoothly when you pan from one frame to other. Shooting video on a DSLR is not at all comfortable like this . 

Though top ISO speed is 6400, photos will be grainy from 1600 upward.