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I Took a VO2 Max Test and It Changed How I Think About Fitness

I Took a VO2 Max Test and It Changed How I Think About Fitness

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VO2 max is an intimidating word for an easy-to-understand biometric: It’s how well your body uses oxygen when you push yourself. Short for “maximal oxygen uptake,” it’s been the gold standard for assessing cardiorespiratory fitness since the 1950s. Until recently, it’s mostly lived in research labs and elite training centers, helping coaches squeeze every last drop of performance out of elite skiers, runners, and cyclists. Today, VO2 max has escaped the lab and gone mainstream, landing on fitness trackers, longevity podcasts, and wellness clinics that promise to put a number on how fit you are.

I tested mine last year at Canyon Ranch’s Performance Lab Center, where they fitted me with a heart rate monitor and a tight, Darth Vader-esque mask at 8 am. After a night of little sleep and zero food, the lab technician put me on a treadmill and ramped up the speed and incline until I couldn’t keep going. No music. No hyper-caffeinated instructor yelling positive affirmations. Every few moments, the technician would ask me to rate my suffering how close I was to maxing out on a scale of 1 to 10.

The test is simple, if mildly sadistic: As the workout intensifies, your oxygen consumption rises until it doesn’t. That plateau marks your VO2 max, the upper limit of your aerobic capacity. When my test ended (right around the moment my patience did), I was told my results would arrive the next day. Still gasping, my first thought was that I could’ve gone longer. That lingering doubt is part of what makes VO2 max such a maddening and compelling metric.

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VO2 Max, Explained

Photograph: Peter Schiazza/Getty Images

“VO2 max is an objective measure of how a human energy system can take in oxygen and utilize it during exercise,” says Elizabeth Gardner, an associate professor of orthopedic surgery at Yale University School of Medicine.

Your body is always consuming oxygen to produce energy, but VO2 max captures the maximum amount of oxygen your system can use at peak effort. It’s essentially what happens when you’re working as hard as you possibly can. A high VO2 max means your heart and lungs are more efficient at delivering blood to your muscles, and your muscles are better at extracting oxygen from your blood to generate adenosine triphosphate (ATP).

“It’s the best predictor we currently have for premature mortality,” says Malene Lindholm, an exercise physiologist and senior research engineer at Stanford Cardiovascular Medicine. Higher VO2 max levels correlate with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke, and certain cancers. Beyond disease prevention, stronger cardiovascular fitness is also linked to better sleep, improved mood, and a higher overall quality of life.

“It’s especially useful for anyone serious about peak performance and endurance sports,” says Tyler McQuality, associate director of the Center for Sports Innovation at Illinois Tech University. “There are certain intervals you can run based on VO2 max pacing and effort.”

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Soundboks Mix party speaker, actually a great way to make friends.

Soundboks Mix

The Soundboks Mix is a party speaker that’s loud and portable with decent sound.

  • Loud!
  • Still pretty portable despite its size
  • Sound is pretty good
  • Sound is good but not great
  • No way to get battery readings from the app
  • Underwhelming EQ options
  • Party speakers are pricey and so is the Soundboks Mix

This speaker goes to 11

Party speakers are first and foremost meant for parties, and the $800 Soundbox Mix is no different. Soundboks is known for its Bluetooth speakers and, in particular, for making ones that get ridiculously loud. In case you had any doubt about the loudness, the Soundboks Mix even has a volume dial on the side that goes to 11 instead of 10, Spinal Tap-style.

Soundoks Mix Review: This Loud-Ass Party Speaker Almost Got Me High AF Party speakers aren’t really my thing. It’s not that I don’t like to party—I do. Not in a “friends and family surprise you at your house for a serious talk” kind of way, but in a “mid-30s, I have sh*t to do in the morning” kind of way. Really, I just don’t like to annoy people more than I have to. New York City isn’t known for its serenity, but it takes a certain level of decorum to get along, and party speakers, with their inherent obnoxiousness, break a very tenuous code. They’re big (not great for small living spaces), loud (not great for proximate neighbors), and expensive (not great for paying rent on time). They’re, in many ways, antithetical to what most New Yorkers (and other urban-dwelling people) look for in personal audio. They’re also, as I learned in my experience using the 21-pound Soundboks Mix party speaker, actually a great way to make friends. Soundboks Mix The Soundboks Mix is a party speaker that’s loud and portable with decent sound. Loud! Still pretty portable despite its size Sound is pretty good Sound is good but not great No way to get battery readings from the app Underwhelming EQ options Party speakers are pricey and so is the Soundboks Mix This speaker goes to 11 Party speakers are first and foremost meant for parties, and the 0 Soundbox Mix is no different. Soundboks is known for its Bluetooth speakers and, in particular, for making ones that get ridiculously loud. In case you had any doubt about the loudness, the Soundboks Mix even has a volume dial on the side that goes to 11 instead of 10, Spinal Tap-style. © Raymond Wong / Gizmodo To test out that volume, I went to Washington Square Park in Manhattan and let loose. The Soundboks Mix is indeed loud, folks. It didn’t quake the Earth upon which we walk or anything like that, but it’s got juice. I tested the party speaker at a range of volumes playing music across different genres—mostly rock, but some electronic music and soul—and the park got an earful. I can’t say for certain, but I’m pretty sure I chased off two guys hitting a volleyball around. You heard it here first: if you hate people playing volleyball, the Soundboks Mix is a repellent. It’s hard to quantify volume into words, but if I were to try, I would say that the Soundboks Mix is loud enough for a graduation party or a medium-sized quinceañera. It’s not going to bring down the house like a full PA, but if you’re outside within a frisbee distance of the speaker, you’re going to hear it. I also tested the Soundboks Mix briefly at full volume in my office playing Creed’s “One Last Breath,” and it was loud enough to make me feel like we could get kicked out, both for the Creed and the volume. © Raymond Wong / Gizmodo Maybe I’m masochistic, but I was actually expecting it to be a little louder—maybe I’m just old and have bad hearing, though. I guess it’s good that it isn’t. Permanent hearing loss isn’t high on my list of occupational hazards. One thing you’ll be happy to know is that the Soundboks Mix isn’t just loud; it also manages to stave off distortion even at high volumes. Even at 11 out of 11, the Soundboks Mix sounded pretty clear, both from close up and from about 30 feet away. This isn’t the most impressive speaker I’ve heard in the sound department—you’re not getting Sonos outside—but for a party, where people need volume and not necessarily fidelity, it does the trick. I played a few Steely Dan songs at 50% volume and was pleased with the soundstage. There’s a tasteful amount of low end that doesn’t drown out mids and highs. Vocals were clear, and I never felt like I was sorely lacking in any frequency range. Likewise, when I played songs like “Digital Love” by Daft Punk, the bass was present and tangible without overpowering, and auto-tuned vocals didn’t sound tinny or cheap. Using a party speaker outside isn’t the most high-fidelity way to listen to anything, but for what the experience is, I think the Soundboks Mix is pretty solid. © Raymond Wong / Gizmodo If you absolutely need more volume and you have the budget, you can also couple the Soundboks Mix with another Soundboks speaker and use them in pairs in stereo mode. I was only sent one speaker for review, so I didn’t get a chance to test that feature out, but I assume it kicks everything up a notch, as celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse would say. Loudness and audio quality aren’t the only things you have to consider when you’re looking at party speaker. You also have to think about rolling joints. Portability is friendability If there’s one thing that party speakers aren’t known for, it’s being easy to carry around. To get loud, they have to be big—that’s literally just how physics works. But how big is too big? It’s difficult to strike a balance between giving you enough oomph to really project into a party and enough portability so that you don’t feel like you need to rent an ATV just to drag the speaker down the beach. Having carried the speaker from my office to Washington Square Park, which is about 0.3 miles according to Google Maps, I can say for certain that the experience wasn’t so bad. © Raymond Wong / Gizmodo There’s a built-in handle, which helps, but to be honest, it does weigh 21.4 pounds, so putting all the weight on one hand is a bit much. If you’re moving the Soundboks Mix over longer distances, I would recommend either holding it to your chest like a baby or buying one of Soundboks’ first-party straps that can hook to the speaker, allowing you to sling it over your back. Soundboks didn’t send over a strap for me to try, so I went with the baby method, which was fine, if not ideal. Its portability also helped make me a friend, who asked me to play some music while he rolled joints. I don’t smoke weed because it makes me feel like the world is ending, but my new friend did offer to share, which was a nice gesture. His first sound request was Beyoncé’s “Me, Myself, and I,” which honestly sounded pretty good at full volume. The whole thing was kind of heart-warming, really. It’s how I imagine people felt about boomboxes back in the day, when portable ways to play weren’t easy to come by. And I assume the experience is a lot better than it used to be from a convenience standpoint—especially because of the battery. © Raymond Wong / Gizmodo One cool thing about the Soundboks Mix is that it has a removable battery that you can just pull out and top up with USB-C. That also means you can hot swap it if you really need a new battery ASAP, though you’ll have to buy an extra for 0. There’s also an app for convenience, but it’s pretty barebones. © Raymond Wong / Gizmodo I like that you can adjust volume from the Soundboks app as well as EQ—there are presets for indoor and outdoor as well as custom EQ if you’re feeling picky. I’ll be honest, I didn’t hear a huge difference between the outdoor and indoor EQs, but according to the bars, the outdoor EQ brings down the mids just a tad, letting bass and treble take the lead. There is, however, a way to get quick battery readings, which is just odd. Soundboks claims that the Mix gets 8 hours of battery at full volume, though it was hard to get a read since the only way to monitor battery life was to use one of the five circular light indicators on the battery itself. You have to press the button and then just go off those increments and vibes. It’s not ideal. I played the Soundboks Mix for an hour at 60% volume, and none of the five circles dropped out, so take that for what you will. © Raymond Wong / Gizmodo Outside of volume adjustment and EQ, you can also turn the Soundboks Mix off through the app and initiate the “TeamUp” feature to pair the Mix with other Soundboks speakers. It’s nice to be able to adjust the volume remotely, but to be honest, the built-in volume dial on the Soundboks mix feels so nice and premium (it’s metal and there’s plenty of resistance) that I didn’t want to adjust the volume any other way. Button-wise, there’s also a power button and a button for the TeamUp feature that allows you to pair speakers together. There’s also a “Bond” button that can cycle through modes when you’re using TeamUp and Bluetooth connections. Lastly, there’s a 3.5mm aux in if that’s your thing. The Soundboks Mix keeps things pretty simple design-wise, but one nice touch is the inclusion of rubber balls on the bottom of each corner, which makes setting it down feel safe and easy. You also won’t have to worry about the Soundboks Mix getting fried in the rain, either. The speaker is IP65-rated, meaning it’s resistant to dust and water, and if you get caught in the rain, you should be fine. Should you Mix it up? © Raymond Wong / Gizmodo Listen, 0 is a lot of money to spend on a speaker, even if it can get as loud as a chainsaw. This isn’t something that you’re going to want to use all the time, and it certainly isn’t the most versatile speaker in the world, but no party speaker really is. If you’re looking for something that gets loud, sounds good, and can be built out to get even louder and more obnoxious, the Soundboks Mix is not a bad pick. It helps that it’s still somewhat portable despite its loudness, too, so if you plan on hauling this to the beach or something, it’s not an insurmountable task. Party speakers aren’t for everyone, but if they’re for you, then the Mix might be a great way to make friends and maybe get a little high on someone else’s supply. #Soundoks #Mix #Review #LoudAss #Party #Speaker #Highaudio,Reviews,Wireless Speakers
© Raymond Wong / Gizmodo

To test out that volume, I went to Washington Square Park in Manhattan and let loose. The Soundboks Mix is indeed loud, folks. It didn’t quake the Earth upon which we walk or anything like that, but it’s got juice. I tested the party speaker at a range of volumes playing music across different genres—mostly rock, but some electronic music and soul—and the park got an earful. I can’t say for certain, but I’m pretty sure I chased off two guys hitting a volleyball around. You heard it here first: if you hate people playing volleyball, the Soundboks Mix is a repellent.

It’s hard to quantify volume into words, but if I were to try, I would say that the Soundboks Mix is loud enough for a graduation party or a medium-sized quinceañera. It’s not going to bring down the house like a full PA, but if you’re outside within a frisbee distance of the speaker, you’re going to hear it. I also tested the Soundboks Mix briefly at full volume in my office playing Creed’s “One Last Breath,” and it was loud enough to make me feel like we could get kicked out, both for the Creed and the volume.

Soundboks Mix Party Speaker Review
© Raymond Wong / Gizmodo

Maybe I’m masochistic, but I was actually expecting it to be a little louder—maybe I’m just old and have bad hearing, though. I guess it’s good that it isn’t. Permanent hearing loss isn’t high on my list of occupational hazards.

One thing you’ll be happy to know is that the Soundboks Mix isn’t just loud; it also manages to stave off distortion even at high volumes. Even at 11 out of 11, the Soundboks Mix sounded pretty clear, both from close up and from about 30 feet away. This isn’t the most impressive speaker I’ve heard in the sound department—you’re not getting Sonos outside—but for a party, where people need volume and not necessarily fidelity, it does the trick.

I played a few Steely Dan songs at 50% volume and was pleased with the soundstage. There’s a tasteful amount of low end that doesn’t drown out mids and highs. Vocals were clear, and I never felt like I was sorely lacking in any frequency range. Likewise, when I played songs like “Digital Love” by Daft Punk, the bass was present and tangible without overpowering, and auto-tuned vocals didn’t sound tinny or cheap. Using a party speaker outside isn’t the most high-fidelity way to listen to anything, but for what the experience is, I think the Soundboks Mix is pretty solid.

Soundboks Mix Party Speaker Review
© Raymond Wong / Gizmodo

If you absolutely need more volume and you have the budget, you can also couple the Soundboks Mix with another Soundboks speaker and use them in pairs in stereo mode. I was only sent one speaker for review, so I didn’t get a chance to test that feature out, but I assume it kicks everything up a notch, as celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse would say.

Loudness and audio quality aren’t the only things you have to consider when you’re looking at party speaker. You also have to think about rolling joints.

Portability is friendability

If there’s one thing that party speakers aren’t known for, it’s being easy to carry around. To get loud, they have to be big—that’s literally just how physics works. But how big is too big? It’s difficult to strike a balance between giving you enough oomph to really project into a party and enough portability so that you don’t feel like you need to rent an ATV just to drag the speaker down the beach. Having carried the speaker from my office to Washington Square Park, which is about 0.3 miles according to Google Maps, I can say for certain that the experience wasn’t so bad.

Soundboks Party SpSoundboks Mix Party Speaker Revieweaker Review 04
© Raymond Wong / Gizmodo

There’s a built-in handle, which helps, but to be honest, it does weigh 21.4 pounds, so putting all the weight on one hand is a bit much. If you’re moving the Soundboks Mix over longer distances, I would recommend either holding it to your chest like a baby or buying one of Soundboks’ first-party straps that can hook to the speaker, allowing you to sling it over your back. Soundboks didn’t send over a strap for me to try, so I went with the baby method, which was fine, if not ideal.

Its portability also helped make me a friend, who asked me to play some music while he rolled joints. I don’t smoke weed because it makes me feel like the world is ending, but my new friend did offer to share, which was a nice gesture. His first sound request was Beyoncé’s “Me, Myself, and I,” which honestly sounded pretty good at full volume.

The whole thing was kind of heart-warming, really. It’s how I imagine people felt about boomboxes back in the day, when portable ways to play weren’t easy to come by. And I assume the experience is a lot better than it used to be from a convenience standpoint—especially because of the battery.

Soundboks Mix Party Speaker Review
© Raymond Wong / Gizmodo

One cool thing about the Soundboks Mix is that it has a removable battery that you can just pull out and top up with USB-C. That also means you can hot swap it if you really need a new battery ASAP, though you’ll have to buy an extra for $150. There’s also an app for convenience, but it’s pretty barebones.

Soundboks Mix Party Speaker Review
© Raymond Wong / Gizmodo

I like that you can adjust volume from the Soundboks app as well as EQ—there are presets for indoor and outdoor as well as custom EQ if you’re feeling picky. I’ll be honest, I didn’t hear a huge difference between the outdoor and indoor EQs, but according to the bars, the outdoor EQ brings down the mids just a tad, letting bass and treble take the lead.

There is, however, a way to get quick battery readings, which is just odd. Soundboks claims that the Mix gets 8 hours of battery at full volume, though it was hard to get a read since the only way to monitor battery life was to use one of the five circular light indicators on the battery itself. You have to press the button and then just go off those increments and vibes. It’s not ideal. I played the Soundboks Mix for an hour at 60% volume, and none of the five circles dropped out, so take that for what you will.

Soundboks Mix Party Speaker Review
© Raymond Wong / Gizmodo

Outside of volume adjustment and EQ, you can also turn the Soundboks Mix off through the app and initiate the “TeamUp” feature to pair the Mix with other Soundboks speakers. It’s nice to be able to adjust the volume remotely, but to be honest, the built-in volume dial on the Soundboks mix feels so nice and premium (it’s metal and there’s plenty of resistance) that I didn’t want to adjust the volume any other way. Button-wise, there’s also a power button and a button for the TeamUp feature that allows you to pair speakers together. There’s also a “Bond” button that can cycle through modes when you’re using TeamUp and Bluetooth connections. Lastly, there’s a 3.5mm aux in if that’s your thing.

The Soundboks Mix keeps things pretty simple design-wise, but one nice touch is the inclusion of rubber balls on the bottom of each corner, which makes setting it down feel safe and easy. You also won’t have to worry about the Soundboks Mix getting fried in the rain, either. The speaker is IP65-rated, meaning it’s resistant to dust and water, and if you get caught in the rain, you should be fine.

Should you Mix it up?

Soundboks Mix Party Speaker Review
© Raymond Wong / Gizmodo

Listen, $800 is a lot of money to spend on a speaker, even if it can get as loud as a chainsaw. This isn’t something that you’re going to want to use all the time, and it certainly isn’t the most versatile speaker in the world, but no party speaker really is. If you’re looking for something that gets loud, sounds good, and can be built out to get even louder and more obnoxious, the Soundboks Mix is not a bad pick. It helps that it’s still somewhat portable despite its loudness, too, so if you plan on hauling this to the beach or something, it’s not an insurmountable task.

Party speakers aren’t for everyone, but if they’re for you, then the Mix might be a great way to make friends and maybe get a little high on someone else’s supply.

#Soundoks #Mix #Review #LoudAss #Party #Speaker #Highaudio,Reviews,Wireless Speakers">Soundoks Mix Review: This Loud-Ass Party Speaker Almost Got Me High AF Party speakers aren’t really my thing. It’s not that I don’t like to party—I do. Not in a “friends and family surprise you at your house for a serious talk” kind of way, but in a “mid-30s, I have sh*t to do in the morning” kind of way. Really, I just don’t like to annoy people more than I have to. New York City isn’t known for its serenity, but it takes a certain level of decorum to get along, and party speakers, with their inherent obnoxiousness, break a very tenuous code. They’re big (not great for small living spaces), loud (not great for proximate neighbors), and expensive (not great for paying rent on time). They’re, in many ways, antithetical to what most New Yorkers (and other urban-dwelling people) look for in personal audio. They’re also, as I learned in my experience using the 21-pound Soundboks Mix party speaker, actually a great way to make friends. Soundboks Mix The Soundboks Mix is a party speaker that’s loud and portable with decent sound. Loud! Still pretty portable despite its size Sound is pretty good Sound is good but not great No way to get battery readings from the app Underwhelming EQ options Party speakers are pricey and so is the Soundboks Mix This speaker goes to 11 Party speakers are first and foremost meant for parties, and the 0 Soundbox Mix is no different. Soundboks is known for its Bluetooth speakers and, in particular, for making ones that get ridiculously loud. In case you had any doubt about the loudness, the Soundboks Mix even has a volume dial on the side that goes to 11 instead of 10, Spinal Tap-style. © Raymond Wong / Gizmodo To test out that volume, I went to Washington Square Park in Manhattan and let loose. The Soundboks Mix is indeed loud, folks. It didn’t quake the Earth upon which we walk or anything like that, but it’s got juice. I tested the party speaker at a range of volumes playing music across different genres—mostly rock, but some electronic music and soul—and the park got an earful. I can’t say for certain, but I’m pretty sure I chased off two guys hitting a volleyball around. You heard it here first: if you hate people playing volleyball, the Soundboks Mix is a repellent. It’s hard to quantify volume into words, but if I were to try, I would say that the Soundboks Mix is loud enough for a graduation party or a medium-sized quinceañera. It’s not going to bring down the house like a full PA, but if you’re outside within a frisbee distance of the speaker, you’re going to hear it. I also tested the Soundboks Mix briefly at full volume in my office playing Creed’s “One Last Breath,” and it was loud enough to make me feel like we could get kicked out, both for the Creed and the volume. © Raymond Wong / Gizmodo Maybe I’m masochistic, but I was actually expecting it to be a little louder—maybe I’m just old and have bad hearing, though. I guess it’s good that it isn’t. Permanent hearing loss isn’t high on my list of occupational hazards. One thing you’ll be happy to know is that the Soundboks Mix isn’t just loud; it also manages to stave off distortion even at high volumes. Even at 11 out of 11, the Soundboks Mix sounded pretty clear, both from close up and from about 30 feet away. This isn’t the most impressive speaker I’ve heard in the sound department—you’re not getting Sonos outside—but for a party, where people need volume and not necessarily fidelity, it does the trick. I played a few Steely Dan songs at 50% volume and was pleased with the soundstage. There’s a tasteful amount of low end that doesn’t drown out mids and highs. Vocals were clear, and I never felt like I was sorely lacking in any frequency range. Likewise, when I played songs like “Digital Love” by Daft Punk, the bass was present and tangible without overpowering, and auto-tuned vocals didn’t sound tinny or cheap. Using a party speaker outside isn’t the most high-fidelity way to listen to anything, but for what the experience is, I think the Soundboks Mix is pretty solid. © Raymond Wong / Gizmodo If you absolutely need more volume and you have the budget, you can also couple the Soundboks Mix with another Soundboks speaker and use them in pairs in stereo mode. I was only sent one speaker for review, so I didn’t get a chance to test that feature out, but I assume it kicks everything up a notch, as celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse would say. Loudness and audio quality aren’t the only things you have to consider when you’re looking at party speaker. You also have to think about rolling joints. Portability is friendability If there’s one thing that party speakers aren’t known for, it’s being easy to carry around. To get loud, they have to be big—that’s literally just how physics works. But how big is too big? It’s difficult to strike a balance between giving you enough oomph to really project into a party and enough portability so that you don’t feel like you need to rent an ATV just to drag the speaker down the beach. Having carried the speaker from my office to Washington Square Park, which is about 0.3 miles according to Google Maps, I can say for certain that the experience wasn’t so bad. © Raymond Wong / Gizmodo There’s a built-in handle, which helps, but to be honest, it does weigh 21.4 pounds, so putting all the weight on one hand is a bit much. If you’re moving the Soundboks Mix over longer distances, I would recommend either holding it to your chest like a baby or buying one of Soundboks’ first-party straps that can hook to the speaker, allowing you to sling it over your back. Soundboks didn’t send over a strap for me to try, so I went with the baby method, which was fine, if not ideal. Its portability also helped make me a friend, who asked me to play some music while he rolled joints. I don’t smoke weed because it makes me feel like the world is ending, but my new friend did offer to share, which was a nice gesture. His first sound request was Beyoncé’s “Me, Myself, and I,” which honestly sounded pretty good at full volume. The whole thing was kind of heart-warming, really. It’s how I imagine people felt about boomboxes back in the day, when portable ways to play weren’t easy to come by. And I assume the experience is a lot better than it used to be from a convenience standpoint—especially because of the battery. © Raymond Wong / Gizmodo One cool thing about the Soundboks Mix is that it has a removable battery that you can just pull out and top up with USB-C. That also means you can hot swap it if you really need a new battery ASAP, though you’ll have to buy an extra for 0. There’s also an app for convenience, but it’s pretty barebones. © Raymond Wong / Gizmodo I like that you can adjust volume from the Soundboks app as well as EQ—there are presets for indoor and outdoor as well as custom EQ if you’re feeling picky. I’ll be honest, I didn’t hear a huge difference between the outdoor and indoor EQs, but according to the bars, the outdoor EQ brings down the mids just a tad, letting bass and treble take the lead. There is, however, a way to get quick battery readings, which is just odd. Soundboks claims that the Mix gets 8 hours of battery at full volume, though it was hard to get a read since the only way to monitor battery life was to use one of the five circular light indicators on the battery itself. You have to press the button and then just go off those increments and vibes. It’s not ideal. I played the Soundboks Mix for an hour at 60% volume, and none of the five circles dropped out, so take that for what you will. © Raymond Wong / Gizmodo Outside of volume adjustment and EQ, you can also turn the Soundboks Mix off through the app and initiate the “TeamUp” feature to pair the Mix with other Soundboks speakers. It’s nice to be able to adjust the volume remotely, but to be honest, the built-in volume dial on the Soundboks mix feels so nice and premium (it’s metal and there’s plenty of resistance) that I didn’t want to adjust the volume any other way. Button-wise, there’s also a power button and a button for the TeamUp feature that allows you to pair speakers together. There’s also a “Bond” button that can cycle through modes when you’re using TeamUp and Bluetooth connections. Lastly, there’s a 3.5mm aux in if that’s your thing. The Soundboks Mix keeps things pretty simple design-wise, but one nice touch is the inclusion of rubber balls on the bottom of each corner, which makes setting it down feel safe and easy. You also won’t have to worry about the Soundboks Mix getting fried in the rain, either. The speaker is IP65-rated, meaning it’s resistant to dust and water, and if you get caught in the rain, you should be fine. Should you Mix it up? © Raymond Wong / Gizmodo Listen, 0 is a lot of money to spend on a speaker, even if it can get as loud as a chainsaw. This isn’t something that you’re going to want to use all the time, and it certainly isn’t the most versatile speaker in the world, but no party speaker really is. If you’re looking for something that gets loud, sounds good, and can be built out to get even louder and more obnoxious, the Soundboks Mix is not a bad pick. It helps that it’s still somewhat portable despite its loudness, too, so if you plan on hauling this to the beach or something, it’s not an insurmountable task. Party speakers aren’t for everyone, but if they’re for you, then the Mix might be a great way to make friends and maybe get a little high on someone else’s supply. #Soundoks #Mix #Review #LoudAss #Party #Speaker #Highaudio,Reviews,Wireless Speakers

party speaker, actually a great way to make friends.

Soundboks Mix

The Soundboks Mix is a party speaker that’s loud and portable with decent sound.

  • Loud!
  • Still pretty portable despite its size
  • Sound is pretty good
  • Sound is good but not great
  • No way to get battery readings from the app
  • Underwhelming EQ options
  • Party speakers are pricey and so is the Soundboks Mix

This speaker goes to 11

Party speakers are first and foremost meant for parties, and the $800 Soundbox Mix is no different. Soundboks is known for its Bluetooth speakers and, in particular, for making ones that get ridiculously loud. In case you had any doubt about the loudness, the Soundboks Mix even has a volume dial on the side that goes to 11 instead of 10, Spinal Tap-style.

Soundoks Mix Review: This Loud-Ass Party Speaker Almost Got Me High AF Party speakers aren’t really my thing. It’s not that I don’t like to party—I do. Not in a “friends and family surprise you at your house for a serious talk” kind of way, but in a “mid-30s, I have sh*t to do in the morning” kind of way. Really, I just don’t like to annoy people more than I have to. New York City isn’t known for its serenity, but it takes a certain level of decorum to get along, and party speakers, with their inherent obnoxiousness, break a very tenuous code. They’re big (not great for small living spaces), loud (not great for proximate neighbors), and expensive (not great for paying rent on time). They’re, in many ways, antithetical to what most New Yorkers (and other urban-dwelling people) look for in personal audio. They’re also, as I learned in my experience using the 21-pound Soundboks Mix party speaker, actually a great way to make friends. Soundboks Mix The Soundboks Mix is a party speaker that’s loud and portable with decent sound. Loud! Still pretty portable despite its size Sound is pretty good Sound is good but not great No way to get battery readings from the app Underwhelming EQ options Party speakers are pricey and so is the Soundboks Mix This speaker goes to 11 Party speakers are first and foremost meant for parties, and the 0 Soundbox Mix is no different. Soundboks is known for its Bluetooth speakers and, in particular, for making ones that get ridiculously loud. In case you had any doubt about the loudness, the Soundboks Mix even has a volume dial on the side that goes to 11 instead of 10, Spinal Tap-style. © Raymond Wong / Gizmodo To test out that volume, I went to Washington Square Park in Manhattan and let loose. The Soundboks Mix is indeed loud, folks. It didn’t quake the Earth upon which we walk or anything like that, but it’s got juice. I tested the party speaker at a range of volumes playing music across different genres—mostly rock, but some electronic music and soul—and the park got an earful. I can’t say for certain, but I’m pretty sure I chased off two guys hitting a volleyball around. You heard it here first: if you hate people playing volleyball, the Soundboks Mix is a repellent. It’s hard to quantify volume into words, but if I were to try, I would say that the Soundboks Mix is loud enough for a graduation party or a medium-sized quinceañera. It’s not going to bring down the house like a full PA, but if you’re outside within a frisbee distance of the speaker, you’re going to hear it. I also tested the Soundboks Mix briefly at full volume in my office playing Creed’s “One Last Breath,” and it was loud enough to make me feel like we could get kicked out, both for the Creed and the volume. © Raymond Wong / Gizmodo Maybe I’m masochistic, but I was actually expecting it to be a little louder—maybe I’m just old and have bad hearing, though. I guess it’s good that it isn’t. Permanent hearing loss isn’t high on my list of occupational hazards. One thing you’ll be happy to know is that the Soundboks Mix isn’t just loud; it also manages to stave off distortion even at high volumes. Even at 11 out of 11, the Soundboks Mix sounded pretty clear, both from close up and from about 30 feet away. This isn’t the most impressive speaker I’ve heard in the sound department—you’re not getting Sonos outside—but for a party, where people need volume and not necessarily fidelity, it does the trick. I played a few Steely Dan songs at 50% volume and was pleased with the soundstage. There’s a tasteful amount of low end that doesn’t drown out mids and highs. Vocals were clear, and I never felt like I was sorely lacking in any frequency range. Likewise, when I played songs like “Digital Love” by Daft Punk, the bass was present and tangible without overpowering, and auto-tuned vocals didn’t sound tinny or cheap. Using a party speaker outside isn’t the most high-fidelity way to listen to anything, but for what the experience is, I think the Soundboks Mix is pretty solid. © Raymond Wong / Gizmodo If you absolutely need more volume and you have the budget, you can also couple the Soundboks Mix with another Soundboks speaker and use them in pairs in stereo mode. I was only sent one speaker for review, so I didn’t get a chance to test that feature out, but I assume it kicks everything up a notch, as celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse would say. Loudness and audio quality aren’t the only things you have to consider when you’re looking at party speaker. You also have to think about rolling joints. Portability is friendability If there’s one thing that party speakers aren’t known for, it’s being easy to carry around. To get loud, they have to be big—that’s literally just how physics works. But how big is too big? It’s difficult to strike a balance between giving you enough oomph to really project into a party and enough portability so that you don’t feel like you need to rent an ATV just to drag the speaker down the beach. Having carried the speaker from my office to Washington Square Park, which is about 0.3 miles according to Google Maps, I can say for certain that the experience wasn’t so bad. © Raymond Wong / Gizmodo There’s a built-in handle, which helps, but to be honest, it does weigh 21.4 pounds, so putting all the weight on one hand is a bit much. If you’re moving the Soundboks Mix over longer distances, I would recommend either holding it to your chest like a baby or buying one of Soundboks’ first-party straps that can hook to the speaker, allowing you to sling it over your back. Soundboks didn’t send over a strap for me to try, so I went with the baby method, which was fine, if not ideal. Its portability also helped make me a friend, who asked me to play some music while he rolled joints. I don’t smoke weed because it makes me feel like the world is ending, but my new friend did offer to share, which was a nice gesture. His first sound request was Beyoncé’s “Me, Myself, and I,” which honestly sounded pretty good at full volume. The whole thing was kind of heart-warming, really. It’s how I imagine people felt about boomboxes back in the day, when portable ways to play weren’t easy to come by. And I assume the experience is a lot better than it used to be from a convenience standpoint—especially because of the battery. © Raymond Wong / Gizmodo One cool thing about the Soundboks Mix is that it has a removable battery that you can just pull out and top up with USB-C. That also means you can hot swap it if you really need a new battery ASAP, though you’ll have to buy an extra for 0. There’s also an app for convenience, but it’s pretty barebones. © Raymond Wong / Gizmodo I like that you can adjust volume from the Soundboks app as well as EQ—there are presets for indoor and outdoor as well as custom EQ if you’re feeling picky. I’ll be honest, I didn’t hear a huge difference between the outdoor and indoor EQs, but according to the bars, the outdoor EQ brings down the mids just a tad, letting bass and treble take the lead. There is, however, a way to get quick battery readings, which is just odd. Soundboks claims that the Mix gets 8 hours of battery at full volume, though it was hard to get a read since the only way to monitor battery life was to use one of the five circular light indicators on the battery itself. You have to press the button and then just go off those increments and vibes. It’s not ideal. I played the Soundboks Mix for an hour at 60% volume, and none of the five circles dropped out, so take that for what you will. © Raymond Wong / Gizmodo Outside of volume adjustment and EQ, you can also turn the Soundboks Mix off through the app and initiate the “TeamUp” feature to pair the Mix with other Soundboks speakers. It’s nice to be able to adjust the volume remotely, but to be honest, the built-in volume dial on the Soundboks mix feels so nice and premium (it’s metal and there’s plenty of resistance) that I didn’t want to adjust the volume any other way. Button-wise, there’s also a power button and a button for the TeamUp feature that allows you to pair speakers together. There’s also a “Bond” button that can cycle through modes when you’re using TeamUp and Bluetooth connections. Lastly, there’s a 3.5mm aux in if that’s your thing. The Soundboks Mix keeps things pretty simple design-wise, but one nice touch is the inclusion of rubber balls on the bottom of each corner, which makes setting it down feel safe and easy. You also won’t have to worry about the Soundboks Mix getting fried in the rain, either. The speaker is IP65-rated, meaning it’s resistant to dust and water, and if you get caught in the rain, you should be fine. Should you Mix it up? © Raymond Wong / Gizmodo Listen, 0 is a lot of money to spend on a speaker, even if it can get as loud as a chainsaw. This isn’t something that you’re going to want to use all the time, and it certainly isn’t the most versatile speaker in the world, but no party speaker really is. If you’re looking for something that gets loud, sounds good, and can be built out to get even louder and more obnoxious, the Soundboks Mix is not a bad pick. It helps that it’s still somewhat portable despite its loudness, too, so if you plan on hauling this to the beach or something, it’s not an insurmountable task. Party speakers aren’t for everyone, but if they’re for you, then the Mix might be a great way to make friends and maybe get a little high on someone else’s supply. #Soundoks #Mix #Review #LoudAss #Party #Speaker #Highaudio,Reviews,Wireless Speakers
© Raymond Wong / Gizmodo

To test out that volume, I went to Washington Square Park in Manhattan and let loose. The Soundboks Mix is indeed loud, folks. It didn’t quake the Earth upon which we walk or anything like that, but it’s got juice. I tested the party speaker at a range of volumes playing music across different genres—mostly rock, but some electronic music and soul—and the park got an earful. I can’t say for certain, but I’m pretty sure I chased off two guys hitting a volleyball around. You heard it here first: if you hate people playing volleyball, the Soundboks Mix is a repellent.

It’s hard to quantify volume into words, but if I were to try, I would say that the Soundboks Mix is loud enough for a graduation party or a medium-sized quinceañera. It’s not going to bring down the house like a full PA, but if you’re outside within a frisbee distance of the speaker, you’re going to hear it. I also tested the Soundboks Mix briefly at full volume in my office playing Creed’s “One Last Breath,” and it was loud enough to make me feel like we could get kicked out, both for the Creed and the volume.

Soundboks Mix Party Speaker Review
© Raymond Wong / Gizmodo

Maybe I’m masochistic, but I was actually expecting it to be a little louder—maybe I’m just old and have bad hearing, though. I guess it’s good that it isn’t. Permanent hearing loss isn’t high on my list of occupational hazards.

One thing you’ll be happy to know is that the Soundboks Mix isn’t just loud; it also manages to stave off distortion even at high volumes. Even at 11 out of 11, the Soundboks Mix sounded pretty clear, both from close up and from about 30 feet away. This isn’t the most impressive speaker I’ve heard in the sound department—you’re not getting Sonos outside—but for a party, where people need volume and not necessarily fidelity, it does the trick.

I played a few Steely Dan songs at 50% volume and was pleased with the soundstage. There’s a tasteful amount of low end that doesn’t drown out mids and highs. Vocals were clear, and I never felt like I was sorely lacking in any frequency range. Likewise, when I played songs like “Digital Love” by Daft Punk, the bass was present and tangible without overpowering, and auto-tuned vocals didn’t sound tinny or cheap. Using a party speaker outside isn’t the most high-fidelity way to listen to anything, but for what the experience is, I think the Soundboks Mix is pretty solid.

Soundboks Mix Party Speaker Review
© Raymond Wong / Gizmodo

If you absolutely need more volume and you have the budget, you can also couple the Soundboks Mix with another Soundboks speaker and use them in pairs in stereo mode. I was only sent one speaker for review, so I didn’t get a chance to test that feature out, but I assume it kicks everything up a notch, as celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse would say.

Loudness and audio quality aren’t the only things you have to consider when you’re looking at party speaker. You also have to think about rolling joints.

Portability is friendability

If there’s one thing that party speakers aren’t known for, it’s being easy to carry around. To get loud, they have to be big—that’s literally just how physics works. But how big is too big? It’s difficult to strike a balance between giving you enough oomph to really project into a party and enough portability so that you don’t feel like you need to rent an ATV just to drag the speaker down the beach. Having carried the speaker from my office to Washington Square Park, which is about 0.3 miles according to Google Maps, I can say for certain that the experience wasn’t so bad.

Soundboks Party SpSoundboks Mix Party Speaker Revieweaker Review 04
© Raymond Wong / Gizmodo

There’s a built-in handle, which helps, but to be honest, it does weigh 21.4 pounds, so putting all the weight on one hand is a bit much. If you’re moving the Soundboks Mix over longer distances, I would recommend either holding it to your chest like a baby or buying one of Soundboks’ first-party straps that can hook to the speaker, allowing you to sling it over your back. Soundboks didn’t send over a strap for me to try, so I went with the baby method, which was fine, if not ideal.

Its portability also helped make me a friend, who asked me to play some music while he rolled joints. I don’t smoke weed because it makes me feel like the world is ending, but my new friend did offer to share, which was a nice gesture. His first sound request was Beyoncé’s “Me, Myself, and I,” which honestly sounded pretty good at full volume.

The whole thing was kind of heart-warming, really. It’s how I imagine people felt about boomboxes back in the day, when portable ways to play weren’t easy to come by. And I assume the experience is a lot better than it used to be from a convenience standpoint—especially because of the battery.

Soundboks Mix Party Speaker Review
© Raymond Wong / Gizmodo

One cool thing about the Soundboks Mix is that it has a removable battery that you can just pull out and top up with USB-C. That also means you can hot swap it if you really need a new battery ASAP, though you’ll have to buy an extra for $150. There’s also an app for convenience, but it’s pretty barebones.

Soundboks Mix Party Speaker Review
© Raymond Wong / Gizmodo

I like that you can adjust volume from the Soundboks app as well as EQ—there are presets for indoor and outdoor as well as custom EQ if you’re feeling picky. I’ll be honest, I didn’t hear a huge difference between the outdoor and indoor EQs, but according to the bars, the outdoor EQ brings down the mids just a tad, letting bass and treble take the lead.

There is, however, a way to get quick battery readings, which is just odd. Soundboks claims that the Mix gets 8 hours of battery at full volume, though it was hard to get a read since the only way to monitor battery life was to use one of the five circular light indicators on the battery itself. You have to press the button and then just go off those increments and vibes. It’s not ideal. I played the Soundboks Mix for an hour at 60% volume, and none of the five circles dropped out, so take that for what you will.

Soundboks Mix Party Speaker Review
© Raymond Wong / Gizmodo

Outside of volume adjustment and EQ, you can also turn the Soundboks Mix off through the app and initiate the “TeamUp” feature to pair the Mix with other Soundboks speakers. It’s nice to be able to adjust the volume remotely, but to be honest, the built-in volume dial on the Soundboks mix feels so nice and premium (it’s metal and there’s plenty of resistance) that I didn’t want to adjust the volume any other way. Button-wise, there’s also a power button and a button for the TeamUp feature that allows you to pair speakers together. There’s also a “Bond” button that can cycle through modes when you’re using TeamUp and Bluetooth connections. Lastly, there’s a 3.5mm aux in if that’s your thing.

The Soundboks Mix keeps things pretty simple design-wise, but one nice touch is the inclusion of rubber balls on the bottom of each corner, which makes setting it down feel safe and easy. You also won’t have to worry about the Soundboks Mix getting fried in the rain, either. The speaker is IP65-rated, meaning it’s resistant to dust and water, and if you get caught in the rain, you should be fine.

Should you Mix it up?

Soundboks Mix Party Speaker Review
© Raymond Wong / Gizmodo

Listen, $800 is a lot of money to spend on a speaker, even if it can get as loud as a chainsaw. This isn’t something that you’re going to want to use all the time, and it certainly isn’t the most versatile speaker in the world, but no party speaker really is. If you’re looking for something that gets loud, sounds good, and can be built out to get even louder and more obnoxious, the Soundboks Mix is not a bad pick. It helps that it’s still somewhat portable despite its loudness, too, so if you plan on hauling this to the beach or something, it’s not an insurmountable task.

Party speakers aren’t for everyone, but if they’re for you, then the Mix might be a great way to make friends and maybe get a little high on someone else’s supply.

#Soundoks #Mix #Review #LoudAss #Party #Speaker #Highaudio,Reviews,Wireless Speakers">Soundoks Mix Review: This Loud-Ass Party Speaker Almost Got Me High AF

Party speakers aren’t really my thing. It’s not that I don’t like to party—I do. Not in a “friends and family surprise you at your house for a serious talk” kind of way, but in a “mid-30s, I have sh*t to do in the morning” kind of way. Really, I just don’t like to annoy people more than I have to.

New York City isn’t known for its serenity, but it takes a certain level of decorum to get along, and party speakers, with their inherent obnoxiousness, break a very tenuous code. They’re big (not great for small living spaces), loud (not great for proximate neighbors), and expensive (not great for paying rent on time). They’re, in many ways, antithetical to what most New Yorkers (and other urban-dwelling people) look for in personal audio.

They’re also, as I learned in my experience using the 21-pound Soundboks Mix party speaker, actually a great way to make friends.

Soundboks Mix

The Soundboks Mix is a party speaker that’s loud and portable with decent sound.

  • Loud!
  • Still pretty portable despite its size
  • Sound is pretty good
  • Sound is good but not great
  • No way to get battery readings from the app
  • Underwhelming EQ options
  • Party speakers are pricey and so is the Soundboks Mix

This speaker goes to 11

Party speakers are first and foremost meant for parties, and the $800 Soundbox Mix is no different. Soundboks is known for its Bluetooth speakers and, in particular, for making ones that get ridiculously loud. In case you had any doubt about the loudness, the Soundboks Mix even has a volume dial on the side that goes to 11 instead of 10, Spinal Tap-style.

Soundoks Mix Review: This Loud-Ass Party Speaker Almost Got Me High AF Party speakers aren’t really my thing. It’s not that I don’t like to party—I do. Not in a “friends and family surprise you at your house for a serious talk” kind of way, but in a “mid-30s, I have sh*t to do in the morning” kind of way. Really, I just don’t like to annoy people more than I have to. New York City isn’t known for its serenity, but it takes a certain level of decorum to get along, and party speakers, with their inherent obnoxiousness, break a very tenuous code. They’re big (not great for small living spaces), loud (not great for proximate neighbors), and expensive (not great for paying rent on time). They’re, in many ways, antithetical to what most New Yorkers (and other urban-dwelling people) look for in personal audio. They’re also, as I learned in my experience using the 21-pound Soundboks Mix party speaker, actually a great way to make friends. Soundboks Mix The Soundboks Mix is a party speaker that’s loud and portable with decent sound. Loud! Still pretty portable despite its size Sound is pretty good Sound is good but not great No way to get battery readings from the app Underwhelming EQ options Party speakers are pricey and so is the Soundboks Mix This speaker goes to 11 Party speakers are first and foremost meant for parties, and the 0 Soundbox Mix is no different. Soundboks is known for its Bluetooth speakers and, in particular, for making ones that get ridiculously loud. In case you had any doubt about the loudness, the Soundboks Mix even has a volume dial on the side that goes to 11 instead of 10, Spinal Tap-style. © Raymond Wong / Gizmodo To test out that volume, I went to Washington Square Park in Manhattan and let loose. The Soundboks Mix is indeed loud, folks. It didn’t quake the Earth upon which we walk or anything like that, but it’s got juice. I tested the party speaker at a range of volumes playing music across different genres—mostly rock, but some electronic music and soul—and the park got an earful. I can’t say for certain, but I’m pretty sure I chased off two guys hitting a volleyball around. You heard it here first: if you hate people playing volleyball, the Soundboks Mix is a repellent. It’s hard to quantify volume into words, but if I were to try, I would say that the Soundboks Mix is loud enough for a graduation party or a medium-sized quinceañera. It’s not going to bring down the house like a full PA, but if you’re outside within a frisbee distance of the speaker, you’re going to hear it. I also tested the Soundboks Mix briefly at full volume in my office playing Creed’s “One Last Breath,” and it was loud enough to make me feel like we could get kicked out, both for the Creed and the volume. © Raymond Wong / Gizmodo Maybe I’m masochistic, but I was actually expecting it to be a little louder—maybe I’m just old and have bad hearing, though. I guess it’s good that it isn’t. Permanent hearing loss isn’t high on my list of occupational hazards. One thing you’ll be happy to know is that the Soundboks Mix isn’t just loud; it also manages to stave off distortion even at high volumes. Even at 11 out of 11, the Soundboks Mix sounded pretty clear, both from close up and from about 30 feet away. This isn’t the most impressive speaker I’ve heard in the sound department—you’re not getting Sonos outside—but for a party, where people need volume and not necessarily fidelity, it does the trick. I played a few Steely Dan songs at 50% volume and was pleased with the soundstage. There’s a tasteful amount of low end that doesn’t drown out mids and highs. Vocals were clear, and I never felt like I was sorely lacking in any frequency range. Likewise, when I played songs like “Digital Love” by Daft Punk, the bass was present and tangible without overpowering, and auto-tuned vocals didn’t sound tinny or cheap. Using a party speaker outside isn’t the most high-fidelity way to listen to anything, but for what the experience is, I think the Soundboks Mix is pretty solid. © Raymond Wong / Gizmodo If you absolutely need more volume and you have the budget, you can also couple the Soundboks Mix with another Soundboks speaker and use them in pairs in stereo mode. I was only sent one speaker for review, so I didn’t get a chance to test that feature out, but I assume it kicks everything up a notch, as celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse would say. Loudness and audio quality aren’t the only things you have to consider when you’re looking at party speaker. You also have to think about rolling joints. Portability is friendability If there’s one thing that party speakers aren’t known for, it’s being easy to carry around. To get loud, they have to be big—that’s literally just how physics works. But how big is too big? It’s difficult to strike a balance between giving you enough oomph to really project into a party and enough portability so that you don’t feel like you need to rent an ATV just to drag the speaker down the beach. Having carried the speaker from my office to Washington Square Park, which is about 0.3 miles according to Google Maps, I can say for certain that the experience wasn’t so bad. © Raymond Wong / Gizmodo There’s a built-in handle, which helps, but to be honest, it does weigh 21.4 pounds, so putting all the weight on one hand is a bit much. If you’re moving the Soundboks Mix over longer distances, I would recommend either holding it to your chest like a baby or buying one of Soundboks’ first-party straps that can hook to the speaker, allowing you to sling it over your back. Soundboks didn’t send over a strap for me to try, so I went with the baby method, which was fine, if not ideal. Its portability also helped make me a friend, who asked me to play some music while he rolled joints. I don’t smoke weed because it makes me feel like the world is ending, but my new friend did offer to share, which was a nice gesture. His first sound request was Beyoncé’s “Me, Myself, and I,” which honestly sounded pretty good at full volume. The whole thing was kind of heart-warming, really. It’s how I imagine people felt about boomboxes back in the day, when portable ways to play weren’t easy to come by. And I assume the experience is a lot better than it used to be from a convenience standpoint—especially because of the battery. © Raymond Wong / Gizmodo One cool thing about the Soundboks Mix is that it has a removable battery that you can just pull out and top up with USB-C. That also means you can hot swap it if you really need a new battery ASAP, though you’ll have to buy an extra for 0. There’s also an app for convenience, but it’s pretty barebones. © Raymond Wong / Gizmodo I like that you can adjust volume from the Soundboks app as well as EQ—there are presets for indoor and outdoor as well as custom EQ if you’re feeling picky. I’ll be honest, I didn’t hear a huge difference between the outdoor and indoor EQs, but according to the bars, the outdoor EQ brings down the mids just a tad, letting bass and treble take the lead. There is, however, a way to get quick battery readings, which is just odd. Soundboks claims that the Mix gets 8 hours of battery at full volume, though it was hard to get a read since the only way to monitor battery life was to use one of the five circular light indicators on the battery itself. You have to press the button and then just go off those increments and vibes. It’s not ideal. I played the Soundboks Mix for an hour at 60% volume, and none of the five circles dropped out, so take that for what you will. © Raymond Wong / Gizmodo Outside of volume adjustment and EQ, you can also turn the Soundboks Mix off through the app and initiate the “TeamUp” feature to pair the Mix with other Soundboks speakers. It’s nice to be able to adjust the volume remotely, but to be honest, the built-in volume dial on the Soundboks mix feels so nice and premium (it’s metal and there’s plenty of resistance) that I didn’t want to adjust the volume any other way. Button-wise, there’s also a power button and a button for the TeamUp feature that allows you to pair speakers together. There’s also a “Bond” button that can cycle through modes when you’re using TeamUp and Bluetooth connections. Lastly, there’s a 3.5mm aux in if that’s your thing. The Soundboks Mix keeps things pretty simple design-wise, but one nice touch is the inclusion of rubber balls on the bottom of each corner, which makes setting it down feel safe and easy. You also won’t have to worry about the Soundboks Mix getting fried in the rain, either. The speaker is IP65-rated, meaning it’s resistant to dust and water, and if you get caught in the rain, you should be fine. Should you Mix it up? © Raymond Wong / Gizmodo Listen, 0 is a lot of money to spend on a speaker, even if it can get as loud as a chainsaw. This isn’t something that you’re going to want to use all the time, and it certainly isn’t the most versatile speaker in the world, but no party speaker really is. If you’re looking for something that gets loud, sounds good, and can be built out to get even louder and more obnoxious, the Soundboks Mix is not a bad pick. It helps that it’s still somewhat portable despite its loudness, too, so if you plan on hauling this to the beach or something, it’s not an insurmountable task. Party speakers aren’t for everyone, but if they’re for you, then the Mix might be a great way to make friends and maybe get a little high on someone else’s supply. #Soundoks #Mix #Review #LoudAss #Party #Speaker #Highaudio,Reviews,Wireless Speakers
© Raymond Wong / Gizmodo

To test out that volume, I went to Washington Square Park in Manhattan and let loose. The Soundboks Mix is indeed loud, folks. It didn’t quake the Earth upon which we walk or anything like that, but it’s got juice. I tested the party speaker at a range of volumes playing music across different genres—mostly rock, but some electronic music and soul—and the park got an earful. I can’t say for certain, but I’m pretty sure I chased off two guys hitting a volleyball around. You heard it here first: if you hate people playing volleyball, the Soundboks Mix is a repellent.

It’s hard to quantify volume into words, but if I were to try, I would say that the Soundboks Mix is loud enough for a graduation party or a medium-sized quinceañera. It’s not going to bring down the house like a full PA, but if you’re outside within a frisbee distance of the speaker, you’re going to hear it. I also tested the Soundboks Mix briefly at full volume in my office playing Creed’s “One Last Breath,” and it was loud enough to make me feel like we could get kicked out, both for the Creed and the volume.

Soundboks Mix Party Speaker Review
© Raymond Wong / Gizmodo

Maybe I’m masochistic, but I was actually expecting it to be a little louder—maybe I’m just old and have bad hearing, though. I guess it’s good that it isn’t. Permanent hearing loss isn’t high on my list of occupational hazards.

One thing you’ll be happy to know is that the Soundboks Mix isn’t just loud; it also manages to stave off distortion even at high volumes. Even at 11 out of 11, the Soundboks Mix sounded pretty clear, both from close up and from about 30 feet away. This isn’t the most impressive speaker I’ve heard in the sound department—you’re not getting Sonos outside—but for a party, where people need volume and not necessarily fidelity, it does the trick.

I played a few Steely Dan songs at 50% volume and was pleased with the soundstage. There’s a tasteful amount of low end that doesn’t drown out mids and highs. Vocals were clear, and I never felt like I was sorely lacking in any frequency range. Likewise, when I played songs like “Digital Love” by Daft Punk, the bass was present and tangible without overpowering, and auto-tuned vocals didn’t sound tinny or cheap. Using a party speaker outside isn’t the most high-fidelity way to listen to anything, but for what the experience is, I think the Soundboks Mix is pretty solid.

Soundboks Mix Party Speaker Review
© Raymond Wong / Gizmodo

If you absolutely need more volume and you have the budget, you can also couple the Soundboks Mix with another Soundboks speaker and use them in pairs in stereo mode. I was only sent one speaker for review, so I didn’t get a chance to test that feature out, but I assume it kicks everything up a notch, as celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse would say.

Loudness and audio quality aren’t the only things you have to consider when you’re looking at party speaker. You also have to think about rolling joints.

Portability is friendability

If there’s one thing that party speakers aren’t known for, it’s being easy to carry around. To get loud, they have to be big—that’s literally just how physics works. But how big is too big? It’s difficult to strike a balance between giving you enough oomph to really project into a party and enough portability so that you don’t feel like you need to rent an ATV just to drag the speaker down the beach. Having carried the speaker from my office to Washington Square Park, which is about 0.3 miles according to Google Maps, I can say for certain that the experience wasn’t so bad.

Soundboks Party SpSoundboks Mix Party Speaker Revieweaker Review 04
© Raymond Wong / Gizmodo

There’s a built-in handle, which helps, but to be honest, it does weigh 21.4 pounds, so putting all the weight on one hand is a bit much. If you’re moving the Soundboks Mix over longer distances, I would recommend either holding it to your chest like a baby or buying one of Soundboks’ first-party straps that can hook to the speaker, allowing you to sling it over your back. Soundboks didn’t send over a strap for me to try, so I went with the baby method, which was fine, if not ideal.

Its portability also helped make me a friend, who asked me to play some music while he rolled joints. I don’t smoke weed because it makes me feel like the world is ending, but my new friend did offer to share, which was a nice gesture. His first sound request was Beyoncé’s “Me, Myself, and I,” which honestly sounded pretty good at full volume.

The whole thing was kind of heart-warming, really. It’s how I imagine people felt about boomboxes back in the day, when portable ways to play weren’t easy to come by. And I assume the experience is a lot better than it used to be from a convenience standpoint—especially because of the battery.

Soundboks Mix Party Speaker Review
© Raymond Wong / Gizmodo

One cool thing about the Soundboks Mix is that it has a removable battery that you can just pull out and top up with USB-C. That also means you can hot swap it if you really need a new battery ASAP, though you’ll have to buy an extra for $150. There’s also an app for convenience, but it’s pretty barebones.

Soundboks Mix Party Speaker Review
© Raymond Wong / Gizmodo

I like that you can adjust volume from the Soundboks app as well as EQ—there are presets for indoor and outdoor as well as custom EQ if you’re feeling picky. I’ll be honest, I didn’t hear a huge difference between the outdoor and indoor EQs, but according to the bars, the outdoor EQ brings down the mids just a tad, letting bass and treble take the lead.

There is, however, a way to get quick battery readings, which is just odd. Soundboks claims that the Mix gets 8 hours of battery at full volume, though it was hard to get a read since the only way to monitor battery life was to use one of the five circular light indicators on the battery itself. You have to press the button and then just go off those increments and vibes. It’s not ideal. I played the Soundboks Mix for an hour at 60% volume, and none of the five circles dropped out, so take that for what you will.

Soundboks Mix Party Speaker Review
© Raymond Wong / Gizmodo

Outside of volume adjustment and EQ, you can also turn the Soundboks Mix off through the app and initiate the “TeamUp” feature to pair the Mix with other Soundboks speakers. It’s nice to be able to adjust the volume remotely, but to be honest, the built-in volume dial on the Soundboks mix feels so nice and premium (it’s metal and there’s plenty of resistance) that I didn’t want to adjust the volume any other way. Button-wise, there’s also a power button and a button for the TeamUp feature that allows you to pair speakers together. There’s also a “Bond” button that can cycle through modes when you’re using TeamUp and Bluetooth connections. Lastly, there’s a 3.5mm aux in if that’s your thing.

The Soundboks Mix keeps things pretty simple design-wise, but one nice touch is the inclusion of rubber balls on the bottom of each corner, which makes setting it down feel safe and easy. You also won’t have to worry about the Soundboks Mix getting fried in the rain, either. The speaker is IP65-rated, meaning it’s resistant to dust and water, and if you get caught in the rain, you should be fine.

Should you Mix it up?

Soundboks Mix Party Speaker Review
© Raymond Wong / Gizmodo

Listen, $800 is a lot of money to spend on a speaker, even if it can get as loud as a chainsaw. This isn’t something that you’re going to want to use all the time, and it certainly isn’t the most versatile speaker in the world, but no party speaker really is. If you’re looking for something that gets loud, sounds good, and can be built out to get even louder and more obnoxious, the Soundboks Mix is not a bad pick. It helps that it’s still somewhat portable despite its loudness, too, so if you plan on hauling this to the beach or something, it’s not an insurmountable task.

Party speakers aren’t for everyone, but if they’re for you, then the Mix might be a great way to make friends and maybe get a little high on someone else’s supply.

#Soundoks #Mix #Review #LoudAss #Party #Speaker #Highaudio,Reviews,Wireless Speakers
Lego-style propaganda videos alleging war crimes are flooding online feeds, echoing the White House’s own turn toward cryptic teaser clips and meme-native visuals. This is not just content drift. It is a new front in the information war, one where speed, ambiguity, and algorithmic reach matter as much as accuracy.

One Iran-linked outlet, Explosive News, can reportedly turn around a two-minute synthetic Lego segment in about 24 hours. The speed is the point. Synthetic media does not need to hold up forever; it only needs to travel before verification catches up.

Last month, the White House added to that confusion when it posted two vague “launching soon” videos, then removed them after online investigators and open source researchers began dissecting them.

The reveal turned out to be anticlimactic: a promotional push for the official White House app. But the episode demonstrated how thoroughly official communication has absorbed the aesthetics of leaks, virality, and platform-native intrigue. Even when official accounts adopt the aesthetics of a leak, questioning whether a record is real or synthetic is the only defensive move left.

Real vs. Synthetic: The New Friction

A zero digital footprint used to signal authenticity. Now, it can signal the opposite. The absence of a trail no longer means something is original—it may mean it was never captured by a lens at all. The signal has inverted. Truth lags; engagement leads.

Automated traffic now commands an estimated 51 percent of internet activity, scaling eight times faster than human traffic according to the 2026 State of AI Traffic & Cyberthreat Benchmark Report. These systems don’t just distribute content, they prioritize low-quality virality, ensuring the synthetic record travels while verification is still catching up.

Open source investigators are still holding the line, but they are fighting a volume war. The rise of hyperactive “super sharers,” often backed by paid verification, adds a layer of false authority that traditional open source intelligence (OSINT) now has to navigate.

“We’re perpetually catching up to someone pressing repost without a second thought,” says Maryam Ishani, an OSINT journalist covering the conflict. “The algorithm prioritizes that reflex, and our information is always going to be one step behind.”

At the same time, the surge of war-monitoring accounts is beginning to interfere with reporting itself. Manisha Ganguly, visual forensics lead at The Guardian and an OSINT specialist investigating war crimes, points to the false certainty created by the flood of aggregated content on Telegram and X.

“Open source verification starts to create false certainty when it stops being a method of inquiry—through confirmation bias, or when OSINT is used to cosmetically validate official accounts or knowingly misapplied to align with ideological narratives rather than interrogate them,” Ganguly says.

While this plays out, the verification toolkit itself is becoming harder to access. On April 4, Planet Labs—one of the most relied-upon commercial satellite providers for conflict journalism—announced it would indefinitely withhold imagery of Iran and the broader Middle East conflict zone, retroactive to March 9, following a request from the US government.

The response from US defense secretary Pete Hegseth to concerns about the delay was unambiguous: “Open source is not the place to determine what did or did not happen.”

That shift matters. When access to primary visual evidence is restricted, the ability to independently verify events narrows. And in that narrowing gap, something else expands: Generative AI doesn’t just fill the silence—it competes to define what’s seen in the first place.

Generative AI Is Getting Harder to Spot

Generative AI platforms have been learning from their mistakes. Henk van Ess, an investigative trainer and verification specialist, says many of the classic tells—incorrect finger counts, garbled protest signs, distorted text—have largely been fixed in the latest generation of models. Tools like Imagen 3, Midjourney, and Dall·E have improved in prompt understanding, photorealism, and text-in-image rendering.

But the harder problem is what van Ess calls the hybrid.

#Internet #Broke #Everyones #Bullshit #Detectorspropaganda,artificial intelligence,open source,satellite images,iran,war,politics">How the Internet Broke Everyone’s Bullshit DetectorsLego-style propaganda videos alleging war crimes are flooding online feeds, echoing the White House’s own turn toward cryptic teaser clips and meme-native visuals. This is not just content drift. It is a new front in the information war, one where speed, ambiguity, and algorithmic reach matter as much as accuracy.One Iran-linked outlet, Explosive News, can reportedly turn around a two-minute synthetic Lego segment in about 24 hours. The speed is the point. Synthetic media does not need to hold up forever; it only needs to travel before verification catches up.Last month, the White House added to that confusion when it posted two vague “launching soon” videos, then removed them after online investigators and open source researchers began dissecting them.The reveal turned out to be anticlimactic: a promotional push for the official White House app. But the episode demonstrated how thoroughly official communication has absorbed the aesthetics of leaks, virality, and platform-native intrigue. Even when official accounts adopt the aesthetics of a leak, questioning whether a record is real or synthetic is the only defensive move left.Real vs. Synthetic: The New FrictionA zero digital footprint used to signal authenticity. Now, it can signal the opposite. The absence of a trail no longer means something is original—it may mean it was never captured by a lens at all. The signal has inverted. Truth lags; engagement leads.Automated traffic now commands an estimated 51 percent of internet activity, scaling eight times faster than human traffic according to the 2026 State of AI Traffic & Cyberthreat Benchmark Report. These systems don’t just distribute content, they prioritize low-quality virality, ensuring the synthetic record travels while verification is still catching up.Open source investigators are still holding the line, but they are fighting a volume war. The rise of hyperactive “super sharers,” often backed by paid verification, adds a layer of false authority that traditional open source intelligence (OSINT) now has to navigate.“We’re perpetually catching up to someone pressing repost without a second thought,” says Maryam Ishani, an OSINT journalist covering the conflict. “The algorithm prioritizes that reflex, and our information is always going to be one step behind.”At the same time, the surge of war-monitoring accounts is beginning to interfere with reporting itself. Manisha Ganguly, visual forensics lead at The Guardian and an OSINT specialist investigating war crimes, points to the false certainty created by the flood of aggregated content on Telegram and X.“Open source verification starts to create false certainty when it stops being a method of inquiry—through confirmation bias, or when OSINT is used to cosmetically validate official accounts or knowingly misapplied to align with ideological narratives rather than interrogate them,” Ganguly says.While this plays out, the verification toolkit itself is becoming harder to access. On April 4, Planet Labs—one of the most relied-upon commercial satellite providers for conflict journalism—announced it would indefinitely withhold imagery of Iran and the broader Middle East conflict zone, retroactive to March 9, following a request from the US government.The response from US defense secretary Pete Hegseth to concerns about the delay was unambiguous: “Open source is not the place to determine what did or did not happen.”That shift matters. When access to primary visual evidence is restricted, the ability to independently verify events narrows. And in that narrowing gap, something else expands: Generative AI doesn’t just fill the silence—it competes to define what’s seen in the first place.Generative AI Is Getting Harder to SpotGenerative AI platforms have been learning from their mistakes. Henk van Ess, an investigative trainer and verification specialist, says many of the classic tells—incorrect finger counts, garbled protest signs, distorted text—have largely been fixed in the latest generation of models. Tools like Imagen 3, Midjourney, and Dall·E have improved in prompt understanding, photorealism, and text-in-image rendering.But the harder problem is what van Ess calls the hybrid.#Internet #Broke #Everyones #Bullshit #Detectorspropaganda,artificial intelligence,open source,satellite images,iran,war,politics

flooding online feeds, echoing the White House’s own turn toward cryptic teaser clips and meme-native visuals. This is not just content drift. It is a new front in the information war, one where speed, ambiguity, and algorithmic reach matter as much as accuracy.

One Iran-linked outlet, Explosive News, can reportedly turn around a two-minute synthetic Lego segment in about 24 hours. The speed is the point. Synthetic media does not need to hold up forever; it only needs to travel before verification catches up.

Last month, the White House added to that confusion when it posted two vague “launching soon” videos, then removed them after online investigators and open source researchers began dissecting them.

The reveal turned out to be anticlimactic: a promotional push for the official White House app. But the episode demonstrated how thoroughly official communication has absorbed the aesthetics of leaks, virality, and platform-native intrigue. Even when official accounts adopt the aesthetics of a leak, questioning whether a record is real or synthetic is the only defensive move left.

Real vs. Synthetic: The New Friction

A zero digital footprint used to signal authenticity. Now, it can signal the opposite. The absence of a trail no longer means something is original—it may mean it was never captured by a lens at all. The signal has inverted. Truth lags; engagement leads.

Automated traffic now commands an estimated 51 percent of internet activity, scaling eight times faster than human traffic according to the 2026 State of AI Traffic & Cyberthreat Benchmark Report. These systems don’t just distribute content, they prioritize low-quality virality, ensuring the synthetic record travels while verification is still catching up.

Open source investigators are still holding the line, but they are fighting a volume war. The rise of hyperactive “super sharers,” often backed by paid verification, adds a layer of false authority that traditional open source intelligence (OSINT) now has to navigate.

“We’re perpetually catching up to someone pressing repost without a second thought,” says Maryam Ishani, an OSINT journalist covering the conflict. “The algorithm prioritizes that reflex, and our information is always going to be one step behind.”

At the same time, the surge of war-monitoring accounts is beginning to interfere with reporting itself. Manisha Ganguly, visual forensics lead at The Guardian and an OSINT specialist investigating war crimes, points to the false certainty created by the flood of aggregated content on Telegram and X.

“Open source verification starts to create false certainty when it stops being a method of inquiry—through confirmation bias, or when OSINT is used to cosmetically validate official accounts or knowingly misapplied to align with ideological narratives rather than interrogate them,” Ganguly says.

While this plays out, the verification toolkit itself is becoming harder to access. On April 4, Planet Labs—one of the most relied-upon commercial satellite providers for conflict journalism—announced it would indefinitely withhold imagery of Iran and the broader Middle East conflict zone, retroactive to March 9, following a request from the US government.

The response from US defense secretary Pete Hegseth to concerns about the delay was unambiguous: “Open source is not the place to determine what did or did not happen.”

That shift matters. When access to primary visual evidence is restricted, the ability to independently verify events narrows. And in that narrowing gap, something else expands: Generative AI doesn’t just fill the silence—it competes to define what’s seen in the first place.

Generative AI Is Getting Harder to Spot

Generative AI platforms have been learning from their mistakes. Henk van Ess, an investigative trainer and verification specialist, says many of the classic tells—incorrect finger counts, garbled protest signs, distorted text—have largely been fixed in the latest generation of models. Tools like Imagen 3, Midjourney, and Dall·E have improved in prompt understanding, photorealism, and text-in-image rendering.

But the harder problem is what van Ess calls the hybrid.

#Internet #Broke #Everyones #Bullshit #Detectorspropaganda,artificial intelligence,open source,satellite images,iran,war,politics">How the Internet Broke Everyone’s Bullshit Detectors

Lego-style propaganda videos alleging war crimes are flooding online feeds, echoing the White House’s own turn toward cryptic teaser clips and meme-native visuals. This is not just content drift. It is a new front in the information war, one where speed, ambiguity, and algorithmic reach matter as much as accuracy.

One Iran-linked outlet, Explosive News, can reportedly turn around a two-minute synthetic Lego segment in about 24 hours. The speed is the point. Synthetic media does not need to hold up forever; it only needs to travel before verification catches up.

Last month, the White House added to that confusion when it posted two vague “launching soon” videos, then removed them after online investigators and open source researchers began dissecting them.

The reveal turned out to be anticlimactic: a promotional push for the official White House app. But the episode demonstrated how thoroughly official communication has absorbed the aesthetics of leaks, virality, and platform-native intrigue. Even when official accounts adopt the aesthetics of a leak, questioning whether a record is real or synthetic is the only defensive move left.

Real vs. Synthetic: The New Friction

A zero digital footprint used to signal authenticity. Now, it can signal the opposite. The absence of a trail no longer means something is original—it may mean it was never captured by a lens at all. The signal has inverted. Truth lags; engagement leads.

Automated traffic now commands an estimated 51 percent of internet activity, scaling eight times faster than human traffic according to the 2026 State of AI Traffic & Cyberthreat Benchmark Report. These systems don’t just distribute content, they prioritize low-quality virality, ensuring the synthetic record travels while verification is still catching up.

Open source investigators are still holding the line, but they are fighting a volume war. The rise of hyperactive “super sharers,” often backed by paid verification, adds a layer of false authority that traditional open source intelligence (OSINT) now has to navigate.

“We’re perpetually catching up to someone pressing repost without a second thought,” says Maryam Ishani, an OSINT journalist covering the conflict. “The algorithm prioritizes that reflex, and our information is always going to be one step behind.”

At the same time, the surge of war-monitoring accounts is beginning to interfere with reporting itself. Manisha Ganguly, visual forensics lead at The Guardian and an OSINT specialist investigating war crimes, points to the false certainty created by the flood of aggregated content on Telegram and X.

“Open source verification starts to create false certainty when it stops being a method of inquiry—through confirmation bias, or when OSINT is used to cosmetically validate official accounts or knowingly misapplied to align with ideological narratives rather than interrogate them,” Ganguly says.

While this plays out, the verification toolkit itself is becoming harder to access. On April 4, Planet Labs—one of the most relied-upon commercial satellite providers for conflict journalism—announced it would indefinitely withhold imagery of Iran and the broader Middle East conflict zone, retroactive to March 9, following a request from the US government.

The response from US defense secretary Pete Hegseth to concerns about the delay was unambiguous: “Open source is not the place to determine what did or did not happen.”

That shift matters. When access to primary visual evidence is restricted, the ability to independently verify events narrows. And in that narrowing gap, something else expands: Generative AI doesn’t just fill the silence—it competes to define what’s seen in the first place.

Generative AI Is Getting Harder to Spot

Generative AI platforms have been learning from their mistakes. Henk van Ess, an investigative trainer and verification specialist, says many of the classic tells—incorrect finger counts, garbled protest signs, distorted text—have largely been fixed in the latest generation of models. Tools like Imagen 3, Midjourney, and Dall·E have improved in prompt understanding, photorealism, and text-in-image rendering.

But the harder problem is what van Ess calls the hybrid.

#Internet #Broke #Everyones #Bullshit #Detectorspropaganda,artificial intelligence,open source,satellite images,iran,war,politics

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition is tricky! There are some red herrings you’ll have to avoid.

As we’ve shared in previous hints stories, this is a version of the popular New York Times word game that seeks to test the knowledge of sports fans.

Like the original Connections, the game is all about finding the “common threads between words.” And just like Wordle, Connections resets after midnight and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier — so we’ve served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle.

If you just want to be told today’s puzzle, you can jump to the end of this article for the latest Connections solution. But if you’d rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable

What is Connections: Sports Edition?

The NYT‘s latest daily word game has launched in association with The Athletic, the New York Times property that provides the publication’s sports coverage. Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and require players to group four words that share something in common.

Each puzzle features 16 words, and each grouping of words is split into four categories. These sets could comprise anything from book titles, software, country names, etc. Even though multiple words will seem like they fit together, there’s only one correct answer.

If a player gets all four words in a set correct, those words are removed from the board. Guess wrong and it counts as a mistake — players get up to four mistakes before the game ends.

Players can also rearrange and shuffle the board to make spotting connections easier. Additionally, each group is color-coded with yellow being the easiest, followed by green, blue, and purple. Like Wordle, you can share the results with your friends on social media.

SEE ALSO: Wordle-obsessed? These are the best word games to play IRL.

Here’s a hint for today’s Connections: Sports Edition categories

Want a hint about the categories without being told the categories? Then give these a try:

Here are today’s Connections: Sports Edition categories

Need a little extra help? Today’s connections fall into the following categories:

  • Yellow: MLB Teams, Colloquially

  • Green: UCLA

  • Blue: Can Follow Minnesota

  • Purple: Starts With Part of the Body

Looking for Wordle today? Here’s the answer to today’s Wordle.

Ready for the answers? This is your last chance to turn back and solve today’s puzzle before we reveal the solutions.

Drumroll, please!

The solution to today’s Connections: Sports Edition #565 is…

What is the answer to Connections: Sports Edition today?

  • MLB Teams, Colloquially — D-BACKS, JAYS, PHILS, SOX

  • UCLA — ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, LOS, UNIVERSITY

  • Can Follow Minnesota — LYNX, UNITED, VIKINGS, WILD

  • Starts With Part of the Body — ARMY, EARTHQUAKES, LEGACY, LIVERPOOL

Don’t feel down if you didn’t manage to guess it this time. There will be new sports Connections for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we’ll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.

Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today’s Strands.

If you’re looking for more puzzles, Mashable’s got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Not the day you’re after? Here’s the solution to yesterday’s Connections.

#NYT #Connections #Sports #Edition #hints #answers #April #Tips #solve #Connections">NYT Connections Sports Edition hints and answers for April 11: Tips to solve Connections #565 Today’s Connections: Sports Edition is tricky! There are some red herrings you’ll have to avoid.As we’ve shared in previous hints stories, this is a version of the popular New York Times word game that seeks to test the knowledge of sports fans. Like the original Connections, the game is all about finding the “common threads between words.” And just like Wordle, Connections resets after midnight and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier — so we’ve served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle.If you just want to be told today’s puzzle, you can jump to the end of this article for the latest Connections solution. But if you’d rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you. SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable What is Connections: Sports Edition?The NYT‘s latest daily word game has launched in association with The Athletic, the New York Times property that provides the publication’s sports coverage. Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and require players to group four words that share something in common. This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. Each puzzle features 16 words, and each grouping of words is split into four categories. These sets could comprise anything from book titles, software, country names, etc. Even though multiple words will seem like they fit together, there’s only one correct answer.If a player gets all four words in a set correct, those words are removed from the board. Guess wrong and it counts as a mistake — players get up to four mistakes before the game ends. This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. Players can also rearrange and shuffle the board to make spotting connections easier. Additionally, each group is color-coded with yellow being the easiest, followed by green, blue, and purple. Like Wordle, you can share the results with your friends on social media. Mashable Top Stories SEE ALSO: Wordle-obsessed? These are the best word games to play IRL. Here’s a hint for today’s Connections: Sports Edition categoriesWant a hint about the categories without being told the categories? Then give these a try:Here are today’s Connections: Sports Edition categoriesNeed a little extra help? Today’s connections fall into the following categories:Yellow: MLB Teams, ColloquiallyGreen: UCLABlue: Can Follow MinnesotaPurple: Starts With Part of the BodyLooking for Wordle today? Here’s the answer to today’s Wordle.Ready for the answers? This is your last chance to turn back and solve today’s puzzle before we reveal the solutions.Drumroll, please!The solution to today’s Connections: Sports Edition #565 is…What is the answer to Connections: Sports Edition today?MLB Teams, Colloquially — D-BACKS, JAYS, PHILS, SOXUCLA — ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, LOS, UNIVERSITYCan Follow Minnesota — LYNX, UNITED, VIKINGS, WILDStarts With Part of the Body — ARMY, EARTHQUAKES, LEGACY, LIVERPOOLDon’t feel down if you didn’t manage to guess it this time. There will be new sports Connections for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we’ll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today’s Strands.If you’re looking for more puzzles, Mashable’s got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.Not the day you’re after? Here’s the solution to yesterday’s Connections. #NYT #Connections #Sports #Edition #hints #answers #April #Tips #solve #Connections

New York Times word game that seeks to test the knowledge of sports fans.

Like the original Connections, the game is all about finding the “common threads between words.” And just like Wordle, Connections resets after midnight and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier — so we’ve served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle.

If you just want to be told today’s puzzle, you can jump to the end of this article for the latest Connections solution. But if you’d rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable

What is Connections: Sports Edition?

The NYT‘s latest daily word game has launched in association with The Athletic, the New York Times property that provides the publication’s sports coverage. Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and require players to group four words that share something in common.

Each puzzle features 16 words, and each grouping of words is split into four categories. These sets could comprise anything from book titles, software, country names, etc. Even though multiple words will seem like they fit together, there’s only one correct answer.

If a player gets all four words in a set correct, those words are removed from the board. Guess wrong and it counts as a mistake — players get up to four mistakes before the game ends.

Players can also rearrange and shuffle the board to make spotting connections easier. Additionally, each group is color-coded with yellow being the easiest, followed by green, blue, and purple. Like Wordle, you can share the results with your friends on social media.

SEE ALSO: Wordle-obsessed? These are the best word games to play IRL.

Here’s a hint for today’s Connections: Sports Edition categories

Want a hint about the categories without being told the categories? Then give these a try:

Here are today’s Connections: Sports Edition categories

Need a little extra help? Today’s connections fall into the following categories:

  • Yellow: MLB Teams, Colloquially

  • Green: UCLA

  • Blue: Can Follow Minnesota

  • Purple: Starts With Part of the Body

Looking for Wordle today? Here’s the answer to today’s Wordle.

Ready for the answers? This is your last chance to turn back and solve today’s puzzle before we reveal the solutions.

Drumroll, please!

The solution to today’s Connections: Sports Edition #565 is…

What is the answer to Connections: Sports Edition today?

  • MLB Teams, Colloquially — D-BACKS, JAYS, PHILS, SOX

  • UCLA — ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, LOS, UNIVERSITY

  • Can Follow Minnesota — LYNX, UNITED, VIKINGS, WILD

  • Starts With Part of the Body — ARMY, EARTHQUAKES, LEGACY, LIVERPOOL

Don’t feel down if you didn’t manage to guess it this time. There will be new sports Connections for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we’ll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.

Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today’s Strands.

If you’re looking for more puzzles, Mashable’s got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Not the day you’re after? Here’s the solution to yesterday’s Connections.

#NYT #Connections #Sports #Edition #hints #answers #April #Tips #solve #Connections">NYT Connections Sports Edition hints and answers for April 11: Tips to solve Connections #565

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition is tricky! There are some red herrings you’ll have to avoid.

As we’ve shared in previous hints stories, this is a version of the popular New York Times word game that seeks to test the knowledge of sports fans.

Like the original Connections, the game is all about finding the “common threads between words.” And just like Wordle, Connections resets after midnight and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier — so we’ve served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle.

If you just want to be told today’s puzzle, you can jump to the end of this article for the latest Connections solution. But if you’d rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable

What is Connections: Sports Edition?

The NYT‘s latest daily word game has launched in association with The Athletic, the New York Times property that provides the publication’s sports coverage. Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and require players to group four words that share something in common.

Each puzzle features 16 words, and each grouping of words is split into four categories. These sets could comprise anything from book titles, software, country names, etc. Even though multiple words will seem like they fit together, there’s only one correct answer.

If a player gets all four words in a set correct, those words are removed from the board. Guess wrong and it counts as a mistake — players get up to four mistakes before the game ends.

Players can also rearrange and shuffle the board to make spotting connections easier. Additionally, each group is color-coded with yellow being the easiest, followed by green, blue, and purple. Like Wordle, you can share the results with your friends on social media.

SEE ALSO: Wordle-obsessed? These are the best word games to play IRL.

Here’s a hint for today’s Connections: Sports Edition categories

Want a hint about the categories without being told the categories? Then give these a try:

Here are today’s Connections: Sports Edition categories

Need a little extra help? Today’s connections fall into the following categories:

  • Yellow: MLB Teams, Colloquially

  • Green: UCLA

  • Blue: Can Follow Minnesota

  • Purple: Starts With Part of the Body

Looking for Wordle today? Here’s the answer to today’s Wordle.

Ready for the answers? This is your last chance to turn back and solve today’s puzzle before we reveal the solutions.

Drumroll, please!

The solution to today’s Connections: Sports Edition #565 is…

What is the answer to Connections: Sports Edition today?

  • MLB Teams, Colloquially — D-BACKS, JAYS, PHILS, SOX

  • UCLA — ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, LOS, UNIVERSITY

  • Can Follow Minnesota — LYNX, UNITED, VIKINGS, WILD

  • Starts With Part of the Body — ARMY, EARTHQUAKES, LEGACY, LIVERPOOL

Don’t feel down if you didn’t manage to guess it this time. There will be new sports Connections for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we’ll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.

Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today’s Strands.

If you’re looking for more puzzles, Mashable’s got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Not the day you’re after? Here’s the solution to yesterday’s Connections.

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