Welcome to the very first entry in our very first travel blog series! My name is Kristin, but if you’ve been around Ben’s at all, you might know me better as AgentK. For the last five years or so, I’ve spent a lot of time finding and posting deals for Ben’s, and by this point, I like to think I’ve gotten pretty good at saving money online. But when we decided to hit the road for 15 days, and head for California with our three kids (5, 3, 10 months…yes we’re a little insane), I knew I was going to have to try and take my “bargain hunting” skills to a whole new level.

To clarify: this is not going to be a trip where “cheap” means picking a 4 star hotel over a 5 star, or going with Subway over Jimmy Johns for lunch. We’re talking let’s spend as close to $0 as possible each day, until we get to our destination. Basically, we can’t afford this trip. But because I believe you can’t put a price tag on making memories, we’re going to do it anyway…and just be really, really cheap about it.

Because technology is cool (and again, we’re on a major budget here), I will be working my regular hours for Ben’s the whole time we’re on the road. This will be my second long trip working remotely (we did a two week long trip to New Orleans last fall), and I have a lot of good tips to share on how to make it work, thanks to a lot of trial and error.

Anyway, I’m super excited to get out and see some parts of the country we haven’t seen before, and I hope you’ll follow along!

Our itinerary:
We’re leaving from Minneapolis, going as far as Southern California (Disney! LEGOLand!), and then heading back home again. Because we have small children with even smaller attention spans, we don’t plan on driving more than 6 hours total on any given day. Places we’ll be spending time along the way include Denver, Southern Utah, Las Vegas, and then on the way home we’ll hit the Grand Canyon, Albuquerque, and Kansas City.

Our car setup:
When we bought our minivan a couple years ago (I know, so lame, but have a few kids and you’ll get one too I promise), we purposefully didn’t get one with a built-in DVD/Blu-ray player because I knew as soon as we went there, I’d never talk to my children in the car again. But I am definitely not above keeping them entertained with movies on longer trips! So we have this super fancy setup for our vacation: a portable DVD player we found for $7 at Goodwill, mounted on top of a cooler (when I say I’m cheap, I’m not kidding!).

For sound, we have the DVD player plugged into the aux port of our car, and adjust the fade so that the sound only comes out of the back speakers (next to the kids). Up front, we have this Altec Lansing Solo Bluetooth Speaker ($15 in the pink color), mounted to the console with velcro 3M Command Strips. Allows us to listen to our own music or podcasts while the kids get their movies in the back.

Most of the movies we have at home are Blu-rays/digital copies, so we had fun picking out DVDs the kids hadn’t seen before at Goodwill in the weeks leading up to our trip (they’re $1.99 each there).

Food: We’re planning on eating sandwiches for lunch each day, so we brought loaves of bread, lunch meat, cheese, peanut butter and jelly, etc in a cooler and will picnic it up at rest stops or random parks along the way. We also made a huge batch of cold press coffee ahead of time and put it in an empty 2-liter soda bottle. As much as I’d like to hit up Starbucks drive throughs, this is much cheaper and probably tastes better!

Accommodations: We’re doing a mix of hotels, camping, staying with friends/family, and maybe even just sleeping in the van. Because we don’t know exactly when we’ll want to be done driving for the night (depends on how crazy the kids are being), we don’t book any hotels until like an hour before we arrive. More on this on another post, but we use Priceline Express to get cheap (under $75/night) rooms last-minute, and we also have a Priceline credit card that earns us points toward free stays. For me, half the fun of a road trip is not having solid plans and playing it by ear. It’s an adventure and I absolutely love it.

So day #1 is complete and we made it past the most boring part of the journey: through Iowa and part of Nebraska. Our stops included a rest area and, wait for it, Fleet Farm. Thrilling! Tomorrow we’ll get into Colorado and things should start to look a little more interesting.

Off to swim with the kids…check back tomorrow for a post about my “work from the car” setup, and more!

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Ben’s on the Road: Day 1

From precocious babies to precocious senior citizens, there isn’t anyone who doesn’t need a pair of headphones these days. There are phones, tablets, laptops and more that need a set of earphones to reach their true potential. Inevitably, that means grabbing a pair of corded headphones, or in some cases, carefully donning an expensive set of wireless headphones.

Sound Blaster Jam

There is a third option, or at least, Creative seems to think so. The Creative Sound Blaster Jam is an inexpensive Bluetooth headset ($49.99 MSRP) that promises support for iOS, Android, PC, and Mac. It’s got onboard controls for music and calls, and it’s got its own volume control and bass boost. That plus a 12 hour battery life and micro USB support, and the Sound Blaster Jam looks like it might have a few uses here and there.

Loving the Jam

Spoiler alert: I love the Sound Blaster Jam. It’s inexpensive and made out of plastic, and at first glance, I thought it would be entirely forgettable. I had assumed at the onset that the Jam was something good for the home office, but not much else. Wow, I was wrong. Turns out that the Jam is a great a headset to grab when heading out the door.

Not only does it make incredibly efficient use of its built-in rechargeable battery, but no matter how careless I was (like using the headset as I was going to sleep) I never managed to make the Jam run the battery down on its own. I kept thinking that at some point I’d reach to use it, and the battery would be finished. Eventually, it will emit a sad beep, but even if used regularly, it’s easy to forget that last time it needed to be charged. The battery just seems to last for days.

I never had trouble with the signal quality or had funkiness with the controls. (Actually, the Jam does better pausing/unpausing and answering and ending calls with Android 5.0 than my phone’s controls do.) I could even took calls in the wind, on foot, while walking between a busy parking lot and even busier street.

The lone issue I had during use involved a car wash. I was wearing the Jam while washing my car at one of those power wash places. (As I said, I became attached to the well-behaved Jam.) I accidentally dropped about a dollar in quarters and as I was reaching under the car to get the lastquarter, the Jam began to slip out of place. That’s really the end of the story. The Jam didn’t wind up in car wash water, but it’s important not to get so comfortable with the headset that it takes a bad plunge. (I also let the Jam get a little rained on, but you’d never know it.)

Back to the Future

There’s no escaping it; the Jam is like a headset the makers of ‘Back to the Future’ might have come up with back in the 80’s and 90’s.

Before I tear into the features, let me explain what I mean by this duality of 80’s retro and modern function. The Sound Blaster Jam is a fixed, on-ear design. We are talking the headphone shape that became iconic with Sony’s Walkman. Well, not quite. The Jam’s 32mm drivers that make up the ears are angled in, and the whole set is ultra-light. (It’s almost as though, gasp!, the headset is meant to fit comfortably on the ears.) Amazingly, the updated but classic design works well, and even the red printing of “Jam” on both the headset stalks feels like it’s been lifted from back when MTV had some style.

Of course, retro touches can only take it so far, and a headset’s got to function to be worthy of love. Usually, at this price point or even double this price point, there’s a particular Bluetooth headset design that just gets rebranded and passed back and forth. But fortunately for Creative, they have a stable of engineers and existing products to drawn from. The Jam can seem like a bunch of these engineers types started daring each other to the point that a challenge issued. The result being surprisingly good with a mess of tech packed into a tiny package.

The Jam’s right earphone has the Bluetooth and NFC module, the four control buttons, the invisible mic and the micro USB connector. Paired up with my 2nd Generation Android 5.1 Moto X, and the Jam sounds so much better than most anyone might expect. First of all, the NFC pairing is a joy to use. (It has a traditional hold down to pair function as well, which is good for my iPhone.) The Jam supports A2DP, AVRCP, HFP, all in a Bluetooth 4.1 profile, and that means a spry connection with a range that extends beyond a wall or two.

Even though there’s no aptX, the Jam does surprisingly well with music playback. Sure, the soundstage is a little flat and lossless playback doesn’t make the most sense here, but clarity isn’t at all an issue. The Bass Boost helps and the Jam can get pretty loud. The frequently quiet ‘Interstellar’ soundtrack still exhibits its power while something more active like The Neighborhood’s I Love You still brings its eclectic instrument mix without out a loss of note or line of synth. Considering the music performance, it’s possible that Creative has exactly targeted users that stream music.

The Jam’s volume buttons and bass boost button are strictly for the headset work great. It some cases, the volume buttons change the device’s volume directly and in others, they act as a second volume control.

The Bonus of USB

The Jam charges via micro USB. There’s even a snazzy red USB cable included with the headset. The surprise comes when realizing that in addition to being a Bluetooth headset, the Jam can be used with a PC via USB. As with other Jam features, this isn’t a limitation as it can be used with a PC via Bluetooth, but the idea is that what if the laptop say, doesn’t have Bluetooth, or after a half days nonstop use, the Jam needs to recharge? Then just connect the cable to a PC and it becomes a USB sound card. (There are also times when Windows 7 gets stubborn about using Bluetooth that the USB connection is a godsend.)

Creative even offers a free software bundle for this, but I like the idea of keeping it simple which is easy with USB even without the Creative software. This is especially true, once I realized that the Jam can be connected to a PC via USB while still being connected to a phone via Bluetooth. This dual functionality is just awesome. I can be connected to my laptop via USB and hearing the sounds of ‘South Park: The Stick of Truth’ or watching the new ‘Daredevil’ series, and if a call or text comes in, the Bluetooth connection takes over. When the call is over, the USB connection is right there, ready to go.

I spent a four day trip in Chicago walking, biking and training around with the Sound Blaster Jam. I listened to ‘Devil in the White City‘ and visited the famous Jackson Park, The Palace of Fine Arts, and other locales of the 1893 World’s Fair, and the Jam did everything I asked. It survived being in packed backpack, and being left on accidentally for hours on end. The Jam was occasionally drowned out when I was walking under the train, but that’s no big shock. (I recommend walking a block away from the train if listening to anything.) When I was on the return flight and the battery finally wore down (btw, the Bluetooth was grand on the plane) I plugged the Jam into a USB battery and kept going.

Conclusion

The Sound Blaster Jam is the best inexpensive Bluetooth headset I’ve used by a mile. Its plastic design belies its really rocking body. I fully expected to break it, but it kept on going. The USB PC connection is a major bonus that is only overshadowed by the battery life. For me, wearing the Jam feels a theft from an alternate timeline where no one would be caught dead using corded earbuds.

BUY NOW: Sound Blaster Jam

Sound Blaster Jam Ultra-light Wireless Headset Review

Quite possibly the coolest invention to ever hit the beach, a Kickstarter campaign recently launched for a drink cooler packed with more features than your smartphone.

In addition to an 18V blender built into the lid for whipping up delicious margaritas while basking in the sunlight, the Coolest cooler is equipped with a removable, wireless Bluetooth speaker to play music while outdoors. And the speaker is waterproof.

While playing music, you can also hook up your smartphone to the 18V battery in the cooler via USB to charge it, if necessary. At night, the LED lights embedded within the lid light up so you can find the drink you are looking for. If you are taking the Coolest out to a picnic, the cooler also has storage for plastic plates, a ceramic knife and a cutting board to chop up some limes for that Corona. There’s also a bottle opener on the side of the cooler to crack open that beer.

It also comes with a removable divider in order to separate melting ice from food inside the cooler. In addition, the Coolest comes with built-in flexible straps to hold down other items strapped to the top of the cooler.

Of course, all of these features come at a hefty price. The Coolest is being priced at $185 for early Kickstarter backers and that’s discounted from the eventual retail price of $299. According to the details of the project, the Coolest is expected to be completed by February 2015. Be aware that many Kickstarter projects are delayed due to manufacturing issues, often by weeks or even months in some cases. The project is, however, fully funded at this point and production should begin by the end of the year.

You can see the Coolest in action below:

Shut Up and Take My Money: The Coolest Cooler

This year I’ve reviewed Bluetooth speaker adapters from Logitech (8/10), HomeSpot (7/10) and Amped Wireless (9/10). Each one has its merits, although the Logitech adapter has certainly been one of the most popular entries in this burgeoning product category since its debut back in 2011.

Three years later, Logitech has released the followup to that successful Bluetooth speaker adapter and in so doing, addressed the issues that many users shared as well as tweaked and improved other aspects of the product.

The big selling point for Bluetooth speaker adapters—for those of you who are new to the category—is that you can stream audio from a Bluetooth device to just about any pair of powered speakers or speakers hooked up to a receiver without having to buy  a new Bluetooth-enabled sound system. For the most part, Bluetooth speaker adapters are comparatively cheap, and the new, 2014 Logitech Bluetooth Audio Adapter (980-000910) is no exception. In fact, at a street price of $40, it costs about the same (or even less) than the previous model.

The Setup

Inside the easy-to-open box, you’ll find a basic clear plastic blister tray with the Bluetooth adapter, 6 ft. micro USB cable, power adapter, 3.5mm to RCA Y-cable and a straightforward user guide.

Like other Bluetooth adapters, setup was extremely fast. Logitech kept the pairing button on the top of the unit—which was already a good design decision—but made it bigger and flatter with more of a tactile response when clicked. This is a small but welcome improvement. You also get confirmation tone when you a pair or unpair a device. (The adapter will appear as “Logitech BT Adapter” when you are pairing.)

The new adapter is much smaller than the previous model. It measures a diminutive 2″ x 2″ x 7/8″ versus the 3″ x 3″ x 1″ dimensions of the original. Although it’s tiny and lightweight (about an ounce), the rubber bottom surface prevents it from sliding around when you’re plugging and unplugging cables.

The status light is now a subdued blue instead of green/red, and because the light is located on the underside of the unit, it’s not particularly distracting. Of course, the adapter is so small, you can easily hide it in your entertainment system.

Now let’s take a look at the two major upgrades of the 2014 model: simultaneous connections and longer range.

MultiPoint Bluetooth Technology

Logitech’s new Bluetooth audio adapter touts the use of MultiPoint Bluetooth Technology, which allows users to simultaneously connect two devices to it. MultiPoint is widely used on newer Bluetooth headsets and other Bluetooth devices, and it’s a convenience rather than anything revolutionary. Nonetheless, MultiPoint puts Bluetooth-enabled speakers on closer footing with Airplay which already allows multiple devices to be connected at the same time.

Although the original Logitech Bluetooth speaker adapter lacked MultiPoint, it was hardly alone among its peers. Still, if you wanted to play audio from a second paired device, you had to disconnect the first device then connect the second.

Multipoint removes those extra steps and allows you to keep two paired devices connected simultaneously. You still have to pause or stop the audio on the first device before you can play the audio on the second, but you don’t have to fiddle around with the Bluetooth connections.

On that note, you can have more than two devices paired to the Logitech BT Adapter — you just can’t connect more than two devices simultaneously

For me, the biggest issue with the MultiPoint implementation is the brief gap when you stop the audio from the first device and press play on the second device. In my tests, I found that after I stopped the first device, there was a 3- to 5-second delay from the time I pressed play on the second device and the sound coming out of the connected speaker.

It appears this lag is from the first device still sending a signal to the adapter even though audio has stopped.  So I waited a longer period of time from hitting stop on the first device before hitting play on the second—about 10 to 15 seconds—and there was no longer any lag.

In most situations, you probably won’t be switching between devices that quickly, but it’s something to keep in mind. The lag may also be more dependent on what version of Bluetooth your devices uses, e.g. BT 2.1 vs. BT 4.1, etc.

Sound Quality and Range

Logitech’s second major upgrade to the new model is a longer range — the box says the range is up to 50 feet (or 15 meters), within line of sight. The range definitely extends beyond the standard 33 feet, but for practical purposes, I found that the audio was inconsistent beyond 40 feet, similar to the larger Amped Wireless BTSA1 adapter which even has an external antenna.

You may get a strong signal at those longer distances, but walls, floors and other obstructions are typically going to be a factor in a typical home layout.

Nonetheless, I experienced fewer dropouts at closer distances than the previous Logitech model, and the reliability was comparable to the Amped Wireless adapter. Three years have clearly given Logitech’s engineers a chance to improve the signal because overall the sound was very clean.

The new Logitech Bluetooth adapter possessed a warm tone and wide soundstage, qualities that I liked in the previous 2011 model. While some listeners may prefer no digital processing at all, I think it’s preferable for the type of compressed audio you will hear in streaming applications.

Final Analysis

Logitech’s new Bluetooth adapter is about the best product you can find right now in this category. The only minor faults would be nitpicks: the lack of NFC connectivity and the audio lag when switching between the two connected Bluetooth devices.

(For those of you looking for applications outside the home, I will be reviewing a Bluetooth speaker adapter you can use in your car in the next edition of this series.)

Overall, the 2014 Logitech Bluetooth Audio Adapter’s compact size, warm sound, strong signal, above average range, MultiPoint pairing and competitive price point allow me to strongly recommend this as a purchase.

Bluetooth Speaker Adapter Review, Part III: Logitech Bluetooth Adapter (2014)

Two months ago, I reviewed two Bluetooth speaker adapters from Logitech (8/10) and HomeSpot (7/10). I gave the slight edge to the Logitech for a more polished product. They are both popular products as consumers have begun to prefer Bluetooth-enabled speakers and the convenience of streaming  music from their portable devices.

However, both the Logitech and HomeSpot suffered from one similar weakness: limited range.

Got Range?

Enter the recently released Amped Wireless Long Range Bluetooth Speaker Adapter (BTSA1), which promises up to 2X the range of Bluetooth adapters’ standard 33 ft. (10m) range. Amped Wireless is known for its long-range wireless routers, signal boosters and range extenders, so it makes sense they’re now offering a long-range version of the Bluetooth speaker adapter.

The BTSA1 features Bluetooth 3.0 (A2DP)  with aptX, a proprietary codec intended to mitigate the lossy sound quality that Bluetooth is known for. The catch is, your device has to support aptX, and currently iPhones do not support it, although many newer Android phones do, including the Samsung Galaxy S3 and S4, Samsung Note and the HTC One. Apple has a vested interest in its proprietary Airplay which is considered to have better sound quality, and I’d agree that—under the right conditions—Airplay’s audio quality is superior to most Bluetooth applications.

But Bluetooth wins hand-down in convenience and universality, and most of us won’t care about minimal differences in sound quality, especially when we’re already playing compressed music files from mobile devices and PCs.

The Setup

Inside the package, you’ll find the Bluetooth adapter, detachable, screw-on swivel antenna, 3.5mm to RCA Y-cable and power adapter. In addition to the one-sheet user guide, you receive a code good for two months of the Rhapsody streaming music service.

The unit has a glossy black finish. With its sloped edges and 3-inch antenna, the BTSA1 resembles a miniature router, but it should fit in with your typical black home theater equipment. It’s 4 inches wide, 2.75 inches deep and 1 inch tall (sans antenna), similar in size and weight to the Logitech adapter.  Also like the Logitech, the BTSA1 has both RCA and 3.5mm outputs. (There’s no optical output.)

Overall, the Amped Wireless adapter has an unobtrusive and polished appearance. The solid blue paired light is not distracting, although I generally prefer white or amber as more relaxing indicator lights.

Like the other two Bluetooth adapters, pairing with an iPhone or computer is a very straightforward process. (It’s listed as “Amped BTSA1 xxx.”) The Connect button is located on the front of the unit, which is convenient enough. You can only have one device connected at a time, and you have to press the Connect button each time you reconnect, but that’s pretty standard for these products.

Sound Quality and Range

The BTSA1 performed very well in my tests.  Within the standard 33-ft. range I experienced fewer dropouts overall than the Logitech and HomeSpot adapters. In some sessions, I had no dropouts at all. Still, the difference is minimal and totally dependent on many variables.

I found the sound quality to be comparable to the Logitech Adapter. Not necessarily as warm, but still a pleasing sound. A lot of the sound quality is dependent on the music source, encoding and the devices themselves, but the BTSA1 does seem to get out of the way and do what it’s supposed to do, which is create a strong wireless signal.

That’s where the Amped Wireless adapter shine. In my tests, I found the outer limits of the range to be around 40 feet, including two or three walls in between. As usual, YMMV. Nonetheless, its range is noticeably superior to both the Logitech and HomeSpot adapters.

Within 40 feet, the connection was always strong as I moved my Bluetooth device into separate rooms, behind doors, walls and even in the basement through concrete. Outside this range, at distances up to 50 feet, the sound would crackle but I could still get a signal.

Who Needs This?

The Amped Wireless Bluetooth Speaker Adapter is typically selling for around $70 online. That’s about $30 more than the popular Logitech adapter and twice as much as the HomeSpot, both of which performed reasonably well.

That said, I think consumers looking to place their speakers in a separate room from their music source will immediately benefit from this purchase.  The BTSA1 is just a lot more reliable Bluetooth speaker adapter, particularly when you get farther away, in the 10- to 35-ft. range.

If you’re planning on keeping your music device relatively close to the adapter, you may want to look into the less expensive alternatives. And although I’ve yet to find a flawless solution for Bluetooth audio without any dropouts or interference, the Amped Wireless Bluetooth adapter has about as good a signal as you’ll get with this technology.

View the Amped Wireless Bluetooth Speaker Adapter on Amazon

Bluetooth Speaker Adapter Review, Part II: Amped Wireless

The Kinivo BTX450 portable speaker landed on our doorstep recently and we decided to put it to the test. It’s a bit larger than a typical portable speaker, but the heft is nice and well balanced. Weighing in at about two pounds, the BTX450 sports two 5W drivers, includes a 3600 mAh rechargeable Lithium-Ion battery and Bluetooth connectivity for your mobile devices. Interestingly, the internal battery can also be used to recharge your smartphone when connected via the USB port, but only when the BTX450 is plugged into an AC outlet.

The rounded edge design is fairly sleek, only four buttons can be found at the top of the device. These include the power button, the two volume buttons and the Bluetooth pairing button. On the back of the speaker, you will find the power input, USB output for charging and 3.5mm auxiliary audio port for connecting directly to an audio device that doesn’t have Bluetooth. Kinivo also includes a short 3.5mm cable with the speaker, ideal since that cable isn’t included with most portable music players.

Be aware that the BTX450 does not include a microphone, thus this really isn’t the speaker you want for conference calls. In addition, the USB port on the back of the BTX450 cannot be used for alternative music storage devices like a portable hard drive.

Connectivity / Sound Quality:

Syncing up over Bluetooth is ridiculously simple. I was able to sync various devices such as my iPhone 5, an Amazon Kindle Fire HD, an Android tablet and a Windows 8 tablet. Syncing was almost immediate and I typically got a 25 to 30 foot range before the connection failed. By the way, all music control functions are performed on your mobile device, thus you will want to keep it handy. There’s no included remote control with the BTX450.

Opposite from many portable speakers, you will immediately notice the high quality bass, even when cranking up the volume. The sound is extremely clean as well, ideal for music and video content like movies or television shows. I would say the speaker is best suited for the highs of classical to the lows of rock, but could stumble with extremely low bass tones in rap music.

The audio does carry very well. I often found that it would be overpowering in my office at times and had to reduce the volume. It would be ideal in a large living room or den. You could also position it in a central point in a small apartment and the sound would carry everywhere.

Interestingly, I also tested the 3.5mm cable with my PlayStation 3 as an alternative speaker when playing Assassin’s Creed IV. Dialogue was crystal clear, the bass effects were punchy during the fight sequences and the pirates singing on the high seas was fantastic. This is definitely a solid speaker for video games, assuming you are connecting your video game console up to a display like a computer monitor rather than a HDTV.

Battery Life:

Compared to similar Bluetooth speakers, the BTX450 falls a bit short on battery life. While it’s rated at six hours of battery life, there are competing products that offer 10 or more hours of battery life. However, the tradeoff is reduced sound quality, in my opinion. The BTX450 is also somewhat larger than other Bluetooth speakers, so the odds are that you will keep it stationary and plugged in all the time.

Regarding the rating, I had no problem getting the full 6 hours our of the speaker. This is ideal for a party situation when you want to provide access to a speaker in a remote area of your home, outdoors for instance. The connectivity is also so simple that anyone at your party can connect with Bluetooth and jump right in.

Should I Buy It?

If you are looking for solid audio quality at a competitive price, the Kinivo BTX450 is definitely an excellent choice. On the flip side, it’s definitely not the most portable Bluetooth speakers that I’ve tested. I had trouble fitting it into my laptop bag with all my other things. But the sound quality is definitely a notch higher than smaller, more expensive competitors. I recommend the Kinivo BTX450 to anyone that’s looking for a solid, secondary speaker to move around a home, definitely ideal for families.

Click Here to view the Kinivo BTX450 on Amazon

Superb Sound: Kinivo BTX450 Portable Speaker Review