Three more music Spectrum Analysers. All that glitters...

Reminds me of the kind of stuff you'd find on market stalls back in the day. Trying to look the part, but not really fully featured. Shocking that they're charging what they are for them and getting away with it. Well done for sticking with that assembly though.

I like this one, it's very colorful and reactive: https://youtu.be/c6xa0urXvZ0

aw, man. all 3 were a dud. lol. you have quite a bit of patience though. new patron here by the way. i watch every video you make. good stuff.

Apropos of nothing, for some reason "Cuba Baion" got stuck in my head when I was at Aldi this morning. Just sharing it here in the faint hope I can get it out of my head before it drives me completely spare.

Definitely a moan at tech.

Sorry you had to take a temp job in Chinese factory, Mat, but I had a good laugh at that point nonetheless.

I felt your pain Mat! Enjoyed getting through them with you nonetheless. Disappointed to see the loss of the Toni ears on your pop-up Creative Mat though! Thought it was a lovely bit of fun. Are you worried about Toni getting heavy or something?

Perhaps YouTube needs an 'Unpromotion' flag :) It's good to see an honest influencer

Did a little search on Ali Express and they have a unit that resembles the RTA-31 a lot, called the PP-31. It's also over €/£/$ 200. Definitely the Techmoan Effect.

On the one with the individual LED stacks ... exactly which part of it was assembled elsewhere? The wall wart? It seemed like you supplied 98% of the labor. And yeah, an homage to the "printer scene" in Office Space would make an excellent film ... Think about it. Review Office Space if you are unfamiliar. :-)

After having suffered with you through the 2nd device, I'd thorougly enjoy a follow-up video were you smash it to pieces :D :D :D

I enjoyed the video, the addition of Creative Matt Tonie has been great.

I suspect you're correct on needing to use combinations of the large and small shims to keep the plexi in line; I think it'd have to be done one layer at a time to figure out where things are lining up, because their tolerances seem to be all over the place. The pity is they actually look really bright and fairly responsive. It's just a shame the UX is terrible and the manufacturing tolerances are shonky. I kind of like the industrial aesthetic of the plexi one. The third one only pretending to be two channel is probably the most infuriating, but only because I didn't have to assemble the the second one.

After reading your wonderfully self deprecating description I’ll just say that I always enjoy watching your videos… and As per hour orders I won’t bother with any critiques on this one other than Keep up the Creative Matt Tonie- it’s been a really fun addition. Thanks!

I could feel your pain with EQ2! Thanks for warning is about these. Oh Watched ALL your videos (way too many times ) but every now and then I get recommended ones I've never seen? Ive gone through the whole channel and Patreon ... Sooo is there videos on YT on channel that don't list? And how can I find them all???

Ehh, these are always fun videos. I enjoy them, but understand if they aren't worth making

I'd probably buy the first one if it was in Cash Converters for 20 quid, but otherwise no. Thanks for another cautionary tale about AliExpress spectrum analysers, Mat.

I'm such a sucker for music visualizers. These are some of my favorite videos. (And some of the most useful: each one reminds me that these things almost universally stink and aren't worth my time or money). I bought a period-appropriate matching equalizer/spectrum analyzer for my old 90s Pioneer receiver. I guess that's going to suffice.

This is one of the funniest things I've seen in while, it really cheared me up. Taking useless things and turning them into comedy gold is some kind of genius. By the way, the second one has 20 columns and 3 threaded supports, meaning that the one which should be in the centre isn't, it's offset by one, that would drive me mad!

✅ long satisfying peeltease ✅ airline cart music ✅ modified mini-Mat ✅ time lapse construct ✅ shiny things The week is complete. But I must know, how do I subscribe to 'The Daily Idiot' periodical? It sounds like it was written specifically for me.

I keep expecting Creative Mat Tonie to pop up with "It looks like you're typing a letter!"

Two things troubled me after watching this. First, I like the disco tune you played early on and wished I’d heard more, and I don’t like disco. Secondly, I kinda liked the display on the second one and found it kind of charming, even with the spacing off. No way would I spend that much on something like that, but I still kinda like it!

Now just sit back and wait for that sweet affiliate revenue to flow in! Oh, wait...

That second one is a right saga

So that Nil Poi's for both of them Mat to much faffing about for my taste.

Another great video! Supreme demonstration of patience/dedication. I would think that the longer led strips in the second one were from the more expensive version included by mistake? If anyone was really wedded to getting the perspex gaps correct then the LEDS are probably metric spaced on the circuit board and easy to measure, then the perspex will be a metric thickness and you can get some cheap metric washers to get the perfect spacing.

Flippin' eck, that DIY analyzer was horrible! How were the instructions? Were they in Chinese only? Were they text? WERE there instructions? And how does it compare in terms of """enjoyability"" to other build kits you've bought and reviewed (knowing full well they were build kits)?

I understand why these might not always be popular. But since I have a feeling you'll keep buying them, maybe you can highlight any keepers on your monthly updates or in a low-effort Patreon only video. Because eventually you'll show me one that checks all the right boxes for me to buy one. Haven't watched the video yet... Maybe one of these is it!

I really enjoy these kinds of videos, entertaining to see lights synchronized to music in my hi-fi setup. Also because of your videos, I finally have my own rack mount spectrum analyzer from "Two flashy, one useful". It actually looks and performs even better in person! For me, it's quite fun, but I do understand that it's a waste of money than using a proper analog vu meter for recording, which is something I don't do anymore.

I enjoy your videos, and the fact that you're not happy with them makes me happy as well, because I'm like that! Always complain about what I've done and tell myself it's useless etc. Don't worry about it, just keep plodding on! After all, your channel name is Tech MOAN, isn't it? ;-))

What do these spectrum analysers and modern cassette players have in common? Everything 😞

I still enjoyed the video. I noticed that the Bypass button is upside down on the third unit.

I think we're pretty much all Patreon subscribers BECAUSE we want to see all your throw away videos 😂 Also I feel like, by getting rid of the puppets, you've kind of swallowed their sense of humour into your main videos. A shame not to see them anymore- but understandable with the YouTube/law stuff etc. But glad to still see the humour there.

Another Excellent Video, sir. These are indeed fascinating.... in how they fail to live up to any real standards. Had the 3rd one been stereo and had a bit more attention paid to it, it might actually have been worth half of what they charged for it....

These videos are very enjoyable. I'm not sure how big the niche is, but hopefully it can keep you in business and give you the resources to buy the things that we should not buy. The phrase, "better you than me", comes to mind. And yes, I would have relegated that second one to the parts bin or the trash bin very early on in that chapter. Do you ever try to get your money back on any of these items? That might result in a video adventure unto itself. Keep up the good work, Matt...

Fully justified Moaning from Techmoan! Surprisingly expensive devices - and still largely useless. I wonder whether the idea with the spacers on the second one is to use the different thicknesses to adjust the alignment of the perspex bars as you go, rather than to put the same spacers between every level. Not that it would be worth fishing it out of the skip to try. Thanks for an entertaining video, Mat and for spending all that money so we don't have to.

The Daily Idiot is still a prestigious publication. A little bummed I didn’t get “Sexiest Idiot Alive” this year, but it’s really hard to beat my pal, Paul Rudd! I did get my Techmoan T-shirt in the mail this week, so hoping it ups my fashion game!

Mic inputs look better - I bought a different model which was a bigger version of the blue 'bar' meter you reviewed before - anyway, most music is so compressed with very little dynamic range that it actually looks quite boring when cabled up as there isn;'t much movement on the meter, whereas on the mic setting you get a better display effect. (It was this model https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/275161535612 )

Matt, you have the patience of a Saint 👍🏻

These may be rubbish but you give each of them enough time to explain why your views are what they are. This is what makes your reviews worth watching. As for these products though, as they say on Dragon's Den, "I'm out"! :-)

I really couldn’t resist 😁 https://youtu.be/8AW308T-4Go

Don’t be so hard on yourself Mat, I find the spectrum videos interesting, to see how accurate they are, or just a light show. We all know that you’re having a rough time outside of YouTube, so I think we’ll all cut you some slack!

You may think this video serves no purpose, but it has definitely now stopped me from buying a few things I've seen on AliExpress that I thought "that looks kind of neat actually" and brought me back to earth regarding that it is definitely going to be crap. Definitely earned me back at least a couple months of my Patreon subscription right there

The middle one would look nice somewhere in Westbourne Groove in London, in one of the many restaurants over there.... say no more... :)

You, sire, have the patience of a saint! The moment you started unwrapping that second device I was feeling anxious and frustrated by proxy and when things didn't line up I fear I would have thrown it in the bin. Thank you for taking the time to build it so we don't have to. Oh, I too am a fan of mini-Matt with the little fact-checks and so on - a nice little touch.

A very useful public service to steer people away from buying products of dubious quality. Tonie Mat/Grandad Mat has now had his ears shorn off. I guess that eliminates giving him another potential nickname: "Cat Mat." Anyway, I'm still tickled when he pops up to give us some nuggets of wisdom.

Best Video Ever you say? Well, I'll go watch it anyway! Looking forward to some new reel-to-reel machines, they're always fascinating.

Some say we are all on the spectrum. 🤔

"Gone with the wind" it ain't, but if you have nothing else to watch in a light house on the north cap.... 😜 Anyway, sad to hear your RT-909 has died, now I envy you a little less. On the other hand, I'm looking forward to see what treasures you have left. Akai 636? Revox A700? Surprise me!

If you complete the second one, you get a job offer from Foxpro to go and build iPhones.

My experience w the repair shops has always been: think of the highest price you'd expect the repair to cost. Then double it.

Oh, such an oversell ;)