Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

CONTRARY TO OTHER REVIEWS THE MICROPHONE RECEIVER IS ADJUSTABLE - DESCRIBED BELOW This review is on the TaoTronics TT-SL029 IR Music Kit *Credits to song used in video: Ray Lynch - Celestial Soda Pop PROS: + I'm listing this at the top as other reviews say the microphone is not adjustable and THIS IS NOT CORRECT . The microphone receiver IS adjustable. This is controlled by switching to any music mode and using the brightness up/down button. Up increases the microphone sensitivity and down decreases. This is extremely useful to ensure your lights react correctly to the music/sound. I can see why this is easy to miss because it does not say that in the instruction booklet (or on Amazon) and it does not give you any indication you're adjusting it. However, if you turn on some music and turn the brightness down or up while in music mode you'll immediately see the lights become much more or less sensitive to the beat. + All items were in working order with no issues + Plug and play + Comes with controller that allow you to: >Turn lights on/off >Control brightness up/down >Chose 8 colors (red, green, blue, white, orange, yellow, cyan, and purple) >Jump 3 (auto changes between 3 colors (red, green, and blue)) Jump 7 (auto changes between 7 colors), Fade 3 and Fade 7 which does the same thing only instead of instant color change it smoothly transitions to the next color >4x different music modes which operates similar to the above controls only it uses the microphone that changes the color upon a noise. >>NOTE: The brightness control operates differently depending upon the mode you're in. If you are in a solid color mode it controls the brightness. If you're in jump or fade mode it controls how quickly the lights transition to the next color. If you're in music mode it controls microphone sensitivity. The only negative side to this is that means you are unable to change the brightness of the lights when in these modes (as far as I know, I haven't found a way yet). They appear to default to max brightness. +VERY bright. +Build quality of the light themselves seem very durable and well made. +Runs very cool. The lights are extremely cool to the touch even when on for hours. CONS: -The controller feels and appears cheaply made. However, I've had no issues thus far. -The 3M tape on the back is weak. You may want to buy better quality 3M tape or Velcro. -Cutting and making connections can be a headache. -Although the microphone receiver is adjustable it's just that - a microphone receiver. It does not plug directly to a 3.5mm jack for sound, so when in music mode, the lights will react to all sounds. Thus, depending upon the volume of your song, you'll have to adjust the microphone as well to ensure it's not too sensitive or too weak for your music volume. -The white is a super bright light white. This is because the white is produced by red, green, and blue; so, the white is not a "warm" white. INSTRUCTIONS FOR CUTTING: -If you do not intend to cut these, this package is all you'll need. Otherwise, if you intend to cut the LED strips to make corners, the two options you have are below. ( A ) - SOLDERING - ITEMS NEED: -Soldering kit -Knife/Nail clipper (to cut the weather stripping off the top to get to the copper connections) -electrical tape (or heat shrink) -Wire Strippers -RGB Wire HOW TO: -Ensure the LEDS are unplugged when working on them so they are not damaged. 1. After you've measured how much you need, cut on the black line where the copper is. 2. Then cut the plastic weather coating off the top to expose the copper connections. 3. Use your wire strippers to strip the tips off the RGB wire. 4. Solder each individual wire (black, red, green, and blue)to the copper connections of the LED strip. The ends of the strip state which copper connection is what by "12V, R, G, B" 5. Use electrical tape or heat shrink to wrap the connection to ensure the wires will remain stable and not swivel and touch the adjacent connection. >If you chose to do this you must ensure not a single piece of wire is touching the other connection. I found this out the hard way :). I noticed if I accidentally let the red, green, or blue touch it would alter the color of what it was supposed to be and the lights would not function correctly. I would find the touching pieces move the wire and it would go back to normal. However, if you let the black wire (12v power) touch any other wires it will blow that color light and possibly damage the IR remote sensor. I unfortunately did just that. I'll admit, I'm no expert at soldering, however the wires and copper connections are very small leaving little to no room for error. If this happens to you, I just bought the same model IR music receiver (came with another controller) for $8 and additional lights and it works just fine now. >I noticed some reviews had complaints of the controller not changing to the right colors or not functioning properly. This is most likely because they either did what I did above or plugged the connection from the LED light strip to the IR controller backwards sending 12v down the color lines. EITHER CASE MAY FRY YOUR IR BOX OR COLORS. When this happens the lights themselves may work, however the colors will not correspond to the color pressed on the controller. This is because all colors are made using red, green, and blue - like old projection TVs. If you blow any one of the colors, the correct colors cannot be produced because a color is missing from the spectrum needed to produce that color. ( B ) - PLUG AND PLAY CONNECTION - ITEMS NEEDED: -Any RGB LED connectors ( I used Zitrades on my second go around after I damaged my IR receiver and a few light strips. They worked exceptionally well and fit this strip perfect and snug) -Knife >Most likely still needed: -Additional RGB wire -Electrical tape -Wire Cutters Follow the 1 and 2 of instructions in the ( A ) Soldering. The prebuilt LED connecters are just RGB wire with a prebuilt RGB connecter that just slides onto the end of the exposed copper connection on the LED strip and clasp close to secure the connection. They are much easier to make connections. I did this the second go around and it worked out great! They also essentially eliminate the possibility of 1 wire/connection touching the other. The only con I'll say about them, they are not good for tight corners being they very stiff. Also, their distance is limited. The prebuilt connectors are approximately 5-7 inches. Meaning if you need more length, you'll have to cut them in half, strip the wires, and connect them to your additional RGB wire to lengthen. This is much easier and limits the possibility of damage to the LED lights and IR receiver being you'll still have a secure connection. There's also 90 degree connectors available online as well, however I haven't use those. OVERALL: I'm very satisfied with these LED lights and you can't beat the price. Like I said above, cutting and setting up can be a headache, but once you're done it looks amazing! ******LONGEVITY/DURABILITY UPDATE - 03/28/2016****** -I purchased this and set up this LED music IR strip in December of 2014 and it's still running strong. No issues at all. I have these LED lights attached to the back of my TV/Computer monitor and all functions of the controller still work and I've kept the lights on (on accident) for 12 hours + sometimes. I'm updating my review because as you don't see many update reviews towards product durability and to me that's the most important when it comes to a product. If at any time I come into an issue or failure, I will update my review to reflect such; but so far all is good!