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Tom's Guide
an hour ago
- Tom's Guide
Neewer Basics BR60 5" Ring Light review
The Neewer Basics BR60 5' is a cheap and easy way to improve selfies, videos, or online video calls. It's certainly one of the best ring lights I have tested . The design is focused on being as functional as possible, making it incredibly easy to operate. The added attachments of a clip and tripod make it convenient for any situation. It brings out the real world colour typically lost when taking pictures, especially when using the front facing camera on my phone. The only caveat is that the ring light has to be plugged in to work and doesn't come with a battery power option. This means while it is lightweight and easy to walk around with, it isn't entirely portable without a power bank in tow. However, the need to be plugged in does mean you are sure to have consistent lighting for whatever you are doing. You can find out more in my full Neewer Basics BR60 5' Ring Light review. Price $21/£19 Dimensions 5.7 x 5 x 1.1 inches Weight (with clip) 4.6 ounces Weight (with tripod) 6.6 ounces Number of LEDs 60 Maximum illumination 450Lx/0.5m Accessories Clip, Mini tripod CRI (color rendering index) 97+ Color temperature 3000-6000K The Neewer Basics BR60 5' Ring Light is available at Amazon U.S. for $21 and Amazon U.K. for £19. The price is slightly higher ($29) if purchased directly from the Neewer website, but you'll get a one-year warranty as a bonus. In fact, you can extend this further by signing up to the company's newsletter if you're so inclined.. You're paying a little extra, sure, but you get the added peace of mind of a warranty period which for some is worth the cost. The design of the Neewer Basics BR60 5' Ring Light is exactly that — basic. But not in a bad way. It eliminates any fuss that comes with an awkward set up and is super straightforward to use. The entire body is plastic with metal threads at the base to attach to the tripod. The tripod itself is easy to attach, and the legs fan out for stability. There is also a clip which slides into the bottom of the ring light. This clip allows a tilt of up to 170° so I was able to adjust the light exactly how I needed it even when it was in a fixed position. The clip can be attached to anything less than 1' thick. I was able to easily attach it to my mirror while doing my makeup, on my laptop for work calls, and my phone for selfies. The clip has a gap on one side which perfectly fits over the camera on my phone and laptop. So it doesn't obscure the camera view when attaching the light, which I have had happen with other phone light attachments I have used in the past. The light needs to be plugged in at all times and comes with a built-in six foot USB-A cable which is also where the controls are. There is a USB-A to USB-C adapter included though and this meant I was able to plug it in to my MacBook which only has USB-C ports. The controls for the Neewer Basics BR60 5' Ring Light are extremely easy to get on with. It seriously couldn't be any simpler. Attached to the built-in charging cable is a control pad. The power button turns the light on and off when plugged in and there is a mode button which cycles through the light's six modes. My personal favorite of these modes is the warm light as I found this looked the most natural and added some warmth to my face. The settings then become cooler as you cycle through them. There are plus and minus buttons to alter the brightness of the light with 10 levels of adjustment. This makes the light extremely customizable — there is something for every scenario. Having been disappointed with the performance of small ring lights in the past, I am pleased to say that I was blown away by the Neewer Basics BR60 5' Ring Light. I seriously think it changed my face for the better during selfies and now I get why the Kardashian Instagram game is so strong. The light has a CRI (color rendering index) of 97+. A higher CRI means that the light ensures that objects and subjects appear true to their original colour, and lower values indicate more color distortion. This is measured on a scale of 0-100. So this light having such a high reading is a great sign, and I found that, with the light on, I looked more like what I would see in the mirror as opposed to in my phone camera in natural lighting. With all the settings to cycle through on the light, the color temperature of the light ranges from 3000K to 6000K. The lower values are the warmer tomes and higher values are cool tones. Both are necessary for different types of photography as cooler lights are often better in a studio setting, or just depending on what your own style calls for. To test out how the light works for every day use I used the tripod to set it up next to my mirror to do my makeup for the day. This is one of the uses recommended by Neewer so I wanted to check if it made me do it better. I was able to have far more attention to detail and found I could see the colors better and get a better idea of how everything was blending. It was pretty gloomy outside on my testing day so the natural lighting was dull so it was a good opportunity to get some natural light tones. It is easy to see why makeup artists use ring lights when working on clients, I'll definitely be adding this to my daily routine. I also used it to take some selfies, since this is probably one of the most likely use cases for this product. And it massively improved the visual quality and made me look more polished and professional on camera. Both of the above images were taken using the front facing camera of my iPhone 14. The first image is taken with the ring light on the warm light mode. It is clear that the light enhanced my features while brightening my complexion. The second image is taken in natural lighting in front of a window with the same camera and is very dull and there is a lot more noise in the image. The ring light made everything sharper. In a society where everything is documented, the Neewer Basics BR60 5' Ring Light is an essential addition for anyone's home or office setup. The color reading index rating is high and it is evident from the images I took that it brings out real world color on camera, which usually dulls the color. It also worked incredibly well to reduce noise in the image by creating sharper lines. Unfortunately you do need to be near a power outlet or have some sort of portable charger with you to turn the light on since it is not battery powered. This means you're quite limited with movement when using it, but on the flip side you'll never get caught out by a dead battery. At only $21, this ring light is an affordable way to improve your selfie or video calling game.
Tom's Guide
3 days ago
- Tom's Guide
I've done the math, and the results are in — the Samsung Bespoke Jet AI Ultra is a 5-star vacuum cleaner
I'm not going to lead you on: the Samsung Bespoke Jet AI Ultra is the best vacuum cleaner in the world. Certainly it's the best one I've ever tested or used. I adore everything about this vacuum cleaner, from its super-powerful cleaning capabilities to its sleek design. Samsung makes a range of Jet vacuums, including the Bespoke Jet robot vacuum and the Jet Pet. However, the Bespoke Jet AI Ultra is the best-of-the-best, top-of-the-range vacuum. After announcing it in March 2025, the vacuum was officially released in April 2025. It brings me great joy to announce that Samsung's claim of 'the most powerful vacuum in the world' is, in fact, 100% true. So, if it's so good, why bother reading the rest of the review? Well, I'll get into all the cleaning details and smart home features in this Samsung Bespoke Jet AI Ultra vacuum cleaner review. Price $1,099 / £1,199 Bin volume Vacuum: 16 ounces / Charging station: 70 ounces Max runtime 60 min / 100 min Battery charging time 210 min / 300 min Included batteries 2: 60 min / 100 min No. of tools 5 plus tool stand Filters HEPA Dimensions 11.8 x 33.5 x 11.8 inches Weight 14.1 pounds Bagged or bagless Bagless (vacuum), bagged (charging station) The Samsung Bespoke Jet AI Ultra (say that 10 times) is $1,099 from Amazon U.S. and £1,199 from Samsung U.K.. It doesn't seem to be available on Amazon U.K. yet. This makes it one of the priciest vacuum cleaners I've ever seen, but that's for a valid reason. Sometimes good things are expensive. The Bespoke Jet AI (as I will now refer to the vacuum to save my fingers) self-cleans, it has Wi-Fi and smart home compatibility, and it's really good at cleaning. I see no issue with the price. The Dyson Gen5Detect I use is $949, but has no cleaning station or app control. If you want to save $$$ but still get a decent vacuum, I'd recommend the Shark Clean & Empty, which is just $349. Where the Samsung Bespoke Jet AI vacuum excels is its design. It's super unique, and definitely one of the most intelligently designed vacuums I've ever reviewed. The Bespoke Jet AI is a mix between a cordless stick vacuum and a robot vacuum: it has a stick vacuum and a cleaning station. This cleaning station automatically empties the vacuum dustbin when you place the vacuum on top. But, be warned — it's not magnetic, nor does it click into place. One jiggle and the vacuum might fall right off. The Bespoke Jet AI comes in black or mint. I tested mint, which would have been my choice had I been purchasing this vacuum for myself. The cleaning station is quite big, so make sure you choose the color that will look best in your space. The vacuum itself has five tools and a tool stand. This tool stand looks like an old iron fire tool stand, but is made from a thin plastic. Considering how well-made the vacuum cleaner itself is, I was a little disappointed to feel that the tool stand is flimsy. However, it still held my tools adequately, so this weaker construction didn't negatively affect usability. The tools are: pet tool (great for hair), active dual brush (general), slim LED (hard floors), and then handheld crevice tools and a flex tool for hard-to-reach places. The pet tool is absolutely phenomenal at cleaning up ground-in hair, which I'll discuss in full later. Even though the slim LED is intended for hard floors only, I found it worked really well on my low pile carpet. Finally, the active dual brush is the ideal all rounder: it was able to clean my low pile carpets and hard floors instantly. As the vacuum easily converts into a handheld, I found it super versatile for cleaning my entire house. I could clean the carpeted areas and hard floors without needing to switch brush. I could reach into the crevices beside my fridge and under cupboards easily. On the vacuum handle itself is a bright screen that shows you battery time, current cleaning power, and allows you to control cleaning mode. I found this screen very easy to use and helpful. It'll alert you if there are any blockages, or if it's powered up to a more intense cleaning mode. I'm a little disillusioned with smart home at the moment (what do you mean, I need to download an app to use my hair dryer?), but the Bespoke Jet vacuum is perfect for smart home aficionados. As with other Samsung gear, it links up with the Smart Things app. I already have a Samsung washing machine, so watching my virtual house grow when I added this vacuum was pretty cute, I can't lie. Setting up the vacuum was easy: simply scan the QR code and you're good to go. I named my vacuum cleaner (following the silly nomenclature trend of my washing machine's moniker 'Mayor Spinny') and was good to go. Smart Things is basically an easily-accessible control panel: no fiddling with tiny buttons on the vacuum itself (even though my experience with controls on the screen was fine). Here are a few screenshots of the Smart Things capabilities. As you can see, there's not really too much you can do on the Smart Things app. This could be because I have an iPhone, or it could be because, well, it's a vacuum. Even so, I like being able to remote control emptying the dustbin. Bizarrely, if you have a Samsung cellphone, you can receive calls to the vacuum cleaner. As I have an iPhone, this feature was a little beyond me, but I suppose it's… nice to have if you like receiving calls on your vacuum? Samsung has some bold claims about this vacuum: it's 'the world's most powerful stick vacuum'. And honestly? I believe it. There's a reason you see a 5-star rating above. The Bespoke Jet AI has an RPM of 148,000, compared to the Dyson Gen5Detect's 135,000 and the Dyson V15s's 125,000 RPM. The Bespoke Jet AI has something called a 'HexaJet Motor', which effectively means the vacuum can reach powers of up to 400W during cleaning. In reality? This translates to 100% clean floors almost instantly. On top of using this vacuum as my main vacuum for over a week, I ran through Tom's Guide's standardized tests too. To test the Bespoke Jet AI's ability to clean on carpet, I used hair, cat litter, and Cheerios on my medium-pile rug. For the hair, I used the Pet Tool, and for the other two I used the standard Active Dual Brush. Item Target clean Actual clean Cat litter 20g 100% Cheerios 20g 100% Hair One hair extension 100% As you can see from these results, the Samsung Bespoke Jet AI Ultra utterly demolished these tasks. The Cheerios took just one pass to be completely cleaned up. I was shook. The hair took a few slow passes with the Pet Tool, but I had really ground the hair into the carpet. This table below is the result of our cleaning tests repeated on hard floors rather than a thick pile carpet. Item Target clean Actual clean Cat litter 20g 100% Cheerios 20g 100% Hair One hair extension 100% Again, the Bespoke Jet AI Ultra made light work of these tasks. As with above, I used the Pet Tool for the hair and the Active Dual Brush for the other two. I use DecibelX to monitor volume. On AI mode (standard mode, basically), the Bespoke Jet AI ran at an average of 71dB, and topped out at 84dB in 'Jet' mode. This is 1dB quieter than the Dyson Gen5Detect's max mode, and a faster RPM, so in actuality this means it's a considerable degree quieter than the Dyson. One of my favorite aspects of the Bespoke Jet AI is that it comes with two batteries. One battery has a max runtime of 100 minutes, and the other is 60 minutes. As with other vacuums, these 'max runtimes' are calculated in the lowest power mode. From fully charged, this is what the screen displayed as battery runtime. Power 60 minute battery Min 42 AI 24 Mid 24 Max 13 Jet 14 I've not tested any vacuums that come with two batteries before. The Dyson V15s tops out at 60 minutes, the Dyson Gen5Detect 70 minutes, which puts the Bespoke Jet AI Ultra in pole position here. As the Bespoke Jet AI is a self-emptying vacuum, there's very little day-to-day maintenance required. Obviously you need to empty the cleaning station dustbin, but this holds 70 ounces so that will be a rare occurrence. Samsung provides 3 cleaning station bags in the Bespoke Jet AI box. Once these run out, Samsung sells 5 bags for $39. It will depend on the size of your house, but I didn't get anywhere close needing to empty the cleaning station bag during my 10-day testing. As I only had this vacuum on a loan (whereas usually I get to keep vacuums for long-term testing, so I can say for certain that they hold up over time), I had to clean the vacuum and tools thoroughly before returning to Samsung. I can report that while removing the hair extensions from the pet tool was laborious, it was relatively straightforward to clean. For those purchasing the Bespoke Jet AI for personal use, Samsung offers a 5-year warranty on the vacuum cleaner itself and a 2-year warranty on the batteries. You can purchase additional Jet AI batteries for a cringe-inducing $200. Even though it's expensive, sometimes good things just are expensive. And for once, I don't mind that the Samsung Bespoke Jet AI Ultra is over $1,000. The vacuum cleaner earns its price: it has a massive 100 minute battery (alongside a 60 minute battery too), it's the most powerful vacuum I've ever used, and does all of that while being super lightweight too. I have nothing bad to say about the Bespoke Jet AI Ultra. I was scratching my head trying to think of cons, and nothing came to me. I loved everything about this vacuum during testing. It sucked up hair, cereal, cat litter, and everyday mess with ease, and made light work of both thick carpets and hardwood floors. If I could keep one vacuum forever, it would be the Bespoke Jet AI Ultra. The results are in: this is the best vacuum in the world.
Tom's Guide
3 days ago
- Tom's Guide
I just tested the perfect mic for content creators — and there's a reason why you see it in so many TikTok videos
Rode consistently makes some of the best microphones, and the new Wireless Go Gen 3 is no different. A worthy upgrade from the Go Gen 2, the Gen 3 has better wireless range, 32-bit float recording (up from the 2's 24-bit), a massive 32GB of on-board storage in each transmitter, headphone monitoring, GainAssist, and so much more. Yes, it's true: the Go Gen 3 definitely deserves its place as one of the most iconic wireless mics. While there are still a few little annoyances (for example, opening the Rode Central app stops recordings midway and the high-pass filter isn't super adept at noise cancellation), the Wireless Go Gen 3 is a fantastic set of compact mics. So is it worth the $329 price? It depends who you are — if you're a content creator looking for the best of the best without dropping $$$, then it's certainly for you. Keep reading to find out the full story in this Rode Wireless Go Gen 3 microphone review. Price $329 / £279 Connectivity USB-C, TRS, lightning On-board storage 32GB (40 hours) Range 850 feet / 260 meters Max SPL 123.5 Audio resolution 196kHz, 32-bit Frequency response 20 Hz – 20 kHz Microphone type Condenser Battery life 7 hours Polar pattern Omnidirectional Weight 1.2 ounces (RX and TX), 3.6 ounces altogether Dimensions 1.8 x 1.7 x 0.8 inches Colors Various: I tested black The Rode Wireless Go Gen 3 costs a pretty hefty $329 from Amazon U.S., making it $20 pricier than its predecessor the Wireless Go Gen 2. Surprisingly, the Gen 3 comes in a huge range of colors: I tested black, but it also comes in white, red, purple, blue, and more. I've never seen a mic with this much range before, so it's a welcome departure from mundanity. On Amazon U.K., the Wireless Go Gen 3 has an RRP of £279, but has been around £230 since April. Right now, I'm unsure why there's such a price difference between the U.S. and U.K. However, I think $329 is still a pretty decent price for a microphone of this quality. If you want the most basic Rode wireless mic, I'd suggest the $149 Wireless Micro. It's basically just the Wireless Go Gen 3 but with a much more beginner-friendly usage and slightly reduced quality audio. Even so, for amateurs or beginners, there's nothing better. Conversely, if you need a fully professional mic, then check out the Rode Wireless Pro ($399). The Rode Wireless Go Gen 3 looks pretty much like every other wireless RX and TX set, but that doesn't mean there's anything wrong with the design. The transmitters and receiver are the same size: just 1.7 x 1.8 inches. The microphones also come with a soft pouch for easy transportation, which is also roomy enough to fit the USB-C, lightning, TRS cables, and dead cats. On the receiver, the controls are as follows: Volume (mic gain) buttons, channel buttons, and the Ø button for connection. The transmitters have one button for pairing or recording, and an Ø button for muting and marking (which I struggled to get working — more on that in the 'Features' section below). Both transmitters and the receiver also have a clip, which I found incredibly useful for on-the-fly recording. There's also a 3.5mm output on the RX for live monitoring and 3.5mm inputs on each TX for additional lav mics. I quite like the RX's bright LED screen. It's a little brighter than the Shure MoveMic 88+'s screen (which I still liked), but a decent amount smaller. In future versions (I know the Gen 3 has literally just been released), I'd like to see this screen even bigger, and maybe even controllable via touch for even easier usability. There's also a dead cat for wind resistance. I found this really efficient for pop reduction when carrying out my plosive testing, so I'd recommend using it to mitigate pops with interviewees who perhaps don't have the best microphone etiquette. Unlike the Sennheiser Profile Wireless, the dead cat didn't distort audio clarity. First off, one of the most impressive features is the 850-foot wireless range. This makes it a touch longer than the Sennheiser Profile Wireless' ($299) 800 feet. The Rode Wireless Go Gen 2 ($299) has a max range of around 650 feet, so this is a major improvement on the previous iteration. Another major improvement is the massive 32GB onboard storage — 40 hours of 32-bit recording. On the Gen 2, this is 40 hours of 24-bit float recording, which means the Gen 3 has higher memory. You can still export at 32-bit on the Gen 2, though. While the Gen 3 has improved range and memory over the Gen 2, it also carries over one of the Gen 2's most helpful features: Safety Channel mode. This mode automatically records a second track at -10dB, so if your first recording is too loud or distorted, you've got a backup. Enabling this feature is easy: simply activate it in the Rode Central app. Even when I was trying to shout loudly into the mic and distort it, my recordings were reasonably salvageable thanks to GainAssist. I definitely would place my trust in this mic, even when recording in noisy environments. Due to the 32-bit float recording, even tracks from loud environments are easy to edit in post. I tested this with both whispered speech and shouted speech. I was able to amplify my whispered recordings without losing any quality. Incredibly, the recording still sounded clear and crisp. In fact, all the recordings you'll hear in the 'Audio quality' section were amplified in Audacity. Then, I held the mic way too close (think complete microphone newbie) and talked loudly into it. I was, again, able to save this in Audacity. One of the most interesting features is the customizable 'Ø' button. This button can be configured to mute the mic, or place a 'marker' in the on-board recording. Markers can be used for noting in long audio files where you need to trim, edit, or cut, amongst other reasons. It basically makes your life easier in post. I was expecting this marker to place a beep sound in the recording, but nothing happened. I've reached out to Rode for assistance, but have yet to receive a response. I'll come back to update this review once I hear back. Another fantastic feature is the Camera Preset. This is an automatic, premade setting that links up with a number of cameras. You can load these presets into your RX (via Rode Central desktop only) and then enable when the mics are set up with your camera. Unfortunately, this is limited to new and popular cameras: my Canon Rebel T3i is too old now. Finally, battery life. The Go Gen 3 has 7 hours charge in each TX, and you can buy a charging case (to up the overall charge to 21 hours) for $89 from Amazon U.S.. This is a pretty good battery life, but other wireless mics come with a charging case, like the Sennheiser Profile Wireless. As with the Rode Wireless Micro, the Wireless Go Gen 3 works with the Rode Central app. This app is very straightforward and easy to use: I had no problems navigating it during testing. As you can see from the three screenshots above, the camera preset settings has a huge range of cameras, from Canon, to GoPro, to Panasonic and more. You can also customize channel gain and split or merge the TXs, and configure settings like the Ø buttons. As you can record in 'Split' or 'Merged', be aware that you will need to re-merge the mics if you turn one off. The first time I used the Go Gen 3, I didn't realise this and was left with a stereo recording only on one channel. I had to fix it in post, which was easy, but a little annoying. Thankfully, due to the 32-bit float recording quality, my recordings were never distorted even with a lot of fiddling in Audacity. The tracks were crisp, clear, and faithful to my voice, even when I had an ambient noise track playing in the background. Here you can listen to all my standardized audio testing clips. As with all mics I test, I recorded clips of tongue twisters (to analyze plosive and fricative performance), ambient noise clips to test the high-pass filter, alongside generic spoken tests. Plosives Here you can listen to the Rode Wireless Go Gen 3's ability to record plosive (B, P, D sounds) sounds without popping. To get the best result, I used the dead cat here. As you can tell from the audio clip above, the Go Gen 3's quality was pretty excellent. There were no loud pops thanks to the dead cat. A word of warning, though: I would recommend using said dead cat, as when I repeated this test sans-muff the recording was quite poppy. Fricatives/sibilance Fricatives are soft, airy sounds like F and Z, and sibilance refers to S sounds (like a snake). I recorded myself saying a couple of S-heavy tongue twisters. As you can hear above, the sibilance performance was really impressive. There's no unsavory hissing whatsoever, and I was really trying to do my best imitation of an angry snake here. I would have no reservations about interviewing even the most serpentine of guests with this mic. Ambient noise performance As with the Wireless Micro, the Wireless Go Gen 3 doesn't really have an 'ambient noise reducer' like some of the best Shure microphones. It's got a high-pass filter, which basically blocks noises below a certain threshold (75Hz or 100Hz). For these clips, I used the 75Hz. This is with the high-pass filter enabled. You can still hear quite a decent amount of background noise. Sure, my voice is still audible, but this might require a few hours in post-production if you want it completely silent. This is the same clip without the high-pass filter. See, there's not much difference between the two clips. It's definitely because the Wireless Go Gen 3 doesn't have an ambient noise reducing technology like Shure's proprietary 'Denoiser' (which is excellent). It's just a high-pass filter, so better to use for wind and quiet interference. In the future, I'd like to see Rode release an AI traffic/speech reducer, so post-production would be easier if recording in very loud environments. Still, it's not awful… just not mind-blowing. The Wireless Go Gen 3 is a worthy upgrade from Gen 2. You get higher quality recordings, more onboard storage, a range of new features like GainAssist, a charging case, and live headphone monitoring. On top of these extra features, the mic's recording quality is fantastic — of course it is, it's Rode. You'd expect it to be brilliant. My only qualm is that the high-pass filter isn't hugely adept at minimizing ambient noise. For a mic that's so often used as a street interviewing mic, I'd expect it to have much more advanced ambient noise reduction in future. However, if you're a content creator looking to upgrade your professionalism, of course it has to be the Rode Wireless Go Gen 3. There's a reason this mic is everywhere in TikTok videos.
Tom's Guide
23-05-2025
- Tom's Guide
I just found my perfect summer Bluetooth speaker — ground-shaking bass and it only costs $129
The Tribit StormBox Lava speaker has blown me away. This speaker amplifies bass like no other I've tried and is an absolute steal compared to some of the best bluetooth speakers. While the speaker has the ground around me shaking (especially on the XBass preset), the crisp treble and punchy mids it produces are also awesome. Meanwhile the Companion app also allows you to customize the sound, and even rack the bass up higher. The sleek design and portable nature of the speaker means it is easy to take anywhere, and its IP67 rating means it's well protected for any scenario — from a sandy beach to the side of the pool. Admittedly, the battery is lower than previous speaker models by Tribit and if you want to use the True Wireless Stereo function you will need to purchase another speaker, but don't let that put you off because the volume that this speaker produces means you won't need the stereo function. To find out more about how I got on, you can read my full Tribit StormBox Lava review. Price $129 / £129 Dimensions 12.20 x 5.98 x 5.78 inches Weight 5.07lbs Water resistance IP67 Connectivity Bluetooth 5.4 The Tribit StormBox Lava is priced at $126 and is available for purchase from Amazon U.S., and from Amazon U.K for £126. For a similar price you could pick up the JBL Flip 6 ($129), which has the same waterproofing rating, but is much smaller and has half the quoted battery life. The speaker only comes in black, which I think makes it look pretty sleek. But if you are in the market for something that gives you a choice of colors, you could check out our favorite Bluetooth speaker for bass performance, the JBL Extreme 4 ($379), or the Sonos Move 2 ($449). But there is no doubt that the TRIBIT StormBox Lava is the most affordable of these options, while still offering plenty of bass, so sacrificing color may not be all that bad. The Tribit StormBox Lava is a very good-looking speaker. It may not have any flashing lights on it like the Tribit StormBox Blast 2 ($279), but its looks mean it will look good in any situation with a practical design. The Lava isn't too heavy, weighing only 5.07lbs, and is easy to carry around. Included with the speaker is a detachable shoulder strap that can be adjusted to make carrying it even more comfortable. I, however, opted to use the detachable woven handle (also included) during testing. I found this a more manageable option as the shoulder strap meant the speaker was swinging against my side. While it's objectively large, especially compared to the JBL Extreme 4, the StormBox Lava is pretty compact given the sound it produces. Measuring 12.20 x 5.98 x 5.78 inches, I got whole-house-filling sound with comparatively little bulk. As well as being easily transportable, it's built to be used anywhere, with a waterproof rating of IP67. This rating means the speaker is waterproof when submerged in 1 meter of water for 30 minutes, making it perfect for pool parties or rainy conditions. IP67 also means the speaker is completely dust tight, so you can take it to the beach and not worry about sand running the mechanics. However, it's only fully sealed when the rubber cover protecting the USB ports on the back of the speaker is closed. The Tribit StormBox is extremely simple to control, but there are quite a few options for how you can control it. There are controls on the top of the speaker which include the power button, volume controls, play/pause, Bluetooth pairing, XBass and True Wireless Stereo (TWS) pairing (more on that later). Frustratingly, the play/pause button needs to be double-tapped to skip a song, or triple-tapped to skip back. It wouldn't have hurt the styling to add two extra dedicated buttons for playback controls, and would've made the user experience a whole lot easier. When I wanted to skip songs, I simply used my phone, which proved easier. I also downloaded the Tribit companion app. You can control the volume from the app, but more interestingly, there are EQ presets and a 10-band custom EQ options. The XBass EQ preset is the signature of this speaker, though, hence why it has its own dedicated button on top of the unit. I'll discuss the EQ in more detail in the audio performance section. The Tribit Stormbox Lava can pair with another Lava unit in TWS mode, which is for dual speaker surround stereo playback. This is activated via the button on top of the speaker and then the two speakers will play music in unison — an awesome feature but then you'd be dropping $260. The speaker uses Bluetooth 5.4 which gives a more stable connection for Bluetooth speakers than previous versions. It also decreases any lag experienced with the speaker and has a 40ft Bluetooth range. The first thing I look for whenever I test out new audio equipment is how the bass performs, so I was excited to try out the XBass function on this speaker. XBass is an EQ preset, but there is a dedicated button on top of the device that lets you turn it on and off without needing the app. The Tribit StormBox delivers on all fronts, but excels with its bass performance. The low frequencies are very powerful — it had the floor literally shaking. The 30W neodymium magnetic woofers drive the bass with ease, and it's very impressive. I listened to Tonight (I Wish I Was Your Boy) by The 1975 which has some delicate high vocals but a driving bass throughout the song. It sounded absolutely epic and the bass in the song became so strong that it shook the table the speaker was on. I would argue this song is best listened to on speakers like this rather than earbuds so you get the full immersive experience, and the Tribit made me put the song on repeat. To test the range of the speaker, I listened to Gethsemane by Sleep Token. The song is truly varied, starting off gently, before lifting into driving hip-hop and then reaching a metal apex — it showed me the speaker can handle anything you throw at it with ease. The Tribit captured the delicate vocals with minimal tinniness, and kept them at the forefront even when the heavy mids and bass from guitar and drums began. Finally I listened to Simple As This by Jake Bugg, a mellow folk song. And yes, the speaker can even make a folk song's bass boom. Even without the XBass, the speaker still delivered awesome sound, it just didn't shake the floor. I tested out the 10-band Custom EQ on this song, lifting the low frequencies to enhance the kickdrum and raising the mids to compensate for the prominent vocals. This sounded great, although I lost some treble, particularly the track's violins. When I increased the high frequencies to bring them back, I experienced some tinniness, but overall the Lava put in a stellar performance. Tribit says that the StormBox Lava takes around 5 hours to fully charge and that it has a battery life of 24 hours. This is pretty impressive, although less than the StormBox Blast 2 which has a max battery life of 20 hours. The Lava's battery life specs rely on XBass being turned off and volume only being turned up halfway. I preferred to use the speaker with XBass turned on as this gave such a fuller sound to the music, but it did drain the battery faster. After 3 hours of listening at half volume with XBass, the charge had decreased by 20%, so I would expect to get something more like 14 hours with XBass on. If you listen with the volume higher though this will decrease further. The EarFun UBOOM X speaker ($189) has a rated battery life of 30 hours when not using any of the built in lights at low volumes, but this dramatically decreases to around 20 hours with use of all the features. So it isn't uncommon for speakers to underperform, just inconvenient. To conserve battery on the Tribit StormBox Lava as much as possible, you can enable auto shut down through the app which will turn off the speaker if nothing is played for a while. I found this feature great as I often pause my music and get distracted, so it meant I wasn't wasting battery unnecessarily. The speaker has ports under the rubber cover at the back that allow it to act as a portable charger. This is super useful for beach days where you're nowhere near power but still need your phone. I am seriously blown away by the StormBox Lava. It's cheaper than previous Tribit models like the StormBox Blast 2, but still packs one hell of a punch. The speaker looks sleek and is easily portable with the carry handle and strap, so you can take it with you on hikes or vacations. The waterproof protection makes it an incredible all-rounder, from beach days to getting caught out in the rain (piña colada not included). The XBass function is incredible, making the ground literally shake, even at half volume. At high volumes though, sound quality isn't compromised across the frequency range and there is hardly any tinniness — I only experienced this when I manually increased the high frequencies. With the Tribit StormBox Lava's booming bass and insane volume capability, I've just found my perfect speaker right in time for summer.
Tom's Guide
23-05-2025
- Business
- Tom's Guide
I tested the brand-new De'Longhi Rivelia — it's like an enthusiastic robot barista has set up shop in my kitchen
The De'Longhi Rivelia is a superautomatic coffee machine, which means it turns button-pressing into coffee in seconds. Yes — completely hands-free. You don't need to do anything. It's perfect for people who want hot, fresh coffee and don't have a lot of time. De'Longhi has a huge range of automatic coffee machines on its roster, starting from just $549/£399, and going up to over $2k. The Rivelia is slap-bang in the middle of its range, at $1,499/£749. Yes — that price discrepancy is wild, I know. If you're a U.K. customer, you're getting a much better deal. A steal, almost. However, is the Rivelia enough to be one of the best espresso machines at this pricepoint? Find out in this De'Longhi Rivelia automatic coffee machine review. Price $1,499 / £749 Weight 21.4 pounds Grinder Have reached out to De'Longhi for confirmation Dimensions 16.9 x 9.7 x 14.6 inches Heating system Have reached out to De'Longhi for confirmation Pressure 15 bar Water tank capacity 47 ounces Accessories 2 bean hoppers, cleaning tablets, milk stopper The De'Longhi Rivelia Automatic Coffee Machine is a massive $1,499 from Amazon U.S., and just £749 from Amazon U.K.. The price is likely different because the Rivelia came out in the U.K. back in 2023, but it's brand new to the U.S. market as of May 2025. Even so, customers in the U.K. are getting a much, much better deal. I don't think this machine is worth $1,499 — $1,000 would be a better price. Automatic coffee machines tend to be pricier than at-home espresso machines, but they don't really make 'proper' espresso. I'll go into that in depth in the 'Espresso' section, but it's worth mentioning here as it's unfair to compare this machine to typical espresso machines. The KitchenAid KF8 is $1,999, which is the priciest automatic coffee machine I've tested. However, that's not the most expensive one I've seen. The Jura J8 is a whopping $3,499, but there's a sub-$1,000 Jura machine in the $999 Jura ENA 4. De'Longhi also makes the $1,299 Magnifica (in the U.K., this starts from just £399) if you really want a superautomatic De'Longhi, but the Rivelia is a little too pricey. In terms of baseline appearance, I think the Rivelia is very attractive. I received the green colorway, which would have been my choice had I been purchasing it myself. De'Longhi also makes the Rivelia in white, black, and gray. In the U.K., you can also get beige and green. The Rivelia is relatively small for a superautomatic espresso machine, at 17 inches tall and 14.6 inches deep. For contrast, the KitchenAid KF8 is 18.5 inches high and 14.3 inches deep. While it's still not compact, it's not as bulky as other espresso machines. My De'Longhi La Specialista Opera is 17.5 inches wide, compared to the Rivelia's just 9.7 inches. The water tank is quite small (could be a worthy sacrifice for this relatively non-bulky machine) at just 47 ounces. The KitchenAid KF8's water tank is a seemingly massive 74 ounces. I found the Rivelia's water tank emptied after around 5 drinks, which was a little frustrating, but I suppose it's good to have fresh water. On the top of the machine is the ground coffee compartment and a scoop. This is also where the milk carafe plug lives in between uses. Then, in front of this hidden compartment, is one of my favorite aspects of the Rivelia: the bright touchscreen. The icons are clear and easy to navigate. The Rivelia alerts you when it's going to rinse, when the carafe needs a clean, and when it's going to heat up. You can scroll through the drinks options (there are 18), which adds great usability for complete beginners. Each drink option has a full-color image, so you're learning which drink is which while brewing too. In general, I'd say that the Rivelia looks fantastic for a superautomatic machine. The colorful LED screen is a nice touch for beginners, and the machine is very easy to use. I would 100% recommend this for complete beginners. I'm going to start by saying that superautomatic espresso machines, by design, do not make 'technically' perfect espresso. They won't be able to dose and tamp like humans, and that's a feature, not a bug. Superautomatic machines are for those who just want coffee, quickly and easily. These types of machines are not for espresso purists. The 'espresso' setting (without customization) doses around 42g of espresso in 21 seconds (including pre-infusion). This is a little outside of the golden window of extraction (1:2 in 25-28 seconds). Afterwards, I customized the espresso to maximum intensity (5) and small size. This dosed 24g of espresso in 17 seconds (including pre-infusion). Again, this is outside the golden window of extraction. Unfortunately, as it's an automatic machine, I have no way of weighing the pre-extraction coffee dose so can't tell you the ratio the Rivelia brews at. As you can see, the shot is quite watery. The crema isn't fluffy, and there's not much weight to the espresso. It'll do the trick, but it won't impress coffee purists. The 'lungo' espresso shot brews a massive 120g. This is much bigger than the generally accepted 1:3 ratio, but I suppose will do the trick if you want a half-espresso-half-Americano beverage. I was a little confused by the 'ice' Americano and 'ice' coffee options. This isn't like the De'Longhi La Specialista Opera ($899, so $600 cheaper than the Rivelia) and De'Longhi La Specialista Maestro ($1,199, so $300 cheaper than the Rivelia) — the Rivelia can't make cold espresso. I pressed 'iced Americano' and it told me to put in 8 cubes of ice (which I did). Then, the Rivelia extracted a hot espresso shot — I thought, okay, no problem, I'll just put more ice in after the water. But then it dosed hot water into my glass. Even though I'd pressed iced Americano. Confused, I did this whole process again — and it brewed another hot Americano. The only difference is that the 'iced' Americano shot is 31g and the 'hot' Americano shot is 41g — I assume as it's going to be watered down by ice. Here's a picture of the 'ice' Americano. I just don't understand why the machine doesn't dispense cold water for iced drinks. Anyway, it's worth noting that if you want an iced Americano, I'd recommend just pulling a regular shot and topping up with cold water. Strangeness regarding iced drinks aside, my interest was extremely piqued by the Rivelia's 'Bean Adapt' feature. This feature basically analyzes your coffee bean and tells you the optimal grind size. Of course, seasoned baristas will be able to navigate grind size without this assistance, but it's nice to have for beginners. The Rivelia told me that my light-roasted Rwandan beans should be ground on number 5 (1-7), which surprised me. I'd been brewing on grind 4 and it tasted fine. However, I gave the Rivelia the benefit of the doubt and followed its advice. When I switched out my light beans for medium-roasted Indonesian beans, the Rivelia recommended setting them on grind size 4. Ever the obedient user, I obliged and ran a few shots through on this setting. As with the shot times I mentioned above, the espresso wasn't technically perfect, but it still tasted good in the drink. I also tried a dark roast. The Rivelia told me it should be extracted on grind setting 4, and with medium temperature (as opposed to light-and-medium roast's high temperature). I made an Americano, a latte macchiato, and two capuccinos with these settings, and the drinks tasted… fine. My colleagues said they enjoyed their beverages, so, again, the Rivelia doesn't make bad coffee, it just won't impress serious espresso lovers. Again, this is a superautomatic machine, so it's not intended to be used by people who necessarily care about crafting technically-perfect coffee with WDT tools and coffee scales. The Rivelia is about quick, easy, and accessible coffee, and it does excel at that. It just isn't the tastiest coffee I've ever had. De'Longhi's 'LatteCrema' system is supposed to 'guarantee ideal milk frothing'. While I think the milk frother is pretty adept, I'm not sure this 'LatteCrema' system is any more than just marketing. Don't get me wrong, the milk frother works, but there's nothing inherently unique about it. It's identical to the milk frothing I've seen on other superautomatics like the KitchenAid KF8. In the standard Rivelia, you can't make cold milk. However, with the 'LatteCrema Cool' addition, you can make cold foam. This is an extra $129. The milk carafe has three settings: low, 'creamy', and high foam. Adjusting these settings is easy with the dial. Some drinks tell you what milk texture to choose, but others don't. It's also completely up to you: you don't have to obey the machine's commands. If you so please, you could make a cappuccino with low foam. Obviously the auto milk frother can't make barista-quality microfoam. The only machine I've used that matches barista-quality is the Subminimal Nanofoamer Gen 2, and the Rivelia in no way matches that. Here's a photograph of milk on the 'creamy' setting. This is a flat white made with Oatly Barista. As you can see, the milk is decent, but it's certainly not barista-quality. There are quite large bubbles, and it was a little watery as I drank more. However, perfection is not the enemy of enjoyment — and I did enjoy it. Next, I made a cappuccino on the 'dense' setting, as directed by the Rivelia. Here's a close up photo of the milk texture so you can really see it. As you can see, the milk is relatively bubbly. There's no velvety microfoam you'd expect from a barista-made drink. However, this is pretty good for a superautomatic machine, and if you don't want to bother yourself with a manual espresso machine, the Rivelia will be more than fine. I just don't think it would replace barista-trained milk-foaming abilities any time soon. The final setting is 'light'. Strangely, De'Longhi's recommended setting for lattes is light foam milk, which I don't necessarily agree with. As you can see, the milk is very wet. This is what I'd describe as a 'wet latte' if I still worked as a barista. This is just my personal tastes, but I would recommend only making drinks with the 'creamy' or 'dense' foam settings. 'Light' made a watery latte. I do like that the Rivelia prompted me to clean the milk frother every two uses, and meant I didn't have to get into the spout with a pipe cleaner. It feels very easy to maintain. On the whole, I think the Rivelia would best suit someone with minimal traditional manual espresso machine experience, who wants consistent coffee every day. In terms of reliability, the Rivelia is a winner. I'm going to say right off the bat that unfortunately I couldn't run my usual grinder tests on the Rivelia due to the machine grinding, dosing, and tamping inside the machine. This meant I couldn't take out the grounds and analyze them. As there's little information regarding the grinder in the user manual and online, I reached out to De'Longhi's representative to request more information about the grinder itself. I'm unsure if it's a conical burr grinder or a blade grinder, although as De'Longhi's Dinamica and Magnifica machines have a conical stainless steel burr, I think we can safely assume the Rivelia follows suit. The grinder has 7 fineness settings. 1 is the finest and 7 is the coarsest. I started off on setting 2 as I was using light roasted beans, but the extraction was way too slow. After using Bean Adapt, I was told to grind on 5 for my light roasted beans and 4 for my medium roasted beans. Obviously a built in grinder is never going to be as adept as a standalone grinder, but I think for a superautomatic machine, the Rivelia's grinder fits the bill perfectly. As I mentioned in the 'Design' section, the Rivelia is pretty compact for a superautomatic. This means you'll be able to keep it out on your counter, like I did during testing. Thankfully, De'Longhi provides you with a water hardness test strip (to know how often to descale). There's an additional coffee maintenance kit on De'Longhi's website for $49 and you can even purchase additional bean hoppers for $29. The drip tray is very easy to remove, but it is quite small. I'd recommend emptying it after every few drinks. The grounds drawer is also quite small — I've been emptying it after every five or so drinks. However, it's easy to clean (initially) as it's mostly plastic. Even so, this raises longevity concerns as sometimes the plastic can look quite tarnished and dirty after a few years, despite proper cleaning. For U.K. customers, the £749 Rivelia is one of the most affordable superautomatic machines on the market today. It's only beaten by something like the De'Longhi Magnifica, which starts from just $599/£399. The Rivelia has 18 preset recipes (all of which can be customized further), whereas the Magnifica Start has just 3, and no auto milk frother. De'Longhi's top-of-the-range PrimaDonna Elite is a massive $2,199 (a more comparable £1,999), and boasts a 67 ounce water tank, a more adept 13-click conical burr grinder. Jura is one of the hottest superautomatic coffee machine brands around right now. Its closest-priced competitor is the $1,599 S8. You can make sweet foam with this machine's built-in syrup attachment, so if you're a sweet-toothed coffee lover, then you might want to check out the Jura S8. The Jura Giga 10 is a massive $4,979. It has 35 drinks options including cold brew and even connects to Wi-Fi. I think it's overkill for the average person, but it does put into perspective that $1,499 isn't as expensive as other superautomatic machines. Still, that doesn't necessarily mean the Rivelia is 100% worth it. On the whole, the Rivelia is a good, compact coffee machine perfect for small homes, but it's not worth its $1,499 price tag. At this price point, you'd expect delicious coffee (and the ability to make iced Americanos when it says it can), but the coffee is merely fine. I think serious coffee lovers need look elsewhere — may I point you in the direction of the Breville Bambino Plus? If you're in the U.K., then this machine is a fantastic deal. Had the U.S. price reflected the U.K. price, I would've awarded the Rivelia 4 stars. However, at $1,499, I think the Rivelia is quite overpriced for what it is. Yes, superautomatic machines are usually more expensive than espresso machines. However, De'Longhi's Magnifica Evo is just $899 and has similar specs — auto milk frother, 7 customizable recipes, and a built-in conical burr grinder. I think that's a much better deal — I'm not sure that the Rivelia's specs justify the $600 price increase. However, that doesn't negate that the Rivelia is a good machine. It makes tasty (but not quite delicious) coffee in seconds, it is easy to switch beans, and it looks good. It's just a touch overpriced for me.
