Kinivo BTX270 Wireless Bluetooth Portable Speaker Review

This is the first of my reviews on what I would consider to be compact wireless speakers from Kinivo. I am starting off with the Kinivo BTX270's but hope to follow up this review with another teo separate reviews on similar products from Kinivo: The Kinivo BTX350's and the Kinivo BTX450's. If you have not already watched my other two previous Kinivo product reviews then make sure to check them out:

• Kinivo BTH240 Bluetooth Stereo Headphones Review
• Kinivo M2 Bluetooth Stereo Speaker System Review

So getting back to the Kinivo BTX270's which in my opinion will fit somewhere in the middle in terms of quality versus size. They are very small and compact for sure which does have its pros and cons. On one hand they are super small and can go with you just about anywhere since they can literally fit in the side pouch of your cargo pants. The down side is a sacrifice in volume, especially when it comes to the low down bassy stuff. These speakers have pretty small drivers and only 3watts per speaker output which really is all you need for a hotel room or back yard deck if you still want to be able to talk to your company.

I found to get the base up a bit in terms of being at a more equal level to the mid range and high end, that I needed to adjust my EQ settings on my iPhone using the Bass Boast, this will bring the overall volume of the speakers down a bit but they do sound better to me with this setup.

For such a small speaker system they do have a pretty nice sound and as I already said give you plenty enough volume for your typical background music environment. The mids and highs are very clear and crisp, even the base is surprising when you think about how small they really are. I love being able to stream my iPhone music over Bluetooth to them and I can even see how much charge is left on the Kinivo BTX270's internal battery by looking at the Bluetooth icon on my iPhone.

The packaging is really nice and give this product a really high end feeling, even the included 3.5 inch mini jack to mini jack cable is really cool and looks to be very high quality, not some cheap throw in item.

The build quality of the Kinivo BTX270's is very good, they feel nice and solid and have a wrap around rubber casing that protects them very well in the event of a drop or fall (already tested by myself ;)

If you need ultra portability with relatively decent but moderate sound output then be sure to take a look at the Kinivo BTX270 Wireless Bluetooth Portable Speaker System!

Product Description:
The Kinivo BTX270 Wireless Bluetooth Portable Speaker with rechargeable battery is designed to deliver high quality sound with standard Bluetooth and apt-X enabled devices.

High Quality apt-X Audio Codec
The apt-X audio codec allows your Bluetooth apt-X capable devices to connect and transmit crystal clear audio. Improvements of apt-X over standard Bluetooth audio include reduced audio delay, CD quality audio and performance, and improved connectivity.

Key Features:

• 2 x 3W Acoustically Balanced Drivers (Total 6W) for enhanced listening experience
• Seamlessly stream music from any Bluetooth (A2DP) capable device.
• Supports handsfree calling with the built in microphone.
• iPhone and iPad battery meter support (speaker's battery status shows in iPhone and iPad).
• Built-in rechargeable battery lasts up to 8 hours.
• Compact wireless high quality audio speaker.

 Dimensions:

• 2.25" H x 1.75" W x 6.00" L 

What's in the Box:

• Kinivo BTX270 Speaker
• Micro USB Charging Cable
• 3.5mm Audio Cable
• User manual

Maintaining Strength After 2 Month Off From Doing Squats and Deadlifts

As many of you are aware that follow what I do here on GetFitOver40.com, I suffered a really bad calf tear about 2 months while ago while doing a 400 meter sprint and had to shut down some of my leg work in order to take care of the calf tear and let it heal up.

So for the most part to keep my leg gains, I have been doing Leg Extensions, Leg Curls, some Machine Leg Press and DB Straight Leg Deadlifts. For calves, just everyday walking around till it heals :(

I am happy to say that over the last few days I have started incorporating Squats and Deadlifts back into my workouts and feel pretty much as strong as before the calf injury. My last Deadlift workout I even managed 8 reps at 395 pounds even though the last couple reps where real grinders. Today I even PR'd a 3 rep 275 pound Front Squat so perhaps those leg extensions did me some good!

In terms of my calf rehab, my left calf is feeling really good but I do not want to ask too much too quickly so I have just started to reintroduce some calf work by doing single leg body weight calf raises to get my flexibility and range of motion back. So far so good and I'm surprised to find that my injured calf is actually keeping up fairly well with my good one so I am well on my way to a full recovery :)

Dr Plankenstein's 5 Minute Dip Challenge - Get Fit Over 40 Entry

Another YouTube Video Submission Challenge... I had my camera all setup from doing my Barney St Anton Strict Press Challenge so I rested for about half an hour while I setup my makeshift Dip Bars and drank my Tim Horton's single single with a chocolate Dip donut for extra energy.

The challenge was pretty simple. Do as many full motion dips as you can within 5 minutes! Full extension at the top and elbows must hit 90 degrees at the bottom.

I probably should have done my Dr Plankenstein's 5 Minute Dip Challenge on a different day because the overhead press really took a lot out of my triceps but I really wanted to get this video in and it's more about supporting Herbie Sherman and his "HOPE FOR JUSTICE" charity.

I was shooting for 100 reps and I got it, just barely but I'll take it. I think on a day when I was fresh I perhaps could have got another 10 or so but I am happy with my results considering I did this back to back with my Barney St Anton Strict Press Challenge.

Barney St Anton Strict Press Challenge - Get Fit Over 40 Entry

I saw some of the other Fitness folks here on YouTube getting in on the Barney St Anton Strict Press Challenge and so I thought I would give it a go, the cutoff is today I think so trying to get ti in on the wire...

The challenge is pretty simple and there is nothing to be gained other than bragging rights but these challenges are all in good fun and help to unite the Online Fitness Community and introduce everyone to other new people they may never have run into.

Here are the basic rules:

• Weight yourself and use half your body weight as your overhead press weight.
• Do a full shoulder press, touching the top of your chest a the bottom and a full lockout on the top preferably with a pause.
• No more than 5 seconds between reps.
• No use of legs to gain drive, so no push.
• See how many reps you can do before failure :)

I did 23 reps (was trying for 25), not bad for an old guy! Thanks Barney St Anton for putting on this Strict Press Challenge and a big shout out to everyone that got their entry videos in!

Americas Versus UK - Old Man Versus Young Man Bench-Off Challenge Winner

So after a few days of deliberation, I have come up with a winner for the Americas region for the Americas Versus UK - Old Man Versus Young Man Bench-Off Challenge.

Mark Macqueen will be announcing the UK winner and sending out a prize to that person.

The reason it took me a few days to decide on the Americas winner was because I was kind of torn between two video entries. One had a very clean 25 reps with no disputing the form, while the second entry had more reps, 27 in total, but it was hard to make out if his butt was coming off the bench based on the angle being used to video the challenge. After all I wanted to be true to the contest rules. After much thought I decided that since there was no way to determine if his butt came off the bench, then I have to give him the benefit of the doubt so the Americas prize goes to Brian from Silverback Fitness. Brian will be receiving a pair of Kinivo BTH240 Bluetooth Headphones!

As a consolation prize for the runner up with 25 very clean reps, Tim Kistner will be getting a pair of compact Kinivo Bluetooth Speakers that I will be receiving shortly for review, he can have them when I finish my review of course ;)

As a side note, I wanted to help promote another challenge that Dr Plankenstein's Fitness Training is hosting for a worthy charity, this challenge is a maximum dips you can do within 5 minutes so check that one out. I will be submitting a video entry for this one.

Again I want to thank Mark Macqueen for co-hosting this challenge with me and also to everyone who submitted a bodyweight bench press challenge video and helping to make fitness on YouTube fun and exciting!