Klipsch has applied its long-established expertise to a thoroughly modern streaming system concept – and while The Sevens II might be a dog’s dinner of a model name, it’s attached to a product that’s very serious indeed.

Price & Availability

The Sevens II is on sale now. In the United Kingdom a pair is priced at £1799. The going rate in the United States is $1999. Australian customers, meanwhile, will have to part with something like AU$3999.

Features & What's New?

Take the magnetically attached grille off one of the Klipsch and you’re confronted by a quite assertive driver array.

At the top, recessed into Tractrix horn geometry that’s an integral part of the baffle, there’s a 25mm titanium tweeter of the company’s proprietary ‘linear travel suspension’ vented design.

Beneath this is a 165mm mid/bass driver – it’s one of Klipsch’s ‘Jet cerametallic’ designs, which means it’s made of aluminium that’s been anodised and electrochemically treated in order for a layer of ceramic to form on its outer surfaces.

This line-up is augmented by an unsurprisingly large bass reflex port that vents at the rear of the cabinet through a rather more strongly defined horn than the tweeter uses.

Between this port and the two-driver array, Klipsch is claiming a frequency response of 39Hz - 25kHz, which comes about thanks to a total of 200 watts of Class D power. Each mid/bass driver receives 80 watts of amplification, each tweeter gets 20 watts to drive it.

Naturally, there’s a primary speaker and a secondary speaker here. The secondary speaker features a connection for mains power, that bass reflex port, and an RJ45 socket for connection to the primary on its rear panel – the primary has a fair bit more going on back there.

Physical sockets consist of line-level and moving magnet phono inputs on stereo RCA sockets, digital coaxial and digital optical inputs, USB-A and USB-C slots, and two HDMI sockets.

Both the HDMI input and the eARC output are a 2.1 standard, and this means that not only are gaming features like ALLM and VRR catered for, but The Sevens II can also deal with Dolby Atmos audio and pass through HDR10+ and Dolby Vision HDR content too. The system offers virtualised height channels when spatial audio content is detected.

There’s a pre-out for a subwoofer, a 3.5mm input for use with the supplied calibration mic, an RJ45 for connection to the secondary speaker, and an Ethernet socket.

Those who prefer as much wirelessness as possible will be pleased to hear that dual-band Wi-Fi is on board, giving access to Apple AirPlay 2, Google Cast and the ‘Connect’ versions of Qobuz, Spotify and Tidal.

The speakers can be also connected wirelessly, although this cuts the resolution from the system’s native 24bit/96kHz to 24bit/48kHz. There’s also Bluetooth 5.4 available, with SBC and AAC codec compatibility.

The streaming platform, incidentally, is supplied by Onkyo. Which goes quite a long way towards explaining the Klipsch’s facility with the more cutting-edge HDMI technologies and specifications.

Performance

Whether or not you’re intrigued by what I’m about to say about the way the Klipsch The Sevens II performance depends a fair bit on the sort of attitude you like in the way your music is delivered.

If you enjoy a vibrant, upfront, spirited account of music, The Sevens II have plenty that will appeal to you. That they sound big and bold and punchy is only to be expected – these are Klipsch speakers, after all, and not especially small ones.

The Sevens II summon considerable low-frequency presence and hit with the sort of merciless intent of a heavyweight boxer – but they have plenty of detail to go along with it, so there is appreciable variation in the way bass sounds are presented.

They are controlled with a fair amount of care too, so the presentation is confident and naturalistic where rhythms are concerned. It’s a similar story through the rest of the frequency range, despite the fact that the frequency response is tilted more than a little towards the bottom end.

The midrange is communicative and direct, and there’s a fair amount of attack at the top end too – and throughout, the same attention to detail and the same facility with tonal variation is apparent. The fundamental tonality is on the mildly toasty side, mind you.

The soundstage on offer here is broad and well-defined, the layout allowing even those recordings with numerous participants the sort of space required for each element to fully express itself.

There’s a fair amount of dynamic headroom available – the Klipsch system is capable of switching between ‘quite quiet’ and ‘absolutely thunderous’ without any appreciable stress or even effort.

Between this facility and the system’s ability to put transient detail into proper context, it’s almost possible to overlook the fact that the Klipsch is wont to gloss over the finest, most subtle details in a recording in favour of emphasising drive and attack.

In fact, this is basically The Sevens II attitude in its entirety. Its front-foot, energetic attitude and character is very welcome indeed when playing music that benefits from it – but switch to something quiet and/or understated and the system’s impatience is almost audible.

If it’s nuance and delicacy you’re after, if your favourite music can be described this way, then this Klipsch system is probably not the most sympathetic way to hear it.

Neither is its phono stage the most enjoyable of its inputs. Everything I’ve written up to this point can be applied to the sound through each of the other inputs, both wired and wireless – but the moving magnet phono input lacks some of the positivity of the other methods of playback, and sounds rather two-dimensional by comparison.

The HDMI loop proves very useful indeed for those who want to put a rocket up the sound of their TV but don’t have the inclination to use a dedicated soundbar (though the physical size of The Sevens II make it slightly tricky to accommodate as part of a home theatre set-up).

It’s true to say the ‘virtualised’ height channels served up when the system is in receipt of Dolby Atmos content are mild in their effect, but the overall attitude of the Klipsch suits a lot of movie soundtracks, and its ability to project the midrange with some force helps with dialogue intelligibility no end.

Design & Usability

Control of the system is available via some physical controls on the top of the primary speaker – or, at least, volume control is. There’s also a ‘multifunction’ button here, the purpose of which can be defined in the ‘Klipsch Connect’ app.

The app is a very thorough interface. In addition to volume and playback control, it features five EQ presets plus the ability to define a custom preset using a five-band equaliser, ‘movie’, ‘music’ and ‘direct’ audio adjustment settings, the chance to define the primary speaker as the left or the right channel, adjust latency for lip-sync and plenty more besides.

There’s also a small remote control handset that takes care of some of the headline functions. It has a touch of backlighting, which is a rarity and for which Klipsch is to be commended.

As far as design is concerned, it’s fundamentally Klipsch business as usual here – whether or not that’s a good thing is entirely a matter of taste.

The Sevens II are fairly big (381 x 206 x 318mm, HxWxD), fairly boxy speakers that, with the exception of the front baffle, consist of straight lines and pointy corners.

The main body of the cabinet is made of real wood veneer over MDF – the speakers in the pictures are in the most recent, ‘red oak’, finish – but if you prefer, there’s ‘ebony’ or ‘walnut’. No matter the colour you select, it arrives as part of a very high standard of construction and finish.

The rather more curvaceous front baffle is made of bulk moulding compound – Klipsch has specified this material because of its density and rigidity, and for the strong resonance rejection characteristics it offers.

Its curved radius helps extend the width of the soundstage and also improves the off-axis performance. Of course, if you don’t fancy the sight of the drivers and their surround, Klipsch supplies magnetically attached grilles that cover the entirety of the baffle.

Verdict

There’s a lot to be said for the excitement and energy the Klipsch The Sevens II bring to bear when reproducing music.

When you factor in the system’s facility with scale, dynamism and broad-strokes insight, it follows that, given the right stuff to work with, this can be a thrillingly involving listening experience.

But its relative lack of subtlety – or, more accurately, its relative lack of interest in the notion of subtlety – means these Klipsch speakers won't be the complete article for all musical tastes.

Also Consider

It’s rather longer in the tooth than The Sevens II, but nevertheless the KEF LS50 Wireless II system remains the product to beat – and thanks to its longevity it’s now down to more or less the same money as the Klipsch. Visually distinct, sonically exceptional and extremely easy to live with, it’s been the market leader for this long for good reason – but it doesn’t have the breadth of connectivity the Klipsch offers.

OnePlus has announced the OnePlus Buds Clip, as it joins the expanding range of brands offering an open-ear design.

The Buds Clip – much like the Motorola Buds Loop and Bose Ultra Open Earbuds – clip to your ear, leaving the ear canal free.

That means you can have greater awareness of what's happening around you and avoid that plugged-in and cut off feeling.

The new open-ear buds have been developed with Dynaudio and have a clever trick up their sleeve – they can be worn on either ear.

Because these buds clip to your ear, it doesn't matter which you wear on the left and which you wear on the right – they will automatically detect how they are being worn and adjust the sound to account for that.

OnePlus isn't the first to do this: the Huawei FreeClip 2 also support this function, as do the Moto Buds Loop, but it's not something that Bose offers. It is, however, something that in-ear buds and regular headphones don't offer.

There are dual drivers in the Buds Clip, with an 11mm woofer and 9mm tweeter packed into each unit, with dual DACs. There's support for LDAC for Hi-Res music, while OnePlus also promises a Private Soundstage, where reverse waves are emitted to ensure that others aren't disturbed by what you're listening to.

Each bud weighs 5.2g, with 40 hours of battery life promised – that's 9.5 hours from each charge with the case topping it up. If you choose to use LDAC over AAC, the usage drops to a total of 36 hours.

The OnePlus Buds Clip are IP55 protected, while also offer an AI Translate function and touch controls.

The boom in open-ear buds is driven by the desire to remain connected without being cut off. In recent years, the quality of the sound that you get from this type of earbuds has increased, with people choosing not to use traditional buds with transparency mode, but use an open design instead.

Open ear headphones have been popular for those exercising for some time, so you can enjoy music without losing awareness. But the rise in AI interactions gives this type of design another use case – you can wear a light and unobtrusive clip, but still interact with AI without having to block your ears.

With OnePlus withdrawing from the UK or US, the availability of these might be limited and as such price is currently unknown.

Making a great gaming headset is as complicated as you want to make it for yourself, and while the very best on the market sometimes do have oodles of features, there's a lot to be said for keeping it simple.

That's not an approach that I really associate with Razer, which has long made a habit of adding feature after feature to its accessories. Still, with the Barracuda V2 Pro it's taken a rare step back and just made a gaming headset without frills.

Don't get me wrong – it has the features I want given the price bracket that it's landing in, but this isn't full of RGB lighting, haptics or anything else. It gets the job done – and done well. I've been using it for a couple of weeks to see how it stacks up.

Price and Availability

The Razer Barracuda V2 Pro was unveiled in October 2026, and you can order it now from a range of stores, and directly from Razer itself if you like. It's priced £199 in the UK and is also $199 in the USA.

A few years ago, I'd have said that made it a really premium option, but the simple fact is that the headset market has shifted into a more expensive bracket now. In a world where headsets with a 50%+ higher asking price are available from most big brands, this Razer sits at the top end of the mid-range sector.

Design and Features

The Barracuda V2 Pro looks a heck of a lot like the previous-generation Barracuda Pro, and that's no bad thing. Some of Razer's most premium headsets can be a little, well, massive, but this one skips any issues on that front by remaining pretty slimline and restrained.

Right now you can only get it in black, although I wouldn't bet against a white version arriving at some point. It's a headset that's marketed almost entirely without any images of its microphone attached, but don't worry – that removable mic is very much included in the box.

Once it's attached, this is a headset that arguably looks exactly like the image an AI generator might spit out if you asked for one, only a little more restrained and with a blessed absence of RGB frippery. I actually mean that as a compliment, too: it's stealthy and simple.

The Barracuda V2 Pro is pretty light, at 285g, and that means it's got a fairly plastic build to cut down on weight. This has upsides and downsides, unsurprisingly.

It feels nice to wear for decently long periods, with a good amount of cushioning on the ears and headband, but does have a hint of flimsiness to it thanks to the materials chosen. Its armbands and their adjustment ratcheting are sturdy enough, though.

On the right earcup you'll find a pairing button for the Bluetooth connectivity on board, as well as a mode-switching toggle to turn active noise-cancellation (ANC) on and off.

The left earcup is busier, featuring a textured power button, volume keys, and a mute switch, as well as the USB-C charging port and mic connector.

Without that microphone you can use beamforming mics instead, but you'll be inflicting needless annoyance on your teammates, since the upgrade to the proper microphone is massive.

That ANC is worth mentioning, meanwhile. While I think at this price you really do need to be including the feature now, not every comparable headset does so, and it's great to therefore see Razer squeezing it into a slim package.

With ANC switched on, you'll get 50 hours of battery life, while turning it off ups this to 70 hours, both of which are very impressive figures.

Finally, for standard console connectivity you'll want to use the included USB-C dongle (there's also a USB-A adapter), which actually stores away in the earcup of the headset, behind a removable panel. This confused me on the first unboxing, but I suppose is a neat enough choice if you're ever going to travel with the headset.

Sound and Performance

A headset looking nice and stealthy isn't worth a huge amount if it can't back that up with good sound, though, and the Barracuda V2 Pro does a very solid job on that front, too.

Razer has popped 40mm drivers into the earcups, and they're pretty darned impressive. I played about half a dozen hours of Dragon's Dogma 2: Dark Arisen on them, along with hours of Battlefield 6 and some Ace Combat 8, and never had a complaint about their rendering of in-game audio.

Spatialisation is really quite strong in the right game (and thanks to a recent update, BF6 is such a title), while the overall volume and detail are both in the right spot. In fact, I often found I had to turn down the headset a little when it got too loud – and that's one small duff note, since it didn't seem to save my choice of sound level when turned back on (on my PS5 Pro anyway).

It's worth saying, though, that I'd put this sound quality pretty confidently at the right level for the price being charged, rather than it being a hack or shortcut to a better deal. That is, you're getting sound that's impressively worthy of this asking price, but you get a clear improvement when you move to something pricier yet, such as the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Omni.

The inclusion of ANC is welcome, as it really does help with immersion. I think this sort of ANC can be its best implementation, making gaming more absorbing than ever, and in this case it was pretty capable when fighting against a robot vacuum or the washing machine in the background.

The removable microphone is, as I've mentioned, miles better than the included beamforming mics, but it's still not the most persuasive piece of the puzzle here. Having used the Logitech G Pro X3 Lightspeed recently, it's clear that Razer's microphone is merely fine, rather than being exemplary like Logi's version.

This Razer's comfort levels are very solid, though, and that does mean that this feels like a slick enough headset when you're wearing it. I also like that Razer permits you to tweak settings via its app on iOS or Android, making it easier for those with just a console to get their EQ dialled in precisely.

Verdict

It's quite rare, in my experience, to see Razer do so little to mark a headset of this type out from the crowd, but I think its approach to the Barracuda V2 Pro is the right one.

It can jam crazy features into other models, but having a headset like this – which keeps things really simple – is an attractive counterpoint.

It's handy that it does the basics well, too, with really solid sound and comfort, and build quality that impresses despite the relatively modest material choices.

The microphone is nothing to write home about, though, and its price does feel a little high, but that doesn't stop this from being a very solid headset option for those who like its design.

Also Consider

I've mentioned the two headsets I'd offer as alternatives already in this review. The first is the Logitech G Pro X3 Lightspeed, which doesn't have ANC but broadly outdoes the Barracuda V2 Pro in a few other ways. I prefer its sound, marginally, but its microphone is a big upgrade. Still, it's a little more expensive.

If you do have a bigger budget, my top pick for the best gaming headset (bar none) is the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Omni, which works with every device you could care to name, and sounds phenomenal doing so. It's also incredibly comfortable, has great ANC, and a swappable battery system that keeps you gaming forever. All that for a fairly chunky price, mind you.

The fact that it's been over six years since the launch of the five-star WH-1000XM4 from Sony is a little mind-bending, not least because they remain, anecdotally, the headphones I see on actual heads in public more than any other model in that time.

Their popularity has been huge, clearly, and Sony has been open about how successful they've proven – which explains why it's brought them back in a new guise.

The headphones' design never really went out of style, and while the 1000XM lineup has moved on to a new look, Sony is rolling the clock back with the new WH-1000XM4C, a revised version of the XM4.

The C doesn't change as much as you might think, though. It has some familiar, excellent features – but now at a mid-range asking price. Here's how it's held up to sustained use in my testing.

Price and Availability

The WH-1000XM4C arrived on the market in September 2026, fresh from Sony revealing them, and came in at a price of £219.99 in the UK, $299.99 in the US, and €249.99 in Europe.

That sees them land in the upper reaches of the mid-range market, at a time when headphone makers are pushing into more and more expensive territory for their flagship models (Sony included with its Collexion top-tier model).

For some added context, though, you can currently grab the next generation on from the original XM4, the Sony WH-1000XM5, for £199 on Amazon UK – so Sony's pricing lineup is likely to be a little confusing for the foreseeable future, with various generations of headphones getting different discounts during sales.

Design and Features

This isn't the first time I've tested headphones that really don't look at all different from the generation they're replacing, but it might just be the single most invisible set of changes I've ever encountered.

The WH-1000XM4C looks like the WH-1000XM4 in literally every way, from its dimensions, to how it folds, and where its various ports and buttons are located.

It's made from the sort of soft-touch recycled plastic that Sony has been using for years, and you can grab it in a few colours – black, beige and purplish-pink. Whichever you choose, you'll get a lightweight set of headphones (at 253g) made almost entirely from that plastic.

This gives them the feeling of robustness that can come from sticking to simpler materials, and they really don't feel in danger of breaking as you fold them, stick them in a bag, or treat them however you like.

That said, I shouldn't bury the lede here – they're actually not as durable as I'd hope for, still lacking any form of IP resistance rating, meaning there's no official weatherproofing.

The headband is old-school style, meaning it only has cushioning in the centre, but the earcups themselves are pretty plush and feature a few controls – in addition to the brand's beloved touch controls, which I'll talk about further down.

On the right earcup, all you'll find is a USB-C charging port, but the left has a 3.5mm jack, a power button and a toggle for turning active noise-cancelling (ANC) on and off.

There's a lot to like about this design, though, and it bears repeating that it's already stood the test of time – and over 10 million sales – for a reason. It's super comfortable, and has enough flex to feel durable, even before you consider the hardshell case.

This case comes in the box and it's impressively small thanks to the folding mechanism. It makes it all the more mad in retrospect that the XM5 didn't fold down in the same way, honestly.

In terms of features, though, what's new? Well, possibly the biggest change comes in the battery department, and it might partly explain why this headphone is being launched at all.

To comply with EU regulations, this new model has a user-replaceable battery that's a little less capacious than the old one, so that sees battery life shrink a little to 27-ish hours with ANC turned on, down from 30 hours before. That makes the battery life "solid" rather than terrific, although you can boost it to 34 hours with ANC off.

Sony isn't pointing at much else in terms of changes, though, which means crucially that you're getting basically the exact same headphones as you would have a few years ago.

That means the ANC is on the same level, and the hardware behind the sound is the same, although the tuning has been tweaked a little.

In terms of codec support, you do get LDAC, but not aptX, while Sony's in-house DSEE upscaler is also here if you want it. The Sound Connect app gives you access to an expanded 10-band EQ system, too.

All of this makes the WH-1000XM4C genuinely quite fascinating – are they a new set of headphones, or are they not? Either way, the feature set is simultaneously retro and entirely appropriate for their new price tag, so there aren't any objections on this front.

Sound and Performance

Slipping on the XM4Cs was a bit like stepping back a few years, which is no surprise, but it's worth remembering that back in 2020 these were rightly considered flagship-level headphones. This means that while their sound has been surpassed more recently, they're still extremely impressive and musical headphones.

As always, I listened to a variety of material in my testing, and found the XM4Cs handled all of it really capably. Justice's new track for GTA VI, Flower in a Hurricane, had all the 80s verve and depth I was looking for, for instance.

Django Django's recent single Cameos was, by contrast, delicate and acoustic, with the right amount of tonality and character.

Michael Kiwanuka's Small Changes underlined that latter point, with a lovely sense of presence and detail – although it's fair to point out that swapping back to the XM6s that I reviewed last year did provide a small boost on both fronts.

I also find the XM6s more comfortable, which perhaps isn't a surprise given their extra development time comparatively. The XM4Cs are still great to wear, but their design does centre some of their weight in the middle of the headband, where the cushioning is, making for more of a pressure point in that spot.

They're still phenomenally usable, though, especially with how well they fold up – a feature that makes the hardshell case feel optional for plenty of outings, rather than an essential to keep them safe in a bag.

Much like the overall sound quality, I have no complaints about the noise cancellation in the XM4Cs, but I can also acknowledge that it's been improved on since their first release.

These headphones do a very solid job of blocking out background noise, especially the drones of engines or public transport, but swapping to the XM6 – which have three times the microphones – again makes the upgrade pretty clear.

The story here is really that a flagship does indeed start to feel like a fair mid-range option after a few years, and that's normally just a matter of discounts and price cuts, rather than a re-release like this one from Sony.

This is basically just a rubber-stamping of what we already knew about how the XM4 had aged, and in that light it's a pretty honest approach.

Verdict

So, what does the WH-1000XM4 look like in 2026? Well, like the WH-1000XM4C – a set of headphones that underline how changing very little can sometimes be the right play. I think that despite their superb success over the years, though, this new reissue does indicate that some things have changed since they came out.

Their design remains great, but refinements have made it more comfortable since, and it's a very similar situation where sound quality is concerned. For this price, they're a great buy, and I'm arguably most excited to see what sort of price they're listed for in six months' time and more – these could be a Black Friday classic for a few years.

Still, in the here and now I think the WH-1000XM4C are a great option for those looking to stick with Sony's most tried-and-tested choices, even if some of its more recent launches have actually raised the bar past what these headphones can now muster.

Also Consider

Well, there's one very obvious comparison to make here, and it's one that I've made a few times in my review – the current reigning Sony flagship is the WH-1000XM6, and in a straight shootout it wins on most points. Its sound is beefier, its ANC is more comprehensive, and it's more comfortable, while also being a whole heap more expensive. That makes it the best choice if your budget is actually a bit higher than the WH-1000XM4Cs' level.

If you're sticking in the mid-range, though, I'd point you towards Nothing's Headphone (1), which I think does things very differently – in a good way. Its noise-cancelling is pretty comparable to Sony's (despite being years newer), but its design and controls are polar opposites. It's a palate cleanser of a headphone, and won't be for everyone, but when the sales hit, it's a genuine bargain.

It hasn’t taken WiiM all that long to establish itself as a digital audio force to be reckoned with, and it doesn’t take much deductive power to work out why: compact, well-made, affordable products that perform to a standard in excess of the asking price, and a properly sorted ecosystem.

No wonder the company is feeling bold enough to expand into the spatial audio soundbar market. The Bar (and who wouldn’t have wanted to be at the marketing meeting when that model name was decided on?) is a first effort – but it wouldn’t be the only time WiiM has hit the bullseye at its first attempt...

Price & Availability

The WiiM Bar spatial audio soundbar is on sale now, and in the United Kingdom it’s priced at £449, while in the United States it sells for $479, and Australia gets it for AU$769.

Sonos may have moved its Beam soundbar upmarket with the launch of the Ultra, but that still leaves the WiiM to face down some very credible alternatives...

Features & What's New?

The WiiM Bar is configured to deliver an impression of 3.0.2-channel spatial audio. Obviously it uses an element of digital signal processing to achieve this, but it also deploys physical drivers pointing in a number of directions to create this sonic character.

So there are three 110 x 52mm ‘racetrack’ mid/bass drivers and three 52mm tweeters deployed across the front surface of the Bar – these take care of the left, right and centre channel information within the soundtrack.

On the top of the soundbar, out near the ends and positioned behind a little perforated section, are a couple of 52mm full-range drivers that are angled up and out in an effort to bring the required ‘height’ to the soundstage.

In an effort to give the sound a little more heft there are four 110 x 50mm passive radiators serving up some low-frequency presence – two face forwards, two face backwards.

These eight powered drivers get an all-in total of 135 watts of Class D amplification to deal with.

Physical inputs are all arranged in a little recess at the back of the chassis. There’s an Ethernet socket and an HDMI eARC input, naturally, and WiiM also provides a USB slot, a 3.5mm analogue input and a digital optical socket.

Wireless connectivity is handled by Bluetooth 5.4 (with SBC, AAC and LC3 codec compatibility) and by triple-band Wi-Fi 6 – which means the ‘Connect’ version of every popular streaming service, Google Cast, internet radio and most other online goodies are easily accessible. Odd, however, is the lack of AirPlay compatibility.

Performance

There’s really only one place to start with a spatial audio soundbar, and that’s with some spatial audio content. And with some Dolby Atmos-soundtracked stuff streaming from one of the world’s more popular services, the WiiM Bar wastes very little time in letting you know what it’s all about.

Fundamentally, that turns out to be punchily robust, impressively dynamic and remarkably positive sound. It’s far from unsubtle, and it's more than happy to ramp up the tension when the going gets especially quiet and creepy – but you somehow know it’s itching to get to the jump-scare, so that it can showcase its remarkable dynamic headroom and low-frequency control.

At the bottom of the frequency range the WiiM is solid, square-edged and weighty. Bass sounds don’t enjoy the same level of detail and variation as information higher up the frequency range, but if it’s a sturdy foundation you want – as well as the outright wallop some many movie soundtracks rely on – you’ve come to the right place.

The midrange projects well, is a sight more detailed than the bottom end, and exists in a nice little pocket of space that the Bar’s soundstaging abilities always earmark for dialogue.

At the top of the frequency range the WiiM attacks with crisp determination – but its treble presence is substantial rather than flimsy, so even during the biggest dynamic upheavals the top end never edges towards ‘hard’ or ‘glassy’.

Oh, and given that 135 watts of power in total is not, on paper, the most encouraging number, WiiM is to be congratulated for making the Bar so vaultingly and effortlessly dynamic. It never sounds stressed when dealing with big chances in volume or intensity and never alters its fundamental sonic character.

The tonal balance is pretty neutral, despite the fact that the lack of variation at the bottom end can make things sound a little warmer than they otherwise would. The control factor of the low-end is good, though, so rhythms in soundtracks (or when streaming music in straight stereo) are realistically expressed.

In fact, the Bar is one of the best pound-for-pound soundbars out there when it comes to music playback. Some of this is to do with the fact that you can enjoy true stereo, produced by just two of the tweeters and two of the mid/bass drivers, if that’s your preference when listening to stereo recordings.

Most soundbars insist on using all their drivers no matter if they’re playing two-channel content, and it’s seldom a good policy. Mostly, though, the quality of music playback is to do with the fact that the WiiM’s balance and direct nature makes for a spirited and engaging account of your music.

When listening to music mixed in Dolby Atmos, though, or to a movie with a spatial audio soundtrack, the WiiM Bar can’t quite hit the literal and metaphorical heights. For all of the space and careful organisation of its soundstaging, it never really manages to position sound up much beyond the top of your TV – even if you really got to town in the ‘height audio’ section of the control app, where a boost of up to 12dB is available for the height channels.

It’s the one rather tentative aspect of the bar’s performance, and it’s unfortunate that it should concern the aspect of performance that many listeners are going to be most preoccupied with.

Design & Usability

WiiM has always kept things neat and tidy where the design of its products is concerned, and at a usefully compact 74 x 1060 x 105mm (HxWxD) the Bar doesn’t look overgrown even when accompanying a TV as titchy as my 48in Philips OLED.

The standard of build and finish is well up to par, the gentle curves at either end of the chassis keep the look nice and friendly, and the main choice of finishes (matte white or the matte black of my review sample) make a bit more sense than the super-refelective gloss black that’s available as a limited edition in some territories.

When it comes to using the Bar, WiiM has supplied more options than are probably necessary. There are four little touch-surfaces on the top of the chassis, for example, which take care of ‘play/pause’, ‘volume up/down’ and input selection.

However, as is key to the design, there's also a 53mm circular display, bursting gently through the top of the soundbar. Here you can also action the same controls as above, and plenty more besides, by using the touch-screen – it puts you in charge of everything from EQ settings to accessing favourites, as well as offering visual confirmation of your actions.

There’s also a little aluminium remote control handset that is a cut above the norm in both look and feel. It covers all the fundamentals of operation, and has a 'mic’ button that can put you in touch with your Amazon Alexa voice assistant if you so desire.

Best of all, though, is the ‘WiiM Home’ control app that’s free for iOS and Android. The stable, logical and extensive nature of its app has been one of the (many) reasons WiiM has achieved this level of credibility in double-quick time – and here it’s just as useful and just as thorough as it is in every other implementation.

The app lets you integrate your favourite music streaming service(s), internet radio providers and what-have-you. It lets you build, quickly and easily, multi-channel and/or multi-room systems using other WiiM products – if you want your Bar to be accompanied by rear speakers and a subwoofer, it’s the work of a moment once you’ve powered them up.

The app's got a whole lot of sonic adjustability options in the form of both EQ and PEQ interfaces, height channel adjustment and so on, too. There’s even a very effective room correction EQ that uses your smartphone’s mic to help the soundbar calibrate itself to your specific environment.

So if it’s wide-ranging and granular control of the performance of your soundbar/speaker you’re after, and you want it from an interface that’s intuitive and rock-solid, don’t look any further.

Big, bold sound from a usefully compact and relatively affordable spatial audio soundbar? Numerous options when it comes to incorporating the soundbar in question into a multi-room or multi-channel system? A real facility with music and one of the very best control interfaces in the business?

All the above applies to the WiiM Bar, and it serves to carry it most of the way – if it could be as assertive where the ‘spatial’ aspect of 'spatial audio' was concerned, it could become a default choice. As it stands, though, it needs to be judged as a fine first effort and the sort of thing that committed WiiM owners will love in a multi-room setup.

Also Consider

The is the opposite of the WiiM Bar, at least when it comes to the control app experience. But get beyond that and the Heston 60 has plenty to recommend it, quite apart from its chunky and expansive sound - it has that Marshall aesthetic, for instance, and it can be used in two different orientations. It’s no slouch when it comes to music, either. But it can’t lay a glove on the WiiM experience when it comes to multi-channel or multi-room usage…

If you are an aficionado when it comes to listening to your favourite music cuts, you might want to consider upgrading your headphones. And if you really care about getting the best performance you might also want to consider Audio-Technica's new flagship closed-back pair.

The Audio-Technica ATH-AWX7000 headphones are a high-end option with a supreme level of design detail. Crafted using premium Japanese materials, including Kiso cypress wood and Echizen lacquer, they are also the first in the brand's range to use its new, proprietary True Closed-back Acoustic (TCbA) design.

This has been developed to take advantage of the air pressure generated in the enclosed earcups to deliver greater transparency across the mid and high frequencies, while also providing a wider dynamic range.

There are also two Audio-Technica technologies applied in each ear to maximise sound performance – a Hybrid Matrix Diaphragm (HMD) and High-Concentricity X Dynamic Transducer (HXDT) technology.

The HMD uses thin films of different materials bonded into one diaphragm that moves as a single unit. While HXDT is a manufacturing process that ensures the baffle, magnet, voice coil and diaphragm are perfectly aligned.

The company claims that this enables "exceptionally precise diaphragm movement, revealing subtle details even within complex and familiar recordings".

The earpads are made from soft leather, while the frame is a lightweight magnesium construction. This is matched with aluminium sliders and, of course, the rare Japanese wood finish on the exterior of each cup.

You get a 2.5-metre balance cable with Neutrik XLR connectors in the box, along with a 3-metre unbalanced cable ending with a 6.3 mm stereo plug.

There is also a professional studio-standard, hardcore carry case included for transportation. This is a premium, luxury product so is treated as such.

The Audio-Technica ATH-AWX7000 headphones are available from today, 23 October, priced at £3,299 / €3,799. It debuted during the Paris Audio Video Show which is currently taking place.

We awaiting US availability and pricing.

Écoute Audio is back with a new pair of valve-toting over-ears that are more akin to strapping a hi-fi system to your head than conventional headphones.

The Écoute TH2 are a wireless pair that uses genuine valve pre-amplification, along with a DAC and separate left and right-channel amps for a fully discrete, dual-mono signal path from end to end.

This results in headphones with more character and old-school musicality than most. You can even see the Nutube 6P1 valve through a display window in the left ear cup, to leave onlookers in no doubt that you're wearing something quite different.

Also on-board are dual 40mm titanium-coated Mylar drivers – one for each ear. These ensure clarity and precision is maintained, even with the unique tonal presentation of a valve-based system.

Écoute has also tweaked the design a little since the TH1 headphones, with a new resonance chamber format that delivers punchier bass than before. There is also enhanced shielding to ensure the valve is better isolated from radio frequency interference.

In terms of connectivity, the Écoute TH2 pair carry Bluetooth 5.3 with LDAC and AAC wireless support, you also get a USB-C port to connect to a compatible source. This is compatible with Hi-Res Audio transmission up to 32-bit / 384 kHz.

An analogue 3.5mm port is available for good measure.

In terms of other specifications, the headphones feature hybrid ANC tech to block out ambient noise, have a built-in microphone for voice calling and phone assistant compatibility, plus a 1,600mAh battery that provides up to 20 hours of playback time.

They come in three colourways – charcoal, gunmetal and nickel, with fabric and leather trim options. Pricing starts at £999 in the UK, which is for the fabric trim. The leather version will set you back £1,099.

Grado Labs is renowned for its audiophilic attention to detail when producing headphones and turntable cartridges, and its Signature line sits at the top of the tree.

The Signature wired headphones are usually priced from around the £1,000 / $1,000 mark though, so haven't been truly accessible... until now.

The Grado Signature S150 are its most affordable pair in this range yet. Priced at just £295 / $295, they maintain the brand's quality standards, yet in a more presentable form.

You get Grado's proprietary 44mm S driver in each ear, which utilises the same paper-composite diaphragm design used for the 52mm drivers in the S950 and HP100 SE flagships – and those run into the thousands.

This ensures the S150 open-back headphones exhibit similar clarity and precision, with natural presentation of the original source material. There is also a clean handling of bass, with more balanced delivery than, say, many closed-back equivalants.

The Grado Signature S150 pair also feature the company's detachable cable system and a new Signature Bronze cable in the box. This connects to each ear through a 3.5mm jack for true stereo spacing, with another at the end for device use. A 6.3mm adapter can also be found in the box for connection to a music system at the other end.

The headphones weigh just 220g and a padded leather strap is provided for comfort over long listening sessions. Grado's F cushions are provided for each ear.

Audio specifications include a frequency response of 16Hz to 34kHz, nominal impedance of 38ohms, THD of 0.3% @100dB, and SPL (1mW) of 104 dB.

The Grado Signature S150 headphones are available to pre-order for £295 / $295 from select independent retailers and Grado's own website. There you can also find out more about the Signature range, including the high-end models further up the food chain.

Wireless microphones aren't exactly the most exciting gadgets to look at, but Insta360 has been doing its best to change that.

The company's latest wireless microphone, simply called the Insta360 Mic, looks more like a tiny smartwatch than a traditional recording accessory, thanks to its circular, customisable E-Ink display.

It's not the first Insta360 microphone to feature the colourful screen, but the new model brings much of the flagship Mic Pro's functionality to a more accessible price point, with a few surprises of its own.

Positioned between the premium Mic Pro and entry-level Mic Air, the new Mic completes Insta360's three-tier wireless microphone lineup.

And while it might look almost identical to its more expensive sibling, its most interesting feature is tucked away inside.

Small screen, big personality

Like the Mic Pro, the new Insta360 Mic features a 1.22-inch, six-colour E-Ink display that can be customised with images, logos, emojis and even pictures of your pets.

The new transmitter is nearly the same size as the Mic Pro and weighs just 19.4g, compared to the flagship's 19.7g.

Unlike the Mic Pro, which has 32GB of fixed onboard storage, the new Mic lets you use your own memory cards for internal recording, including 32-bit float audio.

You also get AI-powered noise cancellation, automatic gain control and three voice presets: Regular, Rich and Bright.

There are some compromises, though. The Mic Pro features a three-microphone array with four selectable pickup patterns, whereas the new model uses a single omnidirectional microphone.

The cheaper model has more stamina

Interestingly, the new Mic actually outperforms its flagship sibling when it comes to battery life (maybe thanks to its simpler pickup pattern).

Insta360 claims up to 13 hours of recording per transmitter, compared to 10 hours for the Mic Pro. With the charging case, that figure rises to 34 hours, four hours more than the flagship.

Wireless transmission range remains unchanged at up to 400 metres, and the system supports up to four transmitters connected to a single receiver.

The Mic also supports Insta360 Direct Connect, which lets compatible cameras, including the Insta360 X5, Insta360 X6, Insta360 GO Ultra and Insta360 Ace Pro 2, receive audio directly over Bluetooth without a separate receiver.

(Sadly, the more affordable Insta360 X4 Air isn't listed among the cameras supporting Direct Connect.)

The new transmitters are compatible with the Mic Pro system, allowing creators to mix and match microphones without replacing their existing equipment.

The Insta360 Mic launches globally today, 22 October 2026, with prices starting at £75 / $79.99 / €85 / AU$129 for a standalone transmitter.

The single-transmitter and receiver bundle costs £129 / $139.99 / €149 / AU$229, while the two-transmitter kit with receiver is priced at £229 / $249.99 / €269 / AU$399.

The new microphone is available through Insta360, Amazon and authorised retailers.

I’ve reviewed plenty of TVs – and seldom do I get to the end of one without at some point having said something along the lines of “remember to budget for a soundbar – even an affordable model will improve the sound".

Sharp obviously wants to be the company I think of when I start banging on about “affordable soundbars’, as its new HT-SWB320 2.1-channel system is perhaps the least expensive soundbar/subwoofer combo I’ve ever heard.

So am I right? Is a soundbar that’s about as affordable as it gets an improvement on the sound of that TV you spent proper money on?

Price & Availability

The Sharp HT-SWB320 2.1-channel soundbar system launched at the end 2025, and in the United Kingdom the asking price has already fallen from £179 to £149.

It’s a model that’s intended specifically for sale in continental Europe, so a like-for-like equivalent in territories like the United States or Australia is not especially easy to come by.

What seems nailed on, though, is that any Sharp two-channel soundbar with wireless subwoofer that’s offered for sale outside Europe is going to be extremely competitively priced.

Features & What's New?

The HT-SWB320 is a 2.1-channel system that’s compatible with both Dolby Atmos and DTS Digital Surround.

Obviously any hint of spatial audio comes from signal processing rather than physical speaker drivers, though, as the soundbar features a pair of 32mm neodymium tweeters and a couple of 30 x 104mm racetrack drivers, all of which face forwards, while the subwoofer has a 133mm bass driver.

This line-up is driven by a total of 120 watts of Class D power. Incoming signals can be adapted by a suite of EQ presets – voice, movie, sport, music, game, night, and one user-defined custom setting – and spatial audio information is given the once-over either by Dolby Speaker Virtualiser or DTS Virtual:X processing depending on what type of signal it is.

As well as a selection of physical inputs – the USB-A slot can also be used to charge external equipment, as well as being available for audio playback, which is nice – the Sharp features Bluetooth 5.3 with SBC and AAC codec compatibility.

So there’s nothing new or remotely innovative about the HT-SWB320. But then no one’s really expecting that sort of thing at this part of the market, are they? And besides, the Sharp has one minor flourish where its features xare concerned: it’s Roku TV Ready, which means set-up should be super-simple when the system is paired with one of Sharp’s Roku TV models.

Performance

The Sharp HT-SWB320 is a punchier, more expansive, more dynamic listen than the vast majority of televisions I’ve heard in the last 18 months or so. The soundbar is a rather coarse-sounding system, though, and its ‘surround’ feature is of negligible use.

On the plus side, the HT-SWB320 creates respectably deep, nicely varied low frequencies that punch with fair determination – and don’t hang around or bog down everything that’s going on above them in the frequency range.

Low-end presence like this is basically unheard-of in the sound your average television makes, and it means the Sharp creates a far fuller, more robust sound than your TV has a hope of managing by itself. This alone could be reason enough to buy, for a bass upgrade.

The frequency range is quite nicely balanced from the bottom end upwards, and while the system sensibly projects the midrange just a little (the better to make voices and dialogue easy to follow) it doesn’t unduly impact on the low or high end.

The handover between subwoofer and soundbar is achieved smoothly, and the overall presentation sounds of a whole, rather than being too obviously the results of two different speakers working in tandem.

There’s a fair amount of dynamic headroom available, so when the on-screen action shifts from ‘whisper’ to ‘enormous explosion’ the Sharp breathes deeply enough to put meaningful distance between these two positions. And, again, it doesn’t hang around as it does so – there’s no slurring here.

Tonally, though, the system is on shakier ground. There’s a hint of edginess to the way the midrange is reproduced, and by the time you reach the top of the frequency range the Sharp has become undeniably coarse.

There’s a grittiness and graininess to the treble reproduction here that is noticeable at low volumes, obvious as an average level, and actively unpleasant if you decide to listen at high volume. ‘Abrasive’ is not too strong a word.

And while I’m dealing with shortcomings, the ‘surround’ setting that can be activated via the remote control handset is barely worth the effort of pushing the button. The sound gains a hint of extra width when it's engaged, but the trade-off is a reduction of focus and the introduction of a rather vague, hazy character that’s far from welcome.

Design & Usability

A product of this type, selling for this sort of money, can very seldom be said to have been ‘designed’. ‘Constructed’ tends to be what happens – and sure enough, the Sharp HT-SWB320 has managed to dodge the ‘design’ stage of product development almost entirely.

That’s not to say it’s in any way deficient when the standard of build or finish is concerned, you understand – in fact, in the context of the asking price the Sharp is put together very acceptably indeed.

The soundbar, which is a usefully compact 36 x 651 x 73mm (HxWxD) and an equally unburdensome 900g, is a fabric-covered little slice of robust plastic that can happily be positioned beneath all TVs but those that sit super-low on their feet.

The subwoofer, meanwhile, is a 258 x 105 x 370mm (HxWxD) MDF box that weighs 3.35kg. Like the soundbar, it must be plugged into the mains – but it connects wirelessly to the soundbar, which makes positioning it as simple as can be.

It does so automatically, too. The moment both elements of the system are powered up, they start looking for each other. In my experience the search doesn’t take long at all, and once a wireless connection is made it’s robust.

In a little recess on the rear of the soundbar there’s a socket for the mains adapter, an HDMI eARC socket, a digital optical input, a 3.5mm analogue input and a USB-A slot for software updates and audio playback.

The USB-A is compatible with WAV, FLAC and MP3 files, and is compatible with drives up to 64GB. Obviously anyone with a reasonably modern TV will make one connection via HDMI and that will take care of business.

Operating the system can be done using the physical controls on top of the soundbar – they cover power on/off, volume up/down, input selection and Bluetooth pairing. There’s also a little remote control handset – like the product it controls, it’s really nothing special in terms of ergonomics or build quality but is entirely fit for purpose.

As well as duplicating the functions available on the soundbar, it also offers play/pause, mute, a button to turn the ‘surround’ feature (such as it is) on or off, and independent ‘bass’ and ‘treble’ controls.

Confirmation of what the system is up to comes via a white LED alphanumeric segment display on the front of the ‘bar – it’s quite short, though, so virtually all information will scroll.

Sharp HT-SWB320 review: Verdict

As an affordable way of bringing a bit of scale, dynamism and low-frequency presence to your TV’s sound, the Sharp HT-SWB320 has plenty going for it. And if you can find it at a super-low price then the bass upgrade may make it a worthy addition.

But while it’s hardly fair to expect a product of this type costing this sort of money to be flawless in every way, its edgy treble tonality, and the vague presentation that results from selecting ‘surround’ mode, means that it’s not the complete budget-conscious solution to your TV’s terrible sound.

Also Consider

The Amazon Fire TV Soundbar Plus travels without an accompanying subwoofer, and it costs a little more than the Sharp – but it remains an affordable option and fairly compelling too.

Or if you don’t mind upping the box-count, have a listen to the Hisense AX5125H – soundbar, subwoofer, and rear surround speakers all at a price that’s typically Hisense in its aggressive nature.

For a short while, Bluesound was the only name in the ‘wireless hi-res audio streaming game’, but it’s safe to say those days are gone.

Like all the best innovators do, though, the company has remained at the forefront and generally is extremely competitive when compared to the raft of imitators it has inspired.

The Pulse Flex wants to be Bluesound’s latest demonstration that it’s nowhere near losing its mojo… so how does it fare?

Price & Availability

The Bluesound Pulse Flex went on sale at the very end of last year, and in the United Kingdom it’s priced at £279. It will cost you $349 in the United States, while it goes for AU$549 in Australia.

The world, I hardly need to tell you, is far from short of wireless speakers that sell for this sort of money – but then Bluesound has been a front-runner for quite some time now.

Features & What's New?

For a brief moment back there, Bluesound had a unique selling point: wireless streaming of genuinely high-resolution digital files. Others have caught up, of course, but the fact remains that a (relatively) affordable wireless speaker with 24bit/192kHz PCM and DSD256 streaming possibilities from multiple sources really should be a product to be reckoned with.

And getting that big hi-res content on board can be done in quite a few different ways. The BluOS control app will let you integrate literally dozens of different music streaming services – and its compatibility with (for instance) the ‘Connect’ versions of Qobuz, Spotify and Tidal makes accessing content as simple as can be.

In addition, the fact the Pulse Flex is Roon Ready, works with AirPlay 2, and offers plenty of options where internet radio is concerned too, only adds to its flexibility.

Using the app utilises the integrated dual-band Wi-Fi, of course – but there’s additional wireless functionality available in the shape of Bluetooth 5.3 with aptX HD codec compatibility. And on the rear of the speaker there’s an Ethernet socket, just in case ultimate network stability is a priority.

You’ll also find USB-A and USB-C slots here, as well as a hybrid 3.5mm socket that can either be an analogue or a digital audio input. If you favour the second option, Bluesound supplies a Toslink/3.5mm adapter in the packaging.

All incoming digital information is dealt with by a DAC that is, sure enough, good up to DSD256 and 24bit/192kHz PCM resolutions, before having a rocket put up it by 50 watts of Class D amplification.

Bluesound has finessed this power using its ‘Smart DSP’, and it serves 10 watts to a 21mm tweeter and 40 watts to a 102mm mid/bass driver. Bluesound is not exactly making with the details here – nothing about frequency response or even the material used in the construction of these drivers is forthcoming. At least it’s prepared to confirm that both drivers face forwards, though.

Performance

Thanks to the BluOS control app, it’s a doddle to set up the Pulse Flex and get at the content you want, whether it’s internet radio, your favourite music streaming service(s) or stuff stored on a common network. And once you got it, there’s a whole lot to enjoy about the way the Bluesound serves it up

What’s probably most immediately striking is just, well, how immediate this speaker sounds. Its presentation is remarkably open when you consider what a small cabinet this is, and there’s a kind of direct and unequivocal character about the Pulse Flex’s delivery that’s very engaging.

Detail levels are high, which helps with the impression of positivity (which is especially noticeable when you’re listening to nice big 24bit/192kHz or DSD64 audio files), and the evenness of the frequency response from the bottom end to the top also allows the Bluesound to present music in a fairly naturalistic manner.

The tonal balance is nicely judged, and much more than many price-comparable rivals the Pulse Flex seems perfectly happy to get out of the way of a recording and express it without sticking its oar in too much. This kind of egoless attitude is not all that common in this area of the market – many alternative designs want to meddle with the sound of a recording, and it’s seldom a helpful attitude.

The neutrality of the Bluesound, combined with its relatively open and revealing nature, goes a long way to convincing you that you’re getting an uncorrupted account of the music.

It controls low-frequency information well, which allows for good momentum and a confident way with rhythmic expression. This speaker doesn’t over-egg bass sounds, which might initially seem less than exciting – but it doesn’t take all that long in the company of the Bluesound to realise it strikes a more convincing overall balance than is usual in a product of this type.

There’s a reasonable amount of dynamic headroom available, so big shifts in attack or intensity are more than alluded to – but where the Pulse Flex really scores in this regard is with the attention it pays to low-level dynamic variations. The ability to identify and confidently contextualise the harmonic fluctuations and transient occurrences in a recording adds no end to the impression of ‘the complete picture’.

Really, about the only meaningful way in which the Bluesound could up its game is when it comes to the sort of energy and excitement it rather seems to think is a bit beneath it. The speaker’s attitude of careful attention to detail and tonal neutrality is all well and good almost all the time – but when it comes up against the ‘wrong’ sort of music (music that values drive and posture over all else) the Pulse Flex can sound just a little undemonstrative and dispassionate.

Still, for most listeners a hint of the ‘matter of fact’ is going to be preferable to ‘eyes out on stalks’ – if that’s a choice that needs making then I know which side I’m on.

Design & Usability

Display screens or other design fripperies are not for Bluesound. The Pulse Flex is a discreet and quite unassuming speaker in visual terms, with only the softly cornered triangular prism of its shape offering the merest hint of ‘design’.

It’s an understated looker no matter which of the three finishes you choose – black-and-charcoal or white-and-grey are available as alternatives to the white-and-tan of my review sample – and its compact 196 x 131 x 111mm (HxWxD) dimensions mean it’s not difficult to position.

Bluesound offers a range of stands and wall-mounting accessories, but the integrated soft rubber foot on which the speaker rests means it’s equally secure on a shelf or desktop. The standard of build and finish is not up for question – though it’s probably fair to say that this is not the most tactile speaker around.

Operating the Pulse Flex as a standalone mono speaker can be done in a few different ways. Integrating it into Amazon Alexa Skills in order for a truly smart speaker to offer some voice control is not especially elegant, but it’s an option.

There are some control buttons on the plastic top plate: volume up/down, play/pause and skip forwards/backwards are all available here, along with three buttons offering shortcuts to favourite playlists, radio stations or what-have-you.

You can specify your shortcuts in the BluOS control app, and it’s a feature that goes some distance towards explaining Bluesound’s position in the market. For an app that offers such a granular level of control, it’s remarkably easy to navigate, and logical and stable in operation.

In the decade or so that BluOS has been a thing, increasing numbers of third-party manufacturers have come aboard – which means that if you want to use your Pulse Flex as part of a home cinema surround-sound system or a multiroom set-up, say, you’re by no means limited to other Bluesound products as partners.

The app makes setting up even quite complex and/or wide-ranging wireless set-ups simple, too – which is not something that can't be said for quite a number of competing systems. I really think this app is at the cutting edge.

Bluesound Pulse Flex review: Verdict

Bluesound’s status as a front-runner of hi-res streaming is only going to be enhanced by the Pulse Flex – it’s a great-sounding speaker with a brilliant control app, and the sort of wider-system flexibility that means it could be at the heart of your wireless set-up for the long haul.

Also Consider

The Audio Pro C10 mkII is bigger than the Pulse Flex, both physically and in terms of its power output – and it’s a little more expensive too. But its sound is clean and open, punchy and assertive – and it’s got a bit going on where ‘Scandi Design’ is concerned, too, as long as you like monochrome. The control app makes setting up a multiroom system to include the C10 mkII straightforward enough, but like every competitor it’s playing second fiddle to the BluOS alternative the Bluesound is running.

Jamo's latest multi-room connected speaker contains a full sound system in a compact form factor, and sports the sort of Scandinavian design synonymous with the company's homeland of Denmark.

The HYG 5 is the latest in the HYG family – which also includes bedside and outdoor speakers. It features dual 2.5-inch full-range drivers inside, along with a down-firing 4-inch subwoofer, and all without taking up too much space on your sideboard.

You get 30W of total power output – two times 5W for the drivers, 20W for the woofer. And there's plenty of different ways to feed it music.

The speaker system includes dual-band (2.4GHz and 5GHz) Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.0 on board, along with a stereo RCA line input.

It's compatible with Spotify Connect, Tidal Connect, Qobuz Connect, TuneIn (radio) and QPlay II. And it supports AirPlay 2 and Google Cast for both sending audio to the device, as well as linking it with other enabled speakers in a multi-room setup.

Audio playback is capable up to 24-bit / 96kHz.

The speaker is covered in fabric while a touch interface can be found on the top for local control. This dims in standby, so won't be distracting when you're not listening to music.

There's an ambient light ring underneath the HYG 5 too, which includes a sensor so it can respond and adjust to suit your room's lighting.

"We wanted music to be easier to enjoy at home. HYG 5 isn’t a system you have to tinker with – it wakes and plays whenever you want, capable and warm, without asking much of the room or of you," said Jamo's chief product officer, Guillaume Sirami.

The Jamo HYG 5 will be available from 20 October, priced at £349 / $399 / €399.

It's safe to say that the LG Sound Suite – the Korean brand's premier surround sound system and the first to support Dolby Atmos FlexConnect – split the crowd when it was first launched.

I enjoyed its offering – which comprises H7 soundbar, W7 subwoofer, and up to four W7 surround speakers – but my review sample didn't arrive quite as early as some, providing time behind the scenes to iron out various hiccups.

Now, however, LG has delivered a massive free upgrade to the Sound Suite, promising upgraded home cinema features and new audio compatibility too. Premier to which is the addition of DTS:X compatibility.

Sure, Dolby Atmos rules for the majority of releases these days, but some heritage discs (or, in rare cases, streaming sources) may have a DTS format instead – and now the Sound Suite, or standalone H7 soundbar, is compatible.

Some serious home cinema fans will be pleased to see that dual W7 subwoofer pairing has also been added, for larger room setups where there's the demand, while updated Wi-Fi 6GHz networks are also supported, favouring those with the latest Wi-Fi type.

It's not all just about home cinema, though, with Google Cast support finally added too. That'll be ideal for Android users, particularly with music playback, to easily cast content from phone or tablet or laptop to the soundbar or surround system.

This is great additional support to obtain free of charge, but it does beg the question as to why it wasn't part of the package on day one. The announcement was made on 14 October, with over-the-air updates due to roll out to customers thereafter.

If you love vinyl but don't have the space for a full hi-fi setup, this could be just the upgrade your turntable needs. Andover Audio has arrived in the UK, bringing its SpinBase 2 and SpinBase MAX 2 speaker systems with it, both designed to sit directly beneath your record player.

Instead of finding room for separate speakers, an amplifier and all the associated cabling, you get everything in one compact unit. Just add your turntable and you're ready to listen, making it a top option for bedrooms, home offices and smaller living spaces.

A smarter way to listen to vinyl

Both SpinBase systems use Andover's patented IsoGroove technology, designed to control vibration and prevent acoustic feedback when a turntable sits directly on top of the speakers. That's important when you're putting a record player and its sound system practically on top of one another.

There's a built-in phono stage, too, so you can connect a compatible turntable directly without needing a separate preamp. Bluetooth and additional wired inputs also mean you can play music from other sources, giving the system a bit more flexibility than a dedicated record player speaker.

It's a decent idea for anyone who wants to upgrade their vinyl setup without turning the living room into a hi-fi showroom. And if you're starting from scratch, it removes much of the guesswork involved in choosing separate components that work well together.

SpinBase 2 vs SpinBase MAX 2

The standard SpinBase 2 is the smaller of the two, with 70W of amplification and a four-speaker array that delivers sound across a 270-degree spread. At just 83mm high, it's designed to tuck neatly beneath a turntable without dominating a desk or cabinet.

The SpinBase MAX 2 takes the same idea and gives it more muscle. It delivers 100W of amplification through a six-speaker, 270-degree array, with a larger cabinet and deeper bass response for listeners who want a fuller sound.

Both models are designed to work with a wide range of turntables, while their wireless and wired connections make them useful beyond vinyl, too. The MAX 2 is the more substantial option, but the standard model looks like the good choice if keeping things compact is the priority.

How much do they cost?

The Andover Audio SpinBase 2 costs £349, while the SpinBase MAX 2 comes in at £549. Both are available now in limited quantities through Henley Audio's authorised UK retailers, with further stock expected ahead of Christmas.

Neither is the cheapest way to get sound from a record player, but the appeal is in having amplification, speakers and a phono stage together in a single, space-saving system.

If you want better sound from your vinyl collection without filling your home with separate hi-fi components, the SpinBase range is a clever alternative worth considering.

I honestly didn't see it coming: wired earbuds being a returning trend in 2026. Bose hasn't made such a product for over a decade because, well, why would it?

This year, however, growing demand has seen the audio boffins rekindle interest and launch the Noise Cancelling Wired Earbuds – which do exactly as their name describes.

I received my wired Bose 'buds a couple of weeks ago after meeting the brand in central London and have been low-key obsessed with them since for one main reason: despite offering active noise-cancelling (ANC) they never run out of battery life.

How's that possible? It's simple, really. The Noise Cancelling Wired Earbuds connect via USB-C – and it's that connector type only, there's no interchangeability – and draw power from the product to which they're connected.

Of course your source device can run out of battery and then there's nothing for these earbuds to draw power from, at which point they'll cease to function. But, at least in theory, they'll run forever – so long as your source is good for it.

What's really impressive is that, despite being wired and with no battery on board, there's active noise-cancelling as part of the feature set. It can't be controlled through the app, of course, as there's no wireless connectivity, but a simple tri-button dongle handles the job.

The controls are simple: volume up and a separate volume down flank the play/pause button to the centre, which also doubles up as ANC control, switching between Off, Quiet and Aware – which it declares, via a voice into your ears, when pressing-and-holding it down. It's very effective and simple.

You don't get the nuance of some of Bose's app-connected products, as there's no sliders to adjust, nor equalisation (EQ) controls on offer here. But, Bose being Bose, the sound quality is still really decent – I've found the bass hits firm and will please what many seek.

The comfort is really solid, too, with the medium tips fitted by default, but additional small and large options included in the box if you need to change them to suit your ears. There's even a little rubberised earhook that helps stability, with a spare of those also included.

When I walked away from my Bose meeting, however, I looked up the headphones – and they were sold out on the brand's own website. I was sure they'd come back into stock, but such is demand that, even a fortnight later, there's none available.

That shows demand is seriously high for this product – and I'm not surprised. They half make me feel nostalgic, as if I'm a teen doing my paper round, cables tangled below clothing; but they also feel futuristic thanks to that no-battery ANC feature.

They're also very good value for the quality you get. At £99 / $99 I can see why all three colourways – Black, White, Dewdrop Mint – have flown off the shelves. Each option includes a soft zip-up carry pouch, too, which is a nice touch.

So can you buy these wired ANC earbuds anywhere at the moment? In the UK I've seen online stock at John Lewis. In the USA, Best Buy also has stock. Amazon is also listing them, but has inflated the price by 100% – so that's a skip (and I shan't link to it either).

For a long, long time, Logitech's G Pro X headsets have been extremely safe options if you're in the market for one of the best gaming headsets.

The first-generation version stuck around for years on end, well-constructed and with a design that stood the test of time – but now it's been supplanted twice over.

After the G Pro X2 didn't change a huge amount, what can the G Pro X3 Lightspeed do to upgrade things?

I've been using it as my go-to headset for a couple of weeks to find out – and it's been no surprise at all to confirm that it's another great launch from Logitech.

Price and Availability

Logitech launched the G Pro X3 Lightspeed in late September 2026, and it's been available to buy without any queues since 8 October, so it remains a very fresh launch.

Its pricing sits at a very similar level to the previous generation model, coming in at £229 in the UK, €259.99 in the EU, and $249.99 in the USA.

That means it's obviously a premium headset in most ways, and by most people's metrics, but also that it clearly swerves the option of going for the ultra-premium bracket, one that's fought over by the likes of SteelSeries and Audeze.

Design and Features

If you took a G Pro X3 and stood it right next to a G Pro X from way back in 2020, there's a good chance that most people wouldn't be able to tell the difference at a glance.

In those intervening years, however, Logitech has played around a bunch with the design language of its other headsets, but it rightly knows better than to toy with this hugely popular model.

That's arguably a polite way of saying that almost nothing has changed in design terms, and some might see that as a negative, particularly if they didn't love the fit or feel of the previous generations. In my book, though, you're allowed to take an "ain't broke, don't fix it" approach when you've done previous design work well.

That said, it would have been nice to see some innovation here, even if my complaints are thin on the ground. Could the microphone, for instance, be retractable instead of removable after all these years? I'd love it if so, but I know that other people's thoughts may differ.

Still, that's a long way of getting to the point – the G Pro X3 Lightspeed looks about as "headset" as you can get. It has a really nice blend of metal, matte plastic and faux leather out of the box – with a headband that's impressively plush, and arms that feel really durable.

The earcups have shiny Logitech G logos on the outside, whether you pick the headset up in black or white, and plenty of controls.

The right earcup has a sole 3.5mm jack for wired audio. It's the left that's more packed, featuring an on/off switch, a master volume dial, a mute button, a USB-C port for charging, and a Bluetooth pairing button. Finally, it has that removable microphone, which is easy to move around and position correctly.

The headset comes with a carrying bag, but also with a pair of ear cushion replacements, to let you swap out the leatherette default for a velour alternative. I prefer the standard option, and it's better for noise isolation, but this is a nice inclusion.

Comfort levels are really strong, based on my testing. While this isn't the lightest headset out there, at 356g, its cushioning is great, and I was able to happily wear it for three hours at a time without complaint. The box also includes the 2.4Ghz wireless adapter, which is USB-A, and it worked well during my use, holding connectivity well.

There's no noise-cancelling (ANC) on this headset, though, which is worth mentioning given its price.

However, there is a lot of customisation if you connect to a PC and use Logitech's software. Detailed EQ settings are available for both the audio output and microphone input – the latter is really cool and lets you tweak your voice settings in a granular way.

Finally, the stated battery life on offer is fairly whopping, standing at up to 70 hours on a single charge. That's very impressive, although it also means there's no battery-swapping feature here – Logitech has kept things simple and classic.

Sound and Performance

Of course, the G Pro X headsets of yore didn't really become popular because of their designs – it was the superb sound quality and good value that made them so successful. That value proposition is different for a brand-new successor, but how's the sound?

Well, it's predictably excellent. The big thing to note here is that I couldn't really pick out a generational gap between the X2 Lightspeed and the X3, though, where in-game audio was concerned. I played a whole heap of games while using the headset, including hours of Battlefield 6, Dragon's Dogma 2: Dark Arisen, and Ace Combat 8, all of which sounded excellent.

Battlefield's concussive warfare makes for some of the most overwhelming sound design in modern multiplayer gaming, and if you can pick out footsteps and audio cues within its soundscape, you're at an advantage. I found the X3 Lightspeed was ideal on that front, which is a great boon.

Where there has been a huge leap, though, is on the microphone, which has been comprehensively upgraded and now stands as best-in-class.

The clarity and depth you get even right out of the box are startling, and with a little tweaking it can be genuinely broadcast-quality. Plenty of headsets claim that label, but few actually deserve it.

If you're on an older headset that has your friends constantly complaining about the feedback or quality of your voice, then this could be a really great choice, since I really don't think I've heard a microphone perform to this level on a headset below £350.

Speaking of tweaking the sound, Logitech's software on PC is pretty intuitive and makes it easy enough to make the changes you want, with good presets also cutting out the middleman if you don't want to tinker in too much detail.

Verdict

The G Pro X3 Lightspeed underlines the fact that Logitech knows what it's doing with this storied headset line – refining excellent previous work. The sound quality might be near-identical to the X2, and the design might be the same, but that doesn't mean it's anything other than excellent overall.

The key variable this time around is one of the best microphones in any headset, and based on my expansive testing, the single best one in its price bracket. If you care about being heard clearly, then you're going to want to think about this headset the next time you're due for an upgrade – it's that good.

Also Consider

The headset market is a deeply competitive one right now, and prices vary wildly from brand to brand and model to model.

If you're happy to spend a little more than what Logitech's asking, my favourite headset is the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Omni, which has some features (like ANC and omni-compatibility) that the G Pro X3 can't match.

For a similar offering at a lower price, and without that ANC, you could look to the Glorious GHS Wireless InfinitePlay, which gives you desktop convenience at an impressive price. That said, it's less premium-feeling than Logitech's headset, and its microphone is a big step down.

YouTube is looking at adding audiobooks to its offering to widen the appeal for Premium subscribers. Audiobooks are a feature of Spotify's subscription plans, alongside music and podcasts.

The details of YouTube's plans come from the Wall Street Journal (via 9to5Google), although there doesn't appear to be any acknowledgement from YouTube itself.

The Google-owned service has been expanding its offering beyond user-generated video for a number of years. Shorts was launched to offer short-form social video, while YouTube Music was launched in 2015, eventually replacing Google Play Music.

Google already offers audiobook sales through Google Play Books, but adding access through YouTube would help solidify one Google-owned entertainment platform, with subscription access offering a rival experience to Amazon's Audible.

YouTube Premium currently offers ad-free videos on YouTube, ad-free YouTube Music, background play and downloads, for £12.99 / $15.99 a month. The biggest appeal is ad-free YouTube videos for those who watch a lot of YouTube content, but the addition of audiobooks might appeal to a different type of subscriber.

Spotify offers audiobooks and ad-free music for £12.99 / $12.99, with access to 15 hours of audiobooks and ad-free music.

The addition might also reflect changing listening habits. Music services have seen wide adoption of podcasts, which have become something of a trend; with the rise in spoken word listening, audiobooks aren't a huge leap, providing access to books without the need to read them.

According to Spotify in October 2026, audiobook listeners grew by "nearly 40% over the past year", while listening hours is claimed to have "climbed more than 30%". That's probably where Google's interest has come from, capturing those people before they hop over to another platform.

Spotify offers audiobooks outside of its music subscriptions at £8.99 / $9.99 a month, while Audible offers £5.99 / $8.99 a month, or £8.99 / $14.95 a month, plans.

Audiobooks aren't just an AI version of the written book, they're often voiced by well known actors. For example, Audible has Bram Stoker's Dracula voiced by Ella Purnell, Maggie Gyllenhaal and others, while Spotify offers the Harry Potter series narrated by Stephen Fry.

It makes sense for YouTube to make this move, but currently there's no confirmation that it's going to happen.

While we've been seeing huge rises in physical formats – from vinyl records to CD – there's also big demand for proper high-quality digital audio players. And Sony has just revealed a masterstroke in that department, which audiophiles will love.

Launched under the Walkman brand, the latest NW-WM1AM3 and even fancier NW-WM1ZM3 are "engineered to deliver exceptional sound and incorporate a wealth of premium audio components throughout".

They're also engineered to mine your wallet, because these 'no corners cut' products cost a pretty penny. Or, more precisely, £2,099 / $2,999 / €2,499 for the AM3, £4,299 / $5,899 €4,999 for the ZM3 – the latter on account of its gold-plated oxygen-free copper (OFC) chassis, as you can see in the pictures below.

So just what does such cash get you? It's all about class-leading components, Sony suggests.

The ZM3's OFC chassis is said to further elevate the sound quality, the front and rear paired with gold-plated screws for the most stable ground connection and low-noise listening experience. Kimber Kable wiring is used within, too.

The AM3, meanwhile, take a similar philosophy – but its main chassis is aluminium-alloy to keep the cost profile down (the rear is OFC, though).

With S-Master HX digital amplification on board, both players support native DSD – that's Direct Stream Digital, Sony's high-res audio format – for balanced, high-powered output.

The DSD Remastering Engine resamples audio into an 11.2MHz ultra-high-frequency stream to try and emulate an analogue signal as closely as possible. So whatever you're listening to, this upsampling should deliver greater clarity. This works for both downloads or real-time via Wi-Fi connection for streaming sources.

Both products also feature a large 5.5-inch display, responsive to touch, to handle your input and add dynamic visual flair. Battery life is claimed to hit up to 35 hours of playback, reduced to 31 hours when using a streaming source.

You can pre-order right now direct from Sony's site. Shipping commences from 27 November, though, so don't expect to have one of these top-tier digital audio players in your hands until December time.

I have been testing and writing about home cinema and audio products for more than two decades, so it's rare that I can be surprised by a new product. But that's exactly what happened with the new Naim Mu-so – the company's first all-in-one sound system to carry the Utopia branding.

I had no clue what to expect when I sat down in a listening room at Focal's headquarters in France, only that I was to listen to something new. And when the demo started, I thought I was experiencing new surround sound separates.

I was wrong.

It soon became apparent that the fully spatial audio bubble was being provided by a single-box solution, and I was blown away. The sides and rears were so pronounced that I was sure there was some kind of Wizard of Oz hoodwinkery going on. And the Dolby Atmos playback on multiple video clips had real height – as it should.

The least surprising part of the reveal was that Naim and Focal collaboration is the first to adopt "Utopia" – the latter's flagship audio labelling. The Mu-so Utopia is at the pinnacle of the range and offers safely the best soundbar-style performance I've experienced to date.

That's perhaps unsurprising considering it costs £4,500 / $5,500, but I actually think that's reasonable for what you get – both technically and in quality terms.

The Mu-so Utopia contains 15 speakers in total, with seven ranged along the front. There are two on each side, plus a further four on the top.

Each driver is powered by either class D or class A/B amplification, depending on the frequency ranges. And there is a total power output of 720W.

The two midrange speakers ranged left and right on the front are Focal's trademark W drivers, and they are joined by a tweeter apiece, featuring the audiophile brand's new PRISM technology. This is instead of the beryllium drivers that are usually synonymous with Focal products, but are no less precise.

There are three six-inch woofers too, which negate the need for a separate sub, and the speakers at the top and sides are full range.

I've had a lot of experience with the Yamaha YSP-1 in the past – one of the first soundbars to use beamforming technology to bounce audio off walls and the ceiling to create a surround sound effect, and the same philosophy is employed here. Only tenfold.

The directional effect is astounding. It depends on the room, of course, and I was told that it works best in a room up to 50 metres square. But considering I was in a 60-metre room, it sounded pretty darn impressive to me.

The demo consisted of some Dolby Atmos clips, including a scene from the 2014 war film Unbroken and the wildfire sequence from Game of Thrones. Both rocked me to my socks, with superb spacing and a grunt that punched in a truly cinematic way.

On top of this, I got to hear how capable the all-in-one is with spatially arranged music, such as Billie Eilish's Bittersuite in Dolby Atmos (via Apple Music).

As with last year's Mu-so Hekla, the Utopia supports both Atmos and Focal's own Sphere Music and Sphere Movie spatial audio platforms. These provide complete bubbles of sound that helps immerse you more into the experience – as if playing through ceiling and wall-mounted drivers.

It is also compatible with a wide array of wireless streaming services and standards, such as Spotify Connect, Tidal Connect, Qobuz Connect, Google Cast, and AirPlay 2. There's Bluetooth on board too, as well as internet radio support.

Hi-Res Audio is supported, of course, with playback up to 32bits/384kHz (via WAV). All manner of other formats can be decoded too.

It is a 7.1.2 channel system and features HDMI eARC on the rear. You feed the Mu-so from a TV or amplifier, rather than the other way around. And there's an optical audio input available for good measure. A sub/aux out is offered as well.

Wi-Fi 6 is on board for wireless connectivity, although you might be best using the 1-gig Ethernet port if you want the best connection to your home network. It certainly deserves it.

As with all of Naim's Mu-so collection, you can even use the Utopia as part of a multiroom setup and sync its playback with other speakers. But this is a real centrepiece statement device that deserves to be at the hub of your home.

Music sounds crisp and accurate, even at high volumes, while movie and even game soundtracks are emotive. Yes, you are paying for the pleasure, but pleasure is the operative word.

Even from just a 30 to 60 minute test, it's clear that this is an all-in-one for audiophiles – and could even convert those who would never dream of ditching their separates.

It's available through the Focal Powered by Naim network of shops, priced at £4,499 / $5,500 / €5,000. You should arrange to have a listen yourself, if you can.

Apple has announced its new Home line-up in one of the biggest non-streamed events of the year. Among the new products were a new HomeView hub, a new Apple TV 4K device and a second generation of Apple's cute HomePod mini speakers.

The second generation of HomePod mini, also known as HomePod mini 2, looks pretty similar on the outside but has had a significant bump internally.

The speakers are available in pink, green, blue, white and midnight colours and cost slightly more than their predecessors at £149 / $149.

These speakers are designed to provide room-filling 360-degree sound from just one unit, but can be paired for stereo sound, or used in different rooms to provide multi-room audio.

These new models can also be used in a combination of up to four speakers to deliver a full surround sound experience from your Apple TV 4K. This works with the new fourth generation Apple TV 4K only, but you can combine the larger HomePod second generation speakers with the new HomePod mini 2 devices.

The little speaker is now more powerful too, so it can run Apple's latest Siri AI assistant, giving you access to a range of commands, from controlling home activities to searching the web for answers to random questions, and even referencing your messages and emails to help you find a key piece of information in seconds.

Perhaps my favourite feature though, is what Apple is calling Sound Glow. It transforms the top of the speaker into a glowing, pulsing form that changes colour and can react to the music you're playing. It can be your own personal disco or soothing visual accompaniment to a soundscape.

The Apple HomePod mini 2 is available to pre-order now with availability from 30 October 2026.

I've seen some pretty unusual collaborations this year, but Beats teaming up with Pokémon to create a special-edition Bluetooth speaker certainly wasn't on my 2026 bingo card.

The Apple-owned audio brand has joined forces with The Pokémon Company International to give its popular Beats Pill a colourful makeover, featuring two of the franchise's most recognisable characters, Pikachu and Mimikyu.

The speaker's perforated grille features a striking illustration of both Pokémon, with Pikachu's signature electric yellow contrasting against a greyscale interpretation of Mimikyu, the mysterious Ghost/Fairy-type Pokémon famous for disguising itself as Pikachu.

Gotta collect 'em all

The collaboration goes beyond simply printing Pokémon characters onto an existing product.

For the first time, Beats is introducing collectable charms to the Pill, with bespoke accessories including a Poké Ball, the Beats 'b' logo and lightning bolts inspired by Pikachu.

Even the packaging has received special treatment, featuring an interactive design created specifically for the collaboration.

"Pokémon Trainers are some of the most passionate in the world, and we saw an opportunity to channel that energy into something fun, unexpected and created especially for fans," says Chris Thorne, Beats CMO.

"This collaboration unites two brands rooted in culture, giving fans a new way to express their love of Pokémon through sound."

Of course, the timing couldn't be better, with Pokémon celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2026.

Familiar sound, electrifying design

The Pokémon x Beats Pill is a fully fledged portable Bluetooth speaker that uses the same bespoke acoustic system as the regular Pill.

There's also support for high-resolution lossless audio via USB-C, while two compatible Beats Pill speakers can be paired wirelessly in Amplify mode for increased output or Stereo mode for a wider soundstage.

Battery life is rated at up to 24 hours, and the IP67 dust and water-resistance rating means the speaker should be equally at home on a desk, beside a pool or accompanying you on outdoor adventures.

You can use its USB-C connection to charge a compatible smartphone, effectively turning the Pill into a portable power bank when needed.

The Pokémon x Beats Pill launches on 15 October, priced at $150 in the US, where it will be available through Apple US and Target. UK customers will be able to pick one up for £150 through Apple UK and Argos.

The UK retailer Zavvi has entered administration and is no longer accepting orders on its webstore. Existing orders have been cancelled and the administrators have revealed that customers should look elsewhere for refunds.

You will also no longer be able to return faulty goods bought from Zavvi. The retailer is currently embroiled in the insolvency process and has therefore stopped trading entirely.

"The Company is unable to fulfil any outstanding orders or pre-orders. Customers should not place any new orders through the Company’s website," says a statement from joint administrators, Chris Skey and Kerry Bailey of BDO LLP.

"Please also note that we are unable to accept any returns for items of any kind."

More worrying is that any prepaid orders that have not been delivered will likely not be refunded. Customers will be considered unsecured creditors, so will be towards the bottom of a long list of companies and individuals to be paid from limited recouped funds (if any).

If you are affected though you might be able to claim the money back from your bank or credit card company: "We appreciate that customers who have paid for goods that have not been received will be concerned about their orders and payments," continues the statement.

"Customers should contact their bank, card issuer or payment provider promptly to establish whether they may be entitled to recover their payment.

"Depending on the payment method and the circumstances of the transaction, customers may be able to make a claim under section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974, request a chargeback, or use another buyer-protection process."

Zavvi was formed in 2007 to take over Virgin Megastores in the UK, as part of a management buyout. However, after entering administration soon after and closing all physical stores in 2009, a new owner for the brand was found and it became an online-only retailer.

Ownership then changed hands again in 2023, but measures to turn the business around failed. Sadly, it seems unlikely that the company will be saved again.

Nothing's more budget-friendly brand CMF was recently split from the main label and moved to India, and it's first product to arrive since the shift is in an all-new category.

The CMF Speaker S and Speaker M are portable Bluetooth party speakers that feature Bluetooth 6.0 connectivity, IP68 water and dust proofing, and extended battery life – up to 18 hours. They also support multi-speaker setups for listening across several devices at once.

And yes, they do look a bit like milk cartons.

However, as with most products from the Nothing or CMF brands, you're getting a lot of tech for not much cash, with some modern design twists, to boot. They have an IKEA sensibility, I feel, considering the sharp, angular designs and keen price points.

The CMF Speaker S is priced at just £49 / $59, while the larger Speaker M is £99 / $109.

Both speakers are available from the Nothing webstore in white, dark grey, orange and turquoise. The front panels and dials can be swapped with 3D-printed custom designs, if you have the will and the way to make them (or buy them from third-parties online).

The smaller of the two features a custom-tuned 45mm full-range driver and dual passive radiators. It delivers up to 10W across 70Hz - 20kHz.

The Larger has dual-drivers – a dedicated 25W woofer and 10W tweeter. It's capable of up to 35W output across 60Hz - 20kHz.

An adaptive tuning algorithm is used at hardware level on both speakers, which optimises playback dynamically, while ultra bass technology adds more oomph for low frequencies.

They can both be further tuned through the Nothing X app for Android or iOS.

As well as Bluetooth 6.0, the speakers support NFC tap-to-pair, Google Fast Pair and Microsoft Swift Pair. They can be linked to two sources simultaneously, in order to easily switch between devices, and the USB-C port can also be used for a wired connection.

The original Triangle Capella system launched just two years ago, but the company has seen an opportunity to upgrade the specification and the looks at the same time.

The aptly named Capella 2 is the result. It needs more than some fresh finishes to compete in this market, though – so does the second-gen Capella have what it takes?

Price & Availability

The Triangle Capella 2 active wireless standmount stereo speaker system is on sale now, and in the United Kingdom it sells for £2299 – but it’s worth bearing in mind the dedicated S05 speaker stands will set you back another £279.

In the United States you’re looking at $2899, with stands coming in at $329 for a pair, while in Australia it's an AU$6000 buy in – with the stands set at AU$325.

Features & What's New?

The Capella has changed in order to become Capella 2, of course, but not everything has changed. Some aspects of the original system still have what it takes.

Take the driver array, for example. The same 25mm horn-loaded magnesium-aluminium alloy dome tweeter (with phasing piece at the horn outlet for optimal off-axis performance) is positioned above the same 165mm, 100% natural cellulose pulp, mid/bass driver as before.

The larger driver has a vented aluminium chassis and a half-roll suspension of rubber and foam, and each driver features an assertively textured rubber surround that, as with the curve of the cabinet, is designed to refine soundwave dispersion.

Triangle suggests this array delivers a frequency response of 42Hz - 22kHz – the downward-firing bass reflex port contributes to that low-end figure here, of course.

At 100 watts of Class D amplification per speaker, power is the same as before too. Triangle is also persevering with a streaming hub to take care of all wired and wireless connectivity, rather than follow the majority of its competitors and have one of the speakers deal with it.

The hub still uses WiSA technology to stream to the speakers at 24bit/192kHz and offer vanishingly low latency of less than 2.6m/s. Some aspects of the hub, though, have been updated and upgraded – that’s why it’s now called ‘Stereo Hub 2’.

A new Cortex A53 processor means its dual-band Wi-Fi connectivity allows it to support Spotify Lossless, Qobuz Connect and Tidal Connect, UPnP, be Roon Ready, and is compatible with AirPlay and Chromecast too.

Bluetooth 5.2 is available, with codec compatibility up to aptX HD. There’s now an Ethernet port and a pre-out for a subwoofer on the hub, which are obviously both very useful additions. Other physical inputs include a line-level analogue number on stereo RCAs, three digital optical sockets, a digital coaxial input, USB-A and USB-B, and that all-important HDMI eARC.

Performance

Obviously there’s a difference between streaming a 320kbps Spotify file of a tune via Bluetooth and listening to the same song as a 24bit/96kHz Flac file via Tidal Connect - but what’s profoundly gratifying about the Triangle Capella 2 is how unjudgemental it is.

Sure, the Tidal stream has more of everything – but the system does its level best with the Spotify alternative, rather than holding it up for ridicule as some price-comparable systems like to do.

Its fundamental character and attitude always shine through – and that’s a good thing. The Triangle is a direct, organised listen and is capable of generating a soundstage that’s spacious, open and quite carefully organised.

It’s slightly short of the outright scale of sound some rivals can summon, it’s true – but only slightly. Its sound escapes the physical dimensions of the cabinets quite significantly – and its ability with soundstage control means any and all elements in a recording get the breathing space necessary to express themselves.

This spacious character is not at the expense of unity, either, as the Capella 2 collates each element into a convincing whole. Overall tonality is nice and neutral, with the Triangle seemingly happy to let a recording dictate terms rather than sticking its oar in too overtly.

The top of the frequency range balances attack and brilliance against substance well, the transition into the midrange is uneventful, and despite a little drop-off in presence and substance at the bottom of the frequency range, bass sounds are punchy.

They’re also controlled enough to express rhythms with real confidence and, just as with the rest of the frequency range, there’s more than enough detail available to allow the light and shade, the variations in texture and harmonics, to be perfectly apparent.

It’s an impressive facility that extends as far as the harmonic discrepancies and variations in a voice or an instrument, with the under- and overtones that bracket the fundamental. And even though the midrange isn’t above getting just slightly gritty in extremis, it’s an articulate and actually unequivocal listen.

Dynamic headroom is, to understate it somewhat, adequate. The big up- or down-shifts in attack or intensity in a recording are described faithfully and in full. And that’s the case even if you listen to the quieter passages fairly loud – the Capella 2 just gets louder as the volume ramps up, and does so without sounding stressed or altering its overall character.

Design & Usability

Each Capella 2 speaker is an unremarkable 38 x 20 x 32cm (H x W x D), and the nicely built and finished cabinets are mildly curved at their vertical edges.

I’ve already mentioned the sonic benefits Triangle is claiming from this feature – but it also helps to make the speakers look a little less sharp-edged and a little more upmarket than they might otherwise.

The downward-firing bass reflex port at the bottom of each speaker is raised to an appropriate height by the slim little integrated stand/rail/thing the cabinet sits on – whether you used the dedicated S05 stands or not, the speaker will be at an ideal height in terms of a fixed boundary for the port to fire onto.

Mind you, the S05 stands have more going for them than the fact the speaker clips nicely into the top-plate. Triangle has expanded the finishes it’s offering – to the original system’s ‘Space’ white and ‘Astral’ blue there’s now the option of ‘Space’ black, oak or the ‘English’ green of my review sample (with stands are available to match).

The magnetically attached grilles are colour-coded to the finish you’ve selected, as is the Stereo Hub 2.

You can control the system’s headline functions via a redesigned remote control. It’s made mostly from aluminium, it’s rechargeable via USB-C, it’s RF rather than IR (quite helpful when it comes to having, or not having, line-of-sight), and its row of little LEDs ensure it’s easier to understand than the unlit alternatives offered by quite a few rivals.

You get far more input into the way the system performs via the Capella control app, though. It doesn’t allow you to integrate any streaming services, which means having at least two apps open at a time, and it’s hardly the most straightforward in its layout.

That said, it offers plenty of fine-tuning where speaker placement, frequency response, subwoofer integration and so on are concerned. Particularly good is the ability to run an automatic room calibration routine using just an iOS device (Android compatibility is apparently incoming).

Verdict

Extended functionality and some lively new finishes make the Triangle Capella 2 an even more compelling option that the model it replaces.

It’s not quite ready to claim top spot though, as some rivals are even more capable and a little less compromised.

But if you prefer the road less travelled, this Triangle wireless stereo system makes a strong (and, indeed, colourful) case for itself.

Also Consider

In its own way the Technics SC-CX700 system is just as striking and individualistic as the Triangle Capella 2, and in its own way it’s just as accomplished and just as flawed – one person’s ‘neutral’ sound is another’s ‘uninvolving’, after all.

If a neutral sound is the last thing you want, you’re invited to check out the KEF LS50 Wireless II system – it sounds just as assertive and uncompromising as it looks, and it’s been the market leader for quite a while now.

Samsung is thought to be working on a pair of premium over-ear headphones, potentially called the Galaxy Studio.

The name suggests that these are high-end headphones, designed to rival the likes of the Apple AirPods Max, but also to fend off launches like the Nothing Headphone (1) Pro.

Back in 2014, Samsung released the Samsung Level Over headphones, but with the acquisition of brands like AKG, JBL and Harmon Kardon soon after, Samsung's focus shifted to Galaxy Buds. Now, it seems, there could be a change of direction.

The existence of these headphones first became known thanks to code strings in the Galaxy Wearable app, uncovered by SamMobile.

At the time, the headphones were simply referred to as Galaxy H1, but the Galaxy Studio name has now been suggested by a leaker on X, who seems to have accurate insights into Samsung's audio plans.

It's thought that Samsung's headphones will launch in 2027 and it's likely that they could make their debut alongside the Samsung Galaxy S27 series, which could be January or February.

Little else is known about the headphones, but it's likely they will offer active noise cancellation, a range of audio codecs to support higher quality listening like SSC UHQ, but might forego common options like LDAC, which is a Sony technology.

Spatial audio, a folding design for travel and long battery life would also put them in contention with popular Bluetooth headphones, while it's likely that access to Gemini or Bixby assistants will also be included.

Currently, Samsung's plans for 2027 are unknown. There's no date for Galaxy Unpacked, while the launches for 2026 are almost finished. The latest launch has been the Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra and we're expecting to see the launch of Galaxy Glasses, probably some time in November.

That will add another string to Samsung's bow, establishing Android XR in a glasses format and providing some challenge to Meta's smart glasses.

Audio Technica has a full range of turntables and just a quick glance at the selection reveals that they are dominated by one colour: black.

That serious hue is contrasted in some models with white, with the occasional wood veneer and of course the transparent AT-LPA2. But for most people looking for a turntable, the option is black.

Well now there's something with a little more pop, with the AT-LP60XBT coming in teal. The new addition stands in stark contrast to the sensible black or white options already available, and will help those looking to give their vinyl game a lift.

The AT-LP60XBT is an entry-level turntable designed for wireless use, with the BT at the end of the name indicating that it offers Bluetooth so it can be connected to speakers or headphones wirelessly.

As such, there's a built-in preamp, with the idea being that the LP60XBT is as easy to use as possible - you just press the button to get it playing. It uses aptX to give a higher quality connection than standard SBC Bluetooth, so you'll get more out of your favourite records.

This makes it an incredibly easy turntable to get started with: you don't need an amp or particular speakers, you can just use whatever Bluetooth devices you already have, be that an soundbar, your headphones or travel speaker.

For those who don't want to use Bluetooth it supports RCA output, with the cable included. There's a hinged (removable) dust cover, aluminium platter, along with a replaceable stylus.

As an entry-level device there isn't the option for upgrades here and the body is predominantly plastic, but that's not the point. The AT-LP60XBT is for those curious about vinyl, who want to have a go without investing in lots of additional hi-fi kit and fancy something that looks bright and inviting.

Audio Technica isn't the only brand that's doing this: we recently saw Majority launch colourful turntables for beginners and with Gen X currently living through its retro era, there's a chance that these colour options might just add interest where boring black would not.

The AT-LP60XBT is available now for £179.00 in teal, direct from Audio Technica.

If anyone asks me what the best headphones for travel are, then I'm quick to answer – Bose's QuietComfort over-ears are the lightest, most portable option with the best active noise-cancelling (ANC).

Check out Bose's QC SC Headphones on Amazon

There are an abundance of options, though, with the top-tier Ultra model my favourite. But there's a slight step-down version, the 'SC', that can save you even more money – as they lack the spatial audio features and hard carry case.

Right now, as it's the last day of Amazon's October Prime Day sale, that already lower-than-flagship asking price is further reduced, down by a massive 44% – making these over-ears close to half the price.

This particular discount is for the black pair, but there's a 'White Smoke' finish for a few quid more if you prefer – I'd avoid it, personally, as I received the QC Ultra 2 model in that guise and think it looks too plasticky; the black is much classier.

I should repeat that this is part of Amazon's sale, so that price won't necessarily hold after the clock ticks over from Wednesday 7 October – so if you're in the market for quality headphones then now's the time to get that basket to checkout.

Amazon does offer an interesting 0% credit option, however, so with these you could pay £32.29 a month for five months and spread the payment – without paying a penny more than the discounted price. That'd be my way of buying these, if I was in the market for more headphones.

Sonos only just dropped the Ace Ultra, its newest and most impressive headphones, and they're frankly phenomenal (as someone who's been using them for a couple of weeks now). The five-star verdict we gave them is ironclad, in my opinion, but there's no getting around the fact that they're jolly expensive.

Before I got my hands on the Ace Ultra, I was the proud owner of a pair of standard Ace headphones, and the reality is that I had absolutely no complaints about them. Now, in the latter stages of Amazon's two-day Prime Big Deal Days event, they're looking even better than before, thanks to a frankly massive price cut.

Shop all Amazon Prime deals

With the Ace Ultra debuting at £399, we always knew that the standard Ace might become one heck of a deal by comparison, as Sonos allows its price to slide in sales events, and that's proven true immediately. Nearly half price, this deal sees them hover just over the £200 mark, and for that money they're a steal.

When they arrived back in 2024, we were absolutely amazed by how comfortable they were, and they remain basically the gold standard on that front (and it's telling that the Ace Ultra changed almost nothing on that front).

Their sound is also brilliant, though, and the ANC on offer is also extremely solid. That latter feature is probably where the uplift to the Ace Ultra is steepest, as well as some new connectivity options, but those won't apply for most people, and the normal Ace are now pretty much half the price of their newer sibling.

In that light, they're clearly the more sensible purchase for the vast majority of people, and this marks a great opportunity. That said, Amazon's sale ends at the end of today (7 October), so don't be surprised if the deal disappears at that point, too.

Having recently acquired the Sonos Beam Ultra soundbar as part of my audio-visual suite, I was fortunate enough to already have the brand's Sub to make for bigger bass.

But there was one key ingredient missing: true surround sound. Fortunately, by virtue of the Amazon Prime Day sale this October, I've just managed to upgrade that too!

Check out the Era 100 SL deal on Amazon

That's because the Sonos Era 100 SL just got its biggest price cut to date. Buy a pair and you, too, can pair them with your Sonos soundbar for true rear channels – and a surround sound upgrade that makes a huge difference!

While the new Beam Ultra did add a very cool feature, enabling you to use wireless speakers – namely the Move 2 or newer Play model – as part of a surround setup, those are much pricier speakers.

If you're looking for that Sonos soundbar upgrade on the cheap – or certainly cheaper – then my advice is to nab a pair of SL speakers instead. Two of them will cost you less than either of the portable products above!

What's particularly great about such a setup is that when you're not using the Era 100 SL pair as rear surrounds, you can use them as a stereo pair for music – if you don't fancy outputting tunes through a full soundbar in tandem (which you can also do, of course).

If this upgrade is your first stepping stone towards better TV audio then I'd also strongly suggest considering adding a Sonos Sub Mini if you don't have one. The Sonos Sub 4 is huge and expensive and likely overkill – unless you have a huge screen and room with a Sonos Arc Ultra.

Or if you can't have a subwoofer in your home setup, as it'd be too problematic for your neighbours or even your own family or cohabitants, then the SL upgrade is a really big step in changing TV and movie audio for the better. You won't regret it.

There is a likely time limit to this deal, though, as Amazon's October sale is over at the end of today (Wednesday 7 October) and, as before, the price may jump back up to regular levels thereafter.

Shopping for some new headphones can be a stressful process – after all, there are countless out there on the market, and the average standard has become uncomfortably high. From sound quality to noise cancellation, the average high-end headphones are now frankly brilliant.

So, it might be smart to look for a brand that's doing something different, if you want a more niche experience that isn't mirrored by every single major headphone-maker, and I'd say Nothing fits the bill. This UK-based brand has been ripping up the rules of design for a good few years now.

It just released its first truly high-end headphones, the Nothing Headphone (1) Pro, but I think the smart money is actually on its older, mid-range offering – the standard Headphone (1). A tasty deal on Amazon right now, as part of its Prime Big Deal Days sale, makes that even more true than usual.

The crucial thing about the Nothing Headphone (1) is that it has basically the best controls ever put on some headphones, in my opinion. Nothing genuinely innovated here, adding a roller button for volume control and play/pause, along with a rocker that lets you skip through tracks intuitively.

With a tactile on/off switch to add to the party and a couple more buttons for functionality, it adds up to a brilliant case study in user convenience, and I love how it shook things up.

On top of that, the sound quality you get for the price is genuinely great, and the ANC is extremely creditable, too. That all means that this deal (knocking nearly £50 off) is a hard one to pass up if you need some new headphones. These ones have a design that will make you stand out from the crowd, and some features that'll make you glad to have grabbed them.

I'll happily hold my hands up and admit that I've been something of an open earbud sceptic for the last few years. While I've used a handful of "open" style 'buds, and I understand the appeal from a safety point of view, my experiences have generally left me keen to stick with my daily driver (the AirPods Pro 3) for convenience.

Shokz is one of the brands really aiming to shake up that sort of thinking, though, and having made a name for itself with bone conduction audio, it's long since branched out into the wider earbud market.

The OpenFit Air 2 aim to be so lightweight that even heathens like me end up seeing the light, and they've been a fascinating set of earbuds to use for the last few weeks while exercising.

Price and Availability

Shokz released the OpenFit Air 2 earlier this summer, so you can buy from basically all the retailers you'd expect, including Amazon, crucially.

It comes in at £129 here in the UK, $129.95 in the US, and €139 in the EU, which makes it really quite an affordable option compared to much of the exercise-specific market.

That said, it's also available at lower prices in a few instances, including some sub-£100 listings here in the UK – see the shopping widget above for current best deals – so there's already scope to score it for less.

Design and Features

As I mentioned in my introduction, it's important to clarify from the outset that these are not bone conduction earbuds. Rather, they're open-style earbuds that effectively play audio through a traditional driver, but without the sort of passive seal offered by either in-ear tips or over-ear cups.

The OpenFit Air 2 have a hooked design that will be familiar to anyone who's shopped for earbuds aimed at exercising in the last couple of decades. This means that when you wear them, you basically secure them around the back of your ear, which leaves the main part of the 'bud pointing into your ear canal.

They're really secure thanks to that hooked arm, but also leave your ear canal nice and open so that you can still clearly hear the world around you as you move around. This is ideal for exercising outdoors safely, since it won't drown out road noise or others around you.

The OpenFit Air 2 come in a few colours; I tested the dark grey option, but there's also a clean white version and a quite fetching icy blue, too. If there's a downside to their design, it's that those hooks make each 'bud rather big, which in turn makes the case housing them quite large – and therefore less convenient in a pocket.

Still, the 'buds themselves are well made and finished in a soft-touch plastic that is easy to grip even when you're sweaty (and you probably will be). They're also exceptionally lightweight, at just 7.2g per earbud according to my scale. That makes them really comfortable to wear for long periods.

In terms of battery life, Shokz says these earbuds should manage an impressive 8 hours of continuous play per charge, with a total of 36 hours if you account for the extra juice in the charging case. Those are great numbers, and beat much of the 'normal' competition.

When it comes to controls, though, things are a little bit more unique. Each Shokz earbud has one button on its inner section, and if you grip the earbud in the right way, you can squeeze it. This can play/pause your music, but it's really quite fiddly to locate when wearing the se, making it a challenge in practice.

The design made me assume they would offer some swipe- or tap-based touch controls on their outside, where the Shokz logo sits, but that's not the case. Given there's also no on-ear detection to pause your music when you take an earbud out, it leaves the OpenFit Air 2 a bit lacking where controls are concerned.

Another limitation comes with the case, which doesn't have wireless charging – it's wired via USB-C only. It does at least have its own IP rating (at IP54), to make sure that it's okay with a decent amount of liquid or dust exposure.

Sound and Performance

I used the OpenFit Air 2 as my earbuds for lunchtime jogs for a few weeks, and the fact that they're aimed squarely at fitness means I'll treat comfort with more detail than I normally would for an earbud review. In short, they're excellent on this front, provided you know what you're in for.

The fit of the OpenFit Air 2 can be a little hard to describe, but once you have them hooked into your ears, and after a little adjustment of the hook (which can be bent a little into the right shape for you, with effort), they sit really naturally and comfortably on the ears. They're so light that you might forget they're there, which is a rare boast in this area.

With water- and dust-resistance that sits at IP55 (therefore more resistant than the case), they're durable enough to withstand basically any amount of sweat or rain that you can throw their way – but they're not safe for submerging, so abandon any thoughts of swimming with them. I'd love to see that rating pushed higher for future iterations, but it's no issue here.

How do they sound, though? Well, it's a mixed bag, but only by virtue of the design. There's no getting around the lack of passive isolation here, so whatever environment you're in, you'll be hearing it. When running, this is not a problem (in fact, it's a safety boon), but at home with a robot vacuum running, it means they're not a great option.

Still, in either a quiet room or when doing exercise, to accept the downsides, the actual sound quality on offer here is solid for the price. You get good clarity, and the earbuds can go to a high volume, too, which is more important than it normally is because background noise plays a role.

I found that the amount of bass on offer was surprising (in a good way), and Shokz claims to have concentrated on that in its upgrade over the previous OpenFit Air, so the return on that investment is noticeable.

That said, these aren't going to win awards for sound quality – mids aren't the most detailed, and the high-end can be a little weedy. EQ adjustment is available through Shokz's app, and you might want to tinker with it, because it can unlock distinct improvements compared to the default tuning. Having that functionality is appreciated.

Another small note is that the open design means that sound leakage is a factor here. I often listened to music at high volumes to deal with background noise, and that meant that taking the earbuds out made it apparent that my audio wasn't exactly inaudible to those around me.

Verdict

If you're looking for a wallet-friendly open-ear earbud that will perform really well during exercise, then the Shokz OpenFit Air 2 is a great pick.

These 'buds are incredibly, almost bafflingly light, have decent enough sound for this kind of design, great battery life, and the right sort of fit and durability.

Most of the downsides come packaged with open earbuds, from sound leakage to a lack of isolation, and while I'd love to see its sound tuning refined further, I really don't have major issues on any one front.

Shokz's latest may not permanently dislodge my AirPods Pro 3, but for a much lower price, it's given me a great secondary option when I go for halting jogs.

Also Consider

I've mentioned my AirPods Pro 3 a few times, but a fairer comparison and alternative comes from the new AirPods Gen 5. These don't have a silicone seal, either, and can be had for a price that competes much more directly with Shokz.

For an upgraded version of the same sort of hook-armed earbuds aimed at sweaty exercise, though, you might want to look to Beats. The Powerbeats Pro 2 are no longer brand-new, but they're superb and have all of those same Apple chip smarts, for easy device switching and pairing. They're not open, though, so will feel more enclosing.

Cor, this one's a scorcher of a deal! Niche, granted, but audiophiles will surely be paying attention to what's one of Amazon's best October Prime Day deals.

Astell&Kern's desktop audio system, the CA1000T, is usually priced at £2300 – but Amazon has done the unthinkable and slashed 77% from the asking price.

Check out the Acro CA1000T deal on Amazon

I love finding decent deals like this. A specialised product such as the CA1000T is a rare and unexpected addition to the Prime sale – but a most welcome one in T3's hunt for the best premium tech.

You're probably on this page because you already know about the CA1000T. But, if you don't, then what exactly is it all about?

This is Astell&Kern's headphones amplifier and digital-audio-player (DAP) combined in one. It can drive some of the best wired headphones, no need for additional amplification thanks to an in-built triple amp system.

Whether you're using the 3.5mm or 6.35mm unbalanced outputs, or the 2.5mm or 4.4mm balanced outputs, every headphone type is catered for here.

To its rear are a variety of inputs: optical, 4.4mm in, USB-C audio in, coaxial in, and a microSD card slot. Output, if you want to connect beyond headphones, covers XLR and RCA stereo, plus there's Wi-Fi and Bluetooth if you prefer wireless.

The CA1000T was the first product ever to use the ESS ES9039MPRO Dual-DAC solution, which can support high-res playback up to DSD512 and 32bit/768kHz. That's unparalleled in any product I've ever seen.

So if you're looking for an audiophile treat this Prime Day sale then, well, hands down it seems that Astell&Kern's desktop system has won that crown – and it's even cheaper than it was during Black Friday last year!

Earlier this year I got acquainted with Shokz's latest and most comfortable open-ear earbuds, the OpenDots 2 – and they're a 5-star smash.

Now, as part of Amazon's Prime sale this October, those super-comfortable running earbuds are now lower-priced than ever before, dropping 15% from their asking price.

Check out the OpenDots 2 deal on Amazon

These earbuds are ideal for running, as they're completely open – to the point you'll forget you're wearing them – without blocking out any surrounding sound, thus enhancing your safety.

As is often the case with Amazon's sales, this is a time-limited promotion, as the latest Prime deals run until the very end of tomorrow, Wednesday 7 October. So if you're looking to buy, don't hesitate beyond then.

What sets the OpenDots 2 apart from the mounting competition in this space is what I described as "supremely comfortable fit – without disturbing your inner ear canal". That's why they're ideal for workouts.

The sound remains surprisingly solid, though, with decent bass levels delivered – assuming you're not in a super-noisy environment anyway, as that's a limitation of this 'bud type.

You won't get any noise-cancelling or suchlike features here, as that's the opposite of an open-ear design. But you will get enhanced safety by being always aware of your surroundings – without needing to forego your playlist or podcast listening session.

Shokz has gone to town with this Amazon promotion, as far more of its products than just the OpenDots 2 have discounts – check out the full Shokz Store on Amazon for the full rundown.

So whether you're looking for bone-conduction running headphones, or smaller and more affordable clip-on types, there's an option for everyone in this sale.

Amazon has swooped into action this week, likely because it wants its own slice of the pie compared to Black Friday, when every retailer in the world is competing to offer deals on tech. So, in early October, we now get Prime Big Deal Days, giving extremely impressive discounts to Prime members.

I'm trawling through the thousands of offers available, and with the event only a few hours old, the first big deal to jump out at me on Amazon should come as no surprise, given my recent reviews – it's a Sonos device.

I just reviewed the five-star Sonos Beam Ultra, a stunning new soundbar that pushes the price of the Beam line higher than it's ever been, but it's the older (and still fabulous) Beam Gen 2 that I think would be my personal purchase this week if I were in the market for something.

The main difference between the Beam Gen 2 and the newer Beam Ultra is that the latter has real upfiring drivers for overhead audio in surround-sound settings, but I really think the majority of users won't find fault with the older, substantially cheaper Beam's sound.

It's superb, after all, and I happily used it for years before the Ultra came along – and this deal makes the Beam Gen 2 literally half the price of the Ultra. When that's the arithmetic, I think there's no contest: almost anyone would be better off saving their cash and buying the cheaper soundbar.

After all, this might leave you with leftover budget to pick up some rear surrounds – and how lucky are you? The Sonos Era 100 SL is also discounted for this Prime event, so you could pick up a Beam Gen 2 with two Era 100 SLs, all for less than the cost of just the Beam Ultra.

Picking up a Beam Gen 2 and a couple of Era 100 SLs will basically get you the surround system that I've been using for the past couple of years – and that means I can vouch for how great it is.

Sound quality is crisp and powerful, but you also get nice amounts of subtlety, and Sonos' features like night mode and dialogue boost can be lifesavers if you're trying to watch something obnoxiously loud without making your neighbours hate you.

This sale only lasts for a couple of days, so expect these prices to bounce back up at the end of 7 October – don't hang around if you're thinking of pulling the trigger.

A full Dolby Atmos sound system for £169, you say? Including subwoofer and surround speakers? You cannot be serious?

But Cambridge-based Majority is very serious – as that’s just what it’s delivered with this bijou Bowfell box of tricks.

It’s one of the least expensive ways to experience object-based surround sound at home – but what you get might not be quite what you expect.

The Bowfell Halo Atmos package bundles together a compact soundbar, wireless subwoofer and diminutive rear speakers, which pair to create a genuine 5.1-channel system.

This isn't a rival to premium systems from Samsung, LG or Sonos, as you'll find among the best soundbars. It’s designed for those of who want bigger TV sound without spending a fortune.

Price & Availability

The Bowfell Halo Atmos is available now, and sells for £169.95 / €179.95. That's around $230 or AU$320 – not that it's launched in USA or Australian territories.

It sits above the standard Bowfell Halo 5.1 surround system, which omits Dolby Atmos support and sells for just £119.95. Buyers wanting just an Atmos-enabled soundbar can opt for the Bowfell Axis Atmos 2.1 package, at £129.95.

As you can tell, we’re very much in the cheap seats here.

Features & What's New?

Premium accoutrements are thin on the ground. There’s no automatic room calibration or microphone-based optimisation available. This is very much plug-and-play.

The single box package contains a compact soundbar, separate wireless subwoofer and a pair of rear surround speakers.

While these satellites communicate wirelessly with the front stage, you'll need sockets to power the lead (right) surround speaker and somewhere to hide the wire that connects the two rears together.

When it comes to codec support, the Bowfell Halo handles Dolby Atmos and all its subsidiaries – Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD and Dolby Surround. However, DTS is absent.

Majority also includes four listening presets, covering Music, Movie, News and Sport. Bass and treble adjustments allow a modest amount of tailoring.

Sound Quality

No-one should expect reference-quality Dolby Atmos at this price. Yet the Majority Halo delivers something that TV speakers and stereo soundbars simply cannot: wraparound sound that puts you in the middle of the action.

Installation takes only a few minutes. The soundbar, wireless sub and rear speakers pair without fuss. I moved from unboxing to watching films in a jiffy.

Spinning the Dolby Atmos Amaze demonstration clip on Blu-ray immediately reveals the system's strengths – but also its limitations.

Surround steering works well. Effects pan cleanly around my listening position. There's a satisfying sense of movement as sounds travel from front to rear.

What never truly materialises is convincing height effects. There’s no upfiring drivers to be had on the Halo. The soundbar faces forward.

The result is that the overhead canopy that for many defines the Dolby Atmos experience is missing.

This front soundstage is also fairly narrow, largely because the drivers are packed closely together inside the compact enclosure. On the plus side, dialogue stays anchored to the screen and remains intelligible.

Bass, meanwhile, is dominant.

The compact wireless subwoofer digs surprisingly deep. Majority quotes a reach down to 45Hz, but I measured lower. It certainly adds weight to blockbuster films. Explosions, rumbles and portentous soundtracks are delivered with plenty of grunt.

The opening bombing sequence of WWII drama Unbroken, with its exploding flak, demonstrates this trait well.

However, the crossover between the bar and the sub is set high, around 200Hz, so the sub is contributing to the front soundstage fairly consistently. It's important, therefore, that it’s not positioned too far from the soundbar itself.

Running the Dolby Atmos ‘Amaze’ demo jungle clip reveals a decent sense of surround and panning movement, even though there's really no height component to the mix. A consequence of that high crossover causes the soundbar to clip quite viciously when the big thunderclap comes.

Music exposes the system's compromises more readily.

Billie Eilish's Bad Guy overwhelms the room with bass energy. The ported subwoofer is wildly enthusiastic, and unless you reduce its output by one or two increments, it booms. Dial it back too far, though, and the relatively thin character of the soundbar becomes more apparent. It’s a delicate balancing act – and not one I think I mastered.

Ultimately, the Bowfell Halo Atmos sounds exactly as its asking price suggests. It’s rowdy, energetic and unapologetically entertaining. Even if refinement is left at the concession stand.

Design & Usability

This build is best described as functional, and the finish is neat enough, although I really don’t like the oversized Dolby Atmos branding.

The bar itself measures 40.5 x 9 x 6.2cm; the subwoofer, a ported design with a downward-firing 6-inch driver, is similarly compact, at just 18.5 x 15 x 32cm. The two surround speakers are circular pucks, measuring 9 x 6.2cm.

The unit ships with a simple remote control that covers all key functions and provides direct access to sound modes.

These dimensions make placement relatively straightforward. The soundbar should sit neatly beneath most TVs, while the rear speakers are small enough to perch on shelves or mount discreetly on walls.

Daily usability is a little more mixed. The soundbar communicates via a scrolling LED display, which isn’t particularly intuitive.

Connectivity comprises HDMI eARC for TV audio, while an optical digital input offers compatibility with older screens.

Bluetooth 5.3 enables wireless music streaming, while USB playback supports MP3, FLAC and WAV files.

There's also a 3.5mm AUX input for any legacy kit you might want to hook up.

Verdict

There’s very little that can match what Majority offers with the Bowfell Halo Atmos. It’ll surround you with sound for a price that’s undoubtedly generous.

Viewed purely as a Dolby Atmos system, it falls well short of what the format can ultimately achieve. Height effects are non-existent, the soundstage lacks width, and the subwoofer throws its weight around in a distinctly antisocial manner.

However, it still warrants a recommendation. Give it an action movie or a Netflix thriller and it rewards with aggression, clear dialogue and wraparound sound.

Teenage bedrooms, gaming rooms and smaller lounges are where the Bowfell Halo Atmos belongs. Movies, games, and sports all benefit in the right context – and without having to pay big for it.

Also Consider

If your budget stretches considerably further, the £899 Samsung HW-QS90H is a far more sophisticated Dolby Atmos soundbar. It offers a much larger soundstage, convincing height effects, advanced room calibration and Samsung's excellent Q-Symphony integration for compatible televisions.

Alternatively, check out the £179 TCL Q65HK 5.1 soundbar and sub. It lacks dedicated rear speakers, but includes support for DTS:X, has a 580W power plant, and uses proprietary Ray Danz side-firing drivers for a wider soundstage.

Anker is making some big moves this year, not least in the form of a slight branding rejig to really centre its own name on its products more (making the likes of Soundcore and Nebula more part of product names, rather than sub-brands in their own right).

That's a little arcane for the average customer to care about, though – we're more interested in new launches. So, on that note, here comes the Soundcore Space 2 Pro to make things interesting.

The follow-up to Anker's mid-range set of headphones – which I rated highly back in 2024 when I reviewed them – the new Pro is a step up in price, with Anker hoping that some added quality will make it work for people. So, has it succeeded?

Price and Availability

The Soundcore Space 2 Pro is an interesting swing from Anker on the pricing front, having launched this September. You can order them now from a range of retailers (and direct from Anker), with Amazon being the most prominent in most regions, for £199.99 in the UK or $199.99 in the US. Availability in other regions seems to be rolling out slightly more slowly.

This price puts them a good chunk more expensive than the recent standard Space 2 (£129.99 / $129.99), which are already seeing discounts to make them cheaper. The price is also a £50/$50 bump over the Space One Pro from 2024, again underlining Anker's gambit.

Design and Features

The Space 2 Pro is a very familiar proposition, having handled the Space 2 extensively earlier this year, with both units provided by Anker for testing. These are headphones that lean into subtle design, surprisingly so from a brand that used to be a lot louder in its design work.

In fact, shorn of that previously recognisable Soundcore logo, the earcups of the Space 2 Pro are actually some of the most anonymous and simple of any headphones I've used recently (and not even in the same league as the Nothing Headphone (1) Pro). They're dead clean, with just a subtle reflective bit of logo work around their edge.

On the right earcup, you'll find a play/pause button, along with a rocker for putting the volume up or down. The other earcup has a 3.5mm jack, a USB-C port for charging, a power button that doubles as a pairing button, and a toggle for the noise-cancelling modes on offer.

Slipping the headphones on confirms that the generous-looking cushioning is indeed extremely comfortable, with a good amount of give on both the headband and those earcups. It's soft-touch, and I've found the Space 2 Pro great to wear for long stretches as a result.

That said, the Space One Pro was one of the most comfortable headphones ever made, and this is surprisingly a bit of a step down, I'd say. That doesn't make it a bad fit, but it's not the direction of travel I'd have chosen.

The headphones do fold, meanwhile, but don't do so into the smallest shape I'd have expected, and they're a little fiddly to collapse. You do get a carrying pouch in the box with them, but I'd have liked this to be more protective given the bump in price that Anker has brought in this time.

So, what about the features on offer? Well, in keeping with the Space 2 below it in the range, you get sophisticated adaptive noise-cancelling (ANC) here, enabled via eight microphones. The Space 2 Pro also has on-head detection for auto-pausing, which I always welcome.

Anker's making a big deal out of the new microphone array on the headphones, which it says has garnered a Guinness World Record for the best wireless over-ear call quality (however that could possibly be proven). I'll talk on that later, but it's something that's not on cheaper models.

Battery life is interesting, because it's quoted at 60 hours, but halves to 30 hours with ANC turned on, and goes down to 20 if you're on calls continuously, thanks to the new AI processes for its voice detection.

In terms of audio quality, 35mm drivers are housed in each earcup, and they support spatial audio if you want it activated. You'll also find support for LDAC and Hi-Res Audio in either wired or wireless modes, which is always nice.

Sound and Performance

While comfort and sound quality might not seem like they're necessarily related to parts of a headphone's performance, the reality is that cushioning has everything to do with the passive seal that great headphones now use for part of their noise-cancelling. That's why it's good to report that the Space 2 Pro has some of the best comfort on the head that I've tried in ages.

As I say, I still think it's slightly less perfect than the Space One Pro, but I still happily wore the headphones for three hours at a time without any clamping issues or discomfort. Even without powering them on, meanwhile, the amount of noise cancelled out was very decent.

Turned on, though, the ANC in this release becomes extremely obvious and impressive. Anker might not be able to quite say it's the best on the market, but this is definitely the best noise-cancelling I've tried on headphones under £/$200 in recent memory – and that's quite the boast.

That same level of positivity can be redoubled when it comes to the call quality on these headphones, something that I normally skip over as being relatively secondary in importance. I still think that, but when it's this good it's worth mentioning. Anker says its "Thus" chip is the reason for the clarity and pick-up quality that the headphones manage, with AI playing a part, and it makes for impressively clear audio when you're on calls – which is rare for this sort of headphone.

That's a fairly brilliant start to matters, but it's a slight shame that Anker can't bring five-star audio quality to match its ANC and microphones. That's not to say that there's anything explicitly wrong with Anker's tuning, but it's certainly not the most refined you'll find out there.

It leans quite heavily on bass, for one thing, which does mean that you get a good amount of warmth in the low-end of tracks, but this hurts the detail in other registers. The start of Eric Clapton's After Midnight (Live) from 2021 showcases this – its opening twangs are just a little overdone, lacking balance.

You can still have a great deal of fun with the headphones, though, in particular using Anker's app to customise their sound and create a personalised range of settings to make things a little more clinical. Out of the box, though, they're not particularly sophisticated, and that's a bit of a shame.

I found battery life to live up to the billing pretty closely, though, which means they're more than competitive with most of the other options you can find at this price. Some standouts go far beyond the 30-hour mark with ANC on, though.

Verdict

The Sound 2 Pro is an interesting launch from Anker, not least because these headphones are substantially more expensive than the Space One Pro, let alone the more recent Space 2 (Anker's approach to numbers and text is also clearly quite fluid).

I'm not sure they merit the price hike that they've been given, and that's the shortest version of my verdict.

However, there's nuance to be had here. The call quality here is really quite remarkable, and Anker clearly thinks that'll matter to certain people – like those who'll use them primarily in the workplace and need that to be reliable. The ANC is similarly really great for the price, and that's an interesting pair of strengths to maximise.

If their music performance could only match them, Anker would have a real stunner on its hands. Instead, this is an interesting launch that will suit a specifc set of users, while leaving others potentially wishing they'd spend a little more on genuine musical excellence.

Also Consider

If you want much of what makes the Space 2 Pro great, but fancy saving a bunch of cash without a huge downgrade, then consider the standard Space 2. Super comfy to wear, with a look that's just as clean, plus they're a bit more of a bargain.

Alternatively, if reading my verdict has made you realise that you'd rather spend more and get better audio quality, then I'd point you towards the Sonos Ace Ultra. We just slapped a five-star verdict on them, and I've been using them a little to confirm that they are indeed stellar and as comfortable as anything on the market.

Good audio is one of those things you barely notice when it’s done properly, and immediately notice when it isn’t. If you regularly shoot videos on your phone or camera, the DJI Mic 3 is probably one of the easiest ways to make them sound considerably more professional.

It’s also considerably cheaper than usual right now. Amazon has reduced the DJI Mic 3 (2 TX + 1 RX + Charging Case) from £215 to £170, saving you £45, or 21%.

The deal is for the bundle I’d choose over the cheaper single-transmitter version. You get two tiny wireless transmitters, allowing you to mic up two people at once, a receiver for your recording device and the charging case.

Each Mic 3 transmitter is extremely compact, and DJI has packed considerably more into it than its size suggests. There’s 32-bit float internal recording, Adaptive Gain Control to help prevent clipping or balance sudden changes in volume, two levels of noise cancellation and three voice presets.

The system can also automatically switch between 2.4GHz and 5GHz frequencies and has a claimed maximum transmission distance of 400 metres in ideal conditions.

DJI quotes eight hours of battery life from each transmitter and 10 hours from the receiver, with the charging case extending total operating time to as much as 28 hours. A five-minute top-up can also provide around two hours of additional use.

That combination of small size and minimal setup is probably why Amazon buyers are so positive about it. The Mic 3 currently has a 4.6-star customer rating, with reviewers describing it as “incredibly easy to use” and “perfect for social media content.”

For anyone shooting TikToks, Reels, YouTube videos, interviews, or simply trying to improve the audio quality of footage captured on a phone or camera, £170 for the complete DJI Mic 3 setup is a seriously tempting price.

TwelveSouth has carved out a fairly delicious niche for itself over the last decade and more, making high-quality accessories for all sorts of devices, but I'd say it's fair to label one of these as by far its most successful – the AirFly.

This little dongle has, for years now, been a top recommendation if you want to use your own Bluetooth headphones on a flight, since it turns basically any 3.5mm jack into a broadcaster to avoid you using terrible in-flight earbuds. Now, though, TwelveSouth is bringing that same sort of wireless wizardry to a new arena – your car.

The newly unveiled AirFly Drive is a smart little dongle that can plug into your car to turn wired CarPlay or Android Auto wireless – just like that. For those of us who have cars new enough to feature either system, but not new enough for them to be wireless, it's potentially a bit of a godsend.

After all, the annoyance of dealing with cables in your dashboard can be pretty tiresome, and banishing that issue for just $39.99 or £39.99 is pretty persuasive. The AirFly Drive is tiny, too, with just a USB-A connector on the back and a pairing button on its outside.

So long as your car has a USB port, it's likely to be compatible, but you can also use TwelveSouth's compatibility lists here to see a bit more detail about the brands and models that should work with it. If your car has a USB-C port, not USB-A, don't worry: there's an included adapter.

Best of all, the dongle isn't just limited to one phone connection – you can pair two phones to it and switch between them with just a press of the button. That means if you share a car, as so many of us do, there's no fiddly re-pairing all the time.

If it works as it sounds like, this is most likely one of those slam-dunk product launches that you get every so often. Wired CarPlay or Android Auto is a darn sight better than nothing, but almost everyone who uses it likely wishes it were wireless every so often.

In one fell swoop, that problem might be solved now, and we'll look forward to testing it out to see whether it lives up to that billing. The AirFly Drive can be ordered directly from TwelveSouth now, but it says that the gadget will also hit Amazon in around a week's time.

I attended a launch event in the heart of Paris earlier this week, where Loewe presented its newest brand ambassador, Esther Abrami, with a private violin concert showcasing her talents.

Much as that grabbed my interest, it was the brand's all-new speaker that then distracted me with different talents of its own. The Neo is a portable Bluetooth speaker quite unlike any other I've ever handled – and I've seen it all over the years.

Finished with an exposed aluminium chassis, complete with distinctive circular openings, the visual aesthetic balances industrial chic with a more delicate craftsmanship. That grille's openings are almost sharp to the touch, such is their precision.

While I didn't see this particular feature in action, the Loewe Neo's grilles are even interchangeable, should you wish to switch out for other options, and there are modular exterior components to really amp up the personalisation factor.

There's plenty more going on, too, with intelligent lighting part of the package too. As you can see from my hands-on shots, I the side panel was illuminating an eye-catching purple when I handled the unit; but there's also an additional light bar on the opposite side next to the physical controls.

These control buttons feature the ability to adjust bass and treble output, plus control the lighting function to suit your tastes. It's not like an out-of-control party speaker, mind, the lighting is far more subtle and eloquent – as you'd expect of a brand like Loewe.

The one major aspect that lacked in my preview session was to actually hear the speaker, because the concert room was so loud and that wasn't on the table. But with 50W of power and dual passive radiators, the spec sheet ticks the right boxes for a product of this scale.

It's even kitted out with IP67 dust- and water-proofing, ensuring the elements won't stop it – I'm impressed, considering that grille design – a battery to deliver 12 hours per charge, and it's all wrapped in an included carry case (not pictured).

One of my favourite Bluetooth speakers is Bang & Olufsen's A1 Gen 3, which is also a striking metal unit (albeit more circular), but in my brief time handling the Loewe Neo, I find it an even more striking prospect.

I was therefore holding my breath to find out the asking price, which I had assumed would be far beyond the reaches of most. However, at £400/$400, for a Loewe product, it's honestly not as outlandish as I was half expecting.

And for something that's as much objet d'art as it is a functional Bluetooth speaker, I can't wait to see – and, indeed, hear – more from the Neo. There's a little wait, however, as it's only available to pre-order from 20 November for a release later in the year.

Cambridge Audio is one of those smaller brands that keeps on doing sterling work in a world theoretically dominated by giants like Sony, Bose and Apple – and coming in with sensible pricing is a big part of its appeal. A year ago I was impressed by the Melomania A100, true wireless earbuds that did a lot right for a fair price.

Now, a little over a year later, it's debuting a revision of that same earbud, now called the Melomania A100 SE, and it seems like another very sensible launch for those who want earbuds like the AirPods Pro without spending quite that level of cash.

Many of their specs and features are the same as before (including 39 hours of total battery with the case, IPX5 water resistance, and LDAC compatibility for hi-fi audio). However, Cambridge has managed to squeeze in Spatial Audio by Dolby for the first time, which some people love (and which other people love to ignore).

Cambridge also says that it's re-tuned the earbuds and that this should bring better bass, clearer vocals, and richer mids – all good things. Intriguingly, though, this does seem to be the main sum of the changes, which are basically audio tweaks to improve things subtly.

A new Qualcomm chipset inside the earbud is part of this improvement, handling some sound processing to give the A100 SE a little bit more power to work with in terms of that sound presentation.

Still, this underlines why this isn't an A200 launch, then, since Cambridge Audio is indeed effectively just putting out a new, slightly improved version of the same earbud without really changing huge parts of its design or feature set.

The Melomania A100 SE will be available this month (we don't have a more precise date than that right now), and will launch at £129 in the UK, €149 in the EU, and $149 in the US. It's worth knowing, though, that the standard A100 can now be found for quite a lot less than that, which might represent the best opportunity out of this whole launch.

Technics has pulled off some blinders in recent years when it comes to in-ear and over-ear audio. The EAH-A800 over-ears from four-and-a-bit years ago were a 5-star wonder, as was the impressive (and award-winning) EAH-AZ100 in-ears released just last year.

Looking to trump both those products, however, is this: the all-new EAH-A1000 over-ears, which deploy updated unique technologies taken from both the AZ100 and the brand's storied speaker products. The goal is for a high-end, high-resolution pair of headphones that stand apart from their peers.

But standing apart is ever more difficult in a market bustling with choice: from Sonos' just-released Ace Ultra and their ecosystem-targeted Wi-Fi functionality; to Bowers & Wilkins' PX7 S3 and their luxury design and material choices; to Sony's WH-1000XM6 for the ultimate in travel headphones and noise-cancelling (ANC) capabilities.

Technics hasn't explicitly tried to take on any one of those examples head-on, mind, carving out a niche of its own by doubling down on its technologies and sound quality in a design that may position them as home-listening headphones for many. Yet their lightweight nature – despite large-scale physicality – and ANC credits mean they're also versatile enough to use while on the go.

Price & Availability

The Technics EAH-A1000 are available now (from 30 September), with a launch price set at £399 in the UK and €449 in Europe. They will go on sale worldwide, but US and wider regional pricing is yet to be determined at the time of writing.

That positions the A1000 at £/€100 more than the earlier (and less advanced) A800 model, so by that logic the US asking price for the A1000 could be $549 – but we'll have to wait and see, given current market complications.

What's New?

While I've mentioned the previous A800 model, I won't really be discussing those headphones from here on – as the A1000 is an entirely different product with a heap of its own innovation. Indeed, there are some core aspects in the A1000 that provide a unique edge.

The first is the brand's Magnetic Fluid Driver technology, which uses a magnetic oil-like liquid that sits between voice coil and driver magnet, to support precise movement and suppress unwanted vibrations and distortion. This has been adapted from the AZ100 in-ears, but it needed lots of tweaking to make it possible at this larger scale.

The second is the custom dome-and-cone-shaped 40mm driver, which is made from carbon fibre – selected due to its low weight and inherent rigidity. However, Technics pulled upon its SST Edge technology (that's 'Symmetrical Surround Technology'), derived from some of its established speaker products, to ensure airflow during movement remained symmetrical.

Being able to produce a carbon fibre diaphragm to the specified shape proved tricky, though, as the material's hardness caused challenges with moulding and deformation. Technics worked around this by weaving fibre directions and adding a physical 'rib' to the dome to provide stability. No compromise to shape, nor on the material choice.

An Acoustic Control Chamber behind the driver helps manage airflow, minimise irregularities, and drive the acoustic path to the ear with utmost clarity. This, combined with the above technologies, gives the A1000 its unique sonic properties. But such technologies are also what makes the earcups protrude more than you average – as there's so much to accommodate within.

Design

How you feel about that physical size could be the deciding factor in whether these are the headphones for you, as this is no slim-profile, Sonos-style product. I've felt conscious of that when wearing these headphones for travel, not that it's as eye-catching a prospect as something zany, like Nothing's Headphone (1).

That said, there's nothing heavy about the A1000 headphones. The 306g weight is roughly that of, say, Bowers & Wilkins PX7 S3, and the way the Technics headphones position over the head feels balanced, comfortable and avoids any undue clamping force – with the headband effortlessly (and silently) adjustable.

There's been a lot of thought in what Technics calls its Flow Arm structure – the arms which hold the earcups to the headband. It flows from a square structure to a triangular one at its end, giving this a fluid visual. However, I do wish as much attention was paid to some surrounding details, as the visual presence of a hex-screwhead and notable openings for the folding mechanics don't look quite as refined.

Technics has opted for physical controls here, too, with two buttons flanking a toggle control on the right earcup. They're easy to reach, making pairing, skipping tracks and adjusting volume a breeze, although the look and feel – when inspected up close – isn't to the same lofty heights as Sonos' latest Ace Ultra headphones in my view. It, too, could be further finessed.

I'm also not a fan of the Platinum Greige name – per my review photographs – but do think the visual appeal is undeniable. Especially those metal earcaps, which are aluminium and finished with a spun-blasted technique for a distinct look in the way light catches in them. The Technics logo looks grand in gold, just as it does on the alternative Black finish option.

Sound & ANC

When I was first introduced to the A1000, the listening sessions Technics presented to me were largely built around instrumental jazz records, which the headphones presented very well – bar some minor resonance when wired USB-C listening at higher volumes.

Since then, I've explored all kinds of music with the A1000 and the myriad genres it rewards is reflective of Technics' versatility. That's an echo of how the brand is represented, from its roots in classical jazz through to DMC scratch DJ competitions.

From Daft Punk to Michael Jackson, even underground drum and bass and melodic techno, the A1000 really can put its talents to anything. I'd initially assumed the bass profile here would be limited, but it's anything but – straight and punchy, there's no shyness in low-end presentation whatsoever.

The soundstage is broad, yet doesn't overcomplicate its presentation by overindulging with processing trickery, leaving you firmly in the centre – as vocals and high-end percussion dance around that capable low-end core. The A1000 can cater for 20Hz to 48kHz, such is its range.

What really brings this all together, as the glue if you like, is the capable active noise-cancellation (ANC) on offer. I've discreetly tested it while travelling, so know how well it functions on a plane, just as it does when in the office. A key aspect of its wizardry is the 'Adaptive / Auto-optimization' feature.

In the Technics Audio Connect app you're be able to toggle between ANC being on, off, or engaged in Ambient Sound (what many would call passthrough, such as 'Aware' or similar), with a 0-100 slider to adjust the strength. Oddly it's even more powerful with Adaptive switched on, surpassing the 100 manual maximum – and, in my plane test example, drowning out that hissing background sound even more effectively.

But where ANC really helps is in the way it enhances the overall sonic profile. It's what helps that bass hit more powerfully, it's what enables distractions to be drowned out so you can focus on what you're listening to – and while some sharp external sounds can penetrate through, I've found that to be barely a distraction.

The same app also offers a bunch of customisation options, including EQ presets and an eight-band manual adjustment if you want to be very specific – three of which can be saved as your own personal Custom options to call upon. LDAC quality sounds great, Bluetooth connectivity has been solid in all my tests, but if you want to engage LE Audio or spatial audio then LDAC is dropped for lower-bandwidth AAC.

Even with all its highest settings engaged – LDAC and ANC – the A1000 lasts for a superb 40 hours per charge. That's increased to 45 hours for AAC. Wired listening is catered for, too, which can last for 30 hours delivering Hi-Res Audio playback via the provided USB-C-to-3.5mm or C-to-C cables.

Technics A1000 review: Verdict

After two weeks of using the Technics EAH-A1000, I've fallen for their big sound and presentation – the resulting benefit of unique audio technologies and design working together to great effect.

Big is the operative word, though, as that abundance of technologies does mean the A1000's earcups protrude more than your average – and some people will find that a deterrent if looking to buy travel headphones.

I have travelled plenty with the A1000, though, where the battery life and active noise-cancelling (ANC) have shown true grit and ability to stand up to the not inconsiderable competition on the market at this price.

While the A1000 won't be for everyone, therefore, their niche nature and distinctive design bring appeals of their own. But it's the sound and comfort that'll keep you coming back for more, time and again, reinforcing their 5-star status.

Also Consider

While many products aren't going to match what the A1000 is offering, I think there are a trio of alternatives that excel in their own respective areas.

The Sonos Ace Ultra are the most comfortable headphones going, in my view, with a slim profile that's great when at home or on the go.

If you want to cut some of the weight for the sake of travel convenience, then Sony's WH-1000XM6 are a strong choice, with ANC that's largely unbeatable.

Last up, from a design perspective, the Bowers & Wilkins PX7 S3 are delightful. Lush materials and a luxury aesthetic are appealing, even if the ANC isn't as powerful.

Technics has continued to step up its game, with its latest flagship over-ear headphones, the EAH-A1000, bringing technologies adapted from the brand's AZ100 in-ears and storied speaker products.

The next-generational step up over the EAH-A800 – which launched over 4 years ago, back in 2022 – the A1000 bring low-distortion driver technology in an attempt to lure you away from picking, say, a pair of Bowers & Wilkins PX7 S3.

The so-called Magnetic Fluid Driver within the A1000 utilises a magnetic oil-like liquid that sits between the voice coil and driver magnet, as if 'floating', to support precise movement and suppress unwanted vibrations and distortions.

Technics also chose carbon fibre for the driver diaphragm, due to its low weight and extreme rigidity. Combining this with the brand's SST Edge technology – as adapted from its hi-fi speakers – enables the driver to "keep air displaced symmetrically between forward and backward movement" for greater clarity.

These future-facing and proven technologies have been paired with all the latest mod cons in the A1000, with active noise-cancelling (ANC) offering an adaptive feature to auto-adjust based on your surroundings; it also offers Ambient Sound for passthrough should you want to hear conversations.

High-quality sound is supported through LDAC – the proprietary audio tech developed by Sony – and able to support 990kbps for high-resolution audio files. The option for spatial audio is also here, although this disables the LDAC capability. USB-C audio is available should you want to go wired.

Design is also a considerable part of the A1000 package, with Technics opting for a different balance of the headband angle, which connects to what the brand is calling a "newly designed Flow Arm" – the connection point between headband and earcups curves from a square shape to a triangular one in seamless fashion.

Battery life is assessed at 30 hours of playback with both LDAC and ANC switched on. That increases to a massive 45 hours if you ditch LDAC, but leave noise-cancelling switched on. That's competitive innings that position the A1000 squarely against the likes of Sony's WH-1000XM6, Bose's QC Ultra Headphones, and more.

You can pre-order the Technics EAH-A1000 right now, which carries a suggested retail price of £399 at launch (additional market pricing is to be confirmed). Two colour options are available: Black and Platinum Greige.

I’ve always had a soft spot for the AirPods Pro series, thanks in no small part to their volume slider feature, which has made countless rival earbuds feel unnecessarily awkward ever since.

Being able to swipe up or down on the stem to adjust the volume sounds like a small addition, but compared to the various button-and-touch implementations from brands like Bose, Sony, and Huawei, Apple’s approach remains the gold standard for me in on-bud control.

Bringing this feature to the more affordable AirPods 5 is therefore a huge deal for fans of Apple sound tuning on a budget. It is a huge deal for me, in particular, as I wasn’t the biggest fan of the new shape of the AirPods Pro 3. It felt bulkier in my ears than my beloved AirPods Pro 2, which made me appreciate all the improvements less.

In addition to adding volume control to the buds, Apple has redesigned the internal acoustic architecture, improved Adaptive EQ, strengthened ANC and increased water resistance to IP57. Battery life has also improved slightly, but not to the level I would like to see it in 2026.

To clarify, this review is of the model that Apple confusingly calls “Apple AirPods 5 with Wireless Charging Case.” This is the version with the volume slider and slightly longer battery life. The cheaper version also offers ANC but lacks the volume slider and the wireless charging case.

Apple AirPods 5 review

Price and availability

Apple announced the AirPods 5 in early September 2026, with the earbuds going on sale on 18 September. They are available directly from Apple UK, Apple US, Apple EU, Apple AU and third-party retailers now.

There are two versions. The standard AirPods 5 cost £119 / $129 / €149 / AU$219 and, unlike the base AirPods 4, include Active Noise Cancellation. The AirPods 5 with Wireless Charging Case reviewed here cost £139 / $149 / €169 / AU$249 and add on-stem volume control, wireless charging and slightly longer battery life.

The £139 model is £40 cheaper than the AirPods 4 with ANC was at launch, despite adding the excellent volume slider and improving sound and noise cancellation. Considering the relatively small £20 premium over the standard AirPods 5, I think the Wireless Charging Case version is comfortably the better buy.

Design and comfort

Before trying the AirPods 5, I wasn’t entirely convinced that Apple’s volume slider would translate particularly well to this form factor. In my head, the AirPods 4 had a noticeably shorter stem than AirPods Pro 3. Putting the AirPods 5 and AirPods Pro 3 side by side quickly corrected that assumption.

The stems are almost the same length, and the volume groove is essentially the same, which gives you plenty of room for the swipe gesture. Sliding a finger up or down adjusts the volume smoothly, while squeezing the stem handles playback and other functions. To my delight, it works just as well here as it does on AirPods Pro.

That’s a huge win because the volume slider remains one of my favourite design innovations on any pair of in-ear headphones. Nothing irks me more than trying to control button-sized earphones by pressing them further into my ear canal. Stem-based control lets you access all the important control functions without straining your ears.

The bigger physical difference between AirPods 5 and AirPods Pro is the earpiece itself. The AirPods 5 head is considerably smaller, and because there are no silicone tips, there is no passive seal in the ear. This makes the buds more comfortable to wear for longer periods (if only battery life would support this feature).

I wasn’t particularly keen on the larger shape of the AirPods Pro 3, whereas the AirPods 5 are reminiscent of the AirPods Pro 2 and almost disappear once they’re in. If you dislike the plugged-up feeling of silicone-tipped earbuds, that remains one of the biggest advantages of standard AirPods.

Apple has also improved water resistance, giving the AirPods 5 an IP57 rating. That’s a significant upgrade for anyone planning to use them as running headphones, as they should be considerably more resistant to sweat, rain and other wet conditions.

I didn’t intentionally dunk the earbuds to test that claim, but the increased protection should make them a more reassuring option for running, gym sessions and generally wet conditions.

Sound performance

Noise cancellation

Apple says the AirPods 5 offer 50% more noise reduction than the previous generation, and by the sound of things, there is definitely an improvement. However, the open-fit design places a hard limit on what ANC can achieve.

Without an ear tip creating a passive seal, ambient noise will always find its way in. Sitting on a train, for example, announcements over the tannoy found their way to my ears without an issue, even with ANC switched on.

That’s not to say ANC is poor, though, especially compared to the AirPods 4. Low-level background noise and general rumble are suppressed impressively well, and the AirPods 5 do a very good job by open-fit standards.

Of course, “open-ear” covers several very different designs. AirPods 5 sit much closer to the ear canal than something like the Shokz OpenDots 2, so they naturally block more external sound even before ANC gets involved.

The point is that they still don’t create the passive seal you get from silicone-tipped earbuds. That said, anyone expecting the isolated, cocoon-like effect of AirPods Pro 2, AirPods Pro 3 or AirPods Max 2 will be disappointed by the noise cancellation prowess of the AirPods 5. In practice, the effect often feels closer to active noise reduction than complete isolation.

Transparency mode

Transparency mode, on the other hand, is exceptional. Apple has been excellent at Transparency for years, and the AirPods 5 might be one of the best showcases for it. Voices and environmental sounds come through clearly and naturally, without the processed or amplified quality you sometimes hear from rival earbuds.

Combine that with the lightweight open-ear design, and the result is a barely-there sensation that sealed earbuds struggle to replicate. You can hear what's happening around you almost as though you weren't wearing headphones at all, while your music or podcast continues playing in the background. I love it.

Sound quality

Sound quality has taken another noticeable step forward. Apple says it has redesigned the AirPods 5 internally with a new acoustic architecture informed by lessons learned from developing the AirPods Pro 3, along with a newer generation of Adaptive EQ.

I liked what Apple did sonically with AirPods Pro 3, but I wasn’t particularly fond of their larger physical shape, which made me enjoy everything else a lot less. The AirPods 5 let me enjoy some of that improved acoustic performance in a much smaller and more comfortable package.

They sound full-bodied and surprisingly substantial for such small open-fit earbuds. Bass has plenty of weight without becoming overwhelming, while the midrange is rich and treble has enough presence to keep things lively and detailed. There is also an impressive sense of space.

Open-fit earbuds naturally have some advantages here, but the AirPods 5 create a surprisingly broad sonic landscape given their compact size. The AirPods Pro still have the edge for outright clarity, separation and finer detail, but the gap has certainly narrowed.

They sound full-bodied and surprisingly substantial for such small open-fit earbuds. Bass has plenty of weight without becoming overwhelming, while the midrange is rich and the treble has enough presence to keep things lively and detailed. There is also an impressive sense of space.

Open-fit earbuds naturally have some advantages here, but the AirPods 5 create a surprisingly broad sonic landscape given their compact size. The AirPods Pro still have the edge for outright clarity, separation and finer detail, but the gap has certainly narrowed.

Custom EQ

After years of begging the company, Apple has finally given one of the most requested features to AirPods users. With iOS 27, compatible AirPods – including not just the new AirPods 5, but also the AirPods 4 and certain Pro and Max models – now get Custom EQ.

Apple hasn’t gone overboard by offering a massive library of genre presets or a complicated multi-band equaliser, but you get Apple's standard tuning or a Custom option with three simple controls that let you adjust the frequency response while previewing the changes live

The tuning is stored on the AirPods themselves and the settings follow them across compatible apps and devices, which is nice.

Personally, I haven’t felt much need to use it, as I’m generally happy with Apple's default tuning on the AirPods 5. After some experimenting with Custom EQ, I quickly returned to the standard setting, but I appreciate that Apple has listened to its customers for once.

Battery life and charging

Battery life is easily my biggest frustration with the AirPods 5. Apple promises up to five hours of listening with ANC enabled (on the £139 model), and my testing broadly backed that up.

After around four and a half hours of continuous listening with noise cancellation switched on, my AirPods battery was down to 12%.

Apple partly offsets the short runtime with fast charging, with five minutes in the case providing roughly another hour of listening. My pair went from 12% to 80% after around 30 minutes in the case.

That sounds reassuring, but I think it misses the real problem. Quick top-ups only work properly when the battery already lasts long enough to fit naturally around your day.

The AirPods Pro 3 are a good example. Their eight-hour ANC battery life is enough to cover a morning commute and several hours at work. You can then put them back in the case over lunch for a quick top-up, and comfortably get through the afternoon and journey home.

The AirPods 5’s five hours means you can already be approaching empty before lunch, forcing you to think about charging during normal use, which makes the battery life feel limiting.

The £139 model at least supports USB-C, Qi, and Apple Watch wireless charging, so putting power back in is easy. But fast charging only makes things less inconvenient, as it doesn’t offer a like-for-like substitution for decent battery life.

Verdict

Apple is the granddaddy of iterative design, so it shouldn’t surprise anyone that the AirPods 5 look almost identical to their predecessors. In use, though, the improvements add up to something considerably more substantial.

Sound is fuller and more spacious, noise reduction is stronger, Transparency mode is outstanding, and the open-fit design remains exceptionally comfortable. Most importantly for me, the £139 version finally gets the AirPods Pro's excellent volume slider.

The AirPods 5 don't turn standard AirPods into cheaper AirPods Pro, nor should they. They're arguably better at simply being AirPods; as in, a lightweight, comfortable and almost invisible pair of headphones that sound considerably better than before.

The biggest compromise remains battery life. Five hours with ANC isn't unusable, and Apple makes charging quick and easy, but it isn't long enough to disappear into the background of a normal workday in the way the eight-hour AirPods Pro 3 can. Fix that, and Apple would have an exceptionally difficult pair of open-fit earbuds to fault.

Nothing has just unveiled the Headphone (1) Pro, a big swing into a more premium part of the headphones market, one that puts it in direct competition with the likes of the Sony WH-1000XM6 or Sennheiser Momentum Wireless 5.

The new headphones are very much an upgraded version of the Headphone (1) that I loved back in mid-2025, and the overall design of the headphones hasn't changed drastically. That means they still have the cassette-shaped earcups on the outside, although the design of their transparent section is actually a little more subdued this time around.

Despite this, there's plenty that's changed under the hood, including a redesigned main driver system that now actually has three parts – with tiny extra drivers helping to add more detail to your highs and mids when playing music.

The comfort should also be upgraded thanks to a slightly plusher headband and ear cushions, and it's fair to say that this all contributes to a more premium-feeling set of headphones.

My favourite part of the Headphone (1) when I tested it was how Nothing approached its controls, with a dial and flapper that were both unlike anything else on the market. Those controls remain, as do all the controls, except for one new addition. There's a new switch inside the left earcup that toggles on a new "Flat" EQ mode.

This is something that Nothing has apparently worked on with a host of musicians, including its recently announced ambassador Charli XCX. It's an EQ preset that, as it sounds like, flattens out much of the jazzier accents of the Headphone (1) Pro's default sound tuning, to make it more reliable in studio or mixing settings.

That means the "Pro" in the name of these new headphones actually might have some truth to it, since this should make them more reliable for professional-grade use.

The other big change comes in the storage department, where Nothing has slightly jumped the shark. Rather than the quite choice felt case that the Headphone (1) came with, this time around things are very different.

The Headphone (1) Pro comes with a hardshell case that looks like a sort of clamshell that you clip the earcups into. It latches shut, and the headband of the headphones sticks out as a sort of carrying handle, making for a super unique look that strongly summons up the much-derided AirPods Max case that Apple created years back.

Unlike that case, though, it's chunky and heavy, so I can't say I'm the biggest fan, as I've expanded on in my full review of the Headphone (1) Pro, which you can read right here to find out more.

The headphones should be available to order imminently and come in at $399 in the US and £349 here in the UK. There's no getting around how ambitious that price is, needless to say.

Nothing made a bit of a splash, at least in my own estimation, when it debuted the Headphone (1). It arrived in the over-ear headphone market with a bold design, superb controls, and extremely solid sound – and I was won over (more so than some of my peers).

Now, after already having made a cut-price version, the Headphone (a), Nothing's going even higher-end with the new Headphone (1) Pro, on review here.

These over-ears pose the question of how you could make the Headphone (1) fancier, and come up with answers that vary from expected to baffling. I've had them for a few weeks to formulate my detailed thoughts on how they shape up.

Price and Availability

When you announce a "Pro" version of an existing headphone, most people's first question will rightly be how much the price is going up. It's what people recently asked of the Sonos Ace Ultra over the original, for example.

The Headphone (1) Pro launches at $399 in the US and £349 here in the UK, exactly £100 more than the Headphone (1)'s launch price (which hasn't been cut down since then, despite some sales bringing temporary discounts).

The headphones will be available to order imminently, if you're keen on them, and that price rockets them right into the same bracket as a whole heap of flagships. They're in contention with the likes of Sony's WH-1000XM6, Sennheiser Momentum 5 Wireless and more, making for an extremely competitive field.

Design and Features

At a glance, it would probably be pretty hard for the uninitiated to tell apart a pair of Headphone (1) Pro from the older Headphone (1), since they very much share the same design foundations.

The new headphones retain most of the main elements of the older pair's design, including their squared-off earcups and a leaning towards transparency. It's not the biggest difference, but the Pro's earcups are actually a little less jazzy than last time out, which I welcome. Some of the details inside the transparent windows have been toned down and made less eye-catching.

That said, the windows themselves have technically been upgraded, since they're now faced with actual glass – scratch-resistant, Nothing assures me, something I've been loath to test – framed within aluminium. That's a tip-off about one of the ways the Headphone (1) Pro differs – its materials are more premium, although the headphones are in fact 2g lighter than the Headphone (1).

There's now more metal and less plastic, that new glossy glass, and some plusher cushioning in key places: the headband in particular, and the earcups, too. This honestly changes very little about how they sit on the head, but I had no comfort issues with the older version. If you found those too clamping, however, then you might have a better time with the Pro.

Also nearly unchanged are the borderline revolutionary controls that Nothing came up with for its first over-ears. You get the same roller button for volume and play/pause, a rocker for skipping tracks, an external customisable button, and a hidden button for pairing.

There's now a new switch inside the other earcup to activate a new Flat EQ mode. This is important because Nothing's pinning quite a lot on the new audio tuning offered by the Headphone (1) Pro, and the EQ presets that come with it. In the Nothing X app, you can now tinker far more deeply with the headphone's sound, including some spatial presets to mimic different types of venues.

Much of this is gimmicky (and Sony does the same with its Collexion top-tier offering), but the Flat EQ mode is pretty interesting. It does what it says on the tin, basically turning tuning off at your beck and call, to return you to a sterile, studio-style listening experience that doesn't bring anything to the table to influence your listening. I like it a lot, and being able to toggle it so easily is fun.

Like the Headphone (1) before them, these cans bring active noise-cancelling (ANC) to the table, and it performs solidly again – although I couldn't necessarily discern a massive improvement when I surreptitiously used them on a few long-haul flights recently. More microphones should mean more accurate noise suppression, though.

Battery life is a curious topic this time, with the estimated 30 hours with ANC turned on actually lower than on the Headphone (1), although turning it off will net you a really chunky 68 hours. Not that many people are likely to opt for that.

I'm an outspoken fan of Nothing's previous design work on its headphones, but that position has been tested enormously by one part of the Headphone (1) Pro: its case. Rather than a soft-touch case like every other headphone you've used in the last few years, Nothing has stepped out and instead gone for a sort of hardshell plastic halfway design, which leaves the headband exposed as a carrying handle.

I heard directly from Nothing's designers about how this would save space in bags, and how its handle loops could make it a fashion statement worn as a sling, but in practice I think it's a design disaster. At a criminal 384g, it more than doubles the headphones' weight (327g on their own) in a bag, and has room for precisely no extra accessories like wires, adapters, or anything else.

It's the definition of aesthetics over purpose, and I can't quite believe it made it out of the door – not least because of its similarities to the AirPods Max case that people have spent about half a decade loudly mocking. At least that one is light and thin, though!

If that over-thought case added anything to the final price of the Headphone (1) Pro, then colour me baffled – I'd back plenty of people to decline it from the package if they could save even £20 as a result.

That's obviously a sour note, but it stands in clear contrast to the rest of the design work on the headphones themselves, which remains innovative and different (both rarities at this point).

Sound and Performance

If you're going to crank up the price of your new headphones by this sort of margin, how they sound becomes even more important than it already was. Nothing has played an interesting hand here, too, leaning on new customisation features as well as a new driver architecture.

The new driver system is a three-part one that its engineers are clearly proud of, and the end result is more precise and detailed, just as promised. The Headphone (1) Pro builds on the solid foundations of the standard version, but it does have more heft and verve.

Listening to Jungle's new album, there's a really nice amount of separation between vocals and backing elements, and the high-end sounds great. Rerouting to older material from J. J. Cale, the acoustic soul of the tracks comes through really nicely, and the same is true of some Creedence Clearwater Revival.

It's all very impressive in isolation, but it's also fair to say that when I got my Headphone (1) back out, I confirmed fairly quickly that the gap between the models is not massive. Yes, the (1) Pro has a bit more to it, but it's improving on a great skeleton.

The same is true of that newly improved ANC system, which did indeed dull the noise of the flights I took to a strong degree, but not in a way that made the previous version look too substandard. It blocks more noise, but still falls short of the best I've used in this price bracket (which remains Sony's WH-1000XM6).

Many of the other features Nothing's keen to spotlight reside in the Nothing X app, and I'm curious how many people will be moved particularly by them. Flat EQ, as I've mentioned already, is a winner in my book, not least because it has a physical toggle.

Another addition is spatial audio presets designed to mimic different listening environments, from a studio to a club or a concert venue. I'll be frank: I experimented with these but almost immediately confirmed they're not something I'd want to use regularly, and I'd be surprised if many people diverged from that.

Some new EQ presets are a bit more traditional in their approach, and their changes to the Headphone (1) Pro's sound are clear to hear when you swap between them. It feels generous to count that as a standalone feature, though, when you can just do your own EQ customisation when you want it.

Nothing Headphone (1) Pro review: Verdict

I don't want to draw any overly grand conclusions about the Nothing Headphone (1) Pro and what it says about Nothing's wider market approach, but at a time when it claims to know it might have made too many phones in recent years, I wonder if this new launch fits into a similar bucket.

I like it plenty when assessed in isolation, but in the context of the cheaper and, in my opinion, much better-value Headphone (1), I don't see enough in the Pro to warrant an upgraded version with this sort of price jump. You get better sound and some add-on features, but a considerably more inconvenient case and little meaningful change in design terms.

At this price, I'd point people towards other options, frankly, and I'll be extremely interested to see how Nothing fares with a launch that might not really have needed to happen at all. If it could only have brought some of these improvements to a later-launching Headphone (2) without a price rise, it could have been cooking with some gas.

Also Consider

No prizes for guessing the headphones that I'd recommend most if you're enticed by the cool design of the Headphone (1) Pro but aren't sure about the price. The normal Headphone (1) remains excellent, in my view, and while you'll save a chunk of cash, I think it's almost certainly one to keep an eye on through the coming autumn and early winter sales – if its price doesn't budge, I'll eat my hat.

Alternatively, my favourite recent over-ears are the Momentum 5 Wireless from Sennheiser, which are far stealthier in design terms. They sound brilliant and have excellent battery life, too, and a normal case. Plus, they're actually cheaper than the Nothing Headphone (1) Pro here in the UK, making them a comprehensive winner by comparison.

Woody Cook is a DJ, which shouldn't come as a surprise considering his parents are none other than Norman "Fatboy Slim" Cook and former Radio 1 and 2 breakfast host Zoe Ball. However, he's also carving his own niche in a family business that's under more threat than ever before.

Opportunities for musicians and artists are at a premium: the number of live venues around the UK is shrinking, algorithms have a stranglehold on the music we stream, and all while AI interference conversely expands at an unprecedented rate. It's enough to consider a change of career.

But beyond merely surviving in an ever-changing digital landscape, Cook remains unboundedly positive about its future. After all, why worry about the impact of technology on your work when you can learn to control it – embrace it even?

"I think at one end you have amazing tools where, when sampling and stuff, a lot of time there's these bits missing from the sample because you've had to take out the drums and things like that. I think there's an amazing application for AI to fix that sound," he told T3 when we recently sat down to chat.

"But at the same time, I think it could also lead to laziness, repetitiveness. Everyone got angry at sampling for being piracy, but this is basically pirating everyone at once – pirating the entirety of music that's ever existed.

"I guess though, everything's scary when it first comes out. The CDJs were scary to vinyl DJs, the television was scary to Victorians. But you know, technology keeps moving forward – it's about not fearing it, but also not using it in a morally bankrupt way."

It's not worse, it's just different

Woody, who has his father's penchant for a Hawaiian shirt and similarly animated DJ style, is under no illusion to the impact and over-reliance on algorithms and streaming is having on the music industry – at least at the grass roots level. But, he also believes technology is helping to counter it.

"We don't know exactly how the algorithms work to plug music. However, at the same time we have this loose cannon – TikTok. No matter how much [the labels] try to buy it out it has remained an uncontrollable weapon.

"Current trends can pop up overnight. You can have a song from 20 years ago suddenly hit the charts because some person danced to it in a funny way." That, Cook said, keeps things interesting.

But what about DJing, surely that's under more threat from streaming services than other forms of music performance? Algorithms and automatic mixing can keep the party going to a listener's specific tastes?

"Well yeah, 100%. Sometimes Spotify plays me the best song ever because it's got some algorithm based on people with similar music tastes to me. It's got codes to understand the music. But at the same time it's aways playing it safe.

"It's just delivering you music you're going to like because the more you enjoy it. the less likely you'll leave the service. It won't take risks," he explained, when considering whether it rivals his art.

"A good DJ, on the other hand, knows how to just pull out the tuner and do something weird – take risks, things like that. The style of DJing I do is very visceral. I will climb on the front railings – anything I can climb, I will. I'll roll. I scream at the lyrics, jump into the crowd. What AI can do that?"

All about the audience

Woody believes it's this human connection that makes the biggest difference. Listening to perfectly mixed tunes in your own home, delivered by a streaming service is one thing, but add an audience and it becomes a collective experience. And that's why he'll always be in work.

"DJing is between you and the the audience. Anyone could be a DJ, much like anyone can ride a bike. But not everyone can do a wheelie or a jump. DJing is about reading the crowd and learning what it wants. You're not going to play the same thing to an older crowd as to a bunch of 16-year-olds.

"Everyone's got a different taste, a different energy."

That's what a streaming algorithm will never truly understand. It can never assess the "vibes" of an entire crowd, rather than individuals. It can mix and blend tracks into one, but not suddenly decide to throw in a curveball mid-set. That's what a great DJ can do and why Woody will always be in demand.

An AI DJ might one day be able to replicate some of that, of course, and who knows, you might even see one on a stage at the Reading Festival at some point. But then it's never going to look as good in a Hawaiian shirt.

Woody Cook was speaking to T3 after teaming with Three Mobile in the UK to invite the nation to "Let Fun In". This encourages Brits to make more room for fun and spontaneity in everyday life. Three customers can also find a range of treats and rewards in the Three+ app.

The retro revival is truly here. Not only are youngsters and seasoned tech fans alike looking to vinyl and CD players, but there's renewed interest in wired earbuds, too.

That's why Bose has just revealed its first wired in-ear product in over a decade, the descriptively named Noise Cancelling Wired Earbuds, which are due out mid-October with a £99 / $99 asking price.

The real trick to these, of course, is the addition of active noise-cancelling (ANC) in a wired 'bud form, giving these in-ears one of Bose's best features, just without any wireless connectivity.

When I first saw the promotional shots of these earbuds it took my mind back to Apple's iPod launch days – if you remember those iconic, colourful ads? Not that I'm comparing Bose's buds directly; it just triggered a wave of nostalgia for me.

That modern-retro design delivers an advanced feature set, all considered, as the Noise Cancelling Wired Earbuds don't have any battery on board – but the active noise-cancelling (ANC) doesn't require one to operate.

That means no risk of them running dead, yet no restriction on the ANC type you want – with Bose offering the same Quiet and Aware options, per its other core headphone products. The earbuds draw power from the device to which they're connected – via the USB-C connection.

Sound quality caters for Hi-Res Audio, too, as the earbuds can output files to 24-bit/48kHz if you have the source material. That's well beyond CD quality, so whether you're streaming or plugged into a more elaborate source, this Bose product has got your back.

The Noise Cancelling Wired Earbuds are available in classic Black or White Smoke, while a limited-edition Dewdrop Mint version is also available. I wouldn't be surprised if more colourways launch over time, too, as these in-ears look ripe for it.

It seems that 2026 is rapidly becoming the year of "modern retro", with products such as this showing that the anti-wireless, anti-AI and simpler choice is sometimes exactly what people want. And more iPod-style adverts, too, please.

There’s something familiar about the Retro Water Drop Ambient Player, yet on closer inspection you realise there’s no record to be found.

Designed by FayYin Li, this not-record-player gadget borrows the proportions and ritualistic feel of a vintage turntable, then replaces the spinning platter with a spiral basin designed to send falling water back into a 130ml internal tank.

A small pump lifts the water to the top, where it falls as individual droplets and rolls back down the basin. The whole thing runs from USB-C, so there's no plumbing involved, making it a simple way to add a little movement to a desk, shelf or bedside table.

RGB lighting runs around the edge of the basin, while the falling water creates a natural, constantly changing sound. There's also a built-in speaker producing a gentle layer of white noise, with a single control knob letting you adjust both the volume and water flow.

A record player for relaxation

The water provides something to watch and listen to, while the lighting turns it into a soft decorative feature when the room gets darker.

There's a 15-, 30- or 60-minute auto-off timer, too, which makes more sense than leaving a miniature fountain running indefinitely.

The body combines wood-grain textured ABS and PC with metal accents, while the water chambers are made from glass so you can actually see the ripples and movement.

At roughly 7.3 x 9.7 x 5.3 inches and 1.3lb, it should be easy enough to move between a desk and bedside table. It comes with two glass chambers, a USB-C cable and a manual, although there's no price or release information announced yet.

It’s a very big month for Sonos. The audio brand is set to launch its Ace Ultra headphones and Beam Ultra soundbar imminently – pre-orders are open now – alongside the latest Sonos 27 app to wash the brand of its previous software sins. Both products are brilliant as – spoiler alert! – our 5-star reviews attest.

However, with the Ace Ultra’s big new feature that it offers Wi-Fi connectivity to play nice with your Sonos system at home – here’s how its Headphone Linking feature works – you might think that’s the core playing field for these new headphones. I think they offer much more, though, as the Ultra is extremely adept in the outside world too.

September has been a jam-packed month for me personally, involving a lot of travel. I’ve flown for roughly 70 hours during this month alone thus far, with some particularly long-haul flights – Tokyo to London’s routing is touching upon 16 hours at present – which seemed like the ideal opportunity to truly test Sonos’ latest headphones.

I’ve been carting around the Ace Ultra alongside the original Ace product (for side-by-side testing), plus a batch of in-ears and some secret headphones that I’m not yet permitted to talk about. And using these Sonos over-ears has been a real unexpected treat during my travels. Here, in five key points, I highlight the biggest takeaways in my experience.

Noise cancelling that truly competes

When Sonos launched the original Ace, it proclaimed to have the best active noise-cancelling (ANC) on the market. Many scoffed at this, frankly, especially when Bose and Sony had long ruled that roost. It was decent, mind, just not as ‘locked-in’ as some other products can deliver – but that was arguably more fitting of such a product and its at-home use potential.

In the Ace Ultra, however, Sonos hasn’t just leant back and re-stated the very same claim. These headphones have fully reworked the ANC on offer, with more microphones – 10 in total – being a major part of how it can sense and constantly adapt to surroundings, making your listening experience better.

The new Adaptive ANC feature is there to, just as its name states, adapt to surrounding conditions. But it’s not mere marketing, as I’ve been able to literally hear it operating: when putting my glasses on after a little nap on the flight, for example, the added gap between headphones and my head made for a less ideal ANC environment.

But this new Sonos product knows – and it’s kitted out to make real-time adjustments. Mere seconds after making that physical adjustment, upon which I could hear the ‘fizzing’ background noise of the aircraft cabin, it dwindled and almost disappeared.

This is ANC of the highest order, so if you don’t want to hear bothersome distractions then you’ll be well served – even if you keep making tweaks to the headphones’ fit over your head. It’s very clever stuff indeed, not to mention the Ultra sounds way better with ANC activated.

Battery life that bosses it

There's no shortage of decent travel headphones, many of which make it their job to offer the best possible longevity – so you can keep on listening, trip after trip. There’s the Sony WH-1000XM6, the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones, and plenty of others to consider.

In the Ace Ultra, Sonos has really elevated its offering. The original Ace was decent in its innings, with 24-to-30 hours per charge doing a darn good job for extended periods – and being mighty comfortable throughout. The Ultra, however, ups that to 35 hours per charge, which is a notable improvement.

That’s 35 hours with ANC on, by the way, so you needn't forego any feature niceties at all. I've used the Sonos 27 app to dig into these headphones’ EQ settings, too, as there’s a fully customisable eight-band equaliser to get everything sounding just as you want.

Given just how much travelling I’ve been doing, I’ve been able to watch hour by hour how accurate that ’35 hour’ claim is too. The app is really good at presenting precisely what it predicts you have remaining in the tank, while an auto-off setting (which you can set as you please, should you wish to delay it) ensures battery savings when you forget to switch off.

I did wonder if ‘bigger battery’ would mean ‘greater weight’, but the product’s 322g total mass doesn’t feel excessive when wearing. Comfort is one of the biggest positives about this product in my view – as I’ll cover more extensively below – and I think other big names could learn a thing or two from Sonos’ take on design and ergonomics.

Wired listening ideal for in-flight entertainment

When on long flights, I tend to use my AirFly Pro to wirelessly send a Bluetooth signal from in-flight entertainment to my headphones. I forgot to charge that unit this trip, though, and even once I had it didn’t want to play ball on this occasion.

Therefore, faced with wanting to watch a movie – pray tell thee, why on earth did I pick Hamnet? – I was assuming the provided cables in the Ace Ultra’s package might not play nice with British Airways’ IFE system. How wrong I was, though, as it worked a treat – no fiddling about or balancing the 3.5mm half into the socket to get a decent audio signal.

Sonos includes a USB-C-to-3.5mm cable in the box, which worked wonders for my wired listening in this scenario. Outside of flying, though, you can also use a USB-C-to-C cable (also provided) for Hi-Res Audio listening at the utmost quality. So the Ace Ultra isn’t just good via Bluetooth, it’s great to use wired too.

Serious sound and customisation

All of which is all well and good, but the core reason for travelling with headphones is to obtain the best possible sound when on the go. And in a way that's private.

Fortunately, the Sonos Ace Ultra sounds stupendous. These are no ‘Ace+’, as Sonos built a new 40mm driver from the ground up, tuned it with Grammy-nominated producers, and has really pushed for a more vibrant sound profile. There’s bass in abundance, enhanced by the ANC, but no other frequency goes amiss.

Per the Adaptive ANC, there’s another clever option going on here to enhance the listening experience: Adaptive EQ. In real time, these headphones can offset frequency balance based on your surroundings, the product’s fit, and what you’re listening to. There’s even a Loudness switch to toggle on for some ‘turn it up to 11’ additional pep.

I’m very impressed with the sound. But that is, in a way, also enhanced by the comfort. Just as I said of the original Ace, the Ace Ultra is supremely comfortable over the ears. There’s no excess weight or clamping force, just a very well-considered design that looks, feels and sounds a triumph.

The case is still a faff though

So far, so happy. But there’s one part of the package that Sonos hasn’t addressed well enough: the carry case. This honestly surprises me – in my original Ace review I called out that case for being a weak point in the whole product offering, and I certainly wasn’t the only one to say it.

The Ace Ultra? The included case here is pretty much the same. Yes, it looks nice, but when it’s got a zip that can catch the fabric and get stuck, that doesn’t really matter, does it? The material finish also marks up, so it won’t necessarily stay looking all that nice for long either.

The way the headphones fold and fit within, plus the little pockets for those included cables – that stuff is all good! It’s just the finicky nature of the zip which really lets this case down and, given how sophisticated the headphones' design is overall, that seems like the one weak point when travelling with them.

Can’t have it all, eh? But it’s 95% of the way there – and I’d happily use the Ace Ultra for long-haul travel in addition to at-home sessions. It might well have added some degree of Wi-Fi compatibility, but that far from defines this product. If anything, the Ace Ultra might be at its best when out in the wild – and a true new competitor among the best headphones money can buy.

I really like the new Beats 360, but if there's one thing I'd rush to buy at launch, it isn't necessarily the headphones themselves, but the cushions.

To entice people to splash the cash on its new over-ear noise-cancelling headphones, Beats is launching replacement 360 Cushion Kits for just £9.95 in the UK, down from £49.95.

Each kit includes replacement ear pads and a matching headband cushion, and at that introductory price, I think they're almost impossible to ignore.

That's especially true if you're planning to use the Beats 360 as running headphones.

The headphones are Beats' first over-ear model with an IPX4 sweat- and water-resistance rating, and the supplied Performance Knit cushions have specifically been designed with workouts in mind.

The cushions twist off, while the padded headband section snaps out, making it easy to swap between different sets.

After a sweaty workout, the last thing I want is to put the same damp ear cushions back on for an afternoon of work.

Having one set for training and another for everyday listening makes much more sense.

Beats says the Performance Knit cushions can be cleaned, but they'll obviously need time to dry.

A spare set means you can swap them over and keep using the headphones.

The £80 saving is the real deal

At the normal £49.95 price, two additional cushion kits would cost £99.90.

Buy those same two kits during the introductory promotion, and you'll pay £19.90, saving a whopping £80.

While I'm sure Beats will eventually drop the price of the new headphones, you might not save much on the cans themselves if you're also planning to buy at least one set of replacement cushions.

The promotional price runs from 22 September until 31 October 2026 in the UK, with a limit of three kits per customer and availability while stocks last. After that, the normal price of £49.95 applies.

At £9.95 a set, I'd probably buy two. One for sweaty workouts, one for everyday listening, and potentially £80 left in my pocket compared with doing the same thing later.

Head over to Apple to order your Beats 360 and cushions.