Ever reached for a portable speaker only to discover that you forgot to charge it? This is a pretty clever solution to that. The Battery-free Amplifying iSpeakers don't have a battery, Bluetooth or even a power cable, they simply make your phone louder using acoustics.

And that's it. No pairing, no app and no battery indicator to worry about. Just slot in your phone.

Designed by Ooi Masato and made in Japan, the iSpeakers use a precision-machined slot that holds your phone in place and channels the sound from its built-in speaker.

That means it works with virtually any phone, without worrying about compatibility or software updates. You simply put the phone into the slot and the acoustic chamber does the rest.

It's small enough to throw into a bag, too, so you could take it to a picnic, hotel room or even just keep it on your desk. There's no charging port because, obviously, there's nothing to charge.

The body is machined from Duralumin, a lightweight and vibration-resistant aluminium alloy, while the design follows the golden ratio. It certainly looks more like a piece of Japanese design than a conventional portable speaker.

There is an obvious trade-off here. Without an amplifier, battery or Bluetooth connection, this isn't going to compete with a proper portable Bluetooth speaker for sheer volume or bass.

That's not really what it's trying to do. The appeal is having something that can make your phone sound better without adding another electronic device to charge.

There are also optional +Bloom and +Jet attachments that change the direction of the sound, giving you more control over how it projects.

At $179, it's certainly not cheap for something that is essentially an acoustic amplifier. But unlike a Bluetooth speaker, there's no battery to degrade, no charging cable to lose and no wireless connection to set up.

In theory, it should sound exactly the same years from now as it does today.

Sony's getting in on the pre-IFA action by announcing a revamp of its biggest party speakers, confirming that its Ult branding is very much how it sees the path forward for its audio business outside of the very biggest hitters (namely the WF and WH-1000XM series of headphones and earbuds).

The new speakers are all pretty big, but the biggest of them is frankly massive, so these are launches aimed very much at those putting on proper parties, raves, and events.

• Check out my full impressions of the new Ult speakers here, from a recent hands-on demo

All three speakers also share the same design language, and it's one that brings impressive unity to the previously various designs used by Sony's largest speakers. Each is fronted with a pretty transparent metal grille, and ringed by LEDs that can sync to your music or play pre-arranged lighting medleys.

They're all really industrial and modern-looking, stripped of much of the ornamentation that can make speakers look a bit overdone. Each also has an Ult-branded dial to the top-left of its drivers, letting you adjust through different sound modes (largely to decide whether you want punchy bass or chest-shaking ultra bass).

Crucially, they also all have the same array of connectivity options – XLR, RCA and USB-C, along with Bluetooth. That means they should be reliable in a variety of setups.

The smallest of the three is the Ult Tower 5, and it'll come in at €400 when it launches this month. It's clearly the most approachable of the three, but still brings pretty powerful sound for its size. Carrying handles make it easier to use than you might expect, and it gets 20 hours of battery life for flexibility.

Next in the lineup is the Ult Tower 7, which is a good chunk bigger and increases the number of drivers for a big boost in power and sound output. It costs €600, and might be the most sensible choice for event planning, since it's super powerful but still not the craziest piece of kit to move around. It has 30 hours of battery life, meanwhile.

Finally, the Ult Tower Max is a genuine beast, with wheels on one side so that you can cart it around carefully. It has power that needs to be heard to be believed (and I have indeed heard it), and it's no surprise that it therefore comes in at €1,500, a big jump that makes it far more of a niche option. It's also exclusively mains-powered, which makes sense given its size.

Sony says all three will be available later this month, but also that this is part of a strategy to take previously diverse branding decisions and make far more of its speakers Ult-branded. That might indeed be a winning play over time, since Sony's naming conventions have long been a little arcane.

After Sony said it had new Ult speakers for me to check out at a hands-on event in late August, it was a bit of a surprise to walk into their event space and see speakers about ten times bigger than I was expecting.

I was faced with the new Ult Tower lineup – the Tower 5, Tower 7 and Tower Max, and from where I was seated, even the smallest was a little hard to imagine making sense in my admittedly compact living room.

These are party speakers that make absolutely no apology for their size or scale, not least because they're aimed squarely at those who want such power. Listening to each one in turn, it was pretty easy to see the appeal, too.

The "smallest", the Tower 5, was still hefty enough to need a sensible approach when you pick it up to move it, and had impressively full and rounded sound in its default "flat" mode, which still has more bass than many other speakers would tune for.

Swapping up to the Tower 5, which expands the size of its main driver and adds some more tweeters for precision, you indeed get a pretty significant boost in overall volume and depth. That middle size looks relatively modest in the lineup photo below, which is pretty hilarious – it would be the biggest speaker anyone you know owns, and only looks small because the Ult Tower Max is so absurdly massive.

The Tower Max was my favourite demo of the three, not least because I got to choose a track to listen to. Justice's Waters of Nazareth is a go-to for bass testing, and its crackly yet precise beats were fairly monstrous, in a good way. This sort of track can help sift out speakers that dial up the bass while losing any detail, and the Tower Max passed that test with flying colours.

That said, its chunky price and enormous size mean that it's really only going to make sense for professional use. That might mean DJs who bring their own kit to venues, touring companies, or party planners, but it does also ensure that any event with sound running through Tower Max speakers will be able to get ridiculously loud.

In a soundproof basement, each speaker tended to be running at around 60% of its maximum volume, and that was generally more than enough to be antisocial in the wrong setting. My downstairs neighbours wouldn't thank me for testing any of them, frankly.

I was also thoroughly impressed by the new design of the three speakers, unified with their metal front grilles and LED fringes. Party speakers can often be a little too poppy and unserious for my tastes, whereas these are among the more mature and industrial I can remember seeing.

That said, I'm always fascinated by the concept of party speakers in the first place, from a marketing and sales perspective – how many units will these Ult speakers sell? It's a question I probably won't get an answer to, but I'd love the insight. Speaker-makers clearly know something I don't, though, because they keep on making new ones.

From what I've seen, the Ult Towers will be impressive new competitors in the market when they arrive later this month.

Sonos is back with a major hardware announcement this September, revealing the all-new Beam Ultra soundbar.

Consider it the uprated version of the classic Beam original and follow-up Beam 2 soundbars, which have been a major success for Sonos over the years.

The key difference? The Sonos Beam Ultra adds upfiring channels to its audio arrangement, bringing more immersive audio for better Dolby Atmos experiences.

Small 'bar, big sound

The system is a 7.1.2 arrangement, so seven speakers for the front soundstage (including centre, left, right, and sides), one central sub/bass, and two upfiring outputs.

"Big sound. Not-so-big soundbar": That was Sonos' goal in the Beam Ultra. It occupies a similar footprint to the other Beam products, but has been redesigned internally.

Note, however, that it's not the same footprint. That's why a new wall-mount (sold separately) is also available, should you wish to have the Beam Ultra up on the wall.

The Ultra's internal arrangement features nine drivers in total – which is four more than in the previous Beam (Gen 2). So it's not just new upfiring speakers that complement the audio offering here, helping to deliver a bigger, broader sound stage.

The Beam Ultra offers an HDMI eARC, but there's no additional HDMI passthrough – long a dream request, but absent in all Sonos soundbars – for an easy TV connection.

A new app, too

Sonos has also revealed its latest app, Sonos27, which will take on an iterative format – similar to Apple with iPhones in iOS26, 27, etc – with updated annual future versions expected.

The app is the hub to control various features, including Sonos' new AI Speech Enhancement. This offers four customisable levels for dialogue enhancement, depending on environment and preference.

You can also use the Sonos Beam Ultra with other speakers. The new 'Portable Surrounds' feature, will mean that even Sonos' portable Wi-Fi speakers – i.e. the Move 2 and Play products – can be used as surround sound speakers.

If you have a Sonos Play, for example, that can be integrated as a rear speaker. Sonos' in-house software solution will measure the additional speakers' positions, similar to Dolby Atmos FlexConnect (but not using this specific system) for ideal output.

All in all, the Beam Ultra sounds like a huge new release for Sonos. It betters the good of the previous Beam 2 product, with true upfiring channels and beefier audio overall.

It will cost you a fair bit more than a 2nd Gen Beam, however, with pre-orders open now for an on-sale date of 29 September. Retail pricing is set at £699 / $699 / AU$1099 / €699 – so the UK gets the rawest deal in terms of value.

If you were in any doubt that Sonos is looked at by the rest of the audio industry with some envy, all you really have to do is watch what other brands launch. I've seen a fair few home speaker announcements in my day, and JBL's new Cove speakers are just about as direct in competing with Sonos as any I can remember.

JBL says that Cove is a new "whole-home Wi‑Fi audio system" and, to be fair, I'm a huge fan of Wi-Fi speakers in general. Their convenience is hard to match when you're at home, and their connectivity is superior to Bluetooth-only models in my experience.

Cove launches with three models – M1, P1 and X1. To start with M1, it's a fixed-in-place speaker that needs mains power and is very much the entry option to the range. That doesn't mean it's all that cheap, though, at $219.95 in the US, £199.99 in the UK and €229.99 in the EU. Think of it as JBL's equivalent to the Sonos Era 100 SL.

The most interesting speaker in the lineup is the JBL Cove P1, which is the competition for the five-star Sonos Play. Like the Play, the P1 is portable with a charging dock that you can put where you want. It's a bit more powerful than the M1, too, and has Dolby Atmos support thanks to an upfiring tweeter. It gets 14 hours of use on a charge, and has water and dust resistance at an IP56 rating.

That bump in specs and options also makes it quite pricey – at $399.95 in the US, £399.99 in the UK and €449.99 in the EU. That's significantly more than even Sonos' equivalent, which is punchy.

Finally, there's the biggest speaker of the lot, the Cove X1, which reverts to powered use and looks more like the Sonos Era 300 equivalent. It offers 3D sound, apparently, and therefore also has Dolby Atmos support, and comes in at $379.95, £429.99 or €499.99 depending on your region.

All of the speakers can be grouped in multi-room setups and controlled through JBL's app, and the two smaller speakers can also be used as surrounds with the JBL Bar Mk2 soundbar, which is welcome. They'll all be available from JBL in October this year, with a precise launch date likely to follow fairly soon.

They'll also all become smart speakers later this year with Alexa+ integration, which might be of interest to plenty of people. They actually launch with a wide range of connectivity options, too, including Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, AirPlay 2, Google Cast, Roon Ready, Spotify Connect, Tidal Connect, and Qobuz Connect.

To be clear, too, it's probably a good thing that Sonos' reputation for multi-room audio is prompting this competition. While I use its speakers happily, I've thought for a long while that more Wi-Fi speakers need to flood the market to make it easier to get multi-room setups without breaking the bank.

For now, JBL's route isn't one that seems to prioritise affordability, but give it a couple of years, and it'll be fascinating to see where the Cove lineup ends up sitting in the market.

Every time I test a bit of Marshall kit, whether it's a new speaker or some headphones, I tend to say a similar thing at the start of my review – that few audio brands have anything like the defined visual identity of its lineup. That cursive Marshall logo, generally in brass or white, atop either a grille or some leatherette, makes for a genuinely iconic look.

It's one that's seen the brand carve out an impressive niche for itself among those who want punchy audio and a more old-school aesthetic, and that's getting a further twist with the release of three new parts of its ongoing tribute to Jimi Hendrix.

It's apparently 60 years this year since Hendrix used a Marshall amplifier to level up the sheer noise of his sound, and Marshall's already released a couple of tributes, but the newest ones include probably the most approachable and attractive designs yet.

They include new versions of the very solid Emberton III Bluetooth speaker, along with the ever-popular Major V headphones. In both cases, purple is the name of the game.

They've both been given new colours; in the case of the Emberton III, it's a more all-over job, with a new purple-hazed colour that Marshall calls "psychedelic graphics", along with a Hendrix-themed version of the brass control knob on top of the speaker. Even the status lights have been turned purple instead of red.

The Major V has the same purple accents, but it's a little more subtle, since it's only on the ear cushions of the headphones, rather than the outside. This might make it the most sleek of the lineup, since it's different but doesn't shout about it.

There's a third part of the tribute, but it'll ship in far smaller quantities – a hand-assembled JMH Studio amp, with that gorgeous purple design all over it. It's genuinely staggeringly cool to look at, but obviously will be a far more niche prospect aimed at real musicians.

To that end, the Emberton III and Major V versions can be ordered from Marshall today for £129.99 and £149.99 respectively, while the JMH Studio amp comes in at a cool £1749.99 and will be available from 9 September.

The Fidelio FA3 wireless active stereo speaker system and the Fidelio FT1 Bluetooth-equipped turntable with integrated CD player are available separately, but Philips is pretty sure they were made for each other – and if anyone should know, the company that builds them should.

In today's world of super-pricey separates, and with retro nostalgia seemingly at an all-time high, this mid-price system seems a smart move. Which is why I’ve reviewed these two products as if a complete system, to find out if putting your would-be cash into Philips’ pocket is money well spent or a rash investment.

Price & Availability

Both the Philips Fidelio FA3 wireless active stereo speaker system and the Fidelio FT1 Bluetooth-equipped turntable with integrated CD player are on sale now.

In the United Kingdom the Fidelio FA3 sells for £349, which translates to around $399 in the United States and AU$499 in Australia.

The Fidelio FT1, meanwhile, goes for £269 in the UK, something like $349 in the US, and around AU$469 in Australia.

For the sake of both brevity and sanity, for the rest of this review I’m going to refer to these products simply as ‘FA3’ and ‘FT1’. We all know what they are by now, right?

Features & What's New?

Philips Fidelio FA3 speakers

The FA3 are two-way speakers, each of which features a 25mm titanium dome tweeter above a 127mm glass-fibre mid/bass driver.

Each speaker is home to 50 watts of Class D amplification and, in partnership with a small reflex port at the rear of each cabinet, Philips reckons this layout is good for a frequency response of 40Hz to 40kHz.

Both speakers need to be connected to mains power – this is an active system, after all. And both speakers have an RCA socket on the rear which can be used to connect the two together – that’s how truly hi-res playback can be achieved, although the system will work just as happily (but at a lower resolution) with the speakers wirelessly paired.

One speaker does the heavy lifting where connectivity is concerned, though – the ‘primary’ speaker features a USB-C slot (available for both playback and servicing), a digital optical input, an HDMI ARC connection, and a line-level analogue input on stereo RCA sockets.

This primary speaker also takes care of wireless Bluetooth connectivity – the FA3 features Bluetooth 5.4 LE Audio and compatibility with SBC, AAC, LC3 and LDAC codecs. It’s also packing Auracast technology, so it can easily become part of a multi-speaker system if given appropriate speakers to partner with.

It’s worth noting the speakers can be connected using a length of coaxial cable with an RCA connector at each end, or wirelessly using a 2.4GHz wireless connection. Most unusually, there’s no trade-off in maximum resolution if you choose to go down the ‘wireless’ route – the FA3 operates at 24bit/96kHz natively, and anything that comes in via digital optical, USB-C or HDMI ARC of greater size is downscaled to this resolution.

Philips Fidelio FT1 turntable-CD system

The Fidelio FT1, meanwhile, is something that might have been called a ‘music centre’ back in the day. It’s a belt-driven turntable, a CD player, and a Bluetooth transmitter – with an integrated phono stage, Auracast connectivity, and a headphone socket thrown in for good measure.

It arrives with an Audio Technica AT3600L moving magnet cartridge pre-fitted to its straight aluminium tube tone-arm – all that needs to be done is to fit and adjust the supplied counterweight, slip the belt over the motor pulley, and your record player is ready to go. Or, at least, it is once you’ve positioned the aluminium platter and put the rubber slipmat on top.

The FT1 will convert an analogue signal from your vinyl to a digital equivalent and then send it to a pair of wireless headphones (or speakers, obviously) via Bluetooth 5.4 using the SBC, AAC or LC3 codec. And as it’s also Auracast-equipped, it’s able to transmit whatever it’s playing to as many appropriate speakers as you have access to.

There’s a compact disc drive built into the FT1, too, accessed via a drawer integrated into the front of the chassis. The door of the drawer is where you’ll find the system’s LED display – it can give confirmation of the selected input as well as the usual ‘track number, time elapsed, etc’ stuff when a CD is playing. All the usual CD player modes (‘shuffle’, ‘repeat’, ‘random’ and what-have-you) are here, and the drive itself is compatible with CD-R/RW and MP3-CD as well as your regular discs.

Performance

Obviously I’m testing the FA3 and FT1 components as an entire system, and that’s the way I’m going to discuss the sonic pros and cons.

In the course of this test, I spent some time listening to the FA3 speakers with other sources of music, just as I did the FT1 with different speakers (and with headphones too).

So I think I’m qualified to say that everything this system does, both good and bad, is a more-or-less equal result of the characteristics of each component. They’re both in this together, for better and for worse.

What’s most immediately impressive and engaging about this set-up is the sense of energy and animation it creates. There’s a forward and quite direct character to the system’s sonic presentation, a kind of positivity that makes every listen to any recording above the tempo of a dirge an invigorating event.

Not everyone will be enchanted by what I can quite easily describe as the relentless nature of the system’s attitude, but those who enjoy a vivid and quite forceful presentation will be very happy indeed.

No matter if you decide to listen to CD or to vinyl, there’s a fair amount of detail available in almost every respect, and an unarguable dynamism that allows the distance between the least and the most intense sections in a recording to be absolutely apparent.

Midrange resolution is accomplished too, and the way the system handles voices is very enjoyable as a result. The soundstage that’s available is quite wide and fairly well defined – and the midrange gets enough space in which to properly communicate.

Combine that with the amount of detail that’s revealed, and it follows that voices are both eloquent and direct, so it’s possible to discern plenty about their character and attitude – just as readily as about their technique and their texture – as a result.

At the bottom of the frequency range there’s a quite startling amount of substance given the size of the driver and the cabinet that’s producing it – but bass is not a blunt instrument here.

Confidence and presence are not in doubt (although a little more solidity around the edges of low-end sounds wouldn’t go amiss), but the attack is leavened by a fair amount of detail and variation.

Control is good too, and the Philips has no problem expressing rhythms with confidence and no little positivity. Leave the EQ settings in their most benign, ‘balanced’ setting and low-frequency wallop and momentum is the result.

Bass sounds have plenty in common with the midrange where tonality is concerned, and that’s also the case at the top of the frequency range. The 25mm titanium dome tweeter serves up shining, crunchy and detailed high frequencies that have the substance to balance out their latent bite.

Detail levels are high again, and though the tweeter is just as assertive as the mid/bass driver it sits above, it steers clear of glassiness and hardness right until the moment you start listening at ill-advised volumes.

Context is everything, though, and the FA3/FT1 system is never less than enjoyable and generally quite invigorating to listen to. Is it perfect, sonically speaking? No, and I get the strong impression that ‘outright fidelity’ was sacrificed in favour of ‘excitement’ quite early on in the voicing process. Does it offer plenty of sonic verve, as well as a stack of flexibility, for the money? Most certainly.

Design & Usability

Each of the speakers is a fairly substantial 303 x 170 x 211mm (HxWxD), which means the FA3 is not exactly a candidate for desktop use – and besides, given that I’m considering this as a complete system along with the FT1, you’d have to have a very big desk indeed if it’s going to accommodate all three components.

It seems more likely the entire system will be used either on an equipment rack and some speaker stands, or on an appropriately deep shelf or piece of furniture. The only drawback here, though, might be the fact the speakers are designed to lean back a little and fire upwards rather than directly outwards.

If the surface they’re on is fairly low, this is a helpful little design feature – but if you have the speakers on stands or a slightly higher shelf, the FA3 will direct sound above your ears rather than towards them (unless you like to listen while standing up, that is).
For all their slightly strange orientation, though, the speaker cabinets are properly made and finished in that special high-gloss black that looks great but collects fingerprints like no one’s business. The plastic shell features 45% recycled material in its construction, and each one is supplied with a magnetically attached grille.

The primary speaker is doing further heavy lifting where control is concerned. As well as all the physical inputs, its rear panel features a volume dial (it takes a fair few rotations to elicit a proper response), a button to initiate wireless pairing between the speakers, a button to cycle through the available inputs, and a power on/off switch.

All of those functions can also be achieved using the small remote control that’s supplied – it also includes independent bass and treble controls, and a button to cycle through the six EQ presets (‘balanced’, ‘warm’, ‘bright’, ‘powerful’, ‘clear’ and ‘custom’). For some reason, though, it crams selection of the six different inputs (which includes Auracast) onto just three buttons.

Both the FA3 and the FT1 are compatible with the Philips ‘Entertainment’ control app that’s free for iOS and Android. It’s a thorough, if not especially intuitive, interface and as well as playback control, EQ presets, source selection and the usual stuff, it’s where you can check for software updates (in the case of the FT1) or pick from a selection of sonic soundscapes (‘generative’, ‘ambient’ or ‘nature’ are the categories) for a more soothing experience than, um, listening to music.

The FT1 also has a selection of physical controls on the surface of the plinth. There’s a fairly large ‘power on/off’ button, a control dial to select between 33 and 45rpm, and buttons to handle Bluetooth pairing, source selection, Auracast, play/pause, and the opening and closing of the CD drawer.

On the rear of the plinth there are a couple of analogue outputs – a 3.5mm socket for use with wired headphones and a pair of stereo RCA connections, in case you want to join the FT1 to a traditional amplifier. There’s also a switch for defeating the integrated phono stage, which makes the player even less fussy about the equipment it’s partnered with.

The FT1 is made mostly from the same shiny black plastic as its partnering speakers, and is supplied with a clear plastic dust cover that somehow contrives to be just as reflective and fingerprint-hungry as the black plastic it sits on top of. Build quality is perfectly fine, although an all-in weight of comfortably less than 4kg makes the player seem slightly insubstantial.

Verdict

The Fidelio FT1 and FT3 combined deliver an awful lot for your money – with more extensive functionality than this sort of money can buy anywhere else.

In the context of the asking price the standard of build and finish is very acceptable, and the general sense of vigour and dynamism to the overall sound is enjoyable and commendable, too.

That's as long as you’re happy with ‘a good time all of the time’ in terms of the system’s overall character, and you can position the speakers as they need to be, then there’s plenty to enjoy here.

Also Consider

I think it’s fair to say that like-for-like comparisons are pretty thin on the ground.

Something like the Ruark MR1 MkIII is a very good pair of wireless speakers and has the inputs to support both a turntable and a CD player. The Sony PS-LX310BT, meanwhile, is a turntable that can connect wirelessly to appropriate speakers or wireless headphones.

But as far as finding a Bluetooth turntable with an integrated CD player and matching speakers? It seems to me that Philips has basically cornered that market.

Sony has finally furnished us with more details on its PlayStation-branded wireless speakers, as revealed last September. That includes pre-order and full release dates, plus pricing.

The Pulse Elevate speakers were unveiled during a State of Play video feed in 2025, but with the understanding that they would release in 2026. We didn't expect it to take so long, though.

Coming in two colour options, black and white, the speakers will be available to pre-order from 1 September 2026 in the UK, US and several Central European countries. They'll be available on the PlayStation store online.

Pricing stands at £199.99 / $219.99 / €219.99 a pair and they come with a wireless dongle to attach to a PS5 for ultra-low latency. They will also come with Bluetooth support for connection to a smartphone, PC or Mac.

Why are the speakers called "Pulse Elevate"

The clue to one of the speakers' main features lies in their name. Each speaker is designed to sit straight on a desktop or tilt backwards to "elevate" the audio to a listening position.

This allows them to mimic height channels for a wider soundscape.

They can also be connected to power via a cable or, thanks to housing rechargeable batteries, can be moved around a desk or even room to room. That's much like a Sonos Move 2 speaker, so you aren't restricted to using each Pulse Elevate with gaming.

However, when you do, you can also make use of their built-in microphone for multiplayer online play. That way you won't need a separate headset with a boom mic.

Each speaker comes with a woofer built-in too, so they should work fine without a separate subwoofer.

We hope to test the Pulse Elvate speakers here on T3 soon, to let you know what we think.

You may have seen Sonos in the news a lot lately. It's because rumours have been circulating about a big new launch – and with the IFA technology show in Berlin just weeks away, the timing makes sense.

Initial rumours, however, suggested that this would be a launch around artificial intelligence. Whatever that means. Sonos is an audio company, not the next Google, so if you ask me, I think we can forget about the AI buzzwordery and focus on the real matters at hand.

Fortunately, said rumours have rapidly evolved – and it now looks as though more Sonos hardware could be on the near horizon. Now that's what I'm talking about. I also don't think it's a surprise, given the app debacle that saw a leadership shake-up and a refocus on what Sonos is particularly good at – i.e. making great products.

Show me the HDMI passthrough already

However much AI may (or may not) be integrated into forthcoming Sonos products is by the by in my view, as what really matters is getting the core hardware correct. And if there is to be a Sonos Beam (Gen 3) incoming then, well, there's one feature that I really want to see implemented – daresay 'fixed'.

Sonos has been rather stubborn in its approach to HDMI ports to date. All of its soundbars – the Beam and Arc and their derivatives anyway; the Ray only has an optical connection – feature one individual HDMI eARC to connect to a TV. There's no second HDMI for passthrough.

Now I, for one, would pay more to shun the AI and have a second HDMI added to future Sonos soundbar hardware. Such an addition effectively frees up one of the ports on the rear of your TV – which, if you're like me, are in excess demand anyway – and creates a better flow in usability.

The approach to HDMI ports has been getting slightly better, though. It was earlier this year that Samsung's 2026 flagship fixed my biggest bugbear with HDMI ports – namely the lack of them – by introducing an option for four additional ones, making eight total, on its S95H/S99H TVs.

HDMI 2.2 incoming – but does that even matter?

Most people looking to buy a Sonos Beam aren't going to need eight HDMI ports, fair enough, but many of them will want to connect up a 4K/120Hz games console and separate TV Box with best possible resolution and frame rate. Adding a passthrough on the next Sonos soundbar would solve that.

It could well be this is nothing more than wishful thinking on my part, of course. It could be that a future, higher-end Sonos product won't opt for an HDMI passthrough addition at all. Or, who knows, perhaps the brand is just waiting – after all, the HDMI 2.2 standard is imminent.

However, HDMI 2.2 is going to be seen in high-end gaming monitors first, as its 96Gbps bandwidth is largely there to support very high refresh rates at higher resolutions – the kind that movies, sport and TV shows don't require. You could, therefore, call it a niche format – certainly at its launch stages.

Really, at the core of it, Sonos products are about simplicity. Customers don't want to fret about "2.0 versus 2.1 or 2.2", they just want to plug and play, enjoy great sound and a quality experience. But I do think the addition of an HDMI passthrough would quietly enhance that, without making a song and dance of it.

Let's not forget about headphones...

Seeing as I'm spinning the rumour mill's outpourings of late, let's not forget that there might be no new Sonos soundbar at all. Indeed, other rumours point strongly to new headphones: the so-called Sonos Ace Ultra, expected to be a step above the original Ace model.

When Sonos made the big dip into headphones, it seemed like a genius idea. The product didn't please everyone – we loved it at T3 for the sheer comfort factor – and, as mentioned earlier, timing for the company turned out to be poor.

I think Sonos will be looking at this market sector and scratching its head, though, as there's clearly greater potential for the brand to win bigger here – especially with its integration between home cinema and personal audio.

And, just to be clear (as if not obvious enough), I most certainly don't want to see an HDMI port on any pair of headphones. But I'd keenly see a new pair of step-up Sonos over-ears to fill a gap in the brand's line-up.

All of which, in summary, suggets that Sonos is about to have a very busy 12 months or so. If any of these rumours are true, then we could be seeing new hardware, new innovations and, yes, new AI integrations.

But let's get the hardware nailed first and foremost, eh? That'll make me and many existing and prospective customers very happy indeed.

Sonos has finally brought Live Activity to the iOS app, meaning you'll get Sonos control from your lock screen and Dynamic Island on compatible devices.

Sonos says that the feature has been widely requested and after a slightly tumultuous couple of years, it's going to be welcomed by those using Sonos on an iOS device.

Live Activity will mean that you can glance at what's playing and get immediate controls without having to open the Sonos app.

The new additions come to the latest version of the Sonos app for iOS and the feature is turned off by default, so you'll need to switch it on to get it working. Head into Account > App Preferences > Live Activity.

Live Activity will appear from Sonos when you open the app and start playing music. At the moment there's no support for album art, although Sonos says that work is in progress to explore other ways to "enhance the lock screen".

Once you stop listening, the Live Activity will stay in place for 15 minutes before it disappears.

The Live Activity is also supported on Apple Watch and in Apple CarPlay, although currently the playback controls aren’t supported, so it's sort of pointless. A fix is expected in the future to change that.

Sonos, reporting on the changes on Reddit, also mentioned that there could be more coming with the arrival if iOS 27 later in the year. For those with the app already installed, make sure that you update it to get the latest feature.

Sonos is also thought to be working on an updated version of the Beam, potentially with more AI skills to support better voice control, while new Ace Ultra headphones are said to be in the works too, with the new hardware potentially appearing in September.

Sonos has been plagued by setbacks over recent years, from ending support for older speakers, an app update that broke everything and plenty of changes in the C suite, but it now looks like the company is getting back into its stride.

It's been a good few years since Marshall dropped the Stockwell II, but now it's coming back to the same territory to make a new version of its mid-sized Bluetooth speaker.

I've had the Stockwell III on review for well over a month, giving me loads of time to test it out, and see how it fares in everyday use.

Smaller than the Acton IV by a big chunk, but way more portable as a result, the Stockwell III might be the speaker in Marshall's lineup that makes the most sense to me.

Its tactility and design are as good as anything on the market, and if you're after a pure Bluetooth speaker with a different aesthetic, you won't find many finer.

Price and Availability

The Stockwell III is available directly from Marshall right now, with wider retail availability from 25 August, and it comes in both black and white versions.

The speaker costs £199.99 here in the UK, making it around £30 more expensive than the Stockwell II was at launch. It's $249.99 in the USA.

Given the Stockwell II came out all the way back in 2019, though, that's perhaps neither a surprise nor a great controversy, with inflation having been brutal in the tech industry in those 7 years since.

Design and Features

The Stockwell III is classic Marshall, from basically whatever angle you choose to approach it from. For one thing, it has that cursive Marshall logo on its front side, brassy and proud, but it also has a row of physical controls atop itself that really does stand out from the crowd.

Its size and shape are also relatively unusual, even for someone who tests as many portable speakers as I do. It's a sort of portrait-orientation speaker, so it stands much taller than its base.

Included in the box is a sturdy carrying handle that can be swivelled down to be less obvious, which feels like an essential part of the aesthetic proposition.

That handle matches the faux-leather finish of your white or black speaker, but its inside edge is in a red velvet that gives a really nice pop of colour to the speaker when viewed as a whole. The speaker's actual body is covered in a rubber shell with its outside in that leather-grain texture.

The front and back of the Stockwell III are grille-covered, while the bottom is rubberised for stability and to dampen vibrations.

At 1.29kg with the strap attached, it's light enough to be easily stowed in a bag and carried around, but I won't pretend it's insignificant – you will find lighter alternatives out there if that's a priority.

The top of the speaker is a brassy plate with a wide range of controls embedded in it. You get a power button and a pairing button, each nice and clicky, as well as three gorgeous knobs. One is your master volume, while the other two dial up bass and treble, respectively.

Finally, there's an M button that can be customised, but cycles through presets by default, and a clever little rocker button that controls play/pause as well as letting you skip tracks.

Marshall is the best in the game when it comes to tactile controls, and these are no different. You might not need bass and treble controls to hand like this, but when you do use them, you'll be thrilled by how smoothly they actuate, and by how cleverly the LED lighting makes it obvious what setting you're on.

On one of the speaker's edges you'll find its only ports – an AUX for wired audio, and a USB-C for power. Its battery is advertised as lasting 40 hours on a charge, twice as long as the Stockwell II.

Intriguingly, despite the fact that it looks like a speaker with a clear front and back, Marshall has built the Stockwell III to be a 360-degree speaker, so you should get good sound regardless of where you position it. That's worth knowing, since it does make it more adaptable.

Another big upgrade comes in terms of durability, with an IP55 rating making the Stockwell III more resistant to water and dust than before. That said, this makes it safe for rain showers, but not any form of immersion, so beware if it's intended for use by a pool.

In a similar vein, the Stockwell III also lets you pry off its rubber faux-leather skin entirely to access its replaceable battery (which will be sold separately by Marshall, should you need to swap it). You can open that compartment with just a Phillips-head screwdriver. That's a huge step (thanks to the EU) that could extend its usable life massively.

Sound and Performance

I'm a big fan of how the Stockwell III looks, then, but how does it sound?

Marshall's big marketing push in 2026 has been around "loud", centring its history of making amps for rock stars and rebels, and I think the Stockwell III is a fun little addition to that lineage, punching above its weight.

As a Bluetooth-only speaker (bar that AUX input), it's really simple to get connected, and once you're hooked up, its sound is as impressive as you'd hope for. I used a variety of genres to test the Stockwell III, and wasn't ever really tripped up by something sounding off-kilter.

Eric Clapton's lockdown-era cover of After Midnight is a great choice for testing the acoustic qualities of a speaker, and it sounds as warm and detailed as I'd want, with those first few guitar plucks resonant and deep. On Phoebe Bridgers' Garden Song, the elusive bassy backing vocals can be picked out far more easily than on some of the competition, too.

Alt-J's 3WW, meanwhile, has the urgency I look for, and an interesting balance between the treble twangs of its guitars and the pulsing bass of its undercarriage. The opening bars of Harry Styles' Undertow bring an impressive amount of precision and clarity, too.

That's all pretty great, and the reality is that I don't have any complaints to level at the Stockwell III's sound. For its size, it's simply excellent, and being able to dial up bass or treble song-by-song can be really enjoyable if you want the extra fun.

Marshall's claims of a 360-degree sound sphere bear some weight – turning the speaker around during listening, it is indeed far less directional than you'd assume from its design. That said, while being in line with its front or back sounds pretty identical, it's definitely a little less clear from the left or right sides, so true 360-degree coverage isn't quite there.

Another interesting little side note is that, despite the rubbery base of the speaker, there's quite a lot of vibration passed out of the Stockwell III while it plays at any decent volume – so unless it's on a really solid surface, expect some transference. I don't think that stacks as a major negative, though, and it does underline the amount of power squeezed into this relatively small speaker.

I found the battery life of the Stockwell III to be just as impressive as its quoted 40 hours indicated (without having timed it exactly). It lasts for days and days of regular use, which is a really good showing.

Verdict

The Stockwell III is probably my favourite Marshall portable speaker to date. It's a great size, has oodles of character, and some of the best physical controls in any speaker on the market. The fact that it pairs those attributes with excellent sound is foundational to its success, of course.

With its durability and battery life also provided welcome boosts for this generation, it's hard to see this as anything other than a massive success for Marshall. It's probably the pure-Bluetooth speaker that I'd recommend most strongly from its whole lineup, and looks like a banker for the next few years to come.

Also Consider

It's not a charge I'll level at the Stockwell III thanks to its smaller size, but if it were much pricier I'd start to gripe that the speaker should have Wi-Fi connectivity on board, too. If you want that added flexibility, you have to consider the Sonos Play, my favourite flexible home-and-away speaker right now, and for the extra money you do get clearer sound.

If you're more geared toward portability, though, and want something just a little more packable and portable than the Stockwell III, our top pick needs a mention. It's the Bang & Olufsen Beoplay A1 3rd Gen, and it's a stunning little slice of audio and design. That said, in pound-for-sound terms it's a more luxury choice than Marshall's.

As someone with a living room full of its speakers, if you asked me what device I'd most like Sonos to release next, it'd be a refresh of the Beam. Time flies, and it's now been ages since the second-generation Beam was released in 2021, after all.

While the compact soundbar has been basically my default pick as the best soundbar on the market for most people since then, it's still not completely flawless, and there's always room for improvement.

Now, a report from Bloomberg indicates that we might be getting a new Beam very soon, with Sonos gearing up to make some hardware reveals this September. Filings with the FCC in the US indicate that a device with dimensions that look nearly identical to previous Beam soundbars is on the way.

That would make for a five-year gap between generations for the Beam, and it's interesting to consider what might get upgraded in a new version. The big upgrade that came in the second generation was Dolby Atmos support, but a lack of upfiring drivers meant that it was virtualised.

If Sonos could squeeze in extra drivers, that could make for a big boost to vertical sound – although it would also raise the question of whether the price would bump accordingly. Given that the Beam sits as the deliberately mid-level option between the Ray and the Arc Ultra, Sonos probably won't want to push its price up much.

My second-gen Beam replaced a first-gen model, and both have been basically pretty beloved. The size of the soundbar is nearly ideal, in my view, since it gives a huge sound upgrade for almost any TV without taking up a huge slice of real estate.

Sonos is apparently going big on improved AI integration for this slate of new hardware, so it's possible that upgraded voice controls and integrations are on the cards, too. I'm unlikely to use that much, but I appreciate that people do want it.

The other big hardware rumour is that Sonos will also drop a new pair of headphones – Ace Ultra, upgrading the existing Ace. That's another bit of sound kit that we use most days in my flat, since its sound-sharing feature with the Beam makes it so convenient to get personal audio from the TV. That means movies can be watched as loud as you like, without anyone else needing to hear every detail.

Quite what the Ace Ultra will upgrade, beyond apparently improved integration with Sonos' non-soundbar speakers, isn't clear. With all of this likely to be unveiled in September, though, we won't have to wait too long to find out.

Justifiably encouraged by its domination of the ‘wireless stereo speaker system’ scene, KEF has decided to see what sort of damage it can do even further upmarket.

The LS Luxe system, on review here, wants to combine outstanding sound with unique aesthetics – and half of that battle is won before it’s even plugged in!

Price & Availability

The KEF LS Luxe wireless stereo speaker system is on sale now, and in the United Kingdom it costs £3499.

It sells for $3999 in the United States, and in Australia the going rate is AU$6399.

Push the boat out yet further by opting for a pair of the bespoke S-Luxe stands and you will add another £799 / $799 / AU$1199 to the bill.

Features & What's New?

Everything about the LS Luxe is striking in one way or another – but perhaps it’s the 12th-gen Uni-Q driver array that’s the most visually dramatic thing about this system.

KEF has been perfecting this driver arrangement since the first Uni-Q made an appearance back in 1988 – and here this coincident-source layout features a 25mm aluminium tweeter in the centre of a 165mm mid/bass driver.

As with every Uni-Q array, the idea is to offer outstanding time-alignment and top-notch driver integration by having the tweeter and the mid/bass driver occupy the same point in space.

Of course, there are some rather newer technologies deployed here in order to get the best from this array. KEF has positioned its ‘metamaterial absorption technology’ behind the tweeter, where it can negate the energy travelling backwards from the tweeter and prevent it corrupting treble response.

‘Velocity Control Technology’, which was first deployed in 2025’s XIO soundbar, assesses the speed of movement of the mid/bass cone and compensates for differences between the actual and the expected values in real time.

The ‘Music Integrity Engine’, meanwhile, is in charge of maintaining tonal consistency at all volume levels.

The Uni-Q array is mechanically decoupled from the body of the cabinet, and a separate chassis within the driver assembly minimises any and all vibrations produced by the motor system – both of these measures are intended to keep vibration in the cabinet structure to a bare minimum. This way, goes the thinking, clarity can be maximised and distortion minimised.

The audio information that’s going to feel the benefit of this very thorough demonstration of engineering can be fed to the system in a few different ways.

Wireless connectivity is handled by the ‘primary’ speaker. It includes Bluetooth 5.3 and, more importantly, dual-band Wi-Fi on KEF’s ‘W2’ wireless platform – which means that Apple AirPlay 2, Google Cast, the ‘Connect’ versions of Qobuz, Spotify and Tidal, and internet radio are all available. In addition, the LS Luxe is UPnP-compatible and will be Roon Ready before very much longer.

The ‘primary’ speaker is also where all the physical connectivity lives. There’s an Ethernet socket, naturally enough, along with digital coaxial and optical inputs, an HDMI eARC socket and a 3.5mm analogue input at line level.

A USB-C slot looks like it might be another digital input, but in fact is a 5V charging slot. There’s also a pre-out for use with a subwoofer and an RJ45 socket for connection to the ‘secondary’ speaker. This ‘secondary’ speaker has a corresponding RJ45, of course, and also features a subwoofer pre-out of its own.

If you use the cable KEF provides to join the speakers together, they operate at 24bit/192kHz resolution. If you prefer a wireless connection, the resolution is cut to a still-healthy 24bit/96kHz. The LS Luxe can deal with resolutions of up to 24bit/384kHz and DSD128 through its network inputs, 24bit/192kHz via digital coaxial and HDMI, and 24bit/96kHz via digital optical.

Once the audio information is on board, decoded and ready to go, it’s amplified by two different types of power. Each mid/bass driver can call on 280 watts of Class D amplification, while each tweeter is driven by 100 watts of Class A/B power – an all-in total of 380 watts per channel really should be sufficient unless you’re trying to fill an aircraft hangar with sound.

Performance

Position the KEF LS Luxe as you would almost any other pair of stereo speakers – toed in so that a line drawn from each driver array would cross just in front of your seated position – and the sonic performance is not all you might be hoping for. In this orientation the sound is narrow and confined.

Get them to the point where they’re almost, but not quite, pointing straight ahead and they‘re much happier – and so, as a consequence, will you be.

The soundstage is still not the widest you ever heard, but it’s nevertheless appreciably taller and more confidently and convincingly laid out. The LS Luxe has a quite narrow ‘sweet spot’ where positioning is concerned, but it’s worth putting in the time to find it – because the rewards are significant.

It’s actually difficult to know where to start when discussing the things the KEF is good at. There’s detail retrieval, of course – this system is alert to even the finest, most minor details in a recording, and is more than capable of teasing them out and putting them into convincing context.

It’s analytical in this respect, sure, but it’s not in any way prissy, or uptight about it, and it never becomes the whole point of the LS Luxe’s performance. It simply reveals absolutely as much detail as possible, because it’s keen to give you as complete a sonic picture as possible.

And then there’s frequency response. At the bottom-end the KEF digs deep, hits with determination, and thanks to those sky-high detail levels it makes a stack of information regarding tonal and textural variation available too.

At the opposite end it attacks treble sounds with gusto – but it’s never hard or edgy, even at the considerable volumes the system is capable of achieving, and there’s plenty of substance to balance out the bite and shine of the top-end response.

In between, it communicates eloquently through the midrange, allowing voices to express the secrets of their technique and timbre just as readily as of their emotional state of overall character.

But the LS Luxe never underplays any area of the frequency range, just as it never seeks to push any area into the spotlight. It’s even, smooth and balanced from top to bottom, and back again.

Dynamic headroom is considerable – so even if you’re listening at quite big volumes to start with, the KEF is able to track upticks in intensity and attack in a completely unstressed manner. It’s equally adept with the more nuanced dynamics of tonal and harmonic variation – because that extraordinary attention to detail is apparent at every turn.

Control and balance are apparent everywhere – but no more so than when it comes to rhythmic expression. The LS Luxe does great work when controlling the decay and, especially, the attack of low-end information – and because every note or hit at the bottom of the frequency range is straight-edged at the point of attack, rhythms are handled with a confident, naturalistic attitude that makes for a fluent account of rhythm-centric recordings.

Overall, the KEF LS Luxe is a decently energetic, impressively insightful and, ultimately, endlessly entertaining listen. Once its speakers are pointing in the correct direction anyway.

Design & Usability

Between the Uni-Q driver array and the edgeless, seamless, slippery look of the LS Luxe cabinets, it seems fair to say that some designing has gone on here. Which is more than you can say about most of the more functional-looking alternatives to this KEF system.

KEF has again collaborated with Ross Lovegrove for the design of the LS Luxe, and the curvily organic shape of the speakers is easily recognisable as his work. It’s the use of BMC (‘bulk moulding compound’) in their construction that allows for this fairly elaborate shape – and it has advantages to its malleability beyond its willingness to form distinctive shapes.

The cabinet shape here is less susceptible to the build-up of internal standing waves than the more usual ‘box’ shape. The rigidity of the material means that less internal bracing is required than is the norm, which liberates greater internal volume than would be the case in a straight-edged cabinet of similar dimensions.

The rear of the cabinet has a degree of visual drama, too, as you can see from the images scattered throughout this review.

Each speaker features a heat-sink to help disperse the heat generated by the internal electronics – and here it’s chanelled and swoopily curved, which increases its surface area as well as making it look mildly unusual.

Each speaker’s bass reflex port divides its heat-sink - it’s a relatively large port and it features KEF’s ‘Flexible Port Technology’. This is another way of saying the walls of the port are less than rigid, and this configuration intends to keep internal resonance down to a minimum.

Three finishes are available: as well as the Eclipse Black of my review sample, Mineral White and Dusk Titanium are also available.

This isn’t the first pair of speakers I’ve encountered that look better in some finishes than in others, of course – but it might well be the pair that is most affected by the colour they’re finished in.

For my money, at least, Eclipse Black makes the speakers look bulkier and chunkier than either of the other two alternatives. You are, of course, very welcome to disagree – and might want to get to a KEF showroom to check out the whole range with your own eyes.

Verdict

There’s more than a normal amount of legwork to be done when setting up the LS Luxe, but don’t be discouraged – putting in the required effort to position the system correctly allows it to perform in the most engaging and impressive way possible.

Yes, this is one of the more expensive products of its type around (as long as you discount some couture outliers), but it’s also one of the very best.

Also Consider

In its own way the Sonus Faber Duetto is just as distinctive as the LS Luxe – more readily identifiable as speakers, sure, but elegantly shaped and beautifully made, and with almost as much credibility as furniture as it has as an audio system. The sound is more easy-going than the KEF equivalent, but some listeners are sure to count that as a positive.

By way of contrast, the JBL 4329P couldn’t look any more like a purposeful, functional pair of loudspeakers if it tried. But while its potential as decorative items hovers around ‘zero’, it has an awful lot going for it where sheer sound quality is concerned. If you’re all about the listening and unconcerned about the looks, this system deserves serious consideration.

More than just a Bluetooth speaker, and with the talents and chutzpah of a soundbar, the Music Studio 7 (officially the HW-LS70H if you enjoy a codename) smart speaker sits at the top of Samsung’s new Music Studio family.

Its stablemate is the related but less well-endowed Music Studio 5. Both models share a similar aesthetic, but the flagship boasts a far more ambitious acoustic architecture, with Dolby Atmos support, HDMI eARC connectivity and Q-Symphony compliance.

The brief may be a little confusing, but there’s no doubt this is one of the more intriguing premium wireless speakers to find its way onto the T3 test bench in 2026.

Price & Availability

You can pick up a Samsung Music Studio 7 in the UK right now, priced at £499 in the UK. It sells for $499 in the United States, and is AU$599 in Australia.

These tickets place it firmly in the premium wireless speaker category, which could be considered a little rich, until you factor in its Dolby Atmos and HDMI functionality.

Features & What's New?

There’s quite a party going on inside the Music Studio 7.

Samsung has crowbarred in a five-driver array for 3.1.1 Dolby Atmos playback.

Samsung kettles these front, side and upward-firing drivers with proprietary Pattern Control Technology, designed to minimise acoustic interference between drivers and improve directional accuracy.

A dedicated Super Tweeter extends frequency response to 35kHz, allowing support for 24-bit/96kHz Hi-Res Audio, if you have the source material. Power comes from a 150W Class D amplifier.

Alongside the Dolby Atmos there’s support for Eclipsa Audio, making this one of the first standalone wireless speakers ready for Samsung and Google's emerging immersive audio format. This may or may not prove significant, but time will tell.

Artificial intelligence (AI) also features prominently, selectable from the Samsung Sound app.

SpaceFit Sound Pro employs an onboard microphone to calibrate the speaker automatically to its surroundings. This happens in the background, optimising playback without requiring manual intervention. I’m not too convinced of its impact either way, but left it on for the bulk of this audition.

Active Voice Amplifier Pro uses AI processing to improve dialogue intelligibility when background noise rises. Not an issue in my case, so not routinely used.

Sound Quality

The Music Studio 7 has been voiced with entertainment in mind.

As a music speaker it produces an impressively large soundstage for its size. Those side-firing and upward-firing drivers extend well beyond the cabinet.

Samsung has always been good at needling out fine detail, and has produced an impressive line of low-cost, high-performance super tweeters over the years. That lineage continues here.

Bass is plentiful. Sometimes very plentiful. This low frequency bloom is more noticeable on some content than others. On piano recordings, low frequencies can become more dominant than ideal. Jon Batiste's meditative Always Know is robbed of its delicacy, sounding heavier and thicker than intended.

Modern pop and rock are much more natural companions. My Chemical Romance's pacey anthem Na Na Na arrives with tremendous energy, the speaker maintaining composure even at enthusiastic listening levels.

Film scores also play to its strengths. Hans Zimmer's Stay, from the movie Interstellar, benefits from the Music Studio 7's generous low-frequency extension. The ominous bass foundation and swelling organ notes create a genuinely cinematic sense of atmosphere.

Switching from streams to HDMI transforms the speaker's character again. With a Dolby Atmos bitstream, bass becomes noticeably tighter and more disciplined. Channel steering snaps into focus. Effects spread wide, while the up-firing driver introduces a tangible sense of height.

Is the Music Studio 7 a realistic alternative to a soundbar? I’d say conclusively it is. Helpfully, the speaker has a very wide sweet spot. That patented Wave Guide does a great job filling the room, making it ideal for a family audience.

The opening introduction to Stranger Things (season 1), on Netflix, is particularly immersive. The soundtrack's unsettling groans, distant rumbles and pulsing score are not squandered.

Dolby Atmos-encoded music proves equally rewarding. The spatial mix of Elton John’s Rocket Man, streaming from Amazon Music over HDMI, is fresh and airy, while Pink Floyd's Time alarm clocks are distinct and separate, before the track digs into David Gilmour’s opening vocal.

Design & Usability

The Music Studio 7’s distinctive Dot Design is the work of Erwan Bouroullec. He’s one half of the Paris-based Bouroullec brothers, who were also responsible for the look of Samsung’s The Frame and Serif lifestyle TVs.

Available in either black or white, the cabinet combines gently curved surfaces with perforated metal grilles. I like it, but can see it might prove divisive with bookshelf speaker traditionalists.

Build quality is reassuringly solid: at 5.6kg, the speaker feels substantial. A recessed carry handle at the rear helps to manoeuvre it around. The footprint is a tidy 185 x 269 x 190.5mm.

Controls line up across the top, including volume adjustment, microphone muting and a programmable shortcut button. Spotify Tap support allows users to launch personalised playlists with a simple double press.

Placement obviously deserves some consideration, and is a key part of the soundbar replacement debate, since much of the speaker's spacious presentation depends upon its side-firing and upward-firing drivers. These therefore need to remain unobstructed for the soundstage to work.

Connectivity is comprehensive. HDMI eARC allows direct TV integration, with optical digital audio as a legacy set backup. Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 6.0 provide flexibility for music streaming. HDMI eARC is particularly welcome, not least because it allows volume adjustment via a TV remote.

Owners of compatible Samsung televisions also gain access to Q-Symphony, allowing the Music Studio 7 to work alongside compatible Samsung soundbars and TV speakers as part of a larger sound system. Great for additional height to the front soundstage.

Software setup involves Samsung's Sound app alongside SmartThings, and feels slightly less streamlined than it should be. Once configured, daily operation is relatively straightforward though.

Apple AirPlay, Google Cast, Spotify Connect, Tidal Connect, Roon Ready certification all get Hall Passes, as does Alexa, which is built in. Samsung's own smart assistant, Bixby, is notably absent (he’s been playing truant quite a lot lately).

Samsung Music Studio 7 review: Verdict

The Music Studio 7 is an excellent wireless music speaker. Bouroullec's industrial design is nothing if not elegant.

It’s also a capable TV sound upgrade and a foundation for Samsung's wider Q-Symphony ecosystem. Few rivals can multi-task so convincingly.

Its sonic personality isn’t without foibles, though. Bass can dominate more delicate recordings, yet this same authority becomes an advantage when watching a movie, or grooving with your mates.

If your listening habits span albums, streaming services and blockbuster movies in equal measure, the Music Studio 7 is well worthy of consideration. Just don’t park it on a crowded bookshelf.

Also Consider

If you like the idea of a versatile all-in-one, the Denon Home 400 is a strong alternative. It also looks great and supports Dolby Atmos. There's no HDMI though.

Another contender is the Sonos Era 300. This also delivers excellent spatial audio, and has top-notch multiroom capabilities, but once again it lacks HDMI eARC.

Happen to be looking for some desktop speakers – or even smaller-scale bookshelf speakers – but have been struggling to find anything on the reasonable side of affordable?

Well, look no further. Creative has just announced the XF1, a pair of desktop speakers that could complement a mini PC arrangement, personal workstation, or even be used as a dedicated sound system if you prefer.

Price is a key factor in the appeal, of course, with the £139 / $179 on-sale figure considerably lower than many of the larger and, inevitably, more expensive options on the market.

Perhaps you have a monitor with no built-in speakers and are looking to upgrade your audio output. This stereo pair certainly looks preened for the job, coming in either black or white finishes.

Audio dips down to 55Hz for relatively deep bass delivery, but the XF1 are expandable too. You can add a subwoofer at a later stage, while 3.5mm AUX connections extend to adding a turntable or other such input – it's not all workstation-only stuff!

The XF1 are also Hi-Res Audio certified, meaning you'll be able to extract the utmost quality from your file types. Or there's Bluetooth 6.0 connectivity as part of the package, whatever the quality of source.

Each speaker measures 19cm high, 15.5cm long and 10cm deep, ensuring they're on the smaller scale – and ideal for positioning with ease. The two pair via an interconnect cable.

Inside each are two 3-inch woofers and two 3/4-inch tweeters, which can extend right through to 40,000Hz at the top end. Only the right speaker has the physical control knob solution, though.

Good things come in small packages, as the saying goes, and this Creative XF1 pair look like a dreamy affordable desktop speaker arrangement.

Sonos is planning a "product launch event" for September the company has revealed via its third quarter results. While Sonos CEO Tom Conrad didn't reveal exactly what that would be, he then went on to talk about "conversational computing and predictive intelligence".

That's right, it looks like Sonos is going to be moving its platform in the direction of AI, with Conrad going on to address the debate about which is the "best" AI model and how Sonos might put AI to best use in the home environment.

"The lasting value is going to be in what surrounds the model in a real home: the hardware that can converse with quality across every room, the system that already knows the shape of a home and the way a family lives in it, the connectivity to reach the speakers, services, and devices that turn a request into coordinated action."

Sonos shot to fame more than a decade ago, thanks to enabling multi-room audio. With a central controller, multiple Sonos speakers could be grouped and controlled, making streaming a much better experience across the home.

That was followed by a deliberate focus on quality, looking to appeal to more aspiring customers, while devices like the Amazon Echo offered rival connected streaming skills at much lower prices. Sonos' audio devices are still highly prised however, with a reinforcement of its soundbar offering over recent years.

Amazon's latest move for its Echo devices was to boost Alexa's performance using AI - called Alexa+ - although Sonos' own Voice Control system is rather basic by comparison, focusing mostly on music control.

Sonos has, in the past, supported other brands' voice control systems, but with the rapid acceleration of AI, the sort of voice models that Amazon and Google have offered over the last decade are probably easier to develop.

Exactly what Sonos will offer and how it will implemented remains to be seen. However the company is no stranger to riling its user base with changes, having struggled to put a new app in place and facing criticism for dropping support for a number of legacy devices.

Whether Sonos' current line-up have the processing power to handle AI functions is unknown, although the company might hand it off to the cloud for processing, so that older devices remain supported.

With September just around the corner, it won't be long until Sonos' plans are revealed in full.

When you've spent as much time as I have testing speakers, you also tend to collect a range of experience checking out audio brands' home turf. Whether it's a factory or HQ visit, or a peek behind the curtain at what they're working on, brands are often interested in letting you have a nose around at their storied histories.

While these previews often offer a great big chunk of context on a new speaker or about a brand's priorities moving forward, they can also be interesting for the older tech that you get to glimpse. I've found it consistently intriguing to note that audio teams are always eager to refer back to the work that preceded them.

Sometimes this involves direct generational moves – like when I visited Bowers & Wilkins' "secret" R&D base in the UK to check out its newest 800 Series Diamond D5 speakers. Bowers was confident enough in the changes to let me compare their audio directly against the previous generation (D4), and that obviously meant it needed one of each of those older speakers to be wheeled in.

Elsewhere in the building, though, I could see far older speakers, including some that have lasted decades. I asked Bowers what its oldest piece was, and was told: "We have a pair of the very first Bowers & Wilkins speakers, the P2H. We started making this model in 1966. The pair we have in our archive were made in 1968".

Its team even found a scan of the original brochure for the speakers, an impressively technical breakdown of their strengths that really does underline how things haven't changed as much as you might think. After all, Bowers still largely makes speakers where "cost is secondary to performance", even all these years later.

When I asked why Bowers goes to such lengths to maintain an archive of older speakers, rather than simply keeping them in storage, the response was clear, too: "It’s a reference and visual reminder for all of our team of the great heritage and consistent, excellent engineering work from the first days of the brand all the way up to today's range".

Andy Kerr, B&W's director of product marketing and communications, went on: "You can draw a direct link from some of the ideas we had back in the mid-1970s to the way Bowers & Wilkins works today".

Of course, Bowers can perhaps more easily prove this more than some others, since it quickly adopted the separate tweeter that made its speakers iconic, and has never abandoned that design note. It's not the only one that can draw a direct line, though.

Visual identities maintained

A few months ago, I was at Marshall's office in Sweden, where I was checking out the Milton ANC headphones before they were officially announced. As a bit of a cultural extra after some presentations and hands-on time, though, we headed up into a testing space in the loft to find a raft of vintage Marshall amps from down the years.

With metal band Opeth's Fredrik Åkesson on hand to run us through them with some guitar solos, we got an amazing showcase of the sonic differences between older amps, a sonic journey through time that made it surprisingly easy to see how artists' demands and sensibilities changed how amps were tuned over the years.

You only have to look at Marshall's recently announced Billie Joe Armstrong limited edition amp to see that its core design ideas have stayed true to those old amps in the decades since the first ones were built in West London.

Marshall told me at the time that reacquiring some of the older models and keeping them working was not a simple task (nor a cheap one), but it's clearly considered worth it.

More than just speakers

It's not just speakers that audio brands hold onto, either. In late 2024, I visited Technics in Kyoto for a thoroughly interesting showcase of its then-new earbuds, the supreme EAH-AZ100. While Technics is now getting more well-known for such earbuds, for a long time it has been associated far more tightly with turntables.

On that trip I got to see a lineup of Technics' turntables going back down the years, and when I reached out to Technics to ask about those samples, two years later, it was happy to explain them.

Per Tadayoshi Okuda, Technics chief engineer: "The oldest turntable in the Technics collection is the SP-10, released in 1970. Released as the world's first direct-drive turntable, it was widely adopted by broadcasters and professional users.

"Its technology became the foundation of future Technics turntables and continues to influence our products today."

Technics debuted the direct-drive system in the SP-10, and that system can indeed be traced all the way to its most recent turntables, so the continuity is hard to argue with.

I didn't see them in Kyoto, but Okuda also explained that Technics has plenty of old speakers of its own in its archive, too: "One of the oldest speakers in the Technics collection is the Technics 1, released in 1965." When I asked him why these devices are useful, he was effusive.

"These products are more than historical exhibits. They serve as valuable references that allow us to compare today's products with decades of Technics engineering and sound design.

"They also help pass on our brand heritage and development philosophy to the next generation of engineers, ensuring that the Technics identity continues into the future."

That last point is the one that interests me most – new engineers learning from tech that has technically been superseded and rendered obsolete. Those lessons might be technical, but they can also be almost philosophical.

A maintenance puzzle

Get any amount of tech from the 1960s and 1970s out for testing, though, and you're likely to hit challenges in maintaining them. When I asked Bowers & Wilkins if it's hard to keep its older speakers working, Kerr stressed that it's an ongoing system: "We keep a good selection of spares for all of our products and have kept the engineering schematics for every product all the way back to the start. We also have a team of dedicated engineers who can refurbish any of our products".

Being able to call on those schematics is doubtless key, but you have to assume that the challenge of retaining spares (or making them) will only escalate over time.

Technics' explanation saw Okuda return to the theme of generational lessons: "Like all electronic and mechanical products, the components used in these systems inevitably age over time, making it challenging to preserve exactly the same performance they delivered when first released. For that reason, we carefully preserve these products as important historical and technical assets, treating them with great respect so that their value can be passed on to future generations."

Hybrid theory

That last quote from Technics opens up a fascinating possibility. When Okuda says that it's "challenging to preserve exactly the same performance they delivered when first released", he acknowledges the possibility that these vintage speakers and turntables don't sound the same as they did when first made.

If you square that with the fact that these speakers nonetheless continue to influence designs being made now, then it could be that this takes us into entirely new territory. We could be getting speakers influenced by the interesting new characteristics of old speakers, worked on by engineers who only know those older versions from what they can now test on-site.

That's not a bad thing, to be clear; in fact, I think it's really exciting. It's intangible, too, in the way that all the best audiophile theories often are – we might not know exactly how a Bowers speaker from the late 1960s "should sound" in a totally perfect scenario, just as we might not be able to totally quantify how a Technics one from 1970 ought to either.

Instead, we can work with how they sound now – to come up with new acoustics that meet the needs of our times, while using what came before to ensure a continuity and continuation of important history-making.

London is home to some of the best listening rooms in the UK, with every type of music and experience pretty much catered for.

The idea of a listening room is a simple one: it’s the optimum space to have a shared listening experience of music. The ideal place to do this is one that’s been sonically supercharged for such an event. It doesn’t have to be an intimate room, it can be a bar or a venue but what has to be right is the sound system playing back the music.

It’s sometimes an unnerving thing, sitting still in a room with other people all focused on one record. But it’s an experience that, when done right, offers immeasurable joy for the thing you are listening to.

These spaces are not new, far from it – Japan has had them for 100 years now. They all take a leaf out of the popularity of those listening bars, where a culture of music aficionados was born out of shared gramophone listening in the ‘20s, when classical music was popular. This eventually shifted to the Jazz kissa era, cafes where music fans could get to listen to their favourite music on high-end kit with maybe a whisky or two in hand.

While custom tube amplifiers may have made way for custom Atmos set-ups, the spirit of shared listening is not just still there, it’s thriving.

If you are ever in the Big Smoke, then here are three listening rooms we recommend – and below this, we go behind the scenes, exploring the tech and logistics involved in creating a premium listening space…

1. Spiritland

• Located in: Kings Cross, London

In an interview with The Guardian, Paul Noble record producer and creator of Spiritland said he was inspired to set up Spiritland thanks to Japan’s love of the listening bar and its “deep, beautiful, reverential approach to listening to music”. This can also be found in Spiritland – which is a café, bar and radio studio that all take advantage of an entirely bespoke audio setup, created and built by high-end audio manufacturer Living Voice.

According to Spiritland, their setup also includes “a two Isonoe-modified Technics 1200 turntables with a variety of cartridges including Audio-Technica AT-XP7 Dual Moving Magnet Stereo Cartridges, a Tascam DA-3000 Hi-Res Recorder, Revox B77 Tape Recorder, two Pioneer CDJ-2000NXS2 CD players, a Studer A730 CD Player and more”. Oof.

For more information, head to: https://spiritland.com

2. Brilliant Corners

• Located in: Dalston, London

Brilliant Corners wears its ode to Japan on its sleeve, with a Japanese inspired menu and an audio set up that would surely get the nod of approval.

While at time of going to print it was closed for a refurb, when normal service resumes, sometime in mid-August, expect an intimate restaurant setting with some superb music that’s played back on some modified Technics turntables, controlled by an Isonoe Electronics built custom valve mixer. Also in the setup are two Mcintosh tube amps power, some 1970s Klipschorn speakers. If you are waiting impatiently for the venue to re-open, then there’s always “Mu” just around the corner – another aural delight that’s been created by the team behind Brilliant Corners.

For more information, head to: https://brilliantcornerslondon.co.uk

Jazu

• Located in: Deptford, London

Jazu is a fantastic listening bar, with the emphasis on both those words. The setup there is superb, with a bespoke sound system created by South London audio engineer Bosco Taylor. There’s a 3,000-strong collection of vinyl to gawp at, while the food is a Mexican-based treat. Interestingly, even though the name riffs off of the aforementioned Japanese Jazz kissa scene, this bar was inspired, like the food, by the listening bars of Mexico.

For more information, head to: https://www.jazudrinks.com.

Behind the scenes of a listening room

The KEF Music Gallery in London is an incredible place for music fans. Situated slap bang in the hustle and bustle of Great Portland Street, its TARDIS like in its size. From the street it looks initially like a KEF product showcase but inside it’s an audiophile's dream – with some 5,000sq feet of area, over two floors, to play some serious sounds.

This experience centre opened in 2024 and serves as a multifunctional space for events, training, and product demonstrations. The reason for T3’s visit, however, is because it hosts a multitude of audio goodies, including DJ nights, album launches, and immersive sound experiences.

On the day I was there, they were preparing for an intimate listening-room experience exploring Lauryn Hill’s two fantastic albums: ‘The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill’ and ‘MTV Unplugged No. 2.0’, all played back through KEF’s LS60 Wireless speaker range.

A lot goes on in the Kef Music Gallery and that’s because the space is flexible in its design. It includes a cafe and podcast studio, and there’s even a table made of 900-year-old Kentish oak hidden underground in The Hub – one of the many beautifully specced out rooms on the lower ground floor.

“There are not too many cafes with a Dolby Atmos 10.8.8 immersive system that I'm aware of,” says Geoff Loveday, KEF’s technical sales director, pointing out the huge sound system that’s situated on the first floor of the gallery. It’s here that many a DJ night has taken place, each with their own sound requirements.

Having that much audio power in one place is jaw-dropping but not all of it is needed at once, it depends on the type of show they are running. Thankfully Loveday notes that they have tried to make everything as simple as possible to run.

“The whole building runs on a Crestron smart home system. That system is great because it gives us complete flexibility and control of not just the audiovisual but aircon, the network, lighting, CCTV – it's all on there,” he explains.

While upstairs there are a number of listening areas, where you can test some of the speakers on show, it’s the main system I am really interested in.

“We’ve got our uber house system, which includes our LS50s that are dotted around the ceiling, in conjunction with a bunch of our architectural in-ceiling speakers, and some subwoofers, which aren't just decorative or on display, they're part of that system,” notes Loveday, pointing to an array of them on the floor.

“This makes up one big immersive 10.8.8 Atmos system that's driven by a very sophisticated Trinnov Altitude 32 processor. So we can orientate in various different ways.”

Loveday continues: “For example, if we're doing an event where we might need something centered in a certain part of the room, we can configure the system by just selecting one preset where three speakers become our left, centre, and right speakers, and then all the others accordingly surround left, surround right… And that's done simply by selecting a preset on that processor, which makes life infinitely easier.”

This would be impressive on its own, but a level below this KEF has created a number of areas for intimate audio demos, including a space affectionately called The Living Room and the absolutely without hyperbole, The Ultimate Experience Room.

I head downstairs, admire the oak table and am taken to a room that hasn’t been given the same sound-proofing treatment as the others – the echo reminds me just how much work has gone into making this place an, er, sound investment.

A tour of the living room setup shows a place packed with speakers from KEF’s sprawling range.

“We get everything from seasoned audiophiles that know all their stuff and really want to quiz you, right through to people that are taking their first steps into good hi-fi and don't really know how to achieve this or what they'd like," explains Loveday.

"There’s a bit of handholding through the whole experience, but we can adapt to whatever kind of person's here. And what's nice with the way we've got things is: we can control that experience.”

Speaking of experience, it’s the Ultimate Experience Room that is a must visit. The room is a stunning audio showcase, packed with some of the most impressive audio tech in the capital, including a pair speakers that stand tall like an art installation.

“They were conceived in 2007 as a a very special audio project,” says Loveday pointing at the KEF MUON speaker setup.

“The designer is a well-known sculptural artist called Ross Lovegrove. He's famous for his hourglass, spherical, no straight edges kind of design.

"He's actually designed a couple of other products for us as well, but there are only 100 pairs of these that are ever going to be built. We're on pair 90 something, so you need to be quick if you want to reserve a pair. There are not many places in the world where you can see those, let alone hear them,” Loveday notes.

A quick Google shows that the speakers are worth £190,000. I decide not to phone my bank manager on this occassion.

“This is very much our flag waving exercise,” says Loveday about the room. “It is the best of everything we do.”

In the room there is a two-channel setup using the incredible MUON speakers plus a 9.14 configuration. That’s not a typo, there’s actually 14 subs in the space.

“There’s a reason for 14, it's not just a sort of random number that we just happened upon or figured out we could squeeze 14 subs in here," says Loveday.

"The Trinnov processor I mentioned that's running upstairs, well we have a second one running this room. It's a 32 channel Atmos processor, and we're showcasing their new wave-forming technology, which is bass management technology, which, in very very simple terms, works with two identical arrays of subwoofers. So you have an array at the front and an array at the back.”

The idea is this setup eliminates the need for a sweet spot in the room, so theoretically you can sit anywhere and enjoy an incredible sound.

A demo of Elton John’s Rocketman, mastered in Dolby Atmos, proves this – I’ve never heard the song in this way before, soaring through the speakers and searing itself on to my ears. I found new in the old again and it was a life-affirming experience.

As I walk out of the KEF Music Gallery the sound of the street hits me, as the dampening used in the gallery gives way to the outside world. It got me thinking: to create a truly unique listening room and, in turn, listening experience takes huge dedication.

You can see that with what KEF is doing, with what Spiritland's Paul Noble is doing and what every other listening room across the country is also trying to do.

The key ingredient, other than the music, though, is you. You being there, you experiencing music with others and maybe, just maybe, you hearing something new in something old again.

Head to KEF's official site to book yourself a demo at the KEF Music Gallery. Or just drop in for a coffee.

• "The Brits do it best": How KEF's new LS Luxe speakers reinforce a changing hi-fi trend for the better

If you've ever looked at a friend's fancy extension and wished you had hidden ceiling speakers, then this could be the answer. Flexson - known for its Sonos accessories - has an in-ceiling mount for Sonos speakers, so you can do it yourself.

The mounts support the Sonos Era 100 / SL, Era 100 Pro or older Sonos One models, allowing you to install those like a professional, hidden from sight.

The advantage of using existing Sonos speakers is, firstly, you don't have to buy ceiling speakers, you can just use the units you already have. Secondly, you don't need an amp or to run cables to power these speakers, because they are self contained.

That's a great starting point from a simplicity point of view, allowing you to continue to use the Sonos app that you already have.

From a DIY point of view you will need a degree of competence. Firstly, you'll have to cut a hole in your ceiling and secure the mount in place, which is fairly straightforward. The second stage, however, could be the stumbling block.

You'll have to power the speaker using a standard plug like you normally would, so you'll have to get a socket into the ceiling space. That's not impossible, but depends on the construction of your house. If you can lift floorboards it's easy, but if you're looking for a dedicated mains extension you might need an electrician.

What happens when something goes wrong and you need to restart the Sonos speaker? Well, you might consider a remote switch to power cycle the speaker so you're not scrabbling around in the ceiling trying to get to it.

But once that's done, you just clip the Sonos speaker into the cradle and clip it into the mount. There are round and square grilles to suit the design of the room, and the grille can be painted.

The price for the mount is £150 / $170 / €170 but you'll have to provide the speaker yourself.

If you've been thinking about investing in a pair of floorstanding speakers but have often baulked at the sheer cost of such setups, then Q Acoustics' latest ought to catch your eye.

The British audio stalwart has just revealed its new Compact 3040c mid-priced floorstanding speakers, available in four finishes – Pin Oak, Satin White, Claro Walnut or Satin Black, as pictured above.

The 3040c marks a step up from bookshelf speakers – although the brand will happily provide you with myriad options of those if preferred – designed for moderately sized living spaces.

The price is also moderately sized, being a big part of the 3040c's appeal. You can pick up a pair for £599 / $1,099 / AU$TBC in any of those four finishes right now.

Do keep in mind that you'll need to factor in a separate amplifier, of course, with a minimum 25W and maximum 120W recommended by Q Acoustics.

That's less this particular brand's forte, mind, but if you want to keep it affordable and also British, then Cambridge Audio makes a bunch of budget options that'll fit the bill.

That'll drive each speaker's dual 4.75in "C³" mid/bass cones and single 0.9in tweeter, delivering across a large portion of the frequency range, from 43Hz to 30kHz. That's plenty of low-end without the need to add a subwoofer.

The 3040c is inspired by the brand's flagship range, with a "floating" design on distinctive aluminium feet – the rears with "wings" – and no visible screws on the cabinets, for a finessed finish.

Wondering if a pair will fit perfectly into your living space? Each speaker is 94.2cm tall (and around 28cm wide/deep), so will certainly have a presence. That's around 11-inches across, so not far off your treasured vinyl collection.

Speaking of which, wouldn't a pair of Compact C3040c look lovely with a nice record player setup alongside? Well, quit waiting – these speakers are available to purchase right now.

Just a few weeks ago, in the middle of July and amid an ongoing UK summer heatwave, I visited KEF's London-based headquarters to sink into not only delightful air-conditioning, but a world of delightful sound beneath the capital's busy streets.

Ahead of its official reveal, I was treated to a private listening experience of the storied British brand's latest powered speaker, the LS Luxe, which is designed to fill a gap in the current line-up. As the product name asserts: a luxury gap.

Earlier this year, I had written about 2026's biggest hi-fi trend being powered bookshelf speakers, which are captivating buyers to move away from traditional separates purchases. KEF has been ahead of that curve to date, however, with its LSX II speakers released just over four years ago – and to critical acclaim.

Brits do it the best

While many other brands are only just presenting their latest equivalents – from Cambridge Audio to Yamaha – KEF is upping the ante in its LS Luxe. These speakers, designed in collaboration with British designer Ross Lovegrove, aren't mere boring boxes, but rather contemporary design – as much objects for the eyes as a sound system to please the ears.

I spoke in detail with KEF representatives, learning of the brand's now 65-year history, and how it remains based in a town in Kent – the very same town in which I was born, by happenstance – where some of the highest-end products, such as the Blade freestanding speakers, are still hand-crafted, one by one.

The LS Luxe are designed and engineered in the UK, showing that the Brits still do it the best when it comes to audio mastery. KEF isn't the only brand, though: Bowers & Wilkins is also based in the country's south – and a colleague recently visited a top-secret audio lab for the first time, to get a sneak peek behind the curtain.

Industrial design

Before I even get to how the LS Luxe actually sound, though, the most immediate feature is the way these speakers appear. Their rounded sculptural form is all curves, no visible breaks to the cabinet's smooth surface.

Lovegrove designed the speakers wanting that pure, unbroken appearance – paramount to his design language. No screw holes are visible. You'd never know that the enclosure is made of two BMC halves, compressed together with a resin that's then sanded and finished to aesthetic perfection.

Even the principal LS Luxe's rear marries form and function: the die-cast aluminium heat-sync on its rear has playful swirls, an opening for the flared port needed for low-turbulence bass output, with each of those flanges maximising heat dissipation. The second speaker of the pair – which can be connected by wire or wirelessly – has a simpler, pared-back visual.

Each is finished in a choice of Eclipse Black, Dusk Titanium, or Mineral White. The S-Luxe stands are sold separately, while an optional KW1 wireless subwoofer can complement the package – but I tested without this as part of the setup, for isolated testing.

Sensational sound

Last year, KEF began to deploy some of its newest technologies. The XIO soundbar – pronounced as "zee-oh" or even "shee-oh", not as a three-letter acronym – was the first to utilise the brand's patent-pending Velocity Control (VECO) technology, which uses a motion sensor to measure distortion and counter it in an instant as part of a feedback loop.

The LS Luxe deploys 100W Class AB and 280W Class D current-drive amplification, meaning a high output without fluctuations, providing direct control in how the 6.5-inch aluminium cone driver moves. Which is all well and good – except for the direct distortion that such a system can create.

This is where VECO technology comes to the fore, measuring coil motion and offsetting that measurement in a feedback loop. As there's no differential voltage, the sound is therefore consistent, controlled and clean throughout its considerable 35Hz to 47kHz frequency response.

Worth the cash?

The result is every bit as wonderful as it sounds. If wired, then a 192kHz/24bit output is possible, with the KEF Connect app handling sending your output to the LS Luxe. The sound is big, rounded and able to fill large spaces eloquently.

There's an abundance of connections, too, should you want to use HDMI or optical for a TV connection, AUX or COAX for a CD player or turntable input, Ethernet network connection for a NAS or other cloud source, or simply use Bluetooth/Wi-Fi. There's AirPlay, Chromecast, or direct Spotify Connect, Tidal Connect and Qobuz Connection options.

Think of the LS Luxe as positioned a step up from the LS50 Wireless II, but a notch down from the floorstanding LS60 Wireless II. The price fits in between those two products too, with a pair set at £3,500 / $4,000 / AU$6375. Availability is from right now for MyKEF users, while general release is from 13 August.

It's not every day that Bowers & Wilkins refreshes its most storied and sought-after speaker lineup, and it's also not every day that you get to hear it in the best possible setting. When Bowers announced the 800 Series Diamond D5, we knew that it was likely to sound fairly phenomenal.

I got the chance to verify that, though, when I visited the British audio brand's secluded R&D base near Horsham in early July – a visit that very (very) few audio journalists have ever been treated to before. I've already written this week about the sheer engineering scale of the listening room that I had my session in, but that piece might have left readers wondering about the actual sound of these new high-end speakers.

If you're going to spend £250,000 on building a listening room suspended within an existing room, it follows that you're not going to fill it with subpar components. When I totted up the audio equipment backing up the speakers I listened to (and there were many speakers), online retail links suggested that it was comfortably another £250,000 worth of kit.

That was comprised of a pair of Gryphon Apex mono power amps (just under £200,000), a Gryphon Commander preamp (another £65,000) and a lovely Denon DP-S1 CD transport (a totally reasonable £3,000 used).

Added to this were, of course, the actual new speakers, in a carefully calibrated ladder. Over the course of a couple of hours, I got to go through a host of comparisons. First, Bowers would give me some samples from the old version of the 800 series – so, the 805 D4, for instance. Then they'd swap it out for the newer version: the 805 D5.

After that we'd go back to the D4 range for the next step up: the 804 D4. Then to the newer equivalent, the 804 D5, and so on, until by the end we finished with the top-of-the-line 801 D5, the latest and greatest. At a cool £43,000 for a pair, they bring the total setup to eye-watering levels, but it's easy to throw stones until you step into the glass house and actually listen to them.

A new world of sound

I heard the same three tracks through ten different sets of speakers, each one picked to showcase a different characteristic. There was Phoebe Bridgers' DVD Menu into Garden Song, for its weird spatial elements and underrated bass; then Agnes Obel's The Curse, even more precise and pinpoint in its arrangement; and finally, Harry Belafonte's A Fool For You, the perfect way to check the warmth and tonality, all acoustic and live.

I'll be honest – even the very first speaker, the last-gen 805 D4s, had me immediately remembering how jealous I am of those who can afford this sort of setup or anything like it. The amount of detail, and the degree of separation, was just astonishing – and at that point I'd have told you I doubted that spending five times the money for the 801 D5s could possibly be sensible.

That's still a complicated topic, but as we stepped up through that ladder of sound, it was fascinating to be able to pick out differences and hear near-perfect sound get a little better. The biggest changes, I'd say, came in Belafonte's song, where the amount of warmth really did bump up on the newer speakers, the richness of his curiously-octaved voice getting all the more present in the room.

As you'll see in the images above, changing from one speaker to the next was no small job, especially once the bigger ones were on the agenda, and that weight served as a decent reminder that these are super-premium products for those who really do want professional-level sound at home.

A subtle evolution

It's hard for me to visualise ever having a space that could actually house them, let alone being able to crank them up to the volumes I enjoyed at Bowers' HQ – my neighbours would rightly have thoughts on that. Still, seeing the new speakers up close was a great way to appreciate some of the design changes.

Side by side, the D4 and D5 series are obviously from a shared template, but the tweaks that have been made are noticeable. That iconic turbine head always had a separate tweeter atop it, but the separation is even more intense now – it practically wobbles if you touch it. The grille on that tweeter's front is also redesigned for more airflow, and is quite beautiful in its lattice-work.

Behind the scenes, new designs for the acoustic chamber are tweaked in ways that you'd have to see a breakdown to fully appreciate, but help to give that extra warmth that I've spotlit. Bowers admitted that it now thinks it might have gone a little too analytical last time out (though some will have appreciated that), so this is a clear course-correction.

Part of what's so mad about high-end audio, though, is that you do quite quickly get into the realms of taste. Bowers & Wilkins is far from the only brand making very expensive speakers that sound terrific, after all, but its sound signature is clearly popular in mixing studios and with artists.

Having now had the opportunity to luxuriate in it myself, I can see why – if I had £50,000 to lob on a couple of floor-standing speakers, I'd have them high up my list moving forward. That said, I'd be curious to hear them without the enormous additional setup behind them, or at least with a more deliberately realistic one. At this grade of audiophilia, part of the fun is in trying to work out which components are having an impact on which elements of your sound, after all.

The cadence of Bowers & Wilkins' speaker updates means that the D5 range should now set its standard for a good few years, and it'll be fascinating to see how its arrival is greeted once people get their hands on them for more long-term testing. Having had my own session, I'll be grabbing any further opportunities to listen again.

The world's biggest audio brands might love to shout about their newest speakers, but they're rarely keen to let people into their research and development hubs to see how those speakers were actually made.

It's not that they're ashamed of the work (far from it), but more that there are a heap of risks attached, not least that journalists could get peeks at still long-distant projects that aren't yet ready for the limelight.

So, when Bowers & Wilkins, one of the UK's most lauded audio houses (and a T3 Award winner for Best Headphones in 2026), invited T3 to check out its R&D facility near Horsham, in West Sussex, we leapt at the chance.

This sort of tour is a proper first – Bowers & Wilkins was at pains to underline that it had never before let the media into this facility.

Inside, I got to spend a good few hours embedded in a couple of Bowers' custom-built listening rooms, and while the new 800 Series Diamond D5 speakers I heard blew me away, the intricacy of those rooms took me by surprise and really stuck in my mind.

Behind the curtain

When you hear "listening room", it's easy to imagine a normal room with some sound-proofing panels, and then an extremely expensive setup of audio gear.

In truth, that's probably what many wealthy individuals get in their homes when they commission audio rooms, since the results are acoustically impressive while concentrating the cost on that audio gear.

Bowers, though, is swimming in different waters; it doesn't want great sound – it wants perfect sound. Rather than outfitting a room with soundproofing, this means literally building a soundproof room within a room. Bowers has a few of these in its R&D facility, and we used the biggest of them for the afternoon.

You immediately get a sense of the room's scale when you step in, because it has two doors. Between the outer and inner doors there's about a foot of space, effectively a sound-dampening vacuum, and it illustrates how the room is built. I was told about spring systems underneath it to keep it elevated above the original floor, and an estimate that the room itself weighs 12 tonnes.

The photo below is of the window in the room (something Bowers' engineers reportedly requested for their own wellbeing when it was being built). It shows you the air gap and the thickness of the walls.

A pretty penny

When I asked Bowers & Wilkins about how much this might cost to build, I was told: "When we built that room – around £250,000. That’s the room, not the components inside the room." Anyone who's following tech knows that inflation is a real thing, though, so it's no surprise that a follow-up clarified: "Today, probably more like £300,000."

Those responses came from Andy Kerr, the brand's director of product marketing and communications, and he was effusive about what that sizeable investment has brought to Bowers. Its previous R&D facility was storied but cramped, and when Bowers moved to its new location a few years ago, getting more listening rooms was one of its main priorities.

Neutrality at its purest

Needless to say, these rooms aren't for pleasure listening (although I'm sure they get their share of after-hours use). The idea is that this sort of pristine environment gives B&W's engineers total neutrality in which to assess their in-progress speakers' sound, and to hear the results of their tuning changes.

When I asked how often each room was in use, Kerr told me that the location "is an engineering facility, and the main listening room has been created with a specific function in mind, which leads to the room being pretty much in continuous use."

With a couple of other, smaller listening rooms also available, that spells out just how important these pristine environments are for audio development.

That's before you start to even discuss the equipment within these rooms. Some quick maths on the setup I was listening to by the end of the afternoon has its value sitting at around £300,000.

God-tier audio

The acoustics are, indeed, completely mad. Bowers staff had to come in to swap out heavy speakers every few minutes, and it was crazy how easily you could tell when the inner door was closing – the ambient noise of the world just sort of sucked away into nothing.

Once the music started, it didn't take long to realise just how impactful such a perfect environment can be. I remember as a teenager visiting an ancient Greek amphitheatre, at Epidauros, and being blown away by how its design carried sound around a huge open space. This was like the reverse – a space that felt like there was no sound, until it was completely filled by whichever speaker we had turned to.

To be clear, though, I'm not done writing up my visit to Bowers & Wilkins – I've concentrated here on the practical side of its listening room setup, but the sound is something I'm saving for another write-up this week. In that, you'll get to hear what I thought of Bowers & Wilkins' newest generation 800 series, the Diamond D5.

Cambridge Audio has announced that its L/R X bookshelf speakers are now on sale, marking the availability of one cool retro-infused speaker set up.

T3 has been (im)patiently waiting for these to launch – and for good reason. When we reviewed its smaller bedfellow Cambridge Audio L/R S range back in March of this year, we gave them five stars, earning a coveted Platinum Award. We said at the time that it’s a speaker range that “absolutely demands your attention.”

The S range also won a coveted T3 Award this year.

But while we've yet to get this larger variant into our testing lab, there’s no reason why the X line can’t join that range in the top spot. Beneath the retro looks – this could easily have been a model that took pride and place in a conversation pit in the ‘60s – there’s a lot of modern tech packed in.

Stream dream

For those who prefer their music streamed, the Cambridge Audio L/R X offers access to your poison of choice – Spotify Connect, Tidal Connect, Qobuz, Amazon Music, AirPlay, Cast… you name it.

There’s also multi-room support, 64-bit audio processing and a number of ports, including: HDMI eARC for TV, moving magnet phono stage for vinyl and Bluetooth.

Cambridge graduate, with hons

As for the audio, this is pumped out through 800W of total system power. Dual 5-inch woofers. 28mm torus-chambered tweeters and dual 6-inch force-cancelling passive radiators are on board, which negate the need for a subwoofer and make sure the sound is wider than Spain’s collective grin this World Cup.

There’s a choice of six colours and finishes, complete with LED underlighting and this all comes at a price of £1799 / $2299 / €1999 (add another £100 if you fancy the walnut finishing).

Head to Cambridge Audio now for more details.

Samsung has built an enviable reputation among the best soundbars, with its increasingly impressive Q-Series models, complete with wireless subwoofers and optional rears. For many, they’ve completely replaced separate amp-and-speakers setups.

The HW-QS90 cuts the clutter even more. It’s an all-in-one design, engineered to deliver a convincing Dolby Atmos from a single enclosure. Typically, the province of entry-level soundbars, here Samsung has packed the QS90H with high-end drivers in a 7.1.2-channel configuration, driven by top-notch processing.

Is it really possible to deliver uncompromising home cinema audio from a single slab? Let’s find out...

Price & Availability

The HW-QS90H is priced at £899 in the UK – a tag that places it firmly in premium territory. That'll drop over time, though, if you're prepared to wait.

Given that you can currently pick up 2025’s HW-Q930F, a more ambitious 9.1.4 package with wireless sub and wireless rears for just £699, this looks a tad toppy.

There again, it’s a positive steal if you compare it to Samsung’s latest HW-Q990H flagship, an 11.2.4 offering, which comes with all the trimmings, including a hefty £1,599 price tag.

The QS90H sells for $999.99 in the United States. It’s also supposedly heading for Australia, although its price is still yet to be confirmed.

This soundbar is also available in Germany, as the differently-named HW‑QS95GH (€949), where it comes with a ‘Made for Germany’ designation.

Features & What's New?

The feature attraction here has to be the space-saving, all-in-one, 7.1.2 Dolby Atmos configuration.

Samsung has managed to cram in three front firing drivers in a left / centre / right orientation, two upfiring drivers for atmospheric height effects, plus two side/wide firing drivers positioned at either end, plus four integrated woofers tasked with lower-frequency duties.

You’re well covered for audio formats too. The bar supports Dolby Atmos, DTS:X and the new Eclipsa 3D audio standard (IAMF decoding), as developed between Samsung and Google (for YouTube).

For Samsung TV owners, there’s also Q-Symphony support, a nifty wheeze that allows the soundbar to work in tandem with compatible TV speakers, effectively creating a wall of sound.

Samsung’s familiar AI suite is present and correct. Active Voice Amplifier Pro enhances dialogue clarity by reacting to ambient noise – useful if you have a noisy living room – while AI Dynamic Bass Control is a DSP (digital signal processing) mode to bolster low-end impact. There’s also Auto Volume control, which goes some way to smoothing out level jumps between sources.

Connectivity comprises two HDMI inputs (obviously one with eARC), as well as an optical digital audio input, plus Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Unfortunately, HDMI video passthrough is limited to 60Hz, not 120Hz, which will be a bit of a negative for gamers who want to preserve high-framerate sources (they’ll have to connect consoles directly to their TV, and bitstream audio out).

Sound Quality

I was expecting the HW-QS90H to be good. But it actually sounds great.

This is a bold, expansive performer with a wide soundstage that pushes well beyond the physical confines of the 'bar itself. There’s real scale here, a sonic illusion created by that combination of forward, side and upfiring drivers – and it’s quickly evident that Samsung’s LA-based audio lab has done a great job with the tuning.

Height effects are particularly convincing. With spatial content, there’s a noticeable lift to the presentation, adding air and dimensionality. Watching Brad Pitt’s F1 on Apple TV, the roar of engines and the mechanical snarl of gear changes create a genuinely exciting sense of motion.

Clarity is another strong point. Dialogue sits cleanly in the mix, aided by the soundbar’s detailed midrange and the clever post-processing. Even in busy scenes, voices remain intelligible without sounding artificially pushed forward.

Bass performance is where the QS90H seals the deal. This is where the wheels could fall off Sonny Haye’s F1 racing car – thankfully, they don’t. The integrated woofers deliver a low-frequency response which I measured down to around 50Hz, but psycho-acoustically they sound like they drop even lower.

Sure, the bass has a slightly processed character. It’s not quite as tactile or visceral as a dedicated subwoofer might provide, but for a single chassis design it’s remarkably convincing. Rich and full, action movies land with authority, while music carries a pleasing beat.

In terms of presentation, I noticed a subtle change when the soundbar receives Dolby Atmos information compared to stereo or 5.1 channel sources. There’s maybe a touch more finesse and detail.

As for Eclipsa spatial audio, there’s not actually a great deal that I could find on YouTube to sample, but the official demo clip, with a variety of outdoor sports sequences, does play with impressive separation. The future-proofing is welcome – but we'll have to see how far Eclipsa adoption is driven yet.

There are limitations, though. Without rear speakers, there’s no genuine front-to-back movement. Audio effects don’t travel behind you in the way a full surround system would allow. The Q990H can deliver this, but you need to spend more and then position additional speakers in your room – which not everyone wants or can even accommodate.

Just after Tom Hardy stomps the two-headed lizard during the opening sequence of Mad Max Fury Road, the pursuing War Boys don't crash the soundstage from rear to the front, as originally designed, rather they parachute in from on high. I suspect for many, that’s probably an easy compromise to live with.

With music, the soundbar is less about fidelity and more about presence. The 'bar plays loud, soundstage spread wide. Stereo tracks like Shaggy’s Boombastic bounce along, while more intricate recordings reveal good spatial detail, if not audiophile subtlety. The presentation is confrontational, in a good way. As for multichannel music, K-Pop Demon Hunters (Netflix, Dolby Atmos), sounds, well, golden.

Design & Usability

Let’s not mince words. This is a big beast. If your TV is smaller than 65-inches, this 'bar is going to look silly in your lounge. Measuring over 1.3 metres and weighing close to 9kg, it’s best partnered with lots of glass and some robust furniture.

The design is sterotypically ‘Samsung soundbar’ – that’s to say, it’s a minimalist black slab wrapped in a perforated metal grille. There’s no fabric to soften the look. Functional rather than decorative, fashionistas might want to swipe left.

However, usability is fine. If you need them, on-body controls include Volume, Microphone and a Multi button, which handles power and source switching.

Most will probably rely on the supplied remote control, or the Samsung SmartThings app, which allows you to manage volume, select sound modes and adjust EQ.

The HW-QS90H can sit either flat, or on edge, depending on how you want to install it. A built-in gyroscope detects whether the bar is wall-mounted or placed on furniture, and adjusts its output accordingly.

Room calibration comes via SpaceFit, which uses onboard microphones to tailor sound to your viewing environment. You can run the system with or without SpaceFit engaged, and frankly I don’t think it makes much difference.

On the 'bar, there’s no text display, instead feedback is provided via LED indicators and voice prompts.

The included zapper is straightforward, but notably not solar-powered like some of Samsung’s similar-looking TV handsets. In the dark, it’s easily confused with a Fire TV remote. Or maybe that’s just me.

Verdict

Soundbars are easy to love, but partnering wireless subwoofers less so, particularly when floor space is at a premium. If this rings true for you, but you don’t want to compromise on spatial performance, the HW-QS90 is a compelling proposition.

It may be a single enclosure, but this soundbar offers an expansive soundstage with satisfying levels of subtlety and slam. It may be on the pricey side, but it’s definitely one to audition – and easily one of the best soundbars for Samsung TVs (65-inch+) if you don't want multiple speakers cluttering your setup.

Also Consider

If the form factor is right, but the price is wrong, take a look at the Sony HT-S2000, which is about a third of the price. It's a single box that offers 3.1 Dolby Atmos audio, powered by proprietary S-Force Pro Front Surround digital processing. Front facing X-Balanced speakers are helped by dual woofers – and you can always upgrade to wireless rears and a subwoofer at a later date.

Alternatively, take a gander at the Sonos Beam (Gen 2), which, at about half of the Samsung's price, is a popular Dolby Atmos 'bar with five internal speakers. It can be paired with other wireless Sonos speakers, which may further appeal. And it's far smaller, so a better match for those 55- and 50-inch TVs.

If you're a fan of hi-fi audio equipment, you're probably also used to seeing extortionate price tags. It's not uncommon for speakers and other gear to run into several thousands, and going down the route of separates can see you spend four- or five-figure sums on pieces of kit which don't even have a direct effect on sound.

Fortunately, it's not all expensive. While the shiny end of the spectrum is packed with pricey gear, there's also a range of more affordable kit which will make enjoying killer audio easier on the wallet.

Here are three I've tested which I cannot live without.

1. Audio Technica AT-LP70XBT

I've collected records for years now, and I love nothing more than sitting down to spin a disc and relax into the lovely, analogue warmth. When my old turntable bit the dust earlier this year, I opted to snag this Audio Technica model, and I've loved every second of using it.

The automatic, belt-driven operation might not win favour with cork sniffers, but it's more than enough for my needs and makes the process totally simple. Not only that, it looks great, and gives me the opportunity to switch out the cartridge further down the line, which means I can upgrade without switching out the whole unit.

2. Majority Audio D70X

Of course, a great turntable needs to be paired with a pair of great speakers. Those can quickly mount up in terms of cost, and while there's a lot to be said for spending here – they are the rubber meets road component, after all – I was convinced that there was a more cost-conscious option.

The Majority Audio D70X offers exactly that, costing just £70 (approx. €82 / US$95 / AU$135) for the pair. Audio quality is better than I'd anticipated too, offering more than enough fidelity to make the most of an untreated room.

3. Activo Scoop IEMs

Arguably saving the best for last, meet the IEMs which have replaced all of my other earbuds and headphones. Sure, anything wireless is more convenient, but I just love the fidelity offered by these. Sonically, they blow earbuds worth two or three times as much out of the water.

What's also handy is the design, which allows the user to switch out the connection in under a minute. That makes them perfect for using with multiple devices – I routinely swap between the 3.5mm and USB-C jacks for trading between my phone and my Gadhouse Miko cassette player, and always have the option of 4.4mm for other devices when the need calls.

It's also hard to ignore just how stylish and on-trend you look with a pair of wired headphones, too. If it's good enough for Harry Styles and Zendaya, it's good enough for me.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again – Marshall makes the best physical controls in the mainstream audio world. Even when it comes to the best soundbars, thanks to its Heston 120.

It's proving that once again with the release of its newest home speakers. I've had the Acton IV with me for a couple of weeks to see how it stacks up in daily use, with all of its brassy buttons and knobs.

Tactility isn't enough to make a speaker worth it on its own, though, so the latest Acton has plenty of proving itself to do. This is a speaker that asks you to put up a fair whack of cash, after all, so I've been interested to see if it can make that price feel worthy.

Price and Availability

Having just been launched by Marshall this July, the Acton IV is available to order right now. It's priced at the exact same point as its predecessor here in the UK. That means it comes in at £259.99, while in the US it's $299.99 and Australia asks AU$499.

All of that means that the Acton IV falls into an interesting part of the market – at this price point, many of its competitors also offer Wi-Fi connectivity to enable the likes of Apple AirPlay 2 and Spotify Connect, so it's quite a punchy ask in 2026.

That said, to go four years between speaker versions without a price rise is also fairly rare, and therefore worth mentioning.

Design and Features

The Acton IV is anything but a revolution when it comes to the design language that has made Marshall such a cult choice in the audio world. It brings a look and feel that's really similar to its predecessor in most meaningful ways, but there are tweaks if you look really closely.

This speaker is simple and rectangular in shape, with a clear and obvious front and back, thanks to the brassy Marshall logo on the front side. That front is covered in a durable mesh, which is edged with more brass. The rest of the speaker is covered in a faux-leather textured finish.

On top of the Acton IV there's a cutout within that surface, hiding all of the speaker's physical controls. You get a 3.5mm jack for wired audio, next to a button to swap between sources (with indicator lights to tell you which is selected). Then there are three dials – a master volume, a bass tuner, and a treble adjuster.

On the right of these there are two buttons – a rocker-style one for play/pause and track skipping, and a multi-function Marshall button that can be held down for speaker pairing using Auracast.

Finally, the far right-hand side has the MVP of it all – the most satisfying power switch you'll ever interact with. Seriously, after unboxing the Acton IV I spent about 10 minutes just flicking it back and forth.

The speaker sits on four rubber feet for stability, and underneath it you'll see a woofer but also the ports for the speaker's power cable and a pair of RCA cable ports for wired audio if you need it.

This all adds up to a really gorgeous-looking speaker in my opinion – one that has the rare distinction of fitting in with either an eclectic old-school rock aesthetic, or a cleaner modern one, depending on what you pair it with.

On the features side, the main addition here is Auracast, which signals that we're on a newer version of Bluetooth compared to the last product – though Marshall isn't saying exactly which version. This keeps it really simple from a connectivity point of view, since you can basically choose between Bluetooth or wired audio.

That said, I'm also always a fan of speakers that give you flexibility, so including Wi-Fi would have been a clear win in my opinion. Given that this is a powered speaker designed to stay in your home, it would simply open up more options for connections, and feels like a miss in my use – much as I can understand its absence from a cost implication perspective.

The Marshall app has some customisation options for the Acton IV if you don't want to use the physical knobs, too. It's slick and easy to use, and being able to tweak how the "M" button works is a great little option for those who have something more specific in mind.

Sound and Performance

If you're going to stick to Bluetooth only, then, you'd better make that Bluetooth rock solid. True to expectations, I never had any issues using the Acton IV during my couple of weeks of use. Its connectivity has been decent.

I spent most review time getting to grips with this speaker's sound. Marshall says the biggest benefit of the new version is a wider soundstage – and the Acton IV does indeed punch above its weight class given its size. It's a surprisingly powerful speaker and really can act as a one-stop solution for a small or medium-sized room that you'd like to fill with music.

Listening to acoustic material like Django Django's new song Cameos, I was impressed by the warmth and clarity that the speaker could get across. That remained just as true when diving into some older Ultimate Painting material.

However, Marshall has long prided itself on loudness and the way it can bring more brash material to life, so my old standbys of Queens of the Stone Age and Justice came out to play really impressively, too. In both cases, the rawness and dirtiness of some of their grittier production style was great.

I'm not always the type to play with EQ (equaliser) settings, either, but the way Marshall integrates them into its physical controls makes it really quite fun to sit and dial the treble up or the bass down while listening. The glide of those knobs really is superbly built, and their impact on sound immediately obvious.

There are other small details to appreciate, too. The volume dial has way more gradations than the treble and bass ones, for example. Each of its lights has multiple states of brightness, so that as you crank it up or down you actually have a huge amount of control over exactly where it lands.

This all means that the Acton IV fulfils its brief impressively, for all that it also limits its brief quite carefully. You get Bluetooth that really does sound impressively wide-ranging and powerful. Nonetheless, in part I do wish it were a little more ambitious.

Verdict

The Acton IV is another great speaker release from Marshall, which really is in a great place in terms of consistency right now. The brand has figured out a great formula for its speakers' sound profiles, while the design of its hardware is always a delight.

The only downside to the Acton IV is that it doesn't aim slightly higher – as Wi-Fi connectivity would be a great new direction to start off in, for my money.

Nonetheless, I really like the Acton IV, as it makes a great Bluetooth speaker, but in a world where some others permit you to rove around your home more easily, or offer different ways to connect, it's a blast of simplicity that you'll either respect or resent.

Also Consider

The Sonos Play is more expensive, but not by much. This is my pick for a home speaker that offers more of the flexibility I've discussed above. It has Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, a built-in battery, and while its sound isn't as powerful as the bigger Acton, I think it's more adaptable.

If you want something more permanent in terms of its placement, then the Denon Home 400 is an interesting upgrade. Again, it brings Wi-Fi and multi-room potential to the table, but crucially it's a very different flavour aesthetically, which could make it work better for you.

Marshall has announced updates to its Acton and Stanmore speakers bringing improvements to the sound quality and the design to make a better all-round home speaker.

While Marshall's Bluetooth speakers are popular, like the Kilburn III I recently reviewed, the company has a range of home speakers too. These don't include a battery, so that space is given over to boosting the audio performance.

We were impressed with the Acton III and Stanmore III when we reviewed them, but the updated Acton IV and Stanmore IV have a little more sound to offer.

Key to these updates is the boost in sound quality, with wider tweeters and waveguides, while there's a new bass port too. That not only widens the soundstage, but delivers cleaner bass while doing so.

At the same time, Dynamic Loudness ensures that the balance of the music remains regardless of the volume.

As these are home speakers, they are equipped with a cable and plug which attaches on the bottom of the cabinet, so the speaker can be pushed right up against the wall without having to deal with a cable sticking out of the back. This adds convenience when placing these speakers.

The Acton IV is the smaller of the pair, but the main difference (apart from size) between these speakers is that the Stanmore has a 5-inch woofer, expanding the frequency range slightly and offering increased volume.

But both offer a 60W Class D woofer combined with two 25W Class D tweeter amplifiers. And each sport a pair of 0.75-inch tweeters, while the Acton IV has a 4-inch woofer.

Both exhibit distinctive Marshall design with a faux leather wrapped body and a brass top plate housing the controls. That also houses the M button that can be customised to switch EQs, or to activate Spotify Tap. Customisation for the M button can be found in the companion Marshall app on your smartphone.

There are RCA connections for those wanting to hook up a turntable, as well as AUX, while they support Bluetooth including Auracast to sync across multiple speakers.

The Marshall Acton IV will retail at £259.99 in the UK and the Stanmore IV will be £349.99. Both will be available in black and cream colours.

Crafted from aluminium by the artisans at Bang & Olufsen’s legendary Factory 5 metalworks in Struer, Denmark, the Beosound Premiere is a premium Dolby Atmos sound system that combines serious sonic intent with striking style.

The good news is that beauty isn’t skin deep. A 10-driver array coupled to Wide Stage beam-forming technology hints at a (literally) elevated listening experience in an undeniably luxury package. So does the Premiere have it all, or is there any compromise?

Price & Availability

Positioned somewhere between the more affordable Beosound Stage (a snip at £/$1800 / AU$3850) and the flagship Beosound Theatre (a more reassuring £5590 / $6890 / AU$11,860), the Premiere is available now for £3100 / $5800 / AU$9400.

While it’s tempting to label the Premiere as a soundbar, the term is really a misnomer. What we have here is a (adopts a pretentious tone) high-end home entertainment solution. Okay, so it’s a soundbar... with bells on.

Features & What’s New?

The headline innovation here is Bang & Olufsen’s Wide Stage technology, which employs a combination of beam-forming and careful driver steering to create a soundstage that appears larger than the relatively compact dimensions of the Premiere might suggest.

The enclosure accommodates four 3-inch racetrack drivers, two 2-inch forward facing left/right cones, and a fascinating central assemblage comprising a pair of side-angled 2-inch drivers, one tweeter and a full-range upfirer. A bit of an Easter Egg, the latter has 1925 holes milled into its surface, as homage to B&O’s founding year.

Powered up, there’s no menu display, either on the device or via the screen. Instead the Premiere communicates via lighting effects and a few beeps – but you do have support for Beolink Surround, which enables compatible B&O speakers to integrate into a larger whole home wireless surround system.

Format support covers Dolby Atmos, Dolby Digital TrueHD, Dolby Digital Plus, PCM 7.1 and MPEG audio, but doesn’t extend bitstream DTS:X (although fewer titles seem to be using this these days anyway).

Sound Quality

From the first few moments of Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight, it’s clear this is an enclosure engineered with cinematic scale in mind. The Hans Zimmer score starts slowly, the Premiere ratcheting up tension with pinpoint placement as the Joker and his goons set about their bank robbery.

The dynamics of the system are evidenced by the shotgun retort of the bank manager as he takes on the clowns; the transient is sharp and dramatic, but precisely controlled.

Dialogue clarity is exceptional. Even during chaotic action scenes, voices remain clean and focused. And then there’s the bass. When Batman’s Tumbler roars into action, to confront the Scarecrow, the system digs impressively deep.

Similarly, Ghostbusters Frozen Empire opens with a couple of almighty thundercracks. These are delivered with scary intent, with next to no overhang.

But it’s not just the big noises that impress. When the firefighters arrive at the Manhattan Adventurers Club, and break into the frozen room, the crunch of their boots in the frost is crisp and clean.

There’s plenty of power on tap too. Under the hood, 10 power amplifiers are locked and loaded, with four 70 watt amps assigned to the woofers, 50W reserved for the tweeter, and five more 50W power modules for the remaining left/right/up firing/side firing cones.

The Beosound app offers a number of sound modes. These comprise Night, Game, Music, Movies and Speech. Movies and Game modes are cut from much the same cloth, and contribute a full-bodied sound stage, while Music has a lighter touch.

Speech is primarily useful for those who need greater clarity when it comes to following dialogue. The Night mode is compressed and should be avoided when possible.

What the Premiere doesn’t provide, at least on its own, is rear surround immersion. Dolby Atmos height effects are appreciable, but sound never fully wraps around the listening position.

Bang & Olufsen’s solution is straightforward: add compatible rear speakers using Beolink Surround. Pairing the Premiere with Beolab 8 or Beosound Emerge speakers would undoubtedly create a formidable system – but also seriously jack up the price. And I’m not sure I’d pay up.

Musical Clarity

Beethoven or box set? I’m not sure which best shows off this system’s talents. Normally, soundbars need to compromise when it comes to musical playback, but that’s certainly not the case here.

Indeed, music playback – no rear speakers required – could actually be the Premiere’s strongest suit.

Billie Eilish’s Bad Guy arrives with thunderous low-frequency energy. Bass feels deep, dense and almost tactile – and that tune’s big drop sounds phenomenal. The system’s claimed 34Hz low-end extension seems entirely believable.

Electronic music in particular benefits from the Premiere’s brawny presentation. I soon found myself down an EDM rabbit hole, just to see how low the Premiere goes. The more I played, the deeper it dug.

Yet the bar is equally adept with delicate instrumentation. ODESZA’s A Moment Apart sounds expansive and filmic, while the finger-picked textures within Taalbi Brothers’ Freestyle dance with remarkable clarity.

Perhaps the most impressive takeaway is the system’s transparency. The piano notes that open Kanye West’s Runaway ring out with striking realism and decay, while Singing Bones by The Handsome Family demonstrates astonishing spatial depth.

Design & Usability

As an example of industrial design, the Beosound Premiere is remarkable. Available in Natural Aluminium, Gold Tone and Anthracite Black finishes, the system oozes luxury.

My review sample came in Natural Aluminium, and looked spectacular. Not only is the profile unlike anything else in its class, the small touches, like the subtle illumination emanating around the stand and through the B&O logo, are a constant delight.

Adjust volume, and there’s a sliding light of confirmation. It's very clever.

Optional slatted covers in Oak, Grey Melange or Dark Oak can further tailor the appearance, but with one of these the system price rises yet again.

At 932mm wide and weighing 8.5kg, the Premiere will match TVs 55-inches or larger. It can be wall-mounted or positioned on its supplied pedestal stand.

Usability is fairly straightforward. Setup involves a brief automatic room calibration sweep, while subsequent functionality is controlled through Bang & Olufsen’s companion app, which offers access sound modes, source selection and multiroom features.

There’s no supplied remote control, although television remotes handle basic volume duties via HDMI eARC. The system is also compatible with the brand’s optional Beoremote One BT.

Connectivity reflects the system’s custom installation aspirations. Behind a removable rear cover sit three Ethernet ports, a single HDMI eARC connection and USB. There’s Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.4, alongside Apple AirPlay, Spotify Connect, Tidal Connect, Deezer and QPlay 2.0 compatibility.

The solitary HDMI input is a little disappointing, not least because it removes a good deal of system expandability. All HDMI source devices have to connect directly to your TV, so that audio can then be routed back over eARC. The provision of three Ethernet ports would seem to be indicative of the Premiere’s aspirations as part of a broader AV ecosystem, rather than an all-in-one switching hub.

Beosound Premiere review: Verdict

The Bang & Olufsen Beosound Premiere is one of the most visually distinctive TV sound systems currently available - and more importantly, has the sonic chops to justify its outré appearance.

With movies, it delivers scale, precision and drama in abundance. Dolby Atmos movie content is wide and engaging, while dialogue clarityshines. Music fans may love it even more. There’s nothing in this class able to combine muscular low-end authority, with this degree of finesse and transparency.

Any limitations are largely practical. The single HDMI connection restricts system building, and buyers seeking truly enveloping surround sound will eventually want additional speakers - and the price is already pretty rich.

Yet the Premiere is a triumph regardless. It’s technically ambitious, beautiful to look at, and an absolute thrill to listen to.

Also Consider

If the Beosound Premiere isn’t quite your style, consider the Samsung Q990H soundbar, a more conventional design with 300W wireless subwoofer and multi-directional rear speakers. This 11.1.4 sound system, compatible with Dolby Atmos and DTS:X, features 23 drivers for a fully immersive listening experience.

Alternatively, Sony may tempt with the Bravia Theatre Trio. This three-part system comprises a centre enclosure plus a left/right array. Proprietary 360 Spatial Sound Mapping technology then generates up to 24 phantom speakers, to create a cinematic soundfield.

If you're in the market for high-end hi-fi speakers, a respected brand like Focal is always worth considering. With decades of experience, you know you're buying into something trustworthy and quality.

Now, the brand has unveiled a new set of luxurious floorstanding speakers. Called the Scala Utopia Evo M, these units are delectably designed with more than a hint of seventies charm.

The new model takes the foundations provided by the original Scala Utopia, including a three-way architecture. However, these new units adopt the M-profile midrange from the Utopia Main range of pro-grade speakers, offering a midrange response which is much more transparent and natural sounding.

It's not the only tech which is borrowed in the new design. It also takes the PRISM tweeter from the recent Diva Alta Utopia model, which uses a multi-material design.

The result offers a higher level of rigidity than beryllium, and maintains a healthy balance between being lightweight and offering suitable damping. That means you can expect incredible purity in the high-end of your sound.

All of that is added to a platform with improvements to the phase crossover system, which allows users to precisely adjust the bass and treble response to suit the listening environment. Additional Gamma and Focus Time technologies ensure consistency and stability in the operation, too.

Now, if you're thinking that all of that tech can't come cheap... you're exactly right. Priced at €40,000 / US$46,000 (approx. £34,400 / AU$66,000) per pair, these aren't even in the same postcode as cheap.

This end of the luxury speaker market is hotly contested, with many major brands offering premium, stylish floor standing speakers at similarly eye-watering prices. You could probably make a case for any one of them, but if you're in a position to buy, these new Focal units should definitely have a spot on your "must try" list.

Most speakers disappear into the background. The SonicGlass A1 does the opposite. Created by audio startup MorningBlues, the hi-fi speaker combines a transparent acoustic driver with a 21.5-inch transparent display, turning every song into a visual experience.

The speaker's glass front panel has more than 90% light transmission, allowing you to see both the display and the hardware behind it.

MoodLyric is a really fun feature. As music plays, song lyrics are animated on-screen in styles designed to match the rhythm and mood of each track. MorningBlues says the system has been trained using data from hundreds of millions of music playbacks, while lyrics are licenced through LyricFind.

There's also an AI-powered SceneSync mode that generates genre-specific visuals in real time, creating different effects for pop, rock, hip-hop and R&B tracks.

Using the MorningBlues app, you can upload a photo and have AI place you inside a music video that plays on the speaker's screen. It can also display your own photos and videos when music isn't playing, effectively doubling as a digital display.

Other features include a karaoke mode with synchronised lyrics, ambient display modes, clock faces and an ASMR sleep mode. A dedicated Music Hub controller can also be used for phone-free playback control.

The SonicGlass A1 is currently available through Kickstarter, down from $999 to $649, where MorningBlues is pitching it as the world's first transparent lyric speaker. Whether the concept catches on remains to be seen, but it's certainly one of the most unusual audio products we've seen this year.

When it comes to the best Bluetooth speakers there are many to choose from, but this waterproof little gem caught my eye as part of the current Amazon Prime Day sales.

I've long enjoyed Ultimate Ears' portable speakers, with the original UE Boom a legend in its own right. That model spawned many more products in different shapes and sizes, with this Miniroll being the smallest and most portable of them all.

Check out the UE Miniroll deal on Amazon

It's also the cheapest of the lot by quite a margin – and even more so on Amazon thanks to a discount price bringing it back down to its lowest-ever asking price. So if you can't afford that Bang & Olufsen dream, this UE option will surely appeal.

Note, however, this is not part of an official Amazon sale, and it's not badged as such – and it has been a quid or so cheaper in the past. Right now, however, it's the cheapest way to obtain the Miniroll – in its pink colourway anyway.

Other colours are available, you'll just have to pay a mite more. The 'Gentle Black' is yours for an extra two quid. The 'Revive Grey' is quite a jump more, though, at over £50 – which may be a deciding factor in your purchase.

So if you're in the market for a small, portable Bluetooth speaker that's rugged and waterproof, then UE's Miniroll is an excellent option at this price.

You can even pair two together for a great stereo setup – which I think makes all the difference for indoor setups. If you can bare staying indoors right now.

Every year when the best Amazon Prime deals come around, we see a bunch of interesting products up for sale – and I've just written about Sonos' latest Era 100 SL getting a tasty price cut.

If you already own a Sonos soundbar – whether a Beam 2, an older Arc, or the newer Arc Ultra – then this deal could be very good news indeed. As I'd buy not one, but two of those 100 SL speakers to upgrade that soundbar into a full surround system.

No half measures here, then, as I'm talking beyond the ability for Sonos to decode Dolby Atmos in a pseudo front-only format, and to actually decode it with rear speakers included. Via a pair of Sonos Era 100, which just dropped to their lowest-ever price.

That's right: you can add rear speakers to your Beam 2, Arc or Arc Ultra in a full surround setup – and you'll find the Era 100 SL is the best-scale model for doing so (as, while the larger Era 300 would also work in this way, it's overkill – and far pricier).

Sure, the Era 100 SL is a great standalone speaker, for which you can also use the pair setup as a stereo system – such is the beauty of Sonos' multi-room system – but in adding these to a Sonos soundbar you'll get a movie experience upgrade that's worth every penny.

Better still, the reason this upgrade is more affordable than ever is simply because Amazon has price-cut the speakers to lower than ever before – even more so than Sonos' direct sale. Throw in a Sonos Sub, too, and you'll be riding in theatrical heaven at home.

Now that Amazon Prime Day sales have got into full swing, there's a rare Sonos discount on the company's cheapest Wi-Fi speaker – bringing it to a new price low.

Check out the Sonos Era 100 SL deal here

The Sonos Era 100 SL is akin to the Era 100 original, except it cuts out the microphone and therefore voice control for the sake of savings – which'll suit many just perfectly.

The Era 100 SL only arrived in March of this year, so it's only been on the shelves for around three months – hence any kind of discount having been a rarity.

You can grab the Amazon deal on either the black finish (as above) or the white model (separate link here for that) with the discount remaining exactly the same – with 16% off the original price.

What I particularly like about Amazon's deal – as I've written about in 7 Mistakes To Avoid On Amazon Prime Day – is the ability to use the Monthly Payments option.

This interest-free option means you can secure the Era 100 SL for just £28.31 up front, then pay an additional four instalments over the next four months to clear the balance.

There's no credit agreement, no paperwork, no catches – Amazon simply debits your bank or credit card at a set date each month. If there's a payment card error then you can change this without incurring any additional fees.

If I was buying a Sonos Era 100 SL right now, that's precisely how I'd go about it, spreading the cost. Personally, I'd buy a pair and use them with a Sonos soundbar setup for true surround sound – at a lower price.

Google's hardware division has been making speakers for years – almost a full decade, in fact, with the brand's first Home speaker arriving back in 2016. Today marks an almost full-circle moment, with the reveal of the all-new Google Home Speaker.

In between, I probably don't have to tell you, things got more than a bit confusing. In addition to small (Mini) and large (Max) alternatives, we eventually got the screen-toting Hub. Then branding changed to Nest – sure, why not!? – which, late last year, Google officially left to its camera products. A sensible move, I'm sure you'll agree.

I can't help but blurt it out, though. This all-new Google Home Speaker immediately looks all sorts of familiar, doesn't it? It embodies some of 2017's Google Home Mini energy, sure, but let's not pretend there's not a hint of Amazon Echo Dot and Apple HomePod Mini about it.

AI has found its form

It's as if the de facto form for 'this is an AI speaker'. It's got to have 360-degree sound so you can hear it (and it you). It needs a snazzy light bar to visually bring conversations to life. And, of course, it's got to have all those default artificial intelligence features.

I don't say this as a bad thing, mind. The Google Home Speaker actually makes a lot of sense if you're a Gemini user – because it's an easy-to-approach voice-controlled hub you can put pretty much anywhere. Just as a HomePod Mini makes sense for Siri users and an Echo Dot for Alexa users.

There's always a staple to any successful product line. A vacuum cleaner doesn't deviate too far from its functional form – often it's what's within that sets it apart from one or other competitor. Which is what Google is banking on with the Home Speaker – this is a full-time invitation for Gemini to live in your home.

Gemini is front and centre

So just what can the Google Home Speaker do? In addition to delivering "amazing audio in any direction," a Google spokesperson told me in a pre-briefing about the product, but it's designed as a "fundamental transition to voice assistance – it's a celebration of Gemini's new abilities."

That's where Gemini for Home comes in, which is the latest and most advanced version of Google's artificial intelligence (AI) system, called Gemini. This has advanced natural language understanding, improved context, with the goal of freer-flowing conversational queries.

I had expected a new 'Gemini Home' speaker to appear in 2025, so the Google Home Speaker seems a little later to arrive than expected. But there's clearly been a lot going on behind the scenes, as the product won't launch in the US first, instead arriving to 20 countries and supporting 10 languages from the off.

In addition to queries, those with a Google Home Premium subscription (already as part of Google AI Pro or Ultra package, if you have it) can take advantage of a fuller Google ecosystem – including tie-ins with Nest camera products.

Nest briefings

A new feature called Home Briefs will permit you to ask Gemini what's happened at home in your absence, calling upon your Nest products to provide a spoken summary. If anything triggers the need for action, you can ask to add an action to your to-do list, for example.

You can pair up to six in a group, even connect to Google TV streamer for enhanced TV audio, showing the Home Speaker's versatility – and the want for multiple products to be in all aspects of your home, always ready to respond to your beck and call.

The Google Home Speaker is available for pre-order now, with an on-sale date of 25 June. It's available in Hazel or Porcelain finishes, reflecting the look of Google's Pixel phone classics, I feel, each priced at £99 / $99.

It was almost exactly a year ago that I obtained Ruark's R610 music streamer and a pair of Sabre-R speakers – which I liked so much that I wall-mounted them in my office, so I could always have quality music throughout my working days.

A year on and it became time for a spoil-myself upgrade: by adding a Ruark RS1 subwoofer into the mix to extend the low-range frequency output yet further. And it's such a massive upgrade that I would thoroughly recommend you do the same – whatever system you may possess.

The world of hi-fi is undergoing all manner of changes at the moment. Having recently visited High End Vienna, I came away from that audio show having observed 2026's biggest new trend – powered wireless speakers.

Well, that's one perspective. Other brands are pursuing all-in-one units instead, such as the exquisite Dali Vega (which I also saw in detail at High End). Ruark, meanwhile, revealed its upgrade over my R610, in its CD-toting and more powerful R710 system.

I'm yet to be convinced by the supposed CD resurgence, much as I enjoyed playing with the latest in Ruark's arsenal. So I instead elected to pick from the brand's current range and bagged the RS1 subwoofer. Any sub purchase would have worked – as it only requires a single RCA cable connection.

A design you won't want to hide

However, I really like this particular Ruark aesthetic. My R610 unit has a walnut finish – others may well prefer its satin 'Charcoal' alternative finish – and the RS1 subwoofer can also be purchased in this finish to match. It's covered in a "slate grey fabric grille" which covers the majority of this box – which has a silvery kind of finish.

You can buy subwoofers of all shapes and sizes, of course, but I like the fact that the RS1 looks good enough to be on display at all times, yet it's small enough to not be too obtrusive. It measures 25cm wide and deep, and is marginally taller, at 27cm, thanks to its silver feet – which ensure the sub sits above ground level.

That 'risen' feature is important for this sub, as it's got a 170mm downward-firing bass driver, paired with a front-facing 170mm passive radiator. The extra height allows the downward driver to deliver without any disruptive contact or muffling.

Pushing extra power

I've always found the Ruark R610 powerful enough for my space, with the 75W per channel going to those Sabre-R speakers being ample. While the newer R710 is more powerful, with 200W per channel, I've found adding a subwoofer has also added another dimension of power.

That's in a literal sense – as the RS1 is 100W – but also in scope of frequency range. The Sabre-R speakers are no slouches when it comes to low-end, as they're able to output to 50Hz. That's fairly low for a bookshelf-like speaker, but the RS1 takes that floor down to 25Hz. Yes, there are lower-frequency subs, but most tracks are produced with a clean sweep of anything sub-25Hz anyway (certainly 20Hz).

You don't hear such frequencies so much as you feel them – and it's that added 'movement', if you like, that's really given this hi-fi setup such a notable upgrade. It adds more weight and heft, without overdoing things. The sub has its own levels adjustment, so you can perfect output to your liking.

There's also a frequency crossover dial, from 50Hz to 180Hz, so you're able to match the sub to any speakers. Simply look up your speakers' lowest-end output and set your sub's crossover to match, avoiding any potentially clashy, 'muddy' sounding mix. I do think the Ruark dial should be more clearly marked per frequency, mind.

Love the low-end

Since installing my subwoofer over the weekend, the immediate benefit to audio was clear. So many tracks have more lower-end output than you might realise, adding a richness to so many tracks. I'm particularly into underground music, as I have been for years, where the focus on bass is inevitable – and a subwoofer unlocks that door.

It's why I should have made this upgrade ages ago. I'm no stranger to subwoofers, of course, as I test many of the best soundbars and surround sound systems as part of my job – and my second downstairs hi-fi setup also has its own dedicated (and larger) subwoofer connected. I've just been slow to bring such a needed upgrade throughout my home.

I can only thoroughly recommend it though. As part of a system, a subwoofer is a reasonably modest upgrade in terms of cost. Sure, they can get super-pricey – but the Ruark RS1 is a smaller-scale solution with a relative price attached. Check out the latest and lowest deals in the shopping widget below. It's a purchase you'll instantly love, just as I already do.

In a world with a zillion home speaker options already available, what's the trick to standing out? If you're Bose, then it's down to a couple of factors – with its new Lifestyle Ultra Speaker bringing not only style, but a distinctive additional channel.

The LS Ultra Speaker (as it's known for short) has a built-in upfiring output as part of its arsenal, offering additional height to its soundstage. That's something you won't find in a Sonos Era 100, for example, providing a key point of distinction.

This is a wired-only speaker for the home, however, with Wi-Fi, various casting options, and Bluetooth providing myriad ways to get your music on board. However, it's not a multi-functional moveable device such as the Sonos Play, despite carrying the same asking price.

Does all that equate to enough for the Bose Lifestyle Ultra Speaker to set itself apart from the competition as the ultimate small-scale home speaker? As a solo option it's a compelling choice among its peers, with some caveats, as I'll address in this review.

Price & Availability

You can buy the Bose LS Ultra Speaker right now, with the recommended price set at £299 / $299 / AU$549. That's for either the Black or White Smoke finishes.

There's also a special edition version, called Driftwood Sand, priced at £349 / $349. Which, as the name hints at, adds a real wood base and a marbled sand-colour finish.

If you wind back to when the Sonos Era 100 was launched – more than three years ago at the time of writing – then its original price was £249 / $249 / AU$399. It's since dropped, plus a cheaper 'SL' version has been launched. Nonetheless, Bose is positioned with that core competitor in mind.

The Sonos Play, meanwhile, is like-for-like priced, keeping competition as tough as ever. Brand allegiance – however applicable – may therefore play a big part in your purchase incentive here.

Design & Setup

On the assumption you buy a single, standalone LS Ultra Speaker – I'll cover stereo pairing issues and home theatre successes separately in a section down page – then setting it up is an absolute doddle.

Simply plug in, load up the refreshed Bose app, and you'll get a step-by-step walkthrough. It'll educate you about the on-body controls and how they function, before leaving you to make personalised sound adjustments should you wish.

The on-body controls are a real highlight of this design. Up top – and akin to a smaller version of what you'll find on Bose's LS Ultra Soundbar – is a control 'wheel', which you can spin your finger around to adjust volume, akin to an old iPod control. It doesn't have any moving parts, it's just a nicely recessed, touch-sensitive design.

As an object, I really like this Bose speaker's style. It's well finished, brings a 'floating' material shield to its frontage to add visual interest, while that exposed, round upfiring speaker is clearly visible on the top panel.

There are no flashy displays to distract, with only two LED dots illuminating as required: a (multi-coloured) one to the front, above the protruding Bose logo, to reflect status; another up top to signify whether the microphone is muted – so Alexa can't listen and react. It's pared back nicely.

Sound Quality

For a speaker of such diminutive size – the LS Ultra measures only 12cm wide (although it's not a cylinder, with a 16.7cm depth) – this Bose has a fair stab at audio bigger than its chassis would suggest.

It sits just 18.5cm from a surface – think of that like an adult's palm with fingers casually extended – which is near-identical to the Sonos Era 100. I've been testing the two side-by-side to gain additional context in how the Bose sounds by comparison.

What's very apparent from the off is how the Bose's additional height channel succeeds in projecting sound upwards and outwards, creating this much taller soundstage. This composition really does give the Bose an edge that's a joy – wherever it's set up for you to listen.

Bass delivery is tight and well-shaped, too, which is to its credit. It's not nearly as bass-driven as the Sonos by comparison, but that product has a 'looser' sense to its low-end – as if it's less controlled and more warbly. Which you prefer will be a case of preference, though, noting there's simply less low-end from the Bose.

The Sonos is also inherently louder overall. The Bose isn't quiet, per se, but doesn't deliver quite the same wallop as the Era, as I've found in my A-B testing. Driving the Bose beyond 80% volume and it loses cohesion, too, lacking balanced dynamics when stretched and eventually pushing into distortion.

Keep the Bose within a sensible remit, however, and the overall sound is nicely judged, with attention to detail and decent separation that functions well across multiple genres.

And if you want to make adjustments then there's plenty of tweaking that can be done in the app – from simple bass/mid/treble levels, to a height adjustment, all proving effective.

Stereo Pair – A word of caution

When I first tried out Bose's LS Ultra Speaker, I was impressed by the promise of stereo pairing – which I heard for myself and thought sounded far better than a solo product – and even the brand-agnostic take, meaning you could add multiple non-Bose products into your setup and Cast to them.

Problem is: I can't get any of it to work. The Bose app tells me I have a stereo pair with two LS Ultra Speaker units, but it will only play from one speaker at a time. Casting from various audio sources – Spotify, Soundcloud – fails on repeat. I've hard reset the two products five times, but to no avail. My Wi-Fi connection is excellent – showing a consistent 300Mbps down, 100Mbps up at the site of testing – so that's not to blame.

I'm not the only one suffering issues either. A quick Reddit search shows up plenty of frustrated users who can't get their pairings to function correctly. Some speak of sync/timing issues (which I've not experienced at all). It seems, therefore, there are bugs afoot at the time of writing – and I'd strongly recommend not buying two LS Ultra Speaker units for stereo pairing at this time.

On the flip side of that, I've used my two units in tandem with the excellent LS Ultra Soundbar and LS Ultra Subwoofer, creating a 7.1.4 surround sound system that's worked faultlessly for weeks. That experience, for me, has been a million miles from the stereo pairing frustrations – so I'd wholeheartedly recommend buying for a home theatre setup.

However, I think Bose could address the LS Ultra Speaker's multi-functional use aspect better. When two units are part of a home theatre setup, as shown in the Bose app, you can't simply switch off the rears (well, you can, it's a simple toggle in the app) and then use one elsewhere in your home.

It ought to be more flexible and rapid to adjust from single speaker to stereo to home theatre rears in a flash – even if that feature wasn't used frequently. I, for one, would use a single unit in my office, for example, then move it back into my home theatre setup for one of those special Dolby Atmos movie nights.

Bose Lifestyle Ultra Speaker review: Verdict

Taken from the perspective as a standalone product – as stereo pairing two units has issues in my experience – Bose's Lifestyle Ultra Speaker delivers good looks with well-judged sound.

Its upfiring channel upsell works very well, too, providing a taller and wider soundstage than many a small-scale speaker can muster. Taut bass and a balanced overall mix please, while the app provides an excellent personalisation contorls.

That upfiring output pays dividends if you're going all-out in buying a pair with the LS Ultra Soundbar and LS Ultra Subwoofer – as that home theatre package truly excels. Buy in this format, however, and you're 'locked in' – as the Speaker units effectively become dedicated rears that are too much faff to disconnect and use standalone.

It's impossible to ignore the competition, too. The similarly sized Sonos Era 100 is now far cheaper, delivering a bassier (albeit less controlled) and louder output. The Sonos Play, meanwhile, is priced the same – but doesn't have to be hard-wired to a socket at all times, bringing the versatility that many want.

All in all, then, Bose's Lifestyle Ultra Speaker gets many key components right. It looks stylish. It's got that distinctive upfiring output. The sound is nicely rounded – and easily enhanced further via the app. There's a lot that gives it an edge – but it needs a slightly broader one to really appeal to the masses.

Also Consider

There's been a big rise in powered wireless speakers of late, so don't rule out the Kanto Ren or Ruark MR1 Mk3 products of this world – which are inherently designed to be used in stereo from the off, thus justifying their asking prices.

Otherwise, in the visually like-for-like stakes, there's no denying that Sonos' now older Era 100 will save you some cash yet deliver bigger sound – just minus the upfiring addition that Bose brings to the party.

If you're looking for one of the best soundbars to upgrade your TV's audio, then it's no secret that you're not short on choice – which can make choosing one all the more complex.

Bose's 2026 flagship, the Lifestyle Ultra Soundbar, leans firmly into sophisticated design – as its very name suggests – so if you're looking for a style option, then its combination of glass top, material cladding, and physical controls makes for a strong pick.

But this soundbar is just as qualified in the audio department, delivering Dolby Atmos decoding straight out of the box – with two upfiring speakers in its 5.0.2 channel arrangement to treat such audio properly – for a sensationally wide-and-tall soundstage.

With competition from Sonos to Samsung and beyond, however, this Bose soundbar has its work cut out in the price wars. I've been living with one at home – paired with Lifestyle Ultra Subwoofer and Lifestyle Ultra Speaker pair for full 7.1.4 surround – and here's why I can thoroughly recommend it.

Price & Availability

The Bose Lifestyle Ultra Soundbar is on sale right now, priced at £999 / $1099 / AU$1799. It's the upgrade to 2023's Smart Ultra Soundbar, which has since decreased in price.

Around this price point there's a lot else to consider, of course, as even the Sonos Arc Ultra is £/$999 – but has seen recent price drops make it even lower, per the shopping widget embedded below.

To really flesh out the Bose pick, however, you can add the Lifestyle Ultra Subwoofer (£899 / $999 / AU$1299) with a Lifestyle Ultra Speaker pair used as rears (£299 / $299 / AU$549 each). Discount bundles also exist, again per the shopping widget below.

Features & What's New?

The move from Smart Ultra Soundbar to Lifestyle Ultra Soundbar wasn't just a nip-and-tuck process. The new flagship represents the "biggest acoustic overhaul in a decade," Bose spokespeople told me at the product's reveal back in April.

The new soundbar features a nine-element array, two of which are Bose's PhaseGuide technology – utilised to control sound directionality, essentially allowing output anywhere within a room without the need for speakers to distinctly point there. This is very good news for immersive audio and Dolby Atmos, of course.

Bass is handled using Bose's QuietPort system, which funnels sound through elongated tubes to magnify the low-end output without a distinct woofer being present. You can add a separate wireless subwoofer, of course, to up the low-end output even further.

Straight out of the box the Lifestyle Ultra Soundbar is a 5.0.2 system, the '2' representing the two upfiring speakers at the ends of the soundbar. These aren't visually highlighted as open ports, per the previous product release, instead are 'invisible' beneath the fabric finish that covers the majority of the 'bar – save for the stylised glass top-plate.

Within this glass plate there's a distinctive new sunken control 'wheel' – which I mused was reminiscent of a classic iPod control – while touch-sensitive Bluetooth, mic mute and 'action' buttons sit to the side. Volume up/down and play/pause buttons are within that wheel, but you can use Bose's updated app to handle everything (as there's no physical remote included – and you can't buy an official one).

Design & Setup

As said up top: the Bose is really pushing the style factor with great success, delivering one of the nicest-looking soundbars I've had in front of my TV for some time. And I test a lot of soundbars in tandem with the best TVs.

The soundbar is 110cm long, so in excess of a metre, meaning it's best matched with larger TVs – nothing under 55-inches, I'd suggest, as those will measure approximately the same length. This 'bar the same length as the Sonos Arc Ultra, therefore, meaning it's in direct competition with that product.

It's also head-on equipped with similar specification, as around the back you'll find an HDMI eARC socket, but no further HDMI passthrough. Much as I will criticise that, it's not uncommon – and you'd need to spend more on, say, a Samsung HW-Q990F to gain such an extra (plus a sub and extra surround speakers in the box).

Not that once you're plugged in – with the included HDMI cable ported to your TV to automatically take over sound controls – you'll be paying attention to what's around the back. As the Lifestyle Ultra Soundbar is all about how it looks.

I like how Bose has managed to balance elegance and functionality in a discreet way – there's nothing riotous about the Lifestyle Ultra Soundbar's design, per se, but little touches such as that top-plate really elevate it above and beyond much of what else is out there.

There's a slight blip in this design, however, as the glass is of course reflective – so you'll see what's on screen mirrored in the surface below, without being able to do much about it. Bose ought to figure out a way to adjust refraction within the material to minimise this; especially as many of the best OLED TVs are now baking in anti-reflective panels.

Aside from the super-simple physical setup process, the Bose is best handled from the Bose app (iOS/Android free download), which has been updated and simplified to make for a really easy end-to-end process. It's within these screens where you can make adjustments and personalisations, too, which only further this soundbar's delivery.

Sound Quality

But it's not all just about looks. Bose has done a brilliant job is getting this metre-or-so-long system to output well beyond its proportions. Its sound width is room-filling – to the point that TVs of 75- or 85-inches or more would be capably catered for by it.

And that's just the soundbar alone. As I noted on my very first listen, any additional products excluded, there's a decent amount of bass drive here from the 'bar alone. That'll be great for those wanting to enhance low-end without paying for a subwoofer – or irking their neighbours, perhaps.

I don't feel like the bass is quite as major as you'll get from Sonos' Arc Ultra, mind, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. If you want to go full system, then the Bose's Lifestyle Ultra Subwoofer does a grand job in delivering bold, shaped bass – but it does cost a packet more to buy, unavoidably (much like Sonos' equivalent, in that regard).

Width isn't the only benefit of this Bose's design, though, as the upfiring speakers do a very good job of projecting sound upwards. At its most basic this generates height, which is totally essential in matching believable sound in relation to what's going on on the screen – which Bose totally nails.

No, you're never going to get an 'umbrella' of hemispherical sound from a standalone soundbar like you will with a full surround system. But even when handling object-based audio decoding from a Dolby Atmos soundtrack, the Lifestyle Ultra Soundbar brings great exaggeration to sound motion – with sounds seemingly flying to the edge of a room and right up to the ceiling.

The clarity of that sound is wonderful, too, with great balance that a number of other soundbars can't present in quite such a cohesive way. This feels like the full, considered package – from highs to mid to low – with carefully judged separation and ample channels to define the best movie soundtracks' multi-positional output.

Expandability

As I've already alluded to, you can take the Lifestyle Ultra Soundbar from a 5.0.2 system to a 5.1.2 system with the addition of a Lifestyle Ultra Subwoofer. From there it can be a 7.1.4 setup when adding a pair of Bose Lifestyle Ultra Speaker units – adding rear channels, with built-in upward-firing height output.

I've tested this full package and, while it can't go all-out with four speaker separates like the LG Sound Suite, for example, most people aren't going to need that. As a full package, the Bose is a dream for movies and even music – and that you can step by step upgrade, just as you can with Sonos' equivalent, adds accessibility.

Unlike Sonos' recent app debacle, however, Bose's app update is a gem. It brings so much control to the base soundbar alone, but with everything added there's a full suite of tools added to adjust equalisation (EQ) with simple treble/mid/bass +/- sliders. The subwoofer level can be adjusted individually, or switched off. You can also turn off the rear speakers when not desired.

But the biggest point of interest in the app is the 'Adjustments' section, where you can increase of decrease output from centre, adjust the height mix, and the surround level – enhancing its separation. So many companies – such as Sony in its 360 Audio options for The Collexion headphones, for example – get this so very wrong. But Bose has it spot on.

Indeed, I can't name a company that delivers better spatial upmixes than Bose. It does so in its headphones – such as the QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen) – and while it's not porting exactly the same movement-based delivery here, the subtlety in adding rear speakers when listening to music is a wonder for percussion, as one example. It never sounds fake or metallic or off-kilter. That's a rare yet wonderful thing.

Bose Lifestyle Ultra Soundbar review: Verdict

With the very same recommended price as the Sonos Arc Ultra, the Lifestyle Ultra Soundbar might seem easy to dismiss – but as a stylish alternative with arguably better app integration, Bose's soundbar is a 5-star slammer.

As a standalone soundbar, the sheer sonic width and height impresses, as does the degree of bass – without the need to add any extras. It's great for movies, just as it's great for music – with ample yet simple adjustability options present within the app.

If you chose to upgrade later, however, then the Lifestyle Ultra Subwoofer and a pair of Lifestyle Ultra Speaker units totally transforms this 'bar into a successful surround option – albeit at quite the cost – for an impressive cinematic experience.

Bose has really gone nose-to-nose with Sonos in its flagship soundbar fight this year. And while the Arc Ultra might give more bass oomph as a standalone solution, not everyone's going to want that – marking the Lifestyle Ultra Soundbar out as a sound and stylish alternative.

Also Consider

Time is as much a benefit as it is curse, however, as the Arc Ultra is currently so well discounted that it's a more obvious purchase – for the cost-savings alone. It also sounds brilliant, is ideal for anyone in the Sonos ecosystem already, and doesn't have a reflective top-plate design.

If surround sound is your ultimate goal, then it's also worth considering Samsung's previous-gen flagship, the HW-Q990F (as the newer 'H' version is negligibly different – and much pricier right now). This includes a sub and rear speakers in the box, plus the 'bar has an HDMI passthrough port (4K/120Hz) too.

All of this too pricey for your needs, or your TV too small for it to be necessary? Then Sonos' Beam 2 is always a sensible suggestion – especially when it's on offer. It's got much more sonic bite than the company's Ray product, too.

In the world of high-end speakers, Wharfdale is a name with a lot of heritage and history. Now, the brand has given its best range of speakers – the Elysian series – an update.

The new range is dubbed the Elysian R series, and is described as an evolution more than a revolution, taking the popular format and making slight tweaks to improve on the form. The range consists of five speakers, including stand mount options, floor standing options and a centre channel unit.

So, what improvements are there over the original? Well, lots of smaller improvement can be found under the hood. The brand talks about refinements in crossover execution, improved cabinet behaviour and better driver performance.

The latter comes courtesy of enhanced AMT high-frequency drivers, which are said to offer greater resolution and transient accuracy. There's also refined glass fibre matrix bass and midrange drivers, which offer improvements to the clarity and control on offer.

Beyond the technical improvements, the design has also been reworked. For the original series, the black, white and walnut finishes were all topped with a gloss piano lacquer.

For the new R series, the finishes lose the gloss in favour of the more fashionable matte designs of the modern day. Users will have a choice of matte black or matte grey, while the walnut sections keep their gloss but are paired with refined, matte black trims and detailing.

All of the finishes are hand-polished, adding a level of class to proceedings. It's worthwhile, too, as the end product looks simply fantastic.

Priced from £3,499 (approx. €4,050 / US$4,690 / AU$6,670) per pair for the Elysian 1R and Elysian CR models, and topping out at £6,999 (approx. €8,100 / US$9,400 / AU$13,350) for the Elysian 4R models, these certainly aren't cheap. However, in the grand scheme of high-end hi-fi speakers, they're also not dreadfully priced, either.

Last week I was at High End Vienna – a hi-fi show that used to be held in Munich and has a tradition of showing off super-crazy-expensive kit.

But 2026 just felt different. Yes, there was still some mad kit priced at seven figures on display, but a lot of the long-standing brands were also there with products people will actually buy.

Including, as I'll get to, new powered wireless speakers from Yamaha, called the NX-70A. A surprise yet indeed important launch from the Japanese hi-fi stalwart.

Don't call it the 'death of hi-fi'

It's clearly a time of change in the world of hi-fi. Yes, we've had the vinyl resurgence. Sure enough, the apparent CD resurgence is coming too – as shown to me by Ruark, in its R710 integrated player.

But that's not all that's changing. Form factors are shifting, as customers pivot away from full separates setups. Dali was another to prove this point, with its Vega all-in-one product – and very nice it is, too.

Yes, amplifiers still sell – and are actually on the up. So it would be inaccurate to say that "hi-fi is dying" – when the increase in record player sales and so forth continues to drive sales. Indeed, last year amps made up 42% of total revenue across the hi-fi sector.

A new option

But that doesn't mean customers aren't looking for something simpler and more unified; a product able to exist more discreetly in any number of spaces. And that's why I think powered wireless speakers are the big new trend for 2026 and beyond.

It actually started before this year, mind. At the end of 2025, Cambridge Audio burst into the market with its all-new L/R range (lead picture of this article). And very good they've turned out to be thus far, too, with the small 'S' model a 5-star winner.

Not that Cambridge was first. If anything, the Brit brand was a little late to the party. We've already had some stellar products from Technics (CX700 – pictured above) and KEF (LSX II LT) in this space, while Kanto has also made waves – particularly with its Ren speakers.

While smaller models have also impressed – aforementioned Ruark's MR1 Mk3, for example, or Kanto's UKI – it's in the larger-scale space where this market is going to grow, luring would-be hi-fi separates buyers to something altogether new.

Shifting away from spatial

Part of the reason this active speaker format is getting so popular? I think it's the shift away from excessive sound processing – spatial upmixes of stereo content, for example – that people wanting a true stereo listening experience will enjoy so much.

And there's nothing better than a pair of loudspeakers to deliver that perfectly, with precision left and right output. Being able to get that without needing a separate amplifier and bunch of cables is only going to add to the appeal for many.

Which is where Yamaha's new NX-70A speakers come in. I was able to experience this new system at High End Vienna, too, and love the design aesthetic with bronzed detailing. But it's the sound that's really going to upsell these speakers.

Everything is rolled into one: the 13cm woofer and 3cm tweeter per speaker combine to 160W per side, and whether you're going to use wired inputs (HDMI, LAN, USB-A, 3.5mm AUX) or wireless (Bluetooth, Wi-Fi – including Spotify Connect, Tidal Connect, AirPlay, Google Cast), you'll get rich audio across a 50Hz-35kHz range.

A pair of NX-70A isn't cheap, though, at £2587 (equivalent to circa $3500 / AU$5000). But then you needn't worry about any additional components – other than perhaps some stands; maybe adding a subwoofer later – and this more simplistic setup quickly makes sense.

In addition to the recent arrival of the Cambridge Audio L/R X – the largest in its range – there will be more to come in this space. Jamo alluded to the same thinking at High End Vienna, for one, and I'm sure there'll be more. Powered wireless speakers are the next hi-fi trend for 2026 and beyond.

A few of weeks back Dali revealed its latest product, the Vega, which I got a chance to explore and listen to while attending the High End Vienna audio show last week.

The most obvious point of interest about the Vega is that, well, it's not a loudspeaker – which is what the Danish loudspeaker company is, obviously, very well known for making.

Rather it's an all-in-one system that joins a growing market – albeit with one unique trick. The Vega can be positioned in one of three positions – tabletop, or wall-mounted in either horizontal or vertical positions – with the speaker auto-adjusting for its select orientation.

Fully loaded

Now, I don't expect more than 10% of potential buyers are going to wall-mount this all-in-one system at all, except perhaps for those who intend to use the HDMI ARC port to wire it up to a TV for enhanced audio.

Note, however, that as this is a stereo system, so don't call it a soundbar. Indeed, the lack of eARC tells you that the Vega cannot decode three-dimensional formats, such as Dolby Atmos.

I did watch a scene from Lord of the Rings, however, and it adds considerable width and dynamism. But music is really its forte, in my view, which it treats with the upmost respect.

Looks like a dream

For me, however, it's not the unique trick that really sells the Vega. Sure, it's hugely impressive and the team put umpteen hours into that development. But, having touched and tried this system, it's the tactility and the expansive sound that are the key reasons to buy.

This growing category is hardly short of competition. Just last year I reviewed the Cambridge Audio Evo One, which is a relatively similar tabletop object. Just with a large display on the front that the Dali foregoes for a much smaller OLED to display menus and settings only.

Much as I love the Cambridge, it does have upper limits to its viable volume. Yes, you could crank it, but that enclosure can rattle. The Dali, on the other hand, just has this more measured, firm sound that delivers itself in such a clean form.

Sounds like a dream too

I heard the Dali in a genuinely huge room – it wasn't treated nor optimised, either, it was simply a hotel's conference space. That this product could could conceivably fill such a room so convincingly was a surprise; that it could do it so so elegantly, only added to my level of impressed.

That's all delivered from four 25mm tweeters, four 4.5-inch mid-range drivers, and two passive bass radiators, with the Class D amplification delivering 50W per channel, for 400W total output across a 32 to 22,700Hz frequency range.

HD Audio is catered for, to 24-bit/192kHz file types, as you'd expect from a Dali product, if you feed it with the correct source. There's also all the support for the latest streaming systems, with Spotify Connect and Tidal Connect supported from day one, plus Bluetooth and AirPlay 2.

Tactile build

Sound is one factor, of course, but the Dali's level of detail in finish is another significant reason to buy. The Vega is finished with custom-woven fabrics, features a real wood veneer (so each one is unique), and an anodised aluminium volume/control wheel.

The wheel's adjustment mechanism – from its subtle ball-bearing 'clicks' to the beautifully judged weight it possesses – is a work of art in itself. It's also touch-sensitive, so you can press-and-hold the centre to bring up the menu system.

That system displays on a frankly tiny OLED display, though, and I'm surprised Dali didn't opt for some more real-estate here. I get the idea was to subtly integrate, but more space equals larger font and greater ease of reading.

I do also think the on-device menu system might take a little getting used to, too. The whole array of buttons next to the wheel – which are effectively radio station or source pre-sets – can be tapped or double-tapped, while the menu's depth might not be immediately intuitive.

Brilliant basics

Much as I love using the control wheel, the bundled remote control will bypass any uncertainty I have with it. This makes selecting sources and activating the 'wide' mode – a processing effect to widen the soundstage, without quite calling spatial upmixing – really easy. It doesn't look as exciting as the rest of the product, but I think people will find it easy to use.

Now, the Vega isn't in any way cheap, at £2599 / $4500 / AU$4499 (yes, the US price is really that high due to tariffs). But as an investment for someone who might be seeking a hi-fi adjacent stereo system without all the separates and cables, I think it poses long-term value.

The Vega looks distinct, feels special, and sounds like a dream. That you can wall-mount it in two directions is undoubtedly impressive. But the reason I want one above all else is for that beautiful tactility and sumptuous sound quality. This is the future of hi-fi – and Dali already knows it.

Marshall's in the middle of quite a big summer from what is objectively one of the more boutique-sized audio brands out there. It's already released the Milton ANC, a really interesting new thrust in the world of headphones, and now it's also refreshing one of its most popular speakers.

The Stockwell III is a welcome upgrade on its predecessor in a few key ways, but it looks very similar, which is no bad thing. Like the Stockwell II, it's a sort of portrait-orientation Bluetooth-only speaker, standing on a relatively narrow base with a carrying handle for convenience.

Atop the speaker, there are control knobs that give it a really tactile feeling, something that has been Marshall's speciality for quite some time. Its main face is one big grille with that famous logo, too. The new version has some beefier internals, though, including a battery life of 40 hours, doubled from last time out.

The Stockwell III also now features 360-degree sound, which should make it easier to position wherever you are, since there's no longer a clear sweet spot to be found for the best audio. Its durability should be reliable, too, since it's IP55-rated for dust and water resistance.

The Stockwell II launched all the way back in 2019, which makes this an impressively long gap between speaker generations, and that also means that even a small upgrade like moving to USB-C for charging is quite consequential. That USB-C port can also charge your gadgets when needed.

Crucially, this speaker also demonstrates how Marshall is getting its ducks in a row ahead of the EU's incoming rules about user repairs. It promises real repairability, including user-replaceable batteries, which makes it part of the vanguard of new devices bringing that feature to the market.

The speaker won't be available until 18 August, though, so it's a couple of months off at this stage. When it does launch, it'll cost £199.99 in the UK, €229 in the EU, and $249.99 in the US. That makes it a little more expensive than the Stockwell II at launch, but given the pretty much 7 years between the two, that's no real scandal.

We'll be reviewing the Stockwell III closer to its launch, so keep your eyes on T3 for more information about this fairly gorgeous-looking speaker launch.

If you'd told me even 10 years ago that CDs were due to make a comeback, I don't think I would have believed you. But that's the current intersection we've arrived at, as the Compact Disc revival for music-lovers gathers momentum.

Ruark, the British audio brand, has been making systems for decades. It's already ingrained in my life, as the R610 hi-fi console lives in my home office – and I loved it so much that I've even wall-mounted the Sabre-R bookshelf speakers. Now I just need a subwoofer to really step it up.

This week, while wandering the halls at the High End Vienna show, I was introduced to Ruark's next-step model in this series: the R710. It's bigger, more powerful, and will drive the brand's also-new Talisman-R speakers – which mark a return to floorstanders after an extended hiatus.

It's also a product with an integrated CD player. That's due to demand, Ruark tells me, with many R610 owners opting to buy a separate CD player – typically the Ruark R-CD100 – and customers have been calling for the Compact Disc's return.

I even requested a disc, just so I could enjoy the sensation of inserting one into the drive – which is semi-hidden among the R710's wooden slats, ensuring it's subtle to the point of near invisibility. There's a physical eject button to the side of the front display, if you're wondering.

There's a lot to be said for CD quality – which is a lossless 16-bit and 44.1kHz output – which many streaming service subscriptions can't match. Plus, with physical media you've the assurance that your library won't change when, say, one album gets removed from your subscription.

The R710's front display is far larger in this new design, too, helping to put into visuals the CD artwork – or from other sources, as you can just as easily stream, tune into DAB, or connect via Bluetooth – to make a real statement.

There's even an HDMI port, should you want to source from a TV – but this is no Blu-ray player, it's built with a proper CD laser reader, meaning you can playback CD-DA audio from CDs, CD-Rs and CD-RWs. Note: it's not able to play SACD types, just classic discs.

Ruark is no stranger to the concept of visual statements either. Its retro-chic design has more than a nod to 70s aesthetic, while ensuring there's an up-to-date nature to its products' look and feel. I'm a big fan of the real walnut finish, which is something of a trademark for the brand.

Those Talisman-R speakers sound a treat, too, and they're a smaller scale than many typically taller floor-standers – but do keep in mind that they'll cost you £1499 for a pair (other regional pricing is TBC).

As for the player itself? That wraps in two 200W of output, which is much larger than the 75W of the smaller R610 unit. There's the familiar RotoDial system up top, even a forthcoming connection for Bluetooth headphone output directly from the device.

The R710 will cost £2199 when it goes on sale this October (again, regional pricing is TBC) – although you can already pre-order it from many reputable dealers, including Sevenoaks Sound & Vision. If you've already got a stack of CDs waiting to be re-loved then it could be your perfect new purchase.

Back in April it was announced that legendary speaker-maker, Jamo, was set to return to market – with the High End Vienna show slated as its stage to reveal all-new product lines.

While I had been anticipating a powered wireless speaker series from the Danish maker – which the company confirms is "in the works" – instead we've been treated to an array of different products.

My favourite of the lot, however, is the Concert Element 50, which is a bookshelf speaker among Jamo's mid-tier passive speakers (so, yes, you'll need a separate amp to power these).

I got to check out the range at High End Vienna – an audio show where an abundance of kit was on display – behind closed doors with Jamo's new owners for a detailed listening session.

Concert Element – Bookshelf and Floorstanding

See those coloured circles on the wall in the above image gallery? The Concert Element 50 speakers have swappable grilles, so you can pick and choose, even mix'n'match, to create a more bespoke bookshelf speaker.

Jamo has been super bold in its latest speaker line, with the Element 50 embodying these oversized circular emblems, striking a distinctive silhouette that's like little else I've seen in this segment.

There's a reason for it, though, as the circular driver module extends beyond the cabinet – which, at 27cm deep, is less than many current bookshelf speakers – making the driver become central to the design.

You can pair any Element product with a separate subwoofer for even bigger bass, using the Concert Element SW10, priced at £629 / $699. A pair of Concert Element 50 will cost you £999 / $1099; Concert Element 70 floorstanders will set you back £1719 / $1899; while the biggest Concert Element 90 will require £2239 / $2499.

Concert Legacy – top of the range

HYG – Bluetooth speakers

But Jamo has revitalised its range to encompass so much more than passive bookshelf and floorstanding speakers. Namley, it has gone all-in on Bluetooth speakers too.

Named the 'HYG' range, this evokes "hygge", the Danish word meaning (roughly) "a contented mood". The lifestyle is all about everyday pleasures and simplicity – which is exactly what these Bluetooth speakers are about.

There's the HYG Reflect, which is like an alarm clock; the Hyg Flow, which almost looks like a micro-size briefcase; and the Hyg Flex, which is the largest and loudest of this new trio.

All Hyg products will be available from this July. The clock-style device, the Reflect, will be priced at £129 / $149; the carry-handled Hyg Flow at £109 / $129; while the biggie of the bunch, the Flow, will be £239 / $279.

So Jamo clearly has a full vision in mind, from Bluetooth to powered wireless speakers (at a future date), to passive bookshelf and much more serious floorstanding speakers. There'll be something for everyone here.

A number of today's best soundbars rely on their previous successes. The Samsung HW-Q990H surround system, for example, is barely different from its predecessor – and its LED display is reminiscent of a dot matrix printer.

Not so with WiiM, however, which has just revealed its first-ever soundbar – the aptly named WiiM Bar – which features a prominent front colour display, plus a bunch of attractive features that help it stand apart.

The Californian brand's reveal coincided with the High End Vienna audio show, which I attended to get an initial glance at WiiM's offering. I didn't get to hear the Bar in operation, owing to the open nature of the stand in the show halls – but real-world testing will happen in the near future.

Right now, though, you can already see why you might consider the WiiM Bar in terms of visual appeal alone. It's rare for a soundbar to feature a display, let alone a touch-controllable one.

This 2.1-inch panel can display album art for music listening sessions, your playback controls or source, adjusted EQ settings, presets, and more. It's not atop the soundbar, so won't bother your TV's display, ensuring it'll be easily visible from your sofa.

The Bar is a middle-sized soundbar offering. Think bigger than Sonos Beam, but smaller than Sonos Arc. But WiiM has pulled off savvy pricing: its £449 / $479 asking price places it squarely with the former Sonos product. Given the integrated screen, I think that's a competitive price.

With a 3.0.2 Dolby Atmos configuration, right from the off the WiiM Bar caters for object-based sound decoding, with the inclusion of real upward-firing outputs. That's something the Sonos Beam doesn't offer, relying more heavily on processing for its immersive effect.

The WiiM is further upgradable, though, with a full 5.1.2 system possible – you just need to add relevant WiiM Sound speakers and a Sub Pro for that full cinematic output. Interestingly, as per the app, you can even cater for front surrounds – so four speakers, not only two – which is a rarity among soundbars.

Indeed, the most recent setup I listened to which offered this kind of output was Sony's forthcoming Bravia Theatre Trio (with extras). The LG Sound Suite delivers much the same with a Dolby Atmos FlexConnect upsell. But, again, both these rack up to be far pricier than the equivalent WiiM system.

While the WiiM Bar features an HDMI eARC, as is essential, just like Sonos it does lack any HDMI passthrough – which is one minor complaint I can put its way. Although, at this price, the you're unlikely to find such a high-end feature in any equivalent product.

So if you're seeking a sleek-looking, modern soundbar with touch-based controls like no other, WiiM's all-new Bar looks like the little rocket of interest that this market needed. Its future upgradability will further its appeal, as will its Sonos-battling asking price.

Bowers & Wilkins has unveiled a new generation of its flagship speaker series. Released five years after the D4's, the 800 Series Diamond D5 are the result of 60 years of engineering and promise the very best quality thanks to improved materials and engineering.

The 800 Series has been the showcase of the Bowers range since its creation in the 1970s and was cemented in history when the 801 speaker was adopted as the reference monitors for Abbey Road Studios.

Today, the 800 Series still represents the very best the brand has to offer, with the speakers being handmade in its factory in Worthing, West Sussex.

The Diamond Series is so called because of the diamond-dome tweeter on the top of the speaker housing, with its signature comet-like aluminium form.

The new D5 models continue the Bowers & Wilkins philosophy of 'Nothing added. Nothing taken away' with its sound. It's a pure experience that allows you to hear every detail of the sound – perhaps why it's still used in Abbey Road Studios.

As with previous 800 series models, it comes in a range of sizes. There's the iconic 801 D5, the full floorstanding speaker engineered for recording studio performance. It features two 10-inch Aerofoil bass cones, one 6-inch Continuum cone mid-range and a 1-inch diamond dome tweeter. The casing comes in four colours with matching leather trim and is priced £43,000 / $65,000 / €50,000 per pair.

The 802 D5 are also floor-standing speakers engineered for reference-grade audio, with two 8-inch bass drivers, a 6-inch Continuum cone mid-range and the 1-inch diamond tweeter on top. Priced £32,500 / $45,000 / €37,000.

With a smaller footprint, the 803 D5 are the most compact to still feature the turbine head configuration for the 5-inch mid-range Continuum cone and 1-inch diamond tweeter, and also feature two 7-inch Aerofoil bass cones. Priced £25,500 / $35,000 / €30,000.

The 805 D5 can be stand-mounted for the best performance, or on a side unit. Suitable for smaller spaces, these use a single 6.5-inch Continuum bass/mid-range cone and a 1-inch diamond dome tweeter on top. These are priced at £10,000 / $15,000 / €12,000.

Other models include the floorstanding 804 D5 and the HTM81 D5 and the HTM82 centre channel speakers to be paired with the 801/802 or the 803/804 models respectively for home cinema setups. Find more information on the new D5 range on the Bowers & Wilkins website.

Focal and Naim Audio merged in 2011, and in 2014 the first of a very successful line of Naim ‘Mu-so’ wireless speakers came to market.

Focal, though, reckons it’s the more credible brand when it comes to home cinema equipment – and so this latest ‘Mu-so’ speaker carries the French company’s logo.

Can a ‘Focal powered by Naim’ speaker repeat the successes of those plain Naim models? On evidence of the Hekla, the answer is (just like its build) a very robust 'yes'...

Price & Availability

The Focal Mu-so Hekla launched in South Korea and China at the end of November 2025, and it’s been available in the rest of the world since late March 2026.

In the United Kingdom it costs £2999, American customers will need to spend $3599, and those in Australia will have to fork out AU$6499.

Features & What's New?

There’s not a huge amount of connectivity – but what there is seems entirely appropriate and fit for purpose.

Where physical sockets are concerned, you get an HDMI eARC and a digital optical input that can handle file resolutions of up to 24bit/96kHz. There’s also stereo RCA ‘Aux’ output for use with, say, a powered subwoofer (just in case the claimed frequency response of 30Hz - 20kHz strikes you as rather tentative at the bottom end), and an Ethernet socket.

Wireless is covered by dual-band Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.1 with SBC and AAC codec compatibility. The Mu-so Hekla keeps its Wi-Fi antennae in the heatsinks at the rear of the cabinet (which is tidy), and it’s compatible with a very wide range of services and functions.

Wi-Fi means access to the ‘Connect’ versions of Qobuz, Spotify and Tidal, it allows the Focal to be UPnP-compatible, it means that Apple AirPlay 2, Chromecast, Amazon Music HD and plenty more are all available, and it allows for internet radio reception provided by Naim’s own servers.

The device is compatible with every meaningful digital audio file type – it’s good for resolutions of up to 32bit/384kHz and DSD128 for two-channel content, and 24bit/192kHz for multichannel and spatial audio stuff.

Once the audio information is on board, it’s returned to you by a complement of 15 speaker drivers, each with its own block of Naim-developed Class D amplification and configured to be able to deliver 7.1.2 channels of spatial audio.

Front-and-centre there are three 130 x 60mm bass drivers, while towards each end of the front panel there’s a 60mm midrange driver and a 25mm tweeter. On each side there are two 70 x 40mm full-range drivers, and there are a couple of these drivers behind each of the areas of perforated metal on the top panel.

Those three big bass drivers are given 60 watts of power each, while the other 12 drivers are granted 40 watts each. A total of 660 watts should really be more than adequate.

Performance

Before I get to the nuts and bolts of the way the Mu-so Hekla performs it’s worth noting that although there are differences in the way the five different spatial audio options sound, they are subtle in the extreme. You’ll alight on the setting that you prefer, but if all the other numerous EQ options are left alone, I think you’ll be hard-pushed to identify an obvious favourite.

That’s because no matter which of the options you’ve selected, and no matter if you’re listening to content that’s been mixed for spatial audio or that was originally two-channel stuff, the Focal doesn’t really alter its stance or its character. It mixes precision with energy and analysis with entertainment in a most enjoyable fashion.

Its frequency response, for instance, is extensive and generally nicely even. At the very bottom of its extension – and the Focal can most certainly dig deep into bass frequencies – there’s a slight-but-definite bloom, almost as if the engineers couldn’t help but want to show off how much low-end presence they’ve been able to deliver.

Despite this mild overconfidence, though, bass sounds are nicely shaped and controlled, so as well as detail, variation and straight-ahead punch, there’s good rhythmic expression available when the speaker is dealing with music.

At the opposite end of the frequency range, the Mu-so Hekla summons remarkable bite and shine for a speaker featuring only two dedicated tweeters in a complement of 15 drivers. There’s a similar level of detail and variation in treble sounds, and a fair amount of substance to balance out the top-end brilliance. Even when pushing on, volume-wise, the Focal stops well short of glassiness or edginess at the top end, too – it simply gets louder.

In between, the midrange is absolutely alive with information – the amount of detail, both broad and fine, the Mu-so Hekla seems capable of identifying, revealing and contextualising in a voice is really impressive. It’s one thing to be able to communicate the tone and timbre of a speaking or a singing voice, it’s quite another to tease out the minutiae of character and attitude – but the Focal manages to do so in the most unforced and naturalistic way.

‘Naturalistic’ is a good enough way to describe the tonal characteristics of the Mu-so Hekla, too – there’s an even-handed and confident sensation to tonality here. Which, when you consider the numerous shapes, sizes and compositions of the driver array, is not bad going.

That tonality is unaffected by volume, or big dynamic variations in volume or intensity – and the Focal has an awful lot of headroom available for when the movie soundtrack gets explosive or the symphony orchestra steams into a crescendo.

But it’s with soundstaging and the impression of spatial audio that the Mu-so Hekla gives the most compelling account of itself. The sound it creates comfortably escapes the confines of its considerable cabinet, and in all directions – there’s appreciable width to the soundstage, and more than a suggestion of the sonic height that’s so essential to the whole idea of ‘spatial’ audio.

Despite its expansive nature, though, the soundstage here is approaching ‘immersive’ – voices, instruments, sound effects and what-have-you all relate to each other despite the sometimes significant distances between them. Some spatial audio soundbars (yes, I know this isn’t a soundbar, Focal) can sometimes sound remote, like a collection of individual occurrences rather than a unified performance, but the Hekla always remains coherent even if it’s attempting to steer a sound from, say, bottom left front to top right rear.

Design & Usability

I know what you’re thinking, because I thought it too, but you’re wrong just as I was wrong – although its 118 x 1000 x 295mm (HxWxD) dimensions are of very soundbar-like proportions, don’t go suggesting the Mu-so Hekla is a soundbar.

I made this mistake quite early on in my acquaintance with the product, and Focal wasted no time at all in putting me right. The Mu-so Hekla, it turns out, is an all-in-one immersive home cinema system.

It’s a beefy (15.5kg) and good-looking all-in-one immersive home cinema system, too. The standard of build and finish is flawless, and the black aluminium cabinet, with its shot-blasted and anodised aluminium heatsinks, somehow manages to be understated and dramatic all at the same time. In fact, more than anything its design is reminiscent of 2019’s Naim Mu-so (2nd Gen), right down to the big, smooth-scrolling control dial on the top surface.

It’s a very pleasant user interface indeed, that oversized dial – but if you want to explore everything the Mu-so Hekla is capable of then the Focal & Naim control app is what you need.

The app is where you get access to input selection (including all your very many internet radio options), playback control, check for updates, select up to five ‘favourite’ shortcuts to preferred radio stations, playlists or what-have-you, set up the Hekla as part of a Focal/Naim multiroom system (using as many as 32 partnering streamers), run the ‘ADAPT’ room correction routine, adjust the intensity of the light surrounding the control dial, and plenty more besides. It’s a wide-ranging, logical, stable and eminently usable control app, one from which quite a few nominal rivals could learn a thing or two.

But perhaps most significantly, it’s the app that gives you access to the minutiae of the Mu-so Hekla’s spatial audio performance. There are five spatial settings to choose from: Dolby Music, Dolby Movie and Dolby Night are joined by two alternatives, developed by Focal, called Sphere Movie and Sphere Music. The company reckons its Sphere settings are good for rooms with some acoustic treatment, while the Dolby settings are better for larger rooms with less (or no) treatment.

No matter which of those five you decide suits you best, you can adjust performance using a three-band EQ and ‘+/- 10’ sliders called, helpfully, ‘voice enhance’, ‘low frequency effects’, ‘surround’ and 'height’. In addition, the app allows you to trim the level of each of the 10 channels that make up its 7.1.2 configuration.

The one thing the app can’t do is let you fully override the spatial audio aspect of its performance. No matter if you’re listening to two-channel content or a less-than state-of-the-art five-channel surround soundtrack, the Mu-so Hekla will bring both its room-correction routine and its spatial audio algorithms to bear. The idea being to deliver a sound that’s optimised to your space and uses all 15 of those drivers – whether that’s your preference or not.

Focal Mu-so Hekla review: Verdict

A big price tag, a bigger cabinet, and sound that’s bigger still – everything about the Focal Mu-so Hekla is oversized. But in the best of ways.

If you’re after the most convincing impression of spatial audio a one-box speaker can deliver, then you’re going to have to deal with those big numbers.

Also Consider

The Bang & Olufsen Beosound Premiere is not coy about calling itself a soundbar – and it’s every bit as individualistically designed and every bit as expensive as you’d expect from the company. It’s also capable of full-scale spatial audio at the same time as acting as shorthand for how wealthy and discerning you are.

The middle child in Denon’s brand-new trio of wireless speakers for 2026 has picked quite a fight – it’s going up against some acknowledged market-leading spatial audio speakers from some of the most credible brands.

So does the Denon Home 400 have what it takes to compete – or has it picked a flight it can’t win? I've been living with one for some weeks to put it through its paces and it's very impressive in many aspects.

Price & Availability

The Denon Home 400 wireless Dolby Atmos speaker is on sale now and in the United Kingdom it costs £449. In the United States the going rate is $599.

Need I say with undue emphasis that this area of the market already has quite a number of compelling offers from brands regarded as experts? The Sonos Era 300, for example, is an established and obvious alternative that Denon wants to take on.

Features & What's New?

Denon has arranged the Home 400 in a 2.0.2-channel layout, and has deployed speaker drivers that actually fire upwards (bolstered by some digital sound processing, naturally) in order to generate the sonic height that’s basically the whole point of Dolby Atmos spatial audio.

There are a couple of forward-facing 114mm aramid-reinforced paper mid/bass drivers occupying a lot of the face of the speaker behind that acoustic cloth. Above them are a pair of 19mm soft dome tweeters orientated in the same direction, and towards the middle of the cabinet there are two 25mm aluminum diaphragm mid/high drivers angled upwards to fire through the perforated top plate of the speaker.

Each of those drivers has its own block of Class D amplification, and the whole array is driven by a total of 90 watts. It’s an arrangement that can supposedly deliver a frequency response of 44Hz to 20kHz.

Getting audio information on board the Home 400 can be done in a number of different ways. There’s Bluetooth connectivity, naturally – although the 5.2 version the Denon is running is currently only compatible with the completely bog-standard SBC codec. An upgrade to Bluetooth LE is under consideration – it’s hoped this upgrade will bring a wider variety of codec compatibility, too.

A far better bet for wireless connectivity is the integrated dual-band Wi-Fi. As well as giving the Heos control app access to internet radio and the ability to integrate some of the more credible music streaming services, it allows the Home 400 to be Roon Ready, to operate with Apple AirPlay 2, and to access to ‘Connect’ versions of Qobuz, Spotify and Tidal.

On the rear of the cabinet there are a couple of physical inputs – a 3.5mm analogue socket and a USB-C slot that's for use with certain properly formatted flash drives. They’re both near the ‘mic on/off’ switch, the ‘Connect’ button that helps get the speaker onto a local network, the ‘Bluetooth pairing’ button, and the figure-of-eight socket for mains power.

Performance

No one buys a Dolby Atmos speaker without having a fairly strong interest in spatial audio – and it seems likely the effect that’s available via the Home 400 will win more than a few fans. Or, at least, it will if the speaker is given some sympathetic content to deal with.

Before I get to that, though, it’s worth discussing what the Denon is good at in every circumstance, because there’s a fair bit. For instance, it generates deep, varied and very well-behaved low-frequency activity – bass hits hard and with decent solidity, but it’s quite carefully shaped, very pleasantly detailed and well-controlled, so the speaker has no problem where rhythmic expression is concerned.

Frequency response, from bottom to top, is nicely even and smooth, and with the exception of the highest frequencies – which can sound a little bright and insubstantial – the tonality is even and consistent too.

The midrange projects with determination, and the same levels of detail evident at the bottom of the frequency range are apparent here too – there’s a stack of tonal and textural information handed over that makes for what sounds very much like a complete picture where voices are concerned.

There’s plenty of detail at the top end too, but the slight flimsiness in the way treble sounds are portrayed can, on occasion, make it sound almost edgy and means voices sometimes hit sibilants harder than is ideal.

Integration between all of the drive units is smooth, and when it’s playing stereo content in ‘pure’ mode, the Home 400 sounds nicely unified and quite direct – there’s a positivity to the way it presents music in this state that makes for a tangible sense of ‘performance’. Dynamic headroom is respectable, though nothing remarkable – changes in volume or intensity in a recording are identified and contextualised, though other designs can put greater distance between the quietest and the most full-on passages in a tune.

Switch to some Dolby Atmos content and the soundstage unarguably expands in all directions. There’s appreciable width and height to the presentation, but it’s not at the expense of cohesion or singularity – the Denon just manages to escape the confines of its cabinet more effectively than before.

Atmos doesn't shift the speaker's attitude where frequency response or tonality is concerned, and it doesn’t give anything away in terms of detail – in fact, given the right stuff to deal with, it can reveal even more of the more minor, more transient details than it can when playing the stereo equivalent. It’s one of the more effective and immersive Dolby Atmos speakers around when heard this way.

If you decide to get involved with the way the Denon sounds, though, by engaging ‘auto’ mode and sticking your oar into the adjustments available there, things can go one of two ways. The ‘-5 / +5’ scope of the ‘bass’ and ‘treble’ sliders are predictable in their effect, and so you’ll dial in the amount you prefer. The effect of the same ‘-5 / +5’ sliders for ‘width’ and ‘height’, though, is very much on a case-by-case basis and not always even remotely beneficial.

For instance, choose a couple of albums recorded long before Dolby Atmos became a thing, which have been remixed to take ‘advantage’ of spatial audio technology. Stream them via Tidal from the Heos app, and the effect of the ‘width’ and ‘height’ adjustment can be profoundly different.

Open up one album to its most spatial and it sounds wide and tall, the Home 400 actually getting close to creating a dome of sound that’s very gratifying indeed. Do the same with the other, though, and while it gets bigger it becomes hazy and vague, cannot place instruments with any kind of certainty, and its tonality fluctuates even as the music is in progress.

Dialling the ‘height’ and ‘width’ effects back below ‘zero’ not only shrinks the soundstage, it also fundamentally alters the tonality – high frequencies become inhibited, the midrange turns in on itself. It’s all very peculiar.

Design & Usability

At 219 x 300 x 150mm (HxWxD) the Denon Home 400 is a little larger than the Sonos Era 300 it quite obviously has in its sights – but it’s a more regular shape, and nothing like as odd in its appearance. Which can only be a sensible thing, even if the choice of finishes (‘stone’ or ‘charcoal’, which in practice means ‘grey’ or ‘greyer still’) is far from radical.

The standard of build and finish is extremely good, and the way the cabinet tapers just slightly down towards the pliant foot the speaker stands on (which includes some LED tell-tale lighting) almost qualifies as a design flourish.

Operating the Home 400 is no kind of hardship – although, as I will discuss shortly, the Heos app could be more cooperative. Voice control is available via Siri, for those who are Apple users. The speaker proves responsive and fairly swift to act if it’s used this way.

There are some physical controls arranged down one side of the cabinet – and they’re proper ‘push’ buttons (admittedly with very little travel) rather than ‘touch’ alternatives. They handle volume up/down, play/pause and will wake the voice assistant. There are also three ‘shortcut’ buttons to take you to predetermined radio stations, streaming services or whatever you fancy – they can be assigned in the Heos control app.

In many ways, the Heos app is ideal. It allows integration of plenty of music streaming services, is a portal to internet radio via TuneIn, and gives access to all the many multi-room, multi-channel and stereo pairing possibilities that are open to anyone who owns more than one Heos device.

There’s also some EQ adjustment available in the form of either ‘pure’ or ‘auto’ playback modes – the former defeats all processing for as faithful a description of the original content as possible, while the latter allows you to adjust the bass, treble, ‘width’ and ‘height’ of the sound, as previously described. It also allows you to create playlists, check on available updates, define the function of those ‘shortcut’ buttons, and plenty more.

It’s not the best-realised app around, though. It can forget what it’s doing, it’s not above crashing, and it can take its sweet time when it comes to responding to your requests. There are a few better user interfaces out there, and several of them operate products the Home 400 is in direct competition with.

Denon Home 400 review: Verdict

At its best, the Denon Home 400 is one of the most effective Dolby Atmos speakers available at anything like this money – it’s capable of sound far larger, in every direction, than its cabinet dimensions would suggest.

It’s possible to skew all its good work with injudicious use of its EQ and height/width settings, though, and the Heos control app has a distance to go before it bears comparison with the best of its rivals.

Also Consider

The most obvious alternative to the Denon Home 400 is the Sonos Era 300 – it’s arguably the company’s best pound-for-pound speaker. Its sound is big and confident, its spatial audio effect is convincing, and it has plenty of wider functionality options. It doesn’t support Dolby Atmos via Tidal currently, though.

If you’d rather a speaker that looks thrillingly retro, you can always consider the JBL Authentics 500. It’s got a charming aesthetic, it serves up hefty, well-organised and large-scale sound, and it has Alexa and Google voice assistants built in. It can get rather stressed at the highest volumes, though, and its spatial audio effect is not as pronounced as that of the Denon or the Sonos options.

Sometimes in this job things come out of the blue that I simply don't expect. Case in point: after setting a 4am alarm to catch a flight to Sony HQ for a TV line-up preview, I never expected the brand's new and unexpected TV surround sound system to wake me up quite as spritely as it did. Forget the coffee, for this audio injection is one home cinema delight.

It's called the Sony Bravia Theatre Trio in its most 'basic' form which, as the name suggests, is a trio of speakers – a small soundbar and front left/right speaker duo in concert. It expands beyond this, though, with up to two subwoofers and a pair of rear speakers (also with upfiring channels) for a 7.2.4 channel system total.

However, by using Sony's 360 Spatial Sound Mapping (SSM), the product can add 24 'phantom' speakers into this mix too, for a Dolby Atmos mix that's unlike anything I've ever heard from such a surround setup – and I suspect it'll be enough to make LG and Samsung weep.

Not short of competition

Not that the competition are in any way short on quality: Samsung's HW-Q990H, for example, is a great all-in-one-box solution that's easily the best soundbar for Samsung TVs; LG, meanwhile, has a very persuasive (albeit mightily expensive) option in its Sound Suite – which also includes discrete front left/right speaker separates much like the Sony.

But while LG has gone down the route of being among the first to adopt Dolby Atmos FlexConnect – an explainer about that positional technology is here – the Sony instead uses the brand's Bravia Connect phone app (for iOS or Android) with a USB-C microphone to calibrate for your room's specific setup.

You needn't have a Sony TV to run the Theatre Trio, but a bit like LG's modular system, you will need a brand tie-in if you elect to skip the soundbar option and only want, say, a subwoofer and/or rear speakers to function in concert with the TV's speakers – this will be possible for Sony's latest Bravia 9 II and Bravia 7 II models.

Note, however, that the Theatre Trio via eARC bypasses the TV's speakers (and there's no workaround to that; Sony doesn't offer a Q-Symphony or Wow Orchestra equivalent). There's a second HDMI for passthrough, seeing Sony also qualify beyond what you'll find from Sonos soundbars, such as the Arc Ultra.

But the competition don't have this

But back to the Theatre Trio in its full surround sound setup for a moment – which, in my test experience included a pair of also-new Theatre Sub 9 subwoofers and two Theatre Rear 9 speakers (smaller Sub 8 and Rear 8 options also exist for lower-wattage output, to your needs or preference).

It's quite difficult to describe in words what a stellar job Sony's engineers have achieved with this system. Think of it as a true surround system – 7.2.4 channels, as described above – but with psychoacoustic intelligence thanks to those additional 24 phantom outputs that genuinely give this setup pro-grade-cinema-like Dolby Atmos accuracy.

With a scene from Sinners on 4K Blu-ray shown on Sony's new 98-inch Bravia 7 II True RGB TV, the way in which Atmos sound objects swirled effortlessly around, including overhead, was quite remarkable. And while I was in a fairly ideal cinema-like room (no surprise, given I was at the company's UK headquarters), the calibration means offsetting for your own personal setup will also be possible.

Having just shifted out of LG's Sound Suite for review, which certainly impressed, the sheer cohesiveness of Sony's new surround system – and, note, achieved with fewer speakers overall (subwoofer pair excluded, but of course) – is mind-bogglingly qualified.

Boss of bass

Granted, the subwoofer pair of my demo almost certainly won't be required for pretty much anyone, especially as the Sub 9 outputs 600W apiece, but a single unit will give you all the bass you need – and then some. A smaller Sub 8 will suffice for most, I'm sure (not that I got a demo to hear this model).

But who doesn't love a big dollop of bass? That's exactly what a scene from Ready Player One was cued up to demonstrate – and it didn't disappoint. That's not to the detriment of the rest of the frequency range or sound mix, though, with a classic scene from No Time To Die showing off the delicate sharpness of the high-end this system can generate, revealed as Mr Bond's Aston Martin scraped across concrete walls.

I'm also not suggesting those with a small TV contemplate a Theatre Trio, as this setup is squarely aimed at large sets where conventional soundbars may otherwise struggle to deliver a soundstage with ample width. This one also shows off with a confident dome of surround sound, to sweeten the deal.

And while I may shout this Sony setup above and beyond its LG and Samusng rivals, in addition to the scale point above, it's not going to be perfect for everyone for other reasons. Sony doesn't use a paired TV's speakers, for example, whereas Samsung's Q-Symphony does, which with a big panel can add better dialogue pinpointing in relation to the screen – which would be one of my criticisms against the Sony setup.

There's also the small (or big) point on pricing. The Theatre Trio will set you back £2000 (wider regional pricing I don't have yet), with the Sub 9 priced at £900 and the Rear 9 speakers also at £900 – making for a £3800 total!

Indeed, this Sony setup might therefore make Samsung's Q990H seem like a relative bargain by comparison. But the extra cash could be worth it for true cinema heads, as this latest Bravia surround system is a true Dolby Atmos revelation.