Analyze your room for the perfect bass and get the most out of your subwoofer

Most savvy consumers recognise that the 'freebie' earphones supplied with music portables belong in the bin. However, the upgrade options can be bewildering; there's in-ear, on-ear, noise-cancellingÖ plus the awkward paradox that big isn't necessarily better. So what's the best solution and what makes the ultimate earphone for music on-the-go?

You’ve got to admire some folks’ ingenuity in creating memorable TLAs (Three-Letter Abbreviations). This cable is part of the all-new ‘DNA’ range from Wireworld – that’s ‘Delineated Neutralizing Array’.

The name might not tell one much, but there’s quite a lot to this cable. Its appearance is certainly distinctive, with the multiple conductors and those intriguing-looking terminator barrels (which actually merely serve to disentangle the conductors), and as with most Ixos cables, the distinctive feature is the ‘Gamma Geometry’ weave.

Screened loudspeaker cables are not all that common. Interconnects tend to be screened because the signals they carry are much lower in power.

Mavros, the Atlas flagship cable, is different from those we’re used to, both physically and sonically. Mavros is a range, rather than a single product, that embraces speaker cable, single-ended interconnects and a balanced/XLR-based interconnect. All three of which were available for this test, though it’s the single-ended interconnect and a 2 into 4 bi-wire speaker cable that we’re concentrating on here.

We’ve seen Tango in its conventional non-bi-wire form – just two conductors – but this version adds a further pair of conductors to the construction. As usual in bi-wire cables, the conductors are commoned into a single pair of plugs at the amp end, but terminate separately at the speaker. Off-the-reel costs are £30/pm.

Most speaker stands these days are supplied partly dismantled and hence come in modest boxes. This one, however, is assembled, filled and sealed at the factory and comes in a large and very heavy package.

As loudspeaker stands go, this is a simple enough design. Two medium-diameter pillars provide the support between a rectangular steel base and a small top plate.

IsoTek certainly didn’t invent the mains conditioner (people were selling them before the company started trading), but it has certainly made a big mark in aftermarket mains kit. This must be partly due to the sheer range of products available; at the time of writing, the company’s website lists over a dozen models at a variety of prices.

We first heard of Kudos as a maker of speaker stands – decidedly upmarket at the time – some years ago. The company’s range is still small, but has expanded to include a rather natty-looking modular equipment rack and five loudspeaker models.

The 10X5 is the least expensive cartridge in Japanese brand Dynavector’s extensive range, and its origins can be traced back to a time when vinyl ruled supreme (1978, to be specific).

The DL-103’s appearance gives you a clue as to its origins, which lie in Denon’s design department of 1963. The vinyl groove hasn’t changed a lot since then, however, so it’s still a worthy contender with a very tempting price.

PS Audio is so enthusiastic about its new Power Center that it's even included a well-presented, ten-minute video by company bod Paul McGowan on its website. Many features of the Quintessence are shared by the Quintet, including the five 'IsoZones' and three switching zones.

The Red is the base model in Ortofon’s Rondo range, but it’s still a sophisticated cartridge. It’s also relatively expensive.

Ortofon’s new 2M (for MM) range of interchangeable stylus moving magnet cartridges has a body shape that’s modelled on the facets of a diamond.

The Gear4 BluStream RX acts as a conduit to stream music from your mobile phone, via Bluetooth, to your hi-fi speakers

Do you find that your vinyl collection has taken a back seat to MP3s? If so, you might be in the market for an iVinyl unit, to convert your rare LP gems to tunes for your iPod in a fairly painless manner.iVinyl is a phono preamp.

With its successful Azur series of integrated amps all being line-level-only, Cambridge had good reason to produce a matching phono stage. Indeed it produces two: the cheaper 540P handles moving magnet cartridge only, while this one also caters for moving coil types.

First he did it with air, now it's springs, so just what is Max Townshend up to this time? Actually, he's continuing the good work of decoupling, that has been at the heart of his products since the Rock turntable hit the scene with its vibration-damping trough of silicone.

Graham Slee does make other products, but is best known for phono stages of which, there is quite a variety available. This is the cheapest moving coil unit, just £40 dearer than the company's basic moving magnet model.

One advantage of hanging your flatscreen on the wall is the appearance it gives of floating in space. If hanging a flatscreen and sealing cables inside the wall sounds like hard work, then a much easier option is to pick up a TV stand

PS Audio's excellent webpage neatly illustrates the point that the company has been making DACs for a long time, 21 years in fact. Although the brand's distribution has been sporadic in the UK, you may remember the debut of its 'Digital Link' - one of the first DACs to hit the market.

Clearaudio is known for its strikingly individual turntables, tonearms and cartridges. It's hardly surprising, then, to discover that the company also makes record cleaning machines (RCMs). There's quite a range of them, of which the Double Smart Matrix is the latest addition.

This is a simple coaxial cable where the core is 'hot' and the screen carries return current. Nevertheless, it's a relatively bulky cable with a 9mm outer diameter. As a result, it's not amazingly flexible.