ICYMI: We test the GoPro Hero 10 Black action camera

This week we have some reviews for music and photography lovers. First of all, James Trew put the GoPro Hero 10 Black to the test and was impressed with the capabilities of the new GP2 processor. Then Billy Steele listened to Jabra’s $ 80 Elite 3 headphones and, due to the combination of price and features, rated them as one of the best gadgets in the business. Finally, Terrence O’Brien played with the Arturia SQ80V synth emulator to be charmed by its smooth user interface and timeless sounds.

James Trew is clear about the new GoPro Hero 10 Black: it is remarkably similar to last year’s model, except for the impressive new GP2 processor. This chip increases frame rates in all areas, including 5.3K at 60 frames per second. It’s also responsible for the updated HyperSmooth 4.0 stabilization technology, which enables smoother shooting scenarios, a faster user interface, faster media unloading, and even front display enhancements. GoPro claims that the capabilities of the GP2 can also help produce enhanced photos and videos.

In James’ tests this was born out: he saw significantly better picture quality from the Hero 10 Black than from the Hero 9. James said the difference in detail was immediately noticeable at 100% cropping, where the Hero 10 was able to capture textures like the road surface or leaves. He also liked the added flexibility offered by the new combinations of resolution and frame rate – another bonus to GP2 processing power. The Hero 10 Black also adds a hydrophobic lens coating, which prevents water droplets from building up into blurry drops, 4K video at 120fps for respectable slow motion and good old-fashioned wired transfer. With one of the only downsides being shorter battery life, James says the Hero 10 takes whatever worked for GoPro devices and builds on it.

The Jabra Elite 3 headphones have a lot going for them: they are affordable, have functional controls, a comfortable fit thanks to a new design, impressive sound quality and a solid feature set. Billy Steele says they far exceeded his expectations and offer incredible value for their $ 80 price tag. In testing, he was immediately impressed with the sound quality, which was adept at highlighting details like the clicking of a snare drum. While he found the call quality to be only fixable, he found other features – like a mute control on the earbuds – to be thoughtful. He was also happy with the battery life of almost seven hours.

However, the lower-priced models will forgo some things that you may take for granted on other headphones, and here the Elite 3 headphones lack wireless charging and active noise cancellation. Billy said one of the few drawbacks of the Elite 3 was the missing auto-pause feature – he found it annoying, but not a deal breaker. He also mentioned that the only EQ customizations are available in presets, but the Elite 3 outperformed similar models here due to its balanced tuning and great clarity. With a few drawbacks, Billy rated them as one of Jabra’s best wireless products.

Terrence O’Brien spent time tweaking the knobs on Arturia’s new SQ 80V, a synth emulator designed to mimic the dusty charm of the Ensoniq SQ-80. The device contains the original 75 waveforms as well as “hidden” waves from the SQ-80 to provide users with a wide range of sound design possibilities. The majority of the controls, three LFOs and four envelopes, are on a mouse-friendly synthesis tab, while you can change oscillator waves and adjust the filter directly from the device itself.

Terrence says the SQ80 V is great for overwritten digital sounds, and the two sound packs released with the emulator are very much in line with this feel. While these packs made it easy to find sounds in the included presets, Terrence said it’s also easy to create your own patches using the drop-down menus and tabs. He called the interface “clean, delightfully retro, and easy to navigate”. Overall, Terrence said he liked the SQ80 V because it is accessible to synth players while still providing a warm and timeless sound.