Martin Koss – thinking out loud…

This is a review I just wrote at Amazon (yep – my favourite etailer)…

First of all, let me just say that I think this product is absolute pants so you’ll not be surprised that I won’t be praising it at all. There, that was for anyone who can’t be bothered to read the whole review.

As I was desperate to finish the reorganising of my office I bought 2 of these yesterday with express delivery. They arrived at lunchtime today (can always rely on Amazon for their part) and as soon as the delivery guy had left I opened the substantial and adequate Amazon box and took the 2 boxes out of the big box ony to be shocked at the rattling sounds inside.

On opening the first one – I found the swivel base had become detached and the ball bearings were rolling around inside the box. I figured no big deal I’m sure it will slot back on.

Let me just say that this item is of the hard plastic material, the stuff that cracks and breaks very easily… So no surprise when I noticed that the circular section in the middle that inserts into the hole in the swivel base was cracked into multiple small bits of plastic. The reason: There is no protective materials inside the manufacturer’s box so it’s hard plastic in a tight fitting cardboard box that has probably been bouncing all the way from Taiwan.

So what should I do? Postpone finishing my desk / office rearranging and go through the hassle of contacting Amazon, filling in all the details, printing the returns form, taking the item to the post office, ordering a new product? Sod that, I was on a deadline and I had work to get on with. Duct tape to the rescue – surely the other one will be ok.

After all – the swivel base is irrelevant to me. I just need the stands.

So I opened the next box. Would you believe it – broken in exactly the same darn place. Now I am angry. The first time I have ever actually felt angry at Amazon. The only way I could do anything about it was accept all the hassle. No time. Gotta get on. Duct tape out again. Thank goodness I’m a DJ – always lots of duct tape around the house.

Okay. So I’ve settled for broken plastic bits and duct taped the bases together. First laptop mounted. 17″ MacBook Pro. Anyone who has a MacBook will know they (even the 17″) are relatively lightweight and slim. It sits on the platform nicely and doesn’t slip out of the front hook things (a couple of bits of plastic) ok and seems secure enough (I flippin’ hope so).

Tried to connect the USB lead from the left side of my Mac to the right side of the base and it wasn’t long enough so I won’t be using the USB Hub on that one. No biggie – I have just shoved my existing USB hub under the platform.

Next one. This is a 17″ PC laptop. It don’t sit anywhere near as secure as the Mac. In fact, give it a few minutes and the front pops up from the two plastic flappy bits and it does a balancing act. Duct tape to the rescue to hold the darn thing across the from to prevent it doing a backward somersault.

The USB lead managed to reach from the left side of the laptop to the right side of the platform (where the included hub is) with the addition of a swivel adapter thing I have – so I connected it up. I figured I’d power the included cooling fan as PC laptops run warmer than Macs and it might stop the laptop fan from running constantly.

OMG. Sod that. The cooling fan built into the platform is louder than the one on the laptop and it runs constantly. Unplug that.

So. I have 2 swivel bases duct taped on. I have duct tape preventing the PC laptop from auditioning for the Olympic Gymnastics and I have 2 USB hubs that I can’t use (and even if they did the lead is hardly long enough.

Suitable for notebooks up to 17 inch! That’s what it states in the product description. No way. Yes if it’s a MacBook and maybe if its a nice and slim and lightweight PC laptop.

Worth the best part of 20 quid. Nope. I wouldn’t buy another one if they were a fiver each.

This has been the most disappointing forty quid of my hard earned I’ve ever spent. I haven’t got time for the hassle and I certainly would rather be watching Brazil being rattled by Holland’s second coming right now but I needed to do this.

Crap. Pants. You can do much better without spending more. You can just buy much better products., In fact, I could most likely rustle something up from cardboard and duct tape. I’m a dap hand with duct tape after today’s debacle.

All the best. I hope I save someone eighteen quid. Cheers.

 

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