The Wirecutter’s best deals: Bluetooth speakers, 48-inch TV and more
This post was created in partnership with The Wirecutter, a list of the best technology to buy. Read their continuously updated list of deals at TheWirecutter.com.
You may have already seen Engadget posting reviews from our friends at The Wirecutter. Now, from time to time, we’ll also be publishing their recommended deals on some of their top picks. Read on, and strike while the iron is hot — some of these sales could expire mighty soon.
Fluance Fi30 Wireless Bluetooth Speaker
Street Price: $150 MSRP: $200 Deal Price: $100
This matches the best price we’ve ever seen on these speakers, which we saw briefly a bit over a year ago. Since then, it’s typically sat at $150, with a couple quick drops to $120. The $100 price may be due to a newer model they’ve released, the Fi50, which is available at $200 and we’ll be testing in the future. This price is available on the white, bamboo, and black models.
The Fluance Fi30 Wireless Bluetooth Speaker is our budget pick for best home Bluetooth speaker. Brent Butterworth said, “The Fi30 doesn’t have a lot of bass, and like the Wren V5BT, it doesn’t really play loud enough to fill a large room with undistorted sound. In our testing, Lauren and John both criticized it for sounding midrange-heavy. But the midrange is pretty smooth, and while the sound isn’t spacious or lush in any way, there’s enough treble detail to hear high-pitched instruments such as cymbals and glockenspiel clearly. Voices sound more sibilant than they do with the Marshall Stanmore or the Wren V5BT, but no more so than with many other wireless speakers we’ve tried that cost two to three times as much.”
Sharp LC-48LE653U 48-Inch LED TV
Street Price: $460 MSRP: $600 Deal Price: $430
This is the best price we’ve seen on this model. It’s been $460 since we posted our recommendation with a brief drop down to $450, and if you’re trying to get the best value on a tv around $500, an extra $20 off can’t hurt.
Although you should know our guide for the best $500 TVs isn’t final yet, the Sharp LC-48LE653U is our favorite pick so far. Chris Heinonen said, “Our main $500 pick for the time being is the Sharp LC-48LE653U. This $460 48-inch TV offers 1080p resolution, Netflix support, three HDMI inputs, and good picture quality for the money (according to current reviews). At this price level, it has the best picture quality, size, and features for the dollar compared with the competition.”
Cambridge SoundWorks OontZ Curve Bluetooth Speaker
Street Price: $30 MSRP: $70 Deal Price: $18
This matches the lowest price we’ve seen on this speaker, and it’s still the lowest price we’ve seen on this to date. The $18 price applies to three different colors: blue, silver, and black.
This is our pick for a super-inexpensive and super-portable option in our best Bluetooth speaker guide. Brent Butterworth said, “It has more bass than you’d probably expect from a device of its size, and plays loud enough (and then some) for all the uses we outlined above. Battery life is rated at only 5 hours, but one of our testing samples played Steely Dan’s “Aja” for 14 hours at full volume, and the other lasted 13.5 hours.” He also gave it particular praise for its fit, finish, and features.
Street Price: $450 MSRP: $450 Deal Price: $250
You can save $200 off the street price of this Fujinon lens by grabbing this deal from Amazon. It’s still $50 shy of the lowest price ever, but it’s the lowest the lens has dropped in more than a year. This deal is available on both the black and silver versions.
The Fujinon XF 27mm F2.8 lens is our pick for the best pancake lens in our guide on the first Fujifilm lenses you should buy. Amadou Diallo said, “Measuring less than one inch thick, pairing this 41-mm-equivalent lens with a small Fuji camera like the X-M1 or X-A2 makes for a camera/lens combination you can easily stow in a coat pocket.”
Deals change all the time, and some of these may have expired. To see an updated list of current deals, please go to The Wirecutter.com.
Filed under:
Cameras, Home Entertainment
Tags: BluetoothSpeaker, CambridgeSoundworks, CameraLens, fluance, Fujinon, sharp, TV
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