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2 months ago | 
nytimes.com | Brent Butterworth
What’s in your bathroom cabinet? Way too much, I bet. Lotions of all sorts. Cologne that someone gave you a decade ago. Travel-size soaps and shampoos acquired through years of business trips and barely remembered vacations. Panasonic has a plan to tidy up everyone’s vanity: the MultiShape grooming system.
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2 months ago | 
nytimes.com | Brent Butterworth
If you have something to say to the world, it’s never been easier: Just start a podcast. Sure, getting your voice out to the entire internet-connected world might seem like a daunting task, but it can be quite simple and cost you literally nothing. Whether you have the personal charm to become the next Marc Maron or can muster the resources for an in-depth, expert examination of a topic—well, that’s up to you. But we can offer advice on how to record it, edit it, and get it onto the internet.
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Nov 12, 2024 | 
nytimes.com | Brent Butterworth |Freddy Gerngross
The Fluance RT85N is our favorite turntable under $600 because it’s easy to set up and use, and it sounds great with all types of recordings.
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Nov 10, 2024 | 
nytimes.com | Brent Butterworth
The Triangle Borea BR03 passive speakers and the Edifier S1000MKII powered speakers are the best we’ve tested under $600.
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Nov 4, 2024 | 
nytimes.com | Brent Butterworth
The use of a soundbar is the easiest, most affordable way to get a cinematic surround-sound experience at home, and the excellent sound and simple makeup of the Polk MagniFi Mini AX make it our favorite all-purpose choice—though we have additional picks that suit different budgets and performance priorities.
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Nov 4, 2024 | 
nytimes.com | Brent Butterworth
Even though beards have been in vogue for at least a decade, their popularity seems to increase every year. And unless the beard wearer plans to make regular trips to the barber (or his name is Rick Rubin), all of that bristly growth will need frequent trimming. We’ve found that the cordless Philips Norelco Mutigroom 7000 MG7750 is the trimmer best suited to getting most beards looking great. For more-powerful trimming action, consider the Wahl Aqua Blade 9899.
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Nov 4, 2024 | 
nytimes.com | Brent Butterworth
If you live within 20 to 30 miles of a TV transmitter tower, you can probably get most network and local channels by using a good indoor HDTV antenna instead of paying for live-TV service. Any antenna’s ability to pick up a given over-the-air TV channel in a given locale is unpredictable, so we test antennas in a variety of places to gauge average performance.
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Nov 4, 2024 | 
nytimes.com | Brent Butterworth
Portable Bluetooth speakers are the easiest, most affordable way to spread music and podcasts across a room, backyard, or beach blanket. Because these speakers come in a variety of designs and sizes, no model is perfect for every situation—but the excellent sound and rugged design of the Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 4 made it the favorite in our tests.
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Nov 4, 2024 | 
nytimes.com | Brent Butterworth
If you’re a musician, a podcaster, or anyone else who needs to record high-quality audio to a computer, phone, or tablet, you need a USB audio interface that allows you to connect any microphone or electric instrument. The Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 4th Gen offers an outstanding combination of features, build quality, and user-friendliness for musicians. Beginning and experienced podcasters should check out the Focusrite Vocaster Two.
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Nov 4, 2024 | 
nytimes.com | Brent Butterworth
Whether you’re building a stereo audio system with a brand-new pair of bookshelf speakers or an old set salvaged from a relative’s attic, you need a stereo amplifier to power them. Stereo amps come in several configurations, with different names attached. This guide covers affordable integrated amps and receivers priced under $300.
