It’s Prime Day, folks, which means you can justify buying a stupid gadget because it’s on sale for a slightly lower price. This is what it means to be American.
In my case, that gadget is the Neohipo ET30. It’s a vintage-style VU meter that moves when you play music. I connect it between my Sonos Amp and my speakers for best accuracy, but you don’t have to. The meter has a built-in microphone and moves when you play music on an old speaker in the same room. It also lights up in 34 colors. I’m obsessed with it.
To be clear, these meters have scales printed on them, but they literally mean nothing because you can adjust the sensitivity however you like. They’re just for show, and show is fun. You can also use the ET30’s switching feature to A/B test two sets of speakers and two different amplifiers, but this is secondary to the meters, so I’m not going to finish this sentence. And in the worst crime against USB, the back of the ET30 has a fake USB-C port that only receives 5V from a USB-A to USB-C cable, and nothing happens when you plug in a real USB-C cable. If it wasn’t this clean, I’d call the police.
There are other similar VU meters out there. The Fosi Audio LC30 is on sale for Prime Day, and while it looks kind of cool, some reviews have said that the meter isn’t sensitive enough. The Douk Audio Little Bear is also on sale, but some reviews say that connecting it directly to a speaker can add noise, which is undesirable. Plus, the ET30 is bigger, and the whole point of this situation is having a big vintage meter.
Either way, the ET30 normally costs $160, but is on sale today for $127. It requires no apps, doesn’t collect any data, and won’t stop working because of a firmware update or private equity buyout. What more could you ask for in a gadget?
