The Official #TwitterPartyDJ Reviews the Voxx International 808 Studio Quality Headphones!

I grew up around DJ's both family and friends, not just weekend enthusiasts, but pros that started off in clubs and many now own their own Audio Production Companies, for my family Music wasn't just entertainment it was always very much business. So when it comes to Audio Products and Accessories I'm pretty picky and I learned early on that labels, names, flash and floss didn't always mean great sound.

I love Music and feel blessed to have grown up in a family that takes it so seriously and also exposed me to such a wide variety of artists and musical genres. Their love of music and sound and what goes behind creating memorable musical moments definitely rubbed off on me, but there is always one place where I differed from the Pro's in my family. I prefer earbuds. That's definitely not a secret to long time readers, but it's still where me and my family members in the industry differ. And they spent years trying to convert me to headphones but they were never successful. I always hated how they 'crushed' my hair (remember how high 80's hair used to be right?), I have always worn eyeglasses and the headphones would press my glasses into my temples which after awhile would hurt and as I live in the Public Transportation Capital of the Planet, New York City, I always hated how headphones drew too  much attention to you. To my fellow individualists, trust me when I tell you that the one place you don't want to draw too much attention to yourself is on a New York City Subway Train.

808 Studio Quality Headphones in Matte Black

So when a pair of 808 headphones arrived for editorial consideration to say I was a bit skeptical would probably be an understatement. I recently reviewed my new HP Envy Desktop computer which I absolutely love (which is awesome because I had purchased a few lemons over the last few years and was slowly losing faith in them), one of the things that stand out about my new desktop is the amazing Audio. As a long time HP owner (both at work and at home both desktop and laptop), I was never all that impressed with their Audio, until my new Envy, the Beats Audio on my new system is fantastic. Like many writers I have a tendency to write better late at night and once I get into the flow I could write until the wee hours of the morning. That means I'm up clicking away while my world is asleep and for me not to disturb anyone I always listen to music at night while on my computer or desktop with earbuds on.

Studio Quality 808 Headphones Un-boxed showing Headphones, Instruction Manual and Protective Travel Case

I've spent the past few weeks listening to music on my HP Envy Desktop Computer wearing my new 808 headphones and I've also been bringing them with me on roadtrips on weekends and I have to tell you in all the years of my family members in the Audio Industry trying to get me to switch to headphones, this time spent road testing the 808's has made me a convert!

About the 808 Studio Quality Headphones:

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Advanced and Powerful 40mm Dynamic Range Audio Drivers with outstanding response and accuracy

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Soft, Comfortable earcups

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - 2 Detachable Cables - round without mic and flat with mic

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - High Quality Durable Protective Travel Case

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - 3 colors: Black Matte, Black High Gloss, and White High Gloss

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Compatible with iPod, iPhone and iPad

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Works with Android

Watch them in Action:

My Take:

With a street smart style, cutting-edge audio technology, and an affordable price tag, these headphones prove that style, substance and smarts can be achieved at a price point that is reachable for everyone. It brings out nuances in some songs that I don't hear when wearing other headphones/earbuds, there were songs from U2 and Sheryl Crow that I've heard over and over that sounded so much different to me with these. They blocked outside noise (like when I'm in the bus with them on, I don't hear ambulance sirens blaring in my ears and interrupting my tunes) and in the trains I can  use these to block out the Garbled MTA messages (Perhaps the MTA should retain Voxx International to re-do the audio in the subway system, maybe then you'd actually be able hear to the announcements!), they also smartly help me tune out wailing infants, obnoxiously loud cell phone conversations and just immerse myself in the escape that my music collection provides me during a hectic rush hour traffic commute into the city.

Warning to the wise, turn DOWN your current audio level setting on your device before you plug these in, you won't need to have the volume anywhere as close to the setting you are using now. These deliver a rich, even consistent sound, rich bass, and definitely have style for days. I love my 808 headphones, and am excited about their upcoming On-Ear (the Drift) and In-Ear Earbuds that are set to release in 2013 in the months ahead!

I am going to have to see if our friends at Voxx International will consider joining us in our upcoming June 'Dads N Grads' annual gift buying guide with a reader giveaway, because I know you are going to LOVE these as much as I do.

808 'Gloss White' Headphones

Get Social:

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ -  Like 808 Headphones on Facebook

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Follow @RCA_Scoop on Twitter as well as on @Audiovox_Corp on Twitter

They post tons of fun contests, promotions and giveaways and hint, hint, there is one going on right NOW! (and don't forget to tell them on facebook or on twitter that you saw them featured on Ascending Butterfly)

Can't wait for us to offer a giveaway? (I can't say I blame you!), Amazon has them at a STEAL, and I mean that literally, you can order them NOW on Amazon by pressing the banner below:

Butterfly what is your favorite Audio Product or Audio Accessory?

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FTC Disclosure: Voxx International has provided me with a product sample for editorial consideration, however all opinions expressed herein are 100% my own.

Review of the HP ENVY 23-d140t TouchSmart All-in-One Desktop PC with Beats Audio!

As a Blogger and Social Media Influencer I feel it is just as important to praise brands when they get it right as it is to use social to reach them when things go terribly wrong. We sometimes forget to praise as quickly as we tend to complain as consumers. Brands need to know it when they are doing a great job too!

Straight out of College I began doing Graphic Design work, and my first post College Computer in the workplace was actually a Mac, but I was so used to PC's that I had a PC at home and used the Mac at work during the day. Don't get me wrong, I'm equally proficient on both platforms to be totally honest with you, I can shift from one to the other with relative ease. Once I changed jobs I ended up in a more conservative environment, which meant going back to PC's and my next workplace computer was an HP.

After a very sad breakup with both DELL and Gateway, and a brief happy romance with a Compaq that outlasted many of the computers purchased to replace it, I made the foray into HP at home. Since I loved the HP I was using at work at the time, I thought I'd try them at home, and I bought an HP printer to go with it. That printer would actually go on to last over 10 years, but the desktop? Not so much. It didn't even survive 30 days. It took quite a bit of effort on my part to get help with this (yes this was pre-facebook and twitter), but eventually I did find help, and they did replace it, but the replacement didn't last even 6 months. I was NOT a happy camper. I was bent for some reason on the HP Pavilion Model, and both myself and my cousin who is a photographer both got lemons whose hard drives konked out before the 30 day mark. He switched brands, but I couldn't, I kept trying.

To make a long story short, between desktops and laptops I've had 3 bad HP desktops and 3 bad HP laptops, that is across the span of 20 years though. In my eyes that's NOT a bad track record. I will say it was mixed how it was handled each time, and it got better after the advent of Social Media as a customer service tool. The last experience with an HP Pavilion before I switched out from that particular model was the worst because they chose to replace it with a refurbished machine that didn't last very long. So after that I switched brands for awhile, but ended up trying HP again when I found the HP TouchSmart IQ846 Desktop PC on Amazon at a great price and that coupled with some Amazon Gift Certificates I had stored up just made it too good to pass up on.

I loved that PC and it actually lasted the longest any HP computer has ever held up for me, 4 years, and it was still working, just super slow and I knew it wouldn't last long, and let's face technology gets outdated, it just made sense to start over. And that's where a blog campaign comes in, but it wasn't one I was personally participating in. HP launched a bloggers campaign for Holidays 2012 called #HPFamilyTime bloggers, and a series of reviews and giveaways hit the blogs, I went and read as many of the reviews as I could and on some sites I entered the corresponding giveaways, much to my surprise I won one! I entered the giveaway on She Scribes blog, so a HUGE thanks to her for hosting and to HP for sponsoring the giveaway.

I put it out into the Universe and made the effort to go with my intention, and got the result I was after! I was excited after reading the specs:

About the HP ENVY 23-d140t TouchSmart All-in-One Desktop PC with Beats Audio:

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - 3rd Generation Intel(R) Core(TM) i3-3220 dual-core processor [3.3GHz, 3MB Shared Cache ] Windows 8 or other operating system

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Go beyond the keyboard and mouse to get more from Windows 8. Swipe and tap using all 10 fingers on the Full-HD display. It gives “hands on” a whole new meaning.

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Save space in style with all-in-one PC featuring a sleek, edge-to-edge glass design. Set up with as little as one wire, and free up even more limited space by mounting the HP ENVY 23 TouchSmart on a wall.

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - optional solid-state drive, it delivers outstanding reliability day after day.

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Sync photos across your PC, smartphone, and tablet. Crop, rotate, add captions, and more. Then share in seconds with friends and family through your social networks. HP Connected Photo. Picture the fun.

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Sometimes only a face-to-face conversation will do. With the HP TrueVision HD Webcam, you always come off looking your best. Even in low light.

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - With Beats Audio™ and an optional subwoofer, the HP ENVY 23 TouchSmart is designed for the best-sounding, richest audio experience available on a PC. So it sounds as amazing as it looks.

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Get the most out of the tunes you love today and discover more music in a whole new way with HP Connected Music.

MY Take:

While I liked my HP TouchSmart IQ846 Desktop PC, my new HP ENVY 23-d140t TouchSmart AIO has got it beat hands down! The things that were 'cons' for me about HP computers in the past, slow startup, overly bloated, shotty hard drives, have definitely all been addressed this time around. With Windows 8 the TouchSmart finally has the right dance partner! Windows 8 truly helps bring out what makes the TouchSmart so great, it's what you love about your favorite tablet, just bigger! It's smart, starts up at lightening speed, gives you literally everything you could want at your fingertips and the 1 Terabyte of built in storage means you can go nuts with music and photos (my two particular passions!).

I have had the opportunity to put this machine through it's paces, I will admit I hit my machines hard, I have A LOT of applications and programs open at the same time, client databases, spreadsheets, presentations, a TON of internet windows, and so far it's only given me 3 warnings about my browser using up to much memory. And for me that's good, my older HP Touch would just konk out or freeze up when I'd hit it that hard.

This one came with Norton built in, and in the past I've found Norton to be a resource hog, but so far I will say I'm also impressed, Norton has been doing a great job protecting my new PC, it hasn't been obtrusive in any way or slowed down my PC.

Thankfully I had attended the Windows 8 demos at last year's BlogHer conference, so I had some advantage now being thrown directly into a Windows 8 Operating System User Interface. There were some things I needed to learn to do differently but thankfully you can operate in 'view it in destop mode' which will look like the interface that you are more used to.

THE AUDIO!!!! Sorry I don't normally shout, but as 'The Official #TwitterPartyDJ' I have to tell you that the Beats Audio in this computer blows most onboard Desktop Audio to shreds. It's simply fantastic! I'm now using this new PC to test out Audio Accessories like Headphones and then compare the sound of the headphones on my PC to my portable music devices, and I can tell you this PC does not need separate speaker add ons, it would truly be an insult to it!

The good thing about being with the same brand for almost 20 years is I can almost feel how long it will last me, I know it's good, bad and ugly, but so far my HP ENVY 23-d140t TouchSmart All in One Desktop PC with Beats Audio is so much more than I ever expected it could be! I also tested the HP Deskjet 3052A printer, which I'm satisfied with, but I think my Kodak Hero 7.1 is a bit more robust.

If you haven't figured it out to this point, this PC is a definite 'Get it!'. I couldn't recommend this model more highly, I actually really, really, really want to try the HP Envy 2 laptop or the HP Spectre Ultrabook so I could keep the fun going during my travels!

Do you have the HP Envy Butterfly? What do you think of it? What is your favorite desktop computer?

Get Social:

Why not let HP know on Twitter or on Facebook that you saw the HP Envy 23 Touchsmart Desktop All in One PC featured on Ascending Butterfly? Who knows? Maybe they'll want to surprise Ascending Butterfly readers too!

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FTC Disclosure: I was under NO obligation to write this review, no monetary compensation has been received, this is NOT a sponsored post. In fact I won the computer, so I did not have to review it, I chose to do so because I feel it's a very high quality computer and wanted to share about it with my readers!

Weekly Moment of #Gratitude + #Fitness Giveaway + DUH #Winning!

What I am grateful for:

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Using bad moments as a learning experience! -  I won't go into too many specifics out of respect for someone else's privacy, but life has thrown me the chance to use a recent bad experience I went through and make things easier for someone who is currently going through something similar. We sometimes go through personal challenges and not understand the rhyme or reasoning behind them. I can only tell you that those experiences teach you to be more sympathetic and understanding to others. Sometimes life will challenge you or slow you down to teach you humility, patience and sympathy, but if you take those challenges and use them to help others, your spirit really does grow.

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - New Year New ME! - I think the challenges of 2011 and 2012 have helped to create a new me. I was robbed of a lot of things that really matter spending almost a year and a half in and out of the hospital, but one of the things that drove me the most crazy is lost time. Part of New Year, New ME is giving myself the gift of time. Being a little less Type 'A', and a lot more type 'G' for 'Go' with the flow, instead of just go, go, go!

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - DUH WINNING! - There hasn't been tons of spare time these past few weeks, but even with the business of the holidays I took some time out to visit some of my favorite blogs and doing so really paid off, I won some totally neat contests! Last year attending the Inaugral year of The Niche Mommy Blogging Conference allowed me to finally meet in a person a blogger I was already following Maria from Blogging, Babies and the Bayou, and I visited her blog and saw her post about adding soybean oil to your favorite holiday baking recipes and entered her contest for a $25 Walmart card which I won! I'd say it was a win/win all around because while I love to cook, my baking skills could definitely use some help, so I got great advice and won something I can definitely use! And then came a win that nearly made me fall off my chair, I won an an HP ENVY 23 TouchSmart AiO Computer! As most of you know when it comes to computers I'm pretty much HP loyal, but my last 3 desktops and laptops that were all HP died out on me WAY faster than they should have. My laptop died during my second hospital stay last year and my current desktop (a four year old HP Touchsmart) is literally on it's last legs, so I do have to tell you I cried tears of joy when I read the email from Kimberly @ She Scribes telling me I won her HP Envy giveaway! I got the chance to meet Kimberly for the first time many years ago at a back-to-school event for Staples, then we saw each other again at the World Premiere of The Sorcerers Apprentice on the Red Carpet, and since then I try to visit her blog as often as I can. I like her reviews and I've been using HP computers myself since College and couldn't wait to see what she thought about the Envy and quite frankly never in a million years did I think I'd actually win. I knew I told the Universe what I needed and asked in Faith, and feel super blessed and super grateful for both of these wins. Both emails put a smile on my face and were amazing starts to what I know is going to a very blessed year!

What are YOU most grateful for this week Butterfly?

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What are you grateful for today? I'd love for you to write in and share what you are grateful for this week. The more you say it, the more you speak it, and the more you live in gratitude, the more you will find reasons to be grateful for, and the more reasons that the universe will send you to be grateful for. So join me on this journey of gratitude and inspiration. And you can post here daily (even though my list will be posted weekly).

Remember, attitude really does determine altitude.

It is OK to *Re-Tweet* the link to this post and You can find me on Twitter here (@Tracy_Iglesias) Twitter love: re*tweet by copying and pasting the following into your update field at Twitter:

OK to RT: @Tracy_Iglesias This Week's 'Moment of Gratitude' and Active Giveaways!  - http://tiny.cc/n4Thx

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Giveaways!

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ New Year, New YOU Giveaway!: @yurbuds Inspire for Women Sport Earphones Review + Rafflecopter Giveaway - 1 Winner, Ends 01/11

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Gratitude Journal Reco:

For those of you who are interested in keeping a gratitude journal this year, here is my recommendation and where to purchase it:

Make this Your Best Day ever, Bless and Be Blessed!

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FTC Disclosure: This is NOT a sponsored post, all opinions are 100% my own. Journal Recommendation uses an Amazon Affiliate Link. Questions about our Disclosure? Please visit: http://www.ascendingbutterfly.com/p/disclosure-policy.html