Small and compact, these Creative Gigaworks HD50 speakers have a minimalist look. When it comes to sound quality we found them perfectly acceptable but, with no dedicated subwoofer, you'll notice the lack of bass, especially at high volume.

Are you in the market for some speakers to bring all that fantastic Mac media potential up a notch? Then you might as well get a pair that look as good as these. Fun is the order of the day here with these retro-looking boxes from Scandya.

We're used to thinking of surround sound as being created by encircling the listener with several speakers positioned around a room. So how is it possible to create this effect using a pair of headphones?

Okay, so what’s the most important thing when you’re looking for a new set of gaming headphones? Well, most of the time I’d say sound quality, in which case these AXPC headphones come up trumps.

Laptop speakers are poor substitutes for external separates, so there is a growing market for small portable units, of which the Yamaha NX-U10 is the latest and most impressive...

My ears are in love; cocooned as they are in soft, soft foamy cloth, being lovingly caressed by the alternately booming then plinky, twinkly noises emanating from the twin speakers set at a comfortable distance away from my lugs. This is one seriously good gaming headset.

These in-ear headphones have been designed for MP3 players, but we found them just as impressive with a laptop.

These weird-looking contraptions are Bluetooth earphones, comprising two earpieces and a transmitter that plugs into the bottom of your iPod. You can pair the 'phones with other Bluetooth devices

Everyone's making a podcast these days, and why not? Hosting themonline is cheap, and all the web-building tools we use have easypodcast integration. Even iWeb has a one-click podcasting facility.

Designed for internet telephony services such as Skype, the Sennheiser PC121 (£21 inc. VAT) is an affordable and portable audio headset. It's very easy to set up and provides a comfortable over-the-ear design.

Yes! You too can chat about life - praise be to Microsoft. What would the world be like without Big Business facilitating communication between us proles? We'd all be shouting at the moon and throwing our faeces around, probably

By rights I should love any company that attempts to supply me with wireless audio. At home I have to clamber into a nest of wires that creep and clutch around my gaming chair until I end up looking like the victim in Japanese tentacle porn.

Plantronics is a company famed for its quality headgear. And, yes, we think you still look like a village idiot if you wander around with a Bluetooth headset on. But who are we to argue with thousands of taxiand lorry drivers?

These are quite weird, cumbersome headphones from Sony. We're familiar with the MDR range from years of using MDRV-700 DJ headphones for outdoor work and DJing

Unlike the fancy headsets we often look at, the HS-300 is cheaper than rolling in mud.Unfortunately, leading the charmed life that we do, we're used to handling kit that is a little sturdier and as a result we've already snapped the right earphone off...

This is a tidy little speaker set from Macally, which is both fairlyinexpensive and capable of producing perfectly acceptable sound.The sound quality is clear and can reach pretty loud levels...