App Discovery: PEACE and EqualizerAPO for Windows -- what Microsoft should have included

Photo by David James on Unsplash

When you think about it, the sound system in Windows is extremely primitive. It doesn't even have treble/bass, much less an equalizer! 

That's where the free EqualizerAPO comes in. Yes, it's free. Yes, it works in almost ALL versions of Windows, including latest Win11. 

However, EqualizerAPO doesn't have a graphical interface, which is where PEACE comes in. This gives you EQ presets, hotkeys, and more so you can switch setup on the fly. 

Install EqualizerAPO first, then PEACE. 

Now enjoy your Windows audio PROPERLY. 

More Crap from China: A Quick Review of Xiaomi E17 ANC

One of the items I picked up on Aliexpress was a Xiaomi E17 ANC "airpod-like" wireless earbuds. The whole design is obviously a "homage" to Apple's Airpods. I thought I ordered Blue, but I got a black one instead. 

The advertised features are 11db ANC mode, transparency mode (so you CAN hear people near you), and supposedly 20 hours playtime. Clearly, it's counting the battery capacity in the carrying case, not in the buds themselves. There are 2 sets of touchpads along either stem of the earbuds. 

It does come with a small wrist-loop that can be threaded through the opening on the side of the carrying case. There's a cutout in the loop, but no explanation on what it is for. Maybe for hanging onto things? 

To charge it, plug in a USB-C cable into the bottom. When LED over the Mi logo turns solid, the charging is complete. 

To pair it, simply flip open the lid near the device you wanted (recommended distance: 2 inches). The instructions says you should turn on BOTH Wifi and Bluetooth on the device (why?)

As said before, each bud has two control pads on the stem. But all of these work on either pad alone. Swipe up or down controls volume. Single tap is pause/play, double tap is fast forward, and triple tap is reverse. If a call comes in, single tap answers. Once I triggered Google assistant by accident, but there's no documented gesture for that. Touch and hold both touchpads to toggle between ANC and "transparency mode". That's it. That's all the documentation. No explanation on what the button on the charging case back does (seems to control charging of the buds?) 

 After using it a few days, the ANC does work, and yet... it doesn't feel like it doesn't do much. I have an air purifier in my room, and it's like a fan in the background if I turn it up to any setting beyond "whisper quiet". With E17's ANC on, I still hear the fan, just... more muffled. It's similar to wearing an earplug, or wearing over-the-ear headphone with a decent cushion seal. Switching to "transparency mode" just seem to turn ANC off. 

There were no spare silicone ear tips, just one set was installed, and they fit... "okay". I'll try to replace them with foam tips when I find some of my spares. 

It also does not do multi-point. It will pair with only ONE device. And that device had to "forget" about the E17 to allow it to pair with anything else. Maybe they consider that a security feature, heh? 

My MAIN problem with the E17 is its lack of battery life in the buds. I am only getting about 3 hours when one bud or the other starts beeping, indicating low power and needing a recharge from the carrying case. This severely affects my enjoyment of the device and makes me want to bring back out my Lenovo "neckband" or other Bluetooth headsets with far more battery life, even if they don't look as "cool". 

Overall rating: B-

Bone Conduction Headphones: Do you need them?

 I've wanted bone conduction headphones for a while, but due to my XL-sized noggin (head) I have a very hard time locating one that would properly fit it. 

Basically, bone conduction does not send audio waves through the air, but instead, directly into your bone, either your skull or your mastoid, by using transducers, not speakers. So you need a transducer that uses a LITTLE pressure against your head, so it achieves a proper... transducing environment. Air gap would not help at all. 

And it really does work. Just that the sound is a bit... weaker, and maybe a bit more "hollow", but it's perfectly audible if you get a good "seal" against your skin. 

There are three major designs for these headsets... The headband type, the "military" type, and finally, the freeform type (eyeglasses, baseball cap, etc.) 

Headband Bone Conduction Headset. The tranducers go in
front of the ears, not on the ears. 

The headband type is the most popular. it is supposed to be one-size-fits-all, which means it doesn't fit me. But it does work: you basically put the transducers on the bone just in front of your ears, and you get sound as if you stuff them into your ear canals. The shape may be slightly different, but they all work the same way. Aftershokz is probably best known and innovates the most, but there are many Chinese makers. of these headsets as well, offering them as low as $40-50. 

Military type bone-conduction headset

The military had long known about bone conduction and how they work, so soldiers can keep an ear to radio while listening to the world around them. The military headsets, however, generally use different plugs as they are meant to be used with military or walkie-talkie-type radios and thus not compatible with regular audio sources unless an adapter can be procured. But people who play serious Airsoft, or have special needs such as security, first responder, and so on, who needs the military quality and compatibility as well as environmental awareness of a bone conduction headset. 

Finally, we come to the freeform type, which can basically be any shape at all. Amazon and Bose both have released bone conduction "glasses" with the hardware embedded in the eyeglass "arms".  And there was a Kickstarter earlier. They are not alone. Several Chinese makers have them for sale already. Though the audio quality is at best, questionable (except maybe Bose models). There's also Max Virtual's Cynaps bone conduction baseball caps. What's even better, you can buy DIY kits to fit them to your own caps. 

So if you have a unique application where you need to listen to audio, but also wanted to keep your ears free to hear other stuff, like as bicycling, running in public, delivery, first responder, or otherwise needs situational awareness, a bone conduction headset may be for you.