Oct 04 2012

Omnimount Echo 50LE media table

This past month, I decided that it had been far too many years since I have owned a television. Though I don’t really watch any TV programmes, I am a film buff, and would like to watch them on something other than my monitors. Even on Dell UltraSharp U2711s, it’s just not the same. Anyway, I’ll review the television in another post sometime soon.

I quickly realised, though, that I would also need to purchase a stand or table on which the TV could sit. Being a minimalist, I was looking for something that was rather unobtrusive, and that was devoid of any gaudy elements. I searched on a bunch of different sites, but couldn’t find anything that fit the bill. Then, I found the OmniMount Echo 50LE. It could accommodate up to a 50″ television (in width, so really a 55″ would be just fine), it was low-profile in both terms of height and depth, and it was essentially elemental. It was also available in an espresso colour, which I actually preferred, but the majority of my furniture in the sitting room is black.

In terms of build quality, this stand is the exception to the rule. Despite not being real wood, both the quality of materials and the craftsmanship are outstanding! It took no more than 30 minutes to assemble, and there were absolutely no problems with the assembly. After a quick polishing with a rag, it was ready to go. I decided to put a piece of black vinyl under the television stand, so as to not scratch the table underneath it.

Overall, I would say that it has the following pros and cons:

Pros:

  • Beautiful glossy finish that isn’t highly reflective
  • Outstanding craftsmanship and build quality, especially for the price of under $200 USD (~€150)
  • Easy assembly
  • Low-profile design that doesn’t draw attention away from the television
  • Nice bottom shelf for components

Cons:

  • Could be ever-so-slightly taller (maybe only 5cm or so)
  • Glossy finish does bring out fingerprints and dust

I really had to reach to find some cons with this unit, and would highly recommend it for someone with a minimalist approach to furniture, or someone who is trying to make the most of a small room.

Cheers,
Zach

Oct 03 2012

Zoom 5341J cable modem

After moving back to the midwest United States, I was immediately reminded of the frustrations of dealing with the primary cable internet provider–Charter Communications. They offer fairly good speeds, and when considering the price, the performance-to-cost ratio is outstanding. However, the reliability of the service leaves a lot to be desired.

One of the primary problems when I lived here before was the really poor modems (and corresponding Charter-infected firmware) that they provided. Never fear, though, as I came back with my own modem… or so I thought. Apparently in June of 2012, Charter announced that customers can no longer use their own modems. So, with my service came a free lease of a Cisco DPC3010. Not a bad modem, barring the firmware that Charter has loaded onto it (which eliminates the administrative login credentials, and thus, one can’t look at the logs). Though there is a user account for logging in (Username: chtruser Password: charter), the administrative functionality has been removed. The modem, however, (and again, likely the fault of the Charter firmware, and not the Cisco modem itself) refused to channel bond on downstream (upstream bonding is not yet offered). As a result, my downstream speeds were abysmal by comparison to the rated speeds.

After arguing with the customer service team at Charter, I finally convinced them to provision my modem. I have a Zoom 5341J modem, which is a nice, affordable modem that supports up to 8 bonded downstream channels and up to 4 bonded upstream channels. Within its administrative interface, it also features information regarding the lock status, modulation, channel ID, frequency, power, SNR, and (un)correctable errors. The modem also has a hidden menu which can only be accessed by going directly to the URL:

http://$MODEM_IP/RgEventLog.asp

replacing $MODEM_IP with the actual IP of the modem (which by default is 192.168.100.1, resulting in a full URL of http://192.168.100.1/RgEventLog.asp). This page shows all of the events in in the SNMP log, which is highly valuable information if you want to actively monitor your network status.

In any case, the new modem with the stock firmware (unmodified by Charter) is working beautifully with four bonded downstream channels (the maximum for my package). I strongly recommend the modem for its reliability and price point.

Cheers,
Zach

Oct 02 2012

Ronald Jenkees – Ronald Jenkees review

After firstly hearing Jenkees on Pandora, I decided to pick up a couple of his albums. The first one, which is the self-titled disc, features twelve songs and two raps:

Ronald Jenkees - Ronald Jenkees self-titled album cover

1. Derty – 7 / 10
Starting with an almost ’90s rap feel, this track sets up the feel for much of the album. It is a funky, fun mix of hip-hop beats, sound effects, and keyboard-based melodies. I personally like the culmination of sounds, and especially the synthesised, plucked strings the appear a couple times.

2. Neptune – 8 / 10
The strings and piano portions in this song make it markedly different than the song before it. That being said, it still has a neat beat in the background, which is the common thread between the two. There are a couple parts (one being aroudn the 1’25” mark) where it sounds choppy, and the phrasing is dissonant. More mellow than Derty, it is melodic and pleasantly redundant.

3. Canon in D Remix – 9 / 10
As one might guess from the title, this is a remix of Pachelbel’s Canon in D, complete with early ’90s hip-hop beats, and a synthesised distorted guitar. Out of the more readily recognised classical (Baroque) pieces, this is one of my favourites. Though I respect Jenkee’s rendition of it, there is part of me that just thinks it’s wrong to redo it this manner. However, the talent behind his eclectic sound can’t be denied.

4. Clutter – 10 / 10
This song starts out with some xylophone sounds, and some great plucked strings again. Adding in some cool bass parts thereafter makes it really rhythmic without detracting from the eerie ambience. The bending synth solo around the 2′ mark, and the piano entrance thereafter show Jenkee’s versatility with regard to his keyboard orchestration.

5. Super-Fun – 8 / 10
Having some video game like qualities, and some very subtle parts, this track makes me think of a lot of the the great games that I used to play on the SNES (Super Famicom) back when I was a kid. It is definitely fun, but I did expect something more chaotic given the name of the song.

6. The Rocky Song (Remixed) – 5 / 10
Keyboard horns, a drum machine, and some iced jazz guitar parts make this a very interesting remix of the theme song to Rocky. However, it falls a bit flat compared to some of his other works. The Hammond organ portion could have been more pronounced.

7. Snap – 6 / 10
Starting out with some radio distortion, Snap goes right into the Jenkee’s eclectic mix of various synthesised instrumentation. Though it is a neat mix, I think that there might be a few too many different sound snippets. Having so many small parts disrupts the flow of the track, and makes it sound a little more agitated than smooth.

8. The Sunfish Song – 9 / 10
This track has a lot of the club vibe that is common in many pop and easy hip-hop songs today. It also has a really great, up-tempo beat behind it, accented by the sounds of a cabasa. A killer track that I wish were a bit longer than the brief 2’45”.

9. Loui – 10 / 10
Following a very common musical progression, and stylistically similar to Nelly’s Just a Dream, this is another exceptional track. It also has a really cool nylon-stringed guitar solo about 1’30” into it. I would say that this is the highlight of the album for me, because it is easy to listen to, combines just the right amount of instruments, and is fresh throughout its duration.

10. Gold Spinners – 8 / 10
Like many of the other tracks, this one has many different elements, including a somewhat dissonant piano part and a synthesis Hammond organ solo (which is great, but would only sound better if it were actually a Hammond). I especially like the jazzy feel to the bridge in this song, and would consider it to be more “easy listening” than other songs on the album.

11. Remix to a Remix – 8 / 10
Starting with a multitude of different string sounds, and then adding some beats, this tune covers a gamut of styles in Jenkees’ fashion. There are some Asian influences, and some very interesting flanging effects, but in a few spots it feels much more like experimentation than a polished track.

12. Almost Undamaged – 7 / 10
This song combines elements of old school hip-hop, and some effects that can be found in newer rap tracks. The beat that holds everything together, though, is a bit redundant and, in my opinion, has trouble carrying the song for the full 4’46” without getting a little dull.

13. 56K (Rap) – 8 / 10
With a sound familiar to many of us older folks (a screeching modular demodulator [modem]), this rap is pretty darn hysterical. Though the musical merit of this song is arguable, it is catchy and nostalgic.

14. Ain’t No Thang (Rap) – 4 / 10
Unlike the previous rap, this one doesn’t have humour to back it up. I do appreciate Jenkees branching out from the instrumentation, but I don’t think it is a strong point for him (your mileage may vary).

There are some really great mixes on this particular album, but I didn’t find it to be very consistent. The raps, whilst entertaining, were not up to the standard set by some of the other tracks on the disc. Overall, though, I gave it a 107 / 140 or about 76%, which equals 7.5 stars:

Filled starFilled starFilled starFilled starFilled starFilled starFilled starHalf-Filled starUnfilled starUnfilled star

Cheers,
Zach

EDIT: You can also see my review of his second album (Disorganized Fun) by clicking here.