Tag Archives: Gadget Review

2026, Audio, Bluetooth, Gadget Man, Streaming

Noble Sceptre Review – Unlocking Proper Bluetooth Without Replacing the Kit You Love

February 21, 2026 Matt Porter Leave a comment

There’s a quiet frustration that many of us never quite articulate.

You buy excellent headphones. You invest in something genuinely special. Then you discover that the weakest link in the entire chain isn’t the drivers, the tuning or the comfort… it’s the Bluetooth chip inside your phone or laptop.

The Noble Sceptre arrives as a rather elegant solution to that problem.

Noble Sceptre Review - Unlocking Proper Bluetooth Without Replacing the Kit You Love — Noble Sceptre Review – Unlocking Proper Bluetooth Without Replacing the Kit You Love

Launching at £64.99, this compact Bluetooth transmitter promises to bypass the limitations of built-in wireless hardware and deliver high-resolution codecs like LDAC and aptX Adaptive to virtually any compatible device .

And in typical Noble fashion, it does so without fuss.

What Exactly Is It?

At first glance, the Sceptre looks like a small, understated USB-C dongle. No flashing lights. No oversized branding. Just a compact metal unit designed to disappear into your setup.

But internally, it’s built around Qualcomm’s QCC5181 chipset with Bluetooth 5.4 support . That’s the important bit.

Rather than relying on whatever Bluetooth radio your phone, tablet or laptop happens to include, Sceptre handles the transmission itself. It becomes the brains of your wireless link.

The result? Access to advanced codecs including:

LDAC
aptX Adaptive
AAC
SBC

In practical terms, that means cleaner transmission, better detail retrieval and more consistent audio quality.

Why This Matters

Modern smartphones, particularly some iOS devices, are notoriously restrictive with codec support. Even on Android, implementation can be inconsistent.

Sceptre effectively levels the playing field.

Plug it into a USB-C device and suddenly you’re no longer at the mercy of whatever the manufacturer decided to include. It supports iOS, Android and Windows platforms , and it’s compatible with a wide range of Bluetooth headphones, true wireless buds and even powered speakers.

For anyone running premium wireless IEMs or high-end Bluetooth headphones, that’s a significant upgrade path without replacing your existing gear.

Real-World Use

What impressed me most is how practical it feels.

There’s a charge-through USB-C port, meaning you can power your phone or laptop while using Sceptre . That makes it viable for long commutes, flights or desk use. No battery anxiety.

Bluetooth profiles supported include HFP, A2DP and AVRCP , so calls and media control work as expected. Transmission range is rated at up to 20 metres , which in everyday terms means stable connection across a room, through a couple of interior walls, or around a typical office.

Setup is handled via the Noble app for the initial pairing, after which it behaves like a proper plug-and-play device .

Design and Build

The design language is classic Noble.

Minimal. Purposeful. Compact.

It doesn’t scream “audiophile accessory”. Instead, it feels like a professional tool. Something you carry because you know what it does, not because you want attention.

It’s lightweight enough to live permanently on a laptop. Small enough to disappear into a pocket alongside your phone. And crucially, it doesn’t add clutter.

Who Is It For?

This isn’t aimed at casual listeners.

It’s for:

People who own serious wireless headphones
Commuters who stream lossless or high-quality audio
Gamers who want more consistent wireless performance
Anyone frustrated by codec limitations on their device

If you’re perfectly happy with standard SBC streaming, this probably isn’t essential.

But if you’ve invested in quality audio and feel your source is holding you back, Sceptre makes a compelling case.

The Bigger Picture

Noble built its reputation on handcrafted in-ear monitors and distinctive true wireless designs. With Sceptre, they’ve moved upstream into the signal chain itself .

That’s clever.

Rather than asking customers to buy new headphones, they’re enhancing what people already own.

At £64.99 / $69.99 / €69.99 , it’s positioned accessibly for a performance upgrade that could genuinely transform a wireless setup.

Gadget Man Verdict

The Noble Sceptre is one of those devices that solves a problem many people don’t realise they have.

It doesn’t try to be flashy. It doesn’t attempt to reinvent wireless audio. Instead, it quietly improves the weakest link in the chain.

And in audio, the chain matters.

If you’ve invested in quality Bluetooth headphones and want to hear what they’re truly capable of, this small dongle may well be the missing piece.

Compact. Practical. Sensible. And surprisingly impactful.

Exactly the sort of understated gadget I rather enjoy discovering.

2025, Audio, Cassette Player, retro, Retro Gadgets

Duran Duran teams up with We Are Rewind for a gorgeous new cassette player

December 3, 2025 Matt Porter Leave a comment

Every so often a product lands on my desk that pulls me straight back to the excitement of discovering music on a physical format. This week it is the WE-001 Duran Duran Special Edition from We Are Rewind, a modern portable cassette player created with the band’s full blessing and visual flair.

Duran Duran teams up with We Are Rewind for a gorgeous new cassette player

If you grew up with cassettes, you will remember the thrill of flipping an album over, hearing the clunk of the keys, and watching the spools spin. This special edition brings all of that back with a welcome dose of modern engineering. Even better, it arrives with a fresh cassette reissue of Pop Trash, complete with those familiar metallic and neon touches that have always followed Duran Duran through their career.

A cassette player built for the present day

The WE-001 looks and feels like something from the band’s own design board. The aluminium shell has a satisfyingly weighty feel, the buttons have a smooth mechanical action, and the audio side of things has been taken very seriously. A dedicated headphone amplifier gives the tapes far more presence and clarity than the portable players many of us owned the first time round.

It connects to wireless headphones and speakers thanks to Bluetooth and charges by USB C, giving around twelve hours of playback. It even records. Plug in a powered mic or use the line input and you can capture your own mixtapes in proper analogue fashion.

For anyone who wants the full nostalgic experience, a pencil is included in the box. You know exactly what that is for.

A collaboration with real heart

The band’s creative art director Andrew Day summed up the project perfectly. When Pop Trash came out, streaming barely existed. Two and a half decades later, celebrating the album with a beautifully designed cassette player feels surprisingly right. He described the finished product as “more Pop and less Trash”, which is a very neat way of putting it.

We Are Rewind founder Romain Boudruche added that Duran Duran’s long history with physical media made the project a natural fit. At a time when music discovery is often reduced to an endless scroll of digital tracks, it is refreshing to see an artist celebrate the value of something you can actually hold.

Interestingly, UK cassette sales rose by more than two hundred percent in the first quarter of this year, so the timing could not be better.

Price and availability

The WE-001 Duran Duran Special Edition is priced at £149 and is available directly from We Are Rewind. If you are a fan of the band, a lover of physical media, or simply someone who enjoys a beautifully built gadget, this is well worth a look.

Audio, Edifier, Gadget Man, Headphones, Matt Porter, Radio, Review, Technology, The Gadget Man, Wearables

Edifier H880 – High Fidelity Stereo Headphones

October 27, 2019 Matt Porter Leave a comment

I’ve recently returned from a family summer holiday in Wales which took us through the beautiful mountains and valleys and onto the even more spectacular coasts of beaches of a very beautiful part of Great Britain. Our holiday gave us plenty of chances for quiet evenings snuggled together in an old converted farmhouse.

What better time but to slip on a set of headphones and listen to my favourite music and while away the evening. Fortunately, I was armed with a set of Edifier H880 Over-ear wired headphones and boy was I impressed!

As is now the want in this age of ‘product unboxing’, the H880’s come in a sleek matt black foam padded box, with the headphones sitting securely in the purpose made inset. After taking them out of the box and fitting them over my ears, I found the fit both comfortable and snugly over my ears and instantly silenced a large amount of background noise.

The H880’s are wired headphones and stored neatly underneath the headphones are two boxes, the first comes with a very long 3.5mm to 3.5mm gold plated connector lead, you also receive a shorter 3.5mm to 3.5mm lead which includes inline volume control and hands-free function for use with smartphones. Finally, there is a 3.5mm to 6.35 mm adapter. The second box contains a very smart soft-touch material storage bag which the headphones neatly fold up into for safe and portable carrying.

Once set up and plugged into my phone, it was now time to test them out. I connected them to my Sony Xperia 1 phone using a USB Type-C adapter and cranked on the music.

On a technical level, the H880’s use 40mm polymer drivers with cavity control technology which gives a superior bass response. Frequency response is in a range of 20Hz – 20kHz, sound pressure is 100dB, nominal impedance is 24ohm all powered by a closed moving coil.

The headphones feel very well constructed using alloy and durable metallic connectors. The leatherette ear pads along with the padded head attachment were extremely comfortable and although very well insulated, didn’t get too warm after wearing them for extended periods.

Most importantly, the music reproduction was superb, my Xperia 1 supports Dolby Atmos, so the sound is very good and I found the H880’s provided a very enjoyable listening experience. Bass wasn’t overbearing and treble and midranges were excellent too. Vocals were crisp and clear and on the whole, I was really impressed! It really goes to show that wired headphones are still the obvious choices of music fans as they don’t suffer delay and compression that can sometimes be obvious on Bluetooth headphones.

At a shade over £100, the Edifier H880 over-ear wired headphones are a contender for those of us that don’t mind sitting in a chair enjoying music.

Matt Porter, The Gadget Man

Coast to Coast Tesla Challenge, Gadget Man, Gadget Road Trip, Matt Porter, Review, Road Trip, Technology, The Gadget Man, Transcend, USB Hard Drives

Transcend ESD220C Portable SSD – The Perfect Companion For Any Road Trip #gadgetroadtrip

March 20, 2018 Matt Porter Leave a comment

It’s nearly six months since we embarked on our EPIC Gadget Road Trip from Ness Point to Ardnamurchan and Back!! During our trip we called on all kinds of tech to assist us with the Gigabytes of data we were generating, mostly in the form of video and photos.

Most notable and indeed most important was removable backup storage and in this area we were able to call upon our friends at Transcend. Not only were they able to provide us with previously reviewed dash-cam hardware, but also with the amazing ESD220C Portable SSD drive.

Transcend ESD220C Portable SSD — The Transcend ESD220C is both small and light

The ESD220C is indeed portable in every way. It is both small and light, in fact small enough to fit into a wallet. This size and weight is due to the Solid State storage, which means that rather than storing your data onto a physical, spinning hard-disk, you are in fact using memory chips (TLC NAND flash) to store the information and thus weight and size stop being an issue. It will easily fit in your pocket and the case had a scratch resistant coating to keep it looking pristine.

[videopress mnRAf2Wy permalink=”false” loop=”true” autoplay=”true”]

The drive uses SuperSpeed USB 3.1 Gen 1 interface and built-in SLC caching technology to give read/write speeds of up to 410MB/s and 400MB/s respectively. It also supports UASP (USB Attached SCSI Protocol to further boost file transfers on supported computers. The drive’s lifespan is also extended by the addition of RAID and LDPC and your data is safe with ECC encryption.

Also included is a USB3.1 Type A (for your computer) to USB Type C connector (for the drive). By Transcend using a Type C connector, it enables the drive to be connected to a mobile device (using an additional adapter) and allows for direct file transfers from Android OTG (On the Go) enabled phones and tablets. As you can imagine, this was a real winner in the depths of Scotland as we were able to pull photos and videos straight off our mobile devices in transit as the drive is powered from the same cable.

[videopress FGGyf4QM]

Using the ESD220C, I was able to transfer files from Paul’s Samsung Galaxy S7, my Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge, a Sony Xperia XZ1, my nVideo Shield K1 tablet and the Dell Rugged Laptop we also took with us. Of course I also transferred video from the DJI Mavic Pro‘s MicroSD card.

So, you can see that the tiny little device was indeed the seamless hub for secure storage for the entire journey. We also transferred the data from the Transcend drive at night to a second 1TB drive which enabled us to free up space for use during the day.

I should finally mention that the device also has a ‘one touch backup’ button for use with Windows PC’s running Transcend’s included software.

Of the many gadgets that I review and then have to send back, this will be one of the those that I will miss the most for it’s speed and sheer usefulness.

The drives are available in 120Gb, 240Gb and 480Gb storage options with prices around £66, £95 and £165 respectively. I tested the 240Gb model, which I think is excellent value for an portable SSD device.

Matt Porter
The Gadget Man

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Audio, Edifier, Gadget Man, Internet Radio, Music, Technology, The Gadget Man

Edifier M1380 2.1 Speakers, a compact alternative.

September 26, 2017 Matt Porter Leave a comment

Edifier M1380 2.1 Speakers are a smart choice for students

For the past few weeks I have been testing the Edifier M1380 2.1 Speakers with Subwoofer and Satellites. As a music fan, I’ve always been a fan of external speakers both PC’s and MP3 players, so when a set of Edifier M1380 speakers arrived at my office, I was eager to give them a try.

The M1380 speakers come with a high quality 5 inch subwoofer bass unit, two satellite tweeters and a wired controller for both muting and controlling the volume. Bass is adjusted by a control knob on the side of the subwoofer with a 3.5mm audio line-in cable and speaker out connectors for the tweeters.

The subwoofer feels weighty, which gives you confidence that the bass reproduction is going to be good in addition, the build materials feel sturdy. The subwoofer outputs 12W, it’s not up to ‘block party’ standards, but it’s perfectly loud enough to please someone as a second set and is complimented by the the tweeter speakers outputting at 8W each.

The satellite speakers are elevated to a height of 6 inches. This gives the sound the freedom to travel rather than be adsorbed by surrounding furniture and is crisp and pleasant to listen to.

The speakers have been balanced with each other, meaning they work together to produce a rich, pleasant sound and don’t interfere with each other by over-saturating different frequencies.

Edifier M1380 2.1 Speakers Controller — The speaker controlller and earphone socket is useful for computer users

The speaker volume is controlled via a small table mounted dial and mute switch. I like this kind of set up as it allows to to easily adjust the speaker volume by sitting the controller next to your keyboard if you are using them as PC speakers. It also offers a headphone socket, allowing you to plugin your favourite pair without having to reach around behind the speaks and fumble around.

Edifier are very good at producing attractive audio equipment and the M1380 continues this with a modern, matte black setup which would fit in most surroundings and not look out of place.

The price point for the speaker system is around the £49 mark, this feels like great value for such a quality product. If you are looking for a cost effective set of speakers which would suit students heading off for university, these are a great choice.